Quit Smoking- Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms - Tips
Author: Joseph A Gaetan
Nicotine Withdrawal: What is it and what can you do about it?
Nicotine withdrawal begins when you significantly reduce your consumption of nicotine, withdrawal can include feeling out of sorts, edginess, headaches, lack of focus and concentration. If you try to drag out or phase down your consumption you may be also dragging out your withdrawal making it last longer than necessary. As you phase down your consumption of cigarettes your body resets itself to accommodate the amount of nicotine it is getting and wanting. Phasing out can be like death by a thousand cuts, sometimes you may be better off by just getting it over with all at once.
Because you have used nicotine over a long period of time the receptors in your brain have gotten used to its daily feed of nicotine. An average smoker who consumes 20 cigarettes a day takes about 10 puffs per cigarette, or about 70,000 puffs a year. That's a lot of puffs.
What does puffing 70,000 times a year have to do with nicotine withdrawal? A lot! Each time you inhale smoke from a cigarette, the cigarette contains nicotine that travels to your brain in about 7 seconds, releasing a pleasure chemical that gives you that short lived aha feeling. If you do anything 70,000 times a year for many years and then suddenly stop, you are going to miss it.
The reason you smoke 20 a day is the receptors in the pleasure center in your brain have gotten used to those puffs. When you first started smoking your receptors were very sensitive and a little went a long way, your first cigarette probably made you nauseous and even sick, then you got used to it and now smoke 20 a day. As your receptors became desensitized you needed more to get the same kick until you reached your personal level of satiety. What occurs when you go from 20 to zero is something called withdrawal.
If you have never tried to stop smoking you should know about nicotine withdrawal. If you have quit before you know about withdrawal and how you handled it during prior attempts. Nicotine withdrawal may be something you can handle easily or something you may need help with. However if you drink caffeinated coffee and are thinking about giving it up at the same time you may be in for double the withdrawal. The symptoms for caffeine withdrawal are a lot like nicotine withdrawal and you may want to rethink the timing of giving them up together. Many people have a cigarette with their coffee and therefore believe they have to give up both to succeed. If you plan on giving up both be prepared for additional withdrawal or give up one at a time.
Understanding the difference between withdrawal threshold and withdrawal tolerance can help you figure out how you will approach the subject.
Withdrawal threshold is the point at which you begin to experience withdrawal. It generally starts when you significantly reduce the consumption of nicotine. Your personal threshold level is reached very quickly and subsides just as fast. If you have quit before you will know when it has started and you can prepare for it.
Withdrawal tolerance is the amount of withdrawal you can handle, either mentally or physically. Some people have a very high tolerance and some a very low tolerance. If you have a high tolerance you will cruise through it, if your tolerance is low you may need help. Knowing how much withdrawal you can handle will help you decide if you are going to stop smoking by going cold turkey or with the use of a stop smoking aid. The saying, no pain no gain applies here, a bit of short-lived discomfort is worth the reward, you quitting.
A good way to deal with nicotine withdrawal is to understand whether your challenge is mental, physical or imagined.
Mental withdrawal can be a matter of separation anxiety, meaning you just gave up something you have doing for a long time or simply your response to major changes in your everyday pattern of behavior. A clue to whether this is the case is if you don't need it, but miss it, feel a sense of loss, refer to yourself as a smoker or talk about cigarettes being your best friend. If it's mental withdrawal you are dealing with, it will go away. Accept the fact that you have moved on just like you move on when you change jobs, houses or friends.
Physical withdrawal is something different. Physical withdrawal is your body physically reacting to you eliminating the steady predictable flow of nicotine to the brain. It's something the brain got used to and wants you to have because you have doing it for years or decades. Compared to withdrawal from certain pharmaceuticals, alcohol, or hard drugs, nicotine withdrawal is rather innocuous.
Quick Tips for handling Nicotine Withdrawal
1 Consider the use of a stop smoking aid (some eliminate withdrawal completely)
2 Drink plenty of water
3 Eliminate or avoid the sources of stress and anxiety
4 Exercise
5 Meditate
6 Find something to do that will occupy your mind
7 Reduce or eliminate coffee consumption
8 Find a healthy oral substitute such as apples or drinking water
9 Change or modify your daily pattern of life/work
10 Get up at a different time
11 Reduce or eliminate intake of caffeine before or after you stop smoking
12 Assign a value to your tolerance 10 being high 1 being low
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/quit-smoking-nicotine-withdrawal-symptoms-tips-1996854.html
About the Author
Joseph A. Gaetan Cht, Clt is a certified Master Practitioner of NLP and a certified Words that Change Minds consultant who has spent the last 10 years helping people to quit smoking. Mr Gaetan received formal smoking cessation specific training from reputable organizations in the United States, Canada and the U.K. As a hands on smoking cessation specialist Mr Gaetan has helped thousands of people through the process of quitting and staying quit. Losing two of his family members to the battle against lung cancer propelled Mr. Gaetan to develop an ethical and efficacious program aimed at helping people beat their nicotine dependency.
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quit smoking question concerning nicotine withdrawal and sex life?
I’ve quit smoking for 8 days tonight and I feel a little better as far as my energy levels go….. My question is that I get severe mood swings and it seems as I have no sex drive… I went out to eat last night with a beautiful girl that I plan on hooking up with but the past few nights watching adult videos I was unable to keep an erection… Ive been to the doctor and he gave me cialis for my problem that I’ve had but how severely does quitting smoking lower you libido… Id like to be able to have sex with this girl without having to take a stupid pill… does sex drive increase again ? after how long ? Will my circulation improve so I can maintain an erection ?? I’m dying over heeeere
Man that is great that you quit…good job. Myself I have quit now for almost 12 weeks…and I know EXACTLY what you are talking about.
Do not worry. The quitting has not decreased your libido. The problem is that your body is going through withdrawl and you may experience headaches, stomach aches, sleep problems etc…my suggestion is that you just take your sex life easy for a another few days and see how you feel.
However, if you decide that you need to do something right away then I recommend talking to your doctor about a stop smoking drug. I am using Chantix and it is great.
Either way good job on the quitting and just hang in there the withdrawl will pass. Good Luck!
Nicotine withdrawal seems to be very troublesome…is there any solution?
I have quit smoking since 15th august 2007. although I
am feeling very fine that i have successfully quit
smoking, Nicotine withdrawal seems to be very
troublesome. I am facing too much COLD and nasal drip
problem and since last 2 days, i am facing headache
too. I have quit cigarette without any treatment (ie
chantix or else). as fas as quiting, its successfully
but can anyone guide me for this problem.
I am taking Ayurvedic treatment for these cough and
cold problem but as you know, ayurvedic medicine take
some time to effect. So should i neglect this cold and
cough problem and nasal drip…..? considering it as
cleaning process.. or should i go for other treatment.
Chew normal sugar free gum instead. Not the nicotine replacement stuff, just normal gum. It really helps, although you’re likely to get addicted to the gum if you keep doing it for too long…
Has anyone quit smoking and had horrible leg cramps due to nicotine withdrawal?
I smoked for almost 10 years and now that I’m trying to quit, I keep getting restless, painful leg cramps/aches. I chew nicorette when it starts up, but this only seems to help for a little while. Any thots? How long does this usually last? Does it ever go away?
See a doctor immediately, I stopped smoking 12 years ago and started with the same symptoms. a large patch of discoloured skin appeared on my left leg. It was diagnosed as Berger’s Disease, a circulatory problem caused by nicotine. I will lose my left leg below the knee within 5 years and my right leg within 10. I am sorry to bring such misery and despair onto the site but it is best you know before it gets worse. good luck
What are some nicotine withdrawal symptoms?
Last night i was trying to fall asleep for about 3 hours. I would think i was asleep but i wasnt sure and i was sweating a lot. Id have a dream that i was trying to fall asleep and i kept waking up after that. Are these some nicotine withdrawal symptoms? I smoked a few cigarettes before that night and i didn’t have one that day, so could that be the problem? Could you tell me some other symptoms?
Yeah that can happen. Nicotine is a stimulant and does weird things to your brain. Other symptoms are irritability during the day, bronchial irritation (coughing), and arranging your life around smoking outside in all kinds of weather.
Don’t smoke. Next thing you know it’s 25 years later and you’re spending $7 per pack and doing it every day. That’s almost $50 per day and $200 per month!
Do babies born to mothers who smoke go through nicotine withdrawal?
I know that babies born to mothers who take cocaine go through withdrawal, but have never heard of an infant going through nicotine withdrawal…
Mine didn’t.
They were born big, normal healthy kids. All because the Dr. told me to keep smoking. Quitting causes stress and will harm the baby. So I cut back to 5-7 a day. The result. 3 pregnancies, 3 big and healthy babies. All because I listened to my Dr. His advice benefited my children.