I quit smoking on Christmas. I went cold turkey because I just wanted to be done with the nicotine addiction. I had a week and a half off of work, which seemed a good time to create some new routines.
Only my system has gone haywire. My circadian rhythm is all messed up-- I’m exhausted all day, but can’t fall asleep at night, I’ve had a waxing and waning migraine for the last 10 days, and I am ravenously hungry. Specifically I want candy or chocolate, with the obsessive desperation I expected to want cigarettes (which, bizarrely, I barely think about).
Is this normal? I was only irritable and twitchy for 2-3 days. Is there anything I can do for myself? Please tell me it will pass soon. I was ready for an increased appetite, but the insomnia and headache are about 2 days away from driving me back to nicotine.
Can’t say anything about messed up circadian rythm as my own came busted up in the tin so to speak, but I never had migraines whenever I tried to quit. Food cravings though ? Ooooh yeah.
According to the wikipedia article on smoking withdrawal :
(emphasis mine)
So there you go - one down, three to go. Maybe you should consider sleeping pills for the duration, or something to that effect ?
Sounds awful. I just had increased irritability mainly (but it was pretty bad–I remember sitting in my office just seething with anger).
Why not buy some Nicorette? Smoking has caused your brain to create more nicotine receptors, all of which are going crazy now that they’ve been cut off. One way to feel better is to feed these receptors a bit. After I used Nicorette for a while my desire to use it went way down; now I hardly use any at all.
Also, “rhinorrhea” sounds awful–I’m picturing diarrhea out the nose . . .
When I quit (stopped? I didn’t smoke for a year), the bad stuff lasted about 4 days, the cravings coming like decreasing waves.
I’d consider whether the symptoms are possibly caused by different factors. I.e. maybe stopping smoking caused some but not all. E.g. you were off work, so maybe you stayed up late visiting with friends and family and missed your window of opportunity for sleep and gradually you’ve messed up the rhythm.
Insomnia? Watch the caffeine after noon, possibly a sleep aid at night, walk half an hour. Nicotine gum or a patch might be a good way to avoid going back to the act of smoking while “stepping down,” if that’s really the issue—if you’ve broken the habit of firing up, that habit needs to stay broken.
WRT a ravenous appetite, drink a lot of water (not sodas, coffee, tea—water). It will physically fill your stomach, your body needs it to detox…a friend of mine who has studied such things says that a lot of times we confuse the hunger signal for the thirst signal, which makes us overeat.
My doc said that exercise triggers the sleep response. Especially after an overindulgent holiday season, that may be important. The good news, though, is that you don’t have to bust your ass to get the benefit. Just take a walk…get your heart rate up a little. 30 minutes.
You’ve got to find something to replace the cigarettes; quitting cold turkey won’t work otherwise. For me, chewing gum and sunflower seeds worked well to satisfy the oral fixation and the craving for food.
Also, drink tons of water to keep yourself feeling full and to flush out the nicotine from your system.
First, big-time conga-rats on quitting. Stick with it - your life will be so much better.
You can’t go wrong with exercise. It will tire you out and help you sleep, and the endorphin release will help with the headaches. You might check with your doctor just to be on the safe side, though.
And maybe use the patch or the gum for a while to get you over the worst parts.
I smoked for 20+ years. Tried nicotine replacement therapy over and over again; it worked great until I took the patch off and wanted a proper cigarette.
I finally had to go on Zyban (the antidepressant Wellbutrin, just packaged as a stop smoking remedy) to do it. Most of the physical withdrawl symptoms disappeared after a week or so, and hitting the gym five days a week REALLY helped.
I’m not sure if you ever really get over the psychological compulsion completely, though. It’s been about 8-9 years since I quit, and when I see myself in dreams I still have a smoke hanging out of my mouth.
I quit the day I had a heart attack after about a dozen years of smoking. I spent a couple weeks in the hospital with no access to either cigarettes or extra food and by the time I got home, the worst was over. For about six months I would fantasize that I had some fatal disease but could now start smoking again because it would no longer matter. That went away but then I woul regularly dream that I had started up again, kicking myself (in the dream) for stupidity and waking up with great relief. That last maybe 15 years. In the ensuing nearly 30 years, I have had no craving for cigarettes and rather dislike smoking around me, although I try not to be censorious.
Keep it up; it is really worth it in terms of life quality.
I’m feeling a little better today (though I slept until 2:30). Work Monday morning is going to be fun.
I have nicotine gum, but I don’t really want it. I feel like I’ve come this far, and if I take nicotine I might have to go through this all over again, later. It kind of frightens me, actually, that I was that dependent on it. I spent a decade as a casual smoker-- I would start and stop all the time. I’d stop if I got sick, had houseguest, went to see family, was going to the dentist, the weather was bad, etc. My roommate and I would stop for a few weeks every couple months just to prove we still could. Cigarettes were like junk food-- I knew they were bad for me, but there was no immediate downside, so when I wanted on, I had one.
Then I married a pack-and-a-half a day smoker, and stopped stopping. I really began to hate that, hate needing it. I didn’t have a lot of other negative consequences, it hadn’t begin to affect my health yet.
But I am taking my blessings where I can get them. Been years since I could smell my Christmas tree from the couch, but I can right now.
I think I’m drinking too much caffeine. Apparently nicotine makes it 1/2 as effective as on a non-smoker, so I’m essentially drinking twice as much caffeine as I should.
Thank you all for the congratulations and encouragement. I think I’m on the way back up now.
Glad to hear you’re a bit better. I know it sucks- that’s why so many people can’t or won’t quit. Hell, I still want one every now and then, and I haven’t smoked in over 15 years!
Yes, conga-rats indeed! There have been psychological studies done that say that we can endure great amounts of bad things if we know when they are going to end (I think most of us will agree with that based on personal experience, too) - if you know the first four weeks are going to be the worst for physical symptoms, mark them on your calendar, try to distract yourself, and hang on!
Congratulations on quitting! I realize you already know the benefits of quitting, but I always saw a poster at my college health infirmary that had this info on it.
20 MINUTES ———————————————
• Blood pressure drops to normal
• Pulse rate drops to normal
• Body temperature of hands and feet increases to normal
8 HOURS ————————————————————
• Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal
• Oxygen level in blood increases to normal
24 HOURS ———————————————————
• Chance of heart attack decreases
48 HOURS ———————————————————
• Nerve endings start regrowing
• Ability to smell and taste is enhanced
2 WEEKS TO 3 MONTHS ————————————
• Circulation improves
• Walking becomes easier
• Lung function increases up to 30 percent
1 TO 9 MONTHS ————————————————
• Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease
• Cilia regrow in lungs, increasing their ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce infection
• Body’s overall energy increases
1 YEAR ————————————————————
• Excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker
5 YEARS ———————————————————
• Lung cancer death rate for an average former smoker (one pack a day) decreases by almost half
• Stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker five to 15 years after quitting
• Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, and esophagus is half that of a smoker’s
10 YEARS ————————————————————
• Lung cancer death rate is similar to that of a non-smoker
• Precancerous cells are replaced
• Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, cervix, and pancreas decreases
15 YEARS ———————————————————
• Risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker
I think I’m on the way back up now.