Hello,I haven t had a cigarette in 3 months, and have used patches successfully. In my determination to quit there are some side effects of the patches that I experienced (intense dreams for instance) but had read about, so I accepted them with the desperation for success as motivation. I ve stepped down on the dose, and I really only use the patches now when a craving is really hitting hard. Since I have slowed, I ve noticed a deep muscular pain that goes right down to the bone after an hour with the patch on in any location. It seems like such a simple answer to just stop using the patches, but I m reluctant to give up something that helped so much with all the worse aspects of quitting. I m wondering if this is too serious to continue, and if so, what can I do as an alternative. Gum never worked, and those electric things seem redundant.Thanks so much for your time.