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Day 2 for me.... Does it get easier each day?

Question asked by Miss_Brown on Oct 17, 2017
Latest reply on Nov 14, 2017 by sailez

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I am a total newbie and yesterday (10/16/2017) was my Quit Day. So I have not smoked since 6:30 p.m. on 10/15/2016. I am ecstatic and so far, it is easier than I had imagined. I followed the advice I found on becomeanex.org and I set a date a couple weeks in advance to prepare myself. I say it is easier than I had expected, but it is not easy. I had anticipated impossible. The cravings are very real, but they do pass, however very reluctantly. Will it get harder before it gets easier? Or will each day be a little better? Do the cravings lessen in intensity?

jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 Oct 17, 2017 2:14 PM

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What To Expect In The First Four Months

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Tabbiekat Oct 17, 2017 10:09 AM
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Speaking from prior attempts I will say yes and no to it getting easier each day. Like you said the cravings are real. For the first few days sometimes they come and go within moments, other times they can last hours or even days. The last time I attempted to quit I did it cold turkey and solo so I gave into the 28 day craving, it sucks but I know by the 30th (my quit day) I will be ready to fight them. I have been recommended reading material on just this topic, I am just too lazy to go look it up ~grin~, but if others don't pipe in by the time I come back to this feed in a few hours I will search it out. Or you can search for "cravings" in the community feed to find stuff. Congrats on your quit, every minute you don't give into the cravings is one to celebrate, be proud of yourself.
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Youngatheart.7.4.12 Oct 17, 2017 10:17 AM
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(Nancy to the rescue Tabbiekat !)

Welcome to our community!

Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking and your Day Won. To answer your question, the first couple of weeks are difficult - but doable. You will have good and bad days (mornings, afternoons, evenings, moments!). Just get through them however you can. Following is some advice on how to do that!

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:

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instead-of-smoke

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
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- Miss_Brown @ Youngatheart.7.4.12 on Oct 17, 2017 6:27 PM
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  Thank you so much, Nancy! What great advice! You have been more than helpful and very encouraging... Will be posting tomorrow. Tonight after work, I will read through your links.
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TomW5.15.17 Oct 17, 2017 1:15 PM
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Like Tabbiekat said, the answer is yes and no. I've noticed on here that for most, the really bad craves start to decline after the 4th or 5th day. But for me, and a lot of other people, the craves would come and go randomly after that. There were times I'd swear they were getting worse, but every time I checked my log (yes, I kept track of them), I could see they were gradually declining. My mind would play tricks on me and try to convince me that since I wasn't feeling any better, I might as well start smoking again. jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 has a great blog on what to expect in the first few months. Hopefully he will chime in on this thread.

Welcome to EX!

Tom
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- Miss_Brown @ TomW5.15.17 on Oct 17, 2017 6:27 PM
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  You just kept your own log, or you have an app, or...?
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  - TomW5.15.17 @ Miss_Brown on Oct 17, 2017 6:30 PM
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    I used a smartphone app called Smoke Free. They have a free app and a paid version. I did the free and it helped a lot my first few weeks.
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jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 Oct 17, 2017 2:14 PM
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What To Expect In The First Four Months
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- Miss_Brown @ jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 on Oct 17, 2017 6:36 PM
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  This is great, jonescarp!! Thank you!!!!
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  - jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 @ Miss_Brown on Oct 17, 2017 7:38 PM
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    the psychological connections take time to unlearn.
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maryfreecig Oct 17, 2017 3:57 PM
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Keep doing all the great work you are doing and it will be doable, getting easier as time passes as well. There is no reason that you should not feel happy to have quit. You've planned, you've got support, so keep moving forward. I hear you, that you are working it...it's simple, not easy. Days won! Congratulations.
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- Miss_Brown @ maryfreecig on Oct 17, 2017 6:35 PM
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  Thank you SOO much, maryfreecig! I need the EX support.. I have one great friend who is super supportive, and so is my teenage son.. It means everything.. But my other close friend (who I spend a lot of time with) is not supportive at all and I have have a couple others in my life who are surprisingly not supporting my decision. My "best" friend tells me I'll become obese and will be worse off than if I just smoked. I completely disagreed with them and we have not really hung out in almost a week... Which is unusual. I may gain weight (I DON'T want to), but I will try to stay healthy, in all ways... which include my diet and physical activity. I did sign up at the local gym. Maybe if I can get in the routine of exercising, it will help. Anyway, thank you for your support. I'm so glad I found this site.
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  - jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 @ Miss_Brown on Oct 17, 2017 6:53 PM
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    Nicotine speeds the metabolism. When you stop ingesting it, you should try to eat 150-200 calories less a day to maintain your weight but, once you've dealt with the smoking you can deal with any weight.
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Marilyn.H.July.14.14. Oct 17, 2017 6:56 PM
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Welcome to the site, be sure to do the recommended reading above me because it'll help you through the rough patches so you can keep stacking up your precious smoke free days, congratulations on your awesome 2 glorious Days WON and counting WTG.
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elvan Oct 17, 2017 9:12 PM
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Congratulations and welcome to EX, you've gotten great advice, please let us know if you need anything. We all want you to succeed, how wonderful that you have a supportive friend and that your teenage son is also supportive. That is GREAT.

It WILL get easier but it takes time as you have heard and we all have good days and bad days...whether we smoke or not...remember that and remember that smoking does not help anything.
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sailez Oct 23, 2017 4:27 AM
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No one can stop you from staying quit. Do it one day at a time.
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mcclung Nov 10, 2017 8:21 AM
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I am on day three and so far each day has been about the same. I did manage to drink 1 cup of coffee this morning without the cravings being too bad. I wish that I could tell you that I quit 2 years ago and give you some great advice but I can only speak about the last 2 days and today. Your decision and mine to quit is definitely a good one and hopefully we both will be veterans at this one day.
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- elvan @ mcclung on Nov 10, 2017 11:16 AM
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  mcclung THAT, reaching out and telling another EXer where you are and what you have discovered is seriously important and helps to strengthen your quit. Keep stacking those days...it WILL get easier and easier, when we go back to smoking and have to start all over again, we never get to really experience that.
  Ellen
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sailez Nov 14, 2017 2:03 AM
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Craving remains for quite a long time but it becomes easier as the time passes. Sometimes the urge may be very strong but hold yourself back for few minutes and you are done.
It's more than 1 & 1/2 years since I quit, I still miss smoking. Each day I say I don't want to go to Day 1 again and I am staying quit.
Good Luck
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Day 2 for me.... Does it get easier each day?

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