Can anyone help me quit smoking?

[violetbloom]

I'm so keen to stop. All advice and tips very gratefully received.

By the way, has anyone else noticed a change in sleep patterns? I've found it very difficult to sleep over the last 3-4 nights. I wake up every hour or so, like I'm very uncomfortable somehow, very wide awake.

Day 9 with patches and still craving. Have read so much about NRT and that you should really go cold turkey. Trying to break the habit and then wean myself off the nicotine slowly -could be a bad stratgey. At least no fags have been lit for 9 days. Feeling a bit of a fraud as still getting what the fags gave me -apart from all the other crap.
But thinking if you go back to it are you going to be a smoker for life or just have to come back to quitting again and go through the initial stages all over again?
Arghhhh.

Feeling rubbish in what way, Depeche? Is it smoking-related? I've been feeling very low and quite grim this last few days too.

I've been quite nauseous too actually. Just fleetingly, here and there, to do with tastes and smells, I suddenly think 'eeeuw ...'

Could it be a side effect of the patches do you think? Is it very bad? Possibly not related / a bug?

I'm doing okay so far. The easiest day I've had really. Yesterday evening was the easiest evening too. Got dd around for next week so hoping that will be very distracting and by the end of next week most of the cravings will have gone. They can't go on forever can they?

Hiya , sorry you are feeling sicky Depeche .

Victoria it sounds like you have really cracked it . Did you think you would have got this far ? To just stop with no help is such a hard thing to do and you are nearly out the other side already .

Forgot my patch yesterday and found a step 2 (14mg) one in my desk so used that -the difference was noticable. Thought I may get away without doing the 6 weeks on full strength but probably not.
Sticking with the programme!
At least nobody has had one not matter how bad they feel.

Hi chippy , what day are you on ? How you finding it ? I think it is worth seeing the programme through to the end . A friend of mine cocked it up by trying to skip weeks on patches .

I would imagine what the patches do is to get you out of the habit of smoking, which is a huge part of the battle. The nicotine addiction, for me, was a short sharp burst of 2-3 days of feeling like I could continually scream. But that's gone now. All the cravings are in my head.

Depeche, have the patches made you feel sick up to now or just started today? Might be worth checking out? You don't want to feel sick for weeks!

Do you feel like you could vomit? Could you have a bug?

Hope you're feeling better now, depeche?

I'm craving again this evening! WHEN WILL IT END?????

Despite cravings - HURRAY HURRAY HURRAY I just saw one of those adverts with kids singing about wanting their parents to stop smoking and I didn't have to turn the sound off with guilt!

That felt good.

Day 3

So far so good , have to go to a friends tonight for dinner and they smoke so could be my first test . Feeling ok about it but wish me luck please .

How is everyone doing ?

Oh buggery bugger , I am getting ready to go out tonight and I am getting really twitchy . I really don't want to smoke but I keep imagining how it is going to be and for the first time in 3 days I really want a cig .

Any hints on how to get over this ?

How did you get on with the meal?

I have to say that if I'd been somewhere with fags on my day 3 I'd have failed big time! I was almost murderous on day 3.

I hope you haven't smoked. BUT if you have, you can still quit, don't let that be the end. It's just a glitch.

Well, today, has been really easy! I've only very occasionally thought about smoking, just now this evening really which is when I do like to smoke. When I have thought about it, it's been mild, not the unbearable feeling that I need to go out and steal a cigarette from a passer by NOW kind of feeling.

I do miss the 'pleasure' of a cigarette, I have to be honest. But I'm getting a big kick out of feeling like I'm being a better mum for dd.

Oh and glad you're feeling better, Depeche! Was it the pill then?

I did it

I didn't smoke , I am so proud of myself . The other two were very sweet and didn't smoke half as much as they normally would and they were really supportive . I was so worried before I went round there but apart from a couple of moments when I did think it would be bloody lovely to have a cig , I managed really well .

Well done us