cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Give and get support around quitting

caicai8life
Member

Which works best?

How well has this worked for anyone else? I tried a few years ago but ended up back smoking.

Tags (1)
22 Replies
CommunityAdmin
Community Manager
Community Manager

caicai8life‌  

Hopefully the responses you've received are helpful. I see you've set a quit date for 2/3/21.  Glad to see that. Please use the resources here on the site both in the EX Community both as information and the members here and also that information we provide on the My EX Plan as well. 

Mark

EX Community Manager

EX Community Admin Team
caicai8life
Member

Ibe tried the nicotine patches

0 Kudos
caicai8life
Member

I wrote the post.... So obviosuly I read it

0 Kudos
JACKIE1-25-15
Member

Six year quit under my belt.  Maybe you should stick around..  

0 Kudos
caicai8life
Member

What

0 Kudos
elvan
Member

I quit Cold Turkey, did all of the recommended reading & developed a Quit Plan & came to this site every morning & every evening. It DOES get easier.

Ellen

Rachy2283
Member

Really being sick of smoking helps a ton!! This site is awesome and very informative.  There was  a beginning post I got that really helped me because I read all the available and recommended literature from YoungAtHeart. I then used nicotine gum for 10 days started with about 8 pieces and weened down to 1 yesterday, then none my first time today! 

Rachy2283
Member

Committing to coming here before you smoke and reaching out as well as educating yourself on something everyday has been very effective in my quit.  I can only speak for myself 11 days of Freedom and counting!! This place has been a game changer for me, hope this helps and i hope you find your way to a wonderful quit story as well. 

anaussiemom
Member

I use patches, with som NIco gum,  few times a day.   It works the best for me.
That being said, it is an addiction one day at a time.  It gets better slowly as you progress as a non-smoker.

planting-seeds.jpg

YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to the community!

I used Chantix which helped, I believe, but understanding the addiction through reading all I could find, and the tips I will give you were the biggest help, I believe.

 

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 easy and entertaining read provided a world of good information about nicotine addiction, most of which I was not aware.  I credit it in large part with my success at quitting.   You can search for it online or at your local library.


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.

 

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. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort after you have tried to delay and distract.   I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another.  You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch and Rx drugs do by decreasing the dose contained in them..  For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum.  For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for obvious reasons.

It will be informative if you do the tracking and separation exercises recommended here on the site. As you track each cigarette smoked, note its importance, and what you might do instead. Put each one off just a little to prove that you don't NEED a cigarette just because you think you do.
 

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.   You might visit “Games”: https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/games. The active ones are at the top of the list going down the left side of the homepage.   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