We're quitters!
- Thread starter Walker
- Start date
Those who are thinking about quitting good things to do are:
1. Pick a day you wish to quit
2.Get rid of your cigs, lighters, ashtrays etc, get them out of the house, out of arms reach, any remaining ciggies you got, light them up, knock yourself out for what will hopefully be one last blow out
3. Make a list of the reasons why you wish to quit, and keep them at hand to refer to for when you get those moments where you get a craving
4. To successfully quit, it's best to adopt the "not one puff rule" rather than a few cheeky little puffs won't hurt
5. Identitfy situations where you are likely to smoke eg having a cuppa, a beer, after lunch, dinner, taking a dump etc . The urge to smoke in these situations is more like a reflex reaction if any, so it's a case of "mind occupation" ie try to find something else to do so as to distract your mind from thinking this is the time you normally smoke
6.Tell others around you that you are trying to quit and ask them to be supportive if possible, this also means them not smoking around you for the first few weeks or offering you a cig.
7.If after a few days after quitting you do have a relapse and light up, don't be too disheartened, this happens to many people trying to stop. One slip is not a failure, just carry on with your quit attempt
8. Think about the positive things when you quit such as your sense of smell/your taste returning, BP going down, blood oxygent levels increasing so your stamina increases, therefore you won't feel out of breath so easily/quickly. Also, the money you'll save, watch it build up
In terms of smoking aids you can use, depends on the amount of cigs you smoke, possibly current meds you may happen to be on and current or past medical conditions eg stomach ulcers etc.
One effective way is dual therapy, ie use a nicotine patch (if tolerated) to deliver a constant hit of nicotine within your system then use add on therapy for those breakthrough cravings such as lozenges as @Lulabelle has mentioned, or chewing gum. Other products which can be used on an as required basis are:
1.Nicotine inhalator - plastic unit, looks like a dummy ciggie - can be useful for those that need something between their fingers (clean thoughts please
:eek::rolleyes
2. Microtabs - held underneath the tongue where they will quickly dissolve
3. Oral spray - just like one of those breath sprays you can get, delivers a short concentrated burst of nicotine which is quickly absorbed and so quickly handles those cravings
4. Nasal spray - as with the oral spray, delivers a rapidly absorbed hit of nictotine, helps to dampen down those cravings, works so fast it's like having an iv line of nicotine going into you. Word of caution though, it can take a while to get used to, as it can be a bit of a nasty fucker in the early stages as it's like inhaling a pepper spray and so can potentially cause irritation in some patients.
Notes about the patches:
24hr patches are handy if you get a craving the moment you wake up in the mornings. Only drawback is that with it delivering nicotine whilst you are asleep, it can cause what is known as vivid dreams. So if that is an issue, then just take them off at night or switch to the 16hr patch instead. Oh and remember, make sure you start on the strength appropriate to how many cigs you amok a day then titrate down accordingly in a steady orderly fashion.
Best of luck to you all
1. Pick a day you wish to quit
2.Get rid of your cigs, lighters, ashtrays etc, get them out of the house, out of arms reach, any remaining ciggies you got, light them up, knock yourself out for what will hopefully be one last blow out
3. Make a list of the reasons why you wish to quit, and keep them at hand to refer to for when you get those moments where you get a craving
4. To successfully quit, it's best to adopt the "not one puff rule" rather than a few cheeky little puffs won't hurt
5. Identitfy situations where you are likely to smoke eg having a cuppa, a beer, after lunch, dinner, taking a dump etc . The urge to smoke in these situations is more like a reflex reaction if any, so it's a case of "mind occupation" ie try to find something else to do so as to distract your mind from thinking this is the time you normally smoke
6.Tell others around you that you are trying to quit and ask them to be supportive if possible, this also means them not smoking around you for the first few weeks or offering you a cig.
7.If after a few days after quitting you do have a relapse and light up, don't be too disheartened, this happens to many people trying to stop. One slip is not a failure, just carry on with your quit attempt
8. Think about the positive things when you quit such as your sense of smell/your taste returning, BP going down, blood oxygent levels increasing so your stamina increases, therefore you won't feel out of breath so easily/quickly. Also, the money you'll save, watch it build up
In terms of smoking aids you can use, depends on the amount of cigs you smoke, possibly current meds you may happen to be on and current or past medical conditions eg stomach ulcers etc.
One effective way is dual therapy, ie use a nicotine patch (if tolerated) to deliver a constant hit of nicotine within your system then use add on therapy for those breakthrough cravings such as lozenges as @Lulabelle has mentioned, or chewing gum. Other products which can be used on an as required basis are:
1.Nicotine inhalator - plastic unit, looks like a dummy ciggie - can be useful for those that need something between their fingers (clean thoughts please
:eek::rolleyes2. Microtabs - held underneath the tongue where they will quickly dissolve
3. Oral spray - just like one of those breath sprays you can get, delivers a short concentrated burst of nicotine which is quickly absorbed and so quickly handles those cravings
4. Nasal spray - as with the oral spray, delivers a rapidly absorbed hit of nictotine, helps to dampen down those cravings, works so fast it's like having an iv line of nicotine going into you. Word of caution though, it can take a while to get used to, as it can be a bit of a nasty fucker in the early stages as it's like inhaling a pepper spray and so can potentially cause irritation in some patients.
Notes about the patches:
24hr patches are handy if you get a craving the moment you wake up in the mornings. Only drawback is that with it delivering nicotine whilst you are asleep, it can cause what is known as vivid dreams. So if that is an issue, then just take them off at night or switch to the 16hr patch instead. Oh and remember, make sure you start on the strength appropriate to how many cigs you amok a day then titrate down accordingly in a steady orderly fashion.
Best of luck to you all
I'm kinda with you on that. I can fuckin' feel my body going to shit from smoking and drugs and overeating and undereating and, honestly, I don't really give a shit because because I don't intend to get old. All I have to do is outlive my parents (they're good people who absolutely deserve a long and happy retirement, and if I died before them I don't think they'd ever get past that). But if I were to drop dead the day after their funeral, then that's just fine by me. Sooner I die, sooner I get to be with Jessica again. So yeah, fuck it, the transitory positive feelings are worth the long-term damage, the body is just a rental anyway, so why not trash it like a hotel room or a car before it's time to give it back?
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There's no valid reason for damaging your body more than that either, actually. Even if you want to die early.
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We quite often 'forget' why we quit or want to quit.
From Zoe
I made a list of what I liked about smoking vs. what I hated about smoking ... and though I really missed it at first, looking at this list made me see that I didn't like smoking as much as I thought I did.
What I Liked About Smoking
What I Hated About Smoking
Maybe you should sit down and make a list like this for yourself. It might give you the nudge towards where you know you want to be.~Zoe
From Zoe
I made a list of what I liked about smoking vs. what I hated about smoking ... and though I really missed it at first, looking at this list made me see that I didn't like smoking as much as I thought I did.
What I Liked About Smoking
- The bonding I experienced with other smokers.
- The feeling of creating a ritual.
- Watching the cigarette burn and watching the smoke swirl.
- Momentary gratification.
What I Hated About Smoking
- The after-smell on my clothes, furniture, car, house, everything. Yuck.
- Not being able to breathe properly.
- The constant nagging cough. All day, all night.
- Lots of phlegm, lots of throat-clearing and losing my voice mid-sentence.
- Painful heartburn every night and every time I drank coffee.
- Feeling winded after extremely mild activity.
- Severe throbbing headaches, occasional migraines.
- Lingering colds and bronchitis.
- Racing heartbeat, more sweating.
- Increased rate of hypertension.
- Dizziness after smoking too fast or [having] too many cigarettes.
- Nausea from smoking too much.
- The constant coppery, ashy taste in my mouth.
- Yellow skin, teeth, and fingernails.
- Scaly, unhealthy-feeling skin.
- Anxiety from the fear about what I was doing to myself and the consequences.
- No relaxation, always feeling in need of something. A constant feeling of not being satisfied.
- Mini-withdrawals throughout the day.
- Feelings of shame while spending time with nonsmokers.
- Not accomplishing tasks because of wasted time smoking.
- The late-evening/middle-of-the-night trip to the gas station.
- Going out in bad weather to smoke alone.
- Feelings of inadequacy and substance dependence.
- Driving my cat out of the room every time I lit up.
- Dry mouth and constant feelings of thirst.
- Coughing so hard that I made myself sick.
- Trembling hands and fingertips.
- Fear. Of being unable to quit, of dying an untimely, painful death.
- The stinging feeling in my lungs when I tried to take a deeper or slower breath.
- Getting smoke in my eyes.
- Burning my lips on the filter.
- Trying to light short butts and feeling my eyebrows singe. Ouch!
- Re-lighting a previously torched cigarette, so I don't "waste" any tobacco.
- Overflowing ashtrays, ashes, and dust everywhere.
- Burn holes in my car upholstery and on my clothes.
- "Will I fall asleep smoking?"
- "Will I catch something on fire?"
- Dry, chapped lips.
- The cost. All that money wasted on ruining my health and well-being.
- My nails and hair grew very slowly.
- Smoking fueled my compulsiveness relating to other bad habits, such as nail-biting and binge-eating.
- Having to reapply my lipstick after smoking.
- The filthy taste of cheap tobacco.
- Having to crack the car window in the pouring rain. Wet leg, wet arm, water in my eyes.
- Tar build-up on windows and furniture.
- The way my hair and skin smelled.
- Limited motivation and energy.
- Spilled tobacco in my purse, on my dresser, on my computer desk.
- Lighting the filter end by mistake...
- Dropping a cigarette while driving.
- Trying to tap my ashes out the car window ... while the window is rolled up.
- Dropping hot ashes or losing the tip of a cigarette.
- Oops! Tapped ashes in my drink.
- Feeling "exiled" in the smoking section/smoking room.
- Dulled sense of taste and smell.
Maybe you should sit down and make a list like this for yourself. It might give you the nudge towards where you know you want to be.~Zoe
Poorer reason than lighting the filtered end? I was getting together with a non smoking asthmatic and was pretty clear about her disdain for smoking as a whole but when she asked “are you going to fuck and then go outside to smoke instead of snuggle?” I was like goddamnit... and quit. Pretty good decision at the end of the day.