please tell me this gets easier!!!

[Lisa-Jane]

well according to my app!! i have been fag free for 2 days 13 hours and 20 seconds.. and have saved a grand total of £11.75!!

someone please tell me this gets easier!!

yesterday i was so tired i just spent the whole day on my bed...last time I did that I was a teenager,and im 36 now!!

in fact think i have turned into a teenager.....over night i have developed a face full of spots, im lethargic,im seriously grumpy and have a dislike for everything and anyone (including myself !!!lol)

I find myself slapping my bum like im auditioning for a part in an asda advert, in the hope that maybe it will increase the amount of nicotine released from the patch.... i clearly musty have a defective patch!! haha

i knew it was going to be tough... but not this tough!

[jarvo]

Welcome Lisa-Jane

Congratulations on quitting smoking. You're a doing an amazing job, well done .

Pakcing in smoking is a very hard habit/addiction to break and you can fill a little rough in the first few weeks. These are all good signs, signs of recovery. Its your body's way of getting rid of all those nasty chemicals you've been inhaling from cigarettes.

Have a little look at this page stopsmoking.org.uk/content/... and also -

Health Benefits of Quitting

Your body will begin to repair itself as soon as you stop smoking – and you’ll go on feeling the health benefits for the rest of your life.

20 minutes after stopping your blood pressure and pulse rate will return to normal. Circulation improves in hands and feet, making them warmer.

8 hrs after stopping nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in the blood will be cut by half and oxygen levels will return to normal. Chances of heart attack start to fall.

24hrs after stopping the level of carbon monoxide in your body will be that of a non-smoker and your lungs will start to clear out mucus and other smoking debris.

48hrs after stopping your body is becoming free of nicotine and your sense of taste and smell is improving

72 hours after stopping you should be breathing more easily. Airway passages in the lungs begin to relax. Energy levels increase.

2-12 wks after stopping your circulation is improving, making walking easier

3-9mths after stopping your lung function has increased by up to 10%. That means less coughing and wheezing and fewer breathing problems

5yrs after stopping your risk of having a heart attack is halved

I am sure you will find lots of friendly, supportive advice from many of our quitters in this blog. If you have any questions shout away.

One last thing Please put your quit date on the question added by Emjay - where are you up to on your quit.

Best wishes and keep smiling

[monky Administrator 35 Months Winner]

Hey hey Lisa-Jane, just calm down a min yeh,

I'm using patches- 25mg clear- plus the inhalator for the bad times, i tell you now that the first week is hell !! but it does get better, and easier as you go on

I can see that you smoked about 20 a day, what patches are you using ???? If you look through the blogs- at Emjays blogs-erm if you go to the Archives- to Emjays blogs- look on those cus i'm sure that they will help you also go on to the daily chat blogs, they might help you too, we try to help each other on this site, and if we cant, there is Emjay who is on her hols at the moment, there is Claire, and Hellen as well, who are advisors, and are lovely, cus they are very helpful and careing.

Dont you give in now gal, your nearly past the hardest step, you are doing so so well- try the breathing exercises- or have you tried bashing your hubby about, thats always a goodn to get rid of them cravings!!

keep at it gal, cus i know that you are strong, and CAN do it

Pete

[Lisa-Jane]

Thanks guys for replying so quickly. I know I need to give up.. This is my 4th quit attempt, last attempt was over 5 years ago. I never remember it being this hard!! Thank you jarvo for the time line.. I got my patches from my local chemist and I literally left with patches and minis! He gave me no information leaflets so that was very helpful and will defo check that link. thanks

And monky I was smoking about 15 a day so they gave me niquitin 21mg 24 hour patches and niquitin 1.5mg minis. I'm not keen on the minis as they make my throat itch however I tried the mist spray at the chemist and coughed most of it back up at my quit advisor!!! The patches are giving me nightmares and last night I ended up taking it off to go to sleep.

I realise it would be hard and it's in some ways easier than I thought yet harder all at the same time!! Not helped by the fact I'm loosing my mind and feel like I have the flu!! But I know every hour without a fag is a bonus as honestly didn't think I'd manage 1 day even with every patch mini, inhalator etc going!!

My will power is pretty useless however coming on this site seeing others further than me in their quit smoking will motivate me.

Thank you guys for your support and I'm sure I will be back very shortly!!

[monky Administrator 35 Months Winner in reply to Lisa-Jane]

hey Lisa, dont you give in now gal, i'm also on my 4th attempt, i know how hard it is,

try the 16hour patches, like me, i plonk one on in the morning and zip it off at night, when i go to bed, job done gal!!

No nightmares or anything for me!!

Pete

[andi22]

Hi there Lisa-Jane and welcome to our community. You have certainly come to the right place for help with your quit. We're all here to help each other and there's no way that I would have managed this far without it! I'm one of those cold turkey people and amazed at how well I'm doing. It seems to me that you need to get an urgent appointment with your local smokestop people (through your gp surgery I think) to make sure you're on the right kind of tablets etc. We had someone on here a couple of weeks ago who had been sold a right load of duff stuff by her chemist and the smokestop people got her on the right track tablet wise.

Our Emjay always has this saying and that is that each quit is a practice for when you finally manage to achieve your goal (or words to that effect. )

Anyway, come and join in with our daily chats, we do talk a load of rubbish at times but we're always here for each other for good times as well as bad.

Looking forward to chatting again soon.

Andi

[andi22]

PS IT DOES GET EASIER

[Lisa-Jane]

Thanks.. My chemist is apparently a nhs quit place. That's why I went there!! But I am defo thinking about going somewhere else.. The guy isn't the most supportive!! I spoke to my friend earier who's been quit for 3 years and she reminded me she had stayed in bed for almost 2 weeks when she quit!!! So 1and a half days so far in bed I can cope with, but we shall see what happens this week.

Thanks guys this help is really appriceated

[jillygirl Administrator LONG TERM WINNER]

Hi Lisa jane, I think your doing brilliant. My first 2 weeks I felt really tired. I used to have an hours sleep in an afternoon , then I was ok. I am 62 years old and smoked from being 17. I have quit for nearly 3 months now. I do get the odd craving, and get agitated now and again but its still better than smoking. Please stick with us and join in the community . you can do it. xx

[Lenne LONG TERM WINNER]

Hey Lisa-Jane, congrats on quitting! Does it get easier? In my opinion, yes and no. Some days will go better than others and down the line if you're mostly not feeling the cravings one may sneak up on you but it all comes down to the reasons why you want to stop and reminding yourself why. In 2 days time I will be reaching my 2 month mark and I've worked out that I've saved myself approx £700! Crazy money right? Things like that will get you through this, and a crazy community to make you laugh... like this one They say a craving lasts around 2 minutes- enough time to brush your teeth, make a cuppa tea, dance to some music, anything to take your mind off the craving. Keep up the good work! xx

[Finley2012 30 Months Winner]

Hi Lisa-Jane. Well done on day 3 It does get easier, I promise. For me the first 2 - 3 weeks were really tough. I'm using patches and inhalators and found I had real trouble sleeping to begin with even though I was on the 16 hour patches, so wasn't wearing them in bed. A lot of people have said they had bad sleep/nightmares, whether they were using NRT or going cold turkey/using champix, so I'm not sure if it's really the medication or just the shock to your system of stopping smoking!! I'm just going into week 9 today and feel sooooo much better than I did in the early days. I do still think about cigarettes, but not in a way where I actually want to have one, or feel overwhelmed by the thought of them (usually - although I did have a really bad day a couple of weeks ago due to stress, but won't bore you with that).

I would say - treat yourself kindly; expect it to be hard, it's an addiction, no less than cocaine or heroin. If you expect it to be easy, you might think you're failing when it's hard. Treat yourself regularly, or save for something you really want but thought you couldn't afford. As Lenne says, it's amazing how the cash mounts up. I've saved £730.00 since 29 April - like she says, crazy money.

DEFINITELY go somewhere else if your chemist isn't being helpful. I went to my local pharmacist for first 6 weeks and his incompetence almost derailed my quit attempt. I now go to a local NHS stop smoking clinic, and they're brilliant.

Best of luck xx

[Sonny]

Hi Lisa-Jane,

It does get easier, you are on your way to 2 weeks, then 2 months

2 years, but remember whatever you do "no one single puff"

The patch is good, the gum is ok. I think what also helps, is to always

Ask yourself: "what are the advantages of smoking"

"None" not one. Keep up the great work