It’s understandable that quitting smoking can be extremely challenging, especially when strong nicotine cravings take over and make you hesitant about your decision to quit. However, nicotine withdrawal symptoms are only temporary and will gradually go away the longer you abstain from smoking.
Our team at the Center for Vascular Care at HCA understands how tempting it can be to keep smoking when withdrawal symptoms are at their worst. Here are tips for getting past the worst of nicotine withdrawal and how to request an appointment with HCA if you need help quitting.
What Is Nicotine Withdrawal?
Nicotine is a habit-forming substance that can cause physical and psychological dependence. Nicotine withdrawal refers to the symptoms you may experience when you quit cold turkey or when you cut back on the amount of nicotine you normally consume.
Common nicotine withdrawal symptoms include:
- Strong urges or cravings to smoke
- Irritability and mood swings
- Restlessness and anxiety
- Difficulty with concentrating
- Sleep disturbances
- Increased appetite
- Weight gain
- Depression
Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal can begin as early as 30 minutes after your last cigarette. Everyone responds differently to nicotine withdrawal based on factors such as their activity level, the length of time they smoked, and the frequency at which they smoked.
Tips for Coping With Nicotine Withdrawal
Coping with nicotine withdrawal may be unpleasant, but it is also completely doable. The key to quitting long-term is finding solutions that work best for you, given how everyone copes differently.
Strategies for coping with nicotine withdrawal include:
- Staying busy as a distraction, such as with work, new hobbies, and fun activities
- Chewing gum
- Sucking on candy or lozenges
- Eating hard, crunchy foods that take a long time to chew, like carrots or celery
- Exercising
- Practicing deep breathing or mindfulness meditation
- Avoiding triggers that make you want to smoke (such as going to a bar)
- Starting a new routine during the times you usually smoke
How Can Nicotine Cessation Treatment Help?
Nicotine cessation refers to treatments and therapies that can help you stop smoking long-term. Examples include nicotine replacement (such as nicotine patches and gum), medications, and talk therapy. These treatments are ideal if your goal is to minimize nicotine withdrawal as much as possible and if traditional methods such as exercising and chewing gum aren’t helping.
The Center for Vascular Care at HCA offers a nicotine cessation program that can help you quit smoking for good. Our program is designed to help you cope with nicotine withdrawal using medications and forms of nicotine replacement. We can monitor your progress and follow up with you regularly to ensure your treatments are working as intended.
Getting started with nicotine cessation is the best step you can take toward achieving better heart health. If you need help quitting smoking, contact our team at The Center for Vascular Care at HCA today at (908) 806-0190 to request an appointment. Our heart specialists can provide a personalized diagnosis, discuss your treatment options, and provide all the resources you need to take control of your heart health.