Side effects of quitting smoking or actual lung cancer?

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Hello folks. I am 23 year old male, been smoking for over 7 years and can happily say that I am free for 10 days and not planning to go back. As much as I am enjoying cigarette free lifestyle, there are few symptoms that started to happen after giving up and it's driving me crazy.

First one is shortness of breath (actually it started over a month ago). When my heart started to race out of nowhere, got chest pain on the left side, which lasted for over an hour, I thought I was going to have a heart attack and called an ambulance. They examined my heart and lungs and said they both were fine. Been worried there was something wrong with my heart, I started to have sensation of being out of breath constantly, it was like I needed to breath very deeply but lungs were not getting enough air. It was like hell for few days before I finally had ECG test and doctor said there was indeed nothing wrong with my heart and it was all caused by anxiety. She anyway listened to my lungs with stethoscope and said they were clean as well. All my answers on her questions were negative as well, like if I coughed extra sputum/blood in the morning, if shortness of breath was caused when I was more active than usual or if I was getting tired easily. When she said that, it was caused by anxiety and by time it would go away, I was super relieved and indeed after about a week to ten days I started to feel so much better that, shortness of breath was almost if not completely gone.

About 10 days ago I caught a flue or cold and that's when I decided it was finally time to stop smoking and I did, but few side effects happened during this time. Having chest pain on the right side, not exactly very sharp, not blunt, it's like happening out of nowhere for a min or less and goes away, it is also not bound to an exact spot, it might happen in the center of the right chest or close to the ribs on the right. I sometimes had this feeling if I smoked way too much ( 2 pack +) but the pain was so nonexistant and usually went in a day or two, that I never payed attention to it, up until now, when pain got much sharper, when it happens it feels like there's something in my lungs ( I know that lungs don't have pain receptors though ), and starting to worry there might actually be something wrong with my lungs, shortness of breath started to happen once again. On the good side, during this 10 days, my coughing got much better (I almost don't cough at well), considering that I coughed like maniac in the first days. Sputum, ( not sure if I use that word correctly) from extremely dark green, became very light green to almost white. Everything was going fine, and I thought that chest pain would go away as well at some point, until yesterday, when I coughed blood. It was for the one time and a tiny bit covered in saliva, but the color was extremely dark brown, I was not sure if it was 100% blood, but I coughed it in the morning today as well, for about two or three times, same amount, same color, but now it left kind of irony taste in my mouth and I am super worried it might actually be symptoms of lung cancer. I know, I need my chest x-rayed, but I can't do it until mid of November, until then this feeling of actually might having a cancer will drive me crazy.

What I have read of other symptoms, I don't have any. My appetite got better, as did my energy, I don't/did not have fever for almost 3-5 years.

Shortness of breath may be explained by anxiety, I've heard that chest pains actually happen after giving up years of smoking ( as a result of lung healing ), but coughed the blood, well fk me, the more I think about it the more anxious I am getting.

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1 Reply

  • Posted

    I'm not a smoker myself my partner is and is currently on the same journey as you and I done a lot of research, that browny coloured mucus could be from your cilia growing back which happens within the first 2 weeks of quitting. That's the hair like cleaning system in your lungs that help you clear out your mucus and the brown colour is from the tar! Unless it is bright red in colour and is just brown I wouldnt worry.

    The chest pains definitely sounds like anxiety, I experience it myself and you might not feel anxious but your body is going through a big change and youre worried about a few things so that's normal!

    But if you're really worried about the mucus your GP might be able to reassure you, there's also a good few quit smoking apps that give you facts and tips day by day and tell you whats going on with your body!

    Well done for qutting!!

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