cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Give and get support around quitting

Asully
Member

Jumpy legs

Did anyone else have major jumpy legs and dizziness when they quit or is it just me? 

0 Kudos
7 Replies
YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

I am sorry I didn't see your earlier blog - but I will remedy that now with some reading materials and tips.  Here, also, is a blog about early withdrawal symptoms:  https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex/blog/2018/01/04/early-withdrawal-symptoms. Here is an article I also found on the subject of dizziness:  Causes of Nicotine Withdrawal Dizziness.

The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to smoke so the view is different. Buy your gas at a different station. Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.
 
You need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game.  Keep a cold bottle of water with you from which to sip. Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time.  You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits.    Get busy!  Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of smoke if you need some fresh ideas:
 https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...
The conversation in your head in response to the "I want a cigarette" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?"  Then DO it.  You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.

 

The important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. You can search for it online or at your local library. If you do nothing else to get ready for your quit, please do give this a read.


 You should also read the posts here and perhaps go to the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com, quitsmoking.com and livewell.com for the good information contained there. @https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.

Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!


 Nancy

Barbara145
Member

I had dizziness but not jumpy legs.  I take magnesium.  It is a natural muscle relaxant.  Keep up the good work.

sweetplt
Member

HI and Welcome to Ex’s Asully 

I had both dizzy’s and jumpy legs at night...I found lots of fluids helped the jumpy legs...if it hadn’t gone around they recommend magnesium, but it improved after a month or so of my quit...I had dizzy spells mostly the first two weeks of my quit...Please do the readings that Nancy YoungAtHeart above me recommend ... they will help you greatly in this journey.  Keep close to the support site because we are in this journey together.  If you are overly concerned, please see your Doctor...Happy Wednesday Colleen 254 DOF 

elvan
Member

You have gotten great advice already.  Be sure to drink plenty of fluids, add a magnesium supplement if you feel the need but start at a low dose and work your way up slowly since it can cause pretty intense diarrhea.  I suspect the jumpy legs will pass but I did not experience it or the dizziness but you may be dizzy because you are getting more oxygen OR because you have "forgotten how to breathe".  I had a doctor tell me that years ago, he said to take deep breaths, hold for a few seconds and then exhale very slowly through pursed lips.  It helped to keep me distracted and it also helped me to feel less disoriented..  Welcome to EX, we are all here to help in any way that we can.

Ellen

TW517
Member

I had major restless legs early in my quit!  Here's my blog about it:

/blogs/TomW5.15.17Blog/2017/07/31/i-cant-stop-dancing 

pastedImage_2.png

PrimeNumberJD
Member

I had jumpy legs, mainly when I was going to bed. Surprisingly, I never investigated it, I just wrote it off as a part of quitting. 

During this time, I also noticed my feet were warmer. I thought the jumpy legs were caused by an improvement in circulation. They didn't last long, but improved feeling and warmth in my feet has lasted! 

Congratulations on your quit! 

Beck37
Member

I had the dizziness and discovered it was low blood sugar. It’s one more thing that the chemicals in smoking were taking care of. I started eating something in the morning and it went away. Eventually my body got used to creating its own blood sugar and I was able to go back to my normal eating schedule.