smoking aggravates w/d intensely

[dennis75holland]

no, sorry, not an 'official' breakthrough research conclusion by 'experts' i'm afraid, but just a personal insight from me which i deem invaluably awesome anyhow

the following: have been suspecting that smoking cigarettes affects me in a very bad way for years now. incidentally i also managed to found few suggestive info on the internet about it every now and then, but it always wasn't enough to convince me it was for real

now, i have been trying to quit smoking countless times in the past years, and especially during the past 20 months of my benzo taper. and somehow i felt that i had to quit smoking like 3 times a week, because i seemed to notice less panic every time i didn't smoke for a few hours, and actually often felt better after a day or two of non-smoking, but i always started to doubt after some more days and constantly gave in to the smoking w/d symptoms, and every time i started smoking again i noticed intense worsening of panic sensations each and every time

especially during the last months i have been trying intensely and countless of times to get off it and stay off it because i was sure, so sure, i felt a huge difference. i literally tried to stop smoking an restarted it again like around 50 times (yes, really), my agenda is written full of things related to quitting, restarting and even counting cigarettes smoked each day and my horrid physical and mental response to it

i can't believe i almost forgot about the smoking making me feel 100 times worse in terms of panic symptoms, this just goes to show how bad cognitive functions get impaired in severe panic. and only now do i suddenly remember having read about it by a few other members of several w/d forums, including a moderator, who also felt forced to quit smoking

why am i writing this now? well, i have now not smoked for 2 hours and immediately started noticing the improvement again about half an hour ago. i actually felt similar yesterday afternoon, and many parts of days, weeks and months ago in the recent past. i suspect it feels like such a 'breakthrough insight' because i've been at my last ends for the last couple of weeks; not knowing anymore where to search for relief, and now almost miraculously having found something important. i think this is actually a sign from my body telling me 'don't forget about the smoking!' i realize now that the withdrawal got so bad i actually got scared to give up smoking, for the first time in years. that's how far the panic had risen until now! i didn't even notice i had gotten scared to quit smoking!

i know, for sure, that smoking aggravates my withdrawal misery by an extreme amount and other people may have this too, i'm sure

what do i notice? derealisation has almost subsided, panic and anxiety are decreased substantially, shortness of breath sensation is much less and breathing has calmed down, my thinking is much less anxious, i have more energy and feel less down and obsessive, i can concentrate better on reading in books and the computer and tv, muscles are much less cramped up, i am much less sensitive to sounds and less jumpy, less agitated

can someone else relate to this smoking thing?

i feel this might be really important somehow, so i posted this thread here as well for people who smoke

dennis

[Amaya's Nana]

Dennis - my daugther was suffering from anxiety 24/7 for 7 months. She opted to NOT take any drugs to help her get through it. She was a heavy smoker. Quit smoking and within a couple of weeks, the intensity of the anxiety substantially decreased and she was able to use coping skills to get through the rest. She said she'll never smoke again because she believes it increased the intensity of her anxiety so badly. She feels great now.

You might be on to something.

[roxygirl]

OH, I totally agree. Every time I drop a bit, I notice that smoking makes me incredibly dizzy and nauseated, and I can only smoke a few drags at a time. I know that many people on this forum have "been forced" (LOL) to quit smoking during w/d. I also, during a drop, become really sensitive to other "poisions" such as caffeine and alcohol. Its almost as if our bodies are saying "ENOUGH!, one thing at a time!!"

[Iksfreundin]

I quit smoking at the very end of my taper. Just didn't want to touch it anymore. It made me paranoid and uncomfortable, and I couldn't handle it at all; I just kept cutting back and cutting back because I didn't want to quit two things at once. Finally, I just got to the point that I was done, and done I was.

[Greenman]

If it wasn't for my ciggs I wouldn't make it five minutes into w/d, well that and my coffee. I guess it is a personal thing, not a scientific one.