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Quit Nicotine

Mgold55 said:
Quick question, i read online that after 2-3 days the lungs start coughing up mucus and debris to clear out. However I am on day 4 and I am not even coughing. When does the cough start?
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It starts immediately and I don't think you smoked enough/long enough to have much to cough up, to be honest.
 
chinup said:
i've done a week so far off cigs. longest i've done in over 20 years. i cut down really gradually and it seems to have worked.
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What quantities did you cut down to and from?

That was my original plan, but I just felt like such shit after an alcohol binge for a buddy's 40th bday week-end that I just gave up smoking on the spot.
 
chinup said:
i've done a week so far off cigs. longest i've done in over 20 years. i cut down really gradually and it seems to have worked.

good luck OP.
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Thank you goodluck to you too! Its been a week for me now and am feeling way better!
 
You might feel like shit for a week or two. I only quit once for about 4 months with nicotine patches. Idk if the patches helped make things any easier since I was still giving my body nicotine and still constantly craving cigs. My symptoms were mostly extreme irritability, anxiety and inability to focus on things. Once I was off the patches, I felt fine. Wasn't craving. Didn't feel shitty. Had more energy. Then my dumb ass decided to smoke a cigarette while drunk at a party. Smoked another one the day after. 2 more the next day. And that escalated until I was back to a pack a day lol

I've been smoking cigs for the better part of 15 years. Everybody's different, but I think you have a much better chance of quitting with only 9 months of smoking. Try to find something to keep you occupied if you start craving or feeling withdrawal. I found that exercise helped when I quit. If I started craving, I'd drop and do some push ups or sit ups. Get some blood and endorphins flowing. It might not feel as good as the buzz from a cigarette, but your body will thank you in the long run.

chrispche said:
What's the view on vaping?
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I try not to read too much into the news stories, but everything I've been hearing lately scares the shit out of me. I vaped before and never had any problems. Considered vaping recently to cut back on cigs. But it seems like every day you hear about somebody being hospitalized or dying and they're blaming vaping. Not just the bootleg weed carts either. They are claiming nicotine vaping is fucking people up too. I do find it strange that these things have been around for a long time and we're only recently starting to see all these stories. I'd like to think it's a "healthier" alternative. But the medias scare tactics are definitely working on me right now lol
 
Just stopped smoking cigarettes two days ago, because i caught a cold and had a bad cough. Figured it was good timing to just quit.

My biggest issue is the boredom. Smoking helps break up my day, makes walking more enjoyable, etc but it is a nasty habit.

Been smoking cigarettes for 10 years off and on, no real side effects so far.
 
I have never heard of abdominal pain from quitting so probably see a doctor if it doesn't get better. 9 months isn't long. I just quit from 24 years and no physical withdrawal, just cravings and anxiety a bitch
 
My experience only--smoking is HARD to quit! :mad: When I turned 50 or so, I started trying to stop. Hypnosis, every med advertised and some that weren't, quit coffee (had quit booze and heroin years prior) cold-turkey, tapering, gum, patches, all of it. Nothing worked. BTW, I live in a state that taxes cigarettes so high that a pack of brand-name can cost close to $10.

I don't advise anyone to try this, but it's what worked for me. I got pneumonia, the severe, life-threatening kind. One night I flat couldn't breathe despite having oxygen available (I slept on it only then) and had to call 911. I was semi-conscious at ER intake. They wanted to intubate me but I'm a DNR, so refused. I wound up in the ICU for several days on IV antibiotics, with several kinds of respiratory treatments. (I accepted all treatment except intubation, as my fear of surviving as a veg on a ventilator is way higher than my fear of death.)

The hospital usually offers patches to smokers, but they hadn't thought of that when saving my life, so when they did, after 10 days, I said no. Nicotine isn't all that good for you medically anyway. The physical withdrawals are only about 72 hours, BUT the brain is clever and wants what it wants. So, though I was fine in the hospital, when I got out, surrounded by smoking triggers, it was hard. I was on oxygen 24/7, though (and still am) which kept me from smoking. I started vaping instead but did that about 6 months then realized I wasn't really hooked and gave away all my e-cigs.

This was 5 years ago, and for the most part, I don't think about it. I still have a hard time around people smoking and can't watch old movies where everybody smokes. Since I can't function without the oxygen, taking it off to have a smoke, besides being incredibly stupid, would be unpleasant. I once lit some incense, forgetting about the O2, and lost my eyebrows and about the front 1/2 inch of hair. So there's that! It really is mostly mental, after a couple of days, but believe me, the mind is a powerful thing. 🙏
 
I started nicotine because I was addicted to opiates. It was like milk and cookies they told me. I knew better but did it anyway. So about a year after I quite opiates I quite tobacco without so much as an after thought. It was literally one of the easiest things ive ever done. I never liked it to begin with so im sure that has something to do with it. For about 4 years after I quite tobacco I had dreams about "slipping up" and starting tobacco again. I would wake from the dream extremely disappointed in myself. Then when I would realized it was a dream i would be relieved. I never had any desire to use tobacco again, or any dreams where I enjoyed it. It may seem simpler to me because ive already done it, but quitting tobacco was one of the easiest, best decisions ive ever made. I was able to buy a car after three years.

Being free is a great feeling friends. Definitely better than nicotine feels...such a shitty drug. Good luck!!
 
Try the nicotine patch of all else fails. Also when I was on naltrexone for my drinking, it made me quit smoking cigs
 
The boredom aspect is difficult with nicotine. Having something to do with your hands every few minutes or hours, is the true habit of it all. My buddy has good success not smoking using a nicotine soaked cinnamon toothpick. He buys em in 100 count boxes I believe and say that it helps the craving and having something to do with his hands.
 
madness00 said:
I broke down and bought a rolling machine.

:LOL:
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That is probably what I am going to have to do too!
I have managed to get the smoking down to 5-6 cig’s a day.
I am trying the “tapering” method.

The cinnamon soaked tobacco toothpicks sound like a great idea!
I am going to look for those.
That sounds a lot cheaper than the patches or gum.

Cigarettes are $10 a pack now!
 
If you're down for it try out smoking a bong hit whenever you want a ciggy. You'll be so baked you wont be able to remember what a cigarette is.
 
If it hasn't been said: nicotine is much less addictive than commercial tobacco, especially for smoking. Apart from the poisons that are added, the TSN's in tobacco are carcinogens, too.

And the effects wouldn't be the same, or else 95% of people would have switched to vapes.

Nicotine by itself in transdermal/gum form has some real therapeutic potential...

Tobacco smoking is a hard drug in that cravings can last for up to ten years, and can attack you when you're most vulnerable, seemingly out of nowhere, years after quitting. Given this, it's good to have plans when these cravings come, because they almost certainly will.

If you see a psych doctor, they can usually prescribe a lot of the inhaler (not vape, as if doesn't produce any vapor) for a relatively small copay. Corporate and governmental interests that aren't tied to big tobacco realize that the cost to the economy is worse if people smoke more.
 
I agree Alpha, knowing what you must do once that inevitable craving happens is the difference between success and failure. Be vigilante of your triggers (alcohol, stress, boredom) and understand that making a quick decision will aid you every time. It sounds cliché but just turn around. If possible change scenery...leave the trigger where its at. Don't wait for your environment to stop triggering you. In my experience the intense craving only lasted 20 30 minutes tops, so if you can get past that your golden.
 
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