Hi All,
My name is Danielle and I'm on my third day smoke free. Last cigarette was on 7/26/17. I smoked for 5 years. Today has definitely been the hardest so far. I think this would be a little easier if I had someone to quit with me/ go through the process with me. Anyone interested?
Thanks for reading!
If any of the Elders are following me can we help Danielle with our welcome package?
I don't know how I missed your post but per the message, read, ask, learn, be willing, allow the time to unlearn it.
There is a list of good posts on the home page, down on the left called the best of ex.
Nancy will be on soon to say goodnight. I'll have her post her welcome.
Thanks so much!
Welcome to our community!
Sorry to be late! Congratulations on your three day quit! That's a GREAT start!
The most 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. Here is a link to a free PDF version of it:
http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf
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, quitsmokingonline.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.
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. 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. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for three reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion, and 3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire. . But – any method that you think will work well for you will be best for you.
The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced. Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand. 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. 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:
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
Thank you Nancy!
Thank you so much, Nancy. These are all wonderful tips. It's great for me to have so much support in this process. I'll stay close to the forum. Thanks again
Pleasure!
;-)
Hi Dani - you certainly are not alone. Stick with this Ex site and you will find a lot of people who care and will try to help you. So please you are quitting after 5 yrs. of smoking. I smoked for 63 yrs. and quit so many times I can't count them.
This site and beautiful people are here for you and me.
Lillian (vanlil) 406 days of freedom
Hey Danielle! You are doing great and you are in the right place. I know it's hard, but you can do this!
Until you find a quit buddy, read on here, ask questions and put "Help" in the title of a blog post if you need someone to talk to. There are no bad questions and no feelings that you should be ashamed of. This is a tough time, but the more you know the better you can manage your quit.
I'll be around for another hour or so tonight if you need to talk.
Dian
Hey Dani. That's my daughters name. Glad you are here. I am new too. I quit 7-10-17. I'm on day 19 smoke free. You probably feel like you have vertigo or maybe it's not that way for you. It was for me the 1-2 days of quitting. I know you can make it through this. Strength and courage are what you need to build up inside yourself now. And each minute counts. You are worth it. You do deserve to be a non smoker. You are stronger than you think you are. You can make it.
Sincerely,
Cathy
Hi Dani just want to welcome you to Ex ! Congrats on your decision to quit smoking and on your first 3 days of freedom you may not feel exactly free yet but you are on your way !!!
I think the first 3 days are the most difficult. You have come to a great place !!!
Hi Dani! I'm glad you are here. You've made a great decision, getting free from nicotine. You'll find a lot of fellow quitters here, each of us ready to offer a hand.
3 days is kind of a big deal around here. This is the day that your body is 100% nicotine-free. Yeah!
I'm not going to give you advice! You have the Best Advice already! Just want you to know that we're glad you're here! We're here for you any day, any time, for anything! You CAN do this! You're doing Great already!
I love the banner!! Thank you so much!
I do have a follow up question for you / anyone in this thread. If you do drink, when did you feel comfortable having a drink again? I know that drinking and smoking often go hand in hand- just wondering how long I should cut out alcohol. Thanks again!
Welcome Dani! I empathize with you! What is with Day 3? I breezed through the first 2 days (which from past experience with quitting was a surprise!) but today definitely seems tougher. I know for a fact I'm not going to cave in but it's definitely more intense today. All I can say, based on everything I've read here (and that A LOT!), just have your tool kit ready so you can get all the support you need. And read whatever you find that inspires you to quit.
You've got this....so do I ! :-)
MJ
In my opinion you might want to give yourself minimum 3 Months and then take a designated no-smoking enforcer with you at first and restrict yourself to a low BAC:
Calculator: Calculate Your Blood Alcohol Content
Sip your drink slowly, drink lots of water in between, be sure to eat before you begin to drink, and call it quits early if you start to feel intoxicated.
I'm curious as to how others would answer this question. I personally don't drink and don''t miss it.
Smoking Cessation is my #1 priority!
I don't recall when exactly. There has been no smoking in California bars for years. I remember going out with friends on Fridays for a few drinks. None of us smoked so it wasn't a problem. My gastroenterologist said to not drink a few years ago.
I really haven't been a drinker since the mid 70's anyway. :-)
hello!I just quit today! &I'd like to be your quit buddy.going on my first road trip tomorrow, smoke free.i hope you are doing well.i want to stop smoking because I got a new car and I don't want it to smell.
Since I was abusing alcohol as well, I have been very careful about drinking. If I do feel like a glass of wine or a beer, I evaluate how I feel and the motivation. If it is just because of the taste or the environment, I go ahead. If it is because I feel like crap and want to ease the pain then I have to say no.
I like Thomas' suggestion about the water. Makes sense. Only you can determine what is right for you. This early into cold turkey I would stay away from it for awhile.
JMHO
Dian
P.S. You made it through yesterday! WooooHoooo!!!!!
Welcome to EX, you have been welcomed by some of the best people here and I really have nothing more to offer. I can tell you that you CAN do this but you already know that. There will be good days and bad days...just like when you were smoking. You will just feel things with an intensity that you don't recognize. Keep in mind that feeling things is what we are SUPPOSED to do. I would consider adding exercise to your daily routine because it helps to release all kinds of dopamine and it will make you feel better.
Again, welcome.
Ellen
Hi Maxine! So happy for you, congratulations on your first smoke free day!
I'll follow and PM you right now.
Welcome to our community!
Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking and your first day. I guess a new car is as good a reason as ever to quit smoking, but I hope you will learn ALL you will gain by doing a bit of reading.
The most 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. Here is a link to a free PDF version of it:
http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf
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, quitsmokingonline.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. You should also do the tracking and separation exercises suggested in My Quit Plan http://www.becomeanex.org/my-quit-plan.php
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. 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. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for three reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion, and 3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire. . But – any method that you think will work well for you will be best for you.
The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced. Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand. 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. 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:
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
Hi Danielle and welcome! I'm on my 9th day smoke free. Keep it up! Write under the my blog button and everyone will be happy to give you all sorts of support but, I'd love to be your buddy too. I smoked for 33 yes ugh! Third day is tough, but you can do this. Read Allen Carr's book The Easy Way to Quit Smoking, there is a free copy of it on this site. It really changes the way you think about cigs. You will find out that we are Nicotine addicts. Once you've accepted that fact things are so much easier! Stick close to this sight and blog and read often. Remember you are doing this!