atp
501 posts
Registered:
31 Dec 2018
17 Jan 2019
in reply to
turningpoint
Turningpoint,
For me, I was doing a lot of reading about quitting smoking and kept seeing that the nicotine is out of your system within 2-3 days and figured why keep myself addicted by using NRT's when in past attempts to quit I always failed when I was using them. My mom reminded me that my step dad (a 2 pack a day Rothmans man) when he was 65 quit cold turkey and never had another cigarette, and went on to live to 91. My theory was that all I was doing was replacing one form of my addiction (smokes) with another form (NRT's) and making it that much harder for myself as the nicotine was still in my system. It gave it a shot and it worked for me, partly because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.
For me, the withdrawal wasn't any worse than with NRT's. I was restless, had trouble sleeping, always felt thirsty/hungry, a bit on edge mood wise, vomited one night ( i'm thinking too much junk food that day).
What I did find was that two days after quitting the NRT's (so Day 4 or 5 of my quit) I was starting to feel a lot better. The cravings were basically gone - I still get some minor moments but not bad.
Stocked up on mini carrots, gum, licorice (Nibs), smartpop popcorn. Mostly small size snacks that I could munch on when I felt cravings, etc. Kept my hands busy. And lots of water.
The other thing I did this time was toss all my smokes, lighters, and butt cans. I also sprayed everything with Lysol to kill the stale cigarette smell.
Still dealing with the psychological side of quitting smoking - checking my jacket pockets for smokes before going out, reaching for the smokes on the side of my van door while driving.
I guess the one bonus motivator for me was that I beat my nicotine addiction within just a few days and that was something I never could do before. Now I'm getting to the point that I don't want to smoke because I don't want to go through the withdrawal again.
The other thing is that I am feeling better and breathing better. I was smoking for so long I didn't realize how much it actually affected me.
And I spend a lot of time talking to myself to keep myself committed to not smoking. Yes - talking to myself out loud. Sounds weird but it helps me. Mostly I do it in the van while driving, or when no one else is around.
I started my quit ready to go the full distance with NRT's and spent a lot of time reading up on quitting. I really was going at this quit a lot more motivated. That was probably the biggest thing was that I was ready to quit, so by dropping the NRT's maybe it helped me become more determined because then it was all me, rather than using a crutch.
The most important thing is that you are wanting to quit. You can do this!