I am on the last day of second week, I started the first week on patches but after reading Allen Carr last week decided to go cold turkey last Monday. The problem is it's not getting any easier each day I get up thinking today will be better but I start to get major cravings about 10am by midday I have a huge tension headache which stays with me for the rest of the day.
I am exhausted from constantly dealing or fighting the cravings, I go non stop all day to avoid smoking and am sleeping badly so now going on almost empty. Also hugely emotional crying all the time over the slightest thing. Just feel done in not sure how I can keep this up feel like I am going crazy. Keep reading posts about how its getting easier buts it's not for me it's harder.
I don't want to smoke again I have two young kids who need their Mum around but not sure how I am going to get through this really need some help advice at wits end now.
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i am not too sure what to say to be honest. If you are going to smoke, nothing i can say will change your mind...but before you actually pick up those ciggies and smoke them, just think about a few things:
1- the reasons you quit. Write them down again, on a big piece of paper, using sparkly, glittery, colourful pens and stick it on your front room/kitchen/dining room/bedroom (which ever room you use most)...and READ them everytime you walk past them.
2-Quitting isnt meant to be easy- if it was easy, everyone would do it! As Allen Carr said in his book "every smoker would love to go back to a time that they didnt smoke- you have that chance today". #
3-You can vlame your quit for being ill/stressed/poorly/headaches/tiredness etc...or you can just thing to yourslef that its this is what nicotine is doing to you as you are comming off it, can you imagine what its doing to your insides when you smoke everyday???
4- READ READ READ!!!!- click on the links in peoples signatures on here- brilliant sources of information and education on Nicotine and smoking. My personal favourite is looking on youtube for anti smoking adverts, and documentries. I found a brilliant and very emotional video on youtube called "thanks tobacco, you killed my mom". The videoing was done by the grown up son and it really hit home for me, as i have 2 boys and dont ever want them going through what that ladys son did.
5- if all else fails, get into bed, pull the covers over your head and repeat after me "i dont need to smoke, i dont want to smoke"- NO KIDDING- i did this several times in the first week or 2.
It took me close to 3 weeks of cold turkey to have one day where i could say that i felt "normal". Cold turkey was hell, you just have to ride out the cravings as they come and sip on cold water all day. I would go to bed early if the cravings got too bed, i was lucky about one thing though - i didn't have any trouble sleeping. In fact, i was always tired.
Push to get through 1 more week of cold turkey and see how you feel. I guarantee that it IS WORTH IT. Don't give in to the Nicodemon, don't let it win.
anneke, this is as bad as it gets. Nicodemon is in his death throes and is desperate to try and get you to feed him! Hang on in there.... it WILL get better soon!
Just do anything that gets you through... eat, walk, sleep, sing, scream..... and remember just how far you have already come!!!
If necessary go out and get yourself some gum or lozenges. The first time I gave up I resorted to a piece only when things got really desperate and I felt like I was going to cave in.... better a piece of nicotine gum than a cigarette...!!
Thank you all, you have totally reassured me, thought it was just me finding it so hard fourteen days in. Got the impression that others were sailing through it and somehow I was doing something wrong:(. But your right giving up smoking is not easy no matter what Allen Carr says. I think also because my husband is away this weekend the nicodemon was planning a sneaky puff and so I think I got in a panic in case I gave in, meanwhile the demon spotting a chink in my armour went on an all out offencive to get some poison back in my body.
All local shops are now closed which means I can now breathe a huge sigh of relief as there is no way I can smoke and suddenly the cravings have stopped. Gosh isn't it awful the hold nicotine has over you. Again thank you for your help and support.
Anneke, all those little opportunities that have arisen this weekend when the situations would have been ideal to sneak off and have a crafty puff, but you haven't. This is indeed the nicodemon throwing all his toys out of his pram in an effort to get you to crumble. You have done an absolutely astounding job, it may not feel like it right now, but you have and you should be very proud.
I can remember all the craves, the almost convincing line of just one won't hurt, nobody will know etc, etc. The worst time for me was once the girls had gone to school and the OH had gone, as you can imagine that was a lot of hours, but I came on here, went for a walk or sometimes just sat and actually thought logically about the addiction and withdrawal and the process my body and mind was going through, it made it all seem less of a panic because I understood what I was experiencing and when consciously thinking about it I was able to calm myself down, rather than always having it niggling at the back of my mind.
All I can absolutely assure you is that it does get better. Read the link in my signature, as a mother it really touched me and I have read it often as a reminder.
You should reward yourself this weekend, you thoroughly deserve it. You can march into Week 3 with your head held high and feeling positive.
Hope your feeling a little better by now. Frist let me say big congrats for your first two weeks of freedom. This quitting lark is not easy no but so worth it in the end chick. Think of the nice things you can treat yourself and your little one with. It will get easyer honest i did it cold turkey and smoked for 35 year 40 a day plus. Just keep it in the day deal with one day at a time. All the nicotines left your body now but the big part is getting your brain to deal with life with out smoking. Good luck ghick.xxxxxx
Well it's now 21.53 kids in bed, packed lunches sorted, husband has completed berlin marathon in 3hrs 20 mins (I know what a loser am I when husband has just achieved this) oh and to make it worse its all to raise funs for an auto immune disease I have.
However I have not smoked today know its pretty pathetic compared to above but to me it's a huge deal. Without your support and you know who you are I would be currently working my way through ten marlboro lights. Somehow I believe because I have overcome this I can really do it just needed to get through this weekend. Thank you so much.
Hi anneke - are you feeling better today hun? Well done to you for not letting that nicodemon beat you!
I do not think anyone finds quitting smoking easy, if they did, they would not use this forum. It's just people deal with it differently - no 2 quits are the same.
Could I suggest another book to you... (well I am going to anyway :p). Its called 'How to quit smoking and stay stopped' by Gillian Riley.
I have read Allan Carr and whilst he made sense I did not find it worked for me, although I do know others on here swear by him. However I found the one by Gillian Riley much more helpful to me. That's what I mean by different things suiting different people.
Also perhaps taking a good vitamin c supplement and fish oil supplement - you may know this already and may take already. It was recommended to me by a forum member and it does help.
You're doing just fine hun and as you can see in you hour of need there will always be someone on the forum to listen to you.
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