Community
Is it even possible to quit without medications? All the medications I've checked in to are so expensive. Way more than cigarettes cost. I spend about $15 a week on cigarettes. I live paycheck to paycheck on a fixed income with very little left over. I notice a preset tag below for free medications. Any suggestions on how I might obtain any?
No time is wasted here. Welcome. Yes it is possible to quit without aides, It is called smart turkey far as medications which one were you referring to. Welbutrin is a very inexpensive medication While waiting on meds or NRT's know that education is the key to successfully quit. Read, Study, Blog and be willing to do the work. With the help of the EX Community, you can have a forever quit. Start by educating yourself about the addiction to nicotine. Know the LAW! If you Go to My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX and review the videos and learn more about what your triggers and how to prepare when the urge hits. I am a firm believer education is the key to success. I was advised to read Allen Carr's Easyway to Quit Smoking which can be found on pdf on the web. Another good site to get the info that was very helpful to me is www.whyquit.com. There are several articles to read. Nicotine 101 and Freedom From Nicotine My Journey Home. Stay around, we will help you through this journey.
Hello and Welcome to Ex’s Kdot1st no waste of time when someone is planning to quit smoking...read the advice/readings JACKIE1-25-15 above me suggested to you. Keep close to the support site for help. We are here for you...~ Colleen 427 DOF
Welcome. Congrats on your decision to quit. I think you find some deals also. Walgreens has a two week supply of NicoDerm for $41.99. That's close to what you're spending on cigarettes. Also check Walmart. There are some other brands that are less expensive (Ex. Harbitrol $30.49). Some quitters on this site actually prefer the generic brands.
In the meantime, education yourself about nicotine addiction and create your quit plan.
Barb
Welcome to the community!
Use the time wisely while you wait for your NRTs to arrive. Read, plan and prepare. Your decision to quit is one you will never regret - I promise!
The 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 easy and entertaining read provided a world of good information about nicotine addiction, most of which I was not aware. I credit it in large part with my success at quitting. You can search for it online or at your local library.
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, quitsmoking.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. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.
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 after you have tried to delay and distract. 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. You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch does by decreasing the dose contained in them.. For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum. For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for four 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, 3) it maintains the addiction to nicotine, and 4) they are proving to be unsafe.
It will be informative if you do the tracking and separation exercises recommended here on the site. As you track each cigarette smoked, note its importance, and what you might do instead. Put each one off just a little to prove that you don't NEED a cigarette just because you think you do.
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
Thank you everyone for the suggestions. Unfortunately I have severe back issues with nerve damage. I cannot stand upright longer than 4 minutes. I cannot walk further than to my kitchen or from the house to the car. For the most part I'm bedridden. I spend most days watching tv & playing games on my tablet.
I cannot use the gum due to dental issues, which I see is not particularly suggested. Also brushing my teeth when I want to smoke is not useful since I don't have any. Possibly mouthwash?
I can probably make it to the freezer though & that seems helpful.
Another issue is I have narcolepsy & I smoke to help me stay awake, especially while driving.
My main trigger is boredom.
I took Wellbutrin for 10 years in the 90's. I never knew it was supposed to help with quitting but apparently it never had that effect on me.
I'll try reading that material before my quit date.
Thanks for all the information.
Your situation requires some special preparation. Might you try caffeine to help you stay awake while driving? Or maybe sipping from a cold bottle of water, or chewing on some red licorice or maybe some Fireballs? For the boredom, perhaps you might get some crossword puzzle books, or even a deck of cards for Solitaire? Could you fit a jigsaw puzzle on a flat surface you might do? Can you sit and clean out a drawer? Might you go on YouTube and teach yourself to knit or crochet, or get a cross stitch or crewel embroidery project? Origami is something else you might learn on YouTube. You will need to get creative to get your mind off smoking, but it CAN be done.
Even slow/deep breaths, going slower and deeper with each, following each breath's path through your airways and back out in your mind, can take you away from thoughts of smoking. You might also count the red/blue/white things in your room to stay occupied during a craving.
Hope some of this is helpful?
Nancy
This does present special challenges. I know how important it was for me to keep moving. But they're other's on this site with physical limitation that have been successful. Other things that helped me were Sour Patch Kids, chewing on straws, deep breathing and video games. Of course the Ex is here to support you. Spend time here reading and posting if you like. I'd often come here when I had a crave and it would pass just by spending time here. We're here for you. Just reach out.
Barb
Welcome to Ex. Thanks for telling your story. Being bed ridden a great deal, please know that Ex is here 365--and anytime you blog you will get responses. Also feel free to comment on other blogs. Yes you can quit one day at a time.
Welcome to Ex.
Good to go through nice articles on this site. Those will make you feel better and better, and ready to quit. Bed ridden or not does not matter. Quitting smoking is good, in any stage, at any age. Allan Carr book is good to go through once more.
All the best !
Never mind. I se where I can contact my states Quit Now program & will contact them. Hope I didn't waste anybody's time reading this.