Hey dori,
I do understand the mood swings in relation to nicotine levels. My "weaning off" was kind of backwards, as I reduced my nicotine levels by replacing specific sets of cigarettes with a nicotine lozenge, a step at a time. Since a single lozenge every 2 hours had way less nicotine than the cigarettes I would have smoked in that time, each shift in behavior was also a reduction in nicotine. By the time, I was only using the lozenges, I had already reduced my nicotine levels several times.
Believe me, I felt each drop. I would be kind of depressive--overly sensitive and kind of weepy sometimes--for a few days after each successive shift. Then there would be the internal questions: Am I feeling this way because of nicotine withdrawal or because of what is actually happening here? Also, am I feeling this way because of the nicotine withdrawal or am I just screwy? I found some of that to be very disorienting.
So, by the time, I went "cold turkey," I was sick and tired of the mood swings and just wanted to get it over with. I was tired of questioning what was me, the nicotine, or the environment around me. I feel a lot more stable and sane now that the nicotine is out of my system.
...So, yes, I think you will feel better once you get this all over with. I just don't want you to do it if there is some medical danger to going cold turkey when nicotine levels are high. I also don't know how high your levels are. That's why I said to check with your doctor.
As for giving into the cravings, I can attest that the really intense, demanding, screaming addict will give you release within 3 days. If you can hold out long enough to detox, it all calms down. I literally had a sense of "ah" at some point. It was as if I had been exorcised. While I may think about and even desire a cigarette these days, it is nothing like the addict's craves that I had going on for about a quarter century. Detox really is a big step towards freedom.
