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Post by countryblocks on Dec 2, 2004 10:08:00 GMT -5
thank you everyone. this helps me alot. I woke up early this morning feeling ok. Now I have strong urges and am very irritable.I do not want to give in .I do alot of coughing.I drink lots of water.How long will this last? what I mean is how long does it take for the nicotine to get out of my body? I will be checking in on and off all day and tonight looking for help. am I supposed to cough this long?
countryblocks
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Post by johnpic32 on Dec 2, 2004 10:31:03 GMT -5
Fight those urges, stay busy or do some deep breathing exercies. I am no doctor but a lot of people cough when they quit and it hits and stays with them in varying degrees. I started coughing on day 9 or 10 of my quit, feels like I have to clear my throat. Mine is almost gone. This is a good sign, for the lungs are cleaning themselves. I found this article which may help you to understand some of the symptoms: whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Symptoms.htmlHang in there, God bless you, John
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Post by Don on Dec 2, 2004 11:06:41 GMT -5
Don't allow yourself to give in! You are not allowed to smoke anymore.
How long will this last? Oh, that's a common question asked. It's like asking someone: "How long will you grieve over the loss of a loved one?" ...or the lost use of a limb? Both are answered uniquely to each of us. Like death of a loved one, we learn to live without that presence...we adjust our life to accommodate change. Cigarettes became a part of us and our lives. Remove them and our sense of order is severely disrupted.
I can only give you my personal accounting. Your experience will most likely be different. I would say that the bulk of the physical withdrawal is gone after week 1. Just getting the nicotine out of our systems in not enough as is evident by slips that happen years after quitting, usually by a stressful event that makes us run back to the same old soothing stick/pacifier that gave us perceived comfort. The mental addiction is long term and a lot tougher to battle since it crops up unexpectedly at times.
But it if helps you to know...I felt odd for about 6 months. That includes: mood swings, fog head, bad sleep, bad cough...and of course, cravings. I used to wonder a lot about the coughing fits. But like a wound when healing, your lungs itch, so you cough. But after that 6-month time window, I felt a sudden lifting on the craving burden. The cravings became less intense for me and the battle with myself became easier.
Occasionally I do miss smoking...or at least the perception that things were so carefree in the smoking days. And why not? I was in denial then. Smoking was harmless I said to myself. It’s hard to relive a myth. I do still like a small whiff of cigarette smoke, but a large cloud will burn my eyes, sinuses and make me gag. I get sick more often now. Possibly because my kids are both in contact with other kids or maybe because my lungs are nice and pink now, not coated by a layer of tar that prevented germs and oxygen from getting to the tissue. Back in my smoker days, I would get a yearly cold that ALWAYS turned into bronchitis and ALWAYS required antibiotics to knock down. Now I get sick about 4 times a year and it will usually clear up in a couple of days without the need for prescriptions.
Quitting is very difficult, no doubts there. But once you’ve put your mind to it, and some quit-time has accumulated, you will most likely agree that it was the best decision you’ve made for yourself.
Take advantage of the many aids available to help you with the cravings-patches, gum, etc.. Stay smokeless…no matter what.
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Post by slim on Dec 2, 2004 11:12:29 GMT -5
DAy 4 yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I always thought that it took a week or so to get the nicotine out of your system but a lot longer to get it out of your head. Again everyone is different....it will take some time to overcome 40 years of conditioning.
I found this in that article John found above:
"Psychological Relapse - Unlike physical withdrawal, psychological withdrawal is 100% mental and greatly within our ability to control. To understand the process can be power in itself. We also need to realize that just one puff of nicotine from one cigarette will revive all memories and conditioning associated with that particular habit trigger and commence the process of re-establishing your full chemical dependency upon nicotine. Whether immediate or gradual, your freedom is over and you're going back to your old level of nicotine intake or higher. Soon, the millions and millions of smoking memories in the recovered addict's mind will make them feel like they've never tasted freedom. Once an addict, even when we do arrest and trade places with our dependency our probation is conditioned on one simple rule - no nicotine, Never Take Another Puff!"
Get prepared mentally to adopt the concept "never another puff"
KTQ Country
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Post by Graciedonovan on Dec 2, 2004 12:53:48 GMT -5
Country, again, we're all different. I don't think I started coughing in my last quit for a couple of weeks. Then, I thought I would never stop coughing. Then at about 4 months or so, I went through it all over again. I guess I didn't get it all out the first time. Coughing is cleansing, so don't be alarmed about it. Hang in there. You're doing it!!!!!
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