cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Give and get support around quitting

mark.de.wet
Member

Quitting

Hi All, just want to say hi and that I have decided to quit smoking as I am 56, have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and that it's simply getting too expensive to smoke. I'm quitting gradually as I don't have the will-power to go cold turkey. I would love to get feedback from anyone else that quit by giving up gradually and succeeded. Thanks

31 Replies
AnnetteMM
Member

Quitting gradually almost never works, because that's not how nicotine works. You're addicted to nicotine, and the receptors for it in your brain will scream bloody murder every time you try to cut down, keeping you in perpetual withdrawal. Cold turkey does not take will power. It only takes not smoking. The physical withdrawal is hard, but it is absolutely doable!

Judybost
Member

Going cold turkey isn't as hard as some make it out to be I've done it with every time I've quit.i smoked for 22 years over a pack a day.it just takes will power and getting used to it.after a while it becomes normal not to smoke.at least it did for me.that part was easy to break

0 Kudos
Lvyles
Member

Congratulations on taking the first step....deciding to quit.  I agree with everyone else, gradually does not work.  As long as you are putting the nicotine in your system, you are not quitting.  I used the Smoke Away program after 30 years of smoking (I'm 52 years old) and it worked wonders.  It's homeopathic so there is no nicotine at all and nothing chemical.  I feel amazing and only had major cravings in the first week. Also, I quit after losing my job which in itself is pretty crazy since I was stressed about not working.  Good luck and keep coming back here anytime you need to.  I found this website to be a HUGE help and the support system here is amazing.  

JACKIE1-25-15
Member

Welcome to EX, you have come to the right place for support.  Many of us have the freedom of not smoking. Quitting smoking is not easy.  It is up to you to decide how you are going to do it.  Willpower has very little to do with quitting.  Willingness is the key along with educating yourself about nicotine addiction.  Start at the beginning by having a plan, learning your triggers and what you will do when cravings and urges come. Quitting takes a commitment that no matter what happens in your life you will not use it as an EXcuse to smoke. Start at the beginning. My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX to learn to navigate around the site go to Community Help 

Education is the key.  Read Study Blog and stay close. 

YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

The nicotine is mostly out of your system in about three days.  Then it's your body adjusting to life without it, and, what I believe is the most difficult part, getting past all the triggers and associations you have built up over the years of smoking.  Please do the reading I will recommend.  It's important! You will understand after doing it why continuing to feed nicotine to the brain receptors will keep you an addict - even if you space each cigarette far apart.

I was not able to slowly reduce the amount I smoked.  You CAN put each one off a little bit, but I found that trying to limit yourself to only a certain number a day keeps smoking in the forefront of your thoughts ALL the time.  I found myself bargaining, "well, if I have an extra now while I'm stressed, I can have less this evening."  It NEVER worked that way - and I always seemed to be having that internal dialog.
 

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. Here's a link to a video here on the site which describes nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.
 
 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-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

Squidy_
Member

Hi,

I just joined this site today.  I'm also in my 50's and my most recent smoke was only 8 days ago.  I've tried to stop a number of times but personally didn't have much luck with the gradual approach.  I could never get my count down to 10 a day and knowing I could have more smokes the following day just didn't help the commitment factor.  This time, I threw away the remaining pack as a last act before going to bed one night.  I did make limited use of 2mg nicotine gum the following week.  I stopped using them 3 days ago.

It hasn't been easy, but cold turkey on the cigarettes themselves and a pretty short wean on the nicotine has given me more success in a week than I ever achieved on previous attempts.  Your mileage may vary since I haven't been free and clear for a month yet, much less 3, 6 or 12.

Squidy_

mark.de.wet
Member

Well evidently it seems that in spite of numerous articles online that say that quitting gradually can also work, people in this forum/community disagree. while i respect those views I think I will quit my way.

i appreciate the input but it seems that this is not the community for me. Thank you

0 Kudos
CommunityAdmin
Community Manager
Community Manager

mark.de.wet wrote:

Well evidently it seems that in spite of numerous articles online that say that quitting gradually can also work, people in this forum/community disagree. while i respect those views I think I will quit my way.

i appreciate the input but it seems that this is not the community for me. Thank you

The beauty of a community is you get different perspectives. You'll then choose the approach that will work for you. As Squidy_‌ mentions, they were just sharing their experience. The goal is to support you in your quit.  At the end of the day you should choose what works for you. Over time your perspective may change and what you view not working for you now may work for you in the future.  Or it may not.

Some members around here use the phrase "take the best and leave the rest". If it doesn't work for you, ignore it but don't leave just because not everyone is in agreement.  Any healthy support community will have a variety of opinions. Furthermore, there are a lot of experienced quitters here from a different places. No two quits are the same.  

Here are two blogs today that capture how this site has helped them.

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/people/Barbscloud/blog/2018/08/13/the-months-keep-adding-up 

/blogs/Kathryn16-blog/2018/08/13/seven-years-not-one-smoke 

Mark
EX Community Manager

EX Community Admin Team
AnnetteMM
Member

We'll be right here if you change your mind.