Nicotine Withdrawal - Short-term and Long-term Effects of Withdrawal

Short-term and Long-term Effects of Withdrawal

Early effects of withdrawal from nicotine addiction include deficiencies in basal dopamine levels that might initiate drug-seeking and usage. Additionally, withdrawal from nicotine creates a hypo-functional state in the body which results in low brain activity. Other withdrawal symptoms that last for 3 to 7 days include irritability, insomnia, acute headaches, restlessness, depressed mood, fatigue, increased appetite and dizziness. Repeated exposures to nicotine, followed by withdrawal, induce a persistent increase in brain reward function and sensitivity to the nicotine and endurance of the effects in neuronal nicotinic receptors. Patients in a cessation program often experience craving for nicotine in the couple of months after quitting. There many other factors like depression that are induced by nicotine withdrawal - for example, individuals who are more susceptible to depression use nicotine to mask this disease and, when quitting, have a 25% chance of becoming more depressed when they quit, a risk which endures for 6 to 7 months.

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