Since quitting, I have noticed a huge difference in myself and my bipolar disorder as I believe I have more:
Since stopping smoking I have noticed many things that are different in myself, as have my close family and friends, so I know it’s not just me. One of the biggest things I have noticed is that I don’t find myself as deep in thought, if that makes sense. In the past, I have overreacted to something, which has me worrying and over-thinking a situation, resulting in me reaching out for cigarettes as a way of calming myself down.
Since stopping smoking I have noticed many things that are different in myself, as have my close family and friends, so I know it’s not just me. One of the biggest things I have noticed is that I don’t find myself as deep in thought, if that makes sense. In the past, I have overreacted to something, which has me worrying and over-thinking a situation, resulting in me reaching out for cigarettes as a way of calming myself down.
Since I’ve stopped smoking, I’m finding these stressors more manageable and no longer do I find myself going around in circles as I just deal with them better and get on with the rest of my day.
Looking back at why this is the case, it could have been that my coping strategy was not very productive as I would often just sit alone with my packet of cigarettes and smoke them one by one thinking about what has happened or may potentially happen.
I know I have only stopped smoking, but I believe I’ve done more than that. I would say I have a fresh outlook and look forward to maintaining my quit.
I have decided that I am not able to completely come off nicotine as, when I do feel unwell, I know I will reach out for cigarettes, so I have now purchased myself a vape for long term use.
During the program I was using both patches and the nicotine inhalator that I found very helpful, especially the inhalator. My advisor suggested that I consider purchasing my own vape going forwards, as this is more cost effective than buying spare inhalator cartridges. I wasn’t sure at first, but now believe it’s the right thing to do as I enjoy the hand to mouth action, and it helps when I do get stressed or feel unwell.
The first three days were the most uncomfortable for me, but I kept strong and used the products provided. I quickly found that after those initial uncomfortable days I was more in control and was able to keep up my quit with both support from my family and Yorkshire Smokefree who rang me every week for 10 weeks.
The next step for me is to have my medication reviewed as I’m aware that often smokers need a higher dose of “some” medications compared to non–smokers.
I could not say for sure, but I believe since stopping smoking that my bipolar medication is working better as I feel so much more in control of my life. Either way, I feel very proud of what I have achieved and hope to maintain the quit.
I have asked my advisor Chris if he could check in on me in a couple of weeks as I have now finished the program. I hope to update him with my medication review and of course inform him that I remain fully quit. It would be a perfect ending to my journey if I could reduce some of my current medication as I believe it would help with the common side effects that I have come to accept, but it would be nice to know that by stopping smoking I have also helped reduce my long term medication and my overall wellbeing.
We are so proud of Zoe and look forward to hearing back about her medication and hope she manages to stay smokefree!
Effect of smoking cessation on medication blood levels
“Tobacco smoke speeds up the metabolism of some antipsychotic medications, as well as some antidepressants and benzodiazepines, by inducing certain liver enzymes (CYP450 1A2 isoenzyme). This effect is not caused by nicotine but is secondary to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the tar in tobacco smoke. A consequence of speeding up the metabolism of some medicines, is that smokers need higher doses of some psychotropic medicines compared to non-smokers. Blood levels of medication will be affected by many things such as age, gender and how well they adhere to their prescribed treatment. Stopping smoking can result in an increase in blood levels of some medicines; these are likely to increase within seven days of quitting. Because this could potentially led to toxicity, doses of affected psychotropic medicines may need to be reduced by 25–50% once someone stops smoking”. www.ncsct.co.uk
