tabbyh, my addiction told me when it was time to gradually decrease the NRT. I just found myself using less. Wasn't trying until the end, which occurred at the six week mark. When you find yourself not interested in the NRT any longer and forcing yourself to stay on it, and you've been on it for about six to eight weeks, it's probably time to give up those last few pieces (if you're just down to a few pieces). I'm not at all embarassed by my reliance on NRT, because I had tried numerous times to just go cold turkey. Needless to say I had very little success. How bad withdrawals will be depends on how much you smoked and the conditions under which you did so. I also have a mental illness that seemed to come alive each time I went cold turkey. Day five was always the worst by far. The lack of sleep was a no no. My mental illness is made worse by not sleeping. Carbon monoxide withdrawals, which I felt most intensely at night made me physically ill. The truth is this, I quit smoking for three years once using nicotine gum. I've also had four months and three months. I've have had 42 days max going cold turkey. (I've already surpssed that.) Granted, I lost all of those quits, but I really think I didn' have a very good reason for losing the quits I got from using NRT, whereas I jonesed for days before losing my cold turkey quit. NRT gives me the opportunity to first withdrawal from the social aspects of quitting--not having one when I wake up, after I eat... I also gradually get less nicotine,so that when I finally do go off of NRT the cravings aren't as dramatic as going from 1 1/2 packs a day down to nothing. That said, I realy amire those who can go cold turkey.
My Milage:
My Quit Date: 5/1/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 46
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 1,242
Amount Saved: $465.75
Life Gained:
Days: 5 Hrs: 2 Mins: 24 Seconds: 29
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