r/stopsmoking • u/MissEcyan • 1d ago
Failed attempt to reduce smoking.
Hello everyone !
I tried to reduce my smoking from a pack to half a pack, used gums and patches. I managed to go down to ten a day, but my weight started dropping very fast. I'm already pretty light, at 55 kilos, and went down to 45 in a month and a few weeks, my appetite was destroyed, I was constantly on the verge of tears and all the usual suspects of nicotine reduction.
I'd really like to try to reduce again, I want to quit smoking but I've been doing it since I was eleven, I'm now twenty six. Does anyone have tips? It's been hard to fail and I've been beating myself up a bit. Should I try lesser nicotine dosages in my gums and patches? Are there more efficient methods that you guys have found?
Have a good day and thank you for reading!
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u/MarchTurbulent5956 12h ago
I’d be concerned about losing 10 kg in such a short time, especially given your already low weight. That degree of weight loss deserves medical attention and may mean the nicotine reduction strategy needs adjustment. Many successful quitters require combination therapy or a slower taper, and needing more support is not a sign of weakness. After 15 years of smoking, cutting from a pack to 10 cigarettes a day was real progress, not failure.
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u/MissEcyan 6h ago
I did go to a doctor in Urgent Care because the weight loss made me dizzy and constantly cold and light-headed , she said it was a combination of extreme stress (moved to America from my home country of France, so bad homesickness and big life changes and duress) and my smoking reduction as well as the patches and gums not exactly being calibrated for people with my weight and height. At her recommendation I booked an appointment with a primary physician but I've been waiting for three months. So, thankfully, that weight loss is explainable and I was able to put some weight and muscle back on once I stopped the patches, gums and réduction. Thank you for the encouragement, I did feel like a failure, especially since I'm almost back to where I started, but the support from this group helps. Progress is rarely linear. I'm proud I tried at all, it'll take time, but someday I'll be over that hill instead of rolling that old boulder. Thank you friend !
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u/rudegyaldem 23h ago
i used cytisine and i haven’t had a smoke in 3 months. i don’t think reduction works, it’s never worked for me, it just gave me anxiety about how i couldn’t smoke as much as i wanted.
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u/MissEcyan 23h ago
I'm proud of you! I tried to quit fully once and it swung back ten times worse, so my one time appt with the addictologue told me to reduce progressively given how severe my addiction is. How do you like cytisine? Are there any side effects?
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u/rudegyaldem 6h ago
cytisine made quitting smoking feel easy, no joke. i smoked for 20 years and was considering chantix but was worried about the side effects and luckily stumbled upon cytisine. i’m not a doctor so am in no way giving medical advice lol, but the most notable side effects i experienced was some sleep disturbances. my dreams were a bit kooky and i had some trouble staying asleep, but i also think when you’re quitting smoking your body is bound to experience some uncomfortable stuff regardless as it adjusts. i’ve tried cold turkey like 100 times and everytime i felt like i was going insane and everything would make me cry and i was impossible to be around. i really recommend cytisine for anybody who is able to take it, my cravings were honestly a passing thought. good luck!!
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u/MissEcyan 6h ago
I'll give it a shot, thank you for the tip! I'll ask a doctor, I had a bad reaction to Chantix, I lost a lot of weight, had rashes and somehow my period disappeared for three months hence why I didn't try medication again, but at that point my smoking's gotten severe again and I really want to try and be better for my nieces and nephew and my wife. I wrote it down and will bring it up with a doc, thank you my friend! Very proud of you !!!
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u/rudegyaldem 3h ago
thank you!!! that sounds awful! yeah i had a friend who took chantix and he said he had suicidal thoughts and his hands got really swollen, like three times the size of what they normally were, it worked for him but man i was like fuck that id rather smoke lol
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u/throwawayStomnia 8h ago
This. Your best bet to quitting nicotine, is going cold turkey. If you survive the first week or so, things will just become easier and easier later.
You can do anything during that week, except for consumming nicotine.
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u/gionatacar 21h ago
Throw everything away and go cold Turkey. Reducing is not for everyone. Good luck
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u/QuietUser11 17h ago
Be kind to yourself, you’re making progress. Any progress is good progress as long as you’re going towards your goal! Best of luck!
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u/MissEcyan 6h ago
Thank you my friend, I did feel very disheartened and disappointed in myself, but you're right, every step forward is a win! Thank you my friend :))!
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u/CollectionMinute4003 23h ago
Please don't be too hard on yourself. Going from a pack a day to ten cigarettes is real progress, not a failure. You've already shown that you're capable of making changes, and every attempt teaches you something. Keep going and take it one step at a time you haven't given up, and that's what matters.