Is it really this easy?: Good morning all... - No Smoking Day

No Smoking Day

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Is it really this easy?

nsd_user663_3925 profile image
19 Replies

Good morning all,

Having smoked in excess of 20 cigarettes a day for the last 13 years I have finally decided to quit.

Today I find myself on Day 5 :):):) and I'm surprised how easy it has been (I'm using patches), I have had the odd craving which I have put down to the habitual side of things, i.e. getting in the car after work, finishing my evening meal etc.

I'm going on holiday in 2 weeks and this is the time when I feel the cravings will start to appear stronger , however, I'm sure that my long term determination not to, will over rule the short term craving of wanting one.

As I mentioned above , it all seems to be easy at the moment, I just hope I can keep going. Hopefully, my wife will then stop after we've been away.

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nsd_user663_3925
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19 Replies
NicFirth profile image
NicFirth10 Years Smoke Free

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

There was a post some time back asking how easy or difficult people have found it to quit.

Many, many people find that it is no where near as tough as they expected, and if you can get your head round the idea of not wanting to smoke due to the habitual and learned behaviour aspect then you are pretty much home and dry.

All the best

Nic

nsd_user663_3738 profile image
nsd_user663_3738

hi and well come,if you get your head round it like nic says you are almost there..it will take a bit of will power as well,but you can do it ,we are here to help you throught the bad days,,keep posting m2v,,and you keep the faith tony

nsd_user663_3925 profile image
nsd_user663_3925

When you take today's patch off, stick it onto something. Next day cut the new patch to be a little bit smaller than the day before's patch. Then at the end of that day, stick the old patch over the previous one, and next day cut one a bit smaller again - and so on.

Worked for me.

Cheers,

Jim

Great idea Jim, I'll might try that. The only problem is that I shall be visiting the nurse at the local doctor surgery every 2 weeks, she said on the first visit that I'll be on the strongest patches for 6 weeks, then the medium ones for 2 and the lowest ones for another 2 weeks and that'll be that.

By making the patches smaller each day will I not be compromising the "program" and I could possibly be increasing my nicotine intake when I moved down to the next strength of patches.

I can see it will definitely work during the last 2 weeks of patches.

Meat

nsd_user663_1733 profile image
nsd_user663_1733

Welcome Meat

Congrats on day 5 your almost at the week 2 stage. thats fab work the first week can be the worse. Look forward to getting to know you. linda xxxx

nsd_user663_3925 profile image
nsd_user663_3925

One more thing on this subject - all the patches (certainly the nicore77e ones, which you DON'T use overnight) - they're all made from the same material, no matter whether they're the 21mg, 14mg or 7mg patch - they're just DIFFERENT SIZES !! - the 14mg patch is 2/3 the size of the 21mg patch. The 7mg patch is 1/2 the size of the 14mg patch.

Seems to me if you suddenly go from 21 to 14, or 14 to 7, then you'll notice that.

But would you notice going from 21 to 20.5 to 20 to 19.5, etc etc ?

Thanks for that Jim,

That all seems to make perfect sense, I'll get through my 2 night shifts at work(tonight and tomorrow) and then I'll give it a go.

nsd_user663_3816 profile image
nsd_user663_3816

Hi Meatn2veg

Well done on deciding to quit, sounds like you are coping very well.

Good luck

Denise

xx

nsd_user663_3925 profile image
nsd_user663_3925

Day 5 was the hardest day so far,perversely I suspect it is because I have spent a lot of my time on here reading the many threads and despite all the positive messages and excellent advice throughout , it has made me think of cigarettes.

Day 6 and day 7 should be a walk in the park (although I won't be dropping my guard) as I will be asleep most of the time ;);) .

Roll on the end of week 1 :):).

NicFirth profile image
NicFirth10 Years Smoke Free

There will be some bad days but as time goes on they get fewer!

austinlegro profile image
austinlegro11 Years Smoke Free

.........and despite all the positive messages and excellent advice throughout , it has made me think of cigarettes.

Don't forget, thinking about fags is not failure.

Lots of us here are over 12 months into our quits and we still take part in the forum. If i didn't think about smoking on a daily basis i wouldn't be here.

The thing is I think about smoking with no regrets and try to pass the benefit of my experiences to other, fresher quitters.

If thinking of fags leaves you wanting a fag then keep studying.

stay strong. :)

nsd_user663_3925 profile image
nsd_user663_3925

Meat ... try cutting the patches down, bit by bit every day - so each day you're wearing a little bit less nicotine than the day before. You won't notice the drop in nicotine levels, trust me - I did it this way, but when you finally stop taking the patches you'll barely notice the withdrawal from nicotine as your body will have gradually been weaned off it already.

I've started to do this and so far so good, although my doctor advised me not too :rolleyes::rolleyes:.

nsd_user663_3925 profile image
nsd_user663_3925

Yeah ... but ... what do doctors know ?

.

Totally agree with you.

On Tuesday I have to go back to see the nurse for my fortnightly visit. At my initial appointment she said that I would be on the 21mg patches for 6 weeks, I'm tempted to ask her if I can drop to the 14mg, what do you think?

I did notice at the chemist yesterday that the stage 3 patches (7mg) were double the price of stage 1 and 2 , now that is the NRT/chemist making money out of people and not actually helping them to quit :mad::mad::mad: . Fortunately I'm getting mine by prescription ;) .

nsd_user663_3853 profile image
nsd_user663_3853

I did notice at the chemist yesterday that the stage 3 patches (7mg) were double the price of stage 1 and 2 , now that is the NRT/chemist making money out of people and not actually helping them to quit :mad::mad::mad: . Fortunately I'm getting mine by prescription ;) .

That is pretty ridiculous, just think those that follow the course of patches to the T may be thinking 'ah, at last, 7mg patches, I can save myself a bit of moolah'... and then the kick in the teeth... f!cking corporations!

Nearly a week now, Meat... I bet you can taste it! Seeing as your tastebuds should be repairing themselves and that...

Stay strong!

nsd_user663_3925 profile image
nsd_user663_3925

Yes, just coming to the end of week 1 and looking forward to week 2.

nsd_user663_3916 profile image
nsd_user663_3916

Hi Meat,

Congratulations on day 5! Stick with it!

Good Luck :D

nsd_user663_3925 profile image
nsd_user663_3925

Hi Meat,

Congratulations on day 5! Stick with it!

Good Luck :D

I'm on day 8 now :p .

nsd_user663_3925 profile image
nsd_user663_3925

I've cut my last 3 patches :o, there has been no noticeable change in the cravings. I suspect the nurse will be happy for me drop down to 14mg.

Thanks for the useful advice Bible.

nsd_user663_3925 profile image
nsd_user663_3925

I know that BibleBlack has referred people to this thread a couple of times, so here's an update.

I've cut my patches in size by approximately a third for the last 4 days, as mentioned in my previous post there have been no increase in the number of cravings.

The nurse prior to my quitting said I'd be on the 21mg for 6 weeks, when I see her on Tuesday I shall be explain what I've done and ask if she will prescribe me 14mg patches.

The problem I face then will be how much more I shall reduce the size of the 14mg patch. With a holiday looming in 2 weeks time (my favourite time to smoke when I was a smoker), I really don't want to be tempted so early in my no smoking efforts by trying to come off the patches too early.

For those of you that are going through a bit of a crappy time please dont be fooled by the title of this thread. I have found it very hard at times , day 5 being the worst, which is ironic as I started this thread at the start of .....................yes Day 5, complacency was definately kicking in.

I've had cravings, poor sleep, bad wind:o, bad moods, highs and lows but the thought of being a non smoker has got me through nearly 9 days. I still have a very long way to go, but I'm remaining positive.

My wife is still smoking, that doesn't bother me, the smell is awful. I hope I have given her some inspiration as she is going to give it a try when we get back from our holiday.

Good luck all,

Chris

nsd_user663_3926 profile image
nsd_user663_3926

One more thing on this subject - all the patches (certainly the nicore77e ones, which you DON'T use overnight) - they're all made from the same material, no matter whether they're the 21mg, 14mg or 7mg patch - they're just DIFFERENT SIZES !! - the 14mg patch is 2/3 the size of the 21mg patch. The 7mg patch is 1/2 the size of the 14mg patch.

Seems to me if you suddenly go from 21 to 14, or 14 to 7, then you'll notice that.

But would you notice going from 21 to 20.5 to 20 to 19.5, etc etc ?

One last thing ... I said I started from 2/3 patch after ripping it off and putting it back on. The next day I started on approx 2/3, which left 1/3. The next day I used the 1/3 from day before and a bit less than 1/3 from a new patch .. and each day, I took one of the two '1/3-ish' pieces off at around 6pm - this mirrored my smoking habit - I used to smoke less in the evenings than during the day - this also helped.

And by doing this, your packet of patches will last longer, so save you money!

Cheers,

Jim

Thats a good idea, I never really thought about the patches being the same just been different sizes but I suppose its obvious when you think about it...

Thanks for that Jim, will save me money in the long run ;)

nsd_user663_3925 profile image
nsd_user663_3925

Apparently the 7mg patches are twice the price of the 14mg patches - think it was Meatn2veg posted that .. .

They were in a particular chemist (rhymes with "roots") local to me, however, all 3 stages were the same price in the nearest supermarket.

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