People who have successfully quit smoking cold turkey...HELP!!!?!
Question: I have been a smoker for 16 years & not only do I find it hard to stop, I cannot use any alternatives (such as patches) because I am pregnant & my doc says no no no!
I truely want to quit & have decided that today is the day. I am craving pretty badly (i have been awake for 6 hours & havent had one & havent bought a pack!)
I would love some suggestions on how to be successful this time around, not only for my baby's well being but for my own!!
My husband is quitting also but is using the patches. Everyone else I know smokes!!!
It is a terribly disgusting habit (for me) & I am determined to quit....I just know how weak I am!!!!
Any valuable help will be very much appreciated :o)
Answers: I have been a smoker for 16 years & not only do I find it hard to stop, I cannot use any alternatives (such as patches) because I am pregnant & my doc says no no no!
I truely want to quit & have decided that today is the day. I am craving pretty badly (i have been awake for 6 hours & havent had one & havent bought a pack!)
I would love some suggestions on how to be successful this time around, not only for my baby's well being but for my own!!
My husband is quitting also but is using the patches. Everyone else I know smokes!!!
It is a terribly disgusting habit (for me) & I am determined to quit....I just know how weak I am!!!!
Any valuable help will be very much appreciated :o)
Give all of your credit cards, id cards, and money to someone else to hold until you can control your cravings.
This may or may not work, depending on your situation/age/et cetera, but it was amazingly successful for a friend of mine. He was young enough that he'd always get carded, so he only had to give up his id cards to avoid temptation. The friend also took his building key (he lived in an apartment where the outer doors lock automatically behind you), so he couldn't go outside to bum cigarettes.
Make it hard to get cigarettes. Make it a rule that you would have to walk to the store. You might turn around before you get there! Take yourself away from temptation by going on walks if you can't get rid of your money. You walk away from your money and id, so you can't buy cigarettes for the entire time you're out.
Try giving anything that you could use to buy cigarettes to your husband to hide. Get some sunflower seeds or mint leaves to chew on to reduce stress, though nothing will really get rid of the craving. Reward yourself with other treats--you're pregnant, so don't worry about calories! Stock up on your favorite desserts. Get your favorite take-out food, or go to your favorite restaurants.
Your best bet is to find some activity that you enjoy that you can't smoke while doing, or at least that distracts you enough so that you aren't constantly thinking about it. Knitting gave me something else to do with my hands; sunflower seeds gave me something else to do with my mouth. You can chew regular gum, too.
Avoid hanging out with your smoking friends, or get them to not smoke around you. This is a hard one for both of you--they want to give you a smoke, but they don't want to break you out of quitting, but they want to smoke, too. Call them before you visit and ask them to not give you cigarettes or allow you to smoke, and to please not smoke around you for the visit.
Avoid places or activities that you enjoy smoking with. For example, I liked to smoke and drink. Obviously drinking is already out for you, but not drinking for the first week helped me a lot.
Put up reminders for yourself. Every time you feel like having a smoke, look at things that remind you of the baby.
Have your husband help you--you're having a harder time than he is, after all, while carrying a baby! Get him to pamper you to help you through this rough time.
Good luck! It is so hard to quit, and even harder while you're going through pregnancy.
i smokes for 12 years and when i got pregnant i honestly wasn't planning on quiting, but when i went for my ultrasound my doctor told me "awwe how cute look your baby is smoking"
i was horrified that he could tell me something like that, but i quit until after my daughter was born and i had quit breast feeding. all in all i quite for a year.
so every time you light up remember that your baby is smoking with you! it helped me i hope it helps you!
I started smokig when I was 14 and was up to 2 packs a day. When I decided to quit, I found the nicorette gum very helpful. Every time I craved a cigarette, I just took a piece of gum instead. You need to follow the directions. I was able to quit that way & that was 20 plus years ago, before they had the patches. I never touched another cigarette again & I don't miss it at all.