Smoking Archives

Smoking and dizziness

My story is long but I will try to shorten it as much as possible..I have been smoking for 22 years. I quit 55 days ago and since then I have been very lightheaded, almost like walking on tennis balls. This started prior to my quit..about two weeks during when I was cutting down on smoking. Well, 55 days later I am still light headed and my neck and shoulders are so tight they hurt. I also am having vision problems and feel very spacey and disconnected. I need help as I am hoping this will go away. My doctor says it is a good old hard quit, but why would I get it two weeks prior and still have it..have had all tests including cat scans and mri's with nothing. Strangely enough, prior to this I had a rash on my skin that was blotchy (almost like a heat rash) all the time and now that has not been around since I quit and this showed up.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..I will not go back to smoking but need my life back.

Marc

Follow Ups:

• Re: Smoking and dizziness (Archive in smoking.) Walt Stoll 09:08:30 9/30/01 (0)
• Re: Smoking and dizziness Tricia 09:49:20 9/29/01 (0)
• Re: Smoking and dizziness Sonja 06:00:59 9/29/01 (0)
• Re: Smoking and dizziness Marc 17:08:01 9/28/01 (0)

In Reply to: Smoking and dizziness posted by Marc on September 28, 2001 at 17:00:47:

I should add that I had a somewhat panic attack right when this dizziness started that my whole body shook like massive chills for about 5 minutes..ever since then this has been occuring..although I have not had any attacks since then and never had any prior.

In Reply to: Smoking and dizziness posted by Marc on September 28, 2001 at 17:00:47:

Dear Marc,
After I quit smoking (over 5 years ago) I experienced not only dizziness and sleep disturbance (the first week I felt I slept one foot OVER the mattress) but also what seemed as an overall worsening of health. And this lasted for a long time.

I had been smoking for 20 years. Then I quit cold turkey method. Later I found out that this is not the best method, being very hard on one's organism, and that gradual quitting is probably better. But I could not do it differently; I was too addicted.

There might be many reasons for your dizziness: detoxing, endocrine changes, blood pressure adjustments - my amateur guess is that nicotine consumption interferes with body's regulation of metabolism, and cutting that consumption down to zero puts the endocrine system under a lot of stress. There is an immediate need for new adjustment, and after a while the body finds a new balance. How long this process takes is I guess individual, and can depend on your general state of health.

You didn't mention if you've had any health problems before or why you stopped smoking. In any case I think it is GREAT that you have managed to stop. You have come a long way, and I hope you will not go back there.

My general advice would be to practice general 'wellness' as discussed on this board. Otherwise you just have to be patient, because detox process will take some more time. And if the symptoms don't loose intensity, you might wish to talk to an alternative practitioner experienced in the field.

Best of luck

Sonja

In Reply to: Smoking and dizziness posted by Marc on September 28, 2001 at 17:00:47:

When I quit cold turkey in 1993 I was dizzy on and off, couldn't concentrate and my vision was definately not right...I couldn't read anything longer than a short article and even that made me exhausted! Runny nose, coughing, etc. while my body dealt with this change too. This DOES end - for me it took 2 - 3 months to feel REALLY GOOD - you know, tasting food more, my sense of smell was heightened, my voice was clearer and I could sing better - a plus if you like to sing in the car :0 - quitting cold turkey is truly the best way to quit because it IS so HARD! - When you quit cold turkey you have a much higher chance of remaining a non-smoker than by any other method. Before I quit I did a lot of research and found statistics to back that up. Enjoy your smoke free house, car, hair, lungs, etc and congratulations and continued good luck!

In Reply to: Smoking and dizziness posted by Marc on September 28, 2001 at 17:00:47:

Hi, Marc.

Congratulations.

Listen to Tricia and Sonja. This, too, shall pass.

Many people do not realize it but most people smoke because of stress-effect storage in the hypothalamus. Nicotine creates an artificial barrier to feeling the stress-effect and so, when a person stops smoking all at once the "dam" is removed and all that stored stress comes flooding out.

That is what you are experiencing.

A good series of deep, total body, therapeutic massages (3 a week for 2 weeks hand running) would do you a lot of good.

Let us know how you do.

Walt