DenaliBlues

The patches worked for me for the first few weeks. Side effects were insomnia and wackadoodle dreams and some skin irritation. Annoying but tolerable. It’s important to follow the instructions. I believe the combo of patches and lozenges helped me get over that first scary hump, before I fully believed that I could quit. It helped to take the edge off, to provide some extra support until I found my bearings and had developed some coping skills. The crux of any cessation plan - NRT, cold turkey or antidepressants - is how you define whether or not it’s “working.” Nothing completely alleviates the cravings. “No cravings” is simply not a rational yardstick for success. (It is an addiction wanting to keep getting its fix and freaking out about the anticipated discomfort of not getting it anymore.) A cessation strategy is “working” if it helps us cope with the cravings in some other way than smoking or vaping. So maybe gum and lozenges can “work” better than you think? Cravings come and go, and we learn to deal with them. Their power diminishes as we take our lives back. There’s a classic saying that addiction is not about how often someone uses a drug, it’s about the size of the jones… the strength of the compulsion. Secrecy is another classic red flag that what you’ve got is not a bad habit or a simple indulgence. It’s a full blown addiction and needs to be treated accordingly, with compassion and commitment. No half measures or rationing will do. You wouldn’t be here if some part of you weren’t tired of the bondage, hiding, mental static and physical harm that this addiction is causing for you. Freedom from all that stress is PRICELESS! Pick a method and give quitting a genuine try. You can do this, Leap!

NOPE

Good plan! Jumping jacks. Wall/counter top pushups. Walks around the block. Speed-weeding the flower beds. Shadow boxing. Private dance party. Downward facing dog, with dog. Running around the house dragging yarn for the cats to chase. Whatever it takes! You can do this!

Way to go!! Three cheers for three days!

Dilly Bar

Yep. We can strategize till we’re blue in the face, I sure did. But ultimately the only 100% effective way to stop smoking is to ACTUALLY STOP SMOKING! You are not alone, we are here for you. Just let go and fall… up.

Palak Paneer

Hurrah for two days down! Keep rolling!

Early in my quit when Addict Mind voice got really loud in my head - telling me I'd smoked so much that it didn't matter if I smoked more (false), telling me that I could be a part-time smoker (junkie thinking), telling me that I could postpone quitting till tomorrow (junkie "bargaining-with-false-logic-so-I-can-get-my-fix" thinking) - I would read this. Over and over again! No kidding, I probably read it 100 times in my first two weeks of quitting. It really helped me. strengthen my resolve to claim my freedom.

NOPE

^^^ Yes to this! As long as we keep our quits, we are still winning… despite the cravings and no matter how volatile our feelings get. Every moment that we don’t light up makes us stronger, every smoke-free breath we take helps us heal. As we are taking our lives back, our addiction kicks up a fuss and makes a lot of noise, throws some tantrums. Despite that turmoil, NOT SMOKING = success. If you can make it through the first few wacky weeks, the emotional equilibrium DOES eventually emerge. You won’t feel like a hot mess forever!

Yep, it’s up and down and WTF!? for a while. Like @Brioski said, we’re detoxing from an addiction. So we’re gonna be despondent one moment, wired the next, then numb until the spin cycle starts again, LOL. It evens out after a bit, just hang in there!

Yes I did, for a few weeks. I used the patch for a while (until I felt it was just prolonging the withdrawal) and also nicotine lozenges (at times when I needed to manage major cravings). I tried the gum, but found the mini lozenges to work better for me.

Lewd joke told

NOPE

Hi there, Leap. It’s all too easy to overestimate the power of “readiness.” When I quit, I had lots of ambivalence about giving up smoking, and I was very afraid not just of withdrawal, but also of the grief/loss of something I enjoyed. If I had waited till I was not scared of those things or was”100%” ready I would still be smoking today! What led me to take the plunge anyway was being sick and tired of vacillating, sick of being controlled, and sick of being ashamed. I didn’t really know what quitting would be like, but I totally knew that smoking sucked! So I thought, “Why not see if I can do this?!” To my surprise, here I am, 486 days since my last smoke! The reason people share their withdrawal pains here is not because they are unbearable, but because they want to succeed. Addiction thrives in isolation and silence, it likes to be the only (distorted) voice in your head. People come here to share their struggles with craving because it helps to let off steam and it helps to get support. You can do this, Leap. It will suck for a while, but then it gets better… and you’ll have something to take pride in for the rest of your days. Leap toward that!

Stoke the fire

NOPE!

It’s NEVER too late!! A real turning point in my quit was when I started feeling fierce. I began to climb out of despair and instead got pissed that I’d let myself become an addict, furious at the purveyors of poison who hooked me, and angry about being manipulated. I became super protective of my quit. I wasn’t going to let a moment of madness rob me of my quit after all the blood, sweat and tears I’d put into it. I became annoyed at, rather than terrorized by, the cravings. Part of that shift was the short temper and “prickles” that come with quitting. (Might as well turn them to our advantage!) But I think mostly it was about turning the tables on smoking and taking my own power back. Find your own fight, Robin. You can do this!

NOPE

NOPE

Potted her plants.

NOPE