Coming up for 5 weeks and struggling!

[Lulu_65]

Hello everyone.

I am a couple of days away from 5 weeks and I am really struggling :mad:

I've had, for the past 2 or 3 days, some really strong cravings and it's only my absolute determinition not to ever touch another cigarette (or similar product) again in my entire life that's stopped me from eating a packet of fags :confused:

I am on a reduced dose of the champix (one half to two halves daily) and have been for a a couple of weeks. This was a compromise because the smoking cessation nurse actually wanted me to stop them completely (I was experiencing an exacerbation of an existing anxiety/stress/ depressy condition). Seems that the champix is fab on the full dose but I was very weepy, now I'm on half dose and not so stressy but want to smoke.

However, it's frustrating because I would have thought that after 5 weeks I might experience the psychological triggers for smoking but not physical cravings for nicotine (which this feels like). Is it possible to confuse normal emotions for nicotine cravings? Perhaps that's what it is?

Apologies for the rambling nature of my post, it's a bit like thinking aloud!

Hope everyone else is ok - I will go now and catch up on some other posts as I haven't been on here for a while.

Lauren XX

[nsd_user663_51711]

Hi Lauren

I'm just a couple of weeks ahead of you and had to reduce my dose of Champix too a couple of weeks ago because they made me feel very very sick all day long.

I had an urge to have a cig yesterday, but didn't of course, cos I want to be a non smoker more than I want to smoke. I think what I am gradually overcoming is not the nicotine want, but the physical habit of having the cig. For years my day has run around fitting in cigs, having one as a reward, having one cos I'm bored, cos I'm not bored, cos I'll be out and can't have one so got to get levels up, etc etc etc. That's been a huge part of my life and I'm gradually filling it with other things , but all those years of that habit on a daily basis, 20 times a day take some coping with and occasionally that habitual part is going to surface again cos the habit was so ingrained, if that makes sense?

So I think it is possible to confuse the psychological triggers with the cravings for nicotine - the two are so interlinked. Sometimes I think I am coping with a form of OCD.....

[nsd_user663_20558]

I believe it is absolutely the case that psychological promptings to smoke cause you to feel physiological discomfort.

If you've had depression and anxiety you'll know that they can cause all sorts of physical symptoms - headaches, sweating, higher blood pressure, fatigue, nausea, all sorts. It's much the same thing.

So it's not so much that your body needs nicotene: your brain is still in the process of retraining, and daily life is still providing plenty of prompts to smoke. So your subconscious is throwing everything it can at you to get you to satisfy that prompt.

Keep going. One hour, one day at a time. Keep choosing not to smoke and things will settle down. I promise, IT WILL GET BETTER.

Helen