Patch vs Cold Turkey

[kwitntime]

How many members of the board quit by cold turkey?

My quit day and 1st 21mg patch was 6/5/2016. I noticed on Tuesday, my hands were shaking when I was typing a message on my cell phone. It is not as bad today, but I do get nervous feelings. I take it that it is much worse than cold turkey. I am still wearing my patch until I feel comfortable enough to take it off and finish the process out.

Can someone that has quit cold turkey tell me what the experience was like from their experience.

Thamks for listening everyone.

Bernie

[Mike.n.Atlanta]

I quit cold turkey Bernie. Yeah there was some nervousnes & an empty feeling but it was only a week at the most. After that it was all in my head. Having access to a support group & all the reading made the difference for me this time. It will for you too.

Keep on keepin on,

  Smoke free for 11 years, 8 months, 1 week, one day, 13 hours, 3 minutes and 4 seconds. 128086 cigarettes not smoked, saving $22,415.11. Life saved: 1 year, 11 weeks, 3 days, 17 hours, 50 minutes.

[JonesCarpeDiem]

How many cigarettes were you smoking a day when you quit?

[kwitntime]

Mike,

Thanks for the insight. I still have a week to go on the 21mg patch. I still have to do do steps 2 and 3. I was considering not wearing the patch for that period. I feel like I will be able to carry on without the patch at that point.

Does that sound like a wise decision?

Bernie

[JonesCarpeDiem]

I don't know if you are getting too much based upon what you were smoking a day right before you quit.

If you were smoking a pack a day WHEN YOU QUIT, the 21 mg is recommended.

If you were smoking 14 cigarettes a day, the 14mg patch is recommended.

If you were smoking 7 cigarettes a day or less you should be using the 7mg patch.

[kwitntime]

Dale,

It all depended on the stress that day. My biggest problem was in the evenings. I would smoke 8 to 9 from the time that of leaving work at 6pm until I went to bed by 11pm. I would get up around 2-3 am and go out on the back porch and smoke a cigarette and then go back to bed. I woukld get up again at 6 to go back on the porch to smoke before going back to bed. From 7 am to 9 am, I would have had 3 more until the cycle started again at 6pm.

[JonesCarpeDiem]

i count 14.

You may be getting more than you need.

My suggestion for getting off the patch? Listen to your body.

I actually forgot to wear one my 4th day but I was jittery the next day so I put one on. The following week, I forgot two days in a row and stopped using them alytogether.

I put one in my wallet with the promise I would put it on and wait an hour rather than smoke. I carried it my first year but never needed it.

[Mike.n.Atlanta]

It was my decision to cut out all nicotine Bernie. One that I knew to be difficult. To me I just couldn't imagine prolonging the withdrawal process a little at a time. Yank the bandaid & get on with it was my attitude.

That said, your quit is about what is best for Bernie. NRT's are great at taking the edge off & allowing us time to get used to not putting a cigarette in our mouths. I read here all the time of those that relapsed saying this NRT or that NRT didn't work for them. Guess what...we have to MAKE them work. There is no magic bullet. It's 5% NRT & 95% Bernie. People don't wanna suffer the craves & urges & are always looking for that one thing that will do it for them. It's there, you just have to dig way down deep for that resolve. When you need it, it'll be there. Sometimes you may have to just dig a little deeper. Everyone here is stronger than they realize. Some listen to others tell them they can't do it. Others may have a low self esteem but the strength is there in all of us. Just remember the old workout mantra...No pain No Gain.

"A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trial" ~ Chinese proverb

Keep on keepin on,

[kwitntime]

Dale / Mike,

This is all great information. i really do appreciate the insight. I am going to take the suggestions of both of you. I will keep a patch with me becase after tomorrow when it is time to replace it, I am not going to put it on unless i really need it.

Yes Mike, as we say in the gym....no pain, no gain......get sum!

Thanks for the advice and insight guys.

Bernie

[plug66]

i will have 4 weeks on sunday, and am gonna drop the patches altogether. wore the 21 mg for three weeks and this last week ended up with the same patch for 2 days(7mg) so i am just gonna be done with the patches and i feel pretty confident about my choice

[snow90]

I quit cold turkey. It heightened my anxiety once withdrawls kicked in, and to this day my anxiety is a bit high. Though I do have an anxiety disorder so your milage may vary there. Sounds like you are getting too much nicotine, I know that a lot of people get shaky, nauseous, etc when they get too much nicotine in their system. You might wanna step down in patch strength. Drink lots of water. 

[elvan]

I quit cold turkey but I prefer to call it "Smart" Turkey.  I had smoked for 47 years with some breaks in there.  I got really sick and HAD to quit, I couldn't BREATHE.  I was afraid that once I started to feel better the craves would overwhelm me but I found this site and I read and blogged and commented and paid attention to what people told me.  I knew that the craves would pass and that they wouldn't kill me.  I had convinced myself that I smoked because of stress and chronic pain and I knew there were other triggers as well, one was anger.  I promised myself, no one else, that I would ask myself what a cigarette would change when I had a crave...the answer was invariably NOTHING, as long as I was being honest.  Cigarettes do not relieve stress, they do not relieve pain, they sure don't reduce anger, they just allow us to shove our feelings down.  I struggled for a while but I promised myself that if I could not come up with a really good reason for smoking that I wouldn't.  It's been over two years now and I never found that good reason but the reasons for quitting are more apparent every day. This is one day at a time, we are all different, those who use nicotine replacement instead of smoking are on the same journey, the goal is to be smoke free!  You can do this, Bernie.

[kwitntime]

Snow/Elvan

Thank you both for your input. I value every suggestion that I am getting from the members of this group. The responses that I receive are very powerful and meaningful.

I am not afraid of going through the symptoms of withdrawing. I am protecting my quit at whatever it takes.

Thank you both.

Bernie