Is this normal?

Hi all

Hope you are doing well

So, I'm on day 10 and things going ok'ish! :)

But even now my head every now and then (well about 10-15 times a day) goes .........

"ciggieciggieciggieciggie depressed - angry - bored - what am I going to do now, need a ciggieciggieciggieciggieciggie - what am I going to do tonight? ciggieciggieciggieciggie"

Hope you get the idea! :D

Is that normal then, 10 days in?

Even though I'm using NRT. Does this fade whilst using NRT or do I have to wait until I come off it?

Jeeez, this is getting really annoying!! :mad:

Anyway, thanks for your time folks

Take care

Greg

12 Replies

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  • Hay Greg, yayyyy to day 10

    In a word.... yes!! very normal, the ""what am I going to do now, need a ciggieciggieciggieciggieciggie"" bit is where you normally reach for your NRT...Inhalator in your case, Lozenges in my case,

    To give you an idea, I started on ( or my system cravings told me I needed) about 12 lozenges a day as the days progress, I found my system was cutting down itself on the cravings so therefore cutting down on lozenges...Im now on about 4 a day (because I snap them in half so only now getting half the dose)

    You will find you will do the same, I had a real AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH day wednesday and been fine since...

    Hang in there and use whatever means you feel you need to stop yourself putting that nasty fag in your mouth :D

  • my heads doing exactly the same, my cravings are horrendous again:(

    im now dreading the wk end as have 2 10hr shifts with a heavy smoker and i really dont want to fail at quitting:mad:

    i really hope these cravings do one as really had enough of them at mo :mad:

    hugs Sian xx

  • Greg.....what you are feeling now....ten days in.....is so normal. Think about it. For years and years and years...when you've thought ciggie.....you've had a ciggie. That thought is nothing more than a trigger....but you've given that thought what it wanted....every single time....untill ten days ago. It takes time Greg.....but every single time you have the thought and deny it its reward you are closer and closer to beating it. You will do this. I promise I was just the same. The first fortnight my mind was filled with....fag fag....need a fag....smoke...ciggie....gis one. Bloody hell. I look back now and am so relieved to have broken free. Really....really really really. I NEVER EVER think I want a ciggy. Far from it. I wouldnt smoke if you paid me. Hang in there. You are just the same as all of us. What you are feeling is normal......and deffo NOT you being some kind of person who just cant do it. Hang in.

    Lizzie

  • Greg, what Dippy says is spot on. It is early days and you are doing really well but now is when you have to really dig in and get on with it. the addiction is in the last throws trying to tempt you back. There is nothing I can say other than it DOES GET BETTER! You just have to keep on keeping on and you will see I am right Good luck!

  • Hey Nifty.

    Totally normal. Totally. Look at my early posts on this site!!

    I'll say it again. Don't be surprised that using NRT isn't doing away with these feelings. Breaking the addiction to nicotene is NOT the core of the quit. The core of the quit is breaking the habit of smoking. So whether you are easing yourself off with NRT or jumping straight in, you are still going to have that insistent voice in your head. You have spent years and years training your brain to demand a cigarette several times a day, in any number of different situations and emotional states. So those moments come along and your brain says 'smoke now please'. When you say 'no', the first couple of times, it goes 'SMOKESMOKESMOKESMOKE!!!'. This is what you're experiencing.

    The good news is, you say no and keep saying no, and the brain readjusts itself amazingly quickly. It takes years to create the habit but only weeks or at most a few months to break it. The inner voice will get quieter, the days will get easier and easier to deal with. Just take it one day at a time, keep making the right choice. It doesn't stay hard like this for very long, I promise you.

    Hang tough!

    H

  • Thanks Short Stuff :)

    It so nice to:

    a) Get good advice from your peers

    b) Realise that you are not "weird" and that everyone is going or gone through the same!

    I think I read somewhere that these are just thoughts, they cannot control you...you have the power to do what you want....

    ....its just so bloody annoying! :D

    I think I am just soooo impatient!

    I want this all sorted now please, its getting boring, just flick the reset switch!

    Mind you, I'm not sure if I would want to reset exactly to the time before I smoked....wouldn't want to be a spotty youth again! hehe!

    Hang in there Sian, we can do this can't we.

    Can you ask the heavy smoker to refrain from smoking near you?

    Or can you move somewhere else whilst they smoke .... then see how smelly they are when you get back :)

    I noticed that for the first time in work the other day when a customer came in who had obviously just had a smoke...gordon bennet he stank!

    I asked the lads if that's how I smelt when I smoked and they sheepishly said .. "er ... yes ... but we didn't want to say anything cos you're the boss!"

    Oops ... sorry lads! :o

    Take care

    Greg

  • Oh my word!

    Just posted my message and saw all the other answers had come flooding in!

    Thank you all so much, you give such fantastic advice its actually heart warming and emotional.

    There are some fantastic people on this forum and I think I love them all already! :o

    Everyone here seems to be so genuine and caring. It is so inspirational to have people that have kicked this crap in to touch and have stuck around to help others.

    THANK YOU ALL from the bottom of my heart. :D

    Take care

    Greg

    x

  • i know Greg this forum seems to be a life saver at times of need, especially when u feeling low and craving like mad...:confused:

    But again i also had smokers around me today though they wasnt smoking they stunk off smoke and i though:eek: is that how i smelt very big turn off:)

    i will beat this once i finished feeling sorry for my self but its nice to have support from people who are at the same time or further along of the quitting team, it really does help

    thanks Sian xx

  • Hi guys, I stopped around the same time as u guys... Greg, I feel exactly the same as u, cant wait for the feelings to pass but at the same time look at it as a sort of test in that it has been so tough I can't bear the thought of going back to smoking ever again! Sian, I have been noticing sooo many smokers since I stopped, it's like I'm auto tuned to sniffing out the smoke! It's so tough working with people who are still smoking especially if u used to join them but just think how far u have come and how many cig goes u haven't smoked! By the way had my first cig dream last night. I felt so guilty wen I woke up like I had actually smoked it was sooo wierd! Anyway, I'm going to keep going with my inhalator and remind myself daily that it will get easier and looking forward to each milestone as they come up, this forum has been such a huge help for me and the support from all is truly great.

    Mel

    Quit 15th oct 12

    Using inhalator in the evening

    Smoked 20 a day for 13 years

  • Hi guys...my quit date is within a day or so of the last 3 posters.....and I am also 'hearing that voice' telling me to have a smoke now, because this is when you always used to have one..if you get my drift....and it is hard...but in time as members of the forum keep saying it has to get easier...keep posting and keep encouraging...we will get through this together I'm sure.

  • Hi you all. I found that I too was plagued with cravings that seemed to go on and on.I ended up getting really pissed off to the point where I thought that I just couldnt live with it anymore.It was like being between a rock and a hard place.I had come through so much I couldnt face giving up or going through it again yet I was going through hell with no let up.Nightmare! Alex76's advice of saying to yourself "I can smoke anytime I want to-but I choose not to smoke today"Really really helped and worked.The days flew by.Another thing.All the smoking advice forums seemed to imply it was a relatively quick easy process and I got impatient and despondant and then I read that it takes 6 to 8weeks for the nicotine receptors in the brain to go back to normal and 8 to 12weeks to begin to get comfortable with your new lifestyle.So I decided to stick it out for at least 6 months and see how I felt then.Am now on day 46 and flying! : ) Believe me those awful cravings do go and you do get your peace of mind back! Grit your teeth and sit the bastards out.All the best x

  • Nifty the only thing i can say is that i tried every nrt with nicotine in it and had the same problems you are facing so i went down the champix route which has no nicotine and i don't get no angry ciggie thoughts no more but that's just me,i don't know if you would react the same but we are all different,its got to get easier as we all were once non smokers keep strong and don't give in good luck.:)

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