Starting Day 1 again

[nsd_user663_57219]

Hello ....after not smoking for 35 days, I took two fags in last three days each...why??? not because of cravings (though they were there but not strong enough to make me smoke again) but because in wk 4 and 5 I was turning in to zombie ..lost interest in almost everything including work ...sitting all day with that strange feelings in the head ...no motivation ...no feelings whatsoever ....then I took fags and felt a relief (have to be honest here) and in last three days I had quite change in mood...so that means I have depression which smoke caused or may be it was masking it to some extent...now have two solutions ...first stop smoking and take anti depressants (which I don' t want at any cost) or second stop smoking and take nicotine gum once a while to keep my head in working order....yea I'm not happy after breaking the spell of quit (without any aid) of 35 days but this is how it is....so now...again I'm on day one....any one who used this combination (quit smoking plus gum for a while)?

Hoping for the best

Rick

[nsd_user663_57104]

Rick, I know exactly what you mean.....numb, flat, empty, achieving nothing, etc., etc. I've had two lapses this week and I'm in roughly the same quit timeframe as you. I've stopped again (well, two days since last lapse) and I'm sucking the life out of menthol e-cigs. I don't like to think it's "real" depression, just another symptom of quitting which will pass.

Good Luck!

[nsd_user663_56941]

i felt same

Hi, Ive done 13 weeks now using Nicorette stuff, about 2 months in I decided to go cold turkey thought I was ready, but no each day I just got more and more miserable I felt so low after 2 weeks I went back on my e fag and im happier again. I don't want to stay on this forever but just weaning it out slowly.

stay strong and use some Nicorette stuff that's what is there for to help with the withdrawal symptoms

[nsd_user663_57259]

I also know how you both feel as I felt quite similar yesterday, but the mood seems to have passed me now. I think we just need to do anything we can (except smoke) to get through the bad times. This is where I find the e-cig so useful. I'm not using it as a regular replacement - just an emergency intervention to prevent me from smoking the real thing! And I don't feel guilty after having a puff as I have still stopped smoking.

Good luck to you both in getting back on the wagon - I know I would find it hard to get back on straight away so I'm very impressed with you both!

[nsd_user663_57918]

well done for having another go. i am reading 'the nicotine trick' by neil casey at the moment and its a good read. I attended an allen carr clinic years back and sadly it did not work for me. i bought the large allen carr book a few years back and could not keep my head in it. i have read this neil casey book in 2 days, very easy to read and explains about our sub mind in detail and I think it will help anyone who gets low low when quitting. I have also relapsed a few times over the years due to feeling depressed and so your post intested and has also inspired me. I use patches and wean myself down in small drops. I start on 21 mg for a month and I then use 15, 14, 10, 7 and 5 mg over the next 2 months. It has worked for me before and i wish you all the very best

[nsd_user663_56588]

I am in awe of anyone who quits cold turkey and I think everything Allan Carr said is spot on......however, I don't like the effects of quitting cold turkey (including depression and horrible mood swings).

I've used nicotine patches this time around and I feel they just 'take the edge' off the withdrawl. I know I haven't quit nicotine completely yet, but that's just find by me just as long as I'm no smoking!!!!

I cut a 21mg patch into 4 sections, and that is enough for me to not want to smoke anymore.

I do hope it gets better for you.....I'm sure it will. Keep the faith!

[nsd_user663_56386]

We all get depressed and low from time to time its life. What I would say is fags won’t help, they merely cement you in a routine that damages your health and wealth. Stopping smoking is not easy but the benefits will outweigh the unpleasant withdrawal effects if we ride out the storm.

I am 10 weeks into my quit and also use NRT. Its definitely a mental addiction more than physical for me. I seem to be managing ok using the nicotine gum now. I was using the patches as well as gum but slowly weaned myself off the patches going from 21mg to 14mg to 7mg. I still feel the need for the gum unsure if it’s some form of mental crutch. I use approx 4 bits a day. I can’t see myself relapsing at the moment, however I like to have the gum as a back up.

Try to take 1 day at a time, its working for me, don’t think or worry about to far ahead small steps is how we are all start walking. Be strong folks the team here will do nothing but support you

[nsd_user663_57918]

I have given up fags several times and each time the blues came along and sucked me back. One of those quits I started smoking again after about 3 mths as I was so depressed, I smoked again for 3 days trying to lift that doom and gloom feeling but it never lifted !!! and so I chucked the fags away and stayed as a non smoker for a whole year. What I'm trying to say is that the fags dont really lift that depression, its an illusion and we feel even more upbeat when we kick the weed.

I also think we need to lift our mood naturally and dopamine needs to be looked at. Chocolate is good at raising it and so is water apparently and so I am gonna try and drink as much water as I can with a tad of choc in the eve.

Allen carr is probably the best method for quitting for most people and yes he is spot on but I probably wasnt ready to quit when i attended his clinic/read his book. I do have his book here somewhere so shall have another go.

sorry for the long posts xx

[nsd_user663_22353]

Depression's hit me in 2 quits (including my current one), usually around a month in. It's unpleasant, but it does pass. No desire at all to smoke, just a flat, empty feeling.

I'll go for a run & blast out some banging uplifting music to try to raise my spirits a little, usually helps. Nicotine, not so much. That's the cause, not the cure.