Do you believe in going cold turkey in process of ending addiction?

i gave up my breathing stats come back normal and IDIOT i am went bought twenty,that was today...i been on my own for last week and i weak pathetic person..i just trod through hail and rain to get some,put computer on to chill out and this first thread i read...looks like back to cold turky again
If you mean other stuff like codine then that awful to wean off i doing it now but it hard road and not cold turky
 
ambrosia said:
Yes the lozenges I've cut down from 1 every 1-2 hours to one every 3ish. Mostly I use the lozenges, but I use an ecig when I have coffee, can't get my morning caffeine and nicotine at the same time with the lozenges.....and driving. I don't know what it is with driving and smoking. The ecigs come in different nicotine nicotine levels too, even 0. Hell I may hang onto it and get the 0s just in case I ever go out for some drinks, even well after I've kicked it.

I tried the patches years ago. They worked pretty well but I think I'm allergic to the adhesive. They were soooooooo itchy and I'd have a big square give where it was. There are so many things to trip you up quitting, not just the addiction to the nicotine, but the habits of when and I why you smoked when you did, having something in your hand. I've tried many many times, with different levels of failure, it all pretty much comes down to where your head is at, and your reasons for quitting. Motivation is huge factor.

I have a friend that quit 6 years ago with hypnosis. That sooo wouldn't work for me. I wish it did!
Click to expand...
That is part of the reason I did the gum, to keep my mouth busy. You have to change things a bit, to keep the habit part out of the way. I tossed ashtrays, removed the car ashtray, drank coffee in a different place, and lots more. I kept butterscotch candies around, along with peanuts in the shell. Driving was harder, agreed. I had much less patience. Being stuck in traffic was horrible.

I had quit for two years when my old employer called me back from layoff. I arrived at my usual time, and suddenly was nearly overpowered by the urge for a quick smoke before I went inside. Weird. Old habits never die, I guess. I do not get urges anymore.

You must break the routine of putting a stick in your mouth. The e-cigs are almost certainly as addicting as regular cigs, but a more controlled dosage. You will encounter problems stopping those, since they are very close to real smoking. They are just starting to weigh the health risks associated with them. I have a friend that still smokes both real cigs and e-cigs. He has been doing this for a few years. Not looking like it helps him much, ya know?
 
For the final cold turkey stop smoking I had a specific plan.

Over the course of years I had learned a lot about myself and the addiction that was kicking my ass. I had tried everything except hypnosis and had stopped several times. Accupuncture, nicotine gum, all kinds of herbals, meditation, AA type tactics etc. I had started again several times as well.

I had racked up things like burning down a house and heavy chemo with a tube into my heart, while(the latter) and because of smoking. In chemo I watched the ones with lung cancer fade out and gone.
It was an addiction that shook me like a rag doll.
My attempts to stop often ended in some kind of low moment like drying out a wet cigarette butt out of garbage can and smoking it.

My Dad and his sisters died of smoking related illness. The x-rays showed smoking damage to my lungs. I was beyond disgusted with myself.

The last cold turkey goodonya style. It was the movie Junkie all the way. I closed myself in the house unplugged the phone and stayed in there with a huge supply of chips, distilled water, soft chewing gum, and a two foot tall stack of westerns and adventure books with one man against all odds themes. I literally sweated and cramped and fevered for three days. The sheets were yellow sweat stained and had to be destroyed.

I have not had a cigarette today or since. I make zero claims that anyone should do it my way.
 
Oh I hear ya. It def doesn't break the physical motion of smoking habit, nope nope nope. I plan slowing down the use of that down along with the Nicorette. It's not really a quitting aid, more like substitution. I think it will be easier once my nicotine levels are even lower. I hope
 
this is it i quit again tonight just finish this one....low as can go i rooted through ash tray to find fag worthy of smoking disgusting myself....i was meant to come online read this tonight
 
caz12 said:
this is it i quit again tonight just finish this one....low as can go i rooted through ash tray to find fag worthy of smoking disgusting myself....i was meant to come online read this tonight
Click to expand...

You are a never give up lady caz It is the paradox of nevergiveuppers ... smiles... when it comes to trying to give something up... it goes against our basic nature.
 
i got addictive personality codine and nicotine....i get very angery when i hear of people getting diss cos addictive to something...both two very hard things to get off...alto dont no why i bothering come off codine i in awful pain and it do help....gonna give faggies boot tomorrow husband be home and family think i gave up some years ago
 
It depends on what you are trying to give up...some drugs cause major issues if you just stop using cold turkey whereas other substances may just have a little bit of withdrawal symptoms and may just be emotionally hard to get rid of...
 
caz12 said:
this is it i quit again tonight just finish this one....low as can go i rooted through ash tray to find fag worthy of smoking disgusting myself....i was meant to come online read this tonight
Click to expand...
Smoke in front of a mirror. Try to make it look normal. See if you like how it looks on you. :smoking:
 
90sWizKid said:
It depends on what you are trying to give up...some drugs cause major issues if you just stop using cold turkey whereas other substances may just have a little bit of withdrawal symptoms and may just be emotionally hard to get rid of...
Click to expand...
I believe John Lennon stopped using heroin cold turkey. Rumor has it he did this on a car trip from New York to California. He wrote a song about it:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BadOEZdKqrc"]John Lennon- Cold Turkey - YouTube[/ame]

Lyrics:

Temperatures rising
Fever is high
Cant see no future
Cant see no sky

My feet are so heavy
So is my head
I wish I was a baby
I wish I was dead

Cold turkey has got me on the run

My body is aching
Goose-pimple bone
Cant see no body
Leave me alone

My eyes are wide open
Cant get to sleep
One thing Im sure of
Im in at the deep freeze

Cold turkey has got me on the run

Cold turkey has got me on the run

Thirty-six hours
Rolling in pain
Praying to someone
Free me again

Oh Ill be a good boy
Please make me well
I promise you anything
Get me out of this hell

Cold turkey has got me on the run
Oh, oh, oh, oh
 
To any one trying to quit smoking, never stop trying. I smoked from age 13 to 30, over half my life and tried to quit hundreds of time. I finally did and I'm going on 4 years now. You all can do it!

Edit:
Cold turkey is the only way to go for cigs. To easy to cheat any other way.
 
I smoked for 11 years. That's quite literally half my life! Then I found an e-cigarette that I could tolerate, and I love it. I haven't had an actual cigarette in over two months. I was a pack (or more) a day smoker, and now I "smoke" without the smoke. I know that there are still health risks involved, but I don't smell like smoke anymore! And my time is not restricted by "How long do I have to smoke this cigarette AND (enter other daily activity here)?" Right now, my nicotine intake is about half that of a cigarette, and I'm only spending about $5/month vs $140/month. Eventually I will decrease my nicotine until it's down to 0, and then the only "bad habit" left will be that actual habit of puffing, not the addiction to nicotine.

BUT as far as the initial question... I think it really depends on the person and the substance. However, cold turkey or weening, there can still be relapses and withdrawals. Patience and a good support system will help, and just because you relapse or still crave whatever it is, doesn't mean that you're a lost cause. If it's really important to you, you will find a way to do it.

I don't believe that one is easier or healthier than the other. But I do believe that if deep down you don't want to quit, you won't. You will always find a way or a reason to keep doing it. Excuses... Excuses. lol :)
 
And I now understand, for the first time (ever), the nastiness that cigarettes stink of. I am so glad that I don't smell like that anymore, and that does fuel the quitting factor a little!
 
21 years. I was a smoker for 21 years, ugh. I started when I was 17, I'll be 39 in two weeks. More than half my life.

You started smoking when you were 11? How did you manage that nowadays?
 
Very carefully. lol And mostly I took advantage of the fact that my mother worked 3 jobs and I was home alone most of the time. I got myself into A LOT of trouble around that time, though. What else do 11 year old's do when they spend 90% of their free time without parental supervision and live in the boonies? lol Me and the neighbor kid would steal smokes from anywhere we could get them, then ride my quad as far into the woods as we could go. lol
 
ambrosia said:
For awhile there I didn't want to, quit that is. My grandmother, the one who passed in November had Alzheimer's. She had 10 brothers and sisters and they ALL got it. I'm very afraid Ill win the genetic lottery again get it. Then eventually I'll forget I lost my hearing and won't understand why I can't hear. I can just see me screaming to try to hear myself "WHO ARE YOU? WHY WONT ANYONE TALK TO ME?!"

:shock:

Kinda hoping I'm dead before that sets in :/
Click to expand...

They've actually found a connection between copper and Alzheimer's. It's just as well that all the copper piping is being switched to plastic.
 
So a couple of thousand years from now people will observe that the Romans gave themselves lead poisoning and we gave ourselves copper poisoning. They will feel very superior until they croak from whatever it is they will be using.
 
..and sometimes it can upps the chances of accidential OD in relapses esp with heroin ...or hard class A narcotics
 
ChicagoBlue2 said:
Both my stepmom and Dad smoke, and they're not even making any attempts to quit sadly. I have a bad feeling that they won't be able to quit in time. My Dad is approaching 52, and my stepmom is approaching 51. When my Grandpa was alive, he successfully quit smoking, only to die a few years later. Now, I wish there was a way I could convince them to quit, but there's not any I can think of. :(
Click to expand...

I can't believe you think your parents are so old at 51-52. They're not old, just hitting their prime. In most areas they don't even qualify for senior discounts yet.

However I do see your concern with their health, and possibly passing away too soon due to their smoking and such.
 
Some meds you can't quit cold turkey, you will get ill.
 
Back
Top