Nicotine replacement instead of a cigarette

[lartomar2002]

I know I can not quit cold turkey, I will have to taper off. Has anyone tried using the nicotine gum or logenze  to replace ever other cigarette. For instance say you set your firstgoal of not smoking a cigarette for one hour and then increasing by 1/2 hour every 2 to 3 days and using the nicotine replacement when the urges become to strong until it is time to have your cigarette. Eventually you will reach a point where there will be several hours between smoking a cigarette. That will help with the psychological part of having something in your hands and other things. What do yoj guys think? I am open to suggestions because I have failed several times a just putting down cod turkey. 

[Sunshine59]

Hello lartomar2002 ,

 

That is exactly how i quit ,

 

I still use nicotine gums whenever i have a craving , with the sugar free nicotine gums alone i have avoided cigarettes for the past 2 plus months .

 

One gum can easily  keep you smoke free for at least 2 hours 

I am sure after a week or two you can take away the nicotine gums too if you really wanted to .

 

 

 

 

[Sazerac]

4 hours ago, lartomar2002 said:

I know I can not quit cold turkey, I will have to taper off. Has anyone tried using the nicotine gum or logenze  to replace ever other cigarette. For instance say you set your firstgoal of not smoking a cigarette for one hour and then increasing by 1/2 hour every 2 to 3 days and using the nicotine replacement when the urges become to strong until it is time to have your cigarette. Eventually you will reach a point where there will be several hours between smoking a cigarette. That will help with the psychological part of having something in your hands and other things. What do yoj guys think? I am open to suggestions because I have failed several times a just putting down cod turkey. 

 

You need to acknowledge your addiction to nicotine, understand nicotine addiction and FREE YOURSELF from nicotine addiction.

This is the way to Freedom.

Please learn all you can about nicotine addiction, please !

 

You may find this post helpful

10 Ways To Effectively Use This Forum To Help Yourself Quit Smoking

 

The craving is nothing a human cannot handle.  You must power through them, that is all.

As our friend, Sirius, states,

"The next time a craving plunks down on your face ask yourself, "What price you are willing to pay to own yourself?"

Commit to NOPE, Not One Puff Ever and stick to it.  This is the way to build a successful quit.

 

Be very wary of dependence on gum or NRTs to do the work for you.

Nicotine is a poison.

You must deal with the addiction.

Cold turkey is nothing to be afraid of, it is one of the most successful methods of quitting.

 

As for cutting back ?  You will be poisoning yourself if you continue to smoke while on an NRT

and cutting back has it's own particular torture you will understand when you learn about the addiction.

 

 

I recommend you binge watch Joel Spitzer's videos to learn all you can about Nicotine addiction

 

[Sunshine59]

Hey ,

 

I only commented about the nicotine gums because lartomar2002 asked about it

 

Anyway Good luck with the quitting process .

 

Everyone have a method of doing it .

 

The entire world is not doing the cold turkey method to quit smoking .

[jillar]

Welcome lartomar and congratulations on deciding to take back your life. Many people here have been successful in using NRT's to quit smoking. However, they are meant to be used as a replacement for cigarettes and only for a short time, two to three months with a plan to reduce and eventually quit those as well. Smoking while using them is very dangerous so if you are going to use NRT to quit you need to do it instead of cigarettes and not in addition to...

[Mee]

Hello lartomer and welcome to the forum.  I smoked for 42 years and did not think I could quit.  I tried many different methods to quit, including NRT's.  I came across this forum and, with the help of the members here, I was able to quit cold turkey.  No matter how you quit, there is a period of discomfort. The first weeks is the toughest. Once the nicotine is out of your system, then you redirect you thinking.  

Why don't you hang around and educate yourself about your addiction.  Stay close to the forum and get to know us.  We are a very supportive group of people, who have been where you are and weathered our way through. We want to help you.  

[notsmokinjo]

I used NRT...but never while smoking...I would push the time between gums out daily but never intermingled it with smokes.

[Lilly]

11 hours ago, lartomar2002 said:

I know I can not quit cold turkey, I will have to taper off. Has anyone tried using the nicotine gum or logenze  to replace ever other cigarette. For instance say you set your firstgoal of not smoking a cigarette for one hour and then increasing by 1/2 hour every 2 to 3 days and using the nicotine replacement when the urges become to strong until it is time to have your cigarette. Eventually you will reach a point where there will be several hours between smoking a cigarette. That will help with the psychological part of having something in your hands and other things. What do yoj guys think? I am open to suggestions because I have failed several times a just putting down cod turkey. 

 

Welcome to the forum. 

 

You either smoke or you don't - there is no half and half. You may not realise it but your addiction is just looking for a way to keep on smoking. 

 

Choose a method and just go for it. 

 

Lots of luck to you

 

 

 

 

[abbynormal]

Whatever method you choose to quit, there will be a period of discomfort when you finally let go of the nicotine all together. NRT can be helpful in getting off the cigarette smoking habit. (It should not be used at the same time as smoking, though. Nicotine overdose is a very real danger.) Once you've gotten used to not having a cigarette in your hand, then you face getting off the addictive substance of nicotine. At some point, you will face withdrawal. There is no getting around it. It's up to you how soon you want to face it. Some people like to kick the cigarette habit first and then face the nicotine. Others like to get it all over and done with at once. Again, it's up to you how you choose to approach it.

 

I do recommend you learn as much as you can about nicotine addiction. That will help you formulate a plan for yourself. It will also help you to know what to expect at every stage in the process.

 

Quitting takes work. Cravings suck, there's no denying that. But a craving won't kill you. Cigarettes will. Remembering that makes the choice a little easier, I think. And you will find a ton of support here to help you get through the rough patches. Support has been key for me. I hope you will take advantage of all of the wisdom and encouragement you can find here.

 

 

[lartomar2002]

I want to thank everyone for thir quick response. I be sticking around. I do have a problem with the forum though. I have it set to notify me when I get get a reply but I have not received any notification yet. 

[Boo]

13 hours ago, lartomar2002 said:

I know I can not quit cold turkey

 

I used to say the same thing.  Then I quit cold turkey.  Once I got out of my own way and forged ahead, what I said was "impossible" became reality.

 

A few moments of discomfort for a lifetime of freedom is a great return on investment.

 

13 hours ago, lartomar2002 said:

I will have to taper off.

 

Cold turkey or NRT?  That's your choice.  However, I strongly recommend avoiding the "taper off" method.  I speak from experience: when I tried to taper off the amount of cigarettes that I smoked, I felt the withdrawal symptoms and obsessed over thoughts of smoking.  I had the all the annoyances and irritations experienced during the early days of the quit without getting any of the benefits of actually quitting.  It's a bad deal.

 

Confront your nicotine addiction head-on and commit to the quit.

[notsmokinjo]

Ok..bit more detail now I'm out of the war zone (waiting room at hospital cas department)...

 

I knew I could not quit without some help. So I used NRT gum. But the day u started gum, I stopped smoking. I gave myself 3 months of NRT and that was it. I knew my addiction had 3 faces, emotional/social, psychological and physical. I knew breaking the habbit/routine would be harder for me than kicking the drug. What I know now, is that the two were linked, but facing all the social and emotional things I did with the crutch of an NRT gum was instrumental in getting me through.

Do I regret not going cold turkey...yes in some ways I do BUT I do honestly believe I wouldn't still be here now without the NRT.

So once I decided to commit to my quit I had an exit strategy in place for the NRT...from the third day I pushed the envelope...first gum of the day, space between gums, spacing normal chewies in between NRT ones...then having 2 for each one NRT...

 

Identify why you can't quit without an NRT and then you will know if it's suitable.

Edited November 24, 2019 by notsmokinjo