Thanks everyone for the advice. It turns out my Grave's Disease is no longer in remission and that's what the majority of my symptoms are from. Most likely, the stress on my body from quitting either caused it to come back, or it's been back but wasn't bad enough to have symptoms until I quit smoking. I'm temporarily on beta blockers to slow down my heartbeat since I can't start the meds for it until I get new scans and more bloodwork next week. They are helping quite a bit. I'm still dizzy/lightheaded, but I think that's because the beta blockers put my blood pressure on the low side (my blood pressure is normal w/o the blockers, so I'm sure that's why). I still have some of the other symptoms also, but they're minor. The major symptoms are gone. The best part is I can sleep now since my heart rate is much more normal!
Funny thing....I have a friend who's told me since Day 4 that none of my symptoms are from quitting smoking. Not the constant throat clearing (which is not gone but is much better now), not the sinus congestion I had in the beginning, not the blood in my nose or throat the first two weeks, etc. He said he had cravings when he quit but that was it because quitting doesn't cause anything else. I've tried to explain that while I've since found my major symptoms are from Grave's, all the sinus issues I had in the beginning were from quitting (and the throat clearing). I also told him the first time I was diagnosed w/Grave's was right after I quit smoking a previous time so I bet the stress of quitting is what kicked it off, or all the chemicals being taken away after my body was used to having them to function properly caused it, something like that. He still doesn't buy it. He really believes there are no physical issues with quitting other than having cravings and being irritable for a few weeks. He said he spoke with his Dr. when he quit and his Dr. never mentioned he should expect anything other than mood swings. I wonder if the medical community downplays the effects of quitting smoking because they're afraid if more people knew what could happen (temporarily), they would be less inclined to quit? The effects are temporary, so it shouldn't stop people, but I'm sure it would stop some from attempting to quit. Oddly enough, I haven't had the grossest part of quitting, the coughing/hacking up stuff. Every now and then, less than daily, I'll cough up a little thick, clear mucus, but that's it.
