Quitting Smoking

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Help Support :

Nicotine patch anyone?

Here is some encouragement, I hope

Nicotine.
Morphine.
Caffein.
Codein.

What do we see in common in these, (other than English grammar and spelling is a mystery and makes no sense?)

ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCES.

You are soon to break-free of a very real and powerful addiction.

YOU CAN DO IT.

Get a roll of hard candy or lolli-pops or even a "I-swear-to-God" pacifier (when no one is looking) to get rid of the urge to do something with your mouth at regular intervals. The self-embarassment alone of the pacifier will solidify the need to stop the mouth-activity part of the habit!
 
Well guys, I've lasted 17 hours. Wooo-hoo. Getting ready to call it a day here at work, have had wonderful support from everyone here and at work too. One of my assistants took my car keys, went out and emptied the ash tray in my car so that I would not be tempted to cheat on my way out. He knows me all too well. On one of my walks around the building a customer lit up one and I got a good dose of second hand smoke....I died and gone to heaven, and got dizzy too. When a craving hits I use the peppermint breath spray Sweet Breath, its very strong and usually gives me that menthol freshness like rush.

I'm off to hit the treadmill, maybe catch Brokeback Mountain in Austin later. I'll check in tomorrow.
Barry
 
I smoked about a pack a day right out of high school. I gave that up for the most part,but still enjoy a pipe full of Captain Black,or a pipe tobacco cigar.But if I get angry at work for instance,I can get a pack of Merits,and smoke 'em like I never quit.Then I'm over it,and can go a year or so without touching them.
Good luck in your endeavor,at $3.00 or more a pack,that's
a lot of appliance money.....

kennyGF
 
Mr. Salvo,

Keep up the good work. I quit 3 1/2 years ago and never looked back. Luckily, I did it through hypnosis. After a 20-minute session and a $25 fee, I went from almost two packs a day to nothing. The first couple of days I felt funny, a couple of head rushes from the nicotine leaving my system and then it was over. Unfortunately, I've gained weight that I just can't seem to shake, but I'm working on it. I don't miss the smell or the chest pains.

Keep it up. You can do it.
 
mrsalvo-- Here's a cheap 'n' easy, never-fail way to quit smoking: Get a 14" long 2-by-4. Every time you think about smoking a cigarette, begin hitting yourself about the head with it. Continue this process until your desire to smoke ceases.

That will be $150, please.
 
I have never smoked so I can't claim to know what you are going through, but I sincerely wish you all the best.
A couple of strategies I have known to work:
-My Spanish teacher when I was in USA was an ex-smoker and saved the money he would have spent on smokes, every year he bought himself a gift with the money, believe me they were fancy gifts too!!
My next door neighbour used a hypnotherapist. She found it easy after the hypno, having tried to give up unsuccessfully several times before. She also took up yoga, and used that to take her mind off things. She has been off the smokes for some years, got right into the yoga, travelled to India and became a qualified yoga instructor. She now is super healthy, super fit, earns a good living as a yoga instructor, is my yoga teacher and has personally helped me immensely with back pain management through yoga techniques. Not a bad outcome from giving up the cigs!!
Bset of luck with it. Be strong. Keep telling yourself you are now a NON smoker.

chris.
 
I started smoking about age 14. Smoked about a pack and a half a day (two to three packs for those nights out on the party circuit!) untill New Years Eve. 2002. I had been smoking Carlton's----lowest tar and nicotine brand. I was in Florida at the time and they were just shy of $5.00 a pack! It just pissed me off to the point I had a reason to quit other than all the health reasons---economics got my attention! And worse, just think of the thousands of dollars I smoked over the years! Screw the f-----g tobacco companies! I am still angry at both the tobacco companies and myself for falling for it!

I didn't get crazy cravings untill the second week after I had quit but I stuck to it. I just found other things to do. Smoetimes I would dream of smoking---so vividly I could taste it---then I would wake up and get angry at myself for even smoking in my dreams! Suddenly about eight months after quitting---it stopped like someone threw a switch! No more dreams no more urges. And I did NOT crave a cigarette when drinking alchololic beverages because it was no longer an option and I did not even think about it!

Now I freak-out when I get around cigarette smoke. I can barely stand the smell and hate it getting on my clothes! I am appalled that I went all those years stinking like an ash tray, car, clothes, house and body-----yech! (Nothing worse than a reformed smoker!)I hate getting in an enclosed area with smokers now. My eyes burn and tear up, and I can't wait to get home and shower the stench off of me, and wash my clothes!

I have dear friends who still smoke. I love them and endure the effects as best I can when I am around them, but I want them to QUIT RIGHT NOW! I don't want them to suffer the health OR economic effects of smoking one more minute!AND I don't EVER want to attend the funeral of another friend again, I've buried too many as it is.

Oh yeah, and when I visit a friend of mine in Richmond (who still smokes INSIDE her house) I end up wheezing like an asthmatic after about 48 hours of exposure. It forces me to cut short my visits and I really love my friend------DAMNIT! I spent Thanksgiving day with her this year, and at dinner I was one of two NON-SMOKERS in a group of TEN SMOKERS! We almost choked to death---it was horrible. When we opened the back door to go outside you could actually see the smoke pouring outside. Honey puleeeez! I hated feeling like I couldn't wait to get out of there.

Oh, and then all the side effects: frequent colds, bronchitis that liked to become pneumonia, acid reflux,and dental issues.
All those problems (except occasional indigestion) went away when I quit. Latest stats. say about 45M Americans still smoke---that is way down from what it was. It is getting better!It won't be long before the habit goes the way of gas guzzling automobiles,and dinosaurs!

So, I hope this Pep-Talk helps, but mostly you need to stop talking and thinking about smoking. Put it behind you and don't look back. When you get around other smokers let the stench of the smoke re-inforce your decision to stop. A new chapter in yor life is dawning-----turn the page and move forward.

BEST WISHES!
 
I quit two weeks ago. I am using the gum and doing OK. The worse part is after I eat, I really want that dessert cigarette.
 
Thank you Gyrafoam

I hate getting in an enclosed area with smokers now. My eyes burn and tear up, and I can't wait to get home and shower the stench off of me, and wash my clothes!

-I thought I was the only one.

Although I DO miss the smell of booze, cigs and cologne on a leather jacket, I am adjusting nicely to the newish NYC smoking bans in clubs and other public places.
 
Last night was bad, the cravings was nearly unbearable. I am in the process of completely reevaluating what I do and when I carry out a task/chore etc. Didn't really realize just how much my whole life revolved around even just one cigarette. You complete a chore and you want to light up, you face a stressful situation and you want to light up, you eat and you want to light up. Right now I'm existing in a void or a vacuum,
Bosch2460 said "the void of smoking" and the term sticks in my mind.
This morning was not too easy either, I read and reread all of these posts over and over again AND IT HELPED. I am not alone,
everyone here knows what I'm going through I think, But today was just alittle easier than yesterday...but not by much. I smoked alot out of boredom too. I've smoked a pack a day for 20 years. Don't understand how I got myself in this situation, never wanted to be like my Dad in this respect.
Darrel, thank-you for the insight about not worrying with weight gain. I'm concerned that I'll replace food for cigarettes. And yes, I drink lots of water.
And I've thought of Pete from Calgary, who started back up.
This is hell and I can't imagine going through it again.
Jeff who is smoke free for 6 months, will I ever get there?

You know what guys, I have to secretly confess and admit something here. Yes, I want to get off of the medications and take a real deep breath, to feel good and HAVE ENERGY again.
And not to have to rely on that little blue pill for extra curricular activites (at $10.00 a pill!).....there I said it.
That provides some motivation too, but not alone enough to quit by itself. I still need the support here.

Well I've rambled on enough for now. Have got to get my car cleaned inside really well. I'll spray some of that fabric
deodorizer on my seats until I can get it in for reupholstering next month. It's like getting in an ashtry everytime I go somewhere. Also am watching my diet more carefully, maybe I need to start taking antioxidants too.

Will check in later. THANK-YOU ALL FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. YOU'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

Barry
 
Barry

I know what you mean about your car. I had to get rid of mine,had the interior shampooed but the smell was in the air conditioning system and could not get rid of it. It truly was a mobile ash tray!Even with the windows down my clothes still picked up the smell. I couldn't stand it. All the Febreeze in the world couldn't help that car!

I can see you realize how addictive those cigarettes were------------get really angry------that will re-enforce your decision to stop. When I thought of all the money I spent over the years, and all the health related side effects, oh I am just furious at the tobacco industry for their propaganda campaign when I was growing up---as well as myself for falling for it! They didn't twist my arm. No it was sneaky and steady temptation to be cool, sophisticated, part of the in crowd. Damn those SOB's!

It will take a while maybe even a month or so, but your lungs will begin to clear out. You will notice how much easier it is to breath-----and oh yeah, that coughing will gradually stop----can you imagine after all those years! The sinus areas will calm down from all the irritation and hopefully you will begin to fully taste again! I stopped having all that serious reaction to pollen each fall and spring-----now just a minor problem.

Like I said, you have everything to look forward to WITHOUT smoking-----so DON'T LOOK BACK! That is the habit you MUST really change! Force yourself to forget about smoking-----and you will-----just pretend you never smoked in your life----and forget about it! And you will!

Best wishes,
Steve
 
mrsalvo-- The psychological aspects of smoking are what making quitting so difficult. Even though the chemicals in cigarettes are 'speedy' in nature, we tend to think of the act of smoking as being calming. This is an illusion.

Besides hitting myself about the head with a 2 by 4 (which, by the way, gets your mind off the cigs REAL fast), every time I wanted a cigarette, I would say, out loud, "I'm not a smoker! Why would I want a cigarette?" After awhile, I became more and more convinced that I wasn't a smoker.

And believe me, once the worst of the cravings pass, you'll wonder why on earth you ever smoked to begin with. I quit about 6 years ago, and I can't imagine why I ever did that to my body. Remember that smoking is a only a habit. It wants you to think it controls you, but it doesn't.

Good luck, we're all rooting for you!! Maybe a nice hobby would help. Have you ever considered bank robbery, LOL?
 
I was at the gym last night, when the smell of cigarette smoke was overpowering. This seemed very odd to me in that I was passing the showers where there was little or no clothing to absorb that smell.

IT WAS APPARENTLY ON SOMEONE's (BARE)PERSON.

YOU WILL QUIT THIS HABIT, YOU WILL! YOU WILL! IT IS TOO GROSS NOT TOO.
 
I have never smoked, but...

my dear Mother was a heavy smoker for all her adult life, starting in college in the 40s.

I hated the way our house, cars, clothes smelled.

When I would remove the cover to the doorbell to wash the cover, and see the nicotine on the surrounding wallpaper, it made me sick.

And yes, my sister and I had many colds and upper respiratory issues. My nieces, who grew up in a non-smoking household had far healthier childhoods.

(I am usually pretty tolerant, but when I see children in a closed car with one or more smokers, I want to call Children's Services. I wish I was kidding when I say that. I really consider smoking around children to be a form of child abuse. I am far from happy about being so judgemental.)

My sister and I had pleaded and begged for her to stop,(anti-smoking indoctrination at school) until we were teenagers, and then we realized that she was hooked, and that if she stopped, it would be when she stopped.

Other people in her life begged her to quit, I remember one time when my Aunt Milly was on Mom's case, and I was there. I laid it out, gently, yet firmly for Aunt Milly (her brother's wife). I said that I would be delighted if Ma quit (this was in 1993), but that it would have to be on her time. That seemed to shut up Aunt Milly.

Mother did have health complications, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diminished lung capacity....could increase the list, but why?

She did stop, late in her life. In summer 1995, she had a major surgery, and had post-surgical complications that kept her in the hospital for nearly a month, sometimes barely conscious. The remainder of her life was smoke free (1922-2001).

The carpets, upholstery, and everything else stayed much cleaner, and we were (eventually) happier.

Oh, at times she would say that she wanted a cigarette, but I (gently, humourously) would say that I would break her arm!

Lawrence/Maytagbear

PS- I ain't no plaster saint. January 31 will be 25 years without a drink.
 
You can do it

Quitting is not easy. Not by a long shot. I had help when I quit, namely a whopping case of pneumonia.
I highly recommend it in a way.
I can say though that once the pneumonia was gone the withdrawl was still there.
There were times it was so bad I felt like I was out of my body.
So I busied myself with soemthing, restoring a vacuum, washing the car, whatever until the craving passed.
You've come a great distance already, you have some more uphill to go, but if you can make that first week withoug smoking, you'll be able to go the rest of the way.
I'm pulling for you!
 
Hello Everyone,
Jackson (Jaxsunst) you have two weeks on me, how is the intensity of the cravings? Are you doing ok? Someone told me that about the second week or so the cravings get real bad and again in about 6 months from quitting. I've tried the patches, pills, hyposis, just about everything and it all failed in the past.....hence the cold turkey method.
Eugene, you brought up a very valid point about the psychological aspect. I wonder now if I've used cigarettes in the past in order to really mask other areas in my life, you know like not really wanting to deal or face something. You have a wonderful sense of humor, did you really hit your head with a 2 x 4? Come now.
Louis (Foraloysius), favorite after dinner activity is sleeping. I've slept alot since quitting, and I will probably continue to do so for the rest of this week. It just helps me to cope, after all...if I'm asleep, I'm not craving it.
Lawrence (Maytagbear), Yes, I do pity the children that has to grow up in a household as I did, it's not good. Like your mother, my father still smokes like a chimney.
And lastly, Steve (gyrafoam) how can I not think about it (for now)???? When the cravings hit I just shut down mentally, I just stop until it passes.
Maybe I could save up enough money to buy a new TOL Miele front loader with money I'm not spending on cigarettes!!!

Ok, tonight and the next two days are going to be critical. I have a date later this evening (a smoker). I will be off of work Wed. and Thurs. and taking care of my Dad (another smoker). I plan on cleaning the h$%l out of my car tomorrow, as well as replacing the air filter. I'll get an estimate on new upholstery on my seats also. The car is so very important as I have a 35 minute commute one way to work everyday.
As for the rest of my evening, I'm going to workout on the treadmill till I drop, hit the wet sauna, then the dry sauna......SWEAT IT OUT. I'm hoping this will cut the sever headaches that I've experienced a couple of times.
Oh yes, do any of you think that eating carbs makes the cravings worse? Or maybe not even matter? Diet. Your thoughts.

I think everyone is different to an extent, but the cravings and the addiction is there for everyone. I don't and didn't want to sound like a little whinney cry baby, that's just not me. Cigarettes have ahold on me, its just so very hard. So I'll take it back to square one....just going to see what happens. I'll be back with an update in a couple of days.
 
Please Check Out The SmokeNoMore Group

All the people in that group are going thru the same things you are. You can share in the group. My neighbor couldn't speak enough good things about this group. And remember, it's free!
 
mrsalvo-- Just as there is really nothing to fear in a dark, empty room and just as there really is no boogyman under the bed, we fear the anxiety of not being able to smoke. When your brain starts racing and it has you convinced you need to smoke, just stop for a minute, realize it's only a conditioned thought pattern and laugh it off for the silly non-entity that it is. There is no actual physical entity involved, only electrical impulses in your brain. YOU ARE IN CONTROL, even though your anxiety-driven feelings would have you think otherwise.

And bring your 2 by 4 on the date tonight. He'll be very impressed, LOL!
 

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