what are symptoms of nicotine withdraw and how long do they last?
475143
I think some of the symptoms are headache, stomachache, crankiness. My doctor told me that the physical addiction is over 24 hours after you quit smoking. The hardest part is breaking the habit that you've grown used to.
233463
No.  The best way to get rid of nicotine is not to use nicotine-laden products in the first place.  However, the answer I suspect you need is this: only your liver will remove nicotine from your blood.  Most of it is removed very quickly, which is why a smoker feels the urge to light up another weed so quickly after putting out the last one.  But even if one goes cold turkey, there's a measurable trace of nicotiene in the blood for several days.  It does not take weeks; that which is felt after the first five or six days is the ravages of the psychological dependence upon the drug.
413762
Scientists say that the first 72 hours are the worst because the body is going through nicotine withdrawal. So from here on out it's mind versus matter. Can your mind beat out a cigarette or can a small little thing that causes big time illness beat you? Stay busy, and stay focused! Good luck!!
78136
Talk to your doctor. If you want to come off it, then ask him to help you. It is important to follow a gradual withdrawal program as stopping suddenly can cause an array of troublesome symptoms, the most common being dizziness, which can last for days on end. Flu-like feelings, including nausea, headache and fatigue, are also common, as are intense feelings of anxiety, irritability or sadness.\n\nIt is important to recognise that when you withdraw from a drug, many of these symptoms can also appear. Some people experience alarming sensations of tingling or burning in various parts of the body; ringing in the ears; blurred vision; or flashing lights before the eyes. Some people even describe a feeling of shock waves pulsing through their arms and legs, as if they had been zapped with a jolt of electricity, a condition sometimes called lightning-bolt syndrome. This is what is known as "discontinuation syndrome" and should NOT be misread as some form of "relapse". Make sure that your doctor is fully aware of Discontinuation Syndrome. There is plenty of information on the web.\n\nAs for needing more...personally, I don't believe ANYONE needs to take antidepressants. These drugs are inherently harmful (in a variety of different ways) and do not cure ANYTHING. It is no different to smoking weed to feel more relaxed, or snorting coke to get high. Psych drugs disrupt the normal chemical operation of the brain creating a false sense of mood. It cures nothing. And the longer you take it, the more likely you are to suffer from many of the drug's seriously ill effects.\n\nSeek non-drug solutions. Check out http://www.alternativementalhealth.com or perhaps http://groups.msn.com/psychbusters/alternativehealth.msnw for more info.\n\nMike\n\n--\nDecoding Psychiatric Propaganda\nhttp://groups.msn.com/psychbusters
483469
Nicotine is a short-acting drug that is eliminated from the body relatively quickly (i.e., within a day or so). However, the effects of acute nicotine withdrawal can be felt for as much as two weeks or more. In addition, the byproducts of nicotine can be detected in the blood for up to a month after you stop smoking. This is only of concern if you are in a situation where someone else might want to test you for the presence of nicotine or nicotine byproducts in your system. \n\nMost people can quit "cold turkey" without any ill effects other than feeling irritable, restless, and craving cigarettes. However, if you have any medical condition for which you are (or should be) receiving treatment, it's a good idea to check with your doctor first. He or she can also support your efforts to quit and discuss nicotine replacement options if you choose to slowly wean yourself off nicotine. \n\nI pasted this article that may help answer your question. Good Luck!
618716
I smoked for 11 years at it wasn't easy to quit.  What I found worked best was to make a list of all the time throughout the day when you usually have a smoke.  Take a good look at the list and decide which one you don't 'need'.  Cut that one out and do it for a week.  Then take another look at the list and cut another one.  Keep going as long as you have to to get down to none.  By the time you get to one, you usually have enough confidence in yourself to look at it and think "I don't need this - it's not worth it."  It took me 11 weeks to quit that way because my average intake was 11 cigarettes (just over half a pack) a day.  By doing it this way, I didn't feel deprived because I knew my next smoke was just a few hours away.  I hadn't quit cold turkey and I made the decision as to which one to cut out and when.  It gave me a great feeling of empowerment.  I know it sounds like it would take forever this way, but slow and steady really does win the race.\n\nBest of luck!
318073
Just picture the way you felt when you ran out of cigarettes for any length of time when you were smoking. How did it make you feel? Jumpy, nervous and irritable at first, or hard to concentrate on anything for too long? Later on you will probably feel lethargic and uninterested in anything but sleeping as much as you can. It's the way your body handles the nicotine it still craves even though your conscious mind has overcome the addiction. Try to take it easy, drink as much citrus type juices as possible and eat a lot of oranges. Don't know why that works but it does. Keep on keeping on and you'll get through this. Good luck and way to go! You know why you quit. Don't turn back now.
439045
Of course it can go away.  You were not born to crave smoking, you just learned it - firstly the desire to socialize with it and help you cope with certain bits of life and growing up, then the nicotine chemical habit.  So after the nicotine is out of your brain, you then unlearn your psychological habit, so that non-smoking becomes the norm and your conscious and subconscious mind recognize this. For some people it can take only a few days, for others the major hurdle is over in a few days to weeks - as long as the use the right techniques to quit.\nHave a read how and what to do at http://www.quitguide.com
363606
Dear Friend, \n\nGood on you that you want to quit. YOU CAN DO IT!!! Can a smoker overcome the physical addiction and habitual behaviors of tobacco use? The answer is a resounding yes. Not only is quitting possible, but it is also highly beneficial. It is never too late to stop using tobacco. Quitting at any age and in any state of health improves one’s health.\nBecause no single condition leads to tobacco dependence, no single solution cures smokers of their dependence on cigarettes. Some people are able to quit smoking easily, while some find quitting so difficult that they do not quit even when facing tobacco’s serious health problems. Smokers who believe that quitting smoking will be easy or that God will make it easy for them may become disillusioned if they experience the normal withdrawal symptoms or if they relapse back to smoking. Therefore, it is wise for smokers to take time to plan this important change carefully and prayerfully.\n\nSuccessful treatment can include at least three components: (1) counseling and advice from a skilled, knowledgeable professional, with a focus on developing problem-solving skills, overcoming barriers to quitting, and preventing relapse; (2) support from friends and family members; and (3) the possible correct, careful use of legal stop-smoking medications, including nicotine replacement and other drugs tested for safety and effectiveness.\n\nA local hospital or clinic may offer a stop-smoking group, and a health professional may be able to provide expert advice about medications that can help ease the physical and emotional discomfort of withdrawal symptoms. A nicotine replacement medication helps control withdrawal symptoms over a period of weeks or months while the ex-smoker gradually becomes accustomed to living without tobacco. 11 Nicotine replacement products are not designed to replace nicotine permanently; rather, the ex-smoker tapers off the nicotine replacement medication over a period of weeks.\n\nThe least successful way to stop smoking is to try to quit all at once, or “cold turkey,” without any kind of help. Quitting this way may seem like a good idea at the time, but statistics show that only a very small percentage of those who attempt to quit this way will still be smoke-free a year later. The work of quitting smoking involves not only the initial actions of becoming tobacco-free, but also the lifetime task of remaining tobacco-free.\n\nCheers
1165342
you will seem worse, the numbing effects of the chemicals in the tobacco is not there anymore, so you will start to feel your lungs again, the stuff you are coughing up is particles of the crap you have been putting in your lungs, chunks of dried phlegm and other pieces of stuff your lungs are trying to get rid of, just quit and you will see a dramatic difference in about six months to a year, after a while if you have not damaged lungs to severely you should recover completely!
917090
Here are some facts from personal experience as well as other family/firends who have given up or tried to give up:\n\n1. your metabolism slows down, you can even feel your pulse slowing down when you give up. Temporarily, smoking a cig can accelerate your heart just a tiny-tiny bit.\n2. Food smells and tastes just the same, you just have a craving because you  are not smoking, so you want to substitute that craving with eating. Chewing gum doesn't work.\n3. You can retain more water when not smoking so you may appear 'fuller' too.\n4. Some friends of mine (including my mum) have put on upto 3 stones when giving up smoking (not by eating so much, it's just how their bodies reacted).\n5. Most supermodels smoke (as well as other drugs) to stay thinner. In the modeling world putting on even half a stone could wreck their career.\n6. Some people can actually manage to get back to their pre-quitting weight but not many.\n7. I managed to lose all the weight I put on after quitting but once I reached my pre-quitting weight I had to re-start smoking because the lowered intake of food was driving me nuts and the only way I could keep it down is by lighting up again. \nSometimes I stop for a year, sometimes for 10 months, sometimes for 4 years sometimes just 6 months but I always end up smoking again. Horrible!
1033597
I've taken a course to learn how to hold smoking cessation classes. You've got the best thing already....WANTING TO QUIT.\nIf you can hold off the first 3 days, you've got the hard part over with, according to most who quit. ALL symptoms should be gone in a couple weeks.\nJust keep trying. I personally recommend the "cold turkey" method because if you use a product to help you stop smoking that contains nicotine it will continue supplying your cravings for nicotine, prolonging the process. If you can find a stop-smoking product that does NOT supply nicotine in any way, it's probably safe.\n\nTry to distract your urge-most of them won't last more than a few minutes. Try:\n\nChewing some gum\nGo for a walk\nTake a shower (one place it's difficult to smoke!)\nAnd anything else that will distract you!\n\nYou can make it!\n\nP.S.  I'll email you with more info if you're interested. Add to your post saying so, if you want.
162643
First, I cut down to about 6 per day. Then I just stopped cold turkey. I didn't tell anyone I was quitting until weeks after my last cigarette. That way, I wasn't constantly reminded of it. I worked in restaurants, so I acted really busy when the other people in the kitchen went out for smoke breaks. No one asked me about it for three weeks. Quitting was so much easier than I ever thought it would be. It's been two years. I haven't cheated, and I don't want to. I get sick much less often now, and when I do get a cold, it just lasts a couple days. I really support the cold turkey method, but you have to find a way to get cigarettes off your mind while you're quitting. Good luck. Someday soon, you'll be happy to know you're a nonsmoker.
933383
The best way is cold turkey and suffer through the first 10 days until the nicotine is out of your system.  Then it is just mind control after that.  You control your mind.  It doesn't control you.\n\nCoach
1065696
.\nFriend\nWe get into a habit easily and then the habit controls us.... once it becomes a habit, it destroys our Will Power\n\nThere are numerous web sites offering help in a professional manner..... there must be some help you could get in your town as well\n\nI have tried to find some helpful websites for you\n\nHope you soon get rid of this habit and find your health and happiness\n\nhttp://www.nicotine-anonymous.org/\nhttps://www.stopsmoking.ucsf.edu/index.aspx?src=GIndiaOnline&gclid=CKTzkJHgtIUCFQKIIgodVBKU0Q\nhttp://www.quit-smoking-guide.com/quit-smoking-product-reviews.htm\nhttp://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/how2quit.htm\nhttp://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact24.html\n.\n\nI found 12 useful TIPS\n\n1--- Get professional help\n\n2--- Prepare mentally\n\n3--- Understand what to expect… Most people find the first few days difficult and for some it can be a long struggle, but things will typically start to get better after the third or fourth day.  Nicotine withdrawal may make you restless, irritable, frustrated, sleepless, or accident prone - but these things will pass and you will quickly start to feel the benefits.\n\n4--- Make a list of reasons why you want to stop smoking\n\n5--- Consider the money spent on smoking\n\n6--- Set a date…  Some people make a New Year’s Day resolution, others pick their birthday \n\n7--- Involve friends or family…  If you live with someone else who smokes, it will be much easier to quit if you do it together.\n\n8--- Deal with nicotine withdrawal.... you can roughly double the chances of successfully quitting smoking by using nicotine replacement therapies such as patches, lozenges, inhalers, and/or gum.  The idea is to come off nicotine gradually by using a low nicotine dose to take the edge off the cravings\n\n9--- Other treatments may help… Hypnosis, acupuncture or other treatments\n\n10--- Find a (temporary) substitute habit…It might be an idea to use chewing gum, drink more water, fruit juice or tea,  or to chew or eat something\n\n11--- Avoid temptation… In the difficult first few days you can change your routine to avoid situations where you would usually smoke. \n\n12--- Watch out for relapse… You will need to be on your guard especially in the first few days and weeks...You could lose everything you've achieved just in a momentary lapse.\n.
1131615
The absolute BEST way is quite honestly COLD TURKEY.  The reason is...it takes 72 hours or 3 days for all the nicotine to get out of your system and once you live through those three days then it's just mind over matter as your body's NEED for nicotine is gone.  The patches, gum etc. anything with nicotine in it and the "tapering off" just prolongs the agony of nicotine withdrawal.  \n\nYou have to replace that "bad habit" with a good one so be prepared BEFORE you quit....and know what you are going to do INSTEAD of smoking.  Remember the average 'craving' lasts 3 minutes.  \n\nI used whatever it took to get through the first 2 weeks, sugar free suckers, licorice root (you can buy at the bulk store usually) to chew on, sugar free gum, tic tacs, and believe it or not straws the extra tough ones that come in drinking boxes (I chewed through about 7 of them and just keep cutting off the chewed end) and you can also "inhale" through the straw and then slowly exhale.  Drink a ton of water, now instead of smokes and a lighter I carry bottles of water with me everywhere.\n\nI also learned how to knit to keep my hands busy, you could do crossword puzzles, circle words, Suduko puzzles, or some kind of manly crafty thing like leather working or wood burning I suppose....\n\nAlso I downloaded a little counter from the site I posted below....I was so determined not to have to reset my counter back to zeros I wouldn't have another smoke!\n\nGood luck, you'll need it.....but trust me when I say looking back from the other side it is SO WORTH IT!!\n\nIn three days you'll start to notice how bad smokers really smell and you'll think OMG I used to STINK like that too, in 2 weeks when you run your tongue over your teeth they won't feel like they have fuzzy slippers on them anymore....and if you can make the 3 week mark without slipping at all......I believe that the statistics for maintaining the smoke free lifestyle are about 60% for those that can make it to the 3 week mark!\n\nGOOD LUCK!\n\nOne year, ten months, four weeks, 8 hours, 28 minutes and 34 seconds. \n13947 cigarettes not smoked, \nSaving $4,602.53. \nLife saved: 6 weeks, 6 days, 10 hours, 15 minutes.
787333
It's been so long since I smoked that I can't answer the question about how I felt. But I can tell you medically (from a nursing stand point) how your body will improve when you quit\n\nWHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY WHEN YOU QUIT SMOKING?\n* 20 minutes after quitting: your blood pressure drops. Your hands and feet warm up\n*8 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood ddrops to normal.\n*24 hours after quitting: your chance of a heart attack decreases\n*2weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lungs perform better.\n*1-9 months after quitting: Coughing, sinus congestion, tiredness and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny haris that move the moucus of the the lungs) returen to normal, increasing the ability to hanlde  mucous, clean the lungs and reduce infectioin.\n*1 year after quitting: the increased risk of heart disease is half that of a smokers.\n*5-15 years after quitting: your sstroke ris is reduced to that of a nonsmoker.\n*10 year after quitting: The Lung cancer dath rate is 50 percent lower than it is for continuing smokers. The risk of cancer of the m mouth, throat, esophagous, bladder, kidney and pancreas also decreases\n*15 years after quitting: the reis of heart disease is that of a nonsmoker.\n\nHope that provides some encouragement.