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Give and get support around quitting

tsmith6105
Member

Tapering Down before QD?

I have been tapering down on my cigarettes for the past week or so in anticipation for my quit date which is 5 days from now. I've read a little bit about this but surprisingly didn't find much info on here about whether or not this is even a good strategy. I know it's more of a "whatever works" type thing and we all have unique ways in which we quit but I'm wondering if I'm just torturing myself unnecessarily from a nicotine withdrawal standpoint. I think my rationale is that if I cut back before quitting, it will give me a chance to feel the initial effects of cravings, and give me practice at denying myself the satisfaction of lighting up. 

I've started taking Zyban about 2 weeks ago and after about a week I went from a pack/day down to half a pack/day pretty easily. I would tell myself I had to wait X amount of hours until my next smoke and that worked pretty well. A few days ago I began to smoke one less cigarette per day in relation to the number of days left until my quit date. So today I have 5 days left before my QD, so I "get" to smoke 5 cigarettes. Tomorrow will be 4 cigarettes etc. Surely I'm not the first person to do this? 

My concern is that when I get down to 1 or 2 days before my quit date, is it even worth it? I mean I would likely have that final smoke on my last day at the end of that day... which would essentially be 24 hours later than my last smoke on the previous day. So am I just cheating myself out 24 hours I could already be celebrating as smoke free? 

What have you folks done on your last day before quit day? Did you just smoke a pack and then the next day smoke none? Or maybe 2 or 3 cigarettes the day before and then on Day 1 of being an EX, you just took it from there?

I realize I might be over-thinking this quite a bit but I'm just curious as to what you've done on your day prior to quitting?

I'm thinking I should maybe bump up my quit date and just quit earlier if I'm only hurting myself and prolonging my withdrawal experience.

Thanks!

Trevor

11 Replies
TW517
Member

JonesCarpeDiem‌ and others like the tapering down method to a point.  He can explain better than I.

indingrl
Member

Cool welcome NON SMOKER and good job....remember education of you and your using NICOTINE is your key to choose.....reading Joel's book....Never Take Another Puff....at whyquit.com and there are videos to watch for day One....Two....three....or there are videos of early deaths from NICOTINE....the elders here SUGGESTED I go educate myself on MY NICOTINE addiction not anyone else's...they SUGGESTED drinks lots of water....blog BEFORE I use MY drug NICOTINE....try to eat healthy by choosing healthier foods and exercising....remember your not ALONE....please keep coming back.

Yes, JonesCarpeDiem‌ explains the tapering down method well or more like delaying having your next cigarette.  I myself did not taper down.  Like you said, that would feel like torture to me.  I made sure I had my last smoke at night, slapped the patch on and went to bed.

Lisaml
Member

Idk, Trevor. I would be inclined to think that would feel kinda tortuous too. But it’s obviously your call. 

Just dont make your last amoke a big sad ceremony. Cigarettes are NOT your friend. You’re not being forced to give up something awesome. You are CHOOSING to give yourself opportunity to be healthy. 

🙂 

Giulia
Member

Actually cutting back/tapering down has been discussed a lot on here.  I've put links to a few of the discussions I found by going to the community search button and typing in "cutting back."   I was a cold turkey, uh make that SMART TURKEY‌ quitter m'self.  But then I'm an all or nothing type of gal.  And cutting back was torture for me.  I smoked my brains out the night before my quit.

However, if you've already cut back to 5 a day, I would NOT recommend suddenly smoking as much as you can the night before.  That definitely won't help the Day One experience.  MOO (My opinion only.)  You've already rid yourself of a great deal of the nicotine, why up it at the last minute.  

Is it ideal to cut back before your quit date? 

/blogs/Thomas3.20.2010-blog/2018/01/27/cutting-back 

/blogs/anntann-blog/2016/09/13/is-there-a-method-for-gradual-reduction-till-quit-date 

gregp136
Member

I purposely put my quit date a bit into the future so I could let the excitement build on my quitting.  Make it like looking forward to Christmas and my fresh, clean lungs under the tree.  I will not be cutting down, because that seems to drain my reserves for the big quit on June 1st.  I know I need a lot of strength on June 1st.  And yes, my last cigarette on May 31st will be a celebration that I am finally through with those disgusting things!

Greg

I would say take the plunge, but that's really up to you.  You'll know when you're ready.  be sure to use the magnifying glass located on the upper right-hand side and search for key words of cutting back, slow down, tapering off, taper.  Keywords sometimes can be a hit or a miss, but use that search function as often as you can ....... oh, here it goes....... 

Welcome aboard.  Once you've completed Smoking Trigger Tracker Tool | Guides & Tools | BecomeAnEX  , please visit Newbie Quittersand read some there and also Best of EX.  Therein contains some very useful and timeless knowledge saved to share with those that are serious about quitting smoking and also understanding how nicotine works inside our brains and bodies, How Nicotine Addiction takes over (and what to do about it!) .  Be sure to use the search feature on the right-hand side of your screen to find answers to questions you may have along the way.  I can guarantee you that at some point or another someone at sometime has or had the same feelings you are questioning.  We're just a bunch of former smokers helping other smokers quit and stay quit !!!! 

maryfreecig
Member

Cutting back worked for me mostly because it was a daily reminder that I meant business. But I never went to 1or 2 cigarettes. In my opinion and that is all that it is--1-2 cigarettes a day is stretching out the tapering too little--better to quit. Even 5 or 6 cigarettes a day should be a signal that the end is near. So let it be. You have done your homework, you've got support, so let the journey begin on your say so.