I use nicotine pills. Probably been off cigarettes and Vapes for almost 10 years.
Mini nicotine tastes better than the large nicotine pills. You get a little kick sucking on them (same as vape) that you don’t get with nicotine patches. So yes the fucking pills are addictive as well. However they are easy to take anywhere (plane for example), and no vape juice or exploding vapo batteries.
Oh about vaping note if u have allergies to PG. I fared better with VG. PG sensitivity seems pretty common.
Here’s a serious question:
Do you live somewhere that weed is legal?
Smoke that. Of course you can’t smoke it throughout the day, but it’ll take the edge off when the nicotine starts to leave your system.
I’ve quit twice, after smoking for more than a decade, and it stuck. I still kind of miss it, because i liked the act of smoking.
The trouble with vaping is that it doesn’t really address the core problem, which is that you are physically addicted to nicotine. There’s a psychological component, but the physical component is the vast majority of the issue, and a lot of the psychological part is just your brain trying to get you to give it nicotine, because it knows that nicotine makes you feel gooood.
That’s the hardest part of quitting. Withdrawal makes you feel bad, and there’s that little voice saying if you just smoke a cigarette, you will feel better. And what mattress it so powerful, is that the little voice is RIGHT. You absolutely will feel better, because that’s what physical addiction is. But every time you give in, you reset the clock, and you never really get closer to quitting (unless you are using a drug that blocks nicotine, which then prevents you from actually feeding the addiction).
There’s s couple of things that can help. After only a few days, you don’t have any nicotine inn your body, and withdrawal will be the worst it gets. Then, it’ll get better, but you gotta make it a few weeks before it goes away completely. And like i said, I still kind of miss it. But then you’re free.
There was a time when i quit, that i think turned things around for me. was pissed off about something that did not merit me being pissed off. And so i thought about it, and asked “why am I pissed off?” It was almost kinds of meditative. Just reflecting upon my own feelings. Because the answer was, “I’m pissed off because my brain wants a chemical.”
And for me, realizing that flipped a switch. Consciously acknowledging why I was pissed, made it go away. It was no longer a “real” emotion somehow. It’s worth at least trying this kind of self reflection when going through withdrawal.
I’ve been through it, so i know it’s easier said than done. But it’s worth doing.
And seriously, smoking weed can absolutely help, because it will calm you down and let you smoke something without resetting the nicotine clock.
Nope and it’ll be one of the last places to legalize it probably.
Condolences on the murder then.
Seriously though, while thing through withdrawal, consciously acknowledge that it’s the lack of nicotine that is making you feel bad. It helps.
How far are you from state lines? If Quad Cities aren’t too far…
But seriously, good luck.
I just want to say I love this thread because it helped me quit almost 10 years ago and I love that so many people are supportive for others who are on that same path. As it had been ages since this thread had been bumped, I re-read through it and it was pretty cool seeing myself congratulating myself on 1 month, then 3 months, then a year of no smoking.
There is a lot of advice in this thread, I wouldn’t solely focus on what people are saying now. In addition to all that great advice (interesting that vaping wasn’t even around 10 years ago), it’s worth it to go back and read all the history and other advice given throughout so many years.
I just quit after 33 years of being a pack-a-day smoker who never thought I’d quit and never tried to but I figured it was finally time.
I went to my Dr for a physical / blood work and I asked about Chantix or Wellbutrin, the patch, or lozenges. He prescribed the Chantix as he said it had a higher success rate. Started using the starter pack. No terrible side effects for me, just weird dreams. Over time, about 3 weeks, because of the medication, smoking became ambivalent, they were flat and unrewarding. I was waiting for the AH-HA moment but it never came. One morning I just decided to not light up and tomorrow at 8pm will be 3 weeks as a non-smoker. I get a few pangs a day but they pass in a few minutes, just recognize them for what they are.
Another thing that helped was Allen Carr’s Easy Way book. I read it over a year ago and I wasn’t ready. But reading it again while the Chantix worked it’s chemical magic was a big help in further dispelling the brainwashing about nicotine and smoking.
Good luck if you make attempt, whatever works, but my advice, drop the nicotine altogether, it does nothing for you and it super addictive. The sooner you stop nicotine, the sooner you can escape the trap.
Can’t say enough about that book. Absolutely helped me quit successfully after two failed attempts. Haven’t touched any nicotine in gosh, 12 years now.
Just wanted to add my own take to just part of that.
For me, vaping absolutely dealt with the actual addiction issue. Because here’s the thing: you still have massive withdrawal when you switch, but because of the nicotine you don’t get the fuzzy headed part of it.
Once I got well clear I’ve started cutting down the nicotine in my juice which I can adjust any way I see fit. I am now at such a low level I only bother to vape because it’s pleasant.
When I dropped that level in half I was more tired, but that’s basically it. Nicotine on its own is far less of a problem than the giant cocktail of shit in cigarettes when it comes to quitting.
Struggling to wrap my head around this one. In my corner of the world, every fourth shop is a vape shop. They’re the new mobile phone unlocking/case shops. Literally, a lot of the time.
Sometimes both.
Gotta be honest, I stopped on July 10th. Global respiratory pandemic. Probably won’t really help if I catch it, but better an excuse than continuing right?
Starting to wonder.
First month was easy. Didn’t feel any different. Didn’t get angry. Didn’t eat more. Nothing really changed. Super weird.
Second month to now (I think I’m on 2 months and 1 week).
Can’t sleep some nights. Sleep 14 hours on others. Sometimes want to vomit all day. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I can breathe, mostly I can’t. If I were to generally tell you how I feel lately it would be “the same as I did while I was smoking”. It makes NO sense and I’m almost at the end of my fucking rope.
You’d think I’d be breathing better. Nope.
You’d think my BP and heart rate would be lower. Nope.
You’d think I gained weight. Boy did I. Too much. How? I don’t know, I don’t eat any differently.
You’d think I could do something easy like hop on a stationary bike and have at it. Nope.
Starting to worry that something is honestly wrong, and since I am Incredibly Scared of the virus, good luck getting me into an office or a hospital lab to get any tests.
I do have a telehealth appointment with my doc on October 2nd. I will uh, be sure to mention all of this.
But seriously it’s like nothing has changed. Okay two things have changed.
I can smell smoke. Like, I am ashamed I smelled like that for so long. It’s nasty and now I’m one of Those People.
I tried one a week ago. Vomited violently. Body/brain doesn’t want it anymore. I’m fine with this. One drag and I was spewing on the side of the street. It was gross. I was happy about it.
So I guess like the title says, I do want to kill random people for fun, but not because I’m irritable. (I am slightly more irritable but not for the withdrawal reasons.) (Pretty sure that’s over with.) (I think, can it really last this long?)
Good luck looking up anything like this online. All you will find are the wonderful effects and rainbows and sunshine that start shooting out of your newly toned unicorn ass a month after you quit.
Apparently not. My ass just got bigger and hairier. This sucks, guys. A lot. Hopefully it’s just my generally shitty health reacting to not having it’s thing and it’s taking longer than I thought.
You should be proud of yourself my man.
First, good job quitting. It’s hard. You’re doing good though.
Second, have you changed your diet any? Normally, people do, because nicotine is a natural hunger suppressant. So, how has your diet changed?
Third, how long did you smoke? Once you quit, your lungs will start repairing, and part of that process is that the cilia grow back, and then your lungs start pushing built up that and crap out. Honestly, it’s amazing how well your lungs are able to repair themselves from long term damage from smoking.
But the downside is that they are pushing out some bad stuff. When I quit, i coughed up some gross crap. But it passed. It’s possible that you are swallowing some of that stuff and it’s making you nauseous.
Honestly, some of your symptoms sound like the symptoms of a post nasal drip, where mucus is getting into your stomach… Allergies cause it for me. And it makes me really nauseous. Taking generic zyrtec prevents it for me.
Thanks, it hasn’t. Promise on a stack of 3080 GPU’s. I am not more hungry and I don’t eat any more than I used to.
How long? Math. 22 years. I haven’t coughed anything up yet. At all. I just wheeze uncontrollably at random intervals.
I have some non-generic Zyrtec but I’ll talk to the doc first.
Above all else, good job man. You accomplished something important. Even if it doesn’t feel like it yet, you achieved something many people fail at.
I know, thanks, sir.
Honestly people that smoke try all the time to stop. We know what it’s doing. I’ve done it in the past for 1 day, 3 days, a week, one time for three months and that was a hell of a struggle that ended badly.
For some reason it was a breeze this first month, then the second month it just piled on me. It’s very strange and concerning.
Pretty sure the virus was my personal wake up call. Some people don’t have one, maybe. Like my dad has had two strokes, a total personality change, still smokes. I know he can quit, I’ve seen him do it for years at a time. He can’t now. I don’t know why.
I’m just rambling, for some reason tonight I’m just upset.
I’m also going to tell you good job. Don’t discount how you feel now with what you’ve done. Quitting is a huge deal. Based on the other stuff you mention, maybe see if you can get COVID tested? It isn’t hard to locate but based on insurance might cost a bit now. It’s worth it.
Regardless, understand I’m from two parents who smoked for life. You are ABSOLUTELY avoiding a future healthcare issue for yourself by quitting now. There is no, “smoker’s retirement.” It’s multiple late life health failures that shorten your life.
As insincere as it may seem, I’m proud of you. Keep it going
Weight gain is pretty common. I put on a bit of weight after I quit…it took a concerted effort to eat less than when I smoked to get it off. Cigarettes activate your metabolism, so you’re probably burning fewer calories than when you smoked.
It takes time to feel better. I was coughing up gross shit for several months after.
I’m also from two parents who smoked for life, and so I’ll never smoke. My sister went the other way and has been smoking since she was 16.
Anyways my Mom goes through health issue after health issue and my Dad died when I was 27 so… yeah. Smoking is fucking horrible, you’re doing an amazing job KnightSaber.