Where do I look?

[pongaselo]

I am new to Ex. Did  my homework on triggers etc. and decided to take a look at the message and questions board. Unless I miss the mark (entirely likely) a bunch of you have just decided to go cold turkey. When I was first married, my wife asked me to quit. I went through "Smokenders", a local program in the SF area and at the end of 6 weeks, I stopped smoking for 20 years. The very first thing that they explained was that cold turkey most often does Not work. I guess my question is where are the messages and questions from the folks who are detoxifying themselves in preparation for their cutoff day. I was also wondering where the weekly feedback for those of us still getting our bodies ready for the jump might be located. With all the great questions that I faithfully answered, are we left without a serious game plan as we detox or what? My weekly plan with "smokenders"was profoundly effective and short of moving into a pharmacy and living off some substitute ( not anywhere on the menu) I don't see how I will succeed without checking in with something to keep me on track through these very important steps.  Please tell me where I should be looking. 

[pongaselo]

Thanks for the input. Several people have suggested information resources that I had not unearthed as yet and for that I am grateful. I have tried cold turkey myself and here I am. My non smoking boss carefully explained to me that I just not smoke. The only person I know that  ever worked for was my mother who smoked because of social pressure back after WW2.  Mom didn't inhale because she thought they tasted bad and after a little clothing and furniture damage, that was that. She decided it was a stupid thing to do, an inspired decision on her part.

   I did a highly abbreviated version of my plan about 10 years ago when my nephew was staying with me for a week. It took and lasted about 18 months so it didn't really take. I needed to relearn my body which takes a bit more time and develop confidence in the tools that made it possible for me to stop smoking in the first place back in 1981.   

    Aside from marginalizing the nicotine addiction, which the steps will do, the small successes build confidence and resolve. These mental tools will help me during those tough times as my program progresses. 

   The idea that over the counter or prescription drugs will help me quit has some huge holes in the concept for me.  Those center around the learned behaviors associated with smoking.  As an example, I love to sit at the computer with a cup of coffee and a smoke and pass hours playing games, surfing and smoking. Among my first steps, I do not sit down at the computer with a cigarette. Just successfully doing this is huge and I do feel the difference physically. Knowing that I am able to make this change gives me a bulletproof resolve as I go forward. Now I want to jump forward to other limitations but I won't. The reason why is that my body has not adjusted to this drastic reduction in nicotine in my blood and I can feel it when I smoke and as I wait that 15 minutes after a cup of coffee. I will let my body catch up and then make the next move. 

[elvan]

Welcome to EX.  I think that you will find a great deal of education about the nicotine addiction here and that is what it is, an addiction.  Education and support were the keys to a successful quit for me.  I wanted to quit for a long time and I made several attempts that did not work.  I found this site and I did all of the things it said to do, I tracked my cigarettes, I paid attention to my craves and I rated them from highest to lowest and I planned what I would do INSTEAD of smoking.  I smoked for 47 years except for my failed quits and pregnancies.  I got sick in January of 2014 and it was a near death kind of sick...I have not smoked since but if I had not done the homework here and if I did not have a plan whether I had used it or not...I do not know if I would be here 3 years and 2+ months later.

Ellen

[bonniebee]

I focused more on getting excited about quitting by thinking about my plan and  the goal of being free ! I did do some prep work .... actually I began the patch one week before I quit entirely and I cut down to just a few morning cigarettes and a few evening cigarettes a day gradually decreasing as the first week went by and on the last day I was down to one half a cigarette in the morning then the next day Feb 15th, 2015   I was still on the patch but cigarette free ! I did the patch for the next 10 weeks and here I am today with 784 days of freedom ! The patch really took the edge off the early withdrawal symptoms for me . My quit plan was unique for me as your will be for you  !

    I also read Alan Carr's book and found it helpful and I logged onto Ex and blogged very frequently which for me was so Important . I got to know the Elders ,those over one year quit ,others a bit ahead of me ,other newbies and  sooner than I thought possible Ex'ers behind me ! I really needed the support and I got it here in fact that is why I am still on Ex to maintain my freedom from this addition by helping others to quit too ! I am so grateful to all of the Ex'ers for helping me to quit this addiction ! 

[JACKIE1-25-15]

Here is a good place to start. How to Quit Smoking | Steps to Successfully Quit Smoking: BecomeAnEX