Quit smoking and GBS?

Awbarrey,

I would guess most people that have quit smoking have done it after after GBS. I swore that if I ever got off that vent and was able to breath on my own again I would not ever take another puff. Not being able to breath really got my attention! That was 20 years ago and I still do not smoke…

GB

Good morning.
I also quit smoking several months before I got GBS makes me wonder ??????

me to smoked for 50 yrs quit 6 moths before i got gbs hmmmmmmm.gg

Ten years! I recall while in the hospital bed “If only I could walk I could get to the bathroom and have a smoke” LOL The good old days. In fact, I proudly say the not smoking thing is the only positive from my whole GBS experience, and that helps me from not smoking!

Rocker,

I totally agree!

GB

I quit 11 days before gbs

I quit 4 months before GBS

It is really strange to have so many respond this quickly about getting GBS so soon after quitting smoking. It reminds me of my father who quite smoking at age 60 & was so proud of it. He died two years later of a heart attack & his GP of many years said that he should not have quit smoking after all of those years (he had started at age 13.) He said it was too much of a shock to his system. That was 30 years ago now, but does anyone believe that the doctor could have been right?

BTW I quit cold turkey when I got CIDP, easy to do when one cannot use their hands. It lasted 3 years, never really missed it, but then I started again two years ago. Really a stupid thing to do, but I had gained sooo much weight while on steroids & also believed it would help my foot pain. It did help me with the weight loss & I was finally able to bear weight on my feet again, but I think the real reason I started again was because I could. I could not walk, or drive, or read (cataracts), or clean, etc. but I could smoke. Am I sorry? Probably, but I guess I really needed it at the time. But then I never had the breathing problems like so many of you who had GS…

i had my last smoke on my way to the hospital although i had no idea it would be my last. i was smoking 3 pks. a day at the time. i asked for the patch since my hubby would not take me down for a smoke and i was completely satisfied. when i went home i knew the proof would be in the pudding as soon as i smelled the one i knew he would lite up. to my total amazment it didnt bother me one bit. it has been two years and i still have no affect being around it or smelling them or anything and i dont miss them. it is one of the good things that came from the gbs. i dont think i could afford them and my meds since they went up a dollar a pack in tx.
babara

Still smoking… but I was never vented.

when I came to the hospital, but 3 months later I started again, when I could use my hands again,very stupid.

I quit 1 month before I got sick. My son ask me once if I thought quiting caused some sort of shock to my system. You never know! I sure had a time with the quitting!

I’ve never been a smoker, but I find this thread very interesting. I’d never thought about the negative effects that stopping smoking might have on the body… You always hear about the dangers of smoking, but never about the dangers of quitting. I guess maybe there is a right way and a wrong way to do it?

My husband smoked for ten years and then one day quit cold turkey. He was miserable for about a week, said he felt like he was about to die from the withdrawal. Then he was fine. But clearly it was very very stressful to his system.

Did you guys who got GBS within months of stopping smoking quit cold turkey, or did you taper off? I’m just curious!

I too was a smoker…smoking anywhere from no ciggies for a few years or stopping for a month. I only smoked one brand and did not borrow from anyone another brand. Mine had to be menthal. I would smoke any where from no ciggies a day to one pack. I felt it kept my sinus open and stopped them from post nasal drip. Maybe it did! I went cold turkey and did not even miss it till the Doctor asked me if I was going to give up smoking and I nodded YES. I never had another ciggy….been almost 19 months. I have been reading that 50 percent of the people that come down with GBS had a Upper Respiratory Infection right before getting GBS. I am sure that is true with me but the ciggies masked the degree of just how ill I was.

Now I am not able to do alot of the things I like without lung discomfort if it is foggy, traffic polution or everyone is mowing their lawns, allergy season alerts are not necessary I notice my lungs are tight when I am exposed to any of these things. Campfire smoke or burning leaves has to be the worse. Recently with all the forrest or wild fires our air has not been the best. I can notice it. I know I could use the A/C but I don’t enjoy it. I love to hear the birds and the kids playing and swimming. I never noticed before but when I pass a person that smokes I can feel my chest tighten from just that odor. I actually was not for the smoking ban in our area in public places but I can see what an effect it has on me now. Second hand smoke is terrible. I am now sorry for all the discomfort I caused to others by smoking!

I have made it 2 mo. so far hoping I never pick the blasted things up again. I am 55 and smoked for 30 years. Was on a vent and in hospital for almost 6 weeks of those 2 mo. I still get some awful big urges to smoke now and then but will try and not pick em up.

Joseph

I too quit 2 months before. Very interesting!!! It’s been 5 years and whenever I pick up a smoke it causes more nerve pain in my feet and legs???? Good reason to stay away from them.

Take the rest of the day off,

Rob

I was reading a thread about quitting smoking and GBS. I quit smoking about a month before onset as well. Despite smoking, I really took good care of myself, exercised and basically was a picture of health. When I started with symptoms of GBS my first thought was lung cancer had invaded my spine, etc. I am shocked how many posts there are after quitting. I used a new medicine to quit successfully but wonder what the connection could be? Wow, I am just shocked.

You guys are all great too. It seems when I get a little frustrated with myself and the lack of progress, I only have to read through here a little bit and see you guys years out and still making little bits of progress. That is encouraging so, even so I don’t post a lot, I appreciate it! Gabe

[QUOTE=gab111] I used a new medicine to quit successfully but wonder what the connection could be? Wow, I am just shocked[/QUOTE]

Hey Gabe,

What new medicine did you use? Very curious to hear about your experience as I really need to quit. My workplace is going smokefree next week 😮

Are we able to say the name of the med?

Actually now that I am thinking about it, there are a ton of meds mentioned on here. It is Chantix. I am an RN, and was a closet smoker. No one knew I smoked. That’s good and bad because I couldn’t use my friends for support. This drug blocks the pleasure you get from nicotine. And you could smoke the first week taking it. You set a quit date, and by then the smokes were basically worthless and I quit. The first day was very hard, I did a lot of deep breathing. But each day was easier and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. So ending up with GBS a month later was a bummer, but I never even thought about picking up a cig again even with all of this going on.

I quit smoking a year and a half before GBS which included the vent. I had smoked for 40 years plus.

Gabrielle,
I enjoyed reading your posts. I moved my belongings to PA and planned to go back to Tampa to teach last year. I felt my foot going numb from all the stress of moving in June. Once I got to PA the GBS continued coming but I didn’t think I would get it a second time. My doctor in Tampa calmly said that they have Plasma Pharesis for it now – I had had it 20 years previously but a very mild case. I wondered what would have happened differently to me had I stayed in Tampa. Would my treatment have been different than in this small town of 15,000 that I am currently stuck in? I did not get IVIG either. In fact, I stayed at home the whole time with the same symptoms that you had. ALone. I won’t go into it since my previous posts explain that.
I just wanted to thank you for writing because I see now that had I had it in Tampa, it wouldn’t have been much different. I lived across the street from the hospital in Town N Country. I also was in real estate for a short time and then taught in the Hills. Cty schools for 15 years. I had to take last year off and used my sick days. I did n’t walk for at least four months. Even now I am walking tentatively. The school district would give me another year off and hold my job IF I HAD A DIFFERENT ILLNESS TO PUT DOWN – signed of course by a FL doctor. Can you believe that? GBS wasn’t enough – I needed a different disease – couldn’t take a second year with the same illness. So I was forced to retire or get terminated. I retired. I miss Tampa so much. Just hearing you’re from there made me feel better. My town doesn’t have even have a cab service and everyone of my friends left me when I got sick. WHen I am well, I hope to go back to Tampa. Is the heat making your GBS worse?

Hi Carolyn,

I know where you lived in Tampa, and in fact I lived in PA for a couple of years. I loved it up there! I know I have read that you can get GBS a second time, and I am hoping that I won’t fall into that category. No I didn’t get IVIG and asked the neuro last week about why we didn’t do it now. He said it would fry my nerves at this point. And understanding what I do now, it wouldn’t be effective. I was very frustrated and angry up until I had a change in my walking a couple of weeks ago. I remember as all of this was evolving telling him “whatever has happened, has happened”. He asked if I wanted an antidepressant, and the family practitioner asked the same thing. I very politely told both of them that I was a picture of health 3 weeks ago, I can now barely move, I feel like I am having trouble breathing, and if I was depressed and wanted a pill I would have asked for it. Both were apologetic after we did the spinal tap which showed, gee whiz, you have GBS. I am more and more convinced that the physicians downplay a “mild” case of GBS. I am in my fifth month of trying to get my life in order, I don’t think that is mild. I am still handicapped, and every time he says “don’t worry, it will go away” I feel like he doesn’t think it is a big deal. As far as the heat and GBS, I am working so hard on trying to walk straight, etc I don’t care if I am hot, but I do think it sucks the last bit of life out my muscles. I have a pool which I get into after walking and the cool water feels great. Where are you in PA? Gabrielle

I quit a little over 3 years before GBS. I used a hypnotist and haven’t restarted. I also did not require a vent.

I stoped smoking when I had the first symtoms of GBS and stay that way in 3 months then I got bored at the rehab center and whent down where all the fun people was staying and started again, then the doc at the rehab gave me a med that was going to stop me, it name is Champix, and it worked but it also increasted my symtoms I got all numb and could hardly walk, so I dont think that is right med for people with GBS at least when it is recovering.

Helga, Champix and Chantix are the same medication. I am very curious if there is any connection to the GBS. And if you had those side effects with numbness, etc. I wouldn’t take it either. Good luck to you! I have read through several of your posts…Gabrielle

Gabrielle,
I have sent you a private message where you can find it at the top right corner…..I sent it privately since this thread has to do with smoking and the message doesn’t.