Tips for quitting smoking?

[oitnb]

So I tried to quit smoking cigarettes cold turkey yesterday, and I couldn't do it. After two hours of not smoking, I was sweating, shaking, my heart was racing and I was having trouble thinking straight. It honestly felt like I was detoxing off of some hard core drug or something...

 

So yeah, I won't be able to quit cold turkey. I just am not sure what other method to use to quit, patches, e cigs, nicotine gum? Anyone have any tips for this? I really honestly want to quit sooooo bad but the physical withdrawals of going cold turkey were way to intense.

[mhowe]

I found the patch to do the trick.

[oitnb]

I found the patch to do the trick.

 

How exactly does this patch method work?

[Fudgie]

Nicotine patches work by slowly releasing nicotine into your skin throughout the day, allowing you to quit. You can buy the patches with less and less nicotine over time, as you get accustomed to less and less nicotine.

 

However, I've had a friend quit with e-cigs. Same thing, you can taper off nicotine slowly over time. You can buy refills with less nicotine over time.

 

You can also speak to your doctor about some drugs OTC that may help you quit. I am on a drug called Wellbutrin for my anxiety (works well too) but people usually take it to stop smoking and then stop taking it when they are fine without cigs. I've gone through periods where I smoke a TON of nicotine (usually through hookah) and then nothing at all for months. I also occasionally puff on a cig or a cigar if I drink too much and want to feel sober. I've never had withdrawals and don't crave it. I think now it's been about 1-2 months since I smoked something. I attribute this to the medication I'm on. It really does work.

[Heather Dawn]

My boyfriend also used the patch and has been smoke-free for almost a year now. Basically, it goes in stages - each stage lasts a few weeks and offers lowering levels of nicotine which is absorbed through your skin via the patch (which is replaced daily), slowly weaning you off.

 

Wellbutrin is used a lot for smoking cessation, as Fudgie said, and helps a lot. Do NOT use the drug Chantix, which has been shown to be quite dangerous.

 

My mom is an R.N. and has special training in smoking cessation.

[Fudgie]

Also to add, I work in a hospital that is smoke-free (well, duh, it's a hospital) and you can't even go outside on the grounds to smoke. When we get pack-a-day patients who start going into withdrawal sweats and get irritable, we offer them a patch. It actually works very well. They can stay in the hospital for several days, no cigarettes, and when they find a patch with a nicotine level that works for them, they are actually quite comfortable.

[paradisa]

One of my good friends tried to quit for so long and in so many ways (partially because her children were getting sick so often) and she finally tried the e-cigarette. She got off cigarettes for good within a week and hasn't looked back and her husband did too!

[Cheetarah]

Years ago, I used the gum. Then the last time I quit, it was cold turkey. When I did it cold turkey, I slept as often as I could for the first couple days, squeezed in a nap at my lunch break, came home and took a 20 minute one, etc. Had a lot of water and fruit juice.

 

I had a friend quit with Wellbutrin, as well. One did e-cigs, and a few did the patch.

 

How much are you smoking though that you are getting the shakes after 2 hours? Do you feel like that in the morning when you first wake up? After 2 hours sounds a lot more psychological to me.

[Seraphim]

The only way I found to be effective was cold turkey but I know a lot of people have difficulty with that. My dad found that was the only way to be effective as well. He smoked from the time he was 15 until he was 39 and went cold turkey.

 

I have heard though that is harder for women to give up cigarettes than it is for men.

[Moontiger]

This should be helpful: link removed

[Astrogirl]

Well done for taking the plunge. When I gave up I used an electronic cigarette and gave up instantly. They are very effective.

[SpottiOtti]

E-cigs worked for me. I used visualization techniques too - I would look at other people smoking, and I would imagine smoking, and focus on the sensations I hated about it. Like, I always hated the sensation of dryness in my throat and chest - I don't know if that makes sense to anyone but me, but I would focus on how much I hated that sensation. I also would get sinus headaches from smoking, so I would focus on that too, and imagine getting a sinus headache when I wanted a cigarette. When I was feeling very irritated or whatever from nic withdrawal, I'd take a few puffs off the e-cig, or if my friends were going outside for a cigarette I'd go and use the e-cig so I still had the socialization aspect of smoking. I think it took me about three or four months before I stopped using the e-cig. I've been cigarette-free since 2011.

 

A technique a colleague mentioned recently was to put all the cigarettes you'd smoke in a day in a clear plastic baggie, so you can see them disappearing as you smoke them. It makes you accountable. So if you decide to use a stepping-down method, which is more effective for some than cold turkey, you could maybe try that.

 

Good luck! You can do it! Quitting is hard, but it's not impossible, not by a long shot.

[Wizardwoman]

For me the only thing that worked is the e-cig. I ended up just buying like 5 disposable ones so it probably would have been cheaper to just buy a rechargable one but they worked anyways. Its nice because they come in all different flavors and after smoking them for a little while a real cig just tastes and smells DISGUSTING.