Preparing For Your Cold Laser Therapy Visit

What do I need to do to prepare for my quit nicotine cold laser therapy visit?

The preparation is the same regardless of the nicotine delivery system you’re using. For purpose of this Q&A, we’re using smoking as the example.

How long before I see you should I stop using nicotine? Many clients have their last cigarette, cigar, vape right before they head upstairs to our office for their appointment. And some have their last one the night before or early that morning. It’s really up to you. The more time you give yourself to be smoke/vape free before you see us, the sooner the nicotine will be out of your system.

It takes three days, 72 hours, for nicotine to leave your system. That’s a surprisingly short time, isn’t it? After about five days, because you’re no longer putting nicotine into your body, your brain and body do a hand shake, so-to-speak, and agree to talk with each other once again, so it begins to automatically time-release these chemicals again, just as it did before you began to smoke.

Should I clean my car out before I see you? My home? There’s no one answer. Some people clean their car out. Some people even have their car professionally detailed. They want their car smelling clean and don’t want the cleanliness to deter them from lighting up inside their car. Other people, want to go back into the smelly car and be reminded of why they don’t want to smoke. Whichever choice you make, we ask you that you “know thyself” and be intentional about your decision. This is the same mindset for what you decide to do with your home before you see us. Many people prefer to do a deep cleaning before hand, including tossing out all cigarette butts and cigarettes.

Should I tell my friends and family I’m quitting? Again, this is a personal choice. If you know friends and family will support you, and you’ll find this support helpful, then yes, tell them. If you think the pressure will be too great for you, or you think that your friends may unconsciously (or consciously) sabotage you, then you may not want to. In the end, you need to decide what will be most helpful to you in your succeeding as a non-smoker. As always, be honest with yourself. You don’t want to be the friend or family member who is sabotaging yourself.

What if people in my house smoke or vape? If you don’t tell them that you’re becoming a non-smoker, then there’s not much you can do about this. If you do tell them, you can talk with them and share with them how they can best support you. We’re going to assume that they don’t want to and/or aren’t ready to stop smoking with you. Will they agree not to smoke in the house? Will they agree to not smoke in front of you? Will they agree to not offer you a cigarette or give you one when you ask? If they leave the house, will they agree to not leave cigarettes in the house, if that’s your preference? If not, you can ask them to, or you can, purchase a safe and ask them to keep their cigarettes in the safe, keypad locked

In the end, the only one you have complete control over is yourself. Set your boundaries and make them clear. This is your time to take care of yourself. There’s nothing more important than sticking to your quit right now – if you don’t want cigarettes left in the house and they don’t agree to not keeping them in the house or keeping them in the safe, you can let them know that any cigarettes found, will be soaked under water, with salt and pepper shaken on top of them and smushed into them, and thrown out in the garbage can.

OK. We’re being a bit dramatic and over the top here, perhaps. But you get the idea. You can’t keep others from smoking, but you can ask them to respect your “reasonable” boundaries.

Are you and a friend/spouse quitting together? If you and a friend/spouse are quitting together, talk about your quit. Share any of your concerns with each other and talk about and come up with a plan to support each other. Sometimes, if we don’t bring this out in the open, we may find if one friend is having a tougher time than another, then that person may consciously or unconsciously “bring the other person down.” Talk about and plan how you won’t do this to each other — talk about the signs, what “sabotage” might look like. Also, let the other person know what support will look like to you. Be as specific as you can. What support may look like for one of you may look very different than what the other one wants. For example, one of you may want space while the other one wants company. In this case, how will you both get support if you need it at the same time, especially if you plan on the two of you being each other’s support 100 percent of the time those first few days. You want to talk this out and plan it out ahead of time; don’t wait until you’re in the moment. Be proactive, not reactive.

Should I throw all my cigarettes and vapes away before I walk into your office? There’s no one answer. Some people say they want a pack of cigarettes around because they want to know it’s always their choice to smoke or not to smoke. Others say they don’t want the temptation. Personally, we at Center for Laser Therapy would choose to toss out all our cigarettes, but that’s us. We’d rather not be easily tempted, especially at the beginning.  We know that you’re only a car ride away from a 7/11 or Wawa, yet that still takes an effort and gives you time to rethink. With the cigarettes right at home, there’s there’s less “space” between the trigger and the behavior (the smoking). We’re also well aware that many of you have friends and family around who smoke, so cigarettes may be around even if your choice would be to toss them all out. 

If you choose to keep cigarettes (one or more) or vapes, we do ask that you ask yourself why. For example, if you don’t throw them out because you’re thinking, “They’re so expensive!” ask yourself, why are you thinking that? Are you thinking, “Well, if I don’t end up quitting, then I’m just going to have go back out and buy a new pack”? If that’s the case, ask yourself whether you’re really ready to stop smoking. It’s important that you’re fully committed to this quit. Here’s one way to think about it: What if your cigarettes were all moldy and/or contained a lethal dose of arsenic, would you save the pack just because it was expensive? Probably not. Well, you’re stopping smoking because you don’t want to be inhaling that poison any more, so why are you keeping them? What does it matter that they were expensive to buy?

We’re not writing this to shame you into throwing them out. You may have a great reason for keeping them. Maybe you want to prove they have no control over you. We are posing this question because we do want you to be intentional about your decision. And we do want you to be honest with yourself. This is a look in the mirror moment. In the past when you quit, have you kept your cigarettes and ended up smoking them? Then why are you keeping them this time? In the end, it’s your decision to know what will help you reach your non-smoking, smokefree goal. We trust you to know yourself and trust that you will be honest with yourself. In the end, it’s you, not us, who will keep that lit cigarette out of your mouth. You’re the one doing the work.

If you do want a ceremonial tossing out of all your cigarettes, you can do so in our office. We’ll even take a photo of you doing so with your own phone if you’d like!

Do I need to wear any special clothing?

No special clothing is necessary although it’s helpful that if you’re wearing long sleeves that they’re somewhat loose so we can have access to your forearm. Please remove earrings before your visit. If you forget though, that’s OK. You can remove them at the office.

Please do this thought exercise before your visit: Write or record the answers to these two question(s): “Why do I want to quit nicotine?” “Why do I want to live smokefree?” The way each of the two questions is worded may provoke different answers — one you’re moving away fromhttps://centerforlasertherapy.com/why-do-you-want-to-live-smokefree/… the other you’re moving towards.

Here are more thought exercises you may find helpful. Do one or all.

And, if you enjoy reading or listening to audio books, we suggest this one.