The human body eliminates nicotine at the rate of roughly half every two hours.[1] It's why, for most of us, that first fix each day was so important. We'd slept through 3 to 4 elimination half-lives.
Once you stop using, all nicotine will have passed from your body within 72 hours (3 days).[2] Your brain will have no choice but to begin restoring natural sensitivities, and physical withdrawal will have peaked in intensity.
If already there, welcome to your new nicotine-free body and mind. Congratulations, you did it. Celebrate being clean!
Over the years, you may have gradually found yourself using more nicotine. It's called tolerance. Your brain was growing and activating additional dopamine pathway receptors.
Within 21 days your brain will have returned dopamine pathway receptor counts to pre-nicotine levels.[3] By then, physical withdrawal will be behind you.
Let's briefly look at withdrawal symptoms and how to minimize them.
Withdrawal symptoms
First, it’s not unusual for smart turkeys to experience fewer or diminished symptoms, with many reporting surprisingly easy recoveries.
Still, within reason, it's fairly safe to blame most of what you'll feel during the first three days on withdrawal. But after that, you need to listen to your body and if concerned, give your doctor a call.
Remember, your symptoms reflect where you've been, not where you're going. See each as a sign of healing.
Most symptoms are blood sugar related
A stimulant, each nicotine fix was our spoon, releasing stored fats and sugar (glucose) into our bloodstream. It allowed us to skip meals without experiencing wild blood-sugar swing symptoms such as an inability to concentrate, hunger-related anxiety, dizziness, a headache or time perception distortion.[4]
It's important to relearn how to properly fuel our body by spreading out our normal daily calorie intake more evenly. Strive to eat smaller healthy portions more frequently, every 3 to 5 hours. Try not to skip meals.
Three days of natural juices
Unless diabetic, sip on natural fruit juice for the first 3 days. Cranberry is excellent. The acidic juices will not only aid in quicker removal of nicotine, it will help stabilize blood sugars.[5] But, only use it for three days as juices are rather fattening.
Other possible symptoms
A complete list of potential recovery symptoms, including how long they normally last, is available at whyquit.com/ffn.
Possible hidden conditions
Nicotine and other chemicals in cigarettes, tobacco and even e-cig juices are capable of masking/hiding underlying health problems.[6]
Inhaled chemicals may also have been interacting with medications you were taking and a medication adjustment could be necessary.
Stay alert and if at all concerned, speak with your physician or pharmacist.
Caffeine/nicotine interaction
Amazingly, nicotine somehow doubles the rate by which the body uses up caffeine.
Research shows that your blood-caffeine level will rise to 203% of your normal baseline if no caffeine intake reduction is made when ending nicotine use.[7]
This is not a problem for most light to moderate caffeine users. Consider a modest caffeine intake reduction of up to 50% if troubled by anxieties or if experiencing difficulty relaxing or sleeping.
Weight control
While normal to want to reach for extra food as a replacement for nicotine in stimulating the release of dopamine, unless you need to gain weight, the extra pounds can be demoralizing.
Take a slow deep breath. Do you feel the subtle "aaah" sensation while exhaling? Now, take a sip of cool water. Again, feel the sensation?
That’s dopamine being released and both were zero calorie "aaahs."
As mentioned, it may take up to 3 weeks for the number of dopamine receptors to return to levels seen in non-smokers. But, unfortunately, that’s sufficient time to establish some horrible eating habits.
If unable to resist extra food, reach for healthy veggies and fruits instead of candies, chips and pastries. Try pre-cutting and placing them in a bowl of water in the refrigerator, as convenient and ready to eat as chips or cookies.
Talking about cookies, did you know that each cookie is roughly 50 calories? You'd have to walk a half a mile to burn 50 calories.
Certain foods help suppress appetite longer such as avocados, rolled oats, eggs, broccoli, lean protein, green bananas, nuts, seeds, and oily fish such as salmon or halibut. As for increasing appetite, did you know that your primary appetite hormone (ghrelin) is at least 6 times higher after drinking a carbonated beverage, including diet soda, than after drinking water?[8] I didn't.
In addition, ending your meal may have been a nicotine use trigger. If leftovers are disappearing, you may need to establish a new healthy cue that your meal has ended, such as reaching for a toothpick or floss, clearing the table, doing the dishes, or stepping outside for a nice deep breath of fresh air.
Research shows that exercise lowers ghrelin levels and has appetite and energy intake suppressing effects.[9] If concerned about weight gain, if your health and doctor permit, consider adding extra activity or exercise to your day, at least for the first 3 weeks.
References:
2. WhyQuit, Stop Smoking Recovery Timetable 2002 https://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Benefits_Time_Table.html
3. Mamede M, et al, Temporal change in human nicotinic acetylcholine receptor after smoking cessation: 5IA SPECT study. J Nucl Med. 2007 Nov;48(11):1829-35. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.107.043471. Epub 2007 Oct 17. PMID: 17942810.
4. Spitzer J, Minimizing the most common side effects to quitting smoking 2001 https://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_03_21_blood_sugar.html
5. Polito JR, Avoiding blood sugar swing symptoms 2009 https://whyquit.com/ffn/06c-avoiding-blood-sugar-swing-symptoms-when-ending-nicotine-use.html
6. Polito JR, Possible underlying hidden conditions 2009 https://whyquit.com/ffn/09o-hidden-conditions.html
7. Swanson JA, et al, The impact of caffeine use on tobacco cessation and withdrawal, Addictive Behavior, Jan-Feb 1997, Volume 22(1), Pages 55-68.
8. Eweis DS, et al. Carbon dioxide in carbonated beverages induces ghrelin release and increased food consumption in male rats: Implications on the onset of obesity. Obes Res Clin Pract. 2017 Sep-Oct;11(5):534-543. doi: 10.1016/j.orcp.2017.02.001. Epub 2017 Feb 20. PMID: 28228348.
9. Halliday TM, et al, Appetite and energy intake regulation in response to acute exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2021 Oct 1;53(10):2173-2181. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002678. PMID: 33831896; PMCID: PMC8440326.
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Publication date: May 4, 2021