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Give and get support around quitting

sashadixon
Member

New to this group.

Hi all, 

          I am Sasha and I am a newbie to this discussion board (Are they still called that? Lol). I started Chantix on Feb 7th with a quit date of Valentine's Day (of all days!!!!) My fiance is also quitting along with me and it literally made us nuts trying not to smoke that first night (the 14th) so we ended up smoking 1 and a half cigarettes that day. It was extremely difficult for me to just suddenly stop so I reduced down to 3 or less over the next 6 days and had my last cigarette on February 20. I was actually very surprised that cutting all the way down from 20+ cigs a day to only 3 at the most was not all that difficult. Yes I do still have cravings, but I think of it more as triggers and not real cravings cause it seems to consistently happen around 3 pm everyday and that was never a time that I was able to smoke. And I'm not sure what the trigger is. Anyway, just wanted to see if anyone out there has any advice for me or can steer me in the direction of anything that can help me on my journey!!! Thanks!!!!

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9 Replies
Giulia
Member

Hi Sasha.  Welcome to our happy crazy family!  First of all big congratulations on your almost three-week quit!  No small feat.  (Yes, we use the term "newbie" here on occasion.  lol  And Elder for that matter.  Here's a list of those who have over a year quit.  /blogs/Giulia-blog/2017/06/18/elders-list-ao-december-7-2016?sr=search&searchId=77782790-2c57-4acc-9...‌  You might find it helpful to check out their blogs in your spare time and take a look at some of the material they've bookmarked by going to their pages and clicking on Bookmarks.)  There is so much good information here it's hard to know where to begin the steerage.  Other's will chime in with their specifics.  Best of EX is a great place to start. Relapse Prevention another.  Interesting that you have a trigger at the same time every day.  What do you do at that time?  Is it perhaps a "reward trigger?"  Or a "relaxing" trigger?  Keep trying to come up with the answer.  I'll bet you'll discover it sooner or later.  Glad you've joined us.  READ!  It's the way to move along the journey to that place of Freedom!

Sootie
Member

Hi Sasha----Always good news to have a new quitter join us. My advice would be just to hang in there......some days will be good and others not so......but....if you think about it......you had good and bad days as a smoker also. Stay positive!!! Attitude certainly helps. Try going to whyquit.com....the articles on there are really great. Keep close to this site.....it is THE BEST site for support in quitting.

Stay Strong.

Daniela2016
Member

Congrats Sasha on making it so far!  Understanding my addiction, reading all the documentation made available here to me, helped me at the beginning in a way hard to describe.  I had a failed quit attempt (6 months) more than 15 years ago, and I lost it because I did not understand the addiction, nor did I know what to expect or how to protect my quit.

Here are some links I find extremely useful:

/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instead-of-smoke 

/blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months 

JACKIE1-25-15
Member

Here my introductory that use.   Welcome to the RLS Conference Blog! | Ignite Your Passion ... You have come to the right place for a new day and a new beginning.. This is all about you and what you are willing to do to be smoke free. Quitting smoking requires hard work.  It can be challenging at times but you will learn that it is doable if you adhere to NOPE not one puff ever no matter what. 

Start first, by educating yourself about nicotine addiction.  

Education is the key to a successful quit.

Read: Freedom from Nicotine My Journey Home and Nicotine Addiction 101         

Here are the links: http://whyquit.com/whyquit/LinksAAddiction.html   and http://whyquit.com/ffn/

I also encourage you to read. Allen Carr’s book, “Easy Easier Way to Quit Smoking”.       

 Go to http://www.becomeanex.org/how-to-quit-smoking.php#thl and get started.

around 3 p.m. every day, either take a walk, color a picture, do something that you enjoy doing and do the same thing every day for a week and you'll notice that craving/urge will dissipate

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YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

Congratulations on your decision to quit and your first steps in the process.

The most important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I also  highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read.

 You should also read the posts here and perhaps go to the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com, quitsmokingonline.com and livewell.com for the good information contained there. @https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance.

The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand. If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to smoke so the view is different. Buy your gas at a different station. Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.

You need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game.  Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time.  You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits.    Get busy!  Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of smoke if you need some fresh ideas:

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...

The conversation in your head in response to the "I want a cigarette" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?"  Then DO it.  You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.

Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!

Nancy

elvan
Member

Welcome to EX. You have gotten GREAT advice...please do the reading, that is really the first step.  Set a quit date, set up a quit kit...plan your quit and go forward.  We are all here to help you.

Ellen

GyorgyiM
Member

Kuwakaribisha kwa familia yetu ! .......means "Welcome to our Family"  in Swahili ......

Just in case you plan on taking a vacation there anytime soon....rates are good now, volcano is acting up! (Just kidding).

Great people at this site.....NO OTHER site like this one....Everyone is respectful, truly compassionate, caring and concerned. We don't win any prize's, metals or stars for our heartfelt contributions to anyone's issues, ...just the honor of being able to help or support a struggling comrade who is trying to better their life.

Miles of Smiles...

G.

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anaussiemom
Member

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