DenaliBlues

NOPE

Hi, Pedro! Welcome back. Is this Day 1 for you? Hoping you are ready to take the plunge. The loop you describe of quitting and relapsing and quitting again is very demoralizing. If you can stick with your quit you will feel so much better. The "willpower" debate is an interesting one. Smoking is a very powerful addiction. And because it is an addiction - not just a habit or indulgence - it must be met with determination, grit and compassion. No rationing or half-measures will work, in my opinion. Whether or not you use the word "willpower," the only way to stop smoking is to actually stop smoking. I do believe that everyone can quit... even people who perceive themselves to have "no willpower." But it does require us to grind through some difficult times when the temptation to smoke again will be strong. The most important thing is to take smoking off the table and to focus on the fact that you are gaining a beautiful freedom by shaking off this addiction.

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Hey, Stew. Welcome aboard! It's been great to see you chiming in on the NOPE thread, and I was hoping you'd share a bit more of your story, so thanks. It's wonderful to meet you! I, too, lost a long (several years) quit, after which the addiction roared back more fiercely than ever before. And I can totally relate to your experience of putting smoking first, about family, health, and common sense. Addiction is so crazy. But here we are, on our way to freedom! Congrats on your five days. As you know, there will be some bumps along the way but lean into the support here and we'll help you through them. I really truly thought that life would suck forever without smoking. But it doesn't! All kinds of good things await!

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Evaporated Milk

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Well, the body goes through a lot of changes as it deprograms itself from smoking. Nicotine may have left your system in three days, but the adventures continue for quite a while afterwards. Took me about a month and a half to poop normally, LOL. And don’t EVEN get me started on quitting and hot flashes… Mercy! It’s all a bit of a shakedown time, but things even out eventually. Take care in the meantime!

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Hi, Robin. Sleep disruptions suck! And they seem to be common when quitting - a lot of people have talked about them since I joined this forum. Just out of curiosity, are you using any NRT? As someone who has grappled with insomnia over many years, I wish there was a perfect solution that made me sleep like a baby. Sadly not. But there definitely are some things that improve the situation and keep me from tipping too far into the red zone: - Good sleep hygiene (regular bedtime routines, no screens right before bed, etc.) - No caffeine after noon (I became SUPER sensitive to caffeine after quitting smoking, learned the hard way) - Listening to somewhat boring audio books at night (to lull myself to sleep, to keep me from clawing my eyeballs out while awake, and to mask my tinnitus) - 1/2 an over the counter sleep aid (discussed with a doctor). Not melatonin, which - weirdly - gives me the zoomies. Sleep deprivation is a real health issue - physical and mental. So if your struggles persist, talk to a doctor. But don’t lose faith that it will get better. My insomnia definitely got worse for 5 or 6 weeks after I quit, but then sleep normalized again. Hang in there!

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