Friday, November 28, 2008

The first 72 hours after quitting smoking

By Darren Warmuth

Feelings of fatigue, irritibility and an extremely persistent headache are all side effects of nicotine withdrawal and are all perfectly normal. Why? Simply because it is in the first 72 hours which nicotine purges itself from your system - regardless of the smoking cessation method you have chosen to use.

The trick is to make preparations prior to your quit day so that these feelings will not make you feel that you have to alienate yourself from the rest of the world. One good step to take would be to let the people in your household in on your efforts (only if you feel they will help you, not hinder you). You might get a bonus and end up with the house all to yourself, just in case you get a little uptight.

What are the symptoms of withdrawal? What are you going to feel? By planning beforehand, you can alleviate a lot of these problems before they arise. Here are a few things you may want to include on your list:

Feeling angry or agitated: I will take deep breaths and take a walk outside. I will leave the room or go take a shower.

Feeling overly emotional or sensitive: I will find a few moments for myself.

Feeling tired: I will allow myself to take a nap or lounge around for the day.

Feeling nauseated: I will go outside and get some fresh air.

After eating, I will: Read to keep my mind occupied so I don't crave the 'after-dinner' smoke.

By drinking lots of fluids, and most especially water, your body's stores of nicotine will be rapidly metabolized and flushed from your system. The downside is that you will have to go to the bathroom more often, but the upside is that the nicotine will clear itself from your system that much quicker and alleviate the physical withdrawal symptoms.

There are a lot of theories as to what makes withdrawal symptoms worse or better. Some say that you should also give up caffeine when you stop smoking and there are others who found that it makes no difference in their case. If drinking beverages with caffeine in them makes you suddenly crave a cigarette, it is probably better to not to have any, or at the very least cut back.

However, giving up multiple vices at once can also be very stressful. So be wary and maybe just cut back on the caffeine to start. But be sure to use plenty of water, juices and even milkshakes to kick start your system and get those withdrawal symptoms out of the way.

Another common side effect of quitting smoking is the inability to fall asleep or to stay soundly asleep. Regardless of how tired you might have been throughout the day, it seems like your mind won't shut down for the evening and comfort is nowhere to be found.

A couple of tricks can help with your restlessness. The first is to take a hot bath or shower before heading off to bed and the second is to use an over-the-counter sleep aid until the symptoms pass. Keep in mind that your sleeplessness won't last forever. Probably only a few days at most. - 15634

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