Day 2 wondering if nic gum is harmful

[Oliviajean229]

Hi! I’m on day two of quitting nic and am feeling great. I only use gum when I am super close to failure and have only had to use it twice. Is this setting me back? 

[Barbscloud]

@Oliviajean229 Welcome to the Ex and congrats on 2 days of success.  Are you doubting the use of the gum?   Aids have led to success for many quitters.   For this quit I used Welbutrin and nicotrol inhalers.  If you're going to use it, would use it as prescribed and not wait until your "close to failure".   

No matter how you choose to quit, cold turkey or with aids, you need to educate yourself about nicotine addiction and have a quit plan. Many have found success with knowledge and preparation. It took me 50 years and many attempts to finally get it. I went into my quits blindly and was never successful. In addition to some aids for my final quit, I found the Ex a week prior to my quit. For the first time I learned how to quit and had the support that was always lacking.

This link is a great place to start.
https://www.becomeanex.org/guides/?cid=footer_community_linktobex

Make the commitment and you can do this too. We're here to support you on your journey. So reach out anytime you need help, want to share your experience or to support fellow quitters. We're all in this together.

Join many of us on the Daily Pledge. It's a great way to stay on track on day at a time.

Here are some post from the Mayo Clinic that discuss the use of NRT.

To NRT or Not to NRT – That is the Question - EX Community

Trying to decide on a short-acting nicotine replac... - EX Community

Better Than Turkey: Using NRT to Manage Cravings - EX Community

Are Nicotine Replacement Safe? - EX Community

Stay busy and stay close.

Barb

[excoach]

First off, congrats! 

I just wanted to add some comments about the nicotine gum here. It's great to hear  you've started quitting and are feeling good! Nicotine gum is a quit medication that is FDA approved and safe to use to help you quit. The gum is one of the nicotine replacement medications -it's intended to do just that-replace the nicotine you were getting previously so that you are not dealing with the unpleasant withdrawal effects and can focus on changing patterns and routines.

The recommendation is to use it more on a schedule like every couple hrs to keep your body's nicotine levels stable rather than letting it get to the point that you've mentioned of feeling really uncomfortable before using it.  You can also use the gum as needed when you feel a craving coming. Here's some more info on the nicotine gum from our EX Site and you can  look over the use instructions that came with your gum:

https://www.becomeanex.org/quitting-medications/over-the-counter-otc-medications/what-is-nicotine-gu...

Using nicotine gum can be really helpful in successfully quitting so not setting you back-it's a medicatoin designed to help you quit. 

Keep up the great work!

~Margaret, EX Coach Team

[biscuit9]

Congratulations on being on quit day #2.  If the gum is helping you bridge that gap from smoking to being a nonsmoker, then use it.  Others will know more details than me, but we all had to choose a tool to get us through it, in the beginning.   Keep distracting and the only way to strangle this addiction is not to feed it.  You can do this!

[maryfreecig]

If you are worried about it setting you back, then you are probably doing just fine! You are on the ball and thinking about your quit and how to handle it! IMO that is what makes a quit work, thinking about it, asking questions, thinking about the advice given, accepting it or rejecting it...in short, making your quit work for you. Keep going, congrats on your two days. Welcome to Ex.