How long does it take to get over nicotine withdrawals?
967491
i smoked for 20 years and it took me 3 days to get over the inatial shock .i took up a hobby every time i get a craving i drink lots of water and go for a 20 minute walk .out of sight out of mind!
804379
I have tried twice before and got 46 days the first time and 30 days the second time and used the nicotine gum to do it BUT the most important thing I did and forgot to keep doing therefore I started up again and that was to change people,places and things.\nIn the beginning I stayed away from people who smoked and stayed away from places where I was use to smoking  ie my favorite eating place.Drank water with my meals as I use to drink coffee with my meals and would smoke while drinking coffee before my meal came and after I had finished my meal.\nI avoided my usual smoking break time outside with other employees.\nI tend to be a realy high wired person so as I started out with my efforts to quit smoking I made up my mind to run in low gear and to quit putting pressure on myself and to quit letting others laziness and imperfections bother me and to take it all in stride.\nThe only thing I can figure I did wrong was I got too comfortable with my efforts of not smoking and in doing so I forgot to keep up the work of avoiding familar people,places and things that encouraged my desire to smoke.\nI didn't want to gain the weight that most people say you will do when you quit smoking since we tend to exchange one habit for another so I made sure that I had plenty of fresh fruits and veggies on hand.\nI also made sure that I had plenty of my favorite gum on hand to help me get through those tough moments when the nicotine gum did not seem appealing or when it was too soon to have another piece.\nMy family,friends,employer and fellow employees were very supportive in my efforts.\nMy clothes,my house ,my car started to smell so much and my mouth was losing that bottom of the ashtray taste during my efforts to quit and I intend to quit again. .  . and this time FOREVER!\nPeople will certainly climb your backside for smoking and will rag on you forever but when you quit smoking they rarely give you as much credit or praise. . most of them do not really realize just how hard it is to give up smoking. . they say it is as hard as getting off of heroine so be sure to not let this discourage you. \nOne of the most important things to remember is that you want to quit smoking more than you want to smoke.\n\nThey say that the first 72hours of not smoking is when the nicotine leaves your body so the next time I quit smoking it is going to be cold turkey as I can't afford the gum or the patches for months on end and thusly dragging out the quitting smoking process and I will reminding myself that I want to quit smoking more than I want to smoke.\nI also want to set a good example for my grandchildren who are under the age of 4.(It is extremely hard to explain to my grandchildren why their Grammie smokes.)\n\nGood Luck \n\n\n\nP.S. IF you want some extra support,you can email me.
479008
You should NEVER stop taking this medication without slowly tapering off.  Cut the dose down a fourth every four days and you can slowly get off the pills.  The first four-five days after quitting are horrible and tough, but day six is a beauty and it is all gone and life is good again.  No you won't sleep during the four days after you quit - but you will catch up after the four days are over! Please taper off slowly - it is the only way!
992843
You can try this , cut back but be serious about it. if you smoke a pack go to half until you are use to it. then cut that in half again. do this until you can get to 1 cigarette a day and keep that routine for a year. Now , when you do one a day, you will have stressful days where more than one will seem needed. It's okay to smoke another as long as the next day you go back to just ONE! after a year of one a day, then go to one day off a week without any smoke. after that is easy for you , you are ready to try more days off, until you are without the craving. it's not the nicotine as many think , it's the actual act of smoking that stick that is hard to kick. you need to rehab yourself and time helps. you'll feel much better once your all through, and your skin and hair will show the improvement. God bless.
829103
Smoking is not good but ok 48 hours after an extraction (or 2 days).  It's been 7... your good!
579651
Well, having quit myself I must say it is difficult.... especially "cold turkey".  I remember there were days that were easy, days that were hard and days that were close to impossible.  I had a huge problem trying to find something worthy of replacing my cigarette addiction.  Gum didn't do it, drinking water never worked, chewing on pens only ruined my teeth, and everything started looking like a cigarette.  What did work for me was hiking.  I hiked the Na Pali coast in Kauai and I was a hurtin' pup.  I felt like somebody stabbed me in the lungs.  It was at that point when I thought "hey Robin, smoking has done some damage here.  Let's work on fixin' this."  \n\nAnd so every day I would wake up and say "today I won't have a cigarette.....maybe tomorrow I will".  And then I'd go about my business trying to keep my mind occupied.   The tough times were when I had a glass of wine or when I was finished with a meal.  It took awhile for me to realize the meal ends when the food is gone....not when I light up a cigarette.  In fact, 5 years later, I still crave a nice smoke once in awhile.   I think it is something that stays with you always.  But the intense urges that you experience in the beginning will soon fade.  Each day will get slightly easier and before you know it weeks turn into months and months turn into years.   \n\nWhat Monitorhead is going through is rough but I can tell he is strong enough to make it through.  Please remind him, that if he caves in and lights up, although it won't be the end of the world, he will have to start at square one again when quitting.  7 days is awesome.  Keep up the good work!
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.
304440
Quitting smoking is extremely difficult. The withdrawl makes us not want to, but we know the risks and we know that they are not worth it. For anyone who wants to end their nicotine addiction, check out www.stopsmokingcleveland.com. This is the MOST effective method on the market. It is 86% effective and the details of the program are on the website (no signing up or submitting your information).\n\nI tried this program and it changed my life.
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
185998
start by telling your immediate family you want to quit smoking so they are aware of your withdrawal from the nicotine.\nstart by going to the doctor, get patches , nicabate or something similar..sit down and start a diary, write down everything that is in your head.. when and if you feel like a cigarette, walk outside pull weeds out of the garden for 15 minutes or go have a shower or go for  a drive, clean the car..anything to keep busy. the first 3 weeks is the toughest in that you have to break old routines.. lighting a "fag" before you get the evening dinner ready,,etc etc.\nthrow the left over cigarettes in the bin. This is a true committment..be prepared to feel sick like flue symptoms and expect to feel head achey, tired etc..dont give in every 15 minutes you will crave but dont give in ..chew chewys..etc..make a call to the quit line as well they are good for support. good luck..
807598
Congrats on the decision to stop.  I quit a year and a half ago after smoking for 17 years and this is how I did it:\n\nI started out with 1 smoke every 30 minutes the first day, every 45 the next day, then every 60....I increased it by 15 minutes everyday until I was up to 16 hours between smokes.  Yeah, it took a while, but by the time I got toward the end, I actually forgot to smoke sometimes.  Also, I have convinced myself that it's not that I can never ever have another smoke for the rest of my life, but that I'm just choosing not to smoke right now.  That way I don't panic at the word "never" and it kind of puts me in the driver's seat instead of the nicotine.  Silly, yes, but it works for me.  In fact, I did try a couple months ago to smoke one just to see if I had really kicked the habit.  Yuck!  I can honestly say I don't want to smoke anymore.  Plus I smell it on other people and in their homes and cars and it STINKS!  \n\nYou can do it!
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
110406
within the first 8 hours after your last,the carbon monoxide levels have already decreased making the level in your body almost normal. within 24 hours the nicotine withdrawl kicks in and that is why most don't make it past a day. if you make it past the third day you in the clear.that's when you start to cough up all kinds of nasty stuff.a few weeks later and it's all self control after that.
26831
Yes, I quit smoking over two years ago now. I smoked for about 7 years previously. How did I do it? Well, what worked for me was patches and counselling. Yeah, I can't think why anyone would want to try and quit any drug of dependence without some kind of assistance (especially nicotine). If you're a regular smoker, for example, you're going to go freaking nuts at times while the nicotine is exiting your system. At least get some patches, gum, or whatever so that you don't go mental! Also, you might want to ring a support number for quitters. I used Quitline in Australia. They helped enormously.
772841
Nicotine has a blood half-life of about 60 minutes.  That is, each hour, your body metabolizes half of what is in your blood.\n\nHow long you need to quit to pass your test depends on how much you have in your bloodstream when you quit.  The second site cited below says that you should stop smoking for 7-10 days.\n\nDo yourself a favor and quit for good, if you can.  (Nicotine addiction is, if I've understood my toxicologist friends correctly, the toughest addiction to break.)  It's a filthy and disgusting personal habit.  You and your clothes and your abode smell bad.  Now, it's expensive enough that you have to budget for it too.\n\nGood luck.
433456
Smoking.  Haven't had a cigarette in 20 years now.  Tried cold turkey 3 times and failed... but then I got so sick with the flu that I didn't WANT to smoke for three days... and when I got better  the withdrawal was over so I decided to ride it out.  One of the best things I ever did for myself!
578895
You are still feeling blah because the last remnants of nicotine are fading from your body.  You have to make it through the first months for the really bad withdrawal symptoms to disappear.  It takes a full three months before you'll feel totally human again.  It sounds like you are quitting cold turkey [ie. no gum or patch].  The good news is that people who quit cold turkey and succeed generally are able to give it up forever