Quitting Smoking Cold Turkey

CookNLift
CookNLift Posts: 3,660 Member
in Motivation and Support
I tried using an electronic cigarette to help quit smoking and I don't feel like it's a good idea, as I feel I may get addicted to using that instead of a cigarette. I had to work at the restaurant this weekend in the 98 degree kitchen and wound up smoking a couple of cigarettes after two weeks of being good.

Tossing the rest of the pack I bought in the trash and going cold turkey. Wish me luck, and let me know any good pointers for keeping the cravings away.

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Goodbye NAS
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Replies

  • clareyoung80
    clareyoung80 Posts: 177 Member
    I plan on quitting tomorrow cold turkey!

    Good luck, and feel free to add me for motivation/quitting buddy!
  • workaholic_nurse
    workaholic_nurse Posts: 727 Member
    195 days :smokin: free and :love: it! Used the book Quit Smoking the Easy Way by Allen Carr:heart: it! One of the best things you can do for your body!:drinker:
  • Sooze_1975
    Sooze_1975 Posts: 89 Member
    There is a great book that will help. 'The Easy Way to Quit Smoking' by Allan Carr. He doesn't talk about the normal health and financial reasons to quit smoking. He makes you think about quitting in a different way. It's worth reading it. Good luck!
  • KCoolBeanz
    KCoolBeanz Posts: 813 Member
    I've done it, it wasn't easy. Keep reminding yourself why you're quitting in the first place, and try to stay away from triggers if you can. Also, do whatever you can to keep yourself busy when you're bored.

    Good luck :-) :flowerforyou:
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    YOU CAN DO IT!!
    both my husband and I did it!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Good luck...

    I did go the e-cig route and slowly dumped the nicotine in my e-juice...took about 6 months to get myself down to zero nicotine...once I was at zero, I didn't even really desire the e-cig anymore. It can be beneficial if you do it with the intent that you're going to continuously cut down on the nicotine. But some people just have better success going cold.

    Good luck to you...it's so worth it to not smoke anymore. My life is 180* different than it was a mere 9 months ago.
  • barbara4599
    barbara4599 Posts: 114 Member
    I quit cold turkey over a year ago. It was my fifth or so attempt but I think I really got it this time. Sometimes you have to quit lots of times before you make it. Stick to it! Make yourself little reminder notes about why you're doing it, chew some gum, take a walk, drink some water, say kind things to yourself. All these little things help.

    I found myself VERY moody for several weeks. I was short with people, mean, not fun to be around. I started apologizing to people at the beginning of the conversation, especially at work. When I told them I was quitting smoking they were pretty suppostive, even if I was a ***** to them :-)
  • ShelliePAwesome
    ShelliePAwesome Posts: 42 Member
    I quit cold turkey Oct 1 2012...i used Listerine breath spray to blast my taste buds. So far, so good.

    Good luck...you can do it!
  • Frank_Just_Frank
    Frank_Just_Frank Posts: 454 Member
    I quit cold turkey about 18 years ago. It sucked the big one for about 3 weeks and then tapered off to nothing. Congrats on the great choice to quit.
  • lmarshel
    lmarshel Posts: 674 Member
    I quit cold turkey. I left an open half pack on the kitchen counter and didn't touch them again except to throw them out months later. And my hubby was still smoking ( in the house ) at that time.

    I realized my enture life revolved around cigarettes. I planned my work day around when I would take the next break. I couldn't sit down and visit friends for an hour without heading outside for a cigarette. I couldn't wait until the end of ANYthing so I could go smoke. The last straw was when I left my 10 year old son decorating the Christmas tree on his own while I went in the other room to smoke. I stopped halfway through that cigarette and have never smoked since.

    That was almost 14 years ago now...it CAN be done! :bigsmile:
  • mdepko
    mdepko Posts: 283 Member
    I quit 30 March 2013. I was probably smoking 2 packs a day or close to it! I joined MFP 21 Jan 2013. I have continued to lose weight (over 30 lbs) by sticking with MFP after quitting smoking. I went cold turkey., but I prepared for it and followed this website. http://www.neversmokeagain.com/index.html I had one hard day and that was the first day. I was traveling, and every convenience store was calling me to come in and buy cigarettes. I followed the website, I prepared and quit. I also had my daughter witness my last cigarette (of course she thought I was full of crap, but it definitely helped knowing that she knew I was quitting). I also avoided my biggest trigger (alcohol) for the first month. Good luck! Make up your mind, and just do it!
  • LoggingForLife
    LoggingForLife Posts: 504 Member
    I used Allen Carr's book. The money I have saved I put into giving my kids an allowance. They have chores to do before they get it and...holy cow...they actually do their stuff. I'm amazed. The benefits of being a happy non-smoker are great.
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  • Sheri869
    Sheri869 Posts: 1,195 Member
    I have quit and started again many times....though my husband smoked so it made my success much harder to stick to!

    I made a deal with him to quit if he wanted to go on a fishing trip we really couldn't afford....he did it! Made the journey MUCH easier for both of us to do it together!!!

    We both quit actual cigarettes cold turkey - but we did use the e-cig for about 3 weeks. The taste and volume of nicotene is so much different but still gives the "motion" and feel of smoking if you need it. Because it is so different it didn't take us long to stop that as well. The one plus side was in times of extremely stressful situations it came in handy. To reach for that instead of buying a whole pack...an then, most likely smoking it! With it - the bonus was just hitting it a couple times and being DONE!

    After 1 month no reg cig and 3 more months without the use of anything - I've endured some seriously stressful situations...and while the craving still comes in those times - I've managed to not touch it again! If I could make it through this last month of some hardcore stress....I know I'll never touch it again!!

    For my husband it was much easier quitting using the e-cig than he'd thought. He is surrounded by friends that smoke (I am not) but with that tool...it doesn't even phase him anymore and I think he quit using the e-cig even before I did. We both quit the real thing cold turkey on the same day.

    It was a great tool for us and worked for us! It made the transition MUCH easier and giving it up as well after the original hard quit transition was a cinch. Though I have an aquaintance who puffs on that e-cig CONSTANTLY...so I would assume it doesn't work for everyone...

    Stay Away from the triggers as much as possible...but that is not always possible and surround yourself with support! Thats the best advice I can give. Once I had the support of my husband (and the little tool) after 20 years....it was really not so tough!

    GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!!
  • lilac67
    lilac67 Posts: 311
    Great decision to quit! I quit 5 yrs ago after smoking for 30 yrs--yes I started really young. I watched my mother and grandmother both lose their lives to emphysema and copd. I didn't want to go like that and I want my two older kids that way to go that way, either. I had my mind set that I was quitting--and it is hard, but doable. I wore a nicotine patch for 13 days (the 14th is still in my top drawer) and I was done. Having grown up around smoke, I couldn't smell it, I finally did two weeks after I quit--yuck! I had to re-learn how to do things. I had never driven a car w/o smoking ( except driver's ed, lol) What do you do after you eat, fold the laundry, or after washing dishes--that was the hard part. I'm not a gum chewer, but I was in the car while I drove. After dinner, chores, or when I wanted to light up, I'd drink a hot cup of orange spice tea. When it got really bad, I prayed thru it, and I got thru it. Today I'm not gum or tea addicted (lol) .

    I hope this shows you it can be done. Find what works for you and know there is help all around you! Best wishes and Good luck!
  • jbalsavage
    jbalsavage Posts: 6 Member
    Good luck to you. If you fall off the wagon, get the Allen Carr book that others on this thread have recommended and try again. My husband quit cold turkey about six months ago using the book, and I know a bunch of other people who used it successfully too. If my husband could do it, you can. He smoked for over 25 years and tried everything (Chantix, the patch, the gum, some herbal pills he got off the internet, etc., etc.) but nothing worked for more than a day or two until he read the book.
  • getting_fit86
    getting_fit86 Posts: 128 Member
    NM
  • SaltWaterTaffy78
    SaltWaterTaffy78 Posts: 375 Member
    Best of luck!

    I quit cold turkey 10 years ago and never regretted it! Still going strong!

    You can do it! :happy:
  • alexeye11
    alexeye11 Posts: 52 Member
    I quit about a year ago and never turned back! Now I can't even stand the smell of cigarettes! lol. I used electronic cig for a couple weeks, then just decided to go without any kind of cigarettes. Haven't smoked in a long time and don't miss it in the least. Good luck to you! :)
  • karenertl
    karenertl Posts: 271 Member
    I'm glad I never picked up smoking.
  • sillygoosie
    sillygoosie Posts: 1,109 Member
    Quitting smoking.... Why even start in the first place?

    This is so helpful. I'm sure the OP, who is doing something good to improve his life, never thought of that.

    I just quit again. I quit cold turkey about six years ago but fell off the wagon for a while after going through some crap in my life. I like cold turkey but this time I have kept an ecig around for the times when my cravings are really bad. I haven't used it very much.

    I wish you the very best!
  • triciab79
    triciab79 Posts: 1,713 Member
    Did anyone else read this and think mmmmm smoked turkey? I should go get some lunch I guess.
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
    I quit as well, 1 month ago. Never felt better :)

    Good luck to you!!
  • tc41586
    tc41586 Posts: 136 Member
    You can do it!! Download the Cessation Nation App on your phone.... it is what kept me going during times I wanted to sneak and smoke. I am at 203 days today, I've saved $300 and not smoked 1,012 cigarettes. You will be soooo happy that you quit... I truly am.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Quitting smoking.... Why even start in the first place?

    Kind of a mute point don't ya think? Everybody does dumb ****...I'm sure you're not the exception.
  • valerie521
    valerie521 Posts: 140 Member
    I too am a quitter :)

    I did quit using a recipe that I heard on the Oprah show. Crazy as it seems, it did work for me ( you continue to smoke while doing this)

    1. 6-8 oz glass of juice (preferrably cranberry or orange juice)
    2. 1 tsp of creme of tartar (you can purchase in the spice isle -at the grocery store)

    Just before bed, empty your bladder. Stir up the ingredients and gulp down as fast as you can. DO NOT go to the restroom again until this has been in your system overnight. If you get up in the "wee" hours (excuse my pun), thats ok, but try to keep in your system. The first time you will actually smell the nicotine flushing from your system, in your morning urine. I know gross but you can only imagine... I was about 1 1/2 packs a day when I quit. You do this method for 7-10 days, still smoking your normal. You will notice that you will begin to only smoke half of a ciggy or have less of a desire to smoke as much as the nicotine is flushing from your body. As the ten day mark approached, I didn't even want one. When I picked up a smoke (as my usual habit with coffee), the taste of the cig was nasty. It made it easier and it only cost me about $4.00 :) You can do it but the recipe only works if your desire to quit as well

    GIVE IT A TRY -- going on 6 1/2 years or more
  • holliebevineau
    holliebevineau Posts: 441 Member
    Did any of You quitters gain weight? I am trying to quit. I am down to about 5 a day.
  • MetalBabyGirl
    MetalBabyGirl Posts: 4 Member
    I quit smoking about 3 days ago, cold turkey. After the first two days, it gets a little easier. Try chewing gum and keeping your hands busy!
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
    I quit cold turkey 6 years ago -- after 25+ years of smoking (sometimes up to 2-3 packs a day)

    I had a wake up call -- at 45, overweight, diabetic -- the doctors told me my heart was 73 years old.
    I quit that day and never looked back. Now I'm down 120lbs, no longer diabetic, no more insulin, no more cigs and feel 30 again.

    It's very hard at first -- but if you had a wake-up call and you're committed you can do it.
    "what do I do with my hands" was the hardest part.... I liked to smoke at the computer and while driving...

    Think of all the money you'll be saving.... Take that $5 a pack and put it in a jar -- :)

    You can do it... and you'll be so much happier for it!
  • MizTerry
    MizTerry Posts: 3,763 Member
    I had a 32 year pack a day habit. I quit January 2012.
    Change any routine you have, and invest in cinnamon sticks, gum and chewing sticks (usually available at health food stores).
    I wish you well.

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