View Full Version : Trying to quit Cigarettes
Hi guys I have smoked for 20 years a packet a day , all of a sudden 6 days ago I decided enough was enough, and decided to try and stop gradually, I started the next day with smoking every three hours and at the moment I'm averaging around 5/6 cigarettes a day rather than the usual 20/25 I would have daily, so this is a huge drop and I'm very pleased with my self but I'm also now suffering horrid withdrawal symptoms ie, tummy ache, itchy skin, nausea, lightheadedness, hunger, insomnia I know all these will pass in time but my question is has anyone quit using the gradual reduction method ? How long behore I can space out my cigarette intake from 2 to 3 hours? The idea here is to get down from 5 a day to 1 to zero sounds easy but it bloody well isn't lol
Any advice? I'm getting a little worried about the dizziness now thinking it may be something else but that's the HA going weird on me I know :)
Any help advice would be greatly appreciated thank you :)
Hmmm You cant be suffering with withdrawal symptoms Earthmum because you haven't stopped smoking, you have just cut down a little but you are still feeding your body the nicotine it wants. Withdrawal symptoms come when you stop smoking completely. You could be feeling a little shaky if you havent smoked for a few hours, which is your body telling you it wants a nicotine hit, but you wouldn't be getting any of the other symptoms which are associated with nicotine withdrawal because you are not experiencing nicotine withdrawal.
I stopped smoking by using an E-Cig, I started off at a medium level nicotine, and gradually went down to zero.
I personally do not think cutting down is the way to stop smoking at all, because you are still smoking. Id look at other ways, ie nicotine replacement, or look into E-cigs maybe
Are you sure you haven't been reading up on nicotine withdrawal, and you are creating some of the symptoms in your mind due to your anxiety? It's possible, we all do similar things at times :)
I've also tried the cutting down method and you most certainly do get withdrawl symptoms!
Sure you're still getting some nicotine but if you get an alcoholic to cut their drinking by 75% overnight see if they dont get withdrawl too.
Well I cut down many times before finally quitting, and I didn't get any withdrawal symptoms until I quit nicotine completely, so to say you certainly do get withdrawal symptoms isn't correct because I didnt.
I guess it is possible that Earthmum is having slight nicotine withdrawal, but having a cigarette every 3 hours isn't really withdrawal, its only 3 hours without a fag, at night you would generally go 8 hours without one so to say there are horrid withdrawal symptoms may be more to do with the anxiety of attempting to quit and not reaching for a ciggie as often as normal.
I speak from recent personal experience having had a heart attack in january and I was a packet a day man.
Smoking is an addiction and I should have stopped years ago and the fright of nearly being dead was enough to make me stop instantly.
Nicotine goess out of the body quite quickly but it's all the other chemicals including cyanide that do the damage and it can take up to 6 months for your digestion system and bowels to recover.
I am not intending to preach . I found the NHS 12 week patches very good but one does tend to eat more.
I had no willpower to be honest and I miss a smoke and also I was selfish as it can harm others that live with you, but I will never smoke again.
Thank you both, I would smoke every half hour prior to this reduction, and now every hour or so, I get lightheaded, my tummy aches, my body itches, and I'm waking up with hot and cold flushes , something I've never experienced before whilst smoking , so I do believe its withdrawal but everyone's different you was very lucky not to get any withdrawal symptoms but I am now seriously contemplating going Cold Turkey, as I really do feel like I'm having constant withdrawal symptoms, it's tough :(
Daniele? Did you manage to quit through this method alone ?
---------- Post added at 10:58 ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 ----------
Ricardo I'm so pleased you have made a healthy recovery and thank you for replying, this is so tiring and tough not sure i can do this method I feel like I need to just stop and that's it go through the withdrawal for a week or so as if i carry on with this approach I will be on permanent withdrawal :( not fun..
I tried going cold turkey last week and had awful withdrawal symptoms. I had been smoking 40 a day.
The e cigs don't seem to help me at all, so I am going to try gum. At the moment I have cut down to 20 day and am getting some withdrawal symptoms, especially hunger and dizziness.
I've tried hypnosis in the past and that was useless. I guess it's just a matter of choosing the moment to stop then riding the withdrawals through. They say the body is clear of nicotine in 2 days. It's the rest of the chemicals and the habit of smoking that are hard to quit.
Good luck everyone.
Well done you for cutting down to half of what you smoke that's great news....
As Mark Twain once said "Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times."
I used to be a smoker and I gave it up by using nicotine patches. They work. You are setting yourself up for failure by trying to just wean yourself off them without any help. However, if that's the way you want to go about it then good luck.
Do whatever you have to do...period. Don't wait until you're diagnosed with something or have something happen that leaves you no choice.
Positive thoughts
I have a neighbour who is in his early 60s. He smokes a lot and he coughs a lot too. If he is doing some type of manual work he huffs and puffs. He had a medical checkup that included blood work and even full body scan about 6 months ago. Lungs were ok etc but blood tests showed he was Type 2 diabetic. His philosophy is "I reckon I have about 10 years left and I'm going to enjoy them." So no intention of giving up smoking anytime soon. I just wonder what he would say if in say a year or two he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Would he say something like "oh well I rolled the dice and I lost but I had a good time doing it so no regrets here." Something tells me the answer to that would be no but I could be wrong.
I'm sat here with an e cig and a packet of gum in front of me. Cutting down on its own was too hard, so I am trying now with these aids.
Paul that "spare hand" is why I'm trying with the gum. An e cig still gives you something to hold. So far today I've only had 2 real cigarettes.
"Do whatever you have to do...period. Don't wait until you're diagnosed with something or have something happen that leaves you no choice."
Exactly, Fishmanpa, as I know to my own cost.
Smoked for 13 years, became a chain smoker, On my way to work in camp I threw them out the window and never touched another. Was pretty grumpy and sick for ten days. I didn't have a choice, no access to cigarets in camp. I never got fat. And there was lots of food in camp. Can't stand the smell of tobacco smoke now. I've lost a few friends to lung cancer, it kills you quick. They didn't talk about it. I don't know if they had regrets.
MyNameIsTerry
29-05-15, 09:23
I was one of the really really lucky ones when it comes to smoking. Even though I have had asthma, I started smoking to fit in when I was drinking a fair bit. Stupid behaviour really!
I found that if I could resist the early morning one, I could resist the rest. But I hadn't smoked for more than a couple of years and I wasn't a heavy smoker but I still see myself as very lucky to kick it so easily by going cold turkey.
I don't envy you guys having the harder slog.
My dad has smoked most of his life except for a period where he just gave up. He tried to quit again and did it by limiting week-to-week. He got it down to about 2-5 a day (I can't remember exactly which but it was really low) and after a short period at this he gave up on it and went back up. Years later he had a bit of a scare with a lump and at that point decided to quit for life. He asked for support from his GP and gave up with the support options they have. He's been off it for a few years now but he always says he feels like he could take it up again as its always there in his mind.
Good luck!
It seems to be more then the psychologic need But that seems to be the big thing. The hard part. So yeah, I don't envy your struggle either.
Yesterday, whilst shopping I looked at the cost of 20 cigarettes £7- 9 !!!
Imagine that per week
That alone would make me stop!!
MyNameIsTerry
31-05-15, 05:53
Yesterday, whilst shopping I looked at the cost of 20 cigarettes £7- 9 !!!
:WTF::wtf1:
I've been waiting for a use for those smileys!
That is extortionate. I know they keep taxing it but thats huge. No wonder everyone is getting their backy packs off dodgy bob down the boozer! I'd rather smoke a rats bum, I think. :winks:
Hi. Struggling with the withdrawals today - sweating, shaking, headache. They mimic panic attacks so much it's hard to tell which I've got. Encouragement please! :weep:
What day are you at, all I can say is it gets better, at least the chemical part does. Remember how horrible this is so you don't start again. You can make payments on a car for what you spend on cigarettes. You like paying taxes. I love smokers, their tax pays my pension. :-)
http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/withdrawal1.htm
I put this up so one can be prepared.
I was a terrible smoker and I quit with a bit of determination and e-cigs. Same as the other user, I started with e cigs that had nicotine in them and then worked my way down to nothing. Mind you I also quit drinking which made it easier as well. If you want to quit you'll be able to just set your mind to it and stay vigilant. You can do it!!! And I can tell you I got sick about a month after but it was just my body clearing itself of all the nasty toxins. It's been over a year and a half now and I can tell you, you'll wish you did it sooner. The great thing is now they don't really allow smoking anywhere. One thing too, you'll be really proud of yourself and have loads more money. I buy presents for myself as a reward. trust me there is no downside to quitting!!
I started with e cigs that had nicotine in them and then worked my way down to nothing.
That's how I did it too.
I got a head cold in August of 2012. I had the congestion and swollen glands etc. That was when I decided to quit. I got the e-cig and was weaning down. At the same time I was having issues with the gland. Ironically, I had gotten down to 0% nicotine at the same time as my second heart attack hit me and was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma Head and Neck.
Talk about irony.....
Positive thoughts
http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/withdrawal1.htm
I put this up so one can be prepared.
Thank you for that ricardo. Very helpful.
Thanks everyone else for your support.
[QUOTE=Fishmanpa;1433640]That's how I did it too.
Ironically, I had gotten down to 0% nicotine at the same time as my second heart attack hit me and was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma Head and Neck.
Talk about irony.....
Fishmanpa funny you should say that, I got diagnosed with the cervical kind only severe dysplasia (not yet cancer) not long after that too. Mind you I think I had avoided the dr. before because of smoking and now I keep on top of all health related check ups now.
MyNameIsTerry
02-06-15, 04:41
Hi. Struggling with the withdrawals today - sweating, shaking, headache. They mimic panic attacks so much it's hard to tell which I've got. Encouragement please! :weep:
Yeah, thats why it is doubly hard for people on here. Not only do they mimic anxiety/panic but also can make you bring them on due to the worry about them.
I think try to tell yourself that this is to be expected and that all non anxious people feel these same withdrawal effects. Try to rationalise it, distract yourself, get things done to push through to the other side because with all this it will end on its own as your body flushes it all out. Think of it like quitting antidepressants, you expect some unpleasantness but its required to get better in the long term.
Whilst I didn't have much of this, I was lucky that way, I can understand this feeling because I have asthma and my breathing issues due to my anxiety can mimic that a lot of the time so that I don't know which is which.
:hugs:
It is extremely difficult to give up smoking for most long term smokers. I know I couldn't have done it without nicotine replacement. I never tried e cigd and used patches. I would give the e cigs a go though if I ever took it up again and needed to quot. I feel like a cigarette whenever I get really stressed but I find the desire passes after about 10 minutes. I am a social drinker and I miss those cigarettes the most. I studied addiction at uni. Studies show that if you make a real attempt to quit and fail then you are still on the road to quitting because you have acknowledged you have a problem. Many smokers fail the first few times they try to give up but eventually succeed. So don't be disheartened if you fall off the wagon a few times. Good luck.
I gave up using ecigs over 2 years ago. It was very easy in term of cravings but I felt lightheaded for a few weeks. There's some research which points to some chemicals in tobacco smoke which have the same action as some antidepressants and I must admit, it did feel like stopping ADs abruptly.
Anyway it all passed and now smoke free! :yahoo:
Good luck
Pip
Thanks swajj and pipkin. Today has been especially hard - end of the first week without the cigarettes. My chest feels tight and I feel lightheaded and anxious. Keeping at it though. I'm not going through this again!
MyNameIsTerry
04-06-15, 01:19
Thanks swajj and pipkin. Today has been especially hard - end of the first week without the cigarettes. My chest feels tight and I feel lightheaded and anxious. Keeping at it though. I'm not going through this again!
That's worth hanging onto because you will only have to fight to this stage again and you will have some negative thoughts to also fight through in subsequent tries.
When I was doing my post grad psych it was in addiction studies. My professor was a smoker and he was constantly struggling to give up cigarettes. This was a man who had a wealth of knowledge about addiction. I used to wonder what chance anyone had of giving it up if this "expert" struggled to do so. You can though you just have to really want to do it. As an aside at the time that I was doing my postgrad research showed that heroin addicts were more likely to give up heroin when they reached a certain age (around 40) than they were as a result of any type of treatment. According to the research they just got sick of the hassle of being addicts. That is, having to get the money to score, trying to score etc. Anyway, it's clear that you genuinely want to give up smoking so you have the best motivation that there is. :)
I often wander if having an addictive personality or being a very anxious person makes one a smoker, yet when I was in my teens nearly everyone smoked, though it wasn't highlighted then the many dangers of smoking.
AlexandriaUK
04-06-15, 14:34
I quit 5 years ago cold turkey and its not easy but so doable, your anxiety/panic levels are going to get better I promise and to be honest I am sure smoking made my symptoms worse.
This forum helped me tremendously http://forum.nosmokingday.org.uk/forum
its run by BHF hope its ok to post the link.
Thanks Alexandria. No real cigs in the house for 4 days now. Battling myself, but am managing with e cigs. :)
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.