So when Chantix doesn't work other than the wild dreams, your allergic to the cinnamon in nicorette gum,
acupuncture didn't work, it actually hurt"?
hypnosis worked for 11 days.
what do you try next?
So when Chantix doesn't work other than the wild dreams, your allergic to the cinnamon in nicorette gum,
acupuncture didn't work, it actually hurt"?
hypnosis worked for 11 days.
what do you try next?
Youngatheart.7.4.12 is right, you HAVE to educate yourself about this addiction and it IS an addiction, I suppose you have learned that by now. I lost count of how many failed quits I had too...the difference THIS time came from reading, planning, and preparing. I stayed close to this site, I did not use anything to replace the nicotine or to stop my craves, I learned that they would not kill me whereas cigarettes already had a good start. I would read jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007's blog What To Expect In The First Four Months I read that over and over again and I planned to quit, I had a "Quit Kit"...I tracked all of my cigarettes and what my triggers were and how strong they were, I PLANNED for what I would do instead of smoking when triggers occurred and triggers WILL occur. Life is filled with good and bad moments, cigarettes do not fix anything, they just feed our addiction.
You CAN do this! On the Home Page, you can click on "My Quit Plan" and devise one and follow it. NOTHING is going to quit FOR you, you have to be willing to put in the time and make the commitment. We have ALL been where you are...that's how we established our quits.
Welcome to EX,
Ellen
Try changing your mind. If you're gonna use an NRT you have to make them work.
5% NRT...95% you. They're not gonna quit for you.
Keep on keepin on,
M n @
When you say Chantix didn't work, acupuncture didn't work - what did you expect them to do? Take away all cravings? Unfortunately there is no magic bullet, nor wand that can be wafted to remove cravings. There are quitting "aids" but they are only aids. Quitting is a journey, not an event. Cravings lessen over time and the only real cure IS time. One has to hang in until something changes. And it WILL change. That saying "You have to go THROUGH to get TO" is true. Here's some reading that might help you think about quitting in a different way: WHEN DOES IT GET EASY?????? The Point of No Return I believe quitting is a skill that can be learned, just like any other skill. It takes hard work, practice, dedication and perseverance. Keep at it. Success is just around the corner!
You try fellowship.
With fellowship of quitters you get a chance to look at your addiction differently---here at Ex, quitting and recovery are the daily subjects. Nicotine addiction does not mean that one is helpless to change, but it does mean facing ones smoking head on. Coming here and talking as well as reading and learning about nicotine addiction might help you to clear away some obstacles in your way.
If all you are doing is abstaining from cigs and missing them (and I don't know if this is the case for you), then you would be better off focusing on your smoking--and focus on what you are telling yourself about smoking.
Quitting requires planning, and, in my opinion, support for many of us. But before quitting again, you have to have a very long discussion with yourself.
Recovery is the end goal. Fellowship helps with that.
My two cents worth, no more. Take what you need leave the rest.
Everything had failed to help me too: the only thing left is to quit, how people like to call it here : "smart turkey". The smart is educating yourself, be prepared, and all the tools have been given to you. Start reading, writing, we'll be here to catch you when you feel everything around you crumbles. We've all been there, and we are all still here. Craves come and go, and they never killed anyone. Smoking has so MANY negative effects on our health, I can't even begin to make a list. Just my own list would be too long and boring.
Do the right thing, stick with us, you'll be happy you did it! You took the first step, start walking the freedom path with us:
It is in your head, or it isn't. NRT and other quitting aids only go so far. the rest is in your head. or it isn't.
Good luck. Saving your life is worth a little discomfort.
Believe in yourself...you CAN do this, you have to be WILLING and you have to accept that it may be hard but it is absolutely not impossible...as Marilyn.H.July.14.14. reminds us over and over again, it is DOABLE. BELIEVE, my friend, we are here to help but it starts with you.
Ellen
I don't know how I missed this blog post but I did but thanks to Ellen highlighting my name I'm seeing it now propster, I hope you did the recommended reading above me and are still here reading everything you can about quitting smoking and Remaining Quit because there's a wealth of information to strengthen your resolve to kick the nicotine poison to the curb and start living a life of Freedom but you must start your Day One so you can get through your Day WON and continue to stack them up because Quitting smoking is definitely difficult to say the least but it's absolutely Doable but you must hang on tight and don't let go of your quit, believe in yourself, be willing, determined and totally committed to succeed and you can and will be successful one precious smoke free day at a time or one minute or even one second at a time but you must stick with your quit! Is it easy? No but is it worth it? Absolutely Yes but it's up to you.
I didn't think I would ever be able to quit, but with my mind made up (because of a recent chest x-ray that revealed a spot on my lung) after 43 years of smoking, I am now 36 days into my quit!
It really is an addiction, and you really do have to have it in your head that you ARE going to DO this! And you just keep on going from there.
For me, it was doing it cold turkey, because the nicotine is what we are addicted to, and why keep putting nicotine in my body, vs. just being done with it once and for all! Reading all the material that was offered up here within this site, and wanting to be healthy for once in my life! The support of all the people here, and how kind everyone is, is a bonus!
When we smoke....we are literally paying a company, who provides us with cigarettes, to kill us while they make it rich!
I think about this and ask myself why I did this for so long! I've probably paid out more than $100,000 to kill myself! I could have bought a house on what I have burned up!
Using NRT's are good for some people, but they do not do all the work! We have to take a step forward and apply
ourselves into the process even more so than the NRT's! I say cold turkey, but I did use the Wellbutrin as an aid, and it worked for me. That medicine makes cigarettes taste horrible. Not that they taste good, but it made it worse than normal.
If you want to quit, you have to give it your all! You find ways to occupy your time when you would otherwise smoke.
Once the nicotine is out of your body, then it's just the physical and mental craves, which if you truly want to quit, you do what it takes to get past the cravings other than smoke. There is a great list of 101 things to do when that craving strikes!
You will never regret quitting. I don't! My only regret is that I didn't do it way sooner than what an x-ray showed.
Good Luck!
I hope you come and join everyone here for support!
Sandy 36 DOF
So have you found any of our responses of help? We'd love to know what YOU think. Have you taken any of the ideas and suggestions and thought about them? Have you clicked on the links offered and read any of the material? It's important to keep a two-way communication going here, otherwise we can't help.
Welcome to our community!
My guess is that you used these products as a panacea and didn't educate yourself on the addiction, prepare, plan - and take steps ahead of time to help you succeed? If so, we can help with all of that. No product is going to quit FOR you - this takes effort and commitment on your part, as well. I'm happy that you are still working at it - good for you!!!
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