Lung Pain after quitting smoking and running...???

[jnette]

Question for you...

My son just called . He is going to Navy Boot Camp in two weeks. He thought this would be a good time to quit smoking, as the physical demands on him will be great. He has been preparing himself over the past few months by working out, swimming, and running.

He said he quit smoking 6 days ago (using the patch). He has run twicw since he quit, but said now his lungs have searing pain when running, and due to the pain, he is not able to run half the distance he was before, while he was yet smoking. ?????????????????? Any cause for this? Any suggestions? Ideas as to why this might be happening?

His concern is being able to perform as well as he was BEFORE he quit, as he doesn't want to mess up his performance in Boot Camp. He said he would quit AFTER the rigors of Boot Camp, if necccesary, if this pain hinders him from running as he was able to before he quit...

So... anybody know why he would be having lung pain after quitting ? He needs to know how to proceed... wants to stay smoke free, but not if it's going to hinder his performance in Boot Camp and cause him to fail... he said he'd rather wait then until he's out of Boot Camp and quit then.

Any input on this is greatly appreciated !

Thanx ! :)

[jnette, ASN, EMT-I]

ooops.. sorry Agnus.. just saw yours as well. Gee, I didn't mean for this to turn into a debate.. heh.

He has every intention of quitting, would prefer to quit now... HAS quit already for a week. Thoought it WOULD improve his peformance until the pain hindered his running ability... he's hoping/wondering if this is jsut temporary, and for how long. If it [passes in a week or two, he says that's fine. But if it screws up hwat he needs to do in BC to then qualify for diver training (which he needs to do while in BC) then he'd rather wait 'til he qualifies, gets that over with, and THEN go on and quit. He KNOWS he'll be doing a LOT more physical stuff after BC... but it's this qualifying right now that concerns him.. getting over this one hurdle in BC. He wants to eventually go on and get into aviation with the ultimate goal of Fighter Pilot, and knows full well that smoking is OUT of the question. So that is settled... I'm simply asking how long the "lung cleaning process/pain might last. He' s only smoked for about 5 years.. about a half a pack a day. SO just asking, guys.. not arguing the wisdom of quitting.