yeah lolly found this....
I found this article on relapsing faster than I thought. I've no
idea where it came from but it does mention 17 weeks. Hope this helps
you. Lolly.
Hi. We all know about the first week and the next one, but
after that, many people expect that it's all over. Well it just
isn't. Nicotine metabolites can hang around for three weeks in your
system, for instance, and those toxic additives in cigarettes have been
affecting your body too.
The entire body goes through major changes. It's in serious recovery
mode. In every single cell, from your lungs, your brain, your skin, to
every part of you, everything is affected when you stop feeding it
nicotine and its accompanying toxins. That requires a lot of cellular
energy, a whole lot of adjustment. It's no wonder people are tired or
feel spacey at certain moments. Those recovery changes do not end for a
while. They are quite intensive in the beginning.
The brain undergoes physical and neurological changes too. Things start
to even out or dampen at around 17 weeks, though the changes and the
recovery still keep happening in a less obvious and perceptible way,
except perhaps for a few cluster days every month.
Now while it's true that some people feel a whole lot better after the
second month, many don't think they have it under control until the
fourth month, though they have had increasingly good moments in
between.
This does not mean that there can't be tough moments in the months that
follow, but by the end of the fourth, if your skills have been
developed, you have enough time in, determination and confidence to get
through those moments.
If people know that they can feel depressed around 10 weeks and have
lots of junkie thinking in the third month (inability to feel pleasure
while the neurotransmitters are "realigning" so the question comes up
"Is it all worth it?" (Along with a bargaining stage where they toy with
the notion of having "just one", they will be better prepared to handle
the quit.) Thus it's wise to have a reward plan.
Many of the letters I get about relapsing occur around weeks
12-16. They inevitably say "I thought I could have just one" to get
through a stressful moment, or test the quit, or "I expected it to be
all over by now."
My Mileage:My Quit Date: 3/12/2010
Smoke-Free Days: 114
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 2,850
Amount Saved: $1,425.00
Life Gained:Days: 8
Hrs: 22
Mins: 6
Seconds: 45
