quitting smoking

TRW - you can do it. It's one of the hardest things I have ever done but it's do-able - you just have to want to. I used the patch and it really helped with the cranky part. You will gain some weight but if you substitute cigs with working out you can keep it to a minimum. A friend of mine ate baby carrots instead of smoking and he only gained 5 pounds (I read somewhere that the average person gains 20lbs and most lose 10 of it) and probably improved his eyesight!
Make your decision and do it - I won't lie, it's not easy but the benefits are great - breathing easy and living longer!! Good luck!

it was so easy to quit crack and booze oh i still get cravings but i can stave off the beast, it just happened but geez smokes i wake up in the middle of the night just to smoke and i'm up to almost 4 packs a day,granted i only take a few puffs and toss em so i waste more than i smoke

Think of the money you will save too - you could get the jeep back in no time...just a little more incentive! My Mom was 22 years sober when she died and she always said that cigarettes was the hardest to quit. She smoked 3 packs a day - if she could do it you can too!

trw,
I used the pill called chantix. It works differently than that other pill (wellbutrin, I think).

It worked better than anything else I ever used. I smoked for 30 some years.

There wasn't any cravings ever. I don't understand how it worked but there never was a time when I felt that urge to pick up a smoke.
It was hard to believe how well it worked. It was like I had never been a smoker. Even when I was around other people smoking, it didn't bother me.

The only downside is that I don't know how much it costs and you need a prescription. My insurance paid for it so I have no clue as to how much.

Lori

For me, cigarettes were easy compared to quitting drinking & I smoked at least 4 packs a day & didn't throw most of them away. Nicorette inhalators worked for me but they're not cheap. You can get them from England on Ebay but they're prescription here. That was 4 1/2 years ago.

do you miss it trade,still get cravings?

Not really. It's much easier to not smoke. When the storms were coming, I was so glad I didn't have to rush out & buy 10 cartons to stock up. I kept smoking much longer just because the rabid non-smokers were such a pain in the backside. I hate holier than thou types so I quit when I was ready, not when the righteous decided I should. LOL

I smoked all the time so there weren't any trigger times for me, like after meals, etc. The odd thing was, I just woke up one day & decided to stop but I'd had these inhalator things for long plane trips. I'm quite sure without them I would have started again.

Smokers stink--their body, clothes and especially their breath no matter how hard you try to cover it, the stench remains. Smokers are offensive to others.

You will probably die much sooner than a non smoker; it will become harder to breathe and physical activity will slow down because of it.

You may gain a few pounds at first , because food will taste so much better, but that will even out. You will feel better, look better--smoking cuts blood flow causing smokers faces to have a grey pallor --and your sense of smell better.

You also won't have a disgusting cough.

Think about you self i--how you will look and feel--in 10 years if you continue smoking or if you quit.......

Well, HBIC some of that didn't apply to me. 😀 Food didn't taste any different after I quit smoking, I never had a cough to begin with, I didn't feel any better after I quit & I started smoking when I was 13. I do love 2nd hand smoke & never mind sitting next to smokers. The people in smoking sections usually are friendlier. I read a study that your metabolism changes when you quit which makes losing the weight harder. Of course, it's better for you not to smoke but booze breath makes me wretch & everyone picks their vice...

I live in a smoking culture, in post-Soviet space. Smoking is everywhere. But the government, recognizing tobacco as the number 1 public health hazard, has started to enact laws and regulations banning or severely limiting smoking in public. Our University recently received recognition for our 100% ban on smoking and positive efforts to get people to quit.

A substitute is essential. Kojak used to keep a lollypop in his mouth. Daily workouts are excellent, even low- to medium-intensity. And a strict diet will help to keep the pounds off; that includes limiting or stopping alcohol consumption entirely.

Smoking took at least 20 years off the lives of my parents and my only smoker brother. I take the problem seriously.

Only bubbas smoke cigarettes:D

trw

I smoked for 9 years and I'm glad I quit 3.5 years ago. I grew up in my father's restaurant. It served as a daycare for me and my sister. We would spend hours hanging out in the break room (8x10') where the waitresses chain smoked every spare second they had. It was no surprise that I started smoking early!

I was chef at a restaurant/bar in Denver that was quite the toxic place to work. I woke up one day with an extra horrible hangover and decided that I could go a day without a smoke. I was so sick the whole day, it was easy. The next day flew by and before I knew it I was done with the lunch rush and still without a smoke (I was still hungover). Day 3 is decided that I was DONE! I put 2 rubber bands on my wrist and every craving I felt, even the slightest, I would snap myself really hard. It broke that mental fixation on taking 5. I also bought Commit lozenges and would suck on them whenever the craving came.

You have to feed the Nicotine craving somehow and there's too many products out there that really work to not quit! I use to joke about how high I would get off of the lozenges. I slowly weaned away from the lozenges and now I can say that I'm done with smokes forever!

I recommend the rubber band technique coupled with lozenges, patches, or whatever! Oh, I chewed a lot of toothpicks too

You can do it trw!
Noah

2 pk a day...........coughing mornings & stinky everything...........GONE! I quit 4 yrs ago w/the patch. I was still cranky, but my hub was really really supportive. I started back twice before I finally slayed the cig dragon. It can be done. I still crave one now & again, but once I smell a cig, I change that thought immediately.
Main thing is TRW.........YOU have to be the one who really wants this & It WILL happen!

Good Luck!

The last time I quit cold turkey was for 3 years. Thought I was over it and then my son came down for a visit and was smoking. Joined him and was back on it. Have used the patches and pills without any luck. Will try again when I get there.

TRW: Being cranky and fat is better than skinny with cancer. If you cant go cold turkey, cut down and switch to cig that you dont really like. Then take some pictures of a 20 year smokers lung and put one on your refridgerator door, then go have a doctor tell you what they can and will do to your body. Then try the gum, the lollipops and if that fails switch to a vaporizer if you cant kick the nicotine habit. Get one of those fake cigs that you can put in your mouth to help with the oral fixation and try not to drink alcohol as your inhibitions go way down.

Good Luck!

Cory K.

I only get cravings when I smell a newly lit smoke. I don't think I'll ever NOT want a cigarette.

I quit smoking for a year but unfortunately started up again a few years ago. I've recently tried Chantix but it really upset my stomach. I have my prescription for Zyban but haven't had the motivation to just start taking my pills and pick a quit date until I read this thread. The thing that I like about the Zyban and Chantix is that you can also use the patch, gum or lozenges.

Good luck trw

My sister stopped smoking at the age of 60 years old. Had been smoking since she was 14 or so. She used Chantix and it worked. The only side effect the bothered her were the very vivid dreams.

trw, I agree with Cory that a good first step is cutting down. 4 packs a day is NOT moderate. That's a compulsion. It's mental as well as physical. Try taking baby steps by cutting back and reward yourself if you succeed. Maybe set an immediate goal of less than 1 pack a day. That's still plenty to curb your cravings, especially if you are not smoking them all the way. I know you don't sleep much, so maybe that's one cig per hour. Hey, it's a start! It took me years to successfully stop smoking. My main encouragement was my wife's adversion to the smell. Although she smoked in college and stopped just a year before me, she couldn't take the smell. I couldn't get a decent kiss if I smelled like an ashtray, and I'm really into kissin my lady. She was a major influence, but it really came down to me not wanting that in my life anylonger. I'm a thin guy, and I think you are too, so don't worry about a few pounds. At the same time I quite, i committed to exercise. The first day I quit, I devoted to a morning stretch routine. I quickly started to feel really healthy and energetic. I consciously did not replace the cig habit with another (like food or caffine, etc...), so try not to do that. I never bought a script or patch thing, only used some cinnamon drops.

Also, if you've tried to quit before, you've probably gone the route of rolling your own already. Buy some American Spirit tobacco and some papers and twist your own when you need. That will certainly cut your rate down from 4 packs a day. Hell, here in STX, go to the local gas station and get some fresh fanta from PR and just roll that. Another option for roll your own...talk to those shirtless dreads growing in the vallee and ask them to donate a big bag of leaves for your cause. It won't affect you like the buds, it's free and it will help ease the cravings and fill the void of the cig to mouth habit. It worked for me.

Now about 4 years later, I NEVER want a cig. The smell is just horrible. I took a toke here and there last year and every time I hit a cig I regreted it. The one draw was nasty and neauseating. (and I got no kissin that night!) I hope you get there soon.

Seems like you've got your own support group here. If you kick the habit and need some cardio workout, remember we play Ultimate Frisbee here at UVI Mondays and Thursdays from 4:30-dark, front field (STX). and we are right on the taxi route!

At first you may pass through the cranky phase, then the eating phase, but it will pass and soon you will feel younger than you have in a looong time.

I am reminded of the Simpson's episode when Bart started smoked. He became so cranky and just snapped at everyone. Quiting smoking could be the best medicine for you!

how do we say it....Give Thanks for Life...oh yeah and Your Body is Your Temple! "'member that!"

I quit just a little more than 4 months ago on April 11. You have no idea how proud I am. I never ever ever thought I'd be able to quit. It seemed I was the only one in the world still smoking. I have to tell you trw, I was smoking for 42 years and had never quit before. I was smoking more than two packs a day.

One day it was pouring stormy outside and I had 4 cigarettes left and a box of Stage 1 patches that New York State dept of Health sent me for free. I smoked those 4 cigarettes bit by bit so they lasted for a couple of hours, but it was still teeming out. My fiance had quit smoking three weeks before me, so this was it. I put on one patch and was done.

I get strong cravings, but they pass. Some days worse than others. It's so much better if I keep busy. I just found out last week that my fiance is back to smoking. He said that he thought just one wouldn't make a difference. He found out it did make a difference, and he's already up to smoking as much as he did before he quit. That's a big incentive for me not to try even one tug.

Oh, that "your body is your temple" thing is really true. Unfortunately, this temple has a big collection tray. I am eating a lot more and have gained weight. Not that food tastes better, it's just that I want to keep putting it in my mouth. I'll deal with it though.

Good luck to you, trw. It's the best thing I've ever done.

I stopped 12 years ago, haven't had one since.
OK, I`m fat & grumpy, but I do have my good moments.

I have to agree w/ Trade in that food tastes the same, & the holier than thou non-smokers are a pain in the ass!
They used to exaggerate coughing & waving their hands....I`ll NEVER be one of those a holes no matter how long i quit!

Smoking feels lousy, but so does being fat!
Of course being older is no party either.

I also think smoking keeps you wired, like a drug addict (which it is), so you are skinny.
Now that I`m fat, I really don`t give a dam what others think(unless i`m in a mood to fight).That may make people fatter, just not giving a dam about someones opinion.
Don`t confuse what I just said by thinking i don`t enjoy a good argument!
I`m still allowed to disagree & argue, i just don`t care what the other person thinks(if they disagree)!

Smoking CAN`T be good for you though!
And, you can save plenty of $$(not to mention wanting to kill those exaggerating a holes!)!

I`ve lost weight many times before (it`s easy) stopping smoking is harder& for me more permanent!
My house & car are MUCH MUCH cleaner too!

I think self rightous stinky smokers are a pain in the ass!
I think that you should only be allowed to smoke in public places if you don't exhale!
Smoke all you want in your own home.

Well said rotorhead--don't polute my air with your crap, I don't want to stink like a smoker.

Everyone who has ever quit has their own belief system. For me it was:
1. Get your mind right! Decide you are going to do it and do it. A habit is what you do. You are going to change a habit.
2. Stop cold turkey. Just stop. No, you can't have just a puff. No, you can't try one to see if you really have quit. No, no, no.
3. The roughest part is the first three weeks or so. Change every one of your smoking habits. It you smoke with that cup of coffee in the morning, don't drink coffee. If you smoke after a meal, get up and walk around instead. Avoid your smoking buddies for that period of time. (Once you separate the response from the stimulus, you can go back to coffee, relaxing after a meal, etc.)
4. Be good to yourself for the first few of weeks. Drink lots of water. Brush your teeth 5 times a day. Take naps. Tell yourself every minute what a good job you are doing.
5. Don't smoke.
6. DON'T pick up a cigarette.
7. I said: Do not touch that smoke.

See, wasn't that easy? 😉

(I was a chain smoker from morning to night. I did try to quit several times before it stuck. I did not use any external aids. And, yes now, many years later, occasionally when I smell the aroma, I think, hmm... And then I repeat # 5, 6, and 7.)