APPROACHING QUIT DATE-Nervous

Discussion created by Lescoo on Jun 11, 2018
Latest reply on Jun 12, 2018 by freeneasy

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My quit date is a week off (June 19) based on having begun Zyban on June 5. I am stunned that at this point I don't want to smoke (in my mind) but the urges are relentless (in my brain). I get literally nervous and scattered when I try to resist lighting up in an effort to simply scale down prior to next weeks quit. I currently smoke 2 pks a day. Many thoughts have crossed my mind on how I can best cope with nicotine withdrawal, including the possibility of using a patch as well come my quit date. Although it has been said that nicotine cravings last only a couple of minutes, mine do not. They go on and on. I am also considering begining the patch now in place of cigarettes, reasoning that if I really don't want to physcally smoke, I can at least lay to rest the "going thru the motions" aspects of smoking so I have only the nicotine withdrawal aspect to deal with next week. At the moment, I feel like I am in some kind of smoking purgatory. I feel quite desperate to put an end to the smoking, and don't know if I can make it a week being neither here nor there. As I write, I am seeing that i may be more ready than I thought to move my quit up. Waiting a week seems to be prolonging the inevitable, because I AM going to QUIT! Thoughts?

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JACKIE1-25-15 Jun 12, 2018 6:29 AM
Good morning Lesco, Welcome to EX Congratulations on making the decision to quit smoking. You have come to the right place for support. If you stay around you will learn more about the addiction. You call it purgatory. It is best that you plan and prepare for your quit. You have set a date now you need to focus on educating yourself. Start by going My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX watch to videos, answer questions, learn about your triggers and track your cigarettes. You time to do that before you quit date if you haven't already. Come here as often as you get to read study to get the know the community and vice versa. Here are a few links to help you with the study part.
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”.
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MichelleDiane Jun 12, 2018 6:59 AM
Good morning Lescoo. Congratulations on your decision. Try not to be afraid. As many Elders have said...no one has ever died from a craving, but the same cannot be said about smoking. I used the patch and found it helpful in breaking the part of the addiction. I say part of because there are two parts. One is the actual chemical addiction, which won't be broke until no nicotine is in your system and two the mental, emotional, and psychological addiction. Both are equally important to work through. The way it is done is to take it one day at a time. If you look at it forever you might sabotage yourself. Stay close to this site and remember to be kind to yourself.
-Michelle
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Mandolinrain Jun 12, 2018 7:22 AM
TO a T. The two responses you got above are exactly what my thoughts are. I hope you continue to educate yourself and prepare before the 19th rolls around. The quits that manage to hold true and last are the ones that have an arsenal prepared and a brain filled with wisdom on how to go about doing that and why. Looking forward to watching your quit evolve into a beautiful thing You sure in the right place for the best support ...ever!
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Barbscloud Jun 12, 2018 7:42 AM
I just shared a conversation with you about Why We're Afraid to Quit. I think you mind find it helpful. There's nothing wrong with using NRT if you need help. I've used nicotrol inhalers. If it's stressing you out about "waiting" for your quit date, then jump on board now. If you think about it, you really have nothing to lose.

91DOF
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AnnetteMM Jun 12, 2018 9:04 AM
Until nicotine is completely out of your system, the cravings will last until they're satisfied. Your body "knows" you'll keep feeding the addiction. After there's no nicotine, your body will start to change. Like everyone says, keep coming here and look up anything happening in your body. Chances are, someone else has already posted about it.
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Youngatheart.7.4.12 Jun 12, 2018 1:16 PM
Welcome to our community!

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. You can search for it online or at your local library. I think you will not feel so "all over the place in your thinking if you get a good base of information from which to draw.

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 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. 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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GyorgyiM Jun 12, 2018 3:09 PM
Our new friend.................the sooner you do, the sooner you begin the journey of health and happiness like you've never known..............join us.

Miles of Smiles....
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maryfreecig Jun 12, 2018 4:46 PM
So it sounds like you are smoking every 20 minutes to a half hour, 40 minutes at times?
I never smoked two packs but I closed in on it at 37 cigarettes a day for periods of time. When I quit in 2013, I realized that I put smoking first--found it to be most satisfying above all else. Yet I knew I was going to quit and wondered how I'd ever divert my attention away from the obsessive, compulsive nature of nicotine addiction. I found ways to cope, especially for the first three weeks. The rest fell together one day at a time---a journey--it is!
What you have going for you is a desire plus tons of support--Ex is here everyday, all year. Every quitter here has a story to tell---keep telling yours, keep listening. It isn't the end of the world to quit, but it is no small task either. Eventually the addiction dies down, no longer calls the shots. This is your future. What your future is not---is endless craving. No matter how entrenched you are in your addiction, you too can let it go and live smokfree.
Keep talking.
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rollercoaster831 Jun 12, 2018 5:20 PM
I quit with Chantix but tried Wellbutrin and other methods prior to this quit. I have to say honestly, I didn't think this quit would stick before I actually quit. I was doubtful those first few weeks and didn't tell many people. Here I am almost a year later and I have a ton of resolve never to re-do my first quit day ever again! I can also tell you I don't have many cravings at all and cannot remember the last time I had a craving. I do have memories, but no cravings.

Keep posting. Visit here. Ask for help.

Below is a welcome message I post because it has a lot of helpful links to other posts. Read. Read more. Read some more. It helps. It does.

There is a great blog out there for our new quitters. For Our New Years' Quitters (and community members, too).  You may also want to check out posts in Best of EX. We are here to help you on this journey to freedom!

Welcome! I know when I first found this site, many Elders told me to read read read….and I did. Elders are those with one or more years of being quit. If you like what someone has to say, then you may want to read their blogs. I have some listed below.

A list of our Elders ELDER'S LIST

So here's the thing.....and you may not like what I am about to say....and that's ok. I get it. You need to accept that this is an addiction. Before you do that, it will be much more difficult to quit and stay quit.

Read read read. Do the steps to PREPARE yourself to quit. Do the steps so you are PREPARED on quit day and for the days AFTER quit day.

Some of the things I read in my first few days that helped me:
Dale’s Welcome to New Members My Welcome To New Members (12+ Years Of Watching)

Youngatheart.7.4.12 Nancy’s Blog 101 Things to Do Instead of Smoke 101 Things to Do Instead of Smoke

jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 Dale’s Blog What To Expect In The First Four Months

Keep this site close and keep posting and asking for help. You will get it. You will get things you like and things you don't like, but don't give up!!! We have been through similar experiences and can share our strength and hope. We are here to support you!
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elvan Jun 12, 2018 6:35 PM
Welcome to EX...you have gotten the best possible advice already...read, prepare, have a plan, know that this is a journey and not an event. I get that feeling that craves seem to last a lot longer than a couple of minutes...they are running together and you have not really had time to allow them to stop. No crave ever killed anyone...no one can say that about smoking. This journey is one day at a time, one experience at a time, one feeling at a time. We are here to help you in any way that we can. I suggest that you stay close to the site, read blogs, see what is working for others and know that everyone here has either been where you are now or is headed there. There are no shortcuts on this journey, we all have to go through this one day, one step at a time. My mantra when I first started here was NOPE...Not One Puff Ever. I said it over and over and over again, I said it softly, silently, out loud, over and over again. I came here every morning and every evening and I read blogs and commented and asked for advice and took it. This is an addiction and we are in recovery...it really sounds like your recovery is already beginning.

Again, welcome.
Ellen
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- Lescoo @ elvan on Jun 12, 2018 7:10 PM
  Thank you all for your kind, supportive responses. I'm feeling much
  stronger today! All things considered I have concluded that I do need the
  coming week to digest and prepare for my new lifestyle.
  Warmest regards to All!
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  - elvan @ Lescoo on Jun 12, 2018 8:09 PM
    That's perfectly fine...stick with that date and spend the next week really preparing and know that you are not alone on this journey...EVER!
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  - maryfreecig @ Lescoo on Jun 12, 2018 8:11 PM
    A decision made! That's good. Yes you can, one day at a time.
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Marilyn.H.July.14.14. Jun 12, 2018 7:26 PM
Welcome to the community, please do the recommended reading above me because it'll strengthen your resolve to kick the nicotine poison to the curb and start living a life of Freedom, you've made the best decision that you'll ever make in your lifetime by quitting smoking you are giving yourself the gift of LIFE.
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freeneasy Jun 12, 2018 9:12 PM
When you learn about quitting and nicotine addiction, you'll build confidence. You may even be more afraid of continuing to smoke than quitting. You are not giving smoking up you are reclaiming your freedom from addiction. You can quit and in time thank yourself you did..
How to Quit Smoking for Good
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APPROACHING QUIT DATE-Nervous

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