Hi all my first day of not smoking and I am just feeling the most intense craving right now. HELP! Made a peppermint tea but what else?

[BeeL]

[EmJay Partner]

Hi BeeL, welcome aboard

As difficult as it may seem at times, it really is important for you to stay as positive as possible and understand that what you are feeling is a sure sign that your body is beginning to recover

This feeling will not last, it may come back but the more times you overcome these feelings, the stronger you will become

The first thing to do as soon as you feel a craving coming on is to take a slow deep breath in through your nose and then as you breath out, know that you are breathing out any intense cravings that you are having.

If you make a mental note of the time when the craving comes on and what you were doing just beforehand, you may notice a pattern in the times or the triggers as to what may have caused this feeling. You will then learn how to avoid these triggers or how to deal with the craving the next time.

Try and see stopping smoking as some sort of exciting journey. You never know what is around the corner but you will know that your health is improving, even though you may not feel it at the time.

Practice your breathing techniques, have a look at some of our breathing exercises we have. By practising them, you will find it easier to use them when a craving comes on.

Are you using any kind of NRT at the moment?

You are doing really well, you just have to stick at it and I promise you it will get easier

[grannygrunt]

Hi, I was a smoker for 32 years. I went cold turkey 3 weeks ago as soon as I feel the urge I drink bottled water.

It has helped hugely, I even take a bottle to bed with me. Do not give up to the little voice in the head

[BeeL in reply to grannygrunt]

Drinking water like it's going out of fashion! It definitely helps with cravings though and other people tell me it's great at flushing out the toxins quickly which is a double bonus

[Friezfriend 13 MONTHS WINNER]

Hiya, I'm nearly on 4 weeks now and I have to say the first week was the worst, of course it is different for everyone. I walked a lot in the first week especially to the nearest village where they sell strawberry ice cream! Did a lot of cleaning and tried to keep myself as busy as humanly possible. I didn't tell anyone for the first 7 days because I couldn't bear to talk about it, I wish I had found this website before because the advice especially about the breathing exercises is really great. Keep going, well done you and good luck.

[BeeL in reply to Friezfriend]

Sadly I can't eat lots of icecream as terrified of piling on the weight and I'm overweight as it is but will definitely do walking and cleaning and breathing exercises. Thanks for all your advice, really appreciate it : )

[Friezfriend 13 MONTHS WINNER]

Oh sorry that and tons of NRT.

[BeeL]

Thanks peeps, I know I just need to remain focused and positive and not feed that little monster. Not doing NRT as didn't see the point and didn't want to prolong my nicotine dependency any longer. If nicotine leaves your system in 48 hours like NHS and Alan Carr say then why replace it again with NRT? I know its supposed to make it easier but I think I just need to ride it out and think about all the positives rather than feeling deprived and learn to deal with the psychological cravings rather than psychical cravings. I am happy that I am not smoking and just need to keep thinking this rather than falling into trap of thinking that I am missing out. I am preferring drinking lots of water, exercising and lots of peppermint and green tea to flush out the toxins. I've stopped drinking coffee and alcohol for the first month too as think this triggers strong cravings in me. I've taken up Yoga and Pilates and Zumba too.... fingers crossed I can stay stopped!

[quit 14 Month Winner]

Hi BeeL

Good for you and I very much agree with what you are saying, could have written it myself.

Learn from these Cravings, almost become an observer and you will feel them come and eventually go ....

some of my early Cravings seemed to last for hours & hours but they do move off and give you a break ...

Be POSITIVE - so important and like the weather it does change HOWEVER BAD YOU FEEL.

Another thing I did was force myself to watch all the horror connected to SMOKING, type "damage caused by smoking" into Goggle and look at as much as you can.......!!!!!????

Best wishes

Jonathan

NOPE

= Not One Puff Ever

[BeeL]

Thanks for the advice Jonathan. Good suggestion to look at Google images for damage caused by smoking.. just had a peek and have to say the images are shocking... we forget what awful damage it does to us. So far I am 10 hours without smoking which is quite an achievement for me as I've smoked 15 a day for as long as I can remember... it's a long journey but I am pleased that so far I have resisted. Fingers crossed that I can remain focused! Am off to an exercise class and power walk around the park before going home for dinner. I so want to keep this up and stay stopped. Not one puff ever indeed.... I know eventually the cravings will subside so determined not to feed the little monster, eventually he will starve and die . Here's to staying positive! Thanks for taking the time to comment, appreciate it as it's such early days for me and need all the advice I can get!

[jillygirl Administrator Queen Bee]

Just a small list which may jolt your mind of why its worth stopping smoking. :-

Ammonia: Household cleaner.

Arsenic: Used in rat poisons.

Benzene: Used in making dyes, synthetic rubber.

Butane: Gas; used in lighter fluid.

Carbon monoxide: Poisonous gas.

Cadmium: Used in batteries.

Cyanide: Lethal poison.

DDT: A banned insecticide.

Ethyl Furoate: Causes liver damage in animals.

Lead: Poisonous in high doses.

Formaldehyde: Used to preserve dead specimens.

Methoprene: Insecticide.

Maltitol: Sweetener for diabetics.

Napthalene: Ingredient in mothballs.

Methyl isocyanate: Its accidental release killed 2000 people in Bhopal, India, in 1984.

Polonium: Cancer-causing radioactive element.

For the whole list of 599 additives used in cigarettes, see the BBC Worldservice page What’s in a Cigarette.

Read more: care2.com/greenliving/the-s...

[BeeL in reply to jillygirl]

Brilliant reminder.. thanks! : )

[andi22]

Hi Bee and welcome.

It sounds like you've got everything planned really well. I also quit cold turkey and I felt that the caffeine helped me, but everyone's different. I couldn't stop eating nuts and chocolate and didn't worry too much at the beginning, better to quit successfully and worry about a few extra pounds later. I found that, especially during the first week, I was sitting on my hands a lot when I sat down - it just seemed to happen. You're nearly through your first day now so come and join in the chat to help you keep focussed. See you again soon, Andi.

[BeeL in reply to andi22]

Thanks Andi, glad to hear someone else went cold turkey too. I went to my exercise class last night then came home and had a healthy dinner and lots of peppermint & nettle tea. I was faced with an incredibly stressful situation in the evening but didn't cave in and avoided having a cigarette. I did have a cry because I felt pathetic wanting something I know is so damaging and killing me but once craving passed and I wiped my tears and felt ok after a long soak in a big bubble bath. I slept well too, vivid dreams though but I'm told this is normal.

[quit 14 Month Winner]

Hi again BeeL

If you come back on this site this evening can I just say that obviously I hope you are okay and staying smoke free but also go easy on yourself, this all takes time and if at all possible try and just relax. The less stress in your life right now the better.

I smoked 15-20 cigs a day for as long as I can remember as well, have had numerous failed attempts to stop before but this time it is different and number 1 is the damage smoking was doing to me and since I have quit (2 months nearly) my health has been getting better and better. Build up as much knowledge as you can about smoking and the dangers of smoking - got to say this site has been great... when the cravings have got terrible I posted how I felt and this took the sting / power out of them.

Stick with it you can do it.

Best wishes

Jonathan

NOPE

[BeeL]

Hi Jonathan

Thanks for your post and encouragement : ) well done on 2 months of not smoking, that's awesome! Glad you are reveling in the benefits of being free from the slavery of tobacco.

I didn't come back to the site in the evening but have resisted cravings to smoke and am now on day 2 YAY! Have got my little stress toy from NHS Quit It and receiving regular texts from them which I am finding helpful. Downloaded a few apps on my iphone too which I'm enjoying using.

Body is starting to heal itself now and it's good to know that my oxygen levels back to normal and carbon monoxide levels are down.... feeling positive! Cravings super strong but doing sit ups every time I get one of those strong urges.

I was reading information from this website quit.org.uk/lets-quit/guides/

It's good to know that within a year, the risk of heart attack reduces and the risk of cancer is

frozen at the level it was when you stopped. Scary to know though that every year that stopping smoking is postponed after the age of 40 life expectancy is reduced by 3 months....I'm 33 and definitely glad I've decided to stop now before I do myself even more damage.

Also found this interesting lungclock.com/

My lungs are 9 years older than they should be.... time to let them recover!

Off to make a peppermint tea now

Have a good day peeps

Bee

x

[Eye_]

Hi BeeL,

you are doing great. it sounds like you have really thought through your options to quit and how you can occupy yourself through the dreaded cravings. Exercise is a great one because it releases dopamine, the same feel good chemical you get from the way nicotine works on the brain, that should really help you and you get fitter....everyone's a winner

Phone apps are also useful in helping you to see how much you have saved over time and tracking your progress, that way, even on a down moment you have the evidence that you have benefitted from quitting.

Excellent stuff.

Eye

[BeeL]

Thanks Eye. Exercise definitely helps, sometimes its the last thing I feel like doing at the end of a hard days work but then I feel sooo much better for it. You're right the apps are cool as they provide motivation too.

Have a lovely evenings peeps

x

[Trish6440]

Try positive affirmations e.g such as "my mind and body are in perfect balance, I control my thoughts, I choose to handle all my experiences with love" eventually you will find that your subconscious mind will react differently towards the urge of smoking. Or every time you feel the urge "even though I want this cigarette I love and except myself. Reverse psychology ......