Will this ever ease or end?

Iceylou

so im off the cigs since sunday 15th Jan with the help of the patches and i wish i could say it was easy so far but its not, its HELL.

terrible dreams, total exhaustion, vicious mood swings/irritabilty, and the cravings. the biggest thing that gets me is my brain/me saying "i usually have one now after breakfast/ i have one now before or after x,y,z". i never smoked inside my house always outside and that was my escape as such.

is this normal at the start? im not sure if i can keep this up

username123

Im off them cold turkey since Jan 1, so Im not really qualified to comment on how things are if youre using nicotine replacement therapy, but certainly for the first 2 weeks I was suffering a lot of dizziness, terrible sleep, vivid dreams (although I do anyway), cravings etc. But it was manageable.

Could it be the patches causing the problem? Maybe you should talk to your GP about it?

awman

hi,
i'm off them since the sunday before you and i'm also using the patches. I'm using the nicorette invisi patch 25 mg / 16 hour ones. Are you using the 16 hr ones or the 24 hr ones? Maybe try switching to the 16 hr ones if you have been using the 24 hr ones up to now. I gave them up a couple of years ago for a year (stupid to go back on them I know!!!) and used the 24 hr patches at the start. I found that I wasnt sleeping right, was having horrible dreams etc so I switched to the 16 hr patch and it seemed to help.

Then again, people who have given up and not used the patches at all have experienced the sleeplessness and horrible dreams so the patches might have nothing at all to do with it but its worth a try anyway.

Dont know how to help you with everything else though.... I've experienced the whole being irrational / mood swings too but thankfully now that side of it seems to have eased somewhat. Kind of just finding the weekends the hard part now. Hopefully within the next few days it might ease for you too...fingers crossed! What I've been trying to do is distract myself with something when I find myself getting anxious about not having a fag when I would normally be used to having one.... i've joined the gym and have started going to exercise classes etc a few nights a week. Keeps my mind off the fags and seems to be working. If I was just at home sitting in front of the telly (like I normally would have done!) i'd probably go insane with the cravings! Hope it gets a bit easier for you. Best of luck.

Pulsating Star

Iceylou wrote: »

i never smoked inside my house always outside and that was my escape as such.

is this normal at the start? im not sure if i can keep this up

An ex smoker told me to keep takeing some of the breaks I would have in the past and I find it helps to break up the day and pressure. I am not too far ahead of you and even so am taken aback at times how big blocks of time can go by and they never cross my mind. This is even though the first few weeks were very tough.

shauneym

Hi OP, seems that those useless patches that TV advert's convince you that 'they are the one to help you quit' are screwing up your mojo and your getting too big a hit of 'NICOTINE' during the release, plus you are still feeding the 'NICOMONSTER' inside you.
Unfortunately, untill you realise that you are a 'JUNKIE' yes 'JUNKIE' for nicotine then you will never beat it, you may stop but you will always want just another puff to see if you have beaten it, and then BANG its back inside your head.
Sorry to sound blunt but if you want to recover from Nicotine and yes it is recovery as Nicotine is a chemical stimullant then you must understand why you 'DO IT' or at least why you started, and then got AddictedWhen you understand how or why then you can start to break the 'Cycle'.
Give a Heroin Addict methadone then the Addict just becomes a Methadone Addict. you must stop the dependancy and break the brainwashing, my god why do Tobacco companies endorse Nicorette products, its because they are keeping you hooked on Nicotine !!!!!!Allen Carr it may not cure you but it will give you all the Ammo you need to break free and yes it is 'EASY''...:):):)

Iceylou

well im still off the cigs and all those stupid mind games are gone. im still abit moody but then i always was a grumpy sod lol. looking back (i know its only 2weeks) im amazed i stuck it out. i think the first week was alot worse then i thought it would be as my darling 18mth old decided to be overly cranky that week too.

i forgot to get patches last thursday and had none for fri. i survived from 8am till 3pm and then my mood went downhill. i have found reading to be a great help to pass away the time in the evening.

Sin City

Im off them since new years. I know what you mean about you being conditioned to smoke after breakfastdinner or what have.you. You could either.A get a.nicorette.inhaler
Or B get an e cigarette

Best of luck

Iceylou

cant stand the inhaler, used it at the start for 2 days and nearly got sick from it and it also burned my throat. doing so much better. i must admit i sniggered at people who said "oh it will get easier etc etc" but they were right. when i feel i want to give in, i think about how im not wheezing anymore, not out of breath when i go for a walk with my daughter, how i dont smell horrible either. my husband was out last fri night and his jacket stank to the point where i put it out in the shed lol.

ayeboy

I stopped smoking about 3 weeks and have had the complete opposite side effects to the OP...I feel full of energy, less stressed and so much healthier already. Once you stop taking nicotine and realise that you are sacrificing nothing at all it will be so much easier. Believe me I struggled so many times trying before but read Allen Carr. The book should be free on the medical card!!

pah

off them 4 weeks today, going to the gym every other day for the last 4 weeks. amazed at the difference, not a heavy smoker by any means but the fat burn prog on the machine would try and get me to hit 125bpm and maintain it. took about 60-90 secs the first week i started, takes 3-4 minutes now and i find it hard to keep it going at that level.

Feeling Good

sporina

ayeboy wrote: »

I stopped smoking about 3 weeks and have had the complete opposite side effects to the OP...I feel full of energy, less stressed and so much healthier already. Once you stop taking nicotine and realise that you are sacrificing nothing at all it will be so much easier. Believe me I struggled so many times trying before but read Allen Carr. The book should be free on the medical card!!

wow thats a thought…

Alan's book has helped me though I am using patches - off them 3 weeks - they are probably a psychological aid as oppose to anything else and maybe they are doing me more harm than good, but, i would not have quit without them. You see, smoking for me is a huge psychological addiction.

I am now starting to think that if the patches satisfy the nicotine craving, then i AM psychologically addicted, as I am craving for a cig now, even though I am on the patches. ???
I really really wonder how much the addiction is physical and how much is psychological.

vinne

off the fags three weeks . This is my forth time giving them up .The other times used zyban and then champax This time cold turkey and its the easiest. What i find is a good help is berrrocca boost dont feel tired during the day the time i would have smoked the most

sporina

vinne wrote: »

off the fags three weeks . This is my forth time giving them up .The other times used zyban and then champax This time cold turkey and its the easiest. What i find is a good help is berrrocca boost dont feel tired during the day the time i would have smoked the most

arhhh.. have you read Alan Carr's book? If not, you really should. You are not giving them up - that makes it sound like you are depriving yourself of something. You are quitting. You have decided to not be a slave to the dreaded weed etc. This is how Alan word's it and it makes sense. Its a kind of NPL.

Great on 3 weeks though - keep it up!!:)