Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
47 days ago i had my last cigarette but i used an e-cig to stop. 10 days ago i overdosed myself on nicotine thru the e-cig. It must have been building for a few days but oh boy i was so sick.
So 10 days ago i threw the ecig and cold turkey-ed of nicotine.
For the first 4 days, i could not get off the bed, i could not stop crying and everything i once could have coped with, i can't cope with anymore.
2 Days ago i was ranting at my hubby because he really peeved me off, and as i was ranting, my breath just stopped. Off to the hospital and they said i had a panic attack.
But i was not panicking, i was angry. Totally livid with anger.
Off to my local GP and he says i have anxiety bought on my detox from nicotine. He has told me to take 1mg valium 3 times a day (yes i know 1mg is nothing lol) but it makes me totally pass out. Within 10 minutes of 1 mg i am asleep for 3 hours.
I have some health issues - I broke my back and have fibromyalgia and i have cons syndrome.
The pain from the fibro is basically non existent since throwing the smokes. Thats a good thing.
I love to paint and draw and have not touched anything in 47 days - i feel i will never draw again (thats a bad thing)
I want a cigarette - i want this anxiety to stop, it has been full on for 47 days and just getting worse and worse.
So i stop smoking and now i am on valium and anti depressants. I mean seriously, what gives with that. Will this ever stop. How long? Please give me the magic day, the magic word, the magic cuddle because seriously i am telling myself, i am prepared to die from cancer just to stop panic and anxiety
I can't promise you that your anxiety will go away - too many variables.
I can't promise you that your anger will go away - I have no idea why/what you're angry with/about or whether it's a form of depression.
You are detoxing from many things. The valium and anti-depressant shouldhelp ease you from one addiction - nicotine and the thousand additives in cigarettes. But you will then need to withdraw from those. How long? Depends on you and what you are doing to help alleviate your anxiety and depression.
I smoked for 51 years. I tried quitting numerous times. Finally I knew that it was time. I either quit this time permanently - last time - or I would die from emphysema as my father had. And I wanted to be an ex-smoker. Not just wanted to quit, to no longer endure the cravings, I wanted to never again even want a cigarette. That was 9 years ago and I haven't looked back. I used the patch. I didn't cheat once. I had some rough times, endured the nightmares (typical of withdrawal), but I never looked back. I was successful at quitting because I wanted it so bad. My partner had quit smoking 15 years before and he was wonderful support for me. He remained calm even when I startted to freak out, he helped me find things to do to keep me from falling back into old patterns. We took walks, he distracted me after meals (a typical trigger for most smokers).
At some point, I realized I was an ex-smoker. When did it happen? I have no idea. I will never let my guard down. I LIKE not smoking. I like not needing my fix. I like the freedom.
Stop beating yourself up. Take it 1 day at a time. Follow the concepts of a 12-step program. 1 minute, 1 hour, 1 day at a time. You CAN beat this addiction. You CAN beat the side-effects of not only the nicotine addiction but all the other substances in cigarettes. You CAN do this. 1 day at a time. Just for today.
Try meditation when the cravings get bad. When you feel the "crazies" getting to you, call someone to go on a walk, listen to music, do something to distract yourself.
Good luck. I wish you success. It is so totally and completely worth it.
I clearly am suffering depression and anxiety and i do believe i suffered it all well before i quit smoking. Smoking seemed to have calmed everything or was i stressed because i smoked and didnt know it?
Is it the old 'which came first .. the chicken or the egg.'
My mum is now scared for me, hubby thinks im crazy. I don't want to take my withdrawl to either of them anymore. I want to now shut up and sleep and hide and wake up..and it is all over.
I am going to go buy a dog.
But surely i must be coming to an end of it all - 47 days of no analogue - 10 days of no nicotine - the chemicals from the smokes should all be well and truly gone after 47 days. Nicotine should be gone after 10 days 'wouldnt it'????'
But surely i must be coming to an end of it all - 47 days of no analogue - 10 days of no nicotine - the chemicals from the smokes should all be well and truly gone after 47 days. Nicotine should be gone after 10 days 'wouldnt it'????'
It's only been 10 days. Nicotine, only 1 of over 1000 drugs in cigarettes, should take somewhere around 3 weeks. Some drugs can take up to 6 months for detox to be complete - and that's just the physical. You also have psych addiction going on. That's the bad news. but there is good news.
You have detoxed from most of the other drugs in cigs, physically, by now, so you're only dealing with the nicotine withdrawal (10 days up to 2 weeks to go) and the psych addiction withdrawal. The latter is the hardest.
One of the problems with e-cigs is that it IS still feeding the nicotine addiction physically, and does nothing to help with the physical act of smoking. Part of the feeling of relaxation comes from the ritual of smoking, lighting it, inhaling, slowly exhaling, even tapping the ashes off for some folks. So you didn't decrease any of those behaviors. You're at square one EXCEPT that you have been chemical free for 10 days. That is TEN DAYS! That's great. Seriously, it's a good thing. If you were in a 12 step program, you'd already have received your 1 week coin and be on the way to earning a 2 week coin. Don't let the process get you down, it is a testament to your strength that you've gone 10 days and x hours. Count those hours, too! Count every minute.
Up to 6 months after I quit, I was still having nightmares. Every once in a while, during a time of heavy stress, I will have a smoking nightmare. I dream I am smoking and generally it's at an inappropriate time. I wake up sweating and check the bed for ashes/fire. I'm down to about 1 nightmare a year. Now, the thought of smoking itself is the nightmare.
Here's a good article on quitting. If you're not in a self-help group, find one. Contact your local hospital for a group. And keep in touch here.
The breath cutting off really frightened me - one minute im upset and next i cant breath. Its been about 3 days since it happened and i am still struggling to speak, im afraid if i talk that my air will stop again.
I remember quitting when i was 25 - i was off cigs for 5 years and restarted - i remember the first three weeks and then one day realising i was a non smoker, i had done it. I remember the craves but not feeling insane.
I restarted smoking at 30 and now i am 47 - this is chronic what i am experiencing, i feel nuts, scared to breath. Frightened this will never end and i will never be able to have a conversation. The doctor said it will stop, its anxiety from detox and will go away ... but no matter where i look about people quitting smoking, i do not see them saying ... oh yes my breath stopped and i had to go to hospital ...aghhh
Quitting is easy i've done it many times without success I;ve learned in every attempt to quit a little more to add to my arsenal of defenses, the last time i tried to quit i realized the nicotine withdrawl symptoms were so bad that i usually caved in after a few weeks and started smoking again,
This last time i used nicotine replacement products for 6 months after quitting,would have used the gum but doesnt work so well with dentures so i used nicotine Lozenges usually 1 or 2 every few hours i found the product really helped calm me down and ease the pangs of nicotine addiction,Aug 3 2008 was when i smoked my last cigarette so for me this method has been successful, still have the occasional yearning for a cigarette but thinking of the hell i went through to quit makes me not cave in to the need to smoke for fear of becoming a user again
.Every one who quits usually does what works for them, in your case you seem to be having so much mental and physical difficulty i'd look into nicotine replacement therapy to ease the transition period,
The problem with smoking is all the chemicals you also get with the smoking part of the process,using gum or Lozenges gives you just the nicotine which by comparison isnt that bad for you..
I smoked for 30 years. On November 11 I will have quit for three years.
You can do it.
I can remember right around the time that you are having all of your problems that I had a total meltdown. I called a crisis center but hung up. I cried. I screamed. I ranted. I raved. And then it passed.
It will for you, too.
And then it was much better and that never happened again.
What you have to believe is this:
You are better than the cigarettes.
Smoking is not for you because you are better than that.
You will feel better in the end, will save money, will never smell like smoke again and it will be worth it.
And it will. Just the money I saved and what that got me is worth it, alone. I can't stress this enough.
It will pass. You will not be a raving lunatic for the rest of your life.
It's funny because I was thinking about this, driving home from work last night. I like to have a drink of something available when I drive, be it soda, water, juice, coffee. Well, yesterday I forgot my soda at work and had nothing to drink. Instead of panicking I simply drove home. It's nice to not have to have something for my hands to do, now. I've learned to be able to just sit and be...not have to constantly be doing something to make up for having a cigarette. That will come for you in time. You will learn that it is okay to sit, to breathe, and you will be okay.
I can't believe how much you sound like me as far as how hard it's been to quit smoking. I quit 2 years ago but I became so CRAZY and screamed at my husband SO MUCH that its a miracle that I didnt end up in jail... I became a complete psycho...Ranting raving crying hysterically..
I finally became as normal as I can be (I have anxiety disorder and Im very bipolar)..I stopped screaming at my hubby all the time, I stopped going completely psycho..I dont take meds either--I got hooked on essential oil therapy!! If I feel anxious I spray some lavender !! I make some herbal tea and I savor it...A lot of the time I just lock myself into my quiet bedroom away from everyone to calm down..
You can stay off ciggs I know you can! You've made it this far!! I'll pray that you find peace when having a hard time with it!
Stop worrying about having another anxiety attack. Put it out of your mind or you will talk yourself right into another one.
Every day, tell yourself you are an ex-smoker. Remind yourself of what a disgusting habit it is. I mean, when I think about all the people I exposed to my cigarette smoking over the years, I am so ashamed.
Find an outlet for your rage. Take a kickboxing class, find one online and do it at home, someplace that has a lot of space or something more laid back like Tai Chi.
Stay away from people who make you mad. Don't even think about the things that make you mad, when you find that you are, put it out of your mind immediately, think about something else, something pleasant or something funny.
Listen to music, dance to it, sing to it.
All the things that people are saying here, pay attention to it. As for your comment about being prepared to die from cancer as opposed to living with the anxiety? Obviously, you have never seen anyone dying from cancer from smoking. If you had, I don't think you would ever say that.
The nicotine should be out of your system by now, or just about out. Just find some kind of outlet for your anxiety--even though you don't want to draw, pick up a pencil and doodle, you're doing something with your hands and that might take your mind off smoking.
Good luck, don't give up. It's a hard fight, but you know it is worth it.
I quit smoking a little over 5 years ago. I tried to go it alone many times and ended up taking Chantix. Some side effects, nothing serious. Quit Chantix 9 weeks and still craved a cigarette on and off, but the cravings were short, found keeping my mind occupied helped. Also had to alter my routine to avoid the times I had a cigarette. Helped a friend quit the same way. It took months to stop the desire, but it eventually stopped. Another friend had extreme side effects from Chantix so is still smoking. I think the most important thing to stopping is you have to really want to quit. I used a plastic straw when the urge hit me and it worked. Kept them in my car for over a year. I have to admit I still love the smell when I walk by and someone is smoking. I learned to live by: N O P E (NOT ONE PUFF EVER)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
