Hello everyone
My name is david, im 37 and i've been smoking for about 13 years or so. I quit on the 5th feb cold turkey. I've been using this site since before i quit, firstly to prepare myself for what lies ahead and secondly for day to day support, so to all of you who helped me and didnt even know it i thank you
The reason im posting now is so i can have a record of how im currently feeling so that in the future i can clearly see how far i've come. Hopefully other people find it usefull too.
I am on day 10 of my quit, days 1-3 for me were by far the worst so far with mad cravings from dusk till dawn and terrible mood swings. Day 3 was the worst day of all, whilst out driving i saw a guy glance at me from another car and he was laughing, probably at a joke his friend told him. I convinced myself that he was laughing at me and a rage built up inside that lasted a couple of hours. I wanted to do that guy serious harm but his saving grace, and mine, was that i knew it was the ciggies making me think this way and that it would pass if i just sit tight.
Day 4 was a lot easier than 1-3 and for the first time i noticed a real improvement in my health, my lungs had stopped disco dancing and i could actually forsee a time in the future where i could run for 5 minutes and not need 15 minutes to get my breath back.
Day 5-10 compared to 1-3 and day 4 were easier still. I say "easier" but that description doesnt cut it. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst withdrawl symptoms and 1 effectively meaning a non smoker days 1 and 2 were a 9, day 3 was a 10, day 4 was a 7 and days 5 to 10 i would say were a 4.
So, where am i right now? i think i am over the worst part, days 1-3. I feel i am on a road to recovery, i get cravings fairly often but i have noticed an increase in the time period between cravings, its small but its there and i take heart in that. What has taken me by surprise is the fact i seem to be grieving the loss of ciggies, despite knowing they would kill me. Time will tell how long this feeling will last.
The one thing i'm certain off is that i never want to go through this again, i want to be completely free of cigarettes and i'm looking forward to the time when that happens, however far in the future that may seem right now.
cheers
mini