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4 week follow up (self.stopsmoking)

submitted 10 months ago by UmeU to c/stopsmoking

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Following up on my ‘Day 4’ post, today is four full weeks. The 14mg nicotine patch is the answer that works for me. Some days I put it on first thing in the morning, other days I wait until noon. A few days I have waited until 4pm. I take it off right before I fall asleep because if I forget to take it off, I have super intense dreams. I have taken precisely zero puffs off a vape pen. My heart and lungs feel significantly better. I have started exercising and I really feel like I will be off the patches soon.

I am switching to 7mg patches tomorrow. I have read that it is a mistake to stop using patches too soon so I am going to do the 7mg for at least a month. If I start thinking about vaping too much, I’ll switch back to 14mg patches.

I’ll give another update in a few weeks to report on the transition from 14mg patches to 7mg patches.

If anyone reading this is considering quitting vaping or smoking, get the patches and throw everything else away. The patches eliminate strong cravings, and the occasional craving you do get is totally manageable. At least this is the case for me, and I was consuming around 1-2 packs of smokes per day worth of nicotine since I was a teenager.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (2 children)

If you haven't considered it already, you can just cut the 14mg patches in half to make ~7mg.

If the cost of the patches near you is anything like they are near me, the cost of 7mg is not half the cost of the 14mg ones. So cutting them in half worked out more cost effective.

Also, if going to 7mg is too much of a change initially, you can just trim a bit off the 14mg patches every couple of days until you get comfortable.

Good luck!

[–] Donjuanme 3 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I wish I had some award I could give you. Patches are not cheap.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I learnt that the hard way, happy to share a tiny trick :)

[–] UmeU 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

The patches are designed to slowly and evenly release the nicotine dose over 24 hours. If you cut the patch, it will release all of the nicotine a lot quicker which can have negative results… a strong dose super quick and then the patch stops working prematurely.

I wish that would work though, I love the idea of tapering down from 14mg to 13mg to 12mg etc.

Call the quit line, they will send you free patches.

[–] UmeU 1 points 10 months ago

I tried 7mg today and it wasn’t enough… I slapped on another 7mg and was good all day.

I am out of 14mg but have a full box of 7mg… I also have a full box of 21mg which I bought a month ago when I switched to patches. I never used the 21mg, but instead I just started with 14mg which are completely enough to keep me from thinking about vaping.

I will probably buy another box or two of 14mg because the 7mg really didn’t cut it today

I love the idea of trimming a little bit of the 14mg off to slowly taper down to the 7mg patches however cutting the patches interferes with the way the nicotine is released over 24 hours, allowing too much nicotine to be released at one time. I remember seeing in the instructions to never cut the patch. I looked it up online and saw that explanation, which makes sense.

I am not worried about the cost at all. It is way cheaper than vaping on a per-day basis. A box of patches lasts two weeks and costs about $25. You can also get them for free from the 1-800-quit-now line.

I was consuming 2 alto pods per day. I was getting them wholesale but it was still like $12-$15 per day cost.

Not to mention the long term health benefits which will no doubt save me ten of thousands or more over the rest of my life.

Thanks for your reply and support, it nice having some feedback and positivity throughout this difficult process.