Day 3
Today is the third day in my attempt to quit smoking. I have been having minor anxiety on and off for a couple of days. Everyone around me is sick...the flu and strep are both going around in this area. It all contributes...because I'm a total whack job. omg...people are sick...is that why I have a scratchy throat? pathetic! This morning I also feel kind of nauseated. whatever...either I will actually get sick or I won't. I refuse to let anxiety win. In the meantime, I am extra careful to wash my hands often and try to work on other people's machines remotely and limit my physical contact to other people's keyboards, etc. I am tired, for a short week it has seemed really long. It is supposed to storm again on Sat. Looking forward to staying in and if possible having a fire.
I feel sad and depressed for no apparent reason. I just went out and googled the symptoms of nicotine withdrawl:
- Headache
- Nausea
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Fatigue, drowsiness, and insomnia
- Irritability
- Difficulty concentrating
- Anxiety
- Depressed mood
- Increased hunger and caloric intake
- Increased desire for the taste of sweets
- Tobacco cravings
CRAP
Replies
Good luck. I haven't been able to quit yet. Have you tried nicotine gum? That has helped me a little bit in the past. Good for you. Hopefully it will get easier. Hugs, Sadie
The anxiety freak in me was afraid to try the gum. Last night right before bed I tried to light one and took one drag....it tasted awful and I thought It was going to make me sick which made more anxiety...so maybe now I will be afraid to start up again. would be pretty funny if anxiety actually helped me quit. blaaa haaa ha.
Hell, those are the symptoms of nicotine withdrawl? I have all of those while being on nicotine. Maybe I should give up Nicorette think ive been on it for 3yrs and its mighty expensive. There shouldnt be a difference. I chewed tobacco for like 17yrs and aint going back. Anywho, Good Luck quitting!! Break a leg!
have to say watch out for the people offering you anything with nicotine in it. It's the nicotine you have to withdraw from and the only way to actually get that done, is to just stop ingesting it.
the sooner the addiction leaves your system, the easier your life will get. And it takes ages anyway - so 'coming down slowly' just prolongs your agony.
JMHO - but I quit in 2010 after 10 yrs of failed attempts, much humiliation and loss of self respect for all my failures. I'm very, very proud of myself for having got off them, but more importantly
I do not miss smoking. I do not miss it one bit. I am absolutely happy now, well apart from life - but I don't wish I still smoked, I don't promise myself I'll start again when I'm 80, if I was told the world was ending next week I wouldn't race out and buy a pack. In short I'm off them and I don't care about them.
Us ex smokers don't talk enough about how okay we are now. It's only the ones who haven't managed to quit, or who have sort of quit but still yearn, that really speak up. The success stories are generally silent.
the symptoms I mostly had from nicotine withdrawal were:
1. anxiety attacks
2. restless leg
3. insomnia
I took a sleeping pill for the insomnia. You could probably take fisherman's friend or similar for the nausea. Anxiety attacks? Well I think that's why we smoked; to calm down. so it makes sense that we would suffer extra punishment as we dry out. Those attacks end and you find yourself emotionally on a far more even keel than you ever were when you smoked.
In fact being emotionally stable is one of my most unexpected and beneficial side effects of not smoking. When you smoke you're on an emotional rollercoster of up and down depending on how long ago you had your last ciggie. Given i was having 20 a day, that's a lot of little rollercoasters. It's really nice to have that stop.
And of course not having to pay the $, and not smelling, and not having the kids complain. No longer worrying over every chest pain 'is that lung cancer?' :D
Life is good as an ex smoker. It's worth hanging on in there and just enduring the withdrawal till it's over.
Thank you all for the encouragement! I really appreciate it.
hang in there, the first step is the hardest, keep moving forward, u can do this! Im proud of u :)