I have smoke free almost 4 months now. I have never felt so bad. Had t-7 and c-5 herniated disc problems before I quit for 8 years. It was manageable before. Now it's is going ballistic. I also had lyme disease last year and was treated. About 2 weeks after I quit I started getting brain fog and high anxiety. I am going in for an EEG for the brain and next week a lumbar tap to see if I have neurological lyme. I have been tested 2x this year for it and the results came back false positive whatever the hell that means. The testing in the east is for the birds. I may have to get a test from the west coast. I am seeing a neurologist who says it could be the lyme or it could be the withdrawals. The t-7 I know is affecting the fight and flight nerves and may be what's causing a lot of my anxiety. Also my wife just passed away a month ago. Anyone else have these things going on?
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Most people who quit feel much better. You may be getting illnesses that are unrelated to your smoking
I stopped smoking for 5 months and the problems I had were awful. My Doctor said that some people do have this type of reaction to removing a addictive chemical(nicotine) from their body and he could not tell me how much longer the side effects would last.
Thanks for replying. Thats what some of the quit sites say also. Sorry you are going through it also , but in a way its nice to know I am not the only one. Going for an eeg on the brain this week and a lumbar tap next week to see ifit shows Lyme.
You have my deepest condolences on the loss of your wife. May her memory always be a blessing.
You have a lot on your plate and I strongly recommend finding someone to talk to help you work through all the issues--maybe a grief counselor or a religious person.
The stress of losing someone can trigger all kinds of physical symptoms and can aggravate illnesses.
I agree with you on the issues with Lyme testing. It is better in animals than people which is terrible. Did your doctor treat for it even if you had false results? Some doctors treat routinely and then if you respond, great, and if not, they try the next thing.
That you quit smoking in the middle of this all I am sure isn't helping as nicotine is an addiction and the withdraw process adds its own layer of stress.
I will send up lots of prayers that you can find peace and health!! Please talk to someone!! Post back with updates!!!
Thanks for the kind words. I am seeing a counselor. And no they arent treating it yet. Going for an eeg tomorrow and a lumbar tap next Friday. It should tell me more by than.
The Human mind/brain is the least understood thing in the Universe. And though a lot of research has been and continues to go on regarding addiction, to date, little has been discovered about this area of the brain and it's functions.
I do know for a fact there is a part of the mind/brain that is totally self serving. It wants what it wants, and if it can get it, it will, regardless of the consequences you might suffer, even death.
If you have been smoke free for almost four months, most all of the 'physical' components of the addiction should be gone. That would leave the mental components. Now, you would be wrestling only with that. The self serving part of the mind/brain hasn't forgotten the pleasure it got from each nicotine hit and it still wants them.
It can be a most evil, conniving and sly creature, without a care as to whether you die of emphysema or lung cancer. It will strike you when you are down if need be. I believe it has done just that, shortly after the death of your wife.
I believe your fog brain sessions are psychosomatic. They are very real to you though, because you are actually experiencing them. That is exactly what the self serving mind/brain wants. It will go to any lengths to get you smoking again.
Don't be fooled. As hard as it is to overcome the physical symptoms of withdrawal, overcoming the mental symptoms is much harder. You are no longer fighting a cigarette, but a part of your own mind.
It would be interesting to know if tests revealed whether your symptoms could be attributed to withdrawal or Lyme's disease. But then, what if the results indicate neither?
I'm no doctor, nor do I delve into the realm of metaphysics or the spiritual. It's a fact, you have proven you can remain smoke free for eight years. I genuinely believe you can go smoke free for the rest of your life.
It seems your self serving mind/brain is making one last ditch effort to get you smoking again. Again, you are not fighting cigarettes. You are fighting thoughts in your own mind planted there by your self serving mind who doesn't care if you live or die. Knowing who your enemy is can make this battle much easier.
Tell that part of your mind you will not be deceived. Tell it, it can bring on all the fog it can, you will not be swayed, you will not be tricked. Tell it over and over for as long as it takes. Ten years from now, a burning cigarette will smell just as good as one did ten years ago. I think you will know how to handle that. Put the thought out of your mind just as quickly as it came in.
Interestingly, craving a cigarette only bothers you when you're thinking about them. And the fog is just another way to keep you thinking about them, wondering if it will go away if you start smoking again. Again, I'm no doctor, but my guess is the fog will go away eventually whether you smoke or not. The anxiety may take a little longer, maybe not.
Fighting with our own minds are the hardest battles we will ever fight, but they can be fought and won!
Why? because that's the way we are.
You body was filled with chemicals for years and quitting smoking is like quitting drugs or any other addiction. It will take time for you to get over the side effects and feel better. it is a hard process and not an easy one to do. There are people who have a lot of side effects after they stop smoking because they have done it for years. One thing I can say is this. There are some people who quit smoking and start to vap. This is worse than smoking and they don't know much about this at all. However, they are seeing young kids who do this come in with clasped lungs. You can ask your doctor for some help to go through the withdrawals and help to ease the symtons you are experiencing.
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