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Gdgodowns
Member

Excited to be here!

I’m so glad I found this community! Let’s get together and talk through the craving! I get a little urge every now and then. It’s almost automatic. Thank goodness I threw away all my cigarette butts! I don’t ever want to see another cigarette nor be around someone that is smoking! I’m a fighter!

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6 Replies
YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to the community!

You didn't mention your quit date, so I will assume it has been recently.  It would have been helpful for you to do the reading and prep work I will  recommend before you quit, but no problem -  it makes for a GREAT crave buster.  The better you understand this addiction, the greater your chances of success at beating it.

 

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.

 

You didn't mention if you are using a quit aid, so I will give you my thoughts on them.   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 obvious reasons.

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

Gdgodowns
Member

Thanks for the information you sent me. I quit smoking from June 2019 til May of this year by listening to Allen Carr “The Easy Way To Quit Smoking” at bed time. When I decided to quit I didn’t have any withdrawal symptoms at all! That lasted til May of this year. My husband asked a friend for a cigarette and he has had open heart surgery. This made me so mad that I smoked one too and I have seasonal allergies and allergic to nicotine!

Im still listening to Allen Carr’s book but it is a little harder to quit this time. 

My quit date was October 19, 2020.
Thank you for your support. Stay in touch.

Georgette

4days smoke free! I think I’m going to take a walk!

Barbscloud
Member

One thing that really worked for me was going for a walk.  Even just a short walk for a few blocks helped me to refocus my thinking.  Also, coming to the Ex and reading/posting.  By the time you've finished, the craving is gone.

You got this.

Barb

sweetplt
Member

Hello and Welcome to Ex’s Gdgodowns 

Whoo Hoo...determination is one of the keys...and you sound like you have it...way to go...~ keep close to the support site, we are here to help you in your journey...Hang tough...~ Colleen 689 DOF 

Gdgodowns
Member

Thank you for your support! It is harder for me to quit this time! I quit from June 2019 til May of this year. I gained 20 pounds and I was all stomach! I hated myself and my husband would bum cigarettes from his friends which irritated me. So I said if you can’t beat them join them. Since then I’ve lost 20 lbs. I hope I don’t gain it back. If I keep up with my walk/ run exercise every other day I think that will help. Today is my off day but I think I’m going to walk anyway. I’m a little irritated today. 

sweetplt
Member

Gdgodowns Making good choices will help....and of course walking more, etc., when I was worried about the weight gain, someone here said better to gain 10 pounds and loose it eventually, then to gain an oxygen tank and lug around 14 pounds of oxygen...keep close to the support site...remember this is your quit...no one else’s....hang in there and Happy Friday ~ Colleen 

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