Weird Things That Happen to Your Body When You Quit Smoking

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Abby Willow, Yahoo! Contributor Network

There are actually more ex-smokers than current smokers in America, and roughly 70% of daily smokers wish they could quit. For most people, smoking isn’t really a choice- it’s an addiction where the brain screams for nicotine to thrive. Really. The brain literally makes the body believe that without nicotine, the body will die. Just as without food, the body will starve. If you’ve never smoked, you won’t understand this. If you have (or do), then you have a compassion for this addiction that kills over 400,000 people a year. With the odds against smokers (1 in 2 will die because of their nicotine addiction), do you really think that if people could quit smoking, they would? Really- quitting is no simple thing. But when you do manage to quit, be prepared for the weird things that will happen to your body…

Your body is addicted to nicotine, and nicotine completely clears the body within 72 hours. This means, the first 72 hours are a real beast. You will notice first of all the insane starving feeling you get in your throat- that is your brain saying it needs a nicotine fix- pronto. You’ll actually drool for it, and begin eating other things to satisfy a craving that can’t be satiated. You’ll find yourself dizzy and unfocused, and this is partly due to stress (which makes the nicotine leave your body even faster- why do you think you always smoke when you’re stressed out? Nicotine leaves your body faster, so your body/mind “needs” a fix), and partly due to the physical response to not smoking.

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You’re dizzy and unfocused- why does quitting smoking do this? Simply because now all of a sudden you are getting normal amounts of oxygen in your body, lending to the weird dizzy and lightheaded feeling you have (it’s the same feeling you get when you hold your breath for a long time and then let it out). Your body isn’t used to getting normal amounts of oxygen, so you get dizzy in response. Another fun side effect of being able to suddenly get normal oxygen (and blood) flow? Blood circulation in the hands and feet make them warmer and tingle like they are almost falling asleep. In fact, you may feel tingly all over, and like you just might pass out…

Well, lack of nicotine causes this as well. Welcome to low blood sugar. When you smoke (or chew, whatever), it’s normal to not feel hungry and miss a meal. You don’t notice your blood sugar plummeting because you have nicotine to pick you up. When your nicotine levels are depleted and natural hunger strikes, your blood sugar drops to the point of pure fatigue. Now that you no longer smoke, you really feel the effects of not eating. Sip some juice or grab an apple or fruit to pick you back up and keep you from passing out.

Suddenly, your coffee doesn’t seem to wake you up as quickly as it did before. Nicotine, oddly enough (or not), actually speeds the body’s metabolism of caffeine (and foods in general), so when you quit smoking your body’s response to caffeine slows down as well. And you really need that coffee because suddenly, another fun side effect of quitting smoking- you can’t poop!

Why can’t you poop? Sheesh! You’re dizzy, hungry, tired, and now constipated? Well, nicotine is both a natural laxative and a boost to the whole body, speeding everything up beyond normal. Your heart rate, digestion, etc responds to nicotine by going into overdrive, so when you quit smoking, well, your digestion slows down as well. For a few weeks, you’ll notice lots of gas and constipation while your body adjusts to functioning without stimulation…drink tons of water and get your fiber to help your bowels out.

But you’re so bloated that you can’t even think about water! You feel like a balloon everywhere- your pants don’t fit! You feel like you’ve gained about a million pounds in like 4 days, and in fact, you’ve actually gained around 5 pounds of water weight. Your body reacts to nicotine withdrawal by retaining as much water as possible, and it’s actually the main culprit behind that nasty connection between quitting smoking and weight gain. Keep that water coming, drink some green tea, and in a few weeks, you’ll go back to your healthy size.

Everything smells and tastes different- well, this is because your sensory organs have started to wake up in response to lacking nicotine. You find yourself with a sweet tooth you’ve never had before, another lovely withdrawal symptom of nicotine. Relax, and enjoy that spoonful of sugar in your coffee (when you normally like your coffee black). Your body is adjusting to its healthier new ways, and you should let it.

Within a few weeks, your body should adjust to the lack of nicotine in your system, and learn to function normally. The dizziness, hunger, bloating, tingling, and sweet cravings will fade, as will the constipation and gas. The brain and body are remarkable things- it only takes a little under a month for the brain to “rewire” itself to almost forget what nicotine is, and the body doesn’t take long to begin functioning as it should. Don’t be afraid to quit smoking, just be aware of the goofy things that happen to your body when you do.

Filed under: ADDICTION, HEALTH Tagged: Blood sugar, Cigarette, Health, Nicotine, Nicotine withdrawal, Smoking cessation, Tobacco smoking, United States

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