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Comment by contingencies | Hacker News Reader

It took me dozens of attempts. Find three days. Use the next long weekend. No excuses. Cold turkey on Friday afternoon, drink yourself to sleep, self-isolate until Monday afternoon, incorporate endurance exercise (long distance cycling is very good) if at all possible. Try not to schedule critical family/business meetings on Tuesday/Wednesday. Exercise Tuesday/Wednesday.

If you are a positive reinforcement type of person, keep a "money and time I didn't spend on cigarettes" and "days of life saved to spend with my kids" counter as a reinforcement every time you log in.

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> Find three days. Use the next long weekend. No excuses. Cold turkey on Friday afternoon, drink yourself to sleep, self-isolate until Monday afternoon, incorporate endurance exercise (long distance cycling is very good) if at all possible.

FWIW, I know some have said this is bad advice, but it's remarkably similar to my most recent attempt that had any kind of success. I did taper first, but when it came time to actually follow through, I did reserve some time for self isolation. I did drink myself to sleep (I basically had a drink any time I had a craving for a smoke). I did substitute long distance cycling! All of this helped immensely.

Unfortunately, most of that is available to me right now. I'm fortunate to be working, but I'm currently working far more than I should. My family is depending on me for routine contact (and I on them) for mental health during isolation. I don't currently have access to my bike, and even if I did I would not have the time or energy to exercise.

I will get there again. It's just not the time. Thanks for the advice though!

Thanks for your supportive comment. Exercise helps. Time helps, to a point (2-3 days). Obviously anything like this is highly personal, and anyone who hasn't done it should be "taken with a grain of salt" (ignored). Remember not to take yourself too seriously :)

I anecdotally in my 20s found that a lot of non drowsy cough syrup (DXM) is great for any kind of withdrawal.

It's probably a good idea to disclose, for anyone who isn't already aware, that DXM (dextromethorphan) is a dissociative hallucinogen. It doesn't take much more than a normal dose to experience mild intoxication, and "a lot" can be a pretty intense (and for many, unpleasant) experience even if you're expecting it.

It's also probably a good idea to disclose that it can be pretty nauseating in its own right, and that it's often paired with other drugs like guaifenesin that are even more likely to cause nausea and vomiting.

Like, don't get me wrong, if folks wanna take a robotrip to quit smoking, I'm not going to dissuade them. It's crazy what works for some people. But I don't think just encouraging people who are desperate to find a way to quit smoking to take a robotrip without warning is a good idea at all.

"Drink yourself to sleep" is weirdly phrased. Could you clarify?

Also, thanks for the positive re-inforcement idea.

It's a common phrase that means to drink enough alcohol to pass out. Presumably because otherwise sleep would be difficult to find, due to withdrawal symptoms.

I downvoted you because these are terrible suggestions. Tapering down is a far easier way of quitting most addictions. Drinking yourself to sleep is always a terrible idea.

Actually I’ve seen variants of this work in many different ways. Listen, you got yourself already onto a powerful drug. People use drugs to come off other drugs all the time, and it works. In fact I think it has a high success rate if done properly.

High dose NAC with a couple night’s of Xanax to sleep would probably be better.

I never said it couldn't work, I said it was a terrible idea.

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