RMcRae
09-10-2003, 04:44 PM
I have been smoking for 8 years, and have to quit for medical reasons. I have set a date for Monday, September 15th, and am VERY nervous about it. I am going to try cold turkey. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what to expect as far as mental and physical reactions, and any suggestions to overcome them. Thanks in advance for any information! :-)
Sponsor
GeorgiaPeech
09-11-2003, 09:03 PM
To insure success, plan in advance for how you will handle cravings (and there will be some). Write down the alternatives to smoking and keep the list handy. Your list might include such things as hard candy, mints, gum, sucking on straws or toothpicks, keeping a bottle of water handy, finding something to do with your hands . Get rid of all smokes, ashtrays, smoking paraphernalia in your house, car, office. Clean your house and get rid of that smoky smell in your furniture and clothes. Clean your car as if it were harboring yellow fever germs!
Consider NRT. It gives you a way to handle the physical cravings for nicotine while you deal with the behavioral and habitual stuff. After trying cold turkey several times (and failing) I tried NRT (gum) and found it rather easy to stop smoking. I never really had a terribly bad day. I've been quit now for over 1 1/2 yrs.
Find an active support group, either on the internet or 3-D. Statistics show that your chances of staying quit increase if you have support.
This board isn't very active so if you were having a crave, it could take hours if not days to get a reply. Find one that is very active where you can expect replies to your posts almost immediately. Yes such sites are out there.
There will be times when you think that "just one" would be OK. Don't do it. We are addicts and there is no "just one".
And if you do slip don't consider it failure. Consider it practice for your next try.
Consider NRT. It gives you a way to handle the physical cravings for nicotine while you deal with the behavioral and habitual stuff. After trying cold turkey several times (and failing) I tried NRT (gum) and found it rather easy to stop smoking. I never really had a terribly bad day. I've been quit now for over 1 1/2 yrs.
Find an active support group, either on the internet or 3-D. Statistics show that your chances of staying quit increase if you have support.
This board isn't very active so if you were having a crave, it could take hours if not days to get a reply. Find one that is very active where you can expect replies to your posts almost immediately. Yes such sites are out there.
There will be times when you think that "just one" would be OK. Don't do it. We are addicts and there is no "just one".
And if you do slip don't consider it failure. Consider it practice for your next try.
W
09-17-2003, 09:16 PM
I found it helpful to keep my hands occupied. It could be something as simple as making a paperclip necklace or something while you watch TV which was always my most tempting time along with after a meal, in which case I would go take a walk or maybe work on a puzzle. Anything really, to get my mind off smoking.
mariposa42
10-10-2003, 07:27 PM
I hope you have been doing well and still are tobacco-free. Important: Remember each day to praise yourself for being tobacco-free. I sure your body is thankful too for each hour, day, weeks that pass with a cigerette.
Here are some Urge stopping techniques below. Real quick though I do want to mention for you to remember that the urge to smoke will usually only last 5-10 minutes. Yes, you can have tobacco but it will temporarily relieve your physical discomfort OR you can endure a little temporary discomfort, which will get easier and cure your nicotine addiction.
Stopping techniques
- - - - - - - - - -
Take a different route to work in the morning
Don't sit in your favorite easy chair where you normally would smoke
Whenever you talk on the phone, hold the receiver in the hand in which you held your cigarette. If you usually sit when talking on the phone, stand, or vice versa, eat lunch in a different place. Go to a new restaurant and be sure to sit in the non-smoking section, spend more time in parts of your home or workplace that are not associated with smoking if possible.
Basically you have to disrupt your normal routine, break old routines and upset them because by doing this you are "breaking associations" and hopefully creating new routines that don't involve tobacco.
Also quitting tips include...get up from the table as soon as meals are over and brush your teeth. Take walks if you need to, avoid soft foods, they will give you no chewing satisfaction, drink large amounts of water to help flush nicotine from your body, increase fruit and vegetable intake, breath slowly and deeply 3-4 times whenever you feel tense.
Geez, I look above at all the stuff I typed. It's a challenge, I know because I am going through it myself. But I think to myself, "Not everybody needs nicotine." Non smokers have stress, anixety, anger, excitement, joy, etc...and they deal with their life withOUT tobacco, so SO CAN I!!
Some facts
- - - - - -
Within 20 min. of last cig.
Blook pressure drops to normal
Pulse rate drops to normal rate
Body temperature of hands, feet increase to normal.
Within 8 hrs.
Oxygen level in blood increase to normal
Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal
24 hours
Chance of heart attack decrease
72 hours
Bronchial tubes relax, making breathing easier
Lung capacity increases
2 weeks to 3 months
Circulation improves
Walking becomes easier
Lung fuction increases up to 30%
1 to 9 months
Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decreases
Cilia regrow in lungs, increasing ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, reduce infection
Body's overall energy level increases
5 years
Lung cancer death rate for average smoker (one pack a day) decreases from 137 per 100,000 people to 72 per 100,000 (after 10 years, rate drops to 12 deaths per 100,000 or almost the rate of nonsmokers).
10 years
Precancerous cells are replaced
Other cancers - such as those of mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas decreas (there are 30 chemicals in tobacco smoke that can cause cancer).
ALL BENEFITS ARE LOST WHEN YOU SMOKE JUST ONE CIGARETTE A DAY!!
Hope this helps and if you need any support - I am here because I'm going through the same challenge that you are and many other are too. It's a huge decision to become tobacco-free and you must be committed and become tobacco-free for YOURSELF and not for anyone else. Boy, I sound like a huge poster board, but I just want to spread all the benefits, quitting techniques, etc.. to help others.
Corrina
Here are some Urge stopping techniques below. Real quick though I do want to mention for you to remember that the urge to smoke will usually only last 5-10 minutes. Yes, you can have tobacco but it will temporarily relieve your physical discomfort OR you can endure a little temporary discomfort, which will get easier and cure your nicotine addiction.
Stopping techniques
- - - - - - - - - -
Take a different route to work in the morning
Don't sit in your favorite easy chair where you normally would smoke
Whenever you talk on the phone, hold the receiver in the hand in which you held your cigarette. If you usually sit when talking on the phone, stand, or vice versa, eat lunch in a different place. Go to a new restaurant and be sure to sit in the non-smoking section, spend more time in parts of your home or workplace that are not associated with smoking if possible.
Basically you have to disrupt your normal routine, break old routines and upset them because by doing this you are "breaking associations" and hopefully creating new routines that don't involve tobacco.
Also quitting tips include...get up from the table as soon as meals are over and brush your teeth. Take walks if you need to, avoid soft foods, they will give you no chewing satisfaction, drink large amounts of water to help flush nicotine from your body, increase fruit and vegetable intake, breath slowly and deeply 3-4 times whenever you feel tense.
Geez, I look above at all the stuff I typed. It's a challenge, I know because I am going through it myself. But I think to myself, "Not everybody needs nicotine." Non smokers have stress, anixety, anger, excitement, joy, etc...and they deal with their life withOUT tobacco, so SO CAN I!!
Some facts
- - - - - -
Within 20 min. of last cig.
Blook pressure drops to normal
Pulse rate drops to normal rate
Body temperature of hands, feet increase to normal.
Within 8 hrs.
Oxygen level in blood increase to normal
Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal
24 hours
Chance of heart attack decrease
72 hours
Bronchial tubes relax, making breathing easier
Lung capacity increases
2 weeks to 3 months
Circulation improves
Walking becomes easier
Lung fuction increases up to 30%
1 to 9 months
Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decreases
Cilia regrow in lungs, increasing ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, reduce infection
Body's overall energy level increases
5 years
Lung cancer death rate for average smoker (one pack a day) decreases from 137 per 100,000 people to 72 per 100,000 (after 10 years, rate drops to 12 deaths per 100,000 or almost the rate of nonsmokers).
10 years
Precancerous cells are replaced
Other cancers - such as those of mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas decreas (there are 30 chemicals in tobacco smoke that can cause cancer).
ALL BENEFITS ARE LOST WHEN YOU SMOKE JUST ONE CIGARETTE A DAY!!
Hope this helps and if you need any support - I am here because I'm going through the same challenge that you are and many other are too. It's a huge decision to become tobacco-free and you must be committed and become tobacco-free for YOURSELF and not for anyone else. Boy, I sound like a huge poster board, but I just want to spread all the benefits, quitting techniques, etc.. to help others.
Corrina
ttomm
10-10-2003, 10:52 PM
Just be ready.
Get a few HUGE bags of sunflower seeds. Keep them with you all the time. Eat those, chew gum. Do everything YOU want to do, cause if something doesnt go your way, WATCH OUT. I was really really really moody. Luckily I didnt have a job or anything when I quit. Its tough. Just hang in there. You just need to stay strong. The first few weeks are bad. But it will get better. And soon enough your body will feel so much more alive, its unreal.
Good luck.
Get a few HUGE bags of sunflower seeds. Keep them with you all the time. Eat those, chew gum. Do everything YOU want to do, cause if something doesnt go your way, WATCH OUT. I was really really really moody. Luckily I didnt have a job or anything when I quit. Its tough. Just hang in there. You just need to stay strong. The first few weeks are bad. But it will get better. And soon enough your body will feel so much more alive, its unreal.
Good luck.