Really want to get passed Day 3.
Started the day with a bad headache and a really sore throat. Don't know if these are Quit symptoms or if i'm coming down with a cold. Either way, it's not good.
Still got a permanent craving/desire/need to have a cigarette. Hope I can get rid of these thoughts soon. The mental battle is quite draining.
Draining is really the word! I couldn't agree more with you.
Treasure the memory of how rotten day 3 is and that will keep you away from relapsing.
Keep busy, early nights and be very kind and gentle to yourself. This is your quit, it's your time... Take it, read, swim, walk....sleep. Whatever works for you, drink loads of water and stay strong, unfortunately there is no way around, only through.... But you can do it 
stay strong buddy!
Thanks mmaya
Do you think things will get easier tomorrow? I didn't realise how dependant i'd become on my cigarettes. Honestly, it's crazy. I can't remember what I liked about them. But I need one...
Probably will....maybe it won't...
I'm 11 weeks and just had the most horrendous 5 days since I quit! But....I didn't have a single craving for almost a month prior to this week.
The secret is to embrace it....no point in fighting it, get all the help you need, I resumed to natural calmants on this quit...natural supplements... Sleep, lock yourself in the room with a good book beside you...
Nicotine will be completely out of your system by the end of day 3 and the cravings are at its worst. Accept it and just tick the hours as they go along..no point in thinking about tomorrow...
Whatever comes tomorrow you'll deal with it the same way as you did today.
Stay strong buddy.
Thanks mmaya..... i'll take it an hour at a time, as you suggest.
You are right, there is no point worrying about tomorrow
This time i'm really going make this Quit last forever. I've been through this too many time now.
I look outside my house. There are no smokers. I'm the only one who used to stand in my doorway (sun, rain, snow, sleet...) and smoke. If nobody else needs to do it, why should i need it?
Will start the gym tomorrow. I think i need to wipe the dust off my membership pass and head down there
That's the spirit, hold onto that thought and you will be just fine
Hey Shamus, Well done on reaching Day 3, as I suggested in your Day 2 post, just take it hour by hour at this early stage, great idea to go to the gym, it will do wonders for you to help cleansing of your lungs going to the gym but don't over do it! Keep going.
See below normal and common symptoms you may experience over the next few days and weeks:
Withdrawal symptoms begin as soon as four hours after the last cigarette, generally peak in intensity at three to five days, and disappear after two weeks. They include both physical and mental symptoms.
Physical Symptoms.
During the quitting process people should consider the following physical symptoms of withdrawal as they were recuperating from a disease and treat them accordingly as they would any physical symptoms:
[*]Tingling in the hands and feet
[*]Sweating
[*]Intestinal disorders (cramps, nausea)
[*]Headache
[*]Cold symptoms as the lungs begin to clear (sore throats, coughing, and other signs of colds and respiratory problem)
The first few weeks after quitting smoking are usually the most difficult and it's safe to say that it normally takes at least 8-12 weeks before a person starts to feel comfortable with their new lifestyle change of being an ex-smoker. Withdrawal from nicotine, an addictive drug found in tobacco, is characterized by symptoms that include headache, anxiety, nausea and a craving for more tobacco. Nicotine creates a chemical dependency, so that the body develops a need for a certain level of nicotine at all times. Unless that level is maintained, the body will begin to go through withdrawal similar to alcohol addiction withdrawal. For tobacco users trying to quit, symptoms of withdrawal from nicotine are unpleasant and stressful, but only temporary. Most withdrawal symptoms peak 48 hours after you quit and are completely gone in six months.
Mental and Emotional Symptoms.
Tension and craving build up during periods of withdrawal, sometimes to a nearly intolerable point. One European study found that the incidence of workplace accidents increases on No Smoking Day, a day in which up to 2 million smokers either reduce the amount they smoke or abstain altogether.
Nearly every moderate to heavy smoker experiences more than one of the following strong emotional and mental responses to withdrawal.
[*]Feelings of being an infant: temper tantrums, intense needs, feelings of dependency, a state of near paralysis.
[*]Insomnia
[*]Mental confusion
[*]Vagueness
[*]Irritability
[*]Anxiety
[*]Depression is common in the short and long term. In the short term it may mimic the feelings of grief felt when a loved one is lost. As foolish as it sounds, a smoker should plan on a period of actual mourning in order to get through the early withdrawal depression.
Fully agree, I remember that was one of my strong reasons to atop smoking - I felt like a criminal everytime I lighten up a fag.
My daughter does competitive swimming and there was me outside the national pool everytime there was a competition having a fag to calm down the nerves....really?! How stupid?! Me, the grown up...encouraging my children to do sports and take care of their health....and smoking outside the pool to calm down the nerves lol
Also, I don't particularly like the idea of never being able to smoke again, so I'm just telling myself that I do not want to be a smoker and therefore I will not smoke.
I want a cigarette but but don't want to be a smoker.
You'll be fine, I promise... You just have to repeat in your head that it's not ok to fail, failure is not an option...you'll fly it
The thing is if we've had this stupid habit for years and years... We'll hardly get over it easy... It's going to take time.
Hi Shamus. Well done for sticking it out.
I've just reached the one month mark. Here's some tips that might help. They seem to have got me this far.
Set yourself some short term targets.
Saying you're never ever going to smoke again can feel very daunting.
Each time you reach a target will be a reward in itself. That wonderful feeling of achievement will encourage you to reach for your next target.
Also, keep yourself ridiculously busy until all you can do is fall into bed and sleep. Give your brain no space to consider smoking.
I know it's not easy but wow! It's worth it when you feel you've gained some control over the habit.
I miss it. Often. But it's just a habit that was so familiar to me that I feel a bit lost without it now.
Thanks so much for all your supportive words.
Day 3 has come to an end. I'll admit that I have thought about, and missed, smoking... all day. Even though the weather is terrible outside here in Bradford, i kinda miss having a night time smoke in my doorway and watching the rain and the moon.
Haha.. how silly does that sound? Anyway, it was kinda ritualistic. Who knows? In reality, it was a waste of my money, time and health. I'm probably romanticising over it like a lost girlfriend, who was no good for me lol...
Good night everyone.
Will post in Day 4 tomorrow
Shamus...Yes good spirit and positive attitude is the way to win this. It is said on lot of cessation sites that you must make time for mourning. It will feel like you have lost a good friend/girlfriend. Stay strong ...you are doing well and one of the 3's done....!
Even though the weather is terrible outside here in Bradford, i kinda miss having a night time smoke in my doorway and watching the rain and the moon.
Well done for getting this far. You could try a pen lid or something that enables you to suck in air through a restricted opening to recreate the mental feeling of smoking while your body deals with the physical feeling of nicotine withdrawal. There's no need for favoured activities to be any less fun just because you have given up smoking.
I want a cigarette but don't want to be a smoker.
The chances are a cigarette would taste vile to you after 3 months of champix. Since the main pleasure of a cigarette is satisfying a withdrawal, there would be little point as you would have to build up a dependency again (start smoking again) for it to have the same effect it used to.
Some people can have the odd one. These people are almost never people who have become regular smokers then quit. The effect it has on them is rather limited or they would continue smoking. I used to be one of these people before I became hooked.
...and that is why I must continue to remind myself over and over that I will not have that One :)... And I won't!
