Warning, the below text contains disheartening comments - if you're motivated to quit, best not to read down
Uggh, 30 hours now without touching a ciggarete (Though have used patches which keep falling off, and the ocassional gum) this is awful, second time I've tried to quit (been smoking 6 years now)
I've been trying to find sites that offer positive encouragement, i.e. "It'll all be over soon, you're doing a good thing" and almost every site I see says cravings can end in 2 weeks, but sometimes the cravings never end, and have seen testiments of people that have been smoke-free for 10 years and still get cravings.... How disheartening?
Seriously, 30 hours in (including sleep + NRT) and these cravings are really stressing me out, and then I see that the cravings could last for weeks or even months more? That makes me want to just start smoking right now.... The level of excercise I get is okay, I cycle every day for 8 miles and I scubadive, and I don't seem to have much trouble with that... 30-40 years of relative comfort before the problems start kicking in, or up to 10 years of cravings and stress for a few years of physical freedom??
This is horribly disheartening
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Don't be disheartened, if yopu really want to quit smoking it really is not that bad, there are many myths related to quitting on the interenet, the is also a lot of good advise to help you along the way. I think most of us fear the first three days, I'll say it's not that bad, the cravings that people speak of ten years down the road I am sure are not cravings at all, it's ex quitters, thinking to themselves, i'd love a cigerette, nothing more. The important thing is you need to be able to distiguish the difference between craving and thinking, yes when we first quit I think cigerettes are constantly in our minds, as for actually craving them, that really is not that bad, it does pass quicker then you think, take one day at a time, you can beat this. Many have before you and many will after you. Read all you can, yes some is disheartening but thats as bad a it gets.
Warning, the below text contains disheartening comments - if you're motivated to quit, best not to read down
Uggh, 30 hours now without touching a ciggarete (Though have used patches which keep falling off, and the ocassional gum) this is awful, second time I've tried to quit (been smoking 6 years now)
I've been trying to find sites that offer positive encouragement, i.e. "It'll all be over soon, you're doing a good thing" and almost every site I see says cravings can end in 2 weeks, but sometimes the cravings never end, and have seen testiments of people that have been smoke-free for 10 years and still get cravings.... How disheartening?
Seriously, 30 hours in (including sleep + NRT) and these cravings are really stressing me out, and then I see that the cravings could last for weeks or even months more? That makes me want to just start smoking right now.... The level of excercise I get is okay, I cycle every day for 8 miles and I scubadive, and I don't seem to have much trouble with that... 30-40 years of relative comfort before the problems start kicking in, or up to 10 years of cravings and stress for a few years of physical freedom??
This is horribly disheartening
hi Shadow,
welcome to the forum
the cravings are crap in the early days , but they do ease and after a while they turn into thoughts or a fancy,...........im 5month quit and i get a fancy for 1, its like a fancy for some cake or choc! we always fancy the stuff we shouldnt have!
You will have good support here The worse of the nicoteen is out of the body in 72 hours and things start to really improve after that. it can be done i smoked for 34 years in the end up to 40 a day I am almost 6 months 2 week in now. Cant say i crave its more a fancy just mind games just take one day at a time. get passed the first few days keep posting, walk, read, what ever it takes just dont smoke. xxxxx
Shadow, if the cravings really went on for weeks (let alone months!) I can assure you that none of us would be still quit! I am certainly not a martyr and I could have never coped with such a living hell as the one you fear -> but fear no more because that scenario does not exist!
God knows how hard those first few days you are going through now actually were for me too - they were seriously among the hardest days of my life and I have never felt so depressed and lonely and meaningless as during those days, but you try to resist and what is most try to see this pain not as deprivation but as a path to liberation and soon I promise it IS going to be SO much better than you can even start to imagine. It is so not a lie, you just wait and see
Thanks for your encouragement everyone! Still going strong, I've installed a few games for me self to keep myself occupied. A 2 hour long AoE DM did the job, but the cravings interrupted it a bit.. I'm very glad to hear that the stories of 10 year cravings are nothing but ficticious fibs [or outright fabrications].. If they really do subside after 3 days I'm sure I can make it one more day! just one more day, then another day, and another day - one day at a time... I keep thinking to myself every time I get a craving "If I smoke now, then I put myself through extreme hell for 2 days, and a future of bad health for no apparent reason"...
When you look at smoking objectively [logically] it does make sense to just pack it in.. we pay (and indeed pay alot) to die slowly and have a reduced quality of life in the meanwhile.. I'm sure I'll make it through it, and thank everyone for their support and wish luck to everyone else going through the struggle to kick the smokes in the rearend for good
Shadow stick with it my friend, it does get better I smoked for 35 years and have been quit 4months two weeks and in the start of my quit I thought on the 3rd day , if I wake up tomorrow feeling as bad as I do today I'm going to smoke, I went to bed at 6pm couldn't stand my own company. In the morning I knew I felt so much better, I felt the worst was over after that I took one day at a time and drank loads of water with each day you get stronger and stronger, you start to feel dead chuffed and I stopped wishing I could smoke like my friends, now I just feel sorry for them. Freedom from nic is great. I went to London by bus 2 weeks ago and I remembered what I would have been like waiting for a loo break so I could have a cigg, that's not freedom is it? Chin up mate, everyone on here are so supportive and friendly.
Am holding in there.. Day 3 has been full of temptation, and there's been a few times I've come close to just caving in.. but friendly encouragement from the people here and family have kept me going... I sincerely hope tomorrow brings some relief, I don't think I can go another day with cravings that are as strong as they are today, but I will try!
By monday 11:50am You will have done 72 hours the worse of old nic should be gone by then and things will start to improve so not long now. Hows your Mrs doing?
Your doing really well and a good tip is remember these last few day and tell yourself you never want to go back there HEHE. Drink water try and have a nice bath and early night. xxxx
Heh, I've been trying to sleep for as long as I can This morning I woke up, and just kept forcing myself to go back sleep, didn't get up till 12!... I hope I can do the same tonight, if all starts to get alot better by 11:50 tommorow, I will be much happier =)
As for the Mrs, I have no Mrs (Probably a good job too! She'd probably start smoking because of my whining!).. Doing it alone unfortunately, but yeah you're right, I never want to have to go through this again and if I start smoking again and decide to quit in the future, I'll have to go through it all again... and it's my summer vacation from college, so I have the luxury of being socially isolated for 2 months - plenty of time to quit without being in a situation that requires explicit concentration and a cool head
Thanks for your support =) It's helping! Bring on day 3
So sorry Shadow its bigcol99 I think whos quitting with his partner. your doing really good it a bit slow on here today but come tomorrow you will have lots of support. xxx
Hi Shadow well done for resisting the urge to smoke you'd feel SO bad now pal, please do not give in to temptation you're doing so well!! I cried my eyes out on day 3 out of sheer frustration and depression so I know how you feel but hey resisting has always been the best cure, that's for sure. The feeling of pride and satisfaction are something you have to experience by yourself in order to understand!
Heh, I've been trying to sleep for as long as I can This morning I woke up, and just kept forcing myself to go back sleep, didn't get up till 12!... I hope I can do the same tonight, if all starts to get alot better by 11:50 tommorow, I will be much happier =)
As for the Mrs, I have no Mrs (Probably a good job too! She'd probably start smoking because of my whining!).. Doing it alone unfortunately, but yeah you're right, I never want to have to go through this again and if I start smoking again and decide to quit in the future, I'll have to go through it all again... and it's my summer vacation from college, so I have the luxury of being socially isolated for 2 months - plenty of time to quit without being in a situation that requires explicit concentration and a cool head
Thanks for your support =) It's helping! Bring on day 3
shadow be stttttrrrroonng, these 2 or 3 month or 3 or 3 year later cravings you hear about are not cravings, they are wants that disappear very quickly and can be controlled easily.
shadow be stttttrrrroonng, these 2 or 3 month or 3 or 3 year later cravings you hear about are not cravings, they are wants that disappear very quickly and can be controlled easily.
stop smoking now
I have 60 hours since last ciggy.. still going strong
Hi thar!. 70 hours 30 minutes since my last ciggarete. Last night was not good, I kept waking up despite being really tired, and found it difficult to sleep, but fortunately the cravings don't seem so bad right now, maybe they are either calming down or waiting until I wake up a bit first before they spring on me Either way.. I feel great thankyou =)
Well done Shadow, the Nicotine has now all but left your body and any cravings are now in the mind. Look on it as a personal battle that you will not lose. Good luck and be strong
Although it may seem longer, the cravings to have a cigarette dont last too long.
i would suggest that you dont try to hide from them, instead a n a lyse them to get to understand them better. Think about how you are feeling both physically (there really is NO pain) and mentally and you will find that they disappear very quickly.
As you are so early into your quit, have a look at a couple fo the videos on the following link
I've had very few physical cravings today, mainly habitual ones... i.e. I was installing something earlier, and it was taking a while - a point I'd usually have started rolling a ciggy. I actually went to reach for them and remember "You don't smoke anymore" I can sense good day's ahead and I'm sure with just a little bit of resistance, the nicotine devil shalt be smitten
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