Day 3 today

Hi everyone, I'm on day 3 today and have smoked for 30yrs ➕ I'm doing not bad but find around 5pm I struggle and suddenly get very aggrivated, I'm retiring to bed early as by 7 all I think about is having a fag, can anyone help or give me any suggestions to get thru this easier?

[Briarwood Administrator Ducky]

Hiya Sharontillbrook, welcome to quit support and congratulations on 3 days quit

What you're feeling is all very normal, as the day wears on It gets a bit tougher alright

Maybe a short walk around that time might help, or come on here for a read of old posts to get your mind off cigs. In the beginning we seem to think about them all the time and as time passes, it gets a bit easier

Knitting, reading, a few excercises or marching on the spot...........you may laugh but it gets you moving

A series of breathing excercises can help as well or dare I say even a spot of cleaning

May I ask if you have any nicotine replacement or are you cold turkey

Hang in there, you are doing great x

[jillygirl Administrator Queen Bee]

Hi Sharon, Welcome to quit support, First of all are you using any form of nicotine replacement? or are you going cold turkey. There are lots of products which can help you. Try drinking plenty of water, have plenty of snacks available for when you get a craving. Preferably healthy ones. Change your routine , watch a film, go for a walk, visit a friend or get friends to visit you. If you let us know what you are or are not using we can give you better suggestions.

I will bob your quit date on to our wall of winners , then Monky and I can make sure you receive your well earned badge.

Everyone is so friendly on here and always willing to help.

Keep us updated. xx

[monky Administrator Cake sniffer outer]

Aup Sharon, its lovely to meet you and a massive well done to you for getting to day 3 on your quit journey

I see the Girls have given you some excellent advice already to which I cant really say any more to help you

All I can say is, that when I first quit, I found something similar to you this was because we are not allowed to smoke at work !! soooooo, as soon as I finished work and got in my van to drive home, I would light up Soooo this became a really hard part of quitting for me !!

Then when I get home, there are 2 other smokers in my house, who smoke in the house soooooo, this toooo was a very very hard time for me, cos as soon as I entered the house, there was that fag smell and I tell you, that mr nic didnt half lay down the law then

Rite, how I overcame these moments !!

At work, when I went to get changed after my shift, I would pop a nicotine lozenge in my mouth and this worked for me No fags, lighters, fag smells in my van whatsoever, I had cleaned it all out on the Sunday before ( valeted ) even took the the cigar lighter and the inside of the ashtray out and it worked

At home, this was a different matter all together I couldnt valet the house I couldnt spray er-in-doors and her brother-in-law with nice smelly stuff sooo what do I do ??

Emjay our lovely quit adviser/administrator told me to change my routine I used to get home from work, have a cuppa and get in the shower, then sit down and unwind before my dins

Soooooo, I got home from work the next day, didnt go for a shower, I went into my garage and jumped onto my rowing machine and gave it flippin hell talk about puffing and panting but it worked I got rid of that first major craving had my shower, got my dins then came on here for a chat and a few laughs which helped me tremendously and still does had a few vapes on my e-cig to which I had some practice with it the week before and so far Sharon, job sorted gal, well over 5 months quit now

So I would look at your routine and see if you can change it at all

Please stay with us Sharon, cos there a flippin great bunch of people, noooo, not people, lovely friends who have all gone through the same as we have and want the same goal, to be smokefree

Hope to see ya soon

Pete

[Hidden in reply to monky]

Thank you sooo much to everyone for your advice, I'm on patches 21mg, nurse was reluctant to give me higher dosage as suffering with high blood pressure and also on Hrt I have my nicirette chewing gums for back up, around 5 is my hungry time aswell so maybe it's that going on aswell lol, I will definitely change my routine and maybe start doing me and kids dinner then, I've never been an exercise person, I'm a little overweight do you think I should take this up? I can't afford the gym at the moment but maybe something else? I have quit before cold turkey and lasted 7 days so decided to do it aided this time, thank you so much for all your kind messages, no one smokes at home but most of my friends do and they are also long term smokers who have no intention of quitting unfortunately xx

[Hidden in reply to monky]

Thank you so much xx

[Hidden in reply to monky]

So helpful Pete, thank you, I'm going to change a few things around that time! By the way when will I feel like I have more energy? Also does anyone suffer horrible nightmares x

[gerda 30 Months Winner]

Like u, I smoked over 30 years and gave it up a year and a half ago. After I quit regular cigs, I smoked e-cigarettes for a while and found them very helpful, although they cost a lot. Then I went to nicotine gum. I found these methods made it possible for me to gradually handle the cravings I had. I also believe it's not just the nicotine that is a craving, but also all the other chemicals that are in cigs. Quitting is not an easy thing to do. But, you can do it. Don't give up. And if sleeping helps, I would sleep in order to get through the difficult times. Once the really hard times are over, you are going to feel so proud and happy about yourself and what you did. You will also feel a lot healthier and look a lot healthier. Good Luck to U!!!!!!!!

[Hidden]

Thank gerda, you have made me feel better, I have a e cigarette but not sure if I can use this with my patches? I tried to use this on its own before but found I was coughing all the time lol and then failed miserably xx

[monky Administrator Cake sniffer outer in reply to Hidden]

Hi Sharon

Re e-cig and patches Yes you can use the e-cig with patches but just keep the e-cig for the hard times if you see what I mean

I dont know whether your on the 24 hour, or 16 hour patches, but if you take them off at bed time, then perhaps your e-cig will help you first thing in the morning before your new patch starts to work if you see what I mean Also, if you put your next day patch ( in its packet ) under your pillow when you go to bed, then it will be near to your own body temperature when you put it on the next day therefore will start to work sooner

As for you exercising, you dont have to go to the gym just take your dog for a brisk walk, if you havnt got a dog, then drag hubby out with you, cos it will do him good too House work, dont just saunter flippin move whiz around with the hoover, get that heart pumping that blood around your body

Dont get one of your children to fetch you something from upstairs, flippin fetch it your sen walk up and down stairs excellent exercise get one of those exercise cds and give that a go

Like the others have said, try to drink more water, cos it does really help not only with the cravings, but also when you feel peckish, it sort of gives your body a false impression that your tummy is full dont ask me how that works gal, cos I aint got a clue

Your doing ever so well Sharon, you stick to it gal

[Hidden in reply to monky]

Thank you money! Everyone is so helpful on here, I'm on the 24 hr patch at the moment but having alot of vivid nightmares so might change to 16 hr, I'm starting a new job on 24th Nov and don't want to be a smoker when I start there, as far as I no no one smokes and there is a policy in place anyway that you can't have ciggy breaks, I was worried about giving up just before starting a new job but I feel really positive about this, something feels different this time maybe it's because of this job or I am just sick of being a smoker and sick of feeling ill in the winter months with chest infections ect, anyhow I will stop rambling on, I am so glad I joined this site, it is a great prop for me. Thank you for all your support and advise xx

[monky Administrator Cake sniffer outer in reply to Hidden]

Hi Sharon

So, your on the 24 hour patch, well, just try taking it off when you go to bed then see how you sleep but I do know alot of us on here do have vivid dreams when we quit I think its to do with our brains getting more oxygen to them, so it keeps active for longer

Emjay, our lovely quit support adviser put a post up a while a go about vivid dreams, I will try and find it for you and repost it

Good luck in your new job and that should help you with it being a smokefree job

Perhaps it feels different this time, cos you really WANT to quit cos I know myself that you really have to want to quit to quit

Hey, if you want to ramble on gal, then you ramble on, cos it does help us just talking about our quit and our experiences does help us plus it may help some of the others who dont post but just stay in the background reading

Sharon, your doing soo well you stick at it and keep strong and focused any hassle, you come a calling on here gal and we will try to help you

Pete xx

[mdelsan2]

You are doing great...I find that chewing gum and candy or halls help me.....Stay busy and dtink water...There are vitamins you can take also they say it helps for cravings.vitamin c and b12. Stay strong

[Hidden in reply to mdelsan2]

Thank you, I will take vitamin c as just bought some for my son lol, ive, will try water aswell as do not drink water at all only tea!!! Which can't be good either xx

[shantimar]

Hi sharontillbrook

You are doing great, it is hard to give up the cigarettes but it can be done

I smoked for 30 + years, I started like most here I suppose when I was still at school. My older sisters all smoked and I thought they looked cool. Funnily I have always hated the smell of smoke but didn't let that put me off. It's amazing how sneaking a ciggie here and there eventually became a full blown habit.

One of my sister's was diagnosed with lung cancer, she is now terminal and we are nursing her at home for as long as we can.

My other sisters quit as soon as she was diagnosed but I actually smoked more and more until one day I thought enough is enough. I bought an e cig but had to quit that after a few months due to an allergic reaction to the pg in the e liquid. I went online and found Allen Carr, downloaded his book and the rest is history

It does get easier, at first I had indigestion/stomach issues, insomnia, weight gain but I now feel healthier, still need to loss some weight though

So hang in there, as everyone said you can do it, you just need to find a way that suits you.

Never quit quitting

xx

[Hidden in reply to shantimar]

Thank you hun, I weigh the same as you and am also your height, I'm trying to lose weight too, I don't want to focus too hard on the weight problem until I feel at a safe place with ciggy quitting, incase I take on too much quitting in one go, will try desperately not to pile anymore weight on but would love to keep in touch with you and see how u are getting on, so sorry to hear about your sister, that must be so hard for you, you must be a very strong person and I admire your strength in keeping off the cigarettes, it's so frightening that this could be any one of us smokers in your sisters position, I really hope she keeps pain free and sounds like she is surrounded by a very loving family xxx

[shantimar in reply to Hidden]

Hey Sharon, not on as much as I used to be but lurk about now and then to make sure monky's behaving and everybody else

I'm like you will wait till I feel ready to really tackle the weight gain but of course I'll keep in touch

Xx

[monky Administrator Cake sniffer outer in reply to shantimar]

Aup Shan, I hope your well

Yeah, I started smoking at school, when I was about 13 it was just the cool thing to do at the time

Sending your Sister loads and loads a warm loving huggs and of course to you and your lovely family as well Take care now Shan and stay strong xx

[shantimar in reply to monky]

Hi monky I'm not too bad

We just find a way to deal with what life throws at us

I was around your age as well when I smoked my first ciggie too young to know any better

Well now we're older and wiser, well maybe not wiser

Xx

[yellowsnowdrop]

I've gained a shed load of weight but I don't smoke anymore,better be heavy than a smoker is what I say.

[monky Administrator Cake sniffer outer in reply to yellowsnowdrop]

Toooooo flippin right 'H' am with you all the way on that one gal xx

[Fags1]

I smoked for 45 years and quit nearly two years ago. I am now sixty three stone twelve pounds, only sleep for eight minutes a day, shout and rant incessantly and have hit everybody within a five mile radius of my house, but I have not had a cigarette and plan keep it that way.

Joking aside, It's a tough road to travel but you have made the right decision and you are in good company on this site. We have all suffered the same anxieties, pangs, cravings etc, call them what you will but they do diminish and you could not wish for better support than to stay with the quit support crowd.

I now feel so much better for having stopped, there were moments when I could have so easily crumbled and lets be honest, you can just walk into almost any old shop and buy a packet of fags/baccy. I did find it hard and there are still moments when I could murder a roll up, but these are fleeting moments and I can just brush them aside.

Well done, on three days you have made a good start, stay fighting.

[Hidden in reply to Fags1]

How refreshing it is to be able have so much support, you sound like a really strong and determined person, we must be to try to kick the habit in the first place, it's so nice to also know you are not alone and there are all these success stories but they are honest and truthful which is what I'd so refreshing, I love reading your stories, it's very supportive and makes you feel like a little army against evil lol xx

[orfordholly 2 YEAR WINNER]

Hi Sharon welcome to the support quite group. Well done for bring smoke free for 3 days. That is really good. x

[Hidden in reply to orfordholly]

Thank you, I'm day 5 now!!!! Yay!!! Look forward to chatting with you all xxx

[orfordholly 2 YEAR WINNER in reply to Hidden]

Well done bring 5 days smoke free. Keep it up xxx