its most likely because for the first time in 5 days you were given "permission" to smoke by being out of the hospital. this was in oct, right? what day are you on in this quit? day 5 is certainly not out of the danger zone..LOL..so dont beat yourself up about it. typically nicotine is out of your body in 3 days...but those INTENSE crazy cravings can happen for quite some after..there are tons of other chemicals leaving your body besides nicotine. i had a rough time up to about day 32....those moments like you were talking about can hit very suddenly so it is important to be armed with distractions and an "i do not smoke anymore" attitide. are you experiencing any bad cravings yet now? i hope things are going quite smoothly for you right now. HUGS!!

Maybe you could stay in the hospital a few more days... LOL?

That was your choice to puff-puff-puff. You have to commit to quit, prepare yourself, read and understand what it happening to you and your body and why. Attitude is everything IMO. Tell us how to support you.

Well that's a drag but then makes sense as you were back to your old routine and comfort zone. Try and change up your regular routines, if you smoke first thing in the morning, don't and come to DS instead, if you usually smoke in the car, don't....make a plan, and best wishes!

your all so supportive..i haven't started quitting yet i'm going to get accupuncture to help..it helped me alot the last time i quit..i was a non smoker for 4 years..i could kick my self..but its not to later to do it again

so glad i found this forum..i'm gonna need it
thanks everyone

I went for acupuncture he put a needle through my cigarette and said now try smoking it.

vivo thats funny

Nicotine is very addictive....Sorry you got home and started again....NOPE....not one puff ever is my motto!

I agree. Keep the promise of NOPE (not one puff ever) and change your routine around to reduce your triggers.

I quit smoking 2 months ago, I feel like I barely escaped with my life. I believe what happened if you weren't aware of your so-called "triggers". Everytime you do something for the very 1st time that you always USED to smoke while doing, you'll automatically think of a cigarette. Many people (my 70 yr old mother included) use that as an excuse to go back to smoking. Because they believe that's 'proof' that they'll always miss cigarettes. I'm ready for every trigger ahead of time. My 1st Thanksgiving, my 1st Christmas, the 1st time the weather turned cool, the 1st really nice spring day since you quit? All of those things are triggers. If you know that ahead of time you can almost sit back and watch. But just 1 or 2 times of doing something without smoking and that particular trigger ceases to bother you the next time.

PolarBearz makes good points about the memory association aspect of addiction triggers.

That plus the fact that you knew you could not smoke in that environment worked together to get you through the time crave-free.

Like PolarBearz said, anticipating craves is the best defense against them. I used that during the first weeks of my quit and it worked great. Just watch ahead of what you're doing by a few minutes, looking for an approaching time that you would have lit up. When you see one coming, expect the mother of all craves to hit you and be ready for it. Chances are it won't even show. If it does, it will be a real wimp.

Shevie