My Mind is Slowly Returning--It's Been 6 Days Since I Went Cold Turkey...

[JeffreyWilliamson]

Started here:

"Wish me luck, I gave up smoking to celebrate the Inauguration!"

Continued here:

"Really need your Best Wishes, Saturday begins stage 3 of my Great Smoke Out..."

And here:

"My Stop-Smoking Attempt Gets Serious, Now The Hard Part Starts..."

Today is Thursday and I have emerged, as of yesterday, from several days of hell. First was the onset of "Quitter's Flu", the nausea, the body pain, the intensity of my very senses. Luckily, the one bright spot was that my sleep cycle was so screwed that I was able to sleep through most of the days and nights--ultimately making it out on the other side.

Yesterday morning, at about 7:00am I woke up and my head started to clear. The nausea I had felt for a few days was fading, the sinus problems were winding down, I no longer felt lathargic, and my sense of vision was clearing, (everything had seemed very fuzzy for a while). I decided that this would be the day that I would head out and get back on track after nearly a week of dealing with the withdrawl. I spent all morning and afternoon walking the downtown area and can happily report that by the time I returned home at 5:00pm I had found a job waiting tables--no small task here in Galveston, and with the economy the way it is.

I was exhausted and went to bed at about 10:00pm, and awoke at 4:00am this morning. I decided to stay up to force myself to get back on schedule, and went to the grocery store. I returned home, spent most of the day reading the news as it was posted here on DU, occasionally posted myself, and finally took a nap for an hour in late afternoon.

I just finished preparing dinner and will relax with a glass of wine, (or 2!), and then head off to bed. Valentine's Day is this weekend, Mardi Gras starts tomorrow, I have friends coming in a week, and a job to look forward to after they head home.

Things are getting back to normal, and it worked. I QUIT SMOKING. No crutches. IT'S DONE. Every moment brings more clarity to my thoughts. I feel better every hour.

I didn't want to lie about the pain it caused for a few days, but I did want to post a follow up to let anyone else considering quitting that may have followed this little saga here in GD that it is totally worth it. The pain is worth it. Plan your date and go for it. It will be hell--a very short hell that you will live through--but you will be stronger for having lived through it. And you can live through it...

(Edited because, well, my thoughts are still a little cloudy...)

[That Is Quite Enough]

1. That is great news!

Hopefully your journey can help encourage others to cut the habit. Good luck in the future. :hi:

[JeffreyWilliamson]

2. Thank you very much! n/t

[dana_b]

3. Congrats!!

on quitting AND the job! QUitting is the best thing you could do for yourself even though it is hell. It's a good week!

I quit 22 years ago after having smoked for 7-8 years. Sooooo glad I did.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

10. It was a good week, not a fun week, but a good one...

It's funny because I was so out of it that I slept through most of it. I was probably awake for all of between 6 and 8 hours each day, at random times. Thankfully, after feeling better and forcing myself to get control of the schedule, the sleep pattern is returning to normal.

It has been a good week, and it was worth it. We couldn't afford my 2-pack a day habit while I wasn't working, and we also couldn't afford me dying because of that habit. It was the right decision all around--and this time I feel that it's actually going to stick.

I just have this funny feeling about this attempt. This was the one...

[dana_b]

14. that's fantastic

I'll bet your loved one are really happy too.
"We also couldn't afford me dying because of that habit" - in more ways than one.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

18. They are all very happy...

The partner is putting on a good show. He was on vacation this week from his job. We didn't do much as a result of this--I kind of slept through it. But he's good with everything considering that I'll be available for retribution for a few extra years.

I've made special Valentine's Day plans. Saturday is his last day of vacation. After crossing paths with me this week, (when I was awake), he's more than earned it.

[Starry Messenger]

4. Huzzah!

Excellent news. Every day gained is a little victory. Glad to read that you are feeling better and have a new job. :)

[Luciferous]

5. Good for you

I know how hard it is!

[prolesunited]

6. Keep up the good work

but watch the drinking, that could be a downfall. Also, do your friends smoke? I can tell you from experience that you need to steer clear of that for awhile.

You're right about making it through the worst, but don't kid yourself. It's not over yet.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

13. You're up on my story, eh?

Friends invite Jeff out, friends light up, friends offer Jeff one, Jeff starts smoking again...

This time I've made a commitment to stay out of the bars. There have been times in the past when I have quit, and then had a drink in the evening after work or whenever, (home bar), but for some reason I always hop off the wagon as soon as I get out to some gay bar with one of my smoker friends.

This time I've decided to enact a firm rule--no bars, gay or not. Also, no friends at the home bar. Period. We won't be doing this again...

[prolesunited]

28. No, but I said from experience

It took three months before I felt safe to have a drink or be around friends who smoke. It actually took even longer, about two years, before I stopped having these crazy impulses every once in awhile to just grab a smoke out of someone's hand. I'm nearly up to six years now.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

32. Drinking would seem to be a universal trigger then...

In one form or another. I know that going out with friends to some bar or club has been what has done my attempts in. And not just once--but every single time I have tried.

[Xipe Totec]

7. You've beaten the chemical dependency, congratulations!

Now you have to be cautious.

The next hurdle is the habit.

All of the things you associate with smoking, which make you reach for the pack automatically, without thinking.

The glass of scotch, the cup of coffee, reading the newspaper, watching TV...

anything that you have previously associated with smoking, will tug at you.

You have to be aware of this to fight it.

The first five days are the toughest to get through, but it takes a year to overcome the social habit.

Again, congratulations, and good work!

PS: I'm now at T+26 years since I quit smoking for the last time.

I had many false starts, because I did not know about the social habit, and how persistent it is.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

16. The habit...

That's, thankfully and in a large part, been covered.

And that was the point of this plan. To break the psychological habit...

The best attempt I've had a quitting yet was about 2 years ago when, while using the nicotine mints, I got caught in a tight situation with the monthly budget and had to give up the stop-smoking aids. I had saved a few of the patches from a prior attempt, and made the decision to use those patches when the mints ran out, to help me ease into the cold-turkey transition.

I have tried quitting many times over the years, and have had varying degrees of success, but that time it lasted almost a year, (9 months). I modeled this time off of that one since it had the best results.

I picked up a box of the mints and a box of the patches. I used the mints until they ran out, (cheated and bought another box), and then used 5 patches to "step down". Then, cold-turkey this past Friday.

Doing this didn't break me of the nicotine habit, as is evidenced by the withdrawl symptoms, but it did help break me of the psychological habit of needing "something to do with my hands". I had to break 1/2 of the habit to succeed, and so used the assistance devices to break the psychological habit.

What I need to do now is stay away from bars and friends...

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. May I share what I learned after the first week of withdrawal?

Sleepiness....I cannot believe how sleepy I could get, how fast.
Detoxing is hard work.
Vitamin C and multi vitamins to help flush toxins, I found them helpful.
Lots of water.

I quit April 1998, had quit 3 times before for up to a year, but lat time was determined because I did not want to go thru detox again and I had just found out the tobacco companies were deliberately adding more nicotine to the tobacco. Deliberately making their product more addicting.
Anger is a great motivator.

Congrats on your detox process, it is very hard, the first 4-5 days are the toughest, sounds like you have worked hard to get thru them.

:applause: :applause:

[proud patriot]

20. I printed out the tabacco companies political contributions

that got me mad and motivated me to quit.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

23. Sleep is my savior...

I don't know what I would have done without it during this process. I made it a point to just lay down and give in every time I felt the urge, (this may be the one situation where being unemployed has actually helped someone with something).

I've tried to quit multiple times as well, but this time feels different. I think I've got it this time!

[a la izquierda]

9. Congrats and I'm jealous!

I'm trying too, I start on Saturday. The worst is over for you, but just beginning for me.

Good luck!

[JeffreyWilliamson]

21. It's worth it...

If I can offer up on bit of advice--follow the urge to sleep when you can. That really helped in my case. It will take about 72 hours for the nicotine to leave your system, and you will experience peak withdrawls as that happens, usually between the 48 to 72 hour mark, (this is of course if you are going cold-turkey and not using some aid).

Sleeping and resting in general will be a great help in passing these marks on the timeline. Remember--Time is on your side. The longer you make it towards the 72 hour mark, the more the symptoms will decrease, and the easier it will start to get.

I know this from the last time--and am well on the way myself--between 10 and 14 days you will feel, for the most part, normal again. And if you haven't tried to quit before, I failed several times--keep trying.

Also, post your results here. I've enjoyed the encouragement and found it helpful.

[a la izquierda]

47. Thanks for the encouragement...

my goal is that in a week and a half from now, I'm hiking in a remote area of northern Mexico-at an altitude of 9000 feet. I don't want to be totally out of breath.

[proud patriot]

11. Woo Hoo .. That Totally Rocks

:woohoo: I quit Smoking ciggs 4 years ago .

My husband did it cold turkey like you , I
used the gum became addicted to that . Finally
quit the gum 2 years ago .. Still chew sugar free
extra or trident gum , but there is no nicotine in
that .

[JeffreyWilliamson]

34. I am willing to admit that I'm cheating with one thing...

Breathsavers and Altoids. Mint replacement therapy.

[proud patriot]

49. if it doesn't have nicotine you are not cheating

:hug: keep it up :yourock:

[underseasurveyor]

12. I am VERY PROUD OF YOU

So happy to know that you made it through the worst. That in it self tells me that you are an exceptional person of inner strength with a powerful mind.

You will not ever go back, I know it. Welcome to the world of non-smokers.

CONGRATULATIONS Jeffrey:hug: YOU'RE FREE:bounce:

[luvspeas]

15. Please please please keep up the good work!!!!!!

I grew up in a house with a 4 pack a day chain smoker (my dad) so I was probably addicted from birth. I started smoking my own (stolen from my dad) cigarettes at 12. I never smoked more than a pack a day (unless I was at a party or bar). At 24, I met the love of my life, who also smoked. We both decided to quit (after a bunch of attempts) when we moved when we were 27. It stuck, and neither of us has had a cigarette in the last 17 years!!!! So the reason I'm telling you all this is... believe me, if we could do it, you can too!!! There are a couple of things that really worked for me.

1. I was determined NOT to be an ex-smoker that freaks out about smoke. I figured that I had to learn to live in this world with smokers, so I decided to just get used to it.

2. We moved away from our home and all our smoker friends and all the triggers. I don't think you have to do that, but DO get rid of every ashtray, lighters, and of course all cigarettes in the house. It probably good to avoid bars and friend situations that lead to those wonderful smoking binges. Just for a while.

3. Eat anything and everything you need to. Gain weight and forget it. I am still an orally-fixated candy and snack freak and I have 10 pounds more than I want, but I'm way healthier and much happier for not stressing it. It mostly comes off over time.

4. You WILL feel like shit for a good long while. Expect about a year (really) before your lungs really start to feel better all the time for good.

5. OK, OK, I still miss some things about my cigarette days and I swear to god, when my husband and I get into bad fights, I really want a cigarette to piss him off. But if you just wait, eventually your mind wanders on to something else and it passes. Now it takes about 30 seconds and its completely gone.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!! My wonderful beautiful athletic super-dad lived the last 10 years of his life depressed and miserable and dying from emphysema. Right after retirement, he had a quaruple bypass. The doctors told us that if he lived through the surgery he would probably never get off the heart lung machine. After the surgery, in intensive care, his chest x-rays were on a light board along with all the other patients in the ward. The doctor showed me my dad's lungs next to a normal set. His were about 3 times larger. They lose elasticity and so when he inhaled they never snapped back, like an old rubber band. It was so scary. It was completely unnecessary and he would be here and vibrant today. To this day I don't know if I'll end up with cancer from my past cigarette use. YOU CAN DO THIS! love to you.

[Loki]

17. I've been where you are

and I know it was one of the hardest things I have ever attempted, but I'm now smoke free for 6 years and counting. Every day is a gift you give to yourself and to your family. Here's to you Jeffrey :fistbump:

[gblady]

19. Congratulations!

It is a very difficult task...but oh, so worth it.
23 years and counting for me...
still remember the intensity of the quitting...
which is why I will never pick up "just one"

[Cha]

22. Good for you..I don't know

you but I'm proud of you or anyone who can do this. It's the absolute worst.

[Barack_America]

24. Yea! Congratulations!

Now just make sure to stick with it, even if things become stressful. Don't even allow yourself one. I have several friends who are trying to quit and it always seems to be those stressful times and *deserving just ONE* that gets them.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

26. Ha ha! Barack_America, hooray!

I've read your posts in almost all the threads I've been interested in following over the past few days.

Thanks for your support, I feel like we've been together the whole time during this!

[Barack_America]

30. Aw. No, thank you!

And it sounds like you could teach me a thing or two about not procrastinating! Up at 6 and out the door to the grocery store soon thereafter? Wow.

I've decided to give up the internets for Lent (even though I'm not Christian). Hopefully I'll be as successful as you!

:hug:

I hope you treated yourself to some kick ass wine!

[JeffreyWilliamson]

33. I don't know if it's "kick ass wine" in regards to quality...

But it's certainly kicking my ass in general. With any luck I'll get a full night's sleep for once, and not be headed to Kroger at 6am tomorrow.

One question, if you're giving up the interets for Lent, what are you doing to go way overboard in the period leading up to Lent? I'm asking in the sense that here, people will be getting waaaay drunk during Mardi Gras and then giving up alcohol for Lent, or perhaps going way overboard with wearing beads and then giving up that for Lent...

[Barack_America]

45. Well...

I think I have two pages of posts from yesterday alone, so I think that's pretty overboard for me! Woo hoo!

;)

[Upfront]

25. You will find

that a point will come where it gets easier every day. Hang with it, and good luck.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

27. That point's already been reached...

But it will become this way even moreso moving forward, and that's why I wanted to follow up on these threads.

For anyone who's interested in quitting, after about 3 days it gets EASIER. Every minute, every hour--EASIER. If you can make it through 3 days, it gets easy. It's totally worth it.

[Vektor]

29. YAY! Congrats - on quitting smoking, AND the new job!

Hugs from me to you, and best wishes for your continued success! :hug:

[BrightKnight]

31. I quit cold turkey 15 years ago

and it was one of the best things I have ever done.

I had a 1.5 pack a day habit for years. I got a really bad case of "Quitter's Flu" when I quit. The hard part is behind you and it is all downhill from there. The habit part (not the addiction) persisted for a while but it was very manageable. If I can do it anyone can.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

35. Thank you...

And I want to stress that the best thing is that the hard part didn't last long at all. It was intense, but it's already fading away. In another week, I'll look back and laugh.

[BlooInBloo]

36. :))))) Go! Go! Go!

[JeffreyWilliamson]

37. For anyone interested I found this helpful as a stop-smoking aid...

http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Symptoms.html

Excellent explanation of what you can expect when you quit, and advice on how to cope.

For many people, I am told that they find solace in reading up on lung cancer or other diseases. I have always found help in understanding the timing of the withdrawl process and what to expect--sort of a light at the end of the tunnel approach.

I'll google up "nicotine withdrawl symptoms", "smoking withdrawl symptoms", or "octuplets mom" to pass the time. I find it helps.

[karmaqueen]

38. You tell the story well!

I quit cold turkey 17 months ago and I went through so much of what you did. I have tried to explain it to people but it is hard to tell someone who has never felt withdraw. I am so happy I did it this way, I have friends who quit around the same time as me who still have to chew the gum. I also used the website you posted, it is wonderful. Thank you for posting this, you will give others the courage to try. I am so happy I quit, I am able to run three miles and swim for a half hour everyday, I feel wonderful. Keep up the good work it gets easier every day. Good Luck, I'll be thinking of you!

[JeffreyWilliamson]

39. Thank you. n/t

[Iggo]

40. It gets better, man.

Hopefully you can take solace in the fact that many of us really really know how it feels.

[Maru Kitteh]

41. Your post made me tear up a little. Damn, I'm so happy for you.

The good stuff is going to start building on itself now.

You're going to smell wonderful things you haven't smelled since you were a child. That little catch in your throat and the little hack that follows it will one day just not happen, and you'll wonder why you didn't notice it's omnipresence before.

Oh - and the food! Chocolate, spices, coffee......... you have so much to look forward to!

Congratulations. :-)

[Roadless]

42. Quitting cold turkey does cause discombobulation

It really does "scatter" your brain for a bit there.

[Turborama]

43. I started the gum on the 5th of January and have been off it for a week

Hi Jeffrey, great thread.

Congrats on getting this far. I'm going through the same experience, apart from one major difference, I cannot sleep. I'm in between doing things (job hunting) too and sometimes, when the craving has got out of hand, I've been tempted to say 'it's not the right time' but then I ask myself if there's ever a 'right time' and that temptation soon passes.

I'm 40 next month and had a mild heart attack late last year while I was DJing - I was getting free drink as part my payment and chain smoked whilst playing for 5 hours, not a job you want to be doing if you're going to give up smoking. I was getting constant crushing pains after the heart attack and made a decision that I will be a non-smoker by the time I hit 40. Since giving up I haven't had any chest pains and have even lost weight - the beer belly has shrunk, to be specific lol.

I had 2 big boxes of gum, 1 was 4 grams and the other was 2 and I ran out at around the same time I was getting seriously addicted to the gum. I think I miss the gum now more than I miss smoking.

Re the drinking thing. I have had exactly the same experiences with my other attempts of giving up - falling off the giving up smoking wagon after a drink - and am dealing with it the same way as you, no drinking or going out whatsoever. Luckily I have a very patient wife who has put up with my major mood swings most of the time and has supported me all the way, we have a good home life so giving up going out isn't too hard anyway. Strangely, I've recently gone from being irritable to getting emotional and welling up over the smallest of things - I don't know but maybe this could be due to the lack of sleep.

I have got the late Allen Carr's http://www.mininova.org/det/887264">audio book and it's been a great help, even though I've ignored the part about using the gum - I felt like it was a medical emergency to stop smoking and thought that at least I was giving my lungs the immediate rest they needed.

If you haven't heard of Alan Carr, here's a couple of short clips of him explaining his method (check out the comments on the link above and these ones below to see how helpful other people have found his book):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TL2Vh7goJc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADGHMixrko4

Best wishes with your new life as a non-smoker and thank-you for sharing your experiences & starting this discussion with everyone.

(Edited because I wanted to clarify something - my thoughts are cloudy too, lol.)

[intaglio]

44. 4 years now for me

Three things the "Stop Smoking" service told me (UK health service)

1) Nic addiction hits the dopamine reward paths and it can take some time for the receptors to come back so you might find that you get less of a kick from succeeding at stuff.

2) The receptors tuned to Nicotine will slowly become inactive but they can easily be turned back on.

3) Clean the places you used to smoke, if you can, and wash your hands if you come into contact with smoke residue. The faint taint of old nicotine can wake up those receptors.

good luck!

[Vinca]

46. Huge congratulations to you. Really,

That's how I did it years ago. It's a miserable experience to go through, but worth every bit of the agony. Every day gets easier. Honest.

[raccoon]

48. Congratulations! BTDT. Best to you. nt

[ipfilter]

50. Congratulations! You are now through the worst part it.

Have you noticed your thought processes change for the better? I found I had to deal with things in a more straightforward manner since I could not rely on a smoke.

It's been at last 12 years for me. I lost count a long time ago. It took a couple of years before the occasional urge to smoke went away. I haven't had one of those urges for years now. I can't even believe I ever smoked.