My last cig is tonight....

[Donaldwilsarion]

My cessation director told me to put on a 21 and 14 patch before bed....im scared of side effects....i never have been able to handle any withdrawl from smoking...been using tobacco 27 years...was 5 packs a day for a few of those...mostly 2 packs the rest...but down to 20-30 the past few months....i want to quit!!! Need to quit...pray to quit....pray for me

[anaussiemom]

I would not sleep in them if I were you. Ugly dreams... Can You put one on in Morning?


Many blessings,  prayers sent .

[sweetplt]

Hi and Welcome Donaldwilsarion to Ex’s,

Glad you found our site...so happy on your decision to quit smoking.  I hope you read and prepared along with My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX ... Tomorrow be sure to drink lots of water, nice breaths “in and out”, and keep busy...come here for support we will help you out...read the blogs and most of all, make Day 1, Day Won...we are in this journey together and understand ... ~ gotcha in my thoughts ~ Colleen 149 DOF 

[Barbara145]

You can do this.  You need to read a lot about addiction.  So much to be learned.  Search this site and google all about it.  I smoked a lot for 52 years.  I was so afraid to quit I made myself sick by smoking so many cigarettes before I went to bed that final night.  I think using 2 patches will probably keep you awake. One patch disturbs some people's sleep.  Stay close to this site.  We will help you.  It has been 5 1/2 years since I smoked. I was able by coming here everyday.  Glad you found us.

[JACKIE1-25-15]

Congratulations on making the decision to quit smoking and Welcome to the EX Community. 

You have come to the right place for support.  I believe that Education is the key to successfully quit. It is suggested to read Allen Carr's Easyway to Quit Smoking which can be found on pdf on the web.  Another good site to get info is www.whyquit.com.  There are several articles to read.  Nicotine 101 and Freedom From Nicotine My Journey Home.  Quitting takes planning and preparation go to EX Plan | BecomeAnEX to decide how you are going to go about quitting. To get help on navigating the site go to. Community Help‌.  Make quitting smoking your number one priority. Start by getting rid of anything associated with smoking such as ashtrays, lighter, etc.  You can do this if you make up your mind that you can.  Relearning your thinking that you do not have to smoke is a good beginning. For a while, you will think about smoking but that does not mean you have to act on it.  You can talk yourself out of smoking.  No matter what never ever take another puff.  NOPE.  Take smoking off the table as an option and do something different. 101 Things to Do Instead of Smoke SINAO smoking is not an option.  That is NOPE concept Not one puff ever. Be willing to do the work.  Quitting is the easy part.  Staying quit is work.  Learning to protect your quit will keep on your journey forever freedom. One day at a time.  Never give up, never give in. Hang tough.

[Donaldwilsarion]

Im blessed to find all of you....i will apply my 1st patches about an hour before i get out of bed and see how that works...i have suffered nightmares in the past so its scary to think that the patches cause them....i have battled and beat several serious addictions all of my life....cigarettes (27yrs), are my last and hardest mountain to climb........i will speak here, and speak often...thanks again for welcoming me

[Mandolinrain]

Your in a good place with this community. Welcome. You have my support too. When I quit smoking sleeping was something that eluded me the first few months and when I could not sleep, it make everything else worse, including my moods. Rest when you can. Stay near this site and reach out whenever you need

I should add, I was a cold turkey quitter and still had the sleep issues, but as my quit grew, it all leveled out and I sleep great these days. 

PS, Beautiful cars!

[Barbscloud]

Welcome to the Ex.   You came to the right place for education, preparation, and support.   I had nightmares at night also with the patch, but everyone is different.  I kind of suffered through for a couple of days to help get me started off the in the morning.  As you know, getting started on that first day can be a challenge. This is a journey and we're here for you every step of the way.  Reach out if you need help.

Barb

[beazel]

Mindset & education are key! Stay positive, read lots - so much information here (keeps you busy too).

Know that you can quit - for good!!!!

Love the picture of you!

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

If you are only smoking 20-30 cigarettes a day, I don't think it makes sense to use both a 21 and 14 mg. patch.  You are currently getting about 30 mg of nicotine if you smoke all 30 cigarettes and using both of them is more than that.  If you start to get the jitters, I would go with the 21 and see how that works for you. You might add a piece of nicotine gum from time to time, too.  You don't want to sub a piece of gum for every cigarette you used to smoke; it's easy to become addicted  to THAT if you don't put it off as long as you can and get busy first.  Keeping the patch off at night is also a good idea.  Just accept that it takes a little while for the nicotine to build up in your system, so give it some time first thing in the morning.

The 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. You can search for it online or at your local library. If you do nothing else to get ready for your quit, please do give this a read.

 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, quitsmoking.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. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.

The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  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.  Keep a cold bottle of water with you from which to sip. 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