Today is Day 4 and although I wouldn't say they have subsided, the cravings are definately more manageable. Days 1 & 2 I used the patch, Day 3 I had about 5 pieces of nicotine gum (no patch) and so far today, I have had only one piece of the gum and it is almost 5pm. So yes, the cravings are lessening some.
I went kayaking this morning for about 3 hours, that helped a lot. Between the water and the busy hands and the exercise, that was three whole hours that I didn't even think about smoking. Egrets and cranes and alligators and herons. The only down side was the sunburn that I got.