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Midnight crave!!!! Got out of bed craving to smoke. Partner had left a half smoked cig in the bathroom. I was torn between smoking it, washing it down the drain. Threw it on the nightstand as it was his. Thinking I should have stuck the damn thing under water. Still want to get it and smoke it. What to do for midnight craves?
Wow good for you, way to stay strong! Tell that partner of yours they need to take the smoking outside. You are trying to beat an addiction and it's going to be soooo much harder to do when you can see, smell, touch and taste the cigarettes. I'm sure they will help you out if you explain it to them. Plus you're working so hard and one of the rewards for that is having a clean smelling house, car, clothes ect. Don't deprive yourself of that because you deserve that:). Could you maybe get one of those inhalers for the night time craves? I have no idea if you can do both things but maybe it's something to look into. I'm really proud of you for coming on the site and writing about a craving instead of giving in, I think you're going to beat this.
Wow! Well done for getting through that one AND answering your own blog and question. You breathed yourself through it....probably the absolute best thing you can do. I’d say forget the patch at night.
Sleep will return to normal when the nicotine tickle stops.
I'm so sorry none of us were there for you last night! My worst craves were in the middle of the night. I never understood this, because I had never smoked before if I woke up at night. So there was no memory trigger going on. Just my brain screaming for nicotine I guess. During the day, I always took a walk, or moved around however I could at the time to get through a crave. Couldn't do that at night without disturbing the family, so I did what you did and breathed through them. Wish I could offer you more than empathy, but glad you made it through .
I think the strongest kind of quitter is the one that quits when their partners still smoke. I mean, craving is bad enough all on it's own but add a half cigarette, staring you in the face, in the middle of the night, when you're all alone..... You did GREAT getting through that crave! I feel if you can get through a crave like THAT, you can get through ALL of them! Stay strong! PS: I love that you answered your own blog too! Hang in there girl, you got this!
I cannot imagine trying to quit with a smoking partner. That shows how strong you are right there. Thankful my husband only "dips" and it is beyond nasty. I can tell you from previous experience that sleeping with the patch can give you some really whack dreams.
If you are having insomnia, I can tell you it DOES GET BETTER! My first month was the worst for insomnia but now it is only intermittent, but I have always had trouble sleeping at night so that might be some of me not the quit now.
So proud of you!!
Susan
Creative visualization............
Deep breathing (like your smoking, but NOT)
Stay in the "Moment" and distract your thoughts with something pleasant....
Like how each and every second your health is improving,
Your sense of happiness will increase day by day...
Your outlook on life will/is more positive...
DO NOT dwell on the old memories of smoking.....Why would you want to torture yourself?
..........the "Power" is within you.................I feel it.
You need to ban smoking indoors. Your partner should go outside and smoke. I would put my foot down with that one. Your quit is yours, and you should not have to be breathing in that stink a#% air and smell. Just saying.
Irish Rose
YOU DID IT-CONGRATS LOVING YOU AND CHOOSING YOUR OWN LIFE NICOTINE FREE-TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE-GOOD JOB!
You did GOOD! Next time, put that cigarette under running water and leave it where your partner left it. I am sure it was done thoughtlessly - but that should send a message - and I agree that should only be done outside.
Can you get a crossword puzzle book for the night wake-ups? You can ALWAYS come here and read. That helps keep you focused on your quit. Slow, deep breathing works, as do relaxation exercises. Try pushing down on the bed and tightening every part from head to toe, and then very gradually letting each part relax. Start with your head, then your neck, then your shoulders all the way to your feet. You might also make a list of your reasons to quit and review it during wake up times. Maybe make a list of things that day for which you were grateful?
Nancy
I absolutely love that you answered your own blog, it just shows how committed you are to staying on your quit journey! I agree though with others....next time "water it down" ! They'll know better next time to not leave it where you'll damage it! Change smoking designations for sure! I was a considerate smoker when I did smoke! I didn't want to harm others with my behavior/stink! They should do it to be considerate for you! Congrats on making it through without the help you will usually always find here!
virgomama You are doing GREAT. I thought your partner agreed not to smoke in the house or the car...am I mistaken? If the agreement was not to smoke in the house...you need to enforce it and make sure that unless the bathroom is an outhouse...it is ALSO off limits for smoking. If the bathroom IS an outhouse...make him discard his half smoked cigarettes...you did great answering your own blog and breathing through the crave. My daughter used the patch and took it off at night because she said it gave her oddly vivid dreams. You are doing this...keep going, one day at a time, one crave at a time...it gets better.
Ellen
He did Elvan. And he has been really good. But he obviously tried a night smoke sneak while I was sleeping then left it. So... the conversation tonight will be if I see any cigs left anywhere I will be dousing them. I know this was unintentional on his part, but I am dead serious about this quit. So I am going to reinforce this. I barely hung on last night, but I did hang on and that feels good.
I don't wear the patch at night it makes me feel weird. However, I did have some nicotine gum I remembered so I chewed a piece of that. gave me hiccups, but it and blogging got me through.
virgomama I don't know how far away your bathroom is from where you were sleeping but I can tell you that if anyone smoked ANYWHERE in MY house...while I was sleeping OR awake, I would smell it. Your midnight crave may have been provoked. You are really understanding...but you DO have to protect your quit at all costs. He CANNOT be given a pass on this, it's too important, it put YOU through unnecessary angst.
I am seriously proud of you...
Ellen
Elvan,
You may be right. The bathroom is right off the bedroom. Wow!!! What a perspective. Okey dokey!! Crap will hit the fan if I ever find another one. I did talk to him about it.
Good for you getting through that temptation without smoking. I agree, I would have destroyed it. Probably not intentional, but not fair to you. My sister left half a cigarette in the ash tray outside and believe me she heard about it. I was early in my quit and didn't want to hear any of her excuses.
Good job on getting through that crave!! I would have watered it down, and flushed it out of sight. You did great!!
I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for responding to my call for help. I got some great ideas for the next one and emotional permission to dump water on the next cig I find. I have a feeling I won't be finding any. I did let him know what happened to me and he hasn't said a word about the ashtray being gone in the bathroom. I want to give each of you a personal message, but truth be told I'm so freaking tired after last night and working today, I can't manage it right now. But I will.
I love you all. Thanks for being here.
Cindy
Flush it in the toilet and pat yourself on the back for staying strong
Breathed myself through it and am just going to answer my own blog. So this is one trigger I don't have any answer for. What do you do for midnight craves? I take my patch off at night, maybe shouldn't have done it,but I've been doing fine and it makes me feel weird at night. NOPE NOPE NOPE. Use herbal sleep aids,nothing worked tonight. Think I'll make some chamomile tea.