cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Share your quitting journey

I Quit Smoking and Vaping

AnnetteMM
Member
18 16 2,178

I've seen others talk about re-upping old blog posts, or "snooping" into old posts of elders on here, so here I am, too!

I wrote about my own quit journey  https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/people/AnnetteMM/blog/2019/09/08/how-to-quit-juul-or-vaping-in-ge... 

There's some good tips in there, if I do say so myself , but the basics are these:

I smoked for 40 + years. I used Juul to quit, which isn't recommended by experts these days, but it worked for me.

The reason it worked is that I decided ahead of time that I'd quit cigarettes when they ran out, and I'd quit Juul when the pods ran out.  I bought about a two-month supply of them when I had one carton of cigarettes in the house.

Once the cigarettes ran out, I got rid of all ashtrays in my house and car, plus all the lighters. Then cleaned everything.

Once the pods ran out, I threw out all the Juul equipment.

I absolutely FORBID myself to ever buy more. 

Fortunately, I tend to listen to myself. Good advice for anyone, I think.

16 Comments
JACKIE1-25-15
Member

Yes, Good Advice. I think so too. Lots of Love. 

sweetplt
Member

Hi Annette...AnnetteMM You had a plan and educated yourself and worked hard...the keys to keeping quit...Thank you for sharing...Happy Monday...stay warm...I know it is cold in NY and it is cold here in PA...Colleen 413 DOF 

maryfreecig
Member

I love recaps. Thanks, Annette. I'm not sure that I listen to myself all that well, but in moments of clarity, I lay traps out ahead so as to catch myself trying to get out of doing what I agreed to. Pride has held me up just as often as willingness!

SuzyQ411
Member

AnnetteMM‌ : I am so happy I stumbled onto your amazing journal. My God, Girl, what an amazing and unique slant you have on the process of getting thee darned nasty things out of our lives. I am your fan forever 🙂

AnnetteMM
Member

My goodness, I'm unique? Awesome!!

SuzyQ411
Member

Yes! Unique!!! I will keep my eyes open for more of your writing!!! ~ Suzy

ahimsa
Member

Thanks for this reconstruction of wise words. I always find that the relapse begins when I decide to buy. If I don't buy, I don't smoke.

AnnetteMM
Member

@ahimsa That's right, exactly. I credit extreme laziness for much of my success. If I'd been able to get to a store easily, it might've been game over. But as long as they were out of reach, I stayed free! 

ahimsa
Member

@AnnetteMM I just made a card the size of a $bill and wrote in big letters, DON'T BUY!

I'm carrying it in my wallet. I also made the same card and taped it by my door so I have to see it every time I leave, even to walk the dog. 

Someone posted, I forget now who, the other mantra I like so much: 

"Keep them away from your face." If there are no nicotine sticks around, that's pretty easy.

Just don't buy!  I'll use and then taper off NRT. Too bad I'm allergic to the patch, or I'd already be quit and done. 

 

AnnetteMM
Member

Pretty sure that was Dale @JonesCarpeDiem 

MegsMcG
Member

So Megs here again a couple hours later, I find when I'm typing and paying attention to the blogs and comments I'm not vaping, but when I'm reading about how vaping is going to kill me I'm sucking on my vape like there is no tomorrow I'm vaping my **bleep** off. I wish I had the fortitude to quit today but I'm just not quite ready. April 11 is my quit date. Im going to the Bok towers, a Buddhis retreat with 250 acres of beauty and contemplative places to sit and get your spirit set and ready. Ready for what I'm not sure, but I can't vape around my roommates sister so I figure I'm a Spiritual person and I will be on Spiritual grounds so why not ask my Creator to relieve me of the bondage of self and get clean off the vape.  I think I'm going to get the patch and maybe some of the flavored lozenges. I'm really nervous I'm going to fail and I'm sick of failing, I'm 58 years old and was just diagnosed with the beginning stages of emphyzema and my Dr told me if I quit now it will be okay. My biological father died of emphyzema and I don't want that or cancer so it's time.  I need y'alls help tho...I know I can't do this alone. I need you guys and my Creator, the Universe, Mother Nature and a good squirrel playtime and peanut burying episode to laugh at and enjoy.  I've been very lazy and scared thru this Pandemic and have gotten away from going out and standing outside my mtg houses and walking around or going to the pool and exercising at all.  I cant do much, but I am capable of doing some type of exercise to strengthen my body and mind.  I guess I'm just reaching out cuz i don't know what else to do.  So I come before you with all the humility I can find and asking for help.......thanks   Megs

MarilynH
Member

Welcome to the community @MegsMcG you've made the best decision that you'll ever make in your lifetime and it's definetly the best gift that any of us will ever give ourselves which is the GIFT OF LIFE! Deep breaths you can do this upcoming quit, believe it! When your day ONE arrives keep your mind as well as your hands occupied and at the end of the day you'll be able to say YAY for DAY WON with many more to come, stay close and reach out whenever you need to or just want to vent we're all here to help you in any way we can!

Barbscloud
Member

@MegsMcG 

Welcome to the Ex.  It's normal to be anxious about quitting.  We've smoked our way through every emotion and activity in our lives.  If you approach your quit one day at a time, it will help to alleviate the fear.  Don't think about forever right now.  Your goal for now is one day.

Try putting something in your hands when you're reading.  Many quitters use straws--I would chew the heck out of them.   How about a squeeze ball?

A big part of quitting is creating new associations to replace smoking.  There's where you plan comes into play.  This link is a great place to learn about tools, cravings and creating those associations.  It's also educating yourself about nicotine addiction plays a big role in a successful quit.

https://www.becomeanex.org/guides/

We're here to support you, so reach out anytime we can help.  Also, consider taking the Daily Pledge.  It's a great way to stay on track one day at a time.

Pick a quit date, plan your quit, and join us on your journey.

Barbscloud_0-1679229386539.jpeg

SBSC

Barb

JasemineDenise

Oh God, this is the one that I needed. Fucking thank you. Thank you. I don't know why I get so attached to those stupid ashtrays. I get so caught up in well "it was handmade!" 

I don't know why this made me stop sobbing my eyes out and appreciate the fact that it's not as easy. Thank you. Thank you so much. 😭

MarilynH
Member

Great post @AnnetteMM I  promised myself the night before my quit that no matter what I was never going to smoke another smoke ever and I don't break promises to myself! Freedom Rocks once we get to that good place in our quits! 

AnnetteMM
Member

@JasemineDenise You just made my day!! Keep up the great work!

About the Author
I became nicotine-free on Christmas Day 2017. That's what I use as my quit date. I had smoked cigarettes for 45 years, then vaped Juuls for a few months before quitting cold turkey when I used up my supply of pods. I am a retired widow, living in Upstate NY.