just a question

[kenmoreforever]

How many of you guys are struggling with quitting smoking? I have tried it all to no avail. Looking for answers here to maybe help me kick the mess. And rather off topic here but is there anyone here that is struggling to get off prescription drugs yet again to no avail?I feel that doctors are trying to kill us with some of their off the wall methods.

 

[beadsobleach]

Hating myself

I quit smoking for 5 years, then with the recent economic downturn and tough times, started again, damn! It's the vice you can do and still pass a drug test, drive etc. Funny the worst addiction is the one that's legal??? I agree about the doctors, most people feel if they don't get a prescription when they go the doctor, he/she isn't doing their job, that from a doctor friend of mine....not too mention all the ads ramming drugs down our throats....

 

[thomasortega]

I tried to quit more than 30 times...

My highest score was 6 months... I gave up!

People at Phillip Morris love me, I smoke 20 marlboro Icemint every day.

The most intriguing is what my doctor said the last time I did a checkup. A case in millions, my body didn't suffer any of the effects (yet), after more than 35 years smoking. Of course he told me to quit and I know it's the best thing I could do to my health, but you know, I have the option.

 

[ronhic]

I'm so pleased that we don't have much medication advertising in this country.

The most you get are headache and cold tablets or maybe an indigestion drink as it is illegal to advertise medications that are only available on prescription....and since the introduction of increased control of Pseudoephidrine based medicines, there is next to no advertising of these either...

Basically, if you don't want to go to the doctor and need something, you SHOULD ask your pharmacist who should then go through a particular protocol regarding who the medicine is for, symptoms, allergies etc....

Mind, a doctors visit here isn't exactly expensive ranging from free for a medical centre to up to $75.00 (well mine charges that) for a long appointment (about USD$60ish) of which we would get about $50 back from medicare (USD$40ish)

 

[little-edie]

hardest thing i ever did....

quit in 1992 after smoking around 23 years. yes, it was murder, but the patches helped me (and it probably helped that i had to pay a fortune for them). what helped the MOST was when i realized that i was stronger than the cigarette.

 

[mixergal]

Me too, little-edie

I quit 10 years ago - and it was the hardest thing I ever did. Here's a quote from an email I sent a friend when she was looking for advice/support. She had just gotten through her first day without smoking.

Quote:

That's how it's done - one day at a time. I'm going on 10 years, and I can tell you - the first couple of weeks are terrible. It will seem like it will never get better, your thoughts will cloud up, and you will be groggy and impatient with the world - it's just your body detoxing. Don't panic! Go take a nap or go for a walk (if you can) when you are feeling weakest - then pat yourself on the back for being strong.

Oh, and your metabolism will change - you may gain some weight at first, but if you aren't replacing cigs with food, it's just water weight and you will lose it again when you are finished detoxing (2 to 3 weeks - everyone is different).

And then you have to come up with the smoker's dillemma - WHAT DO I DO WITH MY HANDS? I used to smoke 2 packs a day (for 10 years) - that was a tough hurdle for me to overcome. Let me know what you need for support - I'm here for you!...

Oh - you may have to avoid smokers for a day or two until you are stronger - if they're smoking.

Unquote.

Hope this helps! I quit cold turkey, but there are the patches, there's the gum (which tastes AWFUL), and there is Wellbutrin (sp). Yes, I know it's a prescription drug, but if the alternative is smoking, you're better off with the prescription. I don't recommend cold turkey. Very few people can do it sucessfully. I had never tried to quit before, so when I did I got mad when I realized how addicted I was, and that steeled my resolve to quit.

I still dream that I'm a smoker sometimes, and I wake up feeling guilty. It's a tough thing to quit - tougher than coccaine or heroin addiction, they say.

Good luck, and if anybody needs support to help them quit - let me know!

-Sherri

 

[ptcruiser51]

Tapering

worked for me, after trying cold turkey a number of times. Granted, I took longer than recommended but it did work. First they nixed smoking at work=automatic reduction right there. Then I got a new car; no smoking while driving. Next, NJ outlawed smoking in restaurants, then clubs and bars and pretty much everywhere else; NYC followed shortly afterwards. Then I would not smoke when visiting my parents (overnight trip). After the initial heebee-jeebies of withdrawal it was not so bad once you knew what was coming. Next I stopped smoking while watching TV in bed (a disgusting thing when you think about it). BTW, I haven't had voh-de-oh-doh in years+years, so no need to worry about the cigarette "after". It got so I would just be sitting in my kitchen chain-smoking thinking "this is ridiculous". Finally, my sister and I rented a shore house for vacation and I just said "this is it". And that was that. It worked. On rare occasions I'll ask a friend for a smoke just to feel "glamorous" (har!) and go "Ick!"

And I used to smoke 3-4 packs a day for about 30 years. It was nothing for me to burn through a carton in two days.

The most effective "quit" ad I ever saw on TV was a woman standing on a hi-rise balcony smoking while a party is going on inside. A man comes out and says "Would you like company?" and the woman says, "To think I started doing this to 'fit in'..."

Good luck. Millions have done it, you can too.

 

[petek]

I quit a year ago May 18th. I've smoked since I was 16, so about 38 years but I did quit once before about 8 years ago for a 4 year period and for some reason started again. Anyways, what worked for me was also the tapering off thing.. I just kept it in the back of my mind I was quitting, no big deal and slowly cut back over weeks and months by only smoking maybe half the cigarette etc..cept when I was drinking of course and I'd smoke a pack in an evening. Helps to get a nasty cold too while you're tapering off and also when you feel you're getting close to quitting buy cigarettes that you really hate, like menthols if you don't smoke menthols, or some awful brand like Camel no filters. For me it was a pack of Winston, can't stand em, the 3/4 finished pack is still staling away on top of the fridge from a year ago.

 

[whirlcool]

I have heard from others I know that Chantex (or something like that) got them to quit. Supposedly, when you take this stuff your body can no longer accept nicotine. So in three days you go through withdrawal for 2 days and then you are done. But you continue with the med for a few more weeks "just to make sure". If you sneak a cigarette, there is no rewarding feeling. That's because Chantex has blocked the nicotine, so smoking becomes useless.

 

[butch-innj]

I have smoked Benson & Hedges Menthol for 40 years.

I have no desire to quit smoking.
I enjoy every one that I smoke.
I LIKE smoking.
I'll probably take them to the grave with me.

I think the biggest help to quit is having the "want to"
factor.
If your "want to" is big enough and strong enough....you'll
quit.

And the more others tell me how much I should quit and why...
the more I want to continue.
I guess its the "rebel" in me.
I absolutely HATE being told what I should do.
Unless of course, I ask for someones opinion.

 

[ronhic]

I was only ever a very light smoker and at my worst smoking 8 cigarettes a day.

Being a late starter - 30yrs, and a light smoker, it wasn't hard to stop in late 2005....

...but then I started again earlier this year....Currently smoking 2-3 a day with a maximum of 4....

...and have decided that I am just going to stop again....just those few actually impacts on my appreciation of food and how hard I can workout...

BUT, it all boils down to your own desire to stop. If you have the 'gotta wanna' you can do it.

 

[frigilux]

First of all: Butch, quit smoking! Dying of lung cancer is a very ugly, terrifying process. I watched my mom die from it, and it was the most horrific 10 months of my life. Watching the abject terror on her face as she gradually suffocated was something wouldn't wish on anyone.

Keith: Add this technique to your arsenal: Every time you want to smoke, say, out loud: "I'm not a cigarette smoker. I do not smoke cigarettes." Sounds goofy, but after awhile, you begin to believe yourself. Expect to say this, literally, hundreds of times a day at first. It really helped me.

Print off several copies of one of those horrific photos of a heavy smoker's lungs. Put one everywhere. In the car, all over the house, at work, etc. Remind yourself of how awesomely stupid smoking will seem when your doctor says, "I'm sorry, you have lung cancer."

Good luck to you! I kicked the habit years ago, and it's worth the effort.

 

[laundromat]

YUKK!!!

I quit smoking (cigarettes) in 1991.From 1967 to 1975,I smoked PallMall non-filters and to the end. I had marks on both thumbs from smoking 4.5 packs a day.When I began,smoking,cigarettes were $.31/pack or $3.33/carton of 10 at Pantry Pride.When I went to high school,I quit from 1976 to 1978 being on the swimming team I needed to quit to build up my endorance.I thought all was well untill we were doing our finals. I had been on the honor roll all that year and was insistant on being the best. Our team won the state championship and my grades showed my abilities but ,when my finals came up and I had all that studying to do,I was offered a cigarette and went back to a filthy,dirty habit for another 20 years. I went from PM to Marlborrow 100's in the box and smoked them down to the filter.One day in November of 1991,I had a flu and woke up out of breath. I went to go out to get some fresh air and went to lite a cigarette. As the flame of my "click' went by my nose a little light came on in my cobweb infested little pea brain saying" you ass hole. You just came out here to get fresh air because you couldn't breath and now you're lighting up a cigarette?"That,my friends was my last one. I quit cold turkey and,just like it is written,you aren't really a true quitter before it haS been 5 years since your last puff.

 

[spankomatic]

I quit cold turkey in 1986. Then started again in 1989 after the Loma Prieta earthquake. Quit again in 1995 with the help of Wellburtin. My Doctor recommended that I use if for 1 month to quit smokeing. I used it only 7 days and it worked for me. It makes the taste of cigarett change. It is like licking the inside of an exhaust pipe is the best way to decribe it. You just don't want them anymore... I did tapper off using the Wellburtin and kept myself busy. I would go for a walk,wash the car,mow the lawn,do laundry which all really helped. Dr Pepper soft drink was harder to get off of for me than cigaretts. I was a total soda addict for years.

Jim

 

[whitekingd]

I heard an interesting theory a while back,

The more you hear "Don't smoke, don't smoke, don't smoke" the more you want to smoke. The theory was that your subconsious hears the "dominate" part of the statement - SMOKE!! It makes some sense, and holds true for many different things.