I need suggestions to help with sleep.

[Kmarie82]

I’m on day 3, cold turkey and all the recruits in my body are turning on me... I woke up at 2 am, im sneezing I have a headache and I can’t fall back asleep. I can deal with feeling anxious and aggravated but not if I can’t sleep... advice welcome; no dairy    it destroys my stomach. 

[Kmarie82]

I am still in moderated mode, I should have found this site yesterday... 

[CommunityAdmin · Accepted solution]

Kmarie82 wrote:

I am still in moderated mode, I should have found this site yesterday... 

Sorry about that. We just need to make sure that new members are not bots. Sorry you were sleepless this morning so early.  I'm sure you'll get some responses this morning.  

Mark
EX Community Manager

[marciem]

Hi KMarie!!  Congratulations on your tremendous decision to quit smoking, and the wonderful progress you have made thru day 3!!  That is an accomplishment to be very proud of!!

Insomnia can be part and parcel of withdrawal & early quit.  It was probably my very least favorite part, and unfortunately because of my own dumbness, I experienced it multiple times (serial quitter here, until I finally got it right  )

There is melatonin that can assist with sleep, and also various teas.  I'm sure others will have suggestions.  Just know that it is very normal.

Myself, I caught up on bookwork that I'd procrastinated on, and also some reading... quiet activities to not disturb the household, but keeping busy since sleep wasn't coming and I didn't want to toss and turn and keep thinking about smoking/not smoking, which was a 24/7 brain activity in the beginning.

This is a temporary condition, and when sleep returns it will be more restful than that you had as a smoker, and you'll also be able to get that extra 5-10 minutes in the a.m. without nicotine addiction forcing you to jump out of bed to feed it  .  This you have to look forward to, and it makes the first days/weeks of quitting all so totally worth hanging on tight for!

Best wishes to you!  Please keep reading & posting, and learning about this addiction and asking questions~

[Kmarie82]

Thank you so much, I don’t feel so great today as I am a solid 7-8 hour a night girl... I’ll try not to kill anyone today lol. I could try melatonin but there has to be something I can do so I’m not waking up with a headache and incapable of sleep. I appreciate the support this group offers, especially since this has been my dirty little secret.. and support would mean admitting I was smoking (a pack a day) in the first place. 

Im open to trying melatonin. Thank you again.

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking and your first days.  Unfortunately, sleep issues are part of the physical withdrawal from nicotine and your body adjusting to life without it.  Here is information you might find helpful: https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex/blog/2018/01/04/early-withdrawal-symptoms .  You might try a swig of cherry juice, or perhaps take two Benadryl (if you can take it). Antihistamines have a side effect of drowsiness.  It WILL pass, just like all the other physical symptoms.  Take a nap if you can, even a quick 15 minute snooze is a good idea.

Nancy

[Kmarie82]

Thank you for all this information. I will be looking into the steps and I like the lemon idea, I was considering perhaps I would buy cinnamon sticks and puff on one when I’m super pissy and I can’t shake it. 

I feel this community will help hold me accountable, I’m not going to lie... I’m miserable. I’m walking 10-13 miles a day and I can’t wait to get over the hump. Cigarettes have been my escape from social events or people or just to get some “air” and time away.. now I don’t know how to exit these situations... ugh.

Thank you for all the resources!

Heres to another day smoke free!

[YoungAtHeart]

You can STILL take that break.  You might "need a breath of air," or a visit to the Ladies Room.  Just go where the smokers aren't!  Take a quick walk around the parking lot, or around the block, or just pause and look at the sky.  Smoking is not required!

[elvan]

I have found that I am significantly more sensitive to caffeine since I quit smoking, I had to cut my coffee intake in the morning and discontinue any caffeine after around 3:00 in the afternoon.  I lost quits in the past because I did not take breaks, so to speak, I was afraid to go outside since that was the only place I smoked.  One I realized that I could go outside and take deep breaths and NOT smoke...it was eye opening and gave me a way to take a break without feeling deprived.  I cannot take two benadryl because it has a reverse effect but ONE will knock me out and I will usually sleep through the night.

Just a heads up...if you have been smoking a pack of cigarettes a day...it is very, very likely that some people already knew that because they could SMELL it.  We did not realize that no matter what we did, the smell was there.  Like YoungAtHeart‌ advises...go to where the smokers are not and there are a LOT more of those places these days than there used to be.  You can do this...I have heard some people had success with flavored toothpicks.  I just ate Sour Patch Kids and frozen fruit and I had lemons available but I never bit into one, rind and all...the idea of it shook me enough to throw off a crave.  I was sure that I would have pieces of the rind stuck in my teeth for hours and that was not an appealing idea.

You sound like you are really bringing your A Game and that's wonderful, you CAN do this and it WILL get easier.  No one can do it FOR you but no one can make you smoke either.

Ellen

[Giulia]

There's a product called "Natural Calm" you might look into.  Essentially a magnesium supplement.  I use it for leg cramps (works wonders for that), but it has other benefits and I've been told helping sleep is one of them.  If you decide to try it, just start with half the dosage as it also tends to act as a diuretic.