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Discuss different approaches to quitting, including medication

MaureenA
Member

Quit Thur night (2-days) cold turkey.

Hello - been struggling with emotions off the cart today, but doing “cold turkey”  In the past tried patches and gum but did not work. I am very committed to be a non-smoker (smoked for over 40-yrs) It will be strange but it is overdue to be a non-smoker!!! Hopping tomorrow is a little easier- today I really struggled. Anyone else newly quit that needs reinforcement? I quit with someone but they are having a cig or two a day - sister, If I have one, I’ll be pack to a pack a day. Done smoking! Can’t pick one up need to keep going forward but my emotions are crazy during withdrawal

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3 Replies
Giulia
Member

Gee but I'm sorry nobody saw this post of yours.  Welcome a'board!  Emotional craziness is quite common (sorry to say) during the first part of this journey.  We tend to be OFF THE WALL!!!  You've already got some wisdom under your belt as I see from this statement:  "sister, If I have one, I’ll be pack to a pack a day."  That is the absolutely truth.  Smoking a cigarette or two a day is not being quit.  As jonescarp says on here:  "If you've quit and your still smoking you're doing it wrong!"  

Being "very committed" goes a long way in ensuring success.  Education will help, along with the positive reinforcement you'll get from hanging around this community.  When your commitment starts to flag, dig into the blogs here.  They will remind you of why your here and how to do keep your quit.

Day 3 is upon you.  Or is it over by now?  Most of us found taking this in small increments psychologically helps, rather than thinking in terms of 'FOREVER.'  Just get through the day you're on.  Yell for help when you need it.  That's what we're here for.  There's a blog about quitting cold turkey put out by another member just today.  Read the responses.  https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/thread/18921-cold-turkey-help   And you can get a lot of information just by putting "cold turkey" into the community search box (upper right magnifying glass icon.)

Three days is small miracle.  Pat yourself on the back and keep heading in the direction you are.  Cheers!

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elvan
Member

Welcome to EX and congratulations on your quit.  I also quit cold turkey or smart turkey...over 4 1/2 years ago after smoking for 47 years.  I can tell you that the biggest helps with quitting are education about the addiction, support, and commitment.  I used the mantra NOPE, Not One Puff Ever which I got from this site and I said it over and over and over again.  I will not tell you that it was easy because it wasn't but I have such severe, irreversible lung damage that it was well worth every difficult moment.

YoungAtHeart‌ will be along soon to give you some recommendations for reading and some words of wisdom as as you begin this journey.  Think of it as a journey, it is one day at a time, it is not an event.  Drink lots and lots of water to flush your system, keep busy, and stay close to the site.

We have all been where you are, one way or another and we all want very much to help you succeed.

Ellen

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YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

Congratulations on your decision to quit and your first two days!

You might tell your buddy that there is only one rule in recovery (from whyquit.com): The Law of Addiction states, "Administration of a drug to an addict will cause re-establishment of chemical dependence upon the addictive substance."  It's not just you!  An addict can NEVER have "just one"."  Let your friend know that smoking only 1-2 a day is keeping the addiction alive, is making them more uncomfortable than necessary.  Doing so, they will not ever get over the initial withdrawal and move on.  Read on to understand why.

The most important thing you can do  is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. You can search for it  or at your local library. Here's a link to a video here on the site which describes nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.
 
 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, quitsmoking.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 in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  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.  Keep a cold bottle of water with you from which to sip. 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