Still struggling with this
Hi everyone, I've made it to 4 Weeks and one day and I feel so depressed and am wondering if I can keep doing it? Smoking distracted me from the immense hole inside me and in my life? And yet smoking didn't fill it up or change it? I also have the most excruciating leg pain at the moment, I've since found out that the patches cause leg pain, which I'm using right now and I don't want to take them off, because I'm scared I'll smoke? Has anyone else experienced leg pain on patches? I do have nerve damage and pain down my right leg, which I had before quitting? Smoking again is not going to fix any of this, but god help me ,I just don't want to be in pain anymore😭
Lizzy, congrats on making it to 4 weeks, well done. Smoking will definitely not fix anything, and it would be a real shame to have to start from the beginning again. I dont have much knowledge regarding patches but could you see your doctor or a pharmacist about your pain...perhaps ask if you could go from a patch to a nicotine inhaler or different method? If you must continue using patches, is there some pain relief you can use in conjunction with it? Sorry Im not much help and I do wish you well.
I know how you feel I have spent half of my 80 days nicotine free in bed depressed eating crap and feeling sorry for myself and I think a lot of it is grief the smokes were holding back from past trauma,
not to mention the COPD my lungs are burning!! blood pressure higher than its ever been even while smoking, if I was insane I would say a smoke will fix this and it might for about 2.8 seconds then the shame of what I just did would start the whole thing off again !! and I would die !!
so there is a time for grieving and a time for healing and I think I have spent 80 days in shock and grieving stuff I haven't felt before.
so today I have done 2 half hr walks and I was/am in all sorts of pain and its not easy, but the only 2 things that can make my life better are exercise and eating well.
so day one which is day 81 without smokes of the healing the body and mind through exercise and food.
I haven't come this far to turn back and if I don't do the things I need to do I will have no choice but to turn back because if it doesn't get better after stopping smoking why stop??
dam seriously nothing has been easy in my life its like I have to work so hard to just to be somewhere near where others are without trying.
but I have made it this far and I am not going to quit now !!
hope this may help?
IC
Hi miss Lizzy , congratulations on making it to 4 weeks smoke free , it's only day 2 for me, but I too used patches I had no leg pain but I found they just didn't work, my advice is to go to you're doctor and ask for champix, it's the best thing ever, I have smoked for over 30 years 50 a day, I was told that it takes two weeks for it too start working, I smoked the first week and a half then my quit date came , I have gone cold turkey no gum , patches sprays et and I'm still not craving a cig , how it works it blocks nicotine from attaching to the feel good part of you're brain, and I found when I was smoking I really didn't have the same pleasure before taking champix , don't give in , come on you can do it were is you're stubborn streak, you're a non smoker, good luck sweet heart xxoo 😀
Hi IC, I can relate to everything you said, nothing in my life happens easy at all and after all the horrible trauma I've had?, well it's just not fair, I don't deserve it and you don't either,so what do you do? Your right smoking will relieve it for what a minute, then we will.be over with more depression and shame because we just gave up and hurt ourselves again? I don't want to hurt myself anymore, I have had enough pain, so just for today I won't pick up a cigarette! You too! And to silly t ,I can't take champix as I already take an antidepressant and they don't agree with me at all, I react badly? Thanks anyway. I could do with a big hug right now, probably all of us could👬
Sending you a huge snugglie huggalie cuddle filled with pure love and a huge heap of confidence and support, hang in there sweet heart muwa 💖😀
Miss lizzy, if you are already on antidepressants book an appointment with your doctor. They say that smoking effects certain parts of the brain therefore The fact that your not smoking will also effect your brain, maybe the doctor should look at your antidepressant medication you may need it altered.
You are right take a day at a time, remember we are here for you, or maybe Lifeline or something similar if you need to talk it through
wishing you well
You have done so well coming this far. It is only sheer determination that gets four weeks under your belt. Use that determination to get through another day. And play a song that you love really loud and dance to it. You'll feel like a dork to start with but then you will feel fab.
Good luck with it.
Miss Lizzy,
I do all the wrong things 1st , then work out they are not working and try something else. LOL
seriously though I have spent many countless hrs learning about my condition, and to pin it down to I need to do this and I will be fine unfortunately is not how it has worked for me.
part of my PTSD is holding my breath because I am on alert all the time its not something I do on purpose its how my body has been affected by the trauma, so in a sense smoking helped me focus on my breathing while I was smoking.
of cause the downside was it was killing me.
so now I am finding I need to do some deep breathing down in to my gut, and now I am starting to go walking and I watch my breathing its shallow and erratic !!
living like this is exhausting to say the least and its never been easy for me, I can get suicidal and I don't want to die but when pushed so far in to a corner it becomes an option.
so right now to keep that at bay I have started eating a lot less sugar , sugar can be used to increase dopamine we got from the smokes that is now gone, and like the smokes it works until it doesn't and now I have to change that, walking and deep breathing down in to the gut.
I found this lady to be great https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyyd4MOI_R8
have to pay to get the whole thing off her website or look around might find it somewhere on the net.
this whole thing is about releasing the emotions that build up and quitting smoking is a whole new layer of crap we have to deal with so relaxing is not something we are good at.
so for those moments of peace how ever we can get them that do not hurt us are priceless.
this has been hard for me quitting smoking but I don't want to die and I might have to work twice as hard as some other people to get half of what they get and I will take that as its better than being dead.
so I understand this is not easy !!
so let out the built up emotions in a healthy way , breathe and exercise eat well and most of all little by little forgive Miss Lizzy as it wasn't your fault !!
IC
in short this guy has it pretty right https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXHDAtk8cAI
IC
Thanks everyone for all your support, it really does help me to know that someone else cares about what I'm going through,especially when they have gone through it too😊
it has helped me writing reply's as I can see better what I need to do also so you have helped me and that's how this thing works :)
so thank you !!
IC