Goodbye nicotine, you old friend – some final tips

11 Apr Goodbye nicotine, you old friend – some final tips

Hopefully, there comes a point in your quit when you finally break the connection with nicotine. You are completely 100 % nicotine free as of 72 hours after your last dose of nicotine. It takes about three days to get it completely out of your system.

Nicotine is a powerful drug and this time can be difficult. I am finding that I get really tired, really early and I wake up feeling like I have been hit by a bus. It was only 5 mg of nicotine a day, but it was the last bastion of my addiction. I am not really getting any cravings at all, which is nice. I have also been able to work to some extent, which is great.

Slowly but surely – nicotine free!

There is a way to make smoking cessation easier on yourself and that is to give up your addiction gradually. In about two weeks it will be two years and three months since I had a cigarette. And I am only just quitting nicotine now. It is excessive perhaps, but it has given me a lot of time to break those neural connections with smoking. It has also reduced the withdrawal symptoms to nicotine to manageable levels.

Cigarettes travel in packs

The absolute WORST thing that you can do is fall into the trap of thinking you can have ‘just one’ of whatever it is that you are quitting. I have seen it so many times. People have one cigarette, or even half a cigarette, and realise that they hate the taste and the way it makes them feel. The damage is done though. The nicotine or dopamine receptors in your brain open up. And then you have to fight, and fight hard to put distance between you and cigarettes. I have seen people struggle hard with this. Heartbreaking. It reminds me of trying to patch up a huge flow of water gushing out of a dam with a bandaid. It is possible to do it, but it is excruciating. And it will take every last ounce of your motivation and energy.

Huge congratulations!!

It is a huge accomplishment really. I have given up cigarettes and now I have given up nicotine spray! As of tomorrow at about 10am, I am completely nicotine free. It is a wonderful achievement.

I know that you can do this! Keep trying. If you take notice of everything that works for you in your quit attempts, and do more of what worked last time and less of what didn’t work, one day you will roll a six. Good luck!