Tag: Nicotine

Deciding to Stop Smoking: Rising Above Withdrawal Urges

When you smoke, your body is exposed to nicotine, a very addictive substance. The longer period that the body is exposed to nicotine, the harder it is for the body to function properly without such substance. This is the reason why people who smoke, especially those who have been smoking for a long time already, may find it difficult to stop smoking. They have become addicted to nicotine, and they will need longer time just to cleanse their system from the nicotine. So, even if they have finally stopped from smoking, they are still faced with the urge to go on a relapse and smoke again. This is commonly known as nicotine withdrawal urges.

Withdrawal symptoms may come in different forms, and has different effects on different people. Some urges may take form in the following:

* Difficulty to sleep
* Always being nervous and worried
* Unable to concentrate
* May feel depressed
* May feel irritable
* May feel the urge to light up another stick of cigarette
* Increased hunger and need to eat

Thus, before you finally stop smoking, you should first have an idea on how to fight these withdrawal symptoms, because if not you may end up starting on the process all over again.

Start by knowing the possible urges that you may experience once you have finally stopped smoking. By doing so, you would have ideas on how to manage them properly when they eventually manifest. There several products which can assist you as you begin to cut down your exposure to nicotine. There are nicotine gums and patches which are available in the market to satisfy your need for nicotine without the need of smoking a cigarette. However, if you choose to buy these products, you should realize that you would still have to stop using them eventually because you would want your system to be cleansed from nicotine.

There are also medicines and prescription drugs which can help you overcome depression after you have stopped smoking. Sometimes, these medications may also help with other withdrawal symptoms aside from depression. However, before you take any of these drugs, you should consult your doctor first so that you would be guided accordingly.

These withdrawal urges may come and go throughout the day. You just have to wait it out until the urge passes. You have to fight hard not to smoke despite such strong urges. After several times of being able to fight off the urge to smoke, you will feel that such urges will become less powerful, and you will find it easier to defeat such tendencies. You just have to stay strong because it is not easy to flush out the nicotine from your body, and will surely take time before you are absolutely cleansed from it. So, as you wait, you have to stay strong, firm, and focused. Try hard not to relapse; otherwise you might end up on the starting line again, and youd waste your efforts. Do your best to divert your attention to healthier activities so that you will not think of smoking as often as necessary. Remember your reasons for quitting, and hold on to them. The process you need to go through to stop smoking may not be easy, but it shall be worth it.

Why You should Stop Smoking: Dangers to Womens Health

You must have heard that cigarette smoking is definitely not good for health. This does not make any distinctions in its ill effects; it is dangerous both to womens and mens health. However, you should know that smoking may have more harmful effects on a womans health than on a man. A woman is capable of bearing a child in her womb. Because of this she is considered as an icon for nurturing; however, if with unhealthy habits, a woman may also unknowingly inflict damage to the child in her womb. Therefore, if smoking should be stopped by any gender in particular, then there is a greater need for women to stop smoking.

A woman may be inflicted with several illnesses if she becomes addicted to nicotine. If she is unable to live a healthy lifestyle, and if she is unable to eliminate smoking from her daily routine, she may end up having vaginal bleeding, heart attacks, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. Studies even show that women who smoke are more prone to having lung cancer as compared to those who do not smoke.

Furthermore, when females become addicted to nicotine, it is more difficult for them to eliminate such substance from their system as opposed to males. Because of this, they have to put on extra effort just to prevent themselves from being addicted; but if they are already dependent on the substance, they should ask for help and supplements designed to release them from such addiction.

Perhaps you are wondering how to get out of such addiction. If this is the case, then you should know that your first step to a non-smoking life is to know all the possible effects that may harm you. In doing so, you would have a better understanding of the consequences of your acts and thus, it will be easier for you to avoid such path again. Maybe, you would realize that you do not need to be around people who smoke because you may be influenced to smoke again; or you may refrain from going to shops that sell cigarettes. As long as you have baby steps to get out from your habit, then you are on the right track.

If these acts are not helpful enough, you may also ask your doctor for assistance. Several drugs may be prescribed to you to help you with the addiction, some of them may be found online and some are just within your neighborhood pharmacies. Just make sure that you have consulted your doctor before buying these medicines and that the medicines that you would take are FDA approved. This is to certify that these drugs will not worsen your condition and that they are really designed to help you with your nicotine problem.

Cigarette smoking should definitely be avoided for your own health. If you are a woman, you should have realized by now that you have more things to take into consideration than men who smoke. You are a woman, and you should be the life-giver. You cannot give a life that is not healthy, thus you should keep yourself healthy as well. Thus, since smoking is not healthy, you should not smoke; but if you already are, you may want to consider to stop smoking.

Want to Know the Effective Way to Stop Smoking?

We are creatures of impulse, desire, poor long term planning, and all the bad traits companies rely on to make their sale. But if you’ve ever made a painful decision to say no to buying something, in exchange for some long term gain, you know what a mature delay in gratification can benefit you. Opting to save for tuition instead of buying designer jeans is a good example So is opting to stick with your crappy-looking buy efficient cellular phone, instead of getting a shiny and sleek iPhone. So is the decision to stop smoking to prevent medical complications from happening to you, and costing you tons of dollars; not to mention preventing you from living a healthy life.

If you’ve been following the logic of the foregoing, then you already have a clear picture of what it takes to stop smoking. The best way to do it is to fully understand giving it up costs you, what not taking part in that hip and addictive habit will end you up with, and how much discomfort, for a time, quitting would mean, physically, emotionally, mentally.

Will power is the best way. The problem is this method requires your soul to understand, to want to stop smoking altogether. A pregnant mother decides to quit drugs when the medical checkups showed her baby was declining in health while in her womb. A father goes gambling-sobber after his eldest straight-A daughter failed to pay her student loans. A single mom decides to devote more time at home, and leave her night life, when she notices how much her son needs her.

We just need to find a reason. Our will power will provide the strength to get us through our nicotine addiction. It will not be easy. And those who try to quit end up relapsing unless they are convinced, to their bones, that they want to quit. Maybe not for themselves, but for the sake of someone else. A son, a mother, a husband.

Those who go through this, suffer the pains of withdrawal, and emerge addiction-free, report that they feel like having been a different person when they had their addiction. Different from the person that emerged from the addiction. Like it was all a bad dream, or memories of a person just trying to make do with her naive worldview.

The thing about quitting smoking through willpower is that you need no rationalizations. You stop smoking because, insert reason here. And you see that reason as inevitable, as true regardless of anyone else who listens to you. Like a mathematical fact. True, regardless how much you rationalize against it, whine about it.

You will receive all sort of discouragement. Most people have smoking buddies and the media is filled with ads encouraging a life incomplete without a puff. But these will not hamper you if you know in your bones you want to quit because you have to. Not want to. That there are compelling reasons outside one’s selfish circle of reasons that demand you to be better than who you are.

So if you want some non-hypocritical reason to stop smoking. There it is. Find a reason. The methods won’t matter as much as long as you will is convinced you have to quit. You will emerge a better person for this.

Living With Heart Failure-How Congestive Heart Failure Impacts Your Life

Living With Heart Failure-How Congestive Heart Failure Impacts Your Life

Heart failure, as well as all the risks that accompany it, can be a terrifying prospect for any man, woman or child. The impact of a heart, the body’s central tool for survival, no longer functioning may seem like the beginning of the end. The good news is, by establishing an effective treatment plan with your cardiologist the prognosis, and the chances for you to lead a normal life, increase exponentially.

Heart failure occurs when the heart can no longer efficiently pump blood throughout the body. The blood pools, and while organs are deprived of vital, life giving oxygen and nutrients the excess sodium that would normally be excreted in the urine builds up in the tissues, resulting in fluid retention that leads to organ stress and the dyspnea that is so common in cases of congestive heart failure. Left untreated, the oxygen deprived organs will eventually cease to function and the patient will die.

Fortunately, there are now many ways to combat the mortality factor associated with heart failure. Doctors can prescribe medications to facilitate the flow of blood through the body and take some of the pressure off the heart; blood thinners can decrease the chances of clots forming in the veins. Aside from medicinal means, there are many factors that may be altered in your lifestyle to impact the prognosis of your disease.

It is essential that the body be given sufficient time to rest in a day. While at rest the heart can more easily pump blood throughout the body; just as you would rest an injured leg when it began to pain you, you should rest your heart as well. On the flip side, it is important to establish a daily exercise routine. It doesn’t have to be three hours of aerobics; a half hour walk every day would have a greater impact on your physical being than nothing. Consult with your physician to find the plan that works best for your individual circumstances.

Along with an exercise plan you should work with your doctor to find the best diet plan for you. In most cases a low sodium diet is recommended to help reduce fluid retention. Diuretics can greatly affect the levels of potassium in the body causing hypokalemia, which can lead to muscle weakness, paralysis and a fatal cardiac arrhythmia; therefore, very often if you have been given a diuretic to take daily a potassium supplement will also be prescribed.

Nicotine can create a serious problem for patients with heart failure. It increases the heart rate and blood pressure while having a negative impact on the oxygen level in the blood. All of these things cause the heart to work harder. It is strongly recommended that if you have been diagnosed with heart failure you quit smoking completely.

Hand in hand with smoking are the inherent dangers associated with contracting a case of pneumonia or flu. If you are able you should receive an annual flu shot, as well as the one time dose of pneumococcal vaccine. This will provide some level of protection against pneumococci bacteria, the major cause of bacterial pneumonia. Pneumonia is a problem for the same reasons as smoking; the decreased oxygen levels in the blood cause the heart to work harder in an attempt to compensate and get oxygen to the organs and tissues. If possible, avoid crowded areas during cold and flu season, and stay away from people you know are sick.

Amazingly, something as simple as the clothes you wear can impact your condition if you have suffered heart failure. Tight clothing can cause blood clots and restrict blood flow to the extremities. In addition, in cases of extreme temperature your clothes should be weather appropriate; if the body has to work to maintain its temperature the heart will have to work that much harder.

Sexual relations can usually be continued as before; however, they should occur in as peaceful an environment as possible to prevent undue stress. If your condition is severe it is important that you discuss this with your physician; it may be necessary to forego sexual relations for a time in favor of other, less stressful shows of affection.

Each of these steps will help you continue to live much as you did before being diagnosed. Heart failure will inevitably impact your life; it is entirely up to you how much.