Readers Respond: Nicotine Withdrawal Tips - Readers Respond

• Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms
• Top 10 Tips For Managing Nicotine Withdrawal

What Helped You Most?

This is THE Quit

I followed a clinic doctor's advice on using Zyban, and while I felt terrible cravings during this past 3 weeks, I have been holding on to the fact that I am retraining my brain's reward center. Cigarettes given up for a job in my chosen field (what could be a more worthwhile trade?) Seriously, I wish I'd held out three weeks the last time but now I know that a nicotine addict's brain never leaves the "Bargaining Stage' of grief, and that I can never have just one puff again. To all of you starting your quit, I wish you the best of luck and the ability to embrace the healthier, more (temporarily) scatter-brained version of you.

—Quit4ajob

I can see clearly now, the smoke is gone

I'll be 39 in August and smoked for 18 years. I'm on Day 3 and I must admit, Day 2 was harder than expected. I must have chewed 9000 coffee stirrers to get me through. I will not turn back now. WE all have come to far. Let's keep going one minute at a time which turns into one hour at a time and eventually one day at a time. We can see clearly now, the smoke is gone.

—Guest TYH

You Will Survive

This is my fourth week of being nicotine free. There are so many things I want say but I am only going to share a tip...when I want to smoke I just ask myself if I died because I haven't smoked. NO I didn't die in the last 4 weeks because I haven't smoked, so I am not going to die from not smoking. And I just know it will get easier.

—Guest youcandoit

I'm in Control

I'm on day 48 right now, Ive NEVER felt better!!!! My 13yr old son put a rubber band on my wrist and told me when I have a craving to pull the rubber band hard and let it snap my wrist. I was so irritated but I took a deep breath and said thank you. To my disbelief it worked like a charm. I couldn't believe something so small would work. I still wear the rubber band but haven't needed to snap it in over a week.

—Guest Mrs. Non-Smoker

3 weeks down using vapor nicotine

First real quit ever..... Been smoking over 30 years. I'm using a vapor cartridge that does not look like a cig, just long and black with a clear cartridge. I've already begun using cartridges with smaller amounts of nicotine and it's working for me. I also got an app on my iPhone called Sinjar. You add you "sins" to a Jar and it gives you a visual feel for how many butts would be in that ash tray. I'm on my second jar and it's amazing to see those cigs mount up. A picture is worth a thousand words! I really think this is the real quit for me but still taking it one day at a time.

—Guest Mary B

Hang in there, it's worth it.

I'm in my mid 40s, smoked for 12 years and stopped cold turkey 1 year 240 days ago. I can only encourage everybody to hang in there!! It's so totally worth it! No more bad breath, no yellow teeth, no wheezing, no coughing when I laugh, no more yellow fingers, no more smelly clothes. Knowledge is power. Read and learn about the addiction. Talk about it, write about it; keep your toes in these forums. Get through those agonizing first 72 hours. It hurts, you wanna scrape your finger nails across the table and chew off the wallpaper. Take lots of really deep breaths when those cravings come up. Go for a walk, jump up + down. The cravings DO disappear!! I learnt to do the Rubic's Cube. During cravings (watching TV or after dinner) I'd do it until the craving disappeared. It's something to do with your hands + distract your mind. I also used iPod apps to help me through this. They track your nicotine levels, and nothing is more encouraging than seeing it drop rapidly.

—Guest 1y 240days

So much more time

I am on day 4, and the thing I've been focusing on is how much time I'm saving by not smoking. Let's say you're a pack a day smoker and it takes on average 5-6 minutes to smoke a cigarette. You spend 2 hours a day smoking. That's 730 hours a year. I keep thinking about goals I have for my life and how much closer I'll be to accomplishing them if I spend those two hours a day/730 hours per year I would be smoking on doing something productive. Right now I'm going back to school part time, and 730 hours is about the amount of time I'd need to study to complete 2 classes per semester. It helps to channel cravings into energy towards accomplishing a goal.

—Guest Katie

Day two and doing ok

I stopped smoking on Monday and am doing the patches but after reading many articles im contemplating going cold turkey, as i really want to be done with all this Nicotine...and ive tried the patch many times only cause im so scared to just quit the nicotine outright only to start smoking again. I have really been beating myself up over this. Its very encouraging reading all the feedback from everyone on here, and it really does help....im feeling ok so far.

—epeoples

Read How Others Quit Smoking

I have wanted to quit smoking since I started 40 years ago. As most of my friends quit, you would think it would have been easy. It was not. I read about cold turkey and believe it is the only way to go. Am in my 3rd day. I have read a lot of good advice and stories on this site. I am dedicated to quitting this time. Thanks everyone for your inspiration.

—drkoz

Meditation

This is day 10 for the umpteenth time in 40 years. My mother died at 66 from lung cancer. I have been meditating for years but now have found it a wonderful support in addition to brisk walking, fortunately I live by the sea now and this has been an effective measure. I hope to turn 68 in September. I have so much more energy and clarity .

—Guest Lloyd

Don't Want to be Controlled by Nicotine

I'm just starting this journey. Actually have no money to buy them, and when I started to feel like I was freezing and went back to bed I said oh no. Actually had some money that was owed to me get brought to me, but I said "no this is it". I've quit before when I was pregnant with my now 22 year old daughter with no problem, and stayed smoke free for 4 years. Now I'm going to be a grandma for the first time and I want to be around. I've been playing with the idea of quitting, but today couldn't get any, and then when the chills, sleepiness and just feeling like crap came I said no more. Please wish me luck - I've tried before but being irritable won over - never had this sick feeling before. Don't want anything that controls my body like this. Also I want to be around for my new granddaughter for a very long time!:)

—mek55

No Negative Self-Talk

I decided I would only find positive, healthy, and rewarding thoughts when I felt weak or had a craving. They say negative self-talk can really set the tone for our daily lives. So, it was so important that I understood the real "good" going on in me. The good in making a decision to save my own life!! Those constant thoughts that occupy our minds, that one else hears. We have control over them and we experience what we tell ourselves we will experience. If I believed quitting smoking was going to make me miserable, it would have. I didn't think of quitting as miserable. I thought of quitting as my body healing and each day it healed more and more!

—happi108

Remember Your Reasons

Its been more than 36+ hours, since I have not smoked. As I am writing this, I am having craving to smoke again. I have quit smoking few times before but picked up again. I have decided to quit as it' expensive, unhealthy and the people I love they do not like smoking. Wish all of you a very good luck and expect the same for me :)

—Guest SV

My Husband and I Quit Together!

I started smoking when it was "en vogue" to smoke. That was the late '70s and early '80s. When I met my husband-to-be in Nov, 2001, I learned he was a smoker, as well.. We both smoked inside the house and it only made everything so yellow and dusty, not to mention the air. Both of our primary care physicians kept warning us to quit smoking, as soon as we could also. So, we had the pressure of the doctors, pressure from our kids (all grown) and ourselves. My husband quit first on June 4, 2012. He remained so stoic and strong, and he was such an inspiration, I tried over and over to quit, but I was having a harder time quitting than my husband. He did it cold turkey; I quit by cutting down to 2-3 cigarettes per day, down from 2 packs per day! I would take those 2 butts and as long as they lasted the day, I was ok. I went from 2 cigs per day, to 2 drags per day, to nothing at all! The behavior modification plan that I used is harder, imo, but so worth it, b/c I can breathe now!

—Guest Suzy

Making Progress

Now on day 6 and its getting easier. So if you are giving up smoking, really do stick with it as each day is great progress.

—nopuffing