Well, I am on the patch, the 14mg patch, but mine is walgreens brand and it stays on like glue. I even sweat and have swam with it on and it stayed on. But anyways, here is a tip; if you wake up in the middle of the night to smoke, wear the patch to bed. If you do not do this, then do not wear the damn thing to bed, because it most often causes nightmares and makes people wake up in the middle of the night really agitated. No one enjoys waking up at 5am or 1am from vivid nightmares and be too agitated to go back to sleep.
And yeah, since I quit smoking, I have rebuilt my cardio to an extent- I can run three miles, which is not bad, at least that is what I tell myself.
I would smoke to stay…how do I put it…mentally acute…to increase mental acuity…i.e. make me sharper during busy days doing school crap, and lifting weights. It is no fun to be a slave to tobacco and spend that much time outside quickly smoking cigs just to feel normal. I used to do that and I am glad that is over.
I suggest you find a new high, because tobacco is a high…it is a drug, as addictive as heroin…like I am not even kidding, that is a fact.
I exercised excessively when I quit to compensate for being irritable and also for something to do.
One thing to be aware of is that nicotine is a pretty solid CNS (central nervous system…like your brain and spinal cord…) stimulant. Quitting a stimulant is not fun. Period…that is why I still wear the medium strength patch during the day. I went off the patch and my mind unraveled. I could not think clearly.
No nicotine is best for general health concerns. However, studies have shown that we people with scz actually benefit from nicotine. It helps our symptoms, especially difficulty concentrating and sedation. I am not making this up.
I am a student, so I cannot afford to risk not thinking clearly, specifically, I cannot lose any more of my cognitive performance because I do perform cognitively. I think that much is evident by the crap I just recited from what I have learned in my studies.