MarylandQuitter

Panic attacks suck no matter the cause or as is often the case, no cause whatsoever. Great news that the doctor ran tests and found nothing wrong. You're not dying! If your panic attacks are from quitting smoking (which from what you've said they likely are) then pretty soon they'll go away. Whatever you do, don't even take a puff from a cigarette or use any form of nicotine (NRT, vaping etc.). Regular exercise will help with panic attacks and anxiety more than anything else. What many people find to be the most worrisome symptom when they are first quitting smoking is a general level of disorientation. The effect is usually due to a drop in blood sugar that often occurs in the first few days after quitting. The resources below gives suggestions on how to minimize the effect.

From a post of yours from 9/19. You really enjoyed smoking. This is the big lie of being a nicotine addict. I too thought I enjoyed smoking. It wasn't until I was further along in my quit that I realized smoking made me feel horrible. After all, there was nothing enjoyable about sucking heat and poison into my lungs. "I enjoy smoking" is used to rationalize smoking. I know. I used to tell myself this.

Absolutely not. I read Allen Carr's book and there is nothing in it that quitters hadn't already figured out. It's enlightening when you first hear from an "official source" that smoking doesn't help you cope with stress etc., but you can get that from his promotional video. Allen Carr couldn't quit smoking until his wife made him see a hypnotist to help him quit. That is how he quit smoking. Since then, they've applied the same principals in his original book, "The Easy Way" to come out with subsequent books on quitting drinking etc. Really, the easiest way is to simply not ever take another puff - EVER. If you want to read his book, that is fine and as @jillar mentioned, you can buy it for 8 bucks. This site is 100% free and you're not even bombarded with ads, annoying or otherwise. https://whyquit.com/joels-videos/the-isolation-of-the-widowed-smoker/

I would pass on any alcohol until you're far enough into your quit that life is no longer a trigger for you. It may seem like triggers to smoke will always be a larger factor but they won't.

NOPE!

Bope, Focus on the immediate health benefits. Quit Smoking Recovery Timetable Within ... 20 minutes Your blood pressure, pulse rate and the temperature of your hands and feet have returned to normal. 8 hours Remaining nicotine in your bloodstream has fallen to 6.25% of normal peak daily levels, a 93.75% reduction. 12 hours Your blood oxygen level has increased to normal. Carbon monoxide levels have dropped to normal. 24 hours Anxieties have peaked in intensity and within two weeks should return to near pre-cessation levels. 48 hours Damaged nerve endings have started to regrow and your sense of smell and taste are beginning to return to normal. Cessation anger and irritability will have peaked. 72 hours Your entire body will test 100% nicotine-free. Over 90% of all nicotine metabolites (the chemicals nicotine breaks down into) have passed from your body via your urine. Symptoms of chemical withdrawal have peaked in intensity, including restlessness. Unless use cues have been avoided, the number of cue induced crave episodes experienced during any quitting day have peaked for the "average" ex-user. Lung bronchial tubes leading to air sacs (alveoli) are beginning to relax in recovering smokers. Breathing is becoming easier and your lung's functional abilities are improving. 5 - 8 days The "average" ex-smoker is down to experiencing just three cue induced crave episodes per day. Although we may not be "average" and although minutes may feel like hours when normal cessation time distortion combines with the body's panic response, it is unlikely that any single episode will last longer than 3 minutes. Keep a clock handy and time the episode to maintain an honest perspective on time. 10 days The "average" ex-user is down to encountering less than two crave episodes per day. 10 days to 2 weeks Recovery has likely progressed to the point where your addiction is no longer doing the talking. Blood circulation in your gums and teeth are now similar to that of a non-user. 2 to 4 weeks Cessation related anger, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, impatience, insomnia, restlessness and depression have ended. If still experiencing any of these symptoms get seen and evaluated by your physician. 2 weeks to 3 months Your heart attack risk has started to drop. Your lung function has noticeably improved. If your health permits, sample your circulation and lung improvement by walking briskly, climbing stairs or running further or faster than normal. 21 days The number of acetylcholine receptors, which were up-regulated in response to nicotine's presence in the frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, basal ganglia, thalamus, brain stem and cerebellum regions of your brain have now substantially down-regulated. Receptor binding has returned to levels seen in the brains of non-smokers (2007 study). 3 weeks to 3 months Your circulation has substantially improved. Walking has become easier. Your chronic cough, if any, has likely disappeared. If not, get seen by a doctor, and sooner if at all concerned, as a chronic cough can be a sign of lung cancer. 4 weeks Plasma suPAR is a stable inflammatory biomarker that helps predict development of diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer in smokers. A 2016 study found that within 4 weeks of quitting smoking, with or without NRT, that suPAR levels in 48 former smokers had fallen from a baseline smoking median of 3.2 ng/ml to levels "no longer significantly different from the never smokers' values" (1.9 ng/ml) 8 weeks Insulin resistance in smokers has normalized despite average weight gain of 2.7 kg (2010 SGR, page 384). 1 to 9 months Any smoking related sinus congestion, fatigue or shortness of breath has decreased. Cilia have regrown in your trachea (windpipe) thereby increasing the ability to sweep dirt and mucus out of your lungs. Your body's overall energy has increased. 1 year Your excess risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke has dropped to less than half that of a smoker. 5 years Your risk of a subarachnoid hemorrhage has declined to 59% of your risk while still smoking (2012 study). If a female ex-smoker, your risk of developing diabetes is now that of a non-smoker (2001 study). 5 to 15 years Your risk of stroke has declined to that of a non-smoker. 10 years Your risk of being diagnosed with lung cancer is between 30% to 50% of that for a continuing smoker (2005 study). Risk of death from lung cancer has declined by almost half if you were an average smoker (one pack per day). Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus and pancreas have declined. Risk of developing diabetes for both men and women is now similar to that of a never-smoker (2001 study). 13 years The average smoker lucky enough to live to age 75 has 5.8 fewer teeth than a non-smoker (1998 study). But by year 13 after quitting, your risk of smoking induced tooth loss has declined to that of a never-smoker (2006 study). 15 years Your risk of coronary heart disease is now that of a person who has never smoked. Your risk of pancreatic cancer has declined to that of a never-smoker (2011 study - but note a 2nd pancreatic study making an identical finding at 20 years). 20 years If a female, your excess risk of death from all smoking related causes, including lung disease and cancer, has now reduced to that of a never-smoker (2008 study). Risk of pancreatic cancer has also declined to that of a never-smoker (2011 study).

Thank you all very kindly. I completely forgot about my 7 year quit anniversary. Life happens which is a good thing!

Thank you all very kindly.

By @Angeleek Follow the link in the blog entry to the thread.

Thank you so much, Doreen! The years sure do fly by.

I may pin this thread - it's an eye opener.

NOPE

Welcome!

If you scroll to the bottom of the page, in the center, there is a drop down box where you can choose the theme. The default is black but you can also choose a blue theme.

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What time was your last cigarette? If I remember, you were at 20/day and $6.50 per pack?

If you're having any issues creating, adding to your signature, or any other issues, please note them here so we can try and figure this out. Thanks!

Congrats, Doreen!!!

You're almost at 1 month quit! That's awesome! This will soon pass and you'll be thankful that you didn't smoke.

I have no idea but please post this on the main board and start your own thread about it. This is an S.O.S. tread from another member.

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Welcome, Mellymark! First things first. The only way you're going to smoke is to put one of those nasty sticks in your mouth and set it on fire. Make yourself a promise that you WILL NOT smoke ever again. Not for any reason or for no reason at all. You deserve to be a non-smoker. There are more former smokers than there are smokers so there is nothing unique to your quit that will cause you to keep smoking. The more time that you put in between smoking your last cigarette, the easier it gets - and the healthier you get! Today is Sunday, the day you quit smoking. Tomorrow morning is Monday. The first Monday morning after having quit smoking I can't quit because I'm addicted

Nana20, I have moments like this and I haven't even thought about lighting up a cigarette in years. Your advice - it sounds like that is the advice that you're giving yourself right now...a little tough love to yourself. This has nothing to do with smoking or not smoking and everything to do with being human and just having a mood.

Hi Lilley, I can merge both accounts into one instead of deleting the old one. Your last quit is part of your new one.

NOPE!!!