can i use herbal sleep remedies??

[nociggy]

hi ,im new to the site and am so glad i found it !! im on my 5th day of being smoke free and after a really uncomfortable night of tossing and turning i woke up feeling really down today. however im now feeling better after reading through some of your helpful comments and have decided to go to the shops and buy myself something with the £30 ive saved so far .does anybody know if a herbal sleep remedy could help me with my sleep ,or is it better to just plod on ?im using patches and the e cig

when the cravings get bad

[sue52 3 YEAR WINNER]

Hi nociggy

I'm susan, welcome to our community and a big well done on making the best decision you can ever make, and reaching day 5

I'm not sure if herbal remedies work, i wish i could answer that for you, but i'm sure someone else, or one of our advisors, Emjay and Jarvo, will come on and help you with that soon

It's a great idea to treat yourself, i'm doing the same thing, although i'm saving mine up just now, it's one of the things that keeps me motivated

I hope you can get your sleep sorted

Good luck Susan

[monky Administrator 35 Months Winner]

Aup nociggy, a big welcome to this lovely site

Well done to you for getting to day 5 on your quit journey, erm am not sure about herbal sleeping remedy's though sorry, but I would ask you what patches are you using ??

I ask you this because I've used the 24 hour patches and i couldnt sleep very well, so i'm now using the 25mg 16 hour patches which i take off at night just before i go to bed, and put a new one on first thing in the morning and i find that i sleep well with these dont know whether that will help you or not good luck

Pete

[EmJay Partner]

Hey nociggy,

Congratulations on reaching your 5th day of being smoke free, you've almost completed your first week! :0)

Either feeling tired all the time or not being able to sleep when you need to is all part and parcel of giving up smoking. It's a positive sign that your body is throwing out all this toxins that you've been inhaling for the length of time that you've been smoking. You're doing brilliant

On top of the above, it may be the strength of the patch and how you are using them. Can I just ask you a couple of questions?

1. What patches are you using? 24 or 16 hour?

2. Do you leave the patches on through the night or do you take it off before you go to sleep?

3. How many did you smoke each day before you quit?

There are a number of herbal remedies that you could take, but to be honest I would just ride it through. If it gets too bad, you could ask for something simple to calm you such as St Johns Wart or even Calms, theres really no need to be paying out for anything too expensive though.

How about trying some breathing exercises to help relax your mind whilst lying in bed. Depending on which ones you do, breathing exercises are a great way to get you through a number of trying times when stopping smoking and can be used to either overcome a craving, calm a busy mind, give you a bit more energy.

I'll pop up a breathing exercise for you once I'm back home that may help you tonight, should you feel the same.

Think of something that you could treat yourself to with the money you have saved, something that will remind you of how well you are doing.

Every craving and restless night you get over, it will become easier for you.

Keep smiling, your doing so well

[Hidden]

Hi Nociggys and well done on trying to quit, you wont regret it. I noticed you are using Patches and a E-Cig, just be careful your not getting to much nicotine using them both as this will make it even harder for you to lower the amount of nicotine when the time comes. I stopped over 7 months ago but only use a E-Cig, no patches, gum or anythink else and I have had no proplems at all, no side affects or cravings. Good luck on your journey,

mad

[delina 21 Months Winner]

Hi nociggy I had the sleep problem with my first quit so this time I bought some over the counter sleep aid tablets and I took them an hour before bed, yes I did find that they helped although I still tossed and turned I wasn't so much aware of it if that makes sense, they did help me in the early days and I was using the 16 hour patch which I put on in the morning and left it on till next morning, it would have ran out in the early hours but it gave me peace of mind, I did this for the first two weeks and my quit smoking adviser was aware and said this would be all right, I only wore patches for two weeks and then just used my e-cig which I found enough, I am now 4 weeks quit and to be honest I don't get many cravings. Good luck with your quit

[Kazzachoc 2 YEAR WINNER]

Hi nociggy,

I also had the same problem. I stopped smoking using niQuitin minis and from day 1 I had problems sleeping. At times I was feeling down and I think it was partly to do with lack of sleep, as some nights I wasn't getting to sleep until after 3am then having to go into work so I was shattered.

I have tried herbal remedies in the past and they don't work for me. I think it's just a matter of time as EmJay says until your body gets used to not smoking. I am sleeping fine now though it took about 7 weeks to get back to normal. I had a good lie in on a Sunday to catch up with sleep and just got through it. The herbal remedies such as Calms or Nightol etc may work for you so it's worth giving it a try. Just keep going, you are doing brilliantly and eventually your body will face the fact that you are not giving in to it's need to smoke

One thing that really did help me is coming on here and talking about the problems I was having and also having a laugh. Everyone is so friendly and full of really good advice.

Good luck and keep strong and you will do this.