Letters to the Editor
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The answer is obvious ... but sad
Kudos for quitting. Your difficulty appears to be the result of a rare condition known medically as "gootinitus". In layman's terms, it means simply that nearly all parts of your body are now held together solely by a substance known as "nicotine goo".
Little is known about this condition except that ex-smokers often stop generating the precious goo, and soon start losing important body parts. Perhaps a telethon to raise awareness of this disappointing condition would be a good first step. Good luck.
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Sanctimony
I am once again taken by the smugness and sanctimony of so many anti-smokers and non-smokers and former smokers.
I suppose some nonsmokers are self-rightous and sanctimonious, but I feel like much of this gets projected on to non-smokers by overly defensive smokers.
I was the only one in my group of friends who didn't start smoking in college, and every weekend, they would get offended and defensive because I didn't want to join them. They seemed to feel that by not smoking, I was making some sort of judgmental statement about their habit.
Yes, some people lecture to the point that it's annoying -- but most nonsmokers are simply people who don't smoke, and they don't feel particularly self-righteous about it. It's not a moral issue. It's a habit that some have, and others don't. People who are getting really angry (Nonsmokers should shut the fuck up!) are perhaps feeling frustrated that they chose to start smoking while others didn't.
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Skin
Your skin really will get better. It's a greasy mess now because it was dessicated to begin with. Look around at the smokers and non-smokers you know, age 50 or thereabouts and tell me I'm wrong. Older women who smoke look like boots.
Any major life change will lower your immune system for a while. Take care of yourself. This too shall pass.
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The first step towards a healthly body and mind
My process of quitting was much longer and took place over a few years. I was able to quit cold turkey with no patches, gum, or pills but after 6 months I'd gradually get back in the habit after “just having one” when I was out drinking with my friends. I'd smoke for a few months then quit again.
It was really for my health that I stopped smoking all together. I started exercising regularly for the first time in my life and that made the most impact on my ability to quit. It's true that a little motion in your life resulting in a much healthier mindset. Fundamentally smoking is a self destructive act and anyone who smokes is purposely harming themselves. If that isn't a sign of a mental illness than what is? Quitting was one of my first steps in achieving a healthy mind too.
However, after quitting I too had a series of health problems. Like everyone who quit I was coughing up who knows what for some time. My sinuses were constantly bothering me and finally my tonsils had to be removed after a chronic 4 month infection that any number of anti-biotics couldn't cure. In the end quitting helped me really examine my health and take control of my body for the first time in my life. It's been 7 years now, I've lost 80 pounds, and at a check up last week my doctor said I was in great health.
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Oh man, the depression!
This article totally spoke to my experience with quitting. It was like I put them down, drank detox teas, took bubble baths, and felt proud, elated, and hopeful for the future - for about 48 hours. Then, reality set in. My skin broke out horribly. My throat was sore. I was lucky enough not to experience the phlegm, but instead I got gas. I've read that the smoking kills the good bacteria in your digestive tract, and that once you quit your body has to adjust. I don't know whether this is true or not, but I know that I went from a prim and proper, fartless existence to letting em' rip like my alcoholic grandfather. It was mortifying.
The worst part, though, was the depression. Honestly, I think I could have endured all the other symptoms without too much trouble, but the depression was what made me almost lose my quit over and over again. I started to think that a shorter, happier life would be preferable to severely depressed longevity. It was terrible. Eventually it passed...as did the bad skin, bad digestion, sore throat, irritability, and cravings. One day I realized that I hadn't even thought about smoking for a week. That was a good day.
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Screw you for not smoking.
I've never been able to completely stay off cigs. I have 5 a day, still.In addition to many of your same complaints, this last time I quit, I got a nasty case of IBS - what a miserable, miserable outcome. It turns out that nicotine has a direct effect on the GI system and the longer one smokes, the harder it is for the various systems to do without the drug. If I had never had even one (one pack is all it takes to grow the brain receptors for nicotine for those of us easily addicted) I would not have addled my poor insides the way I have. Good luck! You are doing the right thing getting off them early on. D.S.
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Identification
I can completely identify with Ms. Traister's experience. Sure it might be all coincidences, but it sure feels like everything is going wrong BECAUSE of quitting smoking. I recently quit for a couple of months, until the depression, malaise and other nasty coincidences just started stacking up beyond belief - problems with a career change and move to a new city, wife's car dying, etc. Funnily enough, things seem better now that I'm back on the Marlboro Mediums. Sometimes I think it's a trade-off: cigarettes make your life better, but shorter (hmmm... that's a tough one to balance). I'll make another serious attempt to quit when circumstances are better, but I'm not too bent out of shape over starting again.
That said: Keep it up, Ms. Traister, and thanks for sharing your experience.