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Give and get support around quitting

pongaselo
Member

Where do I look?

I am new to Ex. Did  my homework on triggers etc. and decided to take a look at the message and questions board. Unless I miss the mark (entirely likely) a bunch of you have just decided to go cold turkey. When I was first married, my wife asked me to quit. I went through "Smokenders", a local program in the SF area and at the end of 6 weeks, I stopped smoking for 20 years. The very first thing that they explained was that cold turkey most often does Not work. I guess my question is where are the messages and questions from the folks who are detoxifying themselves in preparation for their cutoff day. I was also wondering where the weekly feedback for those of us still getting our bodies ready for the jump might be located. With all the great questions that I faithfully answered, are we left without a serious game plan as we detox or what? My weekly plan with "smokenders"was profoundly effective and short of moving into a pharmacy and living off some substitute ( not anywhere on the menu) I don't see how I will succeed without checking in with something to keep me on track through these very important steps.  Please tell me where I should be looking. 

13 Replies
Jennifer-Quit
Member

You quit for 20 years?  Are you now a smoker? Or are you just recruiting for smokenders?

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YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

The readings I will recommend will  contain lots of good advice.

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 highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. Here is a link to a free PDF version of it:

http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

 You should also read the posts here and perhaps go the 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/content?filterID=all~tag%5Bbest_of_ex%5D   has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance. You should also do the tracking and separation exercises suggested in My Quit Plan http://www.becomeanex.org/my-quit-plan.php

After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort.  I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another.  I do not recommend the e-cigarette for three reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion, and 3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire. . But – any method that you think will work well for you will be best for you.

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

freeneasy
Member

If you click on  "My Quit Plan" on the upper right corner of your screen there's lots of good information to help you get started. Here's a link to another article I find found really helpful

Learn How to Quit Smoking (and Make it Stick) 

gregp136
Member

A lot of new information on smoking, nicotine, and addiction has come out since 1981.  As for me, I am just over 2 weeks in my cold turkey quit.  I am addicted to nicotine, and needed to go cold turkey to use my energy right away to fight the addiction.  That is what worked for me.  Everyone is different.  Follow the advice, read a lot and see what is right for you!

shashort
Member

Hi and welcome to our community it is a great place for support.  You will get several elders chime in and give great reading assignments to help learn about this addiction. Nancy being one of the elders that gave you great reading to begin with. Have you set your quit date yet?  Not exactly sure what you are looking for. Worried about cold turkey have you thought about using the patch to help with craves.  I chose chantix a precription you get from the doctor and my backup was the nicotine gum, although, I never opened the box of gum. Beware though as the chantix can cause nausea. We are your support system to help keep you on track.Stay close and blog as often as you need or like and checkin frequently.  If you are struggling you can write a blog  using the word help and then lots of people will run to your rescue. Hope  this helped and I answered your questions. Start reading and getting prepared. Greatest decision deciding to quit smoking.

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susan_m
Member

Good morning and welcome to EX!  The key is to quit....whatever it takes, just quit. 

I chose cold turkey because I wanted the nicotine out of my system as fast as possible. Here's a blog thats well worth the read that may change your opinion of cold turkey:

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/thread/1860-smart-turkey 

Good luck!  

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c2q
Member

Hello. You have a good plan in mind, judging from your last blog post. What's your quit date? There are 3 keys as far as I'm concerned. Gradually reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke doesn't necessarily have to be one of them. For some people, that just ups the anxiety level. I was one of those people. You have done plenty of homework to get ready. Your new EX buddies above all have suggested great resources to help

Now it is up to you. The 3 keys to quitting, for me, are referred to all over this site, said in every way possible. You have to take hold of this quit experience and make it your own. Then you will be successful. I look forward to hearing what the keys to your successful quit are. 

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CommunityAdmin
Community Manager
Community Manager

Welcome!  Glad you're here.  Cold Turkey Quitters‌ is a social group here on the site. Groups aren't really active yet but perhaps there is some historical info in there that will be helpful. There are also some references to /blogs/SkyGirl-blog/2013/07/20/a-smart-turkey 

Glad to see you've started to document your quit journey with Here we go. 3/2/17, Week 1.  

Mark
EX Community Manager

EX Community Admin Team