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Give and get support around quitting

Ddjonesy
Member

Nervous Newbie!

Hi, I'm new to the group. My name is Dee. I tried Chantix several months back, but stopped when the new year rolled around. I had to start all over to reach my deductible for the year. Now my deductible has been met and I am starting over again. I have called my dr and she has called me in a script for starter pkg of Chantix. Will be picking that up today. 

My birthday is next Wed., and I would like to be able to quit then. I know that isn't giving me a whole lot of time. But I hope to be able to stop. The thing is, I'm getting nervous and starting to stress, just even writing about it! So just thought I'd introduce myself and start to go through some of the articles you have posted. 

Congrats to all you Quitters! 

(One of the few times being called a quitter is a good thing!) 

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47 Replies
Roller831
Member

Welcome, Dee!  You came to the right place!  There will be many who are here to support you along the way.  When I first got here, I was told to read read read and that was one of the best things I did for myself so I was prepared.  I also took Chantix and was successful in quitting!

Here are some great things to start you off:

My Welcome To New Members (10 Years Of Watching) from Dale

/blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months from Dale

/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instead-of-smoke from Nancy

Jackie told me the following:

Read: Freedom from Nicotine My Journey Home and Nicotine Addiction 101         

Here are the links: http://whyquit.com/whyquit/LinksAAddiction.html   and http://whyquit.com/ffn/

I also encourage you to read. Allen Carr’s book, “Easy Easier Way to Quit Smoking”.       

The link is here:  http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

 Go to http://www.becomeanex.org/how-to-quit-smoking.php#thl and get started. 

I did it all.  I keep this site close to me.  If you are in trouble, come here and start a discussion and use HELP in the title and someone will come to assist!  You are taking the first big step.  Remember...you CAN do this.

Ddjonesy
Member

Thanks so much for the warm welcome and the wealth of information! I plan to immerse myself in it ! Didn't realize the Allen Carr book was free on a pdf. That's awesome! 

Again, thx so much, I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again! 

TW517
Member

Welcome!

I can't think of a better birthday present to give yourself!  My best advice would be to follow everything roller831 said above.  Other than that, I would try to be careful of using terms like "I would like to be able to quit" and "I hope to be able to stop".  So much of my success has been based on attitude.  The Chantix may ease things for you a little bit, but nothing will do the quit for you.  Practice saying "I will quit" and "I will stop".  And then when you do quit, start saying, "I don't do that anymore".

Ddjonesy
Member

Thx for the great advice, and for reaching out! 

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Ddjonesy
Member

Thx, great advice!!!! : )

TW517
Member

Happy Birthday tomorrow!  We will all be thinking about you!

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Ddjonesy
Member

Thx!

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YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

I see roller831  has already given you lots of good information.  A week is plenty of time if you get to work.  Some of the reading can also be done after you have quit - it makes a great crave buster.

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 also highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read.

 You should also read the posts here and perhaps go to the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might also visit 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

 I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch.  Glad to hear you are using Chantix - I quit using that and think it helped in the days leading up to my quit and in the early days.

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:

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

Ddjonesy
Member

Thx for all the advice and support,  Nancy!  Sorry so long in responding, have a feeling I'll prob be here a lot more! 

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