Quitting

[mark.de.wet]

Hi All, just want to say hi and that I have decided to quit smoking as I am 56, have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and that it's simply getting too expensive to smoke. I'm quitting gradually as I don't have the will-power to go cold turkey. I would love to get feedback from anyone else that quit by giving up gradually and succeeded. Thanks

[YoungAtHeart]

I think most of us were simply sharing OUR experiences.  I did not see anyone tell you that THEIR way was the only way to be successful.

Our motto around here truly is, "Take what you need and leave the rest."  Just like no two people are exactly alike, so also are no two quit methods or journeys the same.

We only wish for ALL to be successful.

I hope you find the support you seek, however you choose to quit.

Nancy

[Squidy_]

My apologies, I didn't intend to offend.  I was just telling what was working for me.  I'm sure gradual does work for many others.

[Barbscloud]

You don't have to quit cold turkey if that doesn't work for you.   NRT replacement can be helpful for many.  I used nicotrol inhalers, Welbutrin, smoking cessation, and the Ex.  I did cut down.  Maybe not the best way, but it worked for me this time.   I took seven days and I added  an hour in between cigarettes each day.  First day - 1 an hour, 2nd day - 1 every two hours, etc. until I was down to 3 cigarettes the last day.  Do I recommend this for everyone?  Probably not, but it worked for me this time along with preparation, education and support-that's the key.    I am a very scheduled oriented kind of person and never once deviated from the schedule.  The bottom line is find what works for you.    We all have our own journey to success.

5 months today!

[mark.de.wet]

Thank you so much Barbs the first person to actually respond to what I actually originally asked for. I am also a very schedule-orientated person and that is almost exactly what I am doing except that from 20 cigarettes I now take only 5 to work and what I do is go out, light up, have say 3 or 4 puffs, put it out and put it back in the box, go for at least an hour to an hour and a half then go out, light up the rest of that same cigarette and maybe finish it or have 3 to 4 more puffs then kill it and trash it.

[Barbscloud]

Ditto to what Mark said.  There are some wonderful people on this site and you've only met a few of them.  They saved my quit several times.  Give it a try.  Nothing to lose and a good chance something to gain.

Barb

[maryfreecig]

    I was planning to quit gradually and doing research online. My home state's quit site suggested setting a quit date rather than risk losing motivation. I used to buy cigarettes by the carton and so I bought my last carton coming to the decision that that ought to be enough for me to get to my quit. This meant that over a period of about three weeks I cut back some each day--no science in it, no fixed counting. I just smoked according to the carton and my mindset. So yes, when I quit, I guess I quit cold turkey, but I walked slowly to that day based on the carton and what remained in it. I missed smoking once I quit and it took a while to adjust, but I did.

   Can you succeed at quitting your way? I have no doubt you can, so long as you are serious about quitting being the end result. 

[Strudel]

No matter what method you use, I agree with Nancy about Carr's book. It really helped me to understand this addiction. That - plus the support here - made all the difference after smoking fro 40 years. You can do this and congrats on deciding to do it! 

[mark.de.wet]

Hi all, let me start by saying I most humbly apologize for over-reacting to the replies. I guess that I feel that for me personally, the fact that I've decided to quit ( the decision was made a week ago) and that I immediately cut down from about 30 a day to 5 or 6 a day was a major achievement and I suppose I was looking for someone to acknowledge that.

Then, let me please explain why I chose this way to quit, I look at it from a logical point of view and my thinking is that if I take in LESS nicotine etc than I used to when I smoked 30 a day, surely I am then "training" my body and brain to accept that its going to get less and less nicotine etc each time. Then when my quit day comes (September 10, 2018), the withdrawal symptoms and the cravings MAY not be quite so drastic. Yes I do understand that ANY intake is bad but surely the fact that I've cut the AMOUNT (from 30 down to 5) that's going in, is logically going to be less. I'm also letting more time go by before I go for each of my partial cigarettes on a daily basis.

Just my thinking, believe me when I say I don't need to read anything to understand the addiction, as there is plenty online that explains it and I realize that a BIG part of the habit is just that, the HABIT, in other words that fact that I go out to smoke every day at a certain time or whatever, the triggers as some call them, are a big part of the problem and these triggers need to be eradicated.

So finally, thank you all for being here and letting me share my story and I will keep posting on my progress if that's acceptable.

[karenjones]

Your idea makes sense if smoking was a logical thing, you are logical, but your addiction isn't.  But kudos for trying.  keep on trying. september 10 is a ways a way. You might give it up completely by then.  have you tried before?

[mark.de.wet]

Hi karenjones, no I have not tried before, after I was told about my high blood pressure and the fact that smoking is a major contributor to it, I decide to quit.