Giving Up Smoking?

Question

It has been 4 days since I last had a cigarette. I am still slightly irritated everytime my girlfriend opens her mouth, and I still feel as though something is missing, and my mouth tastes crap.

Anyone know how much longer I have to go before things return to normality?

Answer 1

Im attempting to quit for the 3rd time... The first and second times were easy, this time...not so much. BUT, its all about will power! So, Kudos to you on 4 days...its tough!

My suggestion is, fill the "missing" part up with a "something" my personal preference is a bottle of cold water. When i feel I should be doing something I just drink water...it helps fill the void and also helps with the bad mouth taste. You need to clear your body of all the toxins you have been giving it, which means that drinking more water will help flush that out. ...plus its good for you.

And everyone deals with the withdrawal differently, and the girlfriend is just conveniently there...hehehe....sad to say but its how it is. I suggest taking a few "personal days" and doing things for yourself. Or, exercise it makes your body release "feel good energy" and you are less likely to get annoyed so easily.

Good Luck....The second week is WAY easier!

Answer 2

I guess it's sometime since you were a non-smoker, so it will be difficult to know what your 'normality' is; however, persevere, you've begun now and carrying on can only get easier. What you're missing are the rituals to do with smoking, so do something else with your hands - play with a pen, tap your fingers, anything but eating to subsitute for the thing that 'is missing'. If you've got a foul taste in your mouth it could be that it's been there a long time, you just couldn't taste it because it was masked by smoke - so try gum.
I gave up many years ago and found the worse times came in 3s: 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months, 3 years.
Good luck, stick with it.

Answer 3

It takes about 7-10 days to break the physical dependency to nicotine. The irritation and uneasy feeling will subside once you've broken the physical dependency. Until that time, I'd recommend that you let the people around you know that you're irritable right now, but that it should clear up in a few days. Ask them to be tolerant with you and to give you some alone time. You don't want this difficult period to cause problems in your relationships. Give yourself the time and space you need to quit.

After that, you need to break the habit. Some people have tried using a substitute like chewing gum, or sucking on toothpicks to give them something to do when they get a craving for a smoke. I would suggest trying to avoid situations in which you would normally smoke. If you usually smoke in bars, skip the bar for a while. If you usually have a smoke at lunch time, take a walk instead of smoking. It is helpful to find a substitute activity to help occupy your mind.

The first 10 days are the hardest. Stick it out, and it will get easier after that.

Answer 4

CONGRATULATIONS on freeing yourself.

I gave up 7 weeks ago today. I am also still irritated easily, but it gets less and less, my mouth tasted crap too but it gets better, I put it down to actually being able to taste again.

Try and focus on the positives and how empowering it is to overcome the dependency and the satisfaction of taking control over the addiction.

If the girlfriend is really irritating - perhaps its not the cigarettes?

Answer 5

Depends on how long you were smoking prior to quiting, and if your using any techniques or drugs to help you through the process. There is a new drug called "Chantix" that is working really well for a lot of people that want to quit. If it gets much tougher for you, go see your Doc and give it a shot. Your withdrawal symptoms should begin to fade after 2 weeks. The mental feelings of loss can hang on for a while, sort of like loosing an old friend.

Answer 6

Open ended process I'm afraid. Rather than waiting to feel different, i would advise you to find things to make a difference. I am sure you have heard most of them already, but one little trick I learnt actually helped me quite a lot.

Every time i got the urge to smoke, i just took a pencil or other fake ***, took a draw on it and pretended I was pulling smoke into my lungs. I would hold my breath for a few seconds and wonder what difference it would make to me if it was smoke. By the time I had done all this, the urge would be gone.

I could be stark raving bonkers of course, but ti it helped me.
Given up a year now.

Answer 7

It does get easier after a week and a bit in terms of the physical aspects and that makes the mental side easier. You kind of go from high to low after that or at least that's how I found it.

The important thing to realise is that you can only move backwards if you start smoking again.

Answer 8

Those feelings can last 2-3 days to a few weeks, it depends how long the person has been smoking. Check out cancer.org for tips to help you stay focused on staying smoke-free. Good luck!

Answer 9

WELL DONE FELLA!!! giving up is hard, you've taken it on and seem to be winning, so, first point, congrats! as to when it gets better, everyone is different, but most people I know said a 7-10 day battle is worth the lifetime of not smoking ahead. Just a couple of days, a week at worst, YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

Answer 10

alot of experts say 2 weeks
i found orange juice in morning helped
have a bath do few things like cinema and u dont smoke
its gets better the craving only lasts a few minutes get up and do something when u feel a sensation coming on ,good luck be happy you are a non smoker thats helps soo much