Quitting smoking - Both normal and MJ

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I'm new here, and have lots of questions, now that I'm navigating life with the awareness that I'm on the spectrum. This question is about quitting both nicotine and marijuana. I never want to touch nicotine again, and I want to take a break from marijuana until my tolerance is low enough where I'm happy with just a few evenings a week.

In Holland, it's very normal to roll marijuana with tobacco, which is dangerous when you were a pack a day smoker for 10 years and worked hard to quit. So when I fell back on marijuana thanks to the stress in my marriage, the tobacco addiction monster was awakened with a vengeance. Where what I was really after was the marijuana, which isn't addictive like nicotine is.

I currently use 2 vaporizers, 1 for the nicotine and 1 for the marijuana, but I find I have to use both through the day to prevent meltdowns. This is expensive, and I wonder if it's counterproductive too.

So, I told myself that today is the last day I use the nicotine vaporizer ever, and that I take a tolerance break of a few months from the marijuana too, starting as soon as I wake up tomorrow. I'm also going to start a 3 day juice cleanse tomorrow to help this, with lots of yoga, especially Yin yoga and hot yoga.

Those of you who have been there, what can I do to prevent meltdowns so I can get through the withdrawal period without being incarcerated or committed? Thanks for your help.

Wow, Shakti, good for you!

I think you'll feel better if you add vitamin C from natural sources to your diet every day. Buy a couple of lemons or limes, and squeeze some juice in a glass of water.

Another trick has to do with breathing. When you feel a strong urge to smoke, breathe the way you would when you are inhaling a cigarette, or your vaporizer, exactly. If you would normally inhale deeply and then hold the breath for a second or two before exhaling slowly, for example, then mimic that.

I quit smoking cigarettes in 2007, and this breathing trick really helps. I started doing it because I read an article which explained that the relaxation or stress relief you feel when smoking a cigarette doesn't come from nicotine or any of the other compounds you inhale from the cigarette while smoking. It comes from the extra dose of oxygen you give your brain when inhaling deeply, as most people do when smoking, and don't do during normal breathing. I still do this to this day when I crave a cigarette.

Best of luck to you.

Possibly the best tip I was ever given is to always keep in mind that nicotine cravings tend to come in very short bursts that last only a few minutes, separated by much longer intervals between. During a craving, it's very easy to find yourself thinking, "OMG, this is so awful, how I can possibly get through the day like this?", so it really pays to consciously remind yourself that you will only have to bear it for a few minutes, and it will naturally pass.

(Full disclosure: I was dropping cigarette ash all over my keyboard as I typed that! But the times that I have quit, it really has made it more bearable.)

Thanks for the tips! And what is a good way to deal with meltdown induced cravings, in case I have to think of that? I have a high stress week ahead, so it's likely.

Chewing gum and lollipops, maybe?

Letting yourself cry actually should relieve the chemical stresses in your body, too.

And sleeping, might work. Nobody craves a cigarette when they sleep, and it adds hours onto how long you've gone without smoking without you even having to even be aware the time was passing.

If you're stubborn, like me, it might help when a craving hits to ask yourself, "Who's stronger? Me, or a cigarette?"

Keep your blood sugar levels up. Smoking raises both blood sugar and blood pressure. When you stop smoking, the fall in blood sugar can trigger relapse and the relapse lifts the blood sugar, so the cycle continues. You could try raising your blood sugar quickly after waking with foods that bump it up quickly, (a couple of sweet biscuits), and boost it whenever you feel the urge to smoke. It may need you to abandon your usual dietary habits for a week or two, however this is temporary. I don't know why the blood sugar link is so little known, when it can have such a big triggering effect.

I guess fruit would also work for the blood sugar? That is an interesting one, and that so little is known about it.

Yes, some fruits would boost it fairly quickly, like grapes for example, but the more fibrous fruits would have a slower effect. Dried fruits might have a faster effect, like dates, figs, apricots as the sugar in them is much more concentrated.
Fruit juices would work fast, like orange juice.

I think I'll keep some mandarins and bananas on me and hope for the best. All the MJ is up, and I just have enough to fill one more tank of the nicotine vaporizer. I plan on finishing that, then showering, then trying to go through my life without either without having a meltdown, fingers crossed!

The other thing that you could do is take the amino acid DLPA, which boosts dopamine. You can get this from good health stores. Solgar is probably the best brand. Nicotine boosts dopamine, and the fall in this when you stop smoking also creates withdrawal symptoms. The DLPA works to provide the boost instead. You need to take it on an empty stomach, at least 20 minutes before food. You could take one dose when you wake and another at about 2pm. Don't take it later than this as it can keep you awake at night if you take it later in the day.

However you may find that just keeping your blood sugar levels up is enough, some people have told me that pears have worked best for them, though do what suits you best. Good luck!

Thank you! Just to update, I was just thinking of starting a 3 day juice cleanse today to press the reset button, now I'm rethinking if it's a good idea, I get cranky without food. Raw foods for a few days could be in order though.

Well, quitting is not going at all, this week has kicked my ass way too much for quitting right now to be a good idea. I probably need a vacation somewhere for at least a week to press the reset button and be able to quit without having more meltdowns.

Choosing the right time is important. In the meantime, maybe, just practice delay. Stretch the intervals out ten minutes more and then build on that.