Have to Stop Cold Turkey

[mfd-smokefree]

Hello All - new to the site! I have smoked on and off since I was a teenager. I had neck surgery - 2 level fusion about 5 weeks ago and have to be nicotine free now in order for the surgery to work.. Nicotine among other things inhibits bone growth. Went 20 days no cigarettes and then gave in and have had about 3 - 5 per day for last 17 days. I used to smoke about 1/2 pack per day. I tried those vapor e-cigarettes - they are OK but just not the same. I now am going to try those Nicotine Free Cigarettes as I have read that people who have used them quit within a month or two since there is no nicotine but still feel like you are smoking and after a month the nicotine is gone from your body so much easier to just drop it. Has anyone out there tried them or any other suggestions on successfully quitting cold turkey. I feel so horrible knowing that the nicotine even in the small amounts I am smoking could impact the success of my surgery but the stress of the recovery and sheer boredom have over-taken me.. Thanks for listening!

[tsana]

Hi, mfd,

I've only been quit for 6 days now, but I did stop cold turkey.  Well, actually, what I did was I cut down every day over about a week, until I was only smoking 1/day.  After a couple of days of this, I just decided to go ahead and quit, even though I was still a couple of days away from my official quit date.  Some weird things that helped me through my cravings:

-Celery and carrot sticks

-BBQ chips (so smoky!)

-tomato juice

-those tea tree-flavored toothpicks

-going for a walk and breathing really deep.

-sniffing a tissue with my favorite perfume on it

-taking a shower

It was really, really, REALLY hard, especially the first 2 days.  But eventually it got easier, and it's still getting easier for me.  You just have to look forward to the day that you're smoke-free.  Good luck.  You can totally do it!

[Chuck-2-20-2011]

Hi,

 If boredom is a problem for you then I think you need to find something to help keep you busy. I write a lot and in other cases I read. To me the thing is to keep your mind occupied. Have you tracked your cravings yet? I'm still in the preperation stage of quitting but one thing that helped me a lot was to track when I smoked and from there I was able to figure out what made me want a cigarette. What we call triggers. The things that make you think about smoking. As I continued tracking my addiction, I've been able to remove most of my triggers.

 And you must be committed to quitting. Even if you have to cut down your smoking at first, I agree with tsana. You can eventually get down to zero! I know you can do it and lord knows, you have enough reasons to do it.

YOU CAN DO THIS!

[mfd-smokefree]

Thanks for your comments Diane Joy, Chuck & tsana,

I so love and appreciate the support. Here's my long story not that this is harder for me more than anyone just different. I have 2 four year old twins and one of them broke his right leg femur bone in Mid-September and was in a full body cast for 8 weeks. I had to take an unpaid leave of absence while caring for him so my what was a light smoking habit became a little heavier during that time. While caring for my son who was very heavy in his body cast I thought I pulled something in my neck - let it go for weeks because I had to care for him. Well my pain got so bad could not bare it - hense more smoking - had an MRI and found out I had 2 severely herniated discs compressing my spinal cord to a point where I could have ended up paralyzed. Had to have immediate surgery to relieve cord pressure, bone graphs to replace the discs with plates and screws etc... Neurosurgeon advised me that Nicotine inhibits bone growth and they needed my neck bones to fuse with the bone graphs they put in. I did not smoke nor did I want to for 20 days following surgery - could not do much on my own. Once I was able to do more and home by myself, stressed since had not been to work since mid-September I gave in and bought smokes .. so trying to be really lite - 3-5 per day and never the full cig - not trying to defend myself - I know how ridiculous. I made up my plan and quit date and know my triggers .. coffee, boredom and driving by myself.. I have overcame some of these triggers and know I can do this - problem is I should not have any nicotine at all for this neck to heal so I am going to try those Non-Nicotine cigs to use as I do this the right way and using all of the support on this site ... sorry to ramble! The DR has said they can see bone growt in my neck which then made me think well maybe I can smoke and still have a successful bone fusion- that is when I found this site. I do want to find excuses to smoke I want to quit - can't do it cold turkey and can't use any of the nicotine replacements or meds.. thank you all again for listening ...  Funny I never blogged before - and now I am on a blog about my spinal issues with lots of other folks same surgery and now this site - love it!

Congrats to all of your successes and well wishes on continued smoke-free journeys!

[maggie_8-1-2010]

Welcome to Ex! In addition to reading all the great sites and blogs here there are other sites that have helped so many of us. http://quitsmokingonline.com/  suggests you keep smoking until you have finished the free online course that has a very positive approach to quitting.   http://digg.com/news/lifestyle/Allen_Carr_s_Easy_Way_To_Stop_Smoking_Download_free_PDF  Another positive approach

http://www.whyquit.com/joel/dayzero.htm  Things to know while preparing to quit and what to expect once you have.

http://www.whyquit.com  All things about nicotine addiction

Read read read - learn as much as you can about the addiction. Come to the blogs and introduce yourself there! That's where we all hang out and you'll learn so much plus get support.

See you there soon I hope!

[ladybug75]

I did cold turkey also but I did have one relapse but I have been doing very well smoke free for 10 days now. Some things that has help me is deep breathing exerciseing, playing games, reading a book or just surfing the net to keep my mind off of them the days do get easier as they come so hang in there you can do it!

[maggie_8-1-2010]

Hi You all!  Please come to the blogs and introduce yourself. That is where we all hang out and you'll get tons of support plus you might even make a friend or 2!  See you there!

[courtb_25]

Hello, today is my first day quitting! I am 7 1/2 hours in to not smoking! Right now I am having the
"after lunch" craving, and kind of getting a little annoyed w/ work! HAHA. I've been chewing gum, and a straw all day, and I was doing ok, but now, they are just stronger! 😞