Day 2

[angdestefano]

Hey all

This is day #2 for me. I've quit twice before, once for 8 months and another time for 6 months both on Chantix. Decided to go another route, and am using the nicotine patch.

It's been hard to find things to do to keep me busy, especially in the morning since that was my worst. Chain smoker in the morning. Cut out coffee, and notice I'm sleeping in longer.

I was curious to ask how many people on here were successful with the patch, and maybe some things that I should look out for, maybe intenser cravings as time goes on, and also when you guys decided to take the patch off after quitting

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

Congratulations on your decision to quit and your first day WON!

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 to 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/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance

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.  Glad to hear you are using the patch!

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

[Jennifer-Quit]

Nothing will quit for you - the patch will help take the edge off.  It helped me be able to concentrate and focus better.  I used the patch 24/7 for 6 weeks.  I kept it on at night because I had gotten into the habit of waking up and smoking during the night.  I used the 21 mg for  3 weeks, 14 mg for 2 weeks, and 7 mg for 1 week.  The #1 most important thing in my opinion is making up your mind to do it - and remember that you cannot have even one puff or the addiction takes over again.  Here is a list of some things to occupy your time:

100 Things To Do

Best wishes to you and let me know if I can help!

[maryfreecig]

Big welcome to you! 

Getting involved at ex is a great way to stay busy for some of your time. I hear you about mornings. I smoked more in the morning, too...catching up on all the nicotine I didn't have during the night, even though I'd smoke a cigarette in the middle of the night. 

Staying busy is good, and looking for ways to boost your confidence in your quit, to get inspired, discover recovery...because it is possible to leave the addiction behind and feel completely comfortable without the cigs. 

If you click on the home page, scroll down to Dr. Hays, click on the link to his blogs...you will find informative blogs on NRT. 

[Strudel]

Welcome to the site and congrats on your quit! I think it is about support and education. So - stick around around here and check out the Carr book Nancy mentioned. Congrats again! 

[Daniela2016]

Welcome to an exciting journey, hopefully staying close will help you make this your last quit.  We all had attempts before, failed, and started all over, much like you are doing.

I have used patches before and quit for 6 months.  But was not educated enough about the addiction to know smoking "just one" will take me in full blown addiction mode again.

This time I also used patches, but just for a couple of weeks, then I used an e-cigarette before I came here; the support, reading the material recommended here, the "tough love", all did it and I eventually stopped using the e-cigarette before I had planned to.  No matter what NRT you are using, the desire, determination, tools you acquire every day by staying quit, is what is going to help you in the long run.

[elvan]

Welcome to EX, you have gotten some great advice above, please pay attention, this is not easy but it does not have to be as hard as we tend to work ourselves into thinking it is.  It IS a journey, one day at a time...one hour, one minute, one second at a time.

You can do this.

Ellen