as a smoker when you light up a cigarette you take a DEEP breath to pull the smoke into your lungs. When you stop smoking, you stop doing that large inhale, and you no longer exercise your lungs in the same way. the diaphram which is used to expanding several times an hour now lays around.

Some folks fall into a pattern of sighs some deeply after they quit, some cough. It sounds like your lungs are finding a way to adjust to their new life.

Practice deep breathing! yoga breathing. stand tall, draw in air. Expand those lungs. move that diaphram. dont let it get lazy. This time, you are drawing in good O2 and fresh air. I think you will find in the next few weeks that passes.

Just keep breathing! as those little hairs (cilia) grows back on the lining of your nose, lungs, and airway it will start to retrain them selves for what they do naturally.

Im so proud of you!

Yes, excercise those lungs. Breath in deeply, through your nose an blow it out, forcefully, through your mouth. This also helps to loosen any phlegm and cough it out.

On the other hand, I have noticed occasional shortness of breath, that I blame entirely on MS lesions.

Breath in deeply.....breath out forcefully..

It could be an MS thing or it could be what Dejibo said. I have no experience with the smoking, but one of my first sx was breathlessness. My first MS Specialist said it was a sx called air hunger and it is an actual MS thing. It can also be the MS hug squeezing your diaphragm.

Do the breathing exercises and see if it gets better. If not, have it checked out. It could be something else entirely that has nothing to do with MS or smoking. We tend to chalk everything up to being a neurological sx when sometimes it is something else medically wrong.

I've had this sx. My Neuro called it "air hunger", too. If I'm laying down it has to be on my back. Sitting up I have to sometimes raise my arms over my head in order to get a good, deep breath. It seems to be worse at night but that might be because I'm trying to go to sleep and just notice it more.

PF, I just read in a MS magazine, that came in today's mail a good explanation to your question.

The MSQR from CMCS and NARCOMS magazine. It was trying to explain the criteria for getting disability. I was surprised to see that under the whole listing of Fatigue issues, it said, "Fatigue that causes breathlessness" this is one of the criteria for getting MS disability, among other symptoms of course.

So do you think with the hot weather, dust bowl dryness, working hard with the animals and horses..and getting fatigued, could be your problem?

I agree with Dej that it might be the fact you stopped smoking. Your system is trying to reset itself and does some strange things. If really troublesome, call your doc and have him check you out to make sure your lungs are ok.

Hope things get better!

Do you know what quarterly magazine this was from.....what the date is, and where can I find a copy?

I like that explaination, Lady and I have had that type breathlessness with fatigue.