Medical Symptoms of Tobacco Cessation

Medical symptoms of tobacco cessation


The following are all symptoms of tobacco smoking withdrawal. They may affect quitters irrespective of the quitting method, and have no relation to the quit method, or lack of one, or alternatives switched to.

1. Mouth Ulcers
The Quit Ulcers are a common symptom of tobacco withdrawal, affecting many quitters. The ulcers can be very painful, but there are effective topical treatment gels. It has been suggested that high-dose vitamin therapy may also be effective.

The ulcers or gum inflammation may start a week or more after tobacco cessation. They generally clear up after a few days or weeks.

It may be possible that nicotine being absorbed through the mouth can also exacerbate this, as folks using nicotine gum have experienced these mouth sores although it would need to be shown that those using nic skin patches did not suffer so commonly. 

It may be that after ecig use, at first, drinking something to rinse the mouth out may help. This will get the nic (or perhaps flavorings or other materials) out of your mouth and not give it a chance to sit there and irritate your mouth tissues and make any sore worse, if this is in fact an issue. 

Note
Note that PG is a bactericide and virucide, and used medically for that purpose, so that it is more likely to improve this type of symptom than worsen it. It is unlikely that ecig vapor from an e-liquid with PG in will affect the Quit Ulcers in any way except beneficially. 

However: Cinnamon flavoring in an ecig refill is known to cause or exacerbate this problem in some people.

2. The Quit Zits
A common symptom of tobacco withdrawal is skin eruption, in the form of spots through to severe acne even in those who never experienced it when young. The 'quit zits' have no relation to ecigarette use.

The bad news is that in some cases these eruptions last for months, for some who successfully stop smoking cigarettes (whether or not e-cigarettes are used). There has been some experimentation to see if various e-liquid ingredients may exacerbate the condition (such as PG or flavorings), as some e-cig users have questioned this, but without any solid results.

3. Headache, Nausea, Shakiness
These, together with irritability, inability to concentrate, poor sleep, depression and so on, are common nicotine withdrawal symptoms. If you are using a low-strength refill liquid and not absorbing as much nicotine as when you normally smoked, you can experience these withdrawal symptoms, which typically last only a few days to a week. Perhaps the use of a higher nic strength refill liquid might be a good idea temporarily, reducing the strength as needed. 

4. Coughing
Probably the most common symptom of tobacco smoking cessation, along with sputum / phlegm production. The severity and duration may depend on how heavy a smoker you were before switching, and how many cigarettes are smoked while transitioning to vaping. 

5. Sputum, Phlegm
When quitting smoking, with or without using e-cigs, people find that their body starts coughing up all the junk they've been putting in - tars and other materials coating the surface of the lungs. This material is coughed up in the form of phlegm / sputum.

Some folks find they start coughing up this junk within a week or two - some faster. The duration will vary, but most people were finding that the morning cough went away in the first week and the rest of the junk came up within the first month - but it's very common.

6. Heartburn, acid reflux
Some people have reported heartburn / acid reflux symptoms. This reported by those quitting who don't use an ecig, so it seems to be an occasional symptom of quitting. It is reported to go away eventually. 

There is a possibility that swallowed nicotine may cause or worsen this condition.

Nicotine overdose is also implicated according to some reports - there is a hypothesis that nicotine causes the muscular valve at the top of the stomach to relax, in some people. NRT gum users are reported to see this issue more than others, so swallowed nicotine may be implicated.

One way to live with it is to use Gaviscon liquid, an OTC (over the counter) med that coats the gullet and stops the acid burning. It's far more effective than pills for some people. Or, see your doctor and discuss proton pump inhibitor (antacid) meds - which is probably the best course of action.

7. Muscle Cramps and Aches
Some people report increased muscle pains. One theory is that the PG in eliquid breaks down into lactic acid, which needs to be eliminated from the body. 

Increasing water intake usually addresses this problem, whatever its cause. Not reported as much when using VG(vegetable glycerin) mixtures, but this is more than likely due to statistical probability since VG users are only a tiny number of total ecigarette users. 

Note
The possibility of exacerbation due to ecig use is not proven. The problem with attributing muscle pains to lactic acid build-up caused in some way by ecigs is that all normal muscular lactic acid accumulation is topical, that is, if you work a muscle hard then that muscle alone accumulates lactic acid. Muscles are flushed out by natural processes and all lactic acid leaves via flushing, it is not possible for it to be introduced into a muscle even if that muscle is surrounded by others containing lactic acid. This is likely to be a tobacco withdrawal symptom. 

8. Night Sweats
Some report night sweats, it is not known if this is a tobacco withdrawal symptom or not. 

It has been reported that an intolerance to PG may be implicated but this is not proven. A change to VG only use and the immediate cessation of night sweats would confirm it but this is not reported.

9. Diarrhea 
Again, this may be a tobacco withdrawal symptom although it has been claimed that intolerance to PG might be the cause. Once again, a switch to VG accompanied by the immediate cessation of diarrhea would confirm it.

10. Hiccups 
Hiccups are reported to be a symptom of nicotine OD, for some people. Because of this, and their common occurrence, they are also known as the 'niccups'. The idea that they may result from an alternative delivery path for the nicotine, via the mouth or gullet (ie swallowing it), is attractive to some people.

Hiccups are reported to be experienced by smokers and tobacco users, and are said to be more common among those who use chewing tobacco, Snus, or dissolvable tobacco tablets. It is further suggested that they swallow tobacco juice and hiccups may result. They are not common among pipe and cigar smokers, who neither swallow nor inhale smoke, or users of nasal snuff. 

11. Bleeding gums 
A period of time when the gums bleed has been reported as an occasional symptom of quitting tobacco. Apparently dentists have confirmed this. It's also a symptom of vitamin C deficiency, which is not uncommon with a modern diet, so it may be wise to take vit C supplements in order to cover that possibility.

There is a modern trend to take aspirin daily for many years - decades, for some people. If you habitually take aspirin then it may be worth asking your doctor if this might be implicated. A combination of tobacco cessation and chronic aspirin ingestion seems to occur in many reports of bleeding gums. A positive note is that the bleeding apparently ceases as the tobacco cessation event recedes into the past.

12. Thyroid issues when quitting tobacco
 There is discussion currently among the medical community about possible thyroid problems occurring after smoking cessation. It is not known how widespread this is or how serious. The appearance of thyroid problems soon after quitting is statistically higher than should occur, so there is a question whether smoking suppresses the symptoms of thyroid disease or whether quitting triggers it, or indeed if smoking causes or exacerbates it. This is uncommon so not a major issue for worry. Apparently weight gain or weight loss can be minor effects experienced by many, related to thyroid activity. This whole area is not fully understood so you should not read anything into this commentary, instead please ask your doctor.