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Recovery Quitting Cigarettes (and maybe ALL nicotine?)

jasperkent said:
Suggestions and encouragement welcome!

It's been 36 hours since my last cigarette.
(but who's counting?)
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The one thing that probably helped me the most was Allen Carr's The Easy Way To Stop Smoking book, through the way he deconstructed the psychology of the cigarette addict and turned it around.

His rationale that he fleshes out in the book could basically be boiled down to arguing convincingly that cigarettes do not actually help a person relax and de-stress, but they artificially create a tension in the body, that can only be relieved by cigarettes. If you remove the cigarettes, that artificial tension goes away (in time). He likened smoking to deliberately wearing shoes far too small, only in order to enjoy the sensation of taking the shoes off and the ending of the discomfort. Those are the main kind of gists of the book, and although it does get repetitive at times, it certainly was a game changer for me.

Also apart from Allen Carr, is all that health information on the benefits over time of stopping smoking from 30 minutes to ten years since the last cigarette.
 
Bleaney said:
The one thing that probably helped me the most was Allen Carr's The Easy Way To Stop Smoking book, through the way he deconstructed the psychology of the cigarette addict and turned it around.

His rationale that he fleshes out in the book could basically be boiled down to arguing convincingly that cigarettes do not actually help a person relax and de-stress, but they artificially create a tension in the body, that can only be relieved by cigarettes. If you remove the cigarettes, that artificial tension goes away (in time). He likened smoking to deliberately wearing shoes far too small, only in order to enjoy the sensation of taking the shoes off and the ending of the discomfort. Those are the main kind of gists of the book, and although it does get repetitive at times, it certainly was a game changer for me.

Also apart from Allen Carr, is all that health information on the benefits over time of stopping smoking from 30 minutes to ten years since the last cigarette.
Click to expand...
I found the book helpful for sure, and I know a fair few people who only finally managed to quit after reading it
 
Bleaney said:
The one thing that probably helped me the most was Allen Carr's The Easy Way To Stop Smoking book, through the way he deconstructed the psychology of the cigarette addict and turned it around.

His rationale that he fleshes out in the book could basically be boiled down to arguing convincingly that cigarettes do not actually help a person relax and de-stress, but they artificially create a tension in the body, that can only be relieved by cigarettes. If you remove the cigarettes, that artificial tension goes away (in time)....
Click to expand...
ageingpartyfiend said:
I found the book helpful for sure, and I know a fair few people who only finally managed to quit after reading it
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Yeah, I'm pretty sure I read that book years ago. What he says makes perfect sense and accurately describes a big part of what all addictions have in common.

It didn't take with me. As with every one of my other addictions, I just wasn't ready till I was ready. It's not enough to know I should quit. I had to really want to.
 
jasperkent said:
For most of my life, smoking was part of my identity-- I was a cook. I was a leftist. I was a dog lover. I was an alcoholic and a drug addict. I was a smoker.
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Were you also French or German because holy fucking hell do they ever do a full send when it come to smokes. ;)

Congrats on quitting.
I quit regular, daily smoking over 4 years ago, after about 15 years. It had helped that I cut down from about a pack a day to less than half for a couple years before. I also stopped my morning smoke routine a good two years prior.
I remember it being easy until day 4 when I got cravings after some stress at work.

I can't imagine having to try after as many years and as heavy a go as you managed.

I wish you success.
 
jasperkent said:
Keep in mind that I'm still using nicotine. There's no way I could quit cigs without chemical assistance. I start getting antsy after 2 hours of no nicotine.
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Yeah, I was able to go without so, again, I can't imagine how tough that is.

I stopped completely for 8 months and only then started slowly picking it up, but only when I drink. I can wake up after a night of drinking and smoking a pack plus a cigar and not have the slightest craving for a smoke. I feel blessed in that way. I was worried at first that if I started smoking when I drank that I'd eventually start craving it during non-drinking times. This was especially worrying during like holidays of two weeks where I smoked every day pretty well because I'd have at least one drink every day.

It's weird how the brain works. It's like a hard switch in my brain circuitry. If no booze then no smoke. Fully closed system.

All the best. :)
 
13 days, no smokes.

Had a tense moment yesterday. I was straightening up in my bedroom and came across a full unopened pack of Marlboros that I hadn't known was there.

Major trigger for me-- I've always liked the ritual of packing down that hefty new pack, then opening it and smelling the nice fresh tobacco scent before tapping out the first cigarette and lighting it up. It's a feeling of well-being and enrichment, a sense of empowerment and possibility, a readiness to face the world no matter what.
Yeah, cigarettes were a Higher Power to me.

I almost smoked "just one" but I knew damn well that if I opened that pack I'd smoke every cig in it. But I couldn't stand to throw them away; I despise wastefulness of any kind. Then I remembered the homeless guy who hangs out near my workplace and sometimes bums smokes. He'll get them as soon as I see him tomorrow.

I'm actually glad it happened. I know now that I am truly ready to leave cigarettes behind me for good. I'm done.

What a relief. I can breathe.
 
They are cheering you on, and so am I my friend. :)

Fucking fantastic accomplishment on 2 weeks J!!! You ROCK, say hi to Dixie for me please.

Big hugs,
your friend always,
Ash. 😘
 
jasperkent said:
The frogs in the pond next to my house are doing their Spring Singing and they are loud!
I love it.

Plus, they started up a couple days after I quit smoking 2 weeks ago. When I hear them I like to think they are cheering me on.

♥ ♥ ♥
🐸🐸🐸
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Yeah, congrats! Your health is already improving. You should be getting to smell and taste food better. And without burning a hole in your pocket!
 
How's your breathing?

One of the more acutely serious reasons I quit regular, daily smoking was because my airways were getting fucked up in the sense that I started getting sleep apnea.
Luckily that went away after about a week of not smoking and even more luckily hasn't really come back.
Did you develop anything similar and has it ameliorated since you quit?
I'm sure you can smell better by now as well, eh?
 
jasperkent said:
As many of you know, I've been smoking cigarettes daily for 50 years. For the past 45 years I've smoked at least a pack and a half a day. Although I've overcome addictions to various drugs and drug combos, I have never been able to kick my first habit: cigarette smoking. In fact, I tend to smoke even more when I'm clean & sober. This is despite the fact that every male relative on both sides of my family has died of some form of lung disease-- in my father's case, lung cancer.

When 2024 rolled around, I decided that I  had to do something about it. At 64, I am not afraid of death. As Mark Twain put it, I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it. But I care a lot about how I die-- and, more importantly, how I live between now and then. I don't want to struggle to breathe and/or be incapacitated in my final years.

Since the first of the year I've been trying to cut back on my smoking -- with limited success. Generally, if I have cigarettes I am going to smoke them So I have to just quit. To be clear, I am not quitting nicotine. I am armed with nic gum, Grizzly pouches, and a vape pen. Oddly, I don't particularly like vaping so I doubt that it will become a problem.

Suggestions and encouragement welcome!

It's been 36 hours since my last cigarette.
(but who's counting?)
Click to expand...

Good luck! Killed your family yet? 4 hours in I'm usually ready to rip heads off lol.

I'm quitting, too, currently, but by tapering the actual cigarettes rather than using NRT. I don't find NRT as effective as some (I think due to MAOI and whatever else is in tobacco).
I was on around a pack and a half a day, too. Currently down from 30 to 18.
 
THREE WEEKS, NO SMOKES!
SunriseChampion said:
How's your breathing?

One of the more acutely serious reasons I quit regular, daily smoking was because my airways were getting fucked up in the sense that I started getting sleep apnea.
Luckily that went away after about a week of not smoking and even more luckily hasn't really come back.
Did you develop anything similar and has it ameliorated since you quit?
I'm sure you can smell better by now as well, eh?
Click to expand...
No apnea, but yes I think my breathing is improving already. And yes, my sense of smell is better too.

ChemicallyEnhanced said:
Good luck! Killed your family yet? 4 hours in I'm usually ready to rip heads off lol.

I'm quitting, too, currently, but by tapering the actual cigarettes rather than using NRT. I don't find NRT as effective as some (I think due to MAOI and whatever else is in tobacco).
I was on around a pack and a half a day, too. Currently down from 30 to 18.
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I live with just my dog and that works out very well.
No mood changes, mainly because I'm getting my nicotine thru other means.
I tried tapering from cigs but I found that the fewer I smoked the more I anticipated and appreciated each one-- so I ended up craving cigs even more than before.
I just had to quit smoking altogether. I don't even smoke weed anymore-- edibles only.
 
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Super cool. I guess that people just have different experiences with quitting, what helps and what doesn't. Smart move not to smoke weed, I'd say. Someone told me that they quit through, among other tactics, drinking a glass of water when they have cravings. But this is surely to inspire other smokers to quit. Lots of them on bluelight.
 
AlphaMethylPhenyl said:
Someone told me that they quit through, among other tactics, drinking a glass of water when they have cravings.
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I used drinking water to fend off the appetite surge post-quitting, which lasted about 3-5 weeks from what I remember.
It wasn't a direct craving for cigarettes (which happened to me only on day 4 of not smoking when I got stressed out at work) but more like my body craving something, anything. Like it was missing nourishment. It was a weird feeling for me. I eat only two meals a day and am pretty well fat adapted so I normally don't ever get hungry or crave food.
 
FOUR WEEKS, NO CIGARETTES!

This is the longest I've gone without a cigarette in fifty years.

I don't miss 'em, either. My senses of taste & smell are sharper than ever and I'm starting to breathe better, too. I feel like my energy level is increasing-- probably because I'm getting more oxygen and less carbon monoxide.

At this point my nicotine intake is split between vaping and nic gum. I'm going to start phasing out the vaping soon. Eventually, I'll use just the gum and then work on cutting that out as well.

smoke-free and loving it,
yer pal Jasper
✌ ♥
 
jasperkent said:
FOUR WEEKS, NO CIGARETTES!

This is the longest I've gone without a cigarette in fifty years.

I don't miss 'em, either. My senses of taste & smell are sharper than ever and I'm starting to breathe better, too. I feel like my energy level is increasing-- probably because I'm getting more oxygen and less carbon monoxide.

At this point my nicotine intake is split between vaping and nic gum. I'm going to start phasing out the vaping soon. Eventually, I'll use just the gum and then work on cutting that out as well.

smoke-free and loving it,
yer pal Jasper
✌ ♥
Click to expand...
I have started and stopped smoking several times but, chewing tobacco, as in Kodiak, Skoal ect, not the shit in a big pouch was the worst to quit. When my dad was dying, for some reason I started again. I buy filtered tubes, loose tobacco and have a cigarette making machine. The one issue I have had is, that not only does that nicotine gum taste awful, but it actually costs me more than the cigarettes I smoke.
I am trying to cut back and quit, I have health issues and although I never smoked for long periods, I had used smokeless tobacco from 13 til my later 20's. I got grounded when my mom caught me with cigarettes when I was 13 and started to use smokeless tobacco from then on, but yeah nicotine is a bitch to quit.
Good job on staying off cigarettes, considering how long you have smoked.
The worst part, besides the health issues and for many people the cost, is I feel like a slave to a habit I don't want.
I too have seen older family members die from smoking, and it wasn't a quick painless death either. I only started again in August of 2023, when my dad was dying; after between 15-20 years of being relatively tobacco free.
Anyways good luck on quitting and on staying off them.
 
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