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Depression and The Patch

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 60

Original Post by: Dart

Thanks Deb!!

Every day is different, but taken one at a time we can just keep going, gaining a little momentum! Every day I get through I remind myself that's one day I'm a little more healed, a little healthier.

Here's to the first winter I won't have to freeze outside to grab a smoke, or have that musty stinky smell clinging all season to my coat. Here's to liberation! Just gotta get through today lol.......

"Every day I get through I remind myself that's one day I'm a little more healed, a little healthier."

awesome Dart!

one day at time

one moment at a time

hope you have peace in your heart today!

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 22

Thanks Deb!!

Every day is different, but taken one at a time we can just keep going, gaining a little momentum! Every day I get through I remind myself that's one day I'm a little more healed, a little healthier.

Here's to the first winter I won't have to freeze outside to grab a smoke, or have that musty stinky smell clinging all season to my coat. Here's to liberation! Just gotta get through today lol.......

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 60

hi dart! it's great that you are feeling better... and congrats on your quit. you are doing one of the most difficult things ever by quitting smoking and i say "bravo"!!!

"faith: it doesn't make things easy, it makes them possible"

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 152

Dart,

Great to hear from you and happy that you are feeling so much better :) Glad the patch is assisting you through the process of becoming a non-smoker

Day 18 keep on going!!!!

Carol

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 22

So just an update on this from last week -- it's day 17, and I'm still on the Patch, and I don't feel the Blues anymore.

Clearly, I was just on an extreme emotional low that I wasn't associating with Nicotine withdrawal, because I was using an NRT. But that must have been what it was for the first couple of weeks, becuase I'm happy to say I'm functioning normally with the Patch, and it's really been helping me adapt to my new life without cigarettes as craving intensity continues to be about 3 - 5 out of 10 on an average day.

So, if there is anyone out there who is experiencing the same thing and thinking that it may be caused by the Patch itself and not withdrawal from Nicotine, and the Patch is working for them in terms of fighting cravings, I just thought I'd share my personal experience with it as I am glad I've continued with the Patches. I am definitely benefitting from a few more weeks of making not smoking the new normal before I heap on the physical withdrawal as well.

Thanks so much to everyone for their support and encouragement through that dark patch!!

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1853

Dart,

What an inspiring post! Keep up the great work - let us know what you choose, whether to stick with the patch or go cold turkey. Have you consulted with a health care practitioner regarding your symptoms? I recommend doing so if you feel your symptoms get worse.

Continue being patient with yourself and reward yourself for each new smoke-free day

Vincenza, Health Educator

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 22

Congrats to you, Carols!! Look at us all go! We are getting healthier by the day! It's a great feeling waking up knowing I have one more day under my belt that I didn't break, one more day of only good clean air going into my lungs... One day closer to feeling 'normal' again! Wahooo!

Roses, totally true. What works for some may not work for others. I've tried CT before more times than I have fingers and toes, never made it to the 2-week mark (it'd always be some stupid inner rationalization that got me right back, like I can just have one tonight only with this drink....). And that's exactly the reason why I'm hesitant to remove the patch. I'm kicking Butt! I don't even want to smoke!! I just feel like I'm getting lost inside myself sometimes, and that's a feeling I never felt going CT. Like words won't come out and I can't carry on even a basic conversation. I'm calling it depression but I've never been clinically depressed before. I feel tiny, isolated, non-functioning, and SAD. I'll call it the Blues, then, because it's probably not depression.

What Sherry describes is more what I felt going CT. Lethargy, bubble-headed... like you're living under water. Everything is exhausting and looks warped and distorted and takes a while to process thoughts or do tasks. But that didn't last too long, so it was OK. And then I'd get intense cravings and break.

Carols, it's true - you forget about all the other toxins that were in there that mess with your chemistry! You're just a little ahead of me on your quit -- CONGRATS -- so it's interesting to hear your thoughts on quitting with the patch. I'm still on the 21mg, and my 14mg should be arriving this week, so I might step down early and see what happens. So hard to decide - there's no desire to smoke, but I can't really do much else either... what's preferable? Blues or intense cravings to overcome? I'm sick of hearing I'm 'weird right now' or 'not myself these days'!

So glad to hear it gets better. Chin up today, keep breathing, put a smile on and know that I'm a non-smoker for the rest of my life and that this too will pass. Weekend's coming!! :)

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2508

Hi Dart

I've used the patch and the lozenge before but just couldn't seem to quit and finally in this last quit I went cold turkey because I had gone cold turkey before and was able to stay off cigarettes and nicotine for the longest period of time after going cold turkey. Just getting the nicotine out of my system faster and getting it over with worked better for me..Plus the patches and Lozenges really upset my stomach..but others us them and do just fine and they are able to quit too..It is really a personal preference..what works for one does not always work for another..The cold turkey method isn't for everyone and I certainly understand how other methods work better of some. If one method doesn't work than we can try another..Something is bound to work for everyone..The important thing to remember is to never quit quitting and you will be a no-smoker forever.

Keep the Quit!

Red..

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 186

Hi Dart.

I did not use the patch .I went cold turkey.Everyones quit is different as to what works best for them.

In my quit I don't think I was depressed , it was more like lethargic. I did not feel like myself and had a hard time shaking it off.

It took a lot of will power to keep me busy and I became very tired. I felt a loss in my life but it was one that had to be gone for good.

Remember to treat your self good and get plenty of rest no matter what way you choose to quit.

I found a lot of comfort here on this site. The people are wonderful. Read their posts and share their experiences it will help a lot.

It really does get better.

N.O.P.E.

Sherry

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 152

Dart,

First Congrats on your quit :) Go for it!!!

As far as the patches they have their own side effects but you must realize that your body is detoxing from the other 4k plus chemicals we poisoned ourselves with daily not just nicotine. So don't expect that stopping the patch will make all the withdrawal symptoms go away!

I did 1 week on the 14mg patch, it burned my skin and gave me weird dreams, so I went down to the 7mg patch. It assists with some of the physical cravings, the burned skin is only 1/2 the size and the dreams are gone. But all the other issues I'm facing have nothing to do with the patch; constipation, cravings both physical and psychological, disturbed sleep patterns, a feeling of unease, easy to anger, weight gain etc. It is the price I'm paying for poisoning my body for 38 years and my body slowly readjusting.

Now I'm experimenting with dumping the patch totally as you are, but am not quite ready to make that step. Please keep us updated on your progress as it may help me in my decision to go off it also :)

I'm a newbie at this myself so we can Keep the Quit together :)

Carol
Day 18

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