stay strong!! I fell after 7 weeks, back on board tomorrow!!!
I stopped smoking December 16th, picked up a cig-just one, this last Wednesday, and back I go. Starting tomorrow, I'm also back to square 1, so fricken hard!!!
Day 3'for me... On an unofficial break from work.. On call. I seem to be doing ok - with every nicotine delivery method known to man -!except cigarettes -- but even so every interaction with other humans has aggravated the hell out of me. Can't stay in a cocoon forever.
over the weekend the "post time" was wacky too : )
I must be going crazy. I typed the above post a few minutes ago, but it says 5hrs ago?
beanp------Hey, congrats on your quit! I know you feel awful :( I'm just recently out of the awful stage myself. I have GAD also, and the first 2wks were very difficult...okay, they were terrible. Just tell yourself that this will get better because it definitely will. This awful feeling is not permanent. That kind of self talk is what helped me at first...along with this forum, of course. Use a little of your Ativan if you need to, but try not to unless you really can't stand it. I take Xanax for sleep, but did find myself needing a small amt during the day for a while to combat the increase in anxiety for about a week, then I was able to back off and tolerate the lesser symptoms. It's important to use as little as possible, though.
I got my meter off of whyquit.com. I think Kathy Jo has mentioned that website to you. Go to whyquit and you will see on the right side of the page Key Freedom Links. Click on the Free Quit Meters. There are many to choose from, but I chose *Quit Time* because I like the simplicity of it. Kathy Jo has that one also. You can also start an Addiction Tracker here on MedHelp. I have both and I'm finding all the visuals to be Very helpful. With the meter off of whyquit, it sits down on your toolbar all the time, so whenever you go online for anything, it's there for you to admire your progress :) I love it! Really helpful. Then, you can look at your Tracker on your profile and admire that :) Filling in *0* consumption on my tracker every day is very satisfying and exciting. Let me know if you have any other questions. Very Best of Luck!!
beatingthis------Congrats to you!!! I know, smoking does take up a lot of time, huh. Keep moving! :)
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1m 1w 10:32 smoke-free, 558 cigs not smoked, $153.45 saved, 1d 22:30 life saved
YAY!!! Good for you two!! Buy yourself a nice dinner out!
Day 9 or is 10? for me and I know what you are going through. I am in the middle of the mental end of it. I just get and go. Dosen't matter where I just go.
Funny I never knew I had so much time on my hands.
So far hubby and I have saved $ 250.00!!!!!
Keep plugging away!
Terry
Could you tell me what the meter thing is. I have one day in not smoking. Having a hell of time. This is my second day. Feel awful. Take ativan for aniexty as I have gad. Thanks for your help and any other advice you have for me. Thanks
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2w 6d 17:01 smoke-free, 308 cigs not smoked, $84.70 saved, 1d 1:40 life saved
NOW, it works
...and consider a meter. It's very encouraging! For some reason, I'm having a lot of trouble making mine work.
Nope, won't work :(
I haven't smoked 2wks6d 308 cigs not smoked $84.70 saved
You absolutely can do this. I started smoking because of anxiety too, but what we don't realize is smoking Causes anxiety. Makes your heart race, elevates blood pressure, etc. I know it seems as if you will never feel better, but you will. I keep in mind that this severe feeling is temporary. I am at 3wks tomorrow and can definitely feel a difference from 2ks ago, heck, from 4 days ago. You will begin to feel a little better every day, even if it's only a tiny bit.
Also, as Kathy Jo suggested, try reading whyquit.com and educate yourself on how smoking and nicotine effects you. The more education you have about this nasty habit, the more likely you will be to succeed in your quit. Make yourself a list of all the positives of not smoking and tape it up everywhere so it will be in your sight at all times. Drink lots of water and if you don't walk or excercise, you should begin. Walking has saved me more times than I can count. Do deep breathing to help with the anxiety.
Something else. I think what we are going through is PAWS. Now, because I feel so spaced out, I forget what this stands for, but you can look it up on the Health Pages on the Addiction forum. I thought it described what I am going through really well.
Lastly, this is a great forum for support. Post anytime you need to and we will be here for you, okay?
Best of luck to you, Mel!!!!
Thank you! I smoke because I have such bad anxiety, like right now, I want one just because I am anxious. I have to figure out how to control my anxiety without cigs.
I can do this though!! I just have to keep on telling myself this.
"Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal can mimic, disguise, or aggravate the symptoms of other psychiatric problems, according to the American Psychiatric Association."
I typed in "nicotine withdrawal" and pulled this off a site that came up. I am an anxiety sufferer and I thought this made alot of sense.
You're not alone in how you feel. If you just look through old posts, you'll see so many others felt the same way you do right now and then you will see them getting better with each passing day.
technically, 3 days for physical WD though Jade may be on to something when she says a little bit longer. My thought is that it's the emotional WD that makes the physical seem to last longer. When you learn to seperate the two and understnad just what kind of hold cigs have over our us mentally, then you will see how very little the physical aspect of WD lasts.
What helped me tremendously was the meter and seeing the progress of my quit. Also, all of the immediate progress of my quit......smelling good, tasting food, not having to go outside anymore and deal with cold, hot, rain & snow : ) Saving money, the admiration in my kids eyes and the best and mosr important thing was the feeling I got when I took back control of my life! No longer a slave to cigs is a powerful feeling : )
There is a website, whyquitdotcom that has some really terrific articles that will help you get through the rough patches.
Hang in there and stay positive. We are here for you, to support you.
p.s. I smoked for 38+ years.
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1y 7m 5d 21:12 smoke-free, 12,844 cigs not smoked, $3,082.56 saved, 1m 2w 14:20 life saved
....I keep forgetting to flash my meter. The meter is great! It's right down on your task bar and I find the visual progress very encouraging.
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2w 5d 16:47 smoke-free, 293 cigs not smoked, $80.58 saved, 1d 0:25 life saved
Hi,
Congrats on your quit! I just quit 19days ago myself and I promise you, this will all get better. I still don't feel the best, but a whole lot better than I did.
It does take about 3days for the nicotine to clear out, but my theory is, there are so many chemicals in cigarettes, they certainly can't all leave your body just like that! I would imagine some of them would bind to your fat cells and are released over a longer period of time than just 3days. I lost my appetite and when you don't eat, you begin to live off your fat cells and what is in those fat cells gets released ie: all those chemicals in cigarettes. I don't know for sure, just my theory, but it sure makes me feel better and ready to face the fact that I may not feel well for many months. It feels comforting to me to kind of expect this.
I also decided to use Clonidine to help with my quit, but I believe I had a very bad reaction to it, which compounded the anxiety and insomnia. Are you using an aid, or c/t?
I still have a lot of anxiety, but I don't feel like I'm crawling out of my skin anymore and I can honestly say that today, I don't feel too bad...finally.
Hang in there, this will get better, I promise you :)