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Excellent post @DenaliBlues and spot on. The beginning can be a nightmare but it definitely gets better, so hang in there newbies, all will be fine!

NOPE!

That sounds very famliar to me, what you said about forgetting to replace your patch. I think I was on day 2 and took my patch off to have a shower. I forgot to put it back on and when I remembered, I thought ... hummm, maybe I'll just see if I can do this cold turkey now. Why not get the nicotine outta my system right now. It worked out fine for me in the end so yes, it's very doable. I also agree about staying connected to the forum. I was never a social media person but I was pleasantly surprised how much hanging with a bunch of quitters was in helping me though the tough days. Stay the course @SD2026 and you'll make it to freedom!!

Hello again to all our newcomers! We’re thrilled that you are here, and we are ready to stand by your side as you give nicotine the heave-ho! The first days and weeks of quitting might be rugged. Some folks breeze through this time, and maybe you’ll be one of those people. If so, hooray! But for others - especially those of us who were heavy smokers for decades - the first few weeks might be stressful. I ended up naming my weeks as I went along: Week # 1: Hell Week (White-hot, white-knuckled, relentless withdrawal.) Week # 2: Wailing Week (Shock wore off. A deep sense of loss and longing set in. I felt utterly bereft without my smokes.) Week # 3: WTF Week (Major brain fog. What now? Will this ever get easier? What has gone wrong with my head? Why has my IQ suddenly dribbled out the bottom of my shoes? How long have I been staring blankly into space? I’m so sleepy. Will I ever poop normally again?!) Week #4: So-Bored-With-My-Coping-Mechanisms Week (This could also have been named“Terribly Tired of Prunes Week.”) After that, though, the miracle began to happen for me. There were still cravings and triggers. But the times in between them got longer. They grew weaker as I grew stronger. It started to sink in that I could finally, truly be FREE. Actually, I was already free, the moment I took smoking off the table. I just didn’t trust it, but should have. Fears that the cravings would overwhelm me or that I’d be incomplete without smoking were addiction-fueled hogwash. I don’t need nicotine, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, ammonia and carcinogens to “fulfill” or complete me! I just needed to stay busy, stay committed to NOPE, and give myself time to adjust and recalibrate to a life without nicotine. Veterans on this forum told me this beautiful tipping point would happen. I secretly doubted - I thought I was a lost cause. But they were right. Freedom from nicotine is our birthright. It is there waiting for all of us to claim as our own. To those of you grappling with cravings in the early days of your quit, hold on! Stay strong! You are not alone. Some anxiety and discombobulation along the road is normal, but TEMPORARY. You can do this. Your quit matters, and life is really sweet on the other side. Let us know how you’re doing, where you’re feeling vulnerable, and what your coping tactics are.

NOPE!

Glad you are doing well! For me, I kept a mini NRT lozenge handy to protect my quit in “emergencies”… that way I had more control over the timing of having nicotine in/out of my system. But I was soon able to leave the lozenges behind, as well. The first days were the hardest, for sure. But after that, things turned a corner. The cravings dissipated. Each and every time you feel like smoking and do not, your quit is growing stronger. Stay determined and you’ll soon taste sweet freedom!

Nope

Garden

Haze Moon

NOPE!

Thanks for the welcome! @DenaliBlues Overall I'm doing better than I expected but I won't be fooled into thinking it'll always be like this Day 3 and the morning of Day 4 has been the toughest so far. The morning of Day 5 I removed my nicotine patch as my arm was sore and itchy from the patch. I meant to replace it in a different area using half a patch but got distracted with work and since then, I haven't put a patch on! I have half of one ready just in case of course! I agree that being active on this forum and checking in daily really helps! I can see you're 3 years quit! That's fantastic, well done!

I am not going to smoke today. NOPE.

NOPE

balks

Zombiegeddon

Grifter

bees make honey

rake

mouse maze

How’s it going @SD2026? It’s great to have you with us - participating in the daily NOPE pledge, the games, and other posts. Over time, we see that active forum participants tend to have the most successful quits, so it’s great that you’re involved from the start! I, too, used NRT (patches and gum) temporarily to stabilize my initial quit. It helped me build some “quitting muscles” before I then went cold turkey. Everybody’s experience is unique, so let us know how this first week is progressing for you. We’re here to help!

NOPE

Welcome aboard @mm34. We’re glad you are here! The initial withdrawal sucks, no two ways about it. But if you can make it through the first nasty stretch, it gets better. I promise! I 100% agree with what others have said about how rationing your smokes ironically extends and intensifies your withdrawal, preventing you from getting past it. Cutting back just doesn’t work for most people. Your brain has become addicted to nicotine, and right now it is throwing a big ol’ tantrum about being denied its fix. When you first quit, the cravings will be intense and you may feel very edgy and miserable for a while. Stay strong in your commitment to quitting - this phase passes. Until then, read all you can about addiction. And remember that cravings are not commands - they are just loud obnoxious commercials for junk you don’t wanna buy. Change the channel! Stay busy and distracted. And when you feel the strain, post here on the Train. We’re here to help!

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Hey @mm34! Good decision to quit, in fact, the best one you'll ever make! Now stop playing around and torturing yourself by smoking a couple or a few a day. That is not a viable quit strategy. Just make up your mind that you want NEED to quit and do it! Yes it's tough for a while but you just gotta rely on your commitment to yourself and power through those moments when you feel you can't go on ... you CAN go on and we're here to help you. What ever method we have used and what ever method you decide to use (other than cutting back) we all go through the same crap early on. No one is special, we all have to do the heavy lifting for ourselves with support & advice from other quitters but the ultimate reward is 100 times worth the short period of challenges. Every quitter here will agree with that so let's get you quit