Dreamer,
When you quit smoking, particularly cold turkey, your body goes into detox. It was used to nicotine and other chemicals in the smoke to function. Now those things are gone and for a couple of weeks you are going to feel a bit off-center. THIS IS COMPLETELY NORMAL. Stuff will taste funny, you may become dizzy, your body just won't function like it did. THIS IS SHORT LIVED AND WILL END IN A SHORT TIME.
The patch introduces a controlled amount of nicotine into your body to help ease the physical cravings while you get used to not lighting up. I used the patch to quit. They come in 3 strengths, 21 mg, 14 mg and 7 mg. You start with the 21 and then, over time, step down to the lesser amounts and then finally you are off the patch. The whole program takes 6-8 weeks. No, you do not smoke when using the patch. Again, all it does is help ease the physical cravings. It does not 100% eliminate them, but it makes them much more managable. This gives you the time to focus on learning how to deal with life without actually smoking. Nicoderm is a popular patch and you can go to their website to find out more information about the patch. I used the generic brand from a discount department store.
Learn about the quit process Dreamer. Quitting is not easy, or a lot of fun, but once you are over the hump, after a few weeks, life does begin to return to normal.
Best wishes.
[b][color=Green]Be Strong. Be Smart. Be Quit.[/color]
[color=black]Joe[/color]
[size=3][color=Blue]Knowledge Replaces Fear[/color][/size]
[size=2][color=black]Illegitimus non carborundum est[/color][/size][/b]
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/15/2005
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 250
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,258
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $612.5
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 43 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 28 [B]Seconds:[/B] 3
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Quit Meter
$36,342.40
Amount Saved
-
Quit Meter
Days: 9770
Hours: 19
Minutes: 20
Seconds: 37
Life Gained
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Quit Meter
45428
Smoke Free Days
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Quit Meter
363,424
Cigarettes Not Smoked
