Cold Turkey or Nicotine Replacement Therapy?

[al_26]

I have been doing research before and within the duration of this quit to figure out what works and ways to get through this. i have been reading and hearing some conflicting opinions about Nicotine replacement therapy as an effective method of quitting. Truth is, I have used them before and been unsuccessful, although I always chalked it up to the fact that I never followed through to the end or I gave into the urge to re- experience the actual sensation of smoking. My question to you all is, how did you quit? For the many of you who have been smoke free for long amounts of time, what method did you choose? Was a cessation program involved for those of you who quit cold turkey? Are there many of you who have been successfully quit after stepping down through NRT? Please comment with some insight because I am beginning to question my method of quitting and wondering if I need to roll around in the bed for three days in order to really kick this habit.

[al_26]

Also, does the Nicotine continue to harm you even though you aren't smoking?

[angelynna]

There are going to be lots of opinions on this...

nicotine is certainly not good for you, but it's much safer than cigarettes.

In my experience... a few years ago I quit for 4 months using the patch for just about 3 weeks in the beginning.  this time, I tried the patch again, and found that I was experiencing pretty intense withdrawal symptoms the entire time I used it, which was 12 days, when I ended up smoking.  Decided then to go cold turkey, and aside from being majorly cranky for a few days, the withdrawal was not really that bad.  I am still experiencing some withdrawal symptoms, about 3 weeks after going cold turkey.  But that is not from actual withdrawal, that is from my body healing from the damage smoking has done, and I expect one would experience some of those symptoms whether they used NRT or pharmaceuticals or not.

The important thing is that you quit... how you do it does not matter, you have to choose what's right for you, or like most of us, do trial and error.  the only way NRT would even come close to the damage smoking does would be if you stayed on them long term, and even then it's still better because it's ONLY nicotine and not all the other additives in cigarettes.

Just my opinion, hopefully some people with more time will comment as well

[Sootie]

The answers to your questions are on hwc's page and/or whyquit.com

since you asked....

i quit cold turket nine months ago

Why did I chose cold turkey? As crazy as this is going to sound because I smoked for almost 30 years---I am scared of NRT's, pills (like Chantix) and the gum or lozenges. Except for the fact that i didn't seem to mind inhaling SMOKE into my lungs---I don't like taking pills or any chemicals whatsoever...I rarely even use aspirin for a headache (crazy---I know)

It's not as bad as we make it into in our heads. You really do need to just be brave and know that cravings will come, tears will come, anger, frustration will come, hunger and weight gain will come....you can get through it--just don't smoke.

It's not easy but it's not impossible.

[JonesCarpeDiem]

I used the patch 10 of my first 14 days.

it allowed me to get a handle on the physical cravings while I traced their origins.

3 years and 8 months

[hwc]

I quit cold turkey with absolutely no desire to quit or plan at all. Drove to the store at midnight to buy two packs in case we got snowed in the next day. Got home, opened a pack, lit a cigarette, took one puff, and put it out because I had a sore throat from  a flu bug. Put the cigarette back in the pack to smoke the next day. That was the last puff I ever took, two and half years ago now. It was the first time I had gone a day without smoking since in over 30 years.

No program. I got lucky and discovered www.whyquit.com on my second day. Spend most of the first week devouring these daily audio quitting lessons:

http://whyquit.com/joel/mp3/listen.html

It really wasn't have as bad as I expected it would be. Honestly, once you decide that being a nicotine junkie is a horrible way to live, it doesn't feel like giving up anything, but getting a new, improved life. It's like healing from a broken arm. You just deal with the "itchy cast" and aggravation for a few weeks because  you know that's what you have to do to stop the craving.

[jay23]

I used Chantix for the first five weeks of my quit.  Going on 8 months now.  Do your homework and use whatever works best for you!  Stay strong!

[Bonnie11.3.2009]

Quit cold trukey and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  After the first 24 hours, I knew I was good to go, as I hadn't gone 24 hours without a cigarette in forever. Of course, I desperately wanted to be done with smoking.

9 months quit!

[geminigypsylady]

I took Chantix and reduced my smoking over a period of 5 weeks.  When I was down to 1 cig per day I quit completely I've been smoke free going on 7 months.

[maynell]

I think it's whatever works personally for you. I think you have to make up your mind, get educated about nicotine addiction and then make an informed decision based on your own personality. You can do it, and once you do, you will be SO GLAD you did that you'll believe like I do in NOPE (Not One Puff Ever). 

May