Bit of a question/Advice sought

[eriklamb]

Hey all, this is my first post on this forum. My name is Erik, and I quit last December. I wanted to ask those who have been done with nicotine for a long time, is feeling lost after eleven weeks normal? I can tell i feel a lot better overall, but still feel very foggy and have horrible memory (short term) and feel like my brain is rejecting logic and reasoning. Is this normal? If so, how long does it take to go away?

 

Thanks in advance.

[beacon]

Hi Erik. I did not have the above symptom but I did have other issues throughout the first several months. Are you sure it's related to quitting?

[beacon]

Ps, doing any exercise?

[...]

I have heard it takes about 3 months for that to clear up. 

 

Which if this is the case..... CONGRATULATIONS !!!  You only have one more week of fuzziheadness to go !!

 

But, and this is a big but, everyone's quit is different.  I say give it some more time..... make sure your eating healthy as your blood sugars are greatly altered with quitting and one of the signs of altered blood sugars is mental fogginess. 

 

You're doing awesome and I am so glad you're here. 

 

And Beacon is right..... start exercising.  It's good for the brain.

[Colleen]

Congrats Erik and Welcome to the QT :)  I would say if you think of quitting as not just quitting any old behavior, but quitting a dangerous and highly addictive drug it becomes easier to understand why we feel different.  It's common to feel sluggish and it's also common to feel jittery and full of energy.  Have you taken up exercising since you quit?  It's a huge help even if it's low impact keep yourself busy type of exercise.  There are plenty of stimulants (and poisons) in cigarettes and when you take that away it can affect your focus.  Personally, it unmasked some insane A.D.D.  Exercise can be a huge help, keeping yourself busy and time will make it better.  Hanging out at the QT has this magical ability to keep you distracted if you need that.

 

[Runfree]

Hi Erik and welcome to the QT forum.  We are at the same point in our quits and I would have to agree with what's been said....everyones' quit is different.  My short term memory has been bad for a while now so i can't align and say it's because of the quit. I DO feel like I'm more easily distracted or ADHDish...jumping from one project to the next and creating loose ends everywhere.  I have to stop and force myself to stick with a project.  

 

Around month 2 I had some "shouldn't I be past this by now" questions/frustrations/concerns, but most people suggested life will be a bit wonky for the first 6 months and to just roll with the quirks.  Like you said, things are better....and there's room for improvement.  Congrats on your 11 weeks!  It feels good, huh?

[Runfree]

Congrats Erik and Welcome to the QT :)  I would say if you think of quitting as not just quitting any old behavior, but quitting a dangerous and highly addictive drug it becomes easier to understand why we feel different.  It's common to feel sluggish and it's also common to feel jittery and full of energy.  Have you taken up exercising since you quit?  It's a huge help even if it's low impact keep yourself busy type of exercise.  There are plenty of stimulants (and poisons) in cigarettes and when you take that away it can affect your focus.  Personally, it unmasked some insane A.D.D.  Exercise can be a huge help, keeping yourself busy and time will make it better.  Hanging out at the QT has this magical ability to keep you distracted if you need that.

 

 

Whoa!!!  How crazy is this?  We were writing and posting at the same time saying similar things....  

[Nancy]

Hey all, this is my first post on this forum. My name is Erik, and I quit last December. I wanted to ask those who have been done with nicotine for a long time, is feeling lost after eleven weeks normal? I can tell i feel a lot better overall, but still feel very foggy and have horrible memory (short term) and feel like my brain is rejecting logic and reasoning. Is this normal? If so, how long does it take to go away?

 

Thanks in advance.

Welcome, Erik!  Yes, what you are experiencing sounds very normal.  You do not say how long you have been quit...but it is going to take a little longer...you can do this!

[DCCXXVII]

Welcome to the board Erik and congratulations on 2 1/2 months quit... you are doing great!   :yahoo:

 

Everyone has a different experience when quitting... some take longer than others to sort themselves out

 

but

 

If you are still concerned and the memory loss persists... I recommend seeking professional medical advice just to put your mind at rest

[eriklamb]

Thanks everyone. I am positive this is quit-related, I can remember how I was before I started smoking and now I have moments where I feel normal but they aren't consistent feelings. How does quitting affect blood sugar levels? It didn't occur to me to monitor that, thanks for the suggestion. I feel like I do have ADHD or something, I work as a cook and it feels like I've had to work twice as hard for no reason. It's funny, I use to be addicted to opiates and have been clean/sober for 16 months now, it was hard but even with now understanding how I think and my personality in regards to addiction and all that, quitting cigarettes feels harder to do. I never was depressed or anxious before I started smoking (I smoked for 7 years starting at age 21) but Im aware I picked up the habit during a pretty important developmental period. Finding a career path, becoming a touring musician, living on my own, dealing with heartbreak and loss, heck even driving (I used to ride a bike everywhere until I was about 20) all are things I only knew as a smoker. I don't have any urgr to smoke persay, cigarettes are like diapers to me now in that I remember using them and liking them but feel now that they aren't necessary, but being that I've overcome addiction before my brain knows that a direct craving wont trick me into relapsing so it gives me bouts of the symptoms I described in the first post when certain triggers occur. E.g., last week my kitchen catered a party for over a hundred executives. We were short two people but still came together and made some beautiful food. I left work, it was sunny out (I live on the east coast, New England), I'm driving home to cook for a party we were having after a friends show all excited and exhuberant and high on adrenaline and suddenly boom, huge wave of sadness/anxiety/despair. Oh yeah, I'm not actually feeling any of this, its because normally after a service like that I'd sit outside in the sun and have a smoke with my fellow cooks. Stuff like that, really getting old. Thank you all for reading and replying, it means a lot.

[MarylandQuitter]

Hi Erik and welcome!  These videos might help.  :)

 

Disorientation That May Occur When You First Quit Smoking

What many people find to be the most worrisome symptom when they are first quitting smoking is a general level of disorientation. The effect is usually due to a drop in blood sugar that often occurs in the first few days after quitting. The resources below gives suggestions on how to minimize the effect.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu7hsiOdlDM

Related articles:
"Minimizing the Most Common Side Effects to Quitting Smoking"
http://www.ffn.yuku.com/topic/13919
Eating Healthy - Blood Sugar
http://ffn.yuku.com/topic/11649

Related video:
Blood sugar symptom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYGsz...
Common symptoms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU8Fuk...
Going back to normal after quitting smoking
https://youtu.be/zUKBBcZ26BQ

 

Blood Sugar Symptoms

Many of the most common symptoms people encounter when first stopping smoking is due to a drop in blood sugar often encountered in the first few days after quitting. Video discusses why this happens and how to minimize the effect.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYGsz7WNh_8

Related articles:
"Minimizing the Most Common Side Effects to Quitting Smoking"
http://www.ffn.yuku.com/topic/13919
Eating Healthy - Blood Sugar
http://ffn.yuku.com/topic/11649

Related video:
Common symptoms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU8Fuk...
Going back to normal after quitting smoking
https://youtu.be/zUKBBcZ26BQ

 

Why I Recommend Cranberry Juice When First Quitting Smoking

Video discusses how cranberry juice can help people when first quitting smoking, but that it use is only helpful during the initial withdrawal period that lasts only 72 hours or less.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVkuOU7MBjQ

Related videos:

On any kind of juice helping with blood sugar symptoms:

Blood sugar symptoms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYGsz...
Disorientation that may occur when first quitting smoking
https://youtu.be/Xu7hsiOdlDM
Going back to normal after quitting smoking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUKBB...

Interactions with urine acidity and nicotine:

I can't drink without a cigarette
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE-Z6...
Smoking does not help you overcome stress
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buyqv...

[babs609]

Hi Erik!  Welcome to the Quit Train.  :)

 

Congratulations on 1st quitting the opiates.....and now quitting smoking.

 

I like your attitude and I do believe you will succeed.  

 

Whatever symptoms you are having...they are temporary.  

 

Happy to have you here  

[JackiMac]

Hi Erik and welcome on board the QT and congratulations on being 2.5 months quit already that is fantastic, as above can only add that everyone feels different on their quits, each journey is personal to the person taking it, but I can relate to the fuzziness and general feeling of something is missing, you can only re-educate your brain into not needing any nicotine, daily exercise is fantastic as it releases all those feel good endorphines and will soon have you buzzing with health and vitality, your are doing amazing and each day will bring you new rewards in your wonderful life as a non smoker xx

[Doreensfree]

Hi and welcome aboard

Glad you have found us....

I agree with all the above.....our body,s all heal at different paces....

All you are feeling is temporary....it does settle down....

Your body had took a battering over the years you smoked....it just takes time to heal....

My body was quite crazy for a good few months....but I had smoked for decades.....

Take it day by day.....it's all good...

[cpk]

Thanks everyone. I am positive this is quit-related, I can remember how I was before I started smoking and now I have moments where I feel normal but they aren't consistent feelings. How does quitting affect blood sugar levels? It didn't occur to me to monitor that, thanks for the suggestion. I feel like I do have ADHD or something, I work as a cook and it feels like I've had to work twice as hard for no reason. It's funny, I use to be addicted to opiates and have been clean/sober for 16 months now, it was hard but even with now understanding how I think and my personality in regards to addiction and all that, quitting cigarettes feels harder to do. I never was depressed or anxious before I started smoking (I smoked for 7 years starting at age 21) but Im aware I picked up the habit during a pretty important developmental period. Finding a career path, becoming a touring musician, living on my own, dealing with heartbreak and loss, heck even driving (I used to ride a bike everywhere until I was about 20) all are things I only knew as a smoker. I don't have any urgr to smoke persay, cigarettes are like diapers to me now in that I remember using them and liking them but feel now that they aren't necessary, but being that I've overcome addiction before my brain knows that a direct craving wont trick me into relapsing so it gives me bouts of the symptoms I described in the first post when certain triggers occur. E.g., last week my kitchen catered a party for over a hundred executives. We were short two people but still came together and made some beautiful food. I left work, it was sunny out (I live on the east coast, New England), I'm driving home to cook for a party we were having after a friends show all excited and exhuberant and high on adrenaline and suddenly boom, huge wave of sadness/anxiety/despair. Oh yeah, I'm not actually feeling any of this, its because normally after a service like that I'd sit outside in the sun and have a smoke with my fellow cooks. Stuff like that, really getting old. Thank you all for reading and replying, it means a lot.

Hope you read post by Markus on this. Having the "pull" (that's what I call it) ambush me is the most tiresome thing I'm having to deal with right now. Post by Markus called something like "When will this get better?" ~~  Good Luck. Hope you do more posting...

[Nicole Diver]

I'm late, but welcome! Sounds like you are getting your stuff together at a young age, which is awesome.

All of the discomfort you are going through is quite temporary and normal. Please keep us posted. We are here to help.