My body responds to cold turkey.
It is true everyone is different, below is my journey to date on quitting smoking.
At a guess I would eatimate I quit smoking about 6 weeks ago, cold turkey, had a bed time ciggie and said to myself “ thats it, this is the last one” and to date it was. To put my habbit into perspective, by age 13 I was smoking 100 ciggies a day (some say impossible), a life of boarding schools, you learn some bad habbits fast. The night i quit I would of had around 75 ciggies that day. 3 packs a day was an average for me, at almost 38 years of age.base that on an average of 80 ciggies a day since i was 13, is roughly 728,000 ciggies consumed in my life so far.
What I didn’t know was what a ride I was in for. The first 3 days were quite normal, no withdrawals, just went about my life with no drama at all. Day 4 however things changed, in a big and for me bad way that would see me struggle with quitting for the following 5 days. On day 4 I woke with what felt like someone had kicked the sides of my rib cage at least a 1000 times during the night. I could feel every rib and my lungs where in distress and the pain was torture at best.
Those 5 days I spent in bed, feeling sorry for myself as my lungs starting to clean out years of tar. Panadol helped but the pain was intense.
Day 6 the pain subsided, but a shortness of breath had kicked in, at a guess this lasted for a good 10 days, this is also when cravings would kick in and the desire to smoke started to peak, my mood changed and people saw a real dark side to me. I was, for a better person a horrible person during this time amd the vocal agression I displayed was embarrassing to say the least.
For the past 7 or 8 days, things have kicked into another gear, I have the sweats a lot, I go from boiling hot, to freezing cold in the blink of an eye, I still get the odd moment where I might go up a flight of stairs and start praying for more oxygen to arrive. Cravings will kick in, without any notice, but they are few and far between now, maybe 2 cravings a day. My mood has levelled out, and I’m bearable to be around.
The other main drawback is dry mouth, I am not talking about that feeling of oh I need a glass of water I feel a bit dry. I go from talking to someone, not a problem at all to, bang next sentence, my mouth is like the Australian desert, dry, dusty and not a single organism is going to survive in there. This has been a problem for the past 4 weeks.its always a good idea to be close to a freezer, and have ice blocks at hand.
One bonus of quitting, and more than happy to share this, men listen up, the manhood is 18 all over again, intense powerful erections to say the least. Thos has only started in the last day or 3, but life is quite different with this new found manhood.
I have tried quitting before, but failed at every hurdle, one thing I have tried in the past many times was having a support network around me, however - that I feel was always a failure as it placed an expectation on me to quit. This time I havent told a soul, I am just going about my daily business, and no one is asking, how are you going with quitting and I don’t feel the pressure at all, the other key factor I feel is not setting a date, I just decided on a whim, that Id try this tomorrow, and see what happens, again removing any thoughts of I have to do this as a result this was fantastic in removing all that pressure that comes with quitting smoking.
Hope you enjoyed the read. If I can find a more appropriate place to give updates I will post more in due course.
Sorry all, just spotted a few typos, eatimate instead of estimate was a great start.
Still trying to wrap my head around 100 cigs a day JasonPerth. Thats about 11 hrs. a day, 8 hrs sleep, 1 hr eating... 4 hrs of classes. It amazes me that you had no cravings the first 3 days, although I am sure your body was probably just so thankful for the reprieve. It was in shock!
You got through the past 6 weeks amazingly enough. It must be a totally new world to you, not chained to that despicable tube that so controlled your life. Despite the severity of your recovery, you survived, stuck with it and won your freedom . Goes to show it is never too late and anyone can quit smoking. Thanks for sharing your very different experience. As you pointed out, everyone's quit is different. Great Job!
Wow. That’s a pretty amazing story. One month smoke free is a grand achievement. As the time passes it’ll get easier and easier. There will be fewer cravings until they pretty much cease. In my experience the trick is to stay strong and not have even one puff or it’s back to square one. Good luck.
Amazing story. You must be so proud of yourself for getting to today. Thanks for sharing what your cold turkey was like. This is important for others. I had been patching when I read a cold turkey story in this forum and thought I could give it a go. It’s good to read in detail what it’s like for each person. You go ! You must stay quit as you wouldn’t want to do that experience again or have it not count. Well done great story
Amazing story. You must be so proud of yourself for getting to today. Thanks for sharing what your cold turkey was like. This is important for others. I had been patching when I read a cold turkey story in this forum and thought I could give it a go. It’s good to read in detail what it’s like for each person. You go ! You must stay quit as you wouldn’t want to do that experience again or have it not count. Well done great story
Hello JasonPerth,
Just wondering, how long did your dark side last for? My husband is usually friendly to everyone, now he wants to kill everyone. What's wrong with him?
Many thanks
Mony
Hi All.
Thank you all for your support and feedback. @Mony81 my dark side lasted for about 3 weeks, a side of me came out that had never been seen before, it turned me into the angry man who hated the world. There is nothing wrong with your husband, in my opinion its a stage that will pass. Also I go walking every night just for 30 to 40 minutes, I found this helped to clear my head and proccess everything going on. Not to muntion a very strong physical reminder that hey I need oxygen during this walk.
Hi All.
Thank you all for your support and feedback. @Mony81 my dark side lasted for about 3 weeks, a side of me came out that had never been seen before, it turned me into the angry man who hated the world. There is nothing wrong with your husband, in my opinion its a stage that will pass. Also I go walking every night just for 30 to 40 minutes, I found this helped to clear my head and proccess everything going on. Not to muntion a very strong physical reminder that hey I need oxygen during this walk.
Wow 100 cigarettes 🚬 a day omg I was flat out with 20 per day.. I’m just in Orr, cold turkey, you must be so chuffed as I am so proud of what you have achieved..just imagine how much money you are and have saved so far..go you good thing. 💪🥇🥇🥇
Thank you for your kind words SuziQ92 - Money saved, I wish - spoiling myself as a reward, shoes clothes and eating out. A dramatic change in lifestyle already upon me. Savings will come in due course
Welcome and thank you JasonPerth for sharing your amazing journey. Omg 100 per day is quite full on, but look at you go!!! Your story was one of the most entertaining stories I've read. You have been through the ringer alright, I don't know how you've hacked cold turkey. Different methods do work for different people. High 5 buddy, you are doing great. Stay focused cos Safe2017 has said it in one, don't lower your guard as as a slip can put you right back to square one. I've had more starts than hot dinners at this quitting business. All behind me now as I'm 8 months in and never turning back😊