quitting cold turkey

[prplchknz]

any tricks? I smoke once an hour sometimes more on average. and I tried because I'm planning on quitting in a week to smoke once every 3 hours by 2.5 hours i feel like extremely cranky to the point that if you look at me wrong i'll have to use every single ounce of self control not to snap your neck, and my head hurts like a mofo. so I'm thinking 2.5 just for tonight because its an extremely stressful night but i was wondering if theirs some trick because even if i do something else the craving takes over by 2.5 hours and all i can think about is my next cigarette and i keep telling myself I need money and not smoking will save me money so i can do more things but it seems like its impossible. sorry for this. I have an alarm set on my phone for 2.5 hour intravols.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

The only time I successfully quit addictions is when I just say "I quit." I don't make it complicated and don't overthink it, I just do it and move on with my life. Anytime I'm even a little hesitant about closing the door on some behavior, it comes creeping back.

 

[Thalassa]

try nicotene gum...only chew it when you feel so cranky that you're going to bite someone's head off...slowly decrease amount of gum chewed by only chewing it when you can't take it anymore...but before you do that, decrease your number of cigarettes...cut back...when you're down to ten cigarettes or less try the gum

I quit smoking. Now I run.

I've also heard that Zyban (Wellbutrin) helps. You might ask your doctor if that would be right for you. Possibly not.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

You might ask your doctor if that would be right for you.

LOL you sound like a commercial.

 

[Thalassa]

Oh, also think about how gross smoking is. It's fucking disgusting. You're making yourself ugly and old. Smoking causes wrinkles, yellow teeth, bad breath, cellulite, and lung cancer...but most importantly, wrinkles. Think about all the money you're flushing down the toilet. Think about how many less colds you would have, or how less severe your coughs would be when you do get sick. Think about how negative and nasty smoking is. Might as well go swimming in garbage.

 

[prplchknz]

i don't get colds. seriously i don't, my room mate had a terrible a cold and was around me all the time i did not get a sniffle, well i did but those were allergies.

 

[ajblaise]

I quit by going to electric cigs. Still get nicotine, but no smoke. Took no effort.

 

[prplchknz]

I want to quit cold turkey, i know i'll be miserable but i know i can do it i just need discipline

 

[Blown Ghost]

What helps a lot in this situation is to identify your triggers and stay a step ahead of them. You could buy a bag of suckers and pop one in as soon as you think you're gonna want a cigarette. It won't be the same as a cigarette, but sometimes just answering the compulsion with something makes it easier to shed unwanted habits.

 

[prplchknz]

i always want a cigarette. i want one now but i'm wait til 10:48 and its 8:42 now thats a long ass time.

 

[Tiltyred]

It's hard. I used the gum AND the patch at the same time. I eventually got off the patch, but I chewed the gum for six years afterwards! I just recently stopped using the gum and switched to regular gum. Now I have to wean myself off of that. I figured as long as I wasn't inhaling heated particulate matter anymore, it was all good.

But the patch and the gum are expensive.

If you can do it through sheer will power, that's great! I know some people do manage.

 

[Nonsensical]

my grandfather quit at the age of 72, cold turkey. in the dead of winter, where there's nothing to do. He was at extremely high risk of a number of different diseases though...he started smoking in the Air Force. So that's like 55 years of developing the habit. you CAN quit smoking. follow what people here are advising, and take control. use your will power to overcome it. best of luck!

 

[prplchknz]

It's hard. I used the gum AND the patch at the same time. I eventually got off the patch, but I chewed the gum for six years afterwards! I just recently stopped using the gum and switched to regular gum. Now I have to wean myself off of that. I figured as long as I wasn't inhaling heated particulate matter anymore, it was all good.

But the patch and the gum are expensive.

If you can do it through sheer will power, that's great! I know some people do manage.

yeah basically i'm quitting cuz i don't have the money to buy smokes, so i have to quit when these are gone i don't have a choice i'm dipping into rent money so i can survive right now. not a good situation.

 

[JoSunshine]

I quit by going to electric cigs. Still get nicotine, but no smoke. Took no effort.

Do yo still smoke the electric cigs? What about the nicotine addition?

 

[prplchknz]

I think I'm one of those people needs some sort of habit, so I'm gonna replace it slowly with a gum chewing habit. I'm smoking once every 3 hours and when the cravings get too bad between I pop some gum in my mouth which doesn't get rid of the cravings but it helps. maybe tommorow i should do 4 hours or 3.5 hours?

 

[Blown Ghost]

Nicotine lollipops also help with the hand-mouth fixation.

 

[figsfiggyfigs]

I quit cold turkey. I did it on occasion for a nearly 2 years. literally ON occasion. but then did it at least 3-4 times a day for an entire year. then I just decided to quit cold turkey. I just decided to, and I did. it can be a little difficult sometimes, when others smoke around me, or try to get me to do it. but you just gotta say NO, and remind yourself WHY you stopped.

it was easier for me, because I haven't done it for a large part of my life like a lot of people.

what I found really helps is that, all those psychological red flags, like stress, " wanting to ring peoples necks" can be controlled , you just have to remind yourself that YOU are the one creating these negative feelings, and you are relating them to the absence of cigs. I try to remind myself that I'm creating them, thus, I can create other "feelings" instead of anger and frustration, totally sidetracks my thought to something more positive.

or this could be a bunch of bull and I'm just really determined x)

 

[prplchknz]

i get really bad headaches and a terrible cough one time i coughed so hard i puked,and really emotional when i quit.

 

[figsfiggyfigs]

i get really bad headaches and a terrible cough one time i coughed so hard i puked,and really emotional when i quit.

I think thats your system slowly detoxing. Getting rid of the nic, and your body trying to expel all that horrid stuff.

EDIT: the puke was likely a auto reaction to a very strong cough, it set off your gag reflex.

and the emotional thing is probably from the bond you've created with smoking, just like every other smoker.

I remember at one point, I started calling them " my babies".lol

 

[nozflubber]

the most efficacious behavior modification models for changing drug consumption habits have to do with changing the environment you're in. In extreme cases, people that are addicted need to completely avoid the places and even the PEOPLE with which the drug has been linked in the past. If you have also used smoking as a means of reducing stress in social settings or work or whatever, you'll need to find another way to alleviate that stress or any amount of stress will illicit the craving.

if you really want to quit and patches/cognitive changes aren't working, i'd move into a new place that in NO WAY resembles the environments in which you have smoked- your home. It may seem drastic, but the environment you're in can illicit changes in your brain (the brain actively prepares itself for a drug depending upon the environment youre in, such as a familar bar/tavern) in preparation for said drug. when the drug doesn't come in that environment, that's when withdrawal sets in and then of course the behavior of drug consumption. No amount of discipline or willpower will (directly) alter the well-established mechanisms and responses going on in your brain, so don't beat yourself up over that if it doesn't work.

Change your latitude, bra!