Not all smokers manage to give up their bad habit easily and without problems. Nicotine stimulates metabolic processes and the functioning of the nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory organs and cardiovascular system.

Therefore, when giving up tobacco, those who are weaned from independent effective activities the body has difficulty adjusting to its usual mode of operation and experiences serious discomfort. In everyday life this is called “withdrawal”, and experts call it withdrawal syndrome. How can you get through this unpleasant period easier and not smoke again?

What is withdrawal syndrome?

« Withdrawal syndrome- the result of what for many years smoking, nicotine becomes a natural stimulant of many processes in the human body,” says the deputy chief physician of the 83rd clinical hospital FMBA of Russia, pulmonologist Alexander Averyanov, “that is, it is fully included in the metabolism and becomes its integral part.”

Therefore, the symptoms experienced by a person who quits smoking are more likely to resemble physical illness. What are the main problems and how to deal with them?

Heart and blood vessels

Nicotine speeds up heart rate and constricts blood vessels. As a result, it increases blood pressure and it seems that blood flow is improving due to vascular spasms.

Therefore, a person who has stopped smoking will experience symptoms of poor circulation: weakness, headaches, dizziness, loss of performance.

How to cope?
Caffeine-containing products, which also increase blood pressure, can help cope with this condition. However, it is important not to overdo it with caffeine, because it acts in almost the same way as nicotine - it constricts blood vessels and stimulates the heart. So some coffee - up to two cups per day- can be afforded as a therapeutic agent.

Metabolism

Nicotine stimulates metabolic processes. “Why does weight gain begin after quitting smoking? - asks Averyanov. “The body now lacks nicotine, as a stimulant of metabolic processes.”

Often a person who quits smoking begins to eat a lot, “eating” discomfort from nicotine withdrawal. This partly helps to cope with the desire to smoke, but since the metabolism is already slow, weight gain occurs very quickly.

How to cope?
Those who quit smoking should carefully monitor their diet - quit for a while fast carbohydrates, fatty foods, alcoholic drinks and spicy foods that stimulate appetite.

Avoid appearance extra pounds will help increase in physical activity. Movement, by the way, is a good way to distract from obsessive thoughts about a cigarette.

Gastrointestinal tract

Nicotine activates intestinal activity. During smoking, the intestines become accustomed to additional chemical stimulation and stops working effectively on its own. Once nicotine is no longer regularly supplied to the body, constipation may develop for several weeks or even months. Especially if you have a penchant for it.

How to cope?
Eat more foods rich in gut-boosting fiber, such as whole grains. Include fermented milk products and dried fruits in your diet, which, by the way, can curb the desire to smoke. Be sure to consult your doctor if intestinal problems persist for a long time.

Respiratory organs

“If smoking has already caused respiratory diseases - bronchitis or chronic obstructive disease lungs (COPD), says Averyanov, “parting with addiction can provoke a deterioration in their condition.”

Tobacco smoke increases the removal of mucus from the lungs through the bronchi. A smoker produces much more phlegm due to irritation respiratory tract smoke - this is why the first cigarette provokes active coughing. When smoking stops, stimulation of the bronchi also ends. Therefore the person difficulty coughing up phlegm, which continues to form during bronchitis or COPD.

How to cope?
Be patient. Depending on individual reactions, the period may last up to several months. During it it costs move a lot and actively to make breathing deeper and stimulate the cleansing of the bronchi naturally.

If the discomfort persists, consult a pulmonologist. The specialist can prescribe special drugs, which cleanse the bronchi and lungs - this will make the process easier for yourself.

Conclusion: when quitting smoking may appear unpleasant symptoms from the most different systems body, but they can be dealt with quite easily. And the benefit of quitting smoking is risk reduction serious illnesses and improved well-being - significantly outweighs the temporary inconvenience.

A smoker can make a phone call 8-800-200-0-200 (the call is free for residents of Russia), say that he needs help in quitting smoking, and he will be switched to the specialists of the Advisory Call Center for Help in Quitting Tobacco Consumption (CTC). If all KTC specialists are busy at this moment, his phone number will be sent to KTC by email, and they will call him back within 1-3 days.

Psychologists and doctors provide counseling to those who contact the CTC. Psychologists help prepare for the day of quitting smoking, help find replacements for smoking rituals, and, together with the applicant, determine optimal ways overcoming addiction, will support you in difficult moments of struggle with nicotine addiction. Doctors will advise on the most effective therapeutic methods smoking cessation, will give advice to patients with various diseases about how best to prepare for quitting smoking, taking into account existing health problems.

Smoker withdrawal syndrome is a very common phenomenon. Anyone who decides to quit their bad habit, is faced with this. The syndrome manifests itself during the period of quitting smoking due to addiction to active substance nicotine.

How does smoker withdrawal syndrome occur?

Nicotine withdrawal syndrome, or as it is also called withdrawal syndrome, appears within a couple of hours after the last cigarette has been smoked. It is impossible to specify exactly the time frame for which the illness will last, because it is very individual and depends on how many cigarettes a person is used to smoking and what type of cigarette he smokes. physical condition. Therefore, the period of withdrawal symptoms when quitting smoking can range from several weeks to several months.

The symptoms of smoker withdrawal syndrome are known to many cigarette lovers. If for some reason for a long time there was no opportunity to smoke, every smoker experienced something similar:

1. cough;
2. dyspnea;
3. feeling tired and unwell;
4. feeling sick or increased appetite;
5. tachycardia, high or low blood pressure;
6. changes psychological nature: irritability, depression;
7. insomnia;
8. trembling hands and convulsions;
9. craving for cigarettes;
10. sometimes constipation.

It is also worth noting that not only the duration of nicotine withdrawal, but also its manifestations can also be different. For example, some people, having some chronic diseases, have a risk of developing complications.

But don't be afraid of difficulties. For a long time, the body has suffered significant harm from cigarette smoke, nicotine and other harmful substances. There is no need to be afraid of complications and difficulties, you need to overcome them.

Try not to pay too much attention or focus on the symptoms. Be prepared mentally, show willpower and resolutely refuse your bad habit!

What leads to withdrawal symptoms

The discomfort that occurs after quitting smoking is not as significant as after drugs and alcohol. But nicotine also significantly affects the smoker’s body, so its absence makes the smoker suffer. The body has developed an addiction to nicotine and worked in the presence of it, but now it needs to be rebuilt, which causes withdrawal.

It should also be mentioned that nicotine addiction affects not only work internal organs, but also on the psychological state of a person. This contributes to the appearance of cravings. Nicotine promotes the production of adrenaline, thereby improving a person’s mood and well-being, affecting nervous system.

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Thus, the body develops a clear understanding that after smoking a cigarette the condition improves, and the absence of nicotine causes malaise and irritability. This makes you reach for a cigarette again.

We have seen how psychological dependence manifests itself, but the physiological problems are much larger. Tobacco harmful substances, entering the body, stimulate the functioning of all organs; nicotine affects the functioning of the nervous system. That is, all these substances stimulate biochemical processes, without them the body begins to “go on strike” and can no longer perform its functions without help harmful substances contained in a cigarette. This leads a person to smoke so that their body can function normally.

How to eliminate smoker withdrawal syndrome

Smoking withdrawal syndrome can be cured, but first of all, the person himself must want it, try to overcome difficulties and have a firm decision to get rid of the bad habit forever. Most important point in treatment is patience. Doctors recommend distracting yourself, finding something interesting to do, and doing physical exercise and sports. If you have a strong craving for a cigarette, interrupt it with seeds, chewing gum or candy.

If all attempts to quit smoking are in vain, and withdrawal syndrome smoker has severe symptoms, it is better to seek help from a professional. A specialist in this field can prescribe special pills that can replace the nicotine required by the body. Such drugs include Tabex, Brizantine, Adaptol and others. If it has noticeably worsened mental state, you need to take antidepressants. In addition, during such a difficult period of quitting cigarettes, nicotine patches and electronic cigarettes are used.

If chronic diseases appear during smoker withdrawal syndrome, you should immediately consult a doctor. You need to undergo a specialized course of treatment under the supervision of a specialist. Some resort to psychotherapy, which significantly alleviates psychological suffering.

Consequences of smoker withdrawal syndrome

If a smoker's withdrawal syndrome has serious symptoms, then after quitting a bad habit, complications in physiological or psychological state. For example, shortness of breath, cough, frequent illnesses, bronchitis, etc. Often all these problems are accompanied by depression.

Very often, after giving up a bad habit, a person begins to cough. When a person inhales cigarette smoke, a spasm occurs in the lungs - defensive reaction body. When a person quits smoking, the spasm goes away and the bronchi open, trying to clear themselves of harmful substances. This contributes to the appearance of cough.

In addition, it is known that infections get into the dilated bronchi much more often, and if the immune system is weakened after prolonged smoking, this happens even more easily. This is why bronchitis and respiratory diseases are common among smokers.

Sometimes smoker withdrawal symptoms can lead to small ulcers in the mouth. This occurs due to poor immunity in this part of the body due to harmful influences tobacco smoke. During smoking, nicotine plays the role of an antiseptic, so the smoker does not develop ulcers. But as soon as nicotine stops entering the oral cavity after quitting the addiction, infections can appear.

It’s not easy psychologically after quitting smoking. Depression, irritability, fatigue, Bad mood- all this accompanies the first time after eliminating a bad habit due to the fact that adrenaline ceases to be produced with the help of nicotine, the access of which to the body has ceased.

Sometimes the so-called withdrawal syndrome develops into substitution syndrome. That is, a person tries to replace one bad habit with another. For example, having given up cigarettes, a former smoker can switch to food that improves mood and distracts from illness, helping to forget about discomfort at least for a while.

Pseudo-withdrawal syndrome

This condition occurs when the usual schedule or duration of smoking is disrupted. The symptoms accompanying this phenomenon are basically the same as those of smoker withdrawal syndrome. In such a situation, it is recommended to drink a glass cool water, maybe with some soothing herbs, make a couple physical exercise or relax. If these tips do not help and the body continues to demand a cigarette, then all that remains is to make a choice: smoke or finally give up the bad habit.

How long does smoker withdrawal last?

The more smoking experience a person has, the more difficult it is to get rid of the addiction, which means the longer the period of the syndrome will last. But don't forget about self-hypnosis. If you set yourself up correctly, you will enlist the support of loved ones and use willpower and strong desire, this process will take place as quickly and painlessly as possible.

You can try to fight your bad habit on your own or cope with your illness with help. special drugs that reduce suffering. But still, the main thing in all this is a great desire and desire, then you will definitely succeed!

A little about secrets..

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world. According to statistics, every third person on the planet is diagnosed with vegetative-vascular dystonia (VSD). VSD includes a number of diseases manifested by disruption of the cardiovascular system and autonomic nervous system. Smoking is one of the factors influencing the course of VSD.

How smoking affects the heart and blood vessels

Cigarette smoke is harmful; in addition to nicotine, it contains a number of chemicals. Among them is carbon monoxide (CO2). In the lungs, carbon monoxide enters the blood instead of oxygen, causing oxygen starvation body. Under the influence of CO2, the thickness (clotting) of blood increases, blood clots form, blood vessels lose elasticity and appear VSD symptoms. When a blood clot breaks off, it occurs acute disorder blood circulation - stroke or myocardial infarction.
4 components of cigarette smoke:

• Nicotine.
• Arsenic.
• Formaldehyde.
• Carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide).

Nicotine causes vasospasm. During smoking, the blood vessels constrict and relax after a few minutes. Heavy smokers, especially those who smoke during VSD, often experience obliteration of the vessel, when it slams shut during a spasm and no longer opens. When obliteration of the vessels of the fingers or toes occurs, tissue death begins due to impaired circulation, which, without urgent amputation, ends in progressive gangrene.
This happened to the famous Soviet actor Pavel Borisovich Luspekayev, who was heavy smoker. During the filming of the film “White Sun of the Desert,” he suffered from obliteration of blood vessels in his left leg, which was amputated under the groin due to delay. He finished the film while already disabled. Luspekayev did not quit smoking and soon the blood vessels “slammed shut” right leg. The actor did not allow the amputation to be carried out on time; he died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
A smoker's heart rate is increased to 90 beats per minute. Due to this load, the heart and blood vessels quickly wear out. Signs of VSD begin to appear: hypertension, tachycardia, heart rate increases to 140-150 beats.

Is smoking a cause of VSD?

Vegetative-vascular dystonia is not a disease, but includes a number of symptoms of a physical and psycho-emotional state. Having started smoking, a person begins to notice signs of diseases that he had not seen before:

• Shortness of breath.
• Irritation.
• Increased heart rate.
• Panic attacks.
• Coldness, tingling fingers.

These signals are signs of vegetative-vascular dystonia and the beginning serious illnesses. Smoking with VSD contributes to the development of cardiovascular diseases.

Common emotional features of smoking and VSD

Against the background of smoking cessation, an exacerbation of VSD symptoms is possible. Over the course of several years, a number of chemical compounds, which were artificial stimulants of the functioning of organs and systems of the body. During smoking withdrawal, the body is deprived of stimulants and tries to compensate for their lack, thereby worsening the person’s well-being.

Common emotional features of smoking withdrawal and VSD:

• Decreased attention.
• Difficulty sleeping.
• Depression.
• Irritability.

At the same time, the main intrusive thought- light a cigarette. There is often a feeling of extreme hunger. This is how the body tries to return or compensate for nicotine and other stimulants.

According to statistics, the physical symptoms of VSD that appear after quitting smoking disappear within 7-10 days.
Psycho-emotional signs of VSD take much longer to resolve.

How to quit without harming yourself

To overcome the bad habit of smoking, you first need a psychological attitude. The thought “I quit smoking” should be categorical and categorical. You need to fuel this thought in every possible way, doing everything possible so that this mood does not pass.
There are a number of nicotine-containing drugs that alleviate the symptoms of VSD when quitting smoking - lozenges, chewing gum, tablets, patches...
In the presence of chronic diseases, vascular pathologies, vegetative-vascular dystonia or health complaints, you need to consult a doctor who will prescribe an examination and supportive therapy. Reception is strictly prohibited medications not prescribed by a doctor! What can help someone else can help you best case scenario, a waste of money. There are drugs that are incompatible with each other.

If symptoms of vegetative-vascular dystonia appear after quitting smoking, the problem will most likely be resolved within a month. Often, such symptoms have a psychological origin; you can get rid of them by distracting yourself with something pleasant and joyful.
Basic recommendations when quitting smoking:
Drink a lot clean water during the day. Water removes toxins from the body and thins the blood. Coffee and alcohol increase the need for nicotine and reduce the level of self-control.
Physical exercise, walking fresh air. Physical activity strengthens blood vessels, stimulates the production of hormones that can replace the feeling of “pleasure” that the body received when smoking. Physical activity fresh air has a positive effect on sleep and reduces the manifestation of VSD.
Get proper rest, sleep 6-8 hours. This time is necessary for the body to recover stressful situation, signs of VSD decreased.
Avoid smokers. Often, for all efforts to come to naught, it is enough to smoke passively, inhaling smoke from a nearby smoker.
VSD and smoking are a dangerous combination. To improve your health, it is simply vital to overcome addiction. To forget about VSD, learn to enjoy life, communication and work; set goals for yourself, achieve them, love yourself and take care.

Experienced smokers, when quitting smoking, experience a withdrawal syndrome that is reminiscent of a drug addict's withdrawal symptoms when they do not receive the next drug dose.

Nicotine withdrawal syndrome is a failure of some organic systems, provoked by the absence (reduction) of a dose psychoactive substances, which with constant intake become addictive. In most cases, withdrawal syndrome manifests itself in the nervous system, but the functions of the urinary and digestive organs.

After quitting smoking, health problems depend on the person’s individual reaction, smoking history, and history of chronic diseases.

The essence of withdrawal symptoms when quitting smoking

After quitting smoking, experienced smokers - and sometimes even those who have been smoking for 2-3 years - in most cases develop health problems. Tobacco causes the same psychological and physiological addiction as alcohol and drugs.

In the first days "healthy lifestyle" a strong painful desire to smoke appears, and due to the inability to do this, the following arise: irritability, anxiety, headache, inability to concentrate, insomnia, dizziness, bad taste in the mouth, cramps...

This is due to the fact that tobacco alkaloids - in particular nicotine - entering the bloodstream stimulated the production of dopamine, the pleasure hormone. A reflex developed: if you lit a cigarette, you enjoyed it. A psychological dependence has formed, and the nervous system reacts quite negatively to the cessation of constant stimulation of the pleasure center in the brain.

Nicotine affects not only the central nervous system, but also the peripheral one, and is involved in all processes that occur in the body. Get excited endocrine glands– including the pituitary gland, metabolic processes accelerate, the secretory functions of the digestive organs change, and blood vessels dilate.

Symptoms of quitting smoking

Physiological manifestations after quitting smoking can be quite serious:

• hand trembling;
• convulsions;
• blood pressure surges;
• the appearance of shortness of breath;
• indigestion.

Withdrawal syndrome can be quite severe - all organic systems can fail at the same time. The body experiences stress, which causes quite serious painful symptoms– in the first days of quitting smoking, the immune status decreases significantly.

At this stage, there is an increased susceptibility to pathogenic flora of all types - ulcers appear in the mouth, you can get ARVI, which will give complications to respiratory organs. Constantly occur: nasal congestion, cough.

It would seem that it should be the other way around. Load on respiratory system decreases, and during the adaptation period there should be a sharp improvement - the smoker’s cough and shortness of breath should disappear, but the opposite happens. Why?

The side effects of smoking are persistent spasm of blood vessels and bronchioles, the body defends itself, tries to protect itself from damage. When you give up a bad habit, the body relaxes, the spasm is relieved, and “ full breasts“We’re not used to breathing – our immunity has temporarily decreased. Until the secretory function stabilizes, diseases will follow one after another.

On the part of the digestive organs, when quitting smoking, symptoms also appear. side effects. In smokers, acetylcholine receptors are responsible for intestinal motility, gradually lose their sensitivity. Now contractions of smooth muscles also become dependent on the supply of nicotine. In its absence, intestinal tone decreases, and disorders begin - severe constipation or diarrhea.

Interestingly, weight gain in former smokers after quitting a bad habit is caused not so much by recovery secretory function stomach and pancreas and taste buds– a considerable amount of time must pass before they stabilize, just like depression.

Depression is caused by the lack of pleasant moments associated with smoking and constant physical discomfort and malaise. In order to somehow alleviate their condition, to get short-term pleasure, they begin to “eat up” their bad mood. The reflex arises again: something tasty - the production of dopamine. A smoker replaces one addiction with another. While withdrawal symptoms last, you can improve significantly.

Is it possible to quit smoking without stressing the body or at least speed up the adaptation period?

How to ease the consequences of quitting smoking?

You can get up on Monday, throw a pack of cigarettes in the trash and vow to yourself to “never touch” tobacco. This may well be possible for those who are strong in spirit and have excellent health - it has not yet been destroyed by a long-term addiction to smoking. However, even for these people, quitting smoking will cause consequences - physical and psychological discomfort.

How smoking withdrawal syndrome will manifest itself and how long it will last largely depends on the person himself. To reduce symptoms in those who quit smoking, you should tune in psychologically.

If you have a history of chronic diseases - especially at the acute stage - then when quitting smoking it is advisable to be under medical supervision. Most needed medical care suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

In this case, it is not recommended to suddenly quit smoking. It is necessary to first gradually reduce the dose, then use aids to help the body adapt to a new state - nicotine patches, special chewing gum and the like. Transfusion therapy may be required - a similar method of cleansing the body is used to relieve alcohol intoxication.

Currently, a method of using nicotinic receptor antagonists has emerged. These measures help restore organic functions and eliminate withdrawal symptoms in just a few days. Get rid of psychological dependence you still have to do it yourself.

To improve the condition, the following measures are being taken:

1. introduce medicines To relieve withdrawal symptoms, antidepressants, tranquilizers, and sedatives are prescribed.
2. To eliminate the symptoms of psychological dependence, they conduct psychotherapeutic sessions, gather groups of patients with similar problems, and offer alternative activities to help distract from their own experiences.
3. During the adaptation period, great attention must be paid good nutrition– balance the diet, make sure it contains foods with high content useful substances that do not overload the body. The calorie content of the daily menu should be reduced.

If unpleasant symptoms appear when quitting smoking, the deterioration in health is so pronounced that you need to contact official medicine, then we can conclude about the appearance of withdrawal syndrome. In this case, cope with the transition to healthy image life is impossible.

The joint actions of the former smoker, those around him and, perhaps, doctors should be aimed at creating conditions under which conditions are created for quick cleansing the body from toxins, eliminating withdrawal symptoms and restoring psychological comfort. The greater the patient’s desire to get rid of nicotine addiction, the faster the adaptation period will end.

An elegant man is walking down the street and suddenly stops. There is a mask of suffering on the face. And after a few minutes, as if nothing had happened, he continues on his way. What's the matter? In severe pain in the legs.

The pain manifests itself especially sharply when going up, for example up stairs. It forces you to stop or slow down. After 2-4 minutes the pain disappears. But as soon as you hit the road again, she returns. And so it repeats again and again: walking - pain - rest, walking - pain - rest. This is intermittent claudication - a symptom, alas, familiar to many firsthand.

Its cause is insufficient blood supply to the muscles lower limbs, which occurs under load. At this time, the muscles require much more oxygen, but the arteries in the legs cannot cope with their work. Oxygen is not supplied in the required volume, and the muscles signal this with pain.

Intermittent claudication is a symptom of “related” diseases: obliterating endarteritis and obliterating atherosclerosis of the lower extremities. In both cases, the arteries of the legs are affected. But the reasons leading to this are different.

With obliterating endarteritis, vasospasm occurs. Prolonged spasm leads to changes in the inner wall of the artery, its coarsening and thickening. As a result, the tissues of the limbs suffer. Endarteritis is typical for men aged 20-30 years.

The cause of obliterating atherosclerosis is known to everyone atherosclerotic plaque: a place where cholesterol and other fats accumulate. Atherosclerosis is a systemic process; it affects arteries in many organs. In addition to the lower extremities, its “prey” includes the brain, heart, and kidneys.

An atherosclerotic plaque grows into the lumen of the artery, blood clots form, and the blood supply to the lower extremities sharply deteriorates. Atherosclerosis usually affects large vessels: aorta, iliac arteries, the arteries of the thigh and lower leg branching off from it. The higher the pain is felt, the closer to the heart the affected artery is, the more severe the disease. Atherosclerosis has its own “contingent” - men over 40. The vast majority of them are smokers.

As the blood supply to tissues decreases, the cells left without oxygen die and die - gangrene develops. And then amputation is inevitable - a finger, a foot, part of a leg, a knee, a thigh... It's scary. Especially when you consider that young, able-bodied men become disabled.

Necrosis may develop gradually or may occur suddenly. Sharp pain in the leg indicates that a catastrophe has occurred.

What other manifestations of arterial disease occur?

Chilliness, tingling, and burning sensations occur in the fingertips. The leg turns pale and becomes cold to the touch. The skin of the feet and legs dries and peels. Nail growth slows down, hair falls out on the leg. To clarify the cause of the pain, the doctor will prescribe an examination, including rheovasography, thermography, and ultrasound. One of the most informative methods diagnosis of arterial diseases - angiography - x-ray of vessels after filling them with a special contrast agent. The information obtained will give the doctor the opportunity to determine treatment tactics, and most importantly, decide whether surgery, bypassing the affected arteries and creating a bypass for blood flow.

You can check the condition of your arteries yourself.

Sit cross-legged. If in calf muscle pain appears on the upper leg, and there is numbness and “goosebumps” in the tips of the fingers, which means that not everything is fine with you.

Raise both legs up - the sole of the one with damaged arteries will turn pale. If the skin on your legs has turned ivory-colored, pain is felt not only in the lower leg, but also in the hips, buttocks and lower back, and you, along with other troubles, are at risk of impotence (Leriche syndrome).

How to avoid progression of the disease?

Typically, in such cases, agents that affect blood clotting are used. However, if you continue to smoke during treatment, rest assured, you are wasting your energy and money. Smoking has given rise to your troubles, and if you do not stop, it will complete the destruction of your blood vessels.