My head feels like its full of cotton wool, but there's no pain anywhere. I did a cold turkey after smoking 0-8 cigs/per day for six years. But I have to say quitting smoking is just as challenging. I tried spending most of my time in graphic designing and it has helped me a lot. I'm contemplating having just that one and starting again tomorrow, but I will do my darndest to fight it. Quitting smoking means breaking the cycle of addiction and essentially rewiring the brain to stop craving nicotine. On days four through six, the nicotine cravings really kicked in. I'm 25 days nicotine free and I've never felt better. At two weeks nicotine free, the risk of heart attack decreases and circulation keeps getting better and lung function begins to increase. I work overnights so I when I got out of work I went home and slept. I’m a 44 year old male who is on day four with no nicotine. I have an appointment with doc tomorrow to have an xray done. I was smiling to myself when I reached home. Can anyone help me? I'm closing in on 24 hours without any nicotine at all. I had chest pains and severe muscle spasms in my upper back and chest. I still feel bad but I am sleeping a little better. Build your personalized quit plan now. I quit smoking in September. If you haven’t made a quit plan yet, it’s not too late. I imagine the dream imagery has to do with a sense of “loss,” even though I know I am losing a very bad and very expensive habit. The first three days were really the hardest in terms of wanting to break and smoke. My eating has picked up also. You can also get free support from a tobacco cessation expert by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW or 1-877-44U-QUIT , or by chatting online using the National Cancer Institute’s LiveHelp chat service. I felt high. This time I was sick for three weeks and have had the usual lethargy. this is my fifth time to quit. I would just like to say I am so glad to have found this site, I am 42 years old and I was a smoker for 26 years and on a cigarette habit of 30 a day. I am on my seventh week. Thanks for this forum. I started with 4mg lozenges every hour for five days, then 2mg lozenges (every hour) for two days, then woke up and stopped taking the lozenges. It begins happening, every other time, around 14 hours after the last cigarette and goes on until I break. I surely hope not. I am five days now without a cigarette. The heaviness went on for three months. You choose to no longer smoke! She quit for two weeks, but picked it back up. I have read the testimonies from hundreds and seemingly cannot get enough inspiration from these brave souls. I am approaching 48 hours of stopping smoking. I am finding it OK. I’m very nostalgic and reminiscent. Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories. I was at the end of my rope. To date, no trials have evaluated the effectiveness and safety of combining nicotine patches with e-cigarettes (with and without nicotine) for smoking cessation. I am 47 and I have smoked since I was 21. I was a heavy chew user, about a tin a day for over 15 years. I appreciate the opportunity for a very lonely venting session. After I quit smoking cold turkey, I had cold and flu symptoms, diarrhea, tightness in the chest, breathing difficulties, insomnia, feeling worn out and anxiety. Stay strong and Happy New Year! I have a few questions. Basically, I'm an insomniac at night and trying to sleep when I should be completing home, work and graduate degree related tasks. I have to tell you there must have been something to this because last time I didn't have any problems like I am having now. Will keep you all posted. When you use nicotine replacement, you keep your body in a constant state of withdrawal. Keep strong. My body feels like it has gone into some sort of shock. We can do this. I will give it a try. You name it, I had it. The patch has a long-acting, slow-onset pattern of nicotine delivery, which produces relatively constant relief from withdrawal over 24 hours [ 66 ] but requires several hours to reach peak levels. I have been free of cigarettes for five months now, and have been getting every viral infection under the sun since I have stopped. The only thing that got me through the day without smoking was knowing that I was allowing myself one cigarette before bed. We had very similar symptoms, after the first few weeks sore throat,tightness of the chest,hard to breath some times, headaches, body aches and pain and no energy. I want to quit for the right reasons: health, children, the stigma, the smell, etc. Patch delivers 21 mg (Step 1), 14 mg (Step 2), and 7 mg (Step 3) of nicotine over 24 hours and comes in child-resistant pouches. We can do this! I always wanted to try a cigar, so I did. It is used in nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), a process for smoking cessation.Endorsed and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it is considered one of the safer NRTs available. 2. Are they trying to heal? If I had smokes here, I would smoke them and it's taking all my time not to go a get a pack. Try these tips and strategies for managing cravings. Exercise and eating right, and most of all, believing that the body has the natural God-given ability to heal itself. Week five (and counting...) is a lot better than the first four weeks. I honestly don't know how my husband has put up with me! I used to smoke about a pack per day for the last 44 years. My last cigarette was in November 2012 after 38 years at a pack a day. There are various stages of nicotine withdrawal, which some people believe start as early as 30 minutes after a person has had his or her last cigarette. It is out of this world to have withdrawal like this. I want to feel normal again. I constantly have sinus infections and if I stand beside someone who has a cold I am bound to pick it up. It doesn't hurt it just makes me feel all jittery and anxious. Lozenges: Just put the lozenge in your mouth and it will keep on releasing small amounts of nicotine as it dissolves. I was a chain chewer, one piece right after the next. I am happy and feeling good that I am able to quit and stay away from smoke and I can live through these symptoms. I will stop this once I reach the 60 day mark and recheck with my doc. I was thinking to buy Step 2, but I realized that I don’t need it … I am on day 49 without smoking, and have all the withdrawal symptoms: BP problems, dizziness. I'm getting hot and cold and feel like crap. I'm a freak; it's that simple. Can someone please help? Now I am feeling jittery and anxious, and I am wondering if it is nicotine withdrawal symptoms or high blood pressure symptoms. I am two weeks away from one year not smoking. I did a lot of research to prepare for the end – or so I thought. I have smoked for 30 years or so -- a pack a day -- and went cold turkey and no one told me it was going to be like this. I think the hours at work will be the hardest for me, but I plan to take a short break here and there for a quick walk around the parking lot when a craving hits, that should help. I thought I would not get better. We can do this. Feeling hot one minute and cold the next. Did you ever think that Saturday to Saturday is actually eight days? Seems like I will learn to tolerate them better, but it helps knowing that I'm not overreacting. The first few nights I couldn't sleep and was sweating. I say I don't remember all these symptoms before, and I had successfully stopped smoking for four months (hint to others: don't just have one cigarette at an event because it looks so good. It is working so far. After the initial onslaught, symptoms continue and intensify during the second stage, which usually lasts a couple of weeks. But my anxiety is through the roof. Keep up the good work guys, and good luck with your quitting. I don't want to gain weight so I will join a walking or exercise group after my first week. That's not true, but don't let it stop you. During weeks one through four, I got the aches and pains and irritability, the constant cravings and thinking of a cigarette every second of the day and even woke during the night thinking about a cigarette. Smoking affects everything from your ability to relax, your breathing, your breath, your heart, your skin, your teeth and your brain, right down to your bones. I know eventually it will pass. This is my second times quitting. I exercise almost daily, 30 minutes or more, to combat the angst and to flip the endorphins on. Thanks a lot, and please help me getting out of this bad habit. I gave up 21 years ago, cold turkey (no patches or gum in those days, folks!) There are free tools to help you quit. The only regret I have about this website is that there are never enough stories to read regarding this trying subject. How can you enjoy the odor, the shortness of breath, the yellow teeth, not to mention the fortune it now costs? Don't become a slave to something that you know is so horrible for your body. The nicotine patch is like a big, round, yellow plaster. It's been 21 years -- wow. The doctor found a spot on my lung last week and even though he is not worried about it, I am. I told the doctors that I quit smoking, and they weren't surprised. I stay away from alcohol because this caused me to smoke gain after six months of being an ex smoker. So, good luck to all you non-smokers. The article above is 100 percent accurate as far as the symptoms I went through are concerned. Please let me know if this is normal. Take it one day at a time. The best part is I have stopped taking medicines for heartburn and acidity, which i used to take for a long time now. --Him in New Zealand. This is a great resource. I'm on day 51 of no smoke after 24 years. I used patches Step 1 for only 9 days, on 10th and 11th day I had side effects (such as dizziness), so I didn’t use them for 2 days. At 24 hours, your risk of a heart attack is already decreased. Good luck! I had a beer recently with colleagues and never had a puff. Oh my. I'm not sure if maybe the symptoms of quitting cigarettes goes away after a few months, but then will I be hooked on xanax and have the same anxiety stopping the xanax. On day 4, it's tough! I've tried to quit numerous times, cold turkey and with patches, and each time the symptoms have been slightly different. My lungs look great, apparently. I am 13 weeks a quitter and had been having a horrible time with anxiety. It was helpful reading the cautions on nicotine gum, as I still use it (about three to five pieces a day). I do feel at a loss though, like something's missing. I was really not anticipating all the side-effects of withdrawal. That spell I was in lasted me for about three or four days. I smoked over 30 years and this has been an extraordinary journey. I find that when I fight through the times when it can't possibly get any worse I break through a barrier and feel better and stronger, when it feels intolerable I now realize that I'm actually overcoming a major part of the addiction and the next day will be better. So I have basically just cut down to one cigarette a day, which is annoying me because I have convinced myself that I have stopped smoking and within the last hour, I don’t feel obliged to smoke whatsoever. I work in a highly technical field which requires a certain level of focus. Needless to say, I removed the patch, thinking it would go away but the following day it was still there so I went to the ER. Add anxiety also. Reading other people's posts makes me realize I am not alone. Good luck to all of you, and don't give up. This is a miracle worker. I will continue to post on here because it is great to be able to see how others handle this topic and I feel a lot better knowing that others go through the same thing and it's not just me. I felt bad at first. I'm sleeping better now, but still get sweats and chills through the day so glad to see this is normal. Every time my GERD acts up, it sends me into panic mode. It's just so hard. Throw away your vapes, e-liquid bottles, pods, and chargers. Active nicotine transdermal patches (22 mg/day) ... [day 3 of 4 during first phase (active patch) and day 2 of 4 ... That the SANS increase occurred with or without nicotine … I am so grateful I have done this well, and I just don't see myself returning to gum after seeing the after effects it has caused me. I could not sleep and I was nervous and depressed. I really do appreciate people sharing their experiences that could be a big help to boost oneself to continue fighting, fighting .and fighting, casting away all these little monsters from the body. Well I had my last cigarette last Tuesday (only one) and actually I don't feel too good. I was just wondering how other people coped with this or if anyone had any advice? But the nicotine withdrawal is terrible right now. I have neck pain and upper torso pains. I've read on other sites that this can last for several months to over a year. Good thing I had just resigned from work. Wish me luck. Quitting vaping can be tough. I stopped puffing six months ago, and had all the symptoms mentioned on this site. After almost four months of not smoking, I started again in September 2013 and have been smoking like hell ever since. My B/P has remained normal, and yes, I've been to the hospital for anxiety. What reasons are important to you? I thought I would have more appetite when I quit. I have quit and restarted plenty of times but feel like this will be the one. I really do know just what it takes, but also remember to keep at it, because it also gives back -- your life. I started painting again after years of dormancy. Is there anything i can do to take the edge off this, because it's affecting my work and I only get about three hours of sleep a night. So glad to see this blog continue! Well done everyone. They steadily release small amounts of nicotine into your body. But he doesn't see himself as a nicotine addict. I would no longer need or want tobacco. Nicotine is in most vapes, and it’s very addictive. I still am not sleeping good but I'm sleeping about two hours more than I was the first month after quitting. It has gotten better but it's still so hard. I quit at midnight last Friday. I never had this problem before. I have quit numerous times and have never gone through the withdrawal until this time. I guess everyone's timeline is different, but I'm hoping to start seeing some relief in the next six months. I have started doing exercise and controlling my food intake. I'm 37 and have been smoking since I was 15, about 20 a day. I quit smoking over five years ago but then got hooked on the gum. I thought the tough part would be giving up the gum, but that's been the easy part! I feel compelled to not smoke as some sort of challenge and keep this going forever. We know it can seem challenging to quit smoking or using other tobacco products at the same time as quitting vaping, but becoming totally tobacco free is the best thing you can do for your health. I will continue, as hard as it is. I hope that over time, this does go away. I took a laxative for the bloating on day two. Then like I have read, I started getting sick very easily. My blood pressure is high also, and I feel out of sorts. Extremely paranoid all the time and tense. Thank you for your posts and good luck. The anxiety and depression got bad also, lasted months and still isn't even over. The first time I saw one was at the doctor's. This is such a huge personal achievement and reading this has helped me stay positive. A person might wish to treat some of these with over-the-counter medication. For smokers of 20 or more cigarettes a day who choose to smoke while preparing to quit, Nicotinell Patch Step 1 should be applied once daily for the first 2 weeks of the quit attempt. How am I going to function at my job tomorrow? My cravings weren't as strong and as frequent, but they were still there on and off throughout the day. The nicotine patch is available over the counter (without a prescription). I know it's bad, but for me, not wanting to go through this ever again is enough not to use tobacco again. I'm on day four, following a 26 year habit. I feel as though my brain has not rested. I know it will last only a few more weeks, but is there any way to concentrate? Day six was better, but I almost had one today. I've saved one and crushed the rest of the pack to dust and told myself that it's day zero again tomorrow. I am better than I was in the first five weeks when I thought I was checking out and insane. The longest I have quit in the past is for six months and it was with the help of an online support system.