About ten years ago I was faced with a decision: Do I plow through an early menopause, or do I take Hormone Replacement Therapy? Pros and cons with either choice seemed pretty equal to me, but one thing was for sure. I needed an endgame. How long would I take it? And what would be the effects of going off it? Would I get hot flashes in my 80s?? Answering those questions took time, and it took information, and it took planning.
Same goes for using Nicotine Replacement Therapy. Not gonna lie; years ago I did try using patches when they first came out. Seemed like a miracle at the time. Unfortunately they made me really nauseous, so that was a bust. This time around I had a different plan. My "step down from smoking" plan included a short time of vaping, followed by lozenges, then done. The lozenges were GROSS. So I was done before I wanted to be done, but it worked out great anyway. The reasons my plan worked were: 1) I stopped using cigarettes first, then 2) I had an endgame for the vaping. I knew it would have to be very limited or I'd just keep vaping forever.
My endgame was simple. I bought the equipment and the vaping pods ahead of time, vowed to myself it would all go in the trash when the pods were used up. AND, importantly, I got all the information ahead of time for what to expect with nicotine withdrawal and how long it should last. Armed with my plan and my information and my endgame, I was successful. I plowed through nicotine withdrawal using the information and planning and tips and support from this site. A year and a half later, I'm still learning.
And ten years ago? I plowed through the night sweats and the hot flashes, finding other ways to deal with them until they faded away. Nothing lasts forever, so if you know what to expect and have a plan for it, it is DOABLE.
Courage.
