hi all im in the final week of my nrt treatment & have got 6 little 7mg patches sitting neatly in my box
In a stupid way i am nervous of the day without a patch, so to get that day over with with i am thinking what difference would completing the rest of the week make? its a big mind game, i dont want to buy anymore coz i messed up with the nrt gum & dont want to fall into the same trap....
ohhhh which way should i jump? im already fed up with things lately so wot exactly would a tiny bit of nicotine be doing for me now? help please, i would be very grateful x
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yes that make sense thank, in my own head i was thinking but it an extra day of wearing a patch, as i have only got 6 days left on course & i didnt want to delay it, but it is a very good idea for weaning at the end, thanks again. x
gotcha... lol - its late - though the weaning thing could work. probably best to get some input from others who have done the full course too.
maybe complete the course as directed and then just chuck the other two in the bin with defiance of the last of the nicotine ever to be willingly put into your body....
it will be like throwing the cigs in the bin all over again and youll reinforce your defiance for ridding yourself from the addiction.
i understand what you are thinking / feeling though. I was like this when i was considering coming off champix. I knew i wasn't really ready to go it alone but i was feeling unwell on them and my mate gave me a talking too and told me to "just do it!":rolleyes:
i wasnt sure i was ready. I wasnt sure I could do it on my own without the "crutch". I kept 4 in the cupboard for if things got really bad.
things did get quite bad but i knew after a couple of days that what was happeneing was the psychological letting go. like a bird trying to fly out of the nest, you just gotta believe you can.
but i almost had like a quit within the quit when coming off the champix.
you can do it though Kitkat - your three months in and i think those first couple of days may be a bit weird because your having to "let go"
maybe you could keep the extra patches left over and then if you feel a wobble in the week after you come off them you could just put on a half till it passes?
dunno - its a hard decision - i was like this with the champix - my mate told me to bin them and just jump in the deep end and believe in myself...
I personally didnt believe in myself so strongly and was scared about putting my quit in jepordy so did keep some in the cupboard. I was worried about craving the tablets and i did and cigs a bit but not enough to take any more.
i just kinda knew it was my time to do it on my own.
dont worry if you feel a bit apprehensive. you got us lot to look after you
I would look at it no differently to when you dropped down a patch dose. (eg from 21 to 14 to 7 to 0).
No fear, just determination.
No loss, just gain.
No nicotine.. no worry.
Whats convinced me i'll be absolutely fine, is when i read a day 1 post on these very forums and it says,... i'm quitting today cold turkey.
Thats going from the full addiction to nothing in a split second, we on the other hand have gone through a weaning process with the nicotine.. and if your patches are like my step 3's then it will either be 7mg or 10mg approx.
I think you'll be just fine, you may wobble a bit.. but not as much as you are fearing...
in fact, i wouldn't mind betting that you would be causing more of problem for yourself by building up to the day with worrying than how it would actually be if you just approached it like any other day.
Have confidence in yourself.. your a tough'un, you will cope just fine! Don't worry!
You're doing great but please don't worry about the end of your course of NRT
going by what others on here have said you may notice a very little difference for the first day or so but that's all so no different to when you went to the lower doses
All in the mind KitKat, I don't know if I was lucky or what, but I didn't even use all of my 7s. I was left with 11 I think, when I realised I didn't need them anymore (gave them to someone on here). Didn't feel any difference at all when I did stop. Get yourself all geed up and convince yourself that you can do without them. David
.......or, use this week to wean yourself of gently by cutting in half and half again, as per bible blacks method. You will still have a few at the end but you will have come of gently. Thats how i did it. xx
.......or, use this week to wean yourself of gently by cutting in half and half again, as per bible blacks method. You will still have a few at the end but you will have come of gently. Thats how i did it. xx
I have never done well with NRT, but several have recently.
hi all thanks for all advice, its been fantastic, just read bibleblacks link, thanks fiona & stuart, it was a very informative read & is a idea that i am now taking on board for tomorrow, i go work tomorrow anoon & find it a breeze compared to looking after the kids - so i have set a date then tomorrow it is, i will cut my patch in half & try the next few days & then my last couple of days i will do a quarter of which i should be nicotine free by next tuesday unless i get brave & test the water patch free tomorrow? x i let u know how i get on
once again thank you
ps whats 7mg of nicotine equivalent to per fag? anyone know? x
thanks david, i just read link still dont understand? this is how i read it 10mg of nicotine in an average cigarette on inhaling a smoker gets 1-2mg of nicotine per cigarette? sorry have i read it wrong - or is it a similar like 7mg of nicotine(in my patch) slow release (so getting less- like fags) sorry im a bit lost? or is giving up the patch like giving up 7 fags (if got 1mg nicotine per fag) ot do i work out the 10mg nicotine in an average cigarette & that its equivalent to giving up less the 1 fag a day? sorry im confused.com x
ok.. you are not giving up 5 fags. You are just reducing your nicotine level by an amount equal to what you dropped it last time.. with the gradual step down this final step off them is no greater than dropping to a lower patch.
But! but! what about my lovely nicotine mg n all that wotsit i hear you say?
Well, like most things in life, you have to just give it a whirl and see how you go i'd say. This is like the same feeling you had when your parents suggested taking the stabilisers off your bike when you were a little nipper.. that same feeling of dread only to be replaced by.. an overwhelming feeling of achievement when you actually realise.. you can do this.
If you need to cut them patches to steady the ween even more gradual then by all means do so.. i'm on my last week of patches here myself 7mg.. and what i've been doing is.. the dirty way.. i wear the same patch for 2 days straight. (means i gotta just have a normal wash n wipe down on the 2nd day, but its how i finished my last step 3's when i've quit before on them.. and that way worked for me.)
Its all about being comfortable, but right now from an outsider looking in and reading between the lines of your posts.. i would say you are spending alot of mental power on worrying and not enough on building your confidence.
This is totally doable you hear? you really are capable of this.. i know you can.. you know you can.. and once you've begun the final step, you got us lot to lean on anyway. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
So chin up, good luck and lean on us when you need us.
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though the weaning thing could work. probably best to get some input from others who have done the full course too. 
Help with patches
