It’s been about a week, so far so good, I only get minor cravings early in the morning and late at night, the thing is i feel extremely tired, I don’t normally drink coffee and now im having 2-3 cups every morning just to stop being a zombie…
Is this a normal “side effect”? Is there anything i can do to make it better or i just have to wait it out?.
You’re not alone. Stick it out!
http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-life-lessons-you-only-learn-through-quitting-smoking/
I’ve quit twice (and started again, whee). It’s normal. Depending how big your habit was, nicotine can be a major stimulant. You’ll feel sluggish without it; I know I did, and my habit at the time was only a half-pack a day (now I’m up to 1 full pack a day). The way I’ve gotten through the first 3 post-quit days in the past was to sleep a whole lot. After that, things got a little better with time, but personally I’ve never been able to attain the same razor-like level of focus without nicotine that I’m capable of attaining as a smoker.
Well, I’ve been smoking for 10 years, and a pack a day for about 6-7 (although I didn’t smoke in 2007), the thing is… i was spending way too much money on cigarretes so enough is enough, i don’t have the budget to waste money like that.
I guess I’ll just have to try to sleep a little bit more and pump up the caffeine while I adjust. Thanks.
start exercising
I have friends that claim Wrigleys Doublemint gum helps a lot. Just that flavor mind you.
But honestly, you are over the hump. Don;t give up now.
It gets so much better, you can do it.
As others have said, you are over the hardest part.
It does take a while, your body needs time to adjust.
Here is a whole mess load of free videos that helped me.
http://www.joelspitzer.com/whyquit/joel/#video
He is a cold turkey advocate, but they are usable no matter what method you use.
Best of luck!!!
Congrats ! You made it over the hard part the first 3 days. Yeah it’s normal it shouldn’t last much longer. I felt that as well for a week or so, I kind of embraced it and slept more.
My 13 yo daughter sleeps like she’s in hibernation; maybe I’ll buy her a carton of Marlbros.
Anyhow, congrats. Tea has caffeine too!
This is the longest I’ve lasted, but the lethargic feeling still hasn’t left me! I was on a training course last week, and tried extra caffeine, just to stop myself from falling asleep! Even that didn’t help! Man I hope this ends soon!
You’re almost there! Things should be returning to “normal” in the next two weeks or so. Actually, you’re possibly at normal now. Keep in mind that normal may not be what you think it is and that you need to get used to it,.
Exercise is probably the best course, I think. The hardest part is the first step. Add a walk after dinner, take the stairs, walk the dog, again, etc are simple ways to get into the habit. Even these small changes will produce rewards, for you, if you can manage it. Truly. Costs nothing, improves your health and will help you to transition out of the low energy slump. Try it, you’ll see.
RadicalPi’s theory is worth looking into. Maybe your smoking was treating some other underlying condition. Maybe your body has just changed that much to use it as fuel.
Try multivitamins. B12 helps with mental clarity and awareness. Iron helps.
I don’t think you’re ready for the new normal yet. Things will be different in three months, in six months, etc.
And congratulations!
Man, I hope this isn’t normal. If it is, I’m in deep trouble! If I can’t sit not be doing anything for five minutes without my head hitting my chest, I might as well go back to smoking so I can keep my job! Through the week, I thought things were getting better, but yesterday, I was testing out a new backup program, and it took all I had to stay awake during the 22 minutes it took for the initial test. In fact, I think I fell asleep briefly until my sister came into the room. That was after 12 hours sleep the previous night. Last night, I slept fifteen hours, waking up after NOON! If this is normal, I’m in TROUBLE!
I have been adding exercise a little at a time to my routine. I’m walking in the mornings now, and using the stairs to get between floors at work. Like I said, I feel fine when I’m doing something, but when I stop, my body wants to sleep!
I’ve been trying this too! I’ve recently started taking a multi. I’m told B12 in pill form doesn’t absorb well enough, and getting the injectable form here in Canada requires perscriptions that doctors don’t seem to want to give. I know this from my father’s experiences. He was diagnosed a few years back as needing B12 supplements, and had problems getting the prescriptions. It was a little scary because the way he initially found out he needed it was passing out after getting up to go to the washroom! I did find out recently (before quitting) that I’m low on iron, so I’ve been taking iron pills, but they add to the constipation already inherant from quitting. It’s a vicious circle! If I have to go through three more months of this, I don’t know if I can!
Thanks for everyone’s support though! Still riding it out!
Derek
Hello, my name is Kellie and I’m on day 7 of no smoking, I decided to quit because my mum was diagnosed with lung disease and she didn’t want to quit so I gave her what u call tough love and said she was selfish if she didn’t, I have a 12 year old son and so she has people to who need and love her, her fear was gaining weight but mine was losing my mum. I decided to do it with her and we are both on day 7 and going strong, she is using a drug called Champix which at 1st was making her sick but now that has stabilised, I’m using the fake cigarette called gamucci which I buy replacement cartridge for and if I’m honest I don’t like the taste but I like that I can still have a fake puff and still feel like I’m smoking. Today on day 7 I’ve become very tired and I usually suffer with insomnia so for me this was brilliant, I am also starting to taste things that I forgot the taste of and I am feeling positive that I will continue to be a non smoker, I know I started this process to help my mum but I’m realising that really this has helped me too, I’m also a netball player and use to play for my county and now play for my local team, I feel if I was a good player before what will I be like now I’ve quit, I’m expecting to fly across the court lol I will continue to update my progress as I continue on this healthy path to being a non smoker 4 LIFE, if u have any comments or questions please feel free to ask, I hope this helps and remember its all mind power and u control you not a cigarette.
Well what did you do for that entire year? Were you tired then?
I quite 8 years ago. I still remember the process. The first three weeks were tough as the nicotine worked its way out of my system. Everything was screwed up. My digestion, my energy level fluctuated rapidly and I lost the ability to self edit. go figure that one. I immediately gained 10 pounds and had a hard time concentrating. Starting about week 4, I began exercising quite a bit more and that helped me focus. Keep this in mind, the really hard part of quitting is all the side habits you developed while smoking. Once the nicotine is out of your system, your mind will want to continue those habits. IMHO, that is when the real work begins, you have to develop other activities that alleviate the trigger. If you smoke after eating, take the dog for a walk instead Etc. I carried a pack of smokes with me for awhile and often put one in my mouth but never lit it. I eventually replaced those with Sees suckers, butterscotch…yummy…and within short order I gave them up as well.
Your desire to smoke will be strong, I had an urge the other day that only lasted a nano second where they used to last minutes. Hang in there…you are on your way!!!
oh…my wife quite but she complained for quite some time she felt tired all the time, she began a regiment of vitamins and working out and that helped her over the hump
I concur, I hit that low spot when I quit. I could take a nap every day. It wore off in a few weeks.