My Battle

aoshea83

Hey ev'rybody (hey Dr. Nick!)

So I stopped smoking at 9pm on the 6th of this month. So far so good

I searched and found this forum and thought a mini personal blog would be a good idea to hold myself publicly accountable. I don't know what or how often i'll post but we'll see.

Quit Date : Thursday 6th 9pm
Method : Cold Turkey
Habit : 15 per day (Depending on stress )

corsav6

Good luck and I along with everyone on boards I'd imagine hope you succeed. I have been off since the 10th of DEC but I'm vaping. I can already feel the benefits, taste is better, more energy, easier breathing to name but a few so you have it all to look forward to.

aoshea83

I'm now 4 days in, nicotine hasn't passed my lips. I'll be honest, it's been easier than I was expecting, this is mainly down to two realisations:
1. I built up the biggest fear of quitting in my mind before hand
2. I've found the cravings havent gotten worse than they would for when I really needed a smoke when I did smoke.

Unusually I haven't been on edge/irritable these 4 days; I've in fact been very calm, totally contrary to my expectations.

Today (day 3) was the easiest so far, though I was kept busy nearly all day with course work. I even went outside with the smokers as I usually do for the chat and it didn't bother me nor did I crave! So far day 2 was the hardest.

According to the literature the initial nicotine is gone from my system now and by a week (3 more days) it's completely gone and just a battle of the psyche.

An android app I have has been a great little booster as it gives achievements and updates on health aspects.

Anyway this is it for today, I'll be back again soon for another update

aoshea83

corsav6 wrote: »

Good luck and I along with everyone on boards I'd imagine hope you succeed. I have been off since the 10th of DEC but I'm vaping. I can already feel the benefits, taste is better, more energy, easier breathing to name but a few so you have it all to look forward to.

Oh man, brushing my teeth+mouthwash has been unreal today, very different when I was smoking since the taste is coming back. I was tempted by vaping and NRT but i figured I was prolonging the pain!

aoshea83

Day 6. . .

Well it feels like it's getting easier, I think. Two noticeable cravings today

I'm finding 5pm to 9pm the hardest to deal with, still, more specifically after something to eat.

One more day and my first week is done, hopefully ending my counting in days and moving to weeks

aoshea83

Day 12. . .

Well Sunday and Monday were very difficult, had massive cravings a few times both days, didn't give in though (it was very very tempting!)

Today was (is!) good, as was yesterday but being on the course I'm on helps as it's distracting. My type of craving has changed too, it's gone from 'need' to 'would like' so that's a bonus.

Fatigue is starting to pass so hopefully I'll get a bit more active soon. Strange thing though, my want/need for caffeine has dramatically dropped since quitting, and it's not that I smoked while drinking coffee but throughout the day!

SamAK

Excellent! You've gotten over the hardest part.....don't look back! Feel proud!! Continue!

SamAK

aoshea83 wrote: »

my want/need for caffeine has dramatically dropped since quitting, and it's not that I smoked while drinking coffee but throughout the day!

I found this to be the case too....my tolerance for caffeine has dropped considerably! Did a bit of research and apparently nicotine does lessen the effects of coffee..

aoshea83

3 weeks today. . .

I'm sick, very sick, and all I really want to do is smoke my brains out, so today is lots of mini battles, one cig at a time.

Other than that its been plain sailing really, would still like one when I have a coffee in the evening and after dinner but I find now 3 weeks in I'm thinking of them less and less, a few hours could pass before the crave raises its head so I'm certainly not complaining!

I haven't really coughed up a lung ye either, something I was expecting. Health over all is unchanged I think though I'm not wheezing in bed (asthmatic) any more.

dersawazzie

Keep up the good work, 3 weeks is a sensational amount of time. The battles are just that, but tell yourself you are going to win, these little feckers will not dominate or rule you, you are in control.