ER GN Quitting Smoking - Any tips?

[AlmostERnurse]

Hello Allnurses!

I landed my dream job as a new grad (almost) nurse in a high volume ER at an amazing hospital As many hospitals do, I am required to have a nicotine metabolite blood test in 2 weeks. This post is not looking for insight about my stupidity for waiting to quit or about whether hospital nicotine testing is ethical. I decided to post about this because I am sure I am not the only nursing student/grad nurse/RN that has been in this situation and struggled. I am simply sharing my experience and looking to hear others experience/tips/words of encouragement.

Smokers tend to be viewed as second class citizens (from my personal experience) - and I get it. Smoking stinks (literally), gives you a crazy high risk of detrimental health issues, makes you age horribly, and on and on. Which is the reason I am completely embarrassed of my awful habit... most of my friends don't know that I smoke. I NEVER smoke around them and especially not before clinical or school.

I began social smoking at the young age of 15 - then up to about a pack per day at 20 years old. I'm now a few years short of 30. Before you judge me, let me tell you that picking up smoking was by far the most regrettable decision I've ever made. Unfortunately, I was a product of my environment. My childhood was not the best and I consider myself lucky to beat the odds and made it to where I am today. Not to say it's not my own dumb fault for giving into peer pressure or for not quitting sooner...

I know I'm an idiot for not quitting sooner. I knew from the get go that this day would come... addiction is a b*#%~ (pardon my French).

Not much in my life has ever come easy - whether it was from my own poor decision making, anxiety/depression issues, or struggling with ADHD. I know it is going to be difficult but I am incredibly determined to be an ER nurse. I have never been SO passionate about anything and know that the opportunity to be in my position is an incredibly lucky one - as finding a job as a new nurse is difficult in itself and ER is stupid competitive.

I am quitting smoking tomorrow as my set quit date. I have pretty fast metabolism and am planning to drink lots of water, eat lots of fruits/veggies in hopes of speeding up the process to rid my body of nicotine/continine. I am so scared that I will fail the test (again I understand it's nobody's fault but my own) and whether pass or fail I am committed to stay "clean" lol. I can't help but feel extremely anxious/terrified, yet excited to finally quit and live a life sans cigarettes.

How do you help your patients quit smoking? Or yourself/friends/family members? I am not a fan of nicotine replacement- it honestly did nothing for me in the past. Any success stories?

Thanks for reading and I hope you will share your thoughts below!

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

I was hypnotized 17 years ago when I found out I was pregnant, haven't smoked since. Hard to find reputable person, I was near a big city but def worth looking into. I tried the gum and I tried Wellbutrin. It worked short term but being hypnotized did the trick! Good luck. hardest thing to do. You can do it!!!

[rwshaw]

I tapered down over the course of a month. I smoked roughly a pack and a half (roughly 30 cigarettes) per day for 10 years. I had tried stopping cold turkey several times without success. On day 1 of "quitting" I smoked 30 cigarettes. Day 2: 29 cigarettes. Day 3: 28 cigarettes... I think you know where this is going. By the time I got down to 5 cigarettes per day, I didn't even feel the need to smoke. Hope this helps!

[Amy01]

All you need is commitment, and self-assurance that you can do it. If you are a chain smoker than quit slowly by gradually reducing it. Good Luck!!

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

I smoked from age 14 until my late 20s. I grew up in Europe, very much a smoking culture. When I decided to quit, it was cold turkey. People told me I couldn't do it, which made me more determined. :) I was done — mind made up. I did relapse a little bit for a few months in 2012 (15 years after I initially quit!!) but I decided it was stupid and stopped again.

It really is up to you. Don't buy them, don't bum one, don't light up. Drink lots of water and find a distraction — exercise, walking, etc. And promise yourself a reward for hitting milestones! You can do it.

[GrumpyRN, NP]

First off, don't believe your friends don't know; they know - they can smell you.

Managed to stop my 20 a day habit in 1989 by saying to myself, "You have not stopped smoking, you are just not having one just now. You can get one later."

Was not easy and I relapsed a couple of days but got there in the end.

Quick tip and probably sounds counter-intuitive - have some cigarettes in the house. Hide them away. That way you know you have them BUT it is your choice then and you don't get stressed about not having access and having to go to a store to get them and again "You can have one later."

Good luck. I always remember a (more than likely apocryphal) story being told about drug addicts being asked to choose between their heroin or their cigarettes and always choosing their cigarettes as they were more addictive.

[bsyrn, ASN, RN]

I quit almost 12 years ago. It was difficult but obviously do able :). Chewing gum and drinking cold drinks through a straw helped me. Also, when I thought I could not get thought the cravings deep breathing really worked! I wish you the best of luck!

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

My mom smoked like a chimney for 32 years. She quit when I got pregnant - I had told her that I would never tell her what to do in her own home, but that when she came to my house, she would need to smoke outside. She just decided that was as good a reason as any to quit.

She did hypnosis. It took two sessions, but she said it worked. Placebo effect? I have no idea.

It's a good thing you are quitting. A couple of months after Mom quit smoking, she had her first stroke (48 years old). She died at the age of 69 from a really big stroke after years of "minor" strokes and a couple of major ones. If she had quit ten years earlier, maybe that wouldn't have happened to her.

Good luck to you.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

Try having some tootsie roll lollipops or some of the good Sees ones if you are on the west coast.

[GermanCookie, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

First and foremost, congratulations on your decision to quit. I have tried to quit unsuccessfully many, many times but would always start up again when I either got too stressed out or just didn't care anymore. This went on for almost ten years. Then, I got pregnant with my miracle baby and quit cold turkey immediately, that day. It wasn't ideal, but it was far better than smoking through pregnancy. I've never looked back or picked up a cigarette since.

The reason I say this, is because I obviously needed a reason that was important enough to ME to quit. While the obvious (such as our health) should be common sense reasons, it may not be that important to us at the time of quitting. If this job is truly your everything and means the world to you, keep that in the front of your mind as you begin and continue your journey to smoke-free. The very thought of a tiny baby being forced to process cigarette chemicals from mom was enough to make me never look back. That was my happy thought.

Now use your happy thought! And remember, nursing school is way harder than quitting smoking!!

[K9lover, ASN, RN]

Hardest thing I ever quit but switched to nicotine gum and never quit that so nicotine metabolites would show up.

[Wuzzie]

Not a smoker but had a good friend who was. She said the hardest thing was figuring out what to do with her hands when she would normally be smoking (in the car, watching tv). It would make her think about holding a cigarette then she would crave one and cave. She finally bought some cinnamon sticks and would hold one of them like a cigarette even occasionally taking a drag off of it. It also kept her from constantly putting food in her mouth and she was able to successfully quit.

[Purple_roses]

I don't think it's stupid of you to wait to quit until you absolutely had to--it's just the nature of addiction. I don't have any advice to give to you as I haven't been there myself, but I wanted to wish you luck, both with smoking cessation and your new job.

ETA: Friends and loved ones of mine who have managed to quit did it because they absolutely had to (things like pregnancy); they had something more than mere desire to quit that was motivating them, and I believe that's why they were part of the 10% that truly quit. I know you're worried that you won't be part of the 10%, but I would bet money that you'll be part of the 10% because you have a strong motivating factor--your dream job.