DAY 5 - What's going on here?

[nsd_user663_3817]

Smoked for 16 years- half my life. How sad. Last couple of years haven't smoked during the day- only evenings. An NHS Q and A test said my addiction to Nicotine was low. Having some Nicotine Replacement in the evenings. Want to be a non smoker. Don't want cancer or to smell anymore. My body is getting some nicotine so why is it worse by ten fold on Day 5 than it is on Day one? What's the big trick I'm missing here?? I don't get why is it harder now than when I started. Why do I think about it ALL evening? Tried exercise/ films/ TV/ reading. I don't want to smoke and I'm giving my body what it wants so I don't understand. When does it get better? A week? Month? Year? I don't want to give in but what's the ETA at feeling normal?

[nsd_user663_3633]

Hey Joanne and well done to you.

I think the reason it is hard at around this point is because the addiction (some refer to it as a little monster) is crying to be fed. It knows you are serious and it's scared.

In reality it is the voices in your head, and they can be silenced with a little knowledge. Why not have a read of this place, whyquit.com and woofmang.com?

[NicFirth 10 Years Smoke Free]

I would second that, an understanding of nicotine addiction, and what to expect while quitting will help loads!

[nsd_user663_3840]

bless you hun! help is to hand

because your psychologically giving up but still putting nicotine in your body your still addicted and thinking about it more. which is making it harder for you.

ive always used the gum but this time i did it cold turkey and it really wasnt as bad as id thought, just hang on in there.

there are two ways you can go with this: either keep on using the gum for the next few weeks then wean yourself off or go cold turkey which isnt as bad as id thought (because the psychological withdrawl of what your going through now is over with quicker i.e the 24hours it takes the nocotine to leave your body)

gook luck , you can do it, going cold turkey is easier than you think. just remember the health benefits. Write down a list of 20 benefits of stopping smoking when you crave a fag and keep em in your purse. when you want a fag re-read the list and add any new ones. for instance my feet used to be so cold when id get to bed but now there really toasty. also i used to feel knackered but genuinely feel like ive slept better.

[nsd_user663_3728]

hello joanne

sorry you are finding it hard at the moment everyone on here will help all we can we all have our own ways of coping with it i go for a walk or come on here sometimes only for a short while and read i also make a note of recommended sites and read them as well this always helps failing this phone someone for a chat

goodluck

margaret

[nsd_user663_3816]

Hi Joanne

So sorry your having a bad day hun, it will get better you just got to take 1 day at a time. I'm sorry i cant give more advise, i felt alot better after Day 4 and day 6 now and still feel ok, still think about ciggys but not as much as i did.

Good luck hun and hope today is a better day for you

Denise

xx

[nsd_user663_3817]

thank you for your messages

thank you all for your replies. Day 6 today- cravings don't seem as bad but been asleep half the evening to block it out! Using an inhalator thing 2 to 3 cartridges a night which made my lip swell up last night! Thanks Stuart - I will check out those websites. Not giving in - well done Denise66 x

[nsd_user663_3810]

Hi Joanne

just read your first post and i really feel for you

i have stopped for four months this weekend-and to be honest in the first week i could only dream of it!!

in the past-i loved my fags! 20-a-day-but dont miss them now-i felt like you i really did, but just think about the next small minute and before you know the day has gone-keep strong you will get there xxxx

[nsd_user663_3817]

Thanks Shabba. Am I just prolonging the agony and mental 'torture' with an inhalator if its still putting the Nicotine in me? I like chewing it more than anything and like twiddling it in my hands. It's a bit like a comforter I suppose. I only have 2 0r 3 cartridges a night because it tastes rank and when my lip swelled up I was quite frightened. I don't feel I can give my plastic substitute up yet though even though deep down I know I'm being duped by another multi million pound industry instead.

[NicFirth 10 Years Smoke Free]

OK this is my opinion and not everyone agrees with it, but NRT, Champix and Zyban etc seem to make people less scared of trying to quit, which helps but it is an understanding of why you smoked that will keep you stopped!

I know that getting the nicotine out of the system for good is the only way to be free, and that (at least) 5% of NRT users transfer their addiction to that instead.

So the basic idea is that if you can't face giving up without using some "drug" then NRT is much less harmful than smoking and when you actually do come off it the withdrawal is still there but may not be as bad if you have already been able to get the right mindset and deal with the habitual side!

One thing that makes the addiction particularly strong is the efficiency of cigarettes to deliver nicotine. At least with NRT you don't get the "hit" which may make it easier to phase it out later, but its better to be on NRT than smoking any day.

If you can face going CT then its been described as being like ripping a plaster off quick, and the best way to quit. If I was starting out on my quit today knowing what I now know then I would go CT, but with the level of knowledge I had in July last year I wouldn't have been likely to stay quit long enough to get my head right so NRT worked for me.

Just like Champix worked for Stuart, Jude, and others!