Quitting Smoking

[Crystal]

Good timing on this topic - it's been on my mind now for a few months. I quit last year for about three months, took Chantix, but for only one month. I think the meds worked well - got me over the hump. ( I had quit too many times to count, but only made it about 4 days at a time - so grumpy that I thought I was going to kill someone!) With the Chantix, after the first 2 weeks just didn't want any. Not at all. Had a few side effects, a bit of sleeplesness, definitely very vivid dreams (but not nightmares). Energy level went up 400 percent. Didn't want to sit still. But - I didn't have any good habits in place to help with stress. So on came about 16 pounds from the icecream and goodies - which I don't normally crave or eat much of. Just about 3 months and I bummed a smoke off of my sister - that was it. Back at it again. I did ban myself from smoking in the house. So nice not to have a house that stinks. So that really helped me to cut back. But I want to quit. I hate the smell. I hate that little naggy tickle cough. I liked that brief period last year - trotting up steps and not panting. Clothes that smell good. Hair that smelled good. Whiter teeth...

Maybe a LW stop smoking support group? The mister is on me all the time to quit - but he's not much of a support post. Says that all I have to do is stop and that should be it...if it only was. Maybe it really is. I don't know. Thanks for bringing this up. Might be the boost I need to go the distance and finally dump this nasty, nasty habit.

Crystal

[Pip]

I gave up out of spite, my boss gave me a real hard time for about four years and admitted to her friend she was trying to break me outta my job, we both smoked like troupers. To show i wasn't going to be bullied, or affected by bullying I gave up smoking! Knowing she couldn't and had tried for years, so overnight no smoking. Passive resistance I called it, i really enjoyed being nice to her for the next four months....... now I think back maybe I have a cruel streak! She broke before me, then I transfered somewhere nicer. Hiowever every christmas i allow myself a ciggy, bad time for me .... so did i succeed hmmmmm!

[Washroad]

Being out here in Lalaland, where the liberals all know so much more about how you should live,

you just about can't smoke anywhere. There are even cities that have banned smoking in your backyard.

My wife is an ex-smoker so she doesn't give me too hard a time about it. I've been at it 45 years.

I don't smoke in the house, the motorhome, her car, at work in my office (illegal and a citeable offense here).

The longest I quit was 5 months, used Welbutrin. Had a big life change and the smell got to me one day and that's all it took.

I tried Nicorette, the patch, adversion therapy and even accupuncture. Welbutrin was the only thing that worked.

DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!

[Pip]

Believe it or not the dependence on nicotine only stays for approx 48 hours (of pure hell) then its the habit, the hardest bit is making sure you continue to take breaks from work, i used lollipops for this you look like a fool and it rots your teeth but it works don't suck, breath around them.

Say I don't smoke in stead of i gave up when someone offers you a fag, they'll get the hint and it reinforces your willpower.

Distraction works, the key is find a distraction which you focus on to beat the craving, two minute is usually ample, get a puzzle or something that you really want to do and enjoy doing it. next craving have another go etc etc etc. i felt fine after 3 weeks, then felt bad after 3 months and gave up for three years before seccumbing again ....

My thought go with you, and support it is hell, but worth it to get your taste and smell back.

[whinewine]

One of the hardest things I've ever done! Had smoked since I was 14 (yeah, it makes you cool, especially smoking unfiltered camels- yeah, right!- suddenly you realize [even though you don't want to admit it] that you're an addict). I smoked for over 40+ years & finally broke it. My last cigarette was in March '93, but the drug dreams went for several years after. I would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat thinking "Oh, no, I blew it I blew it dammit"- & then realize that it was just a dream & I was wide awake & soaked in perspiration by then & besides, I didn't want to go back to sleep again because the dream might repeat... That was the worst- especially the 5 or so years after, when, even in your dreams, you knew you had put in those 5 years of hard time staying clean, & the damn dream would come on again.

I tried everything including the gum (I would end up chewing the gum AND smoking to get a bigger buzz...) What worked for me ultimately was the patch, plus I didn't want to be hooked up in that anymore, spending the $3/day for 2 packs a day, every day (yeah, I know, that was a LONG time ago).

The patch got me over the rough parts- you're essentially mainlining nicotine 24 hours a day, but you don't get the 'kick' that you do when you inhale deeply & draw that into your lungs, but you're still getting your drug into you. As I said, the patch got me over the rough parts, but the motivation to quit was what got me over it. I was ready. If you're NOT ready, you won't quit. Pure & simple.

During my prison career, many heroin addicts have told me it's easier to give up heroin than it is to give up smoking. I don't know.

[Bob]

I used to smoke two packs aday. I liked smoking, but my health was suffering.

I decided to quit, I simply changed the way I talked about it. I tried several times at first before I quit. I used to say, "gosh I dying for a smoke", oh if I could only have one" words like that.... So I changed the way I talked about it, to something like this. "I'm tired of smoking, I don't like smoking, Smoking makes me sick" Words like this are what changed my mind about smoking, it toke effort and consistancey. Even though I smoked though out the process, it took weeks to finially quite. I just changed my mind about smoking...

I hope this helps you, it worked for me.

[bruce johnson]

Johanna,

I come from a long line of Scandanavian snoose chewers. I never smoked much, but started chewing Copenhagen regularly when I was about 12. I got to where it was just part of me. It was just something you do dawn to dusk and beyond. Nothing wakes you up like rubbing a little Copenhagen spit in your eyes at 3:00 am to get your forehead off the steering wheel. I never took those monster dips, and most people never knew I chewed, they never saw me spit (which was true, I didn't much). A lot of people never knew until I quit and it wasn't there.

I took a physical for an insurance renewal, answered that I didn't smoke because that was the question. The blood test came back with nicotine off the scale. I got the option of paying smoker's rates (not covered by the employer) or quitting. If I took option B, they could test me anytime, and if positive threats of smoker's rates retroactive. It was going to mean that the $4.25 can of Cope could now cost me about 4 grand a year for insurance back then. Money was the winner. I quit cold, and guys say it is harder than quitting smoking or anything they used legal or not, and there isn't methadone for Cope. It took about a week of real misery. I could feel my heart (probably not a good thing?), cranky, nervous, checking between the ol' cheek and gum, sleeping at 2:00 pm and not sleeping at 2:00 am. I even packed an empty can so I wouldn't get that feeling like when you lose your wallet.

I am still around guys that chew, and when I smell it, I crave it. Sixteen years later, I still like that smell. It is easier to say no now, but if I took a dip, I could be back in the buggy. Don't weaken now.

[Timd]

Quitting was what led me back to leatherworking. I made my mind up that I was going to quit on my 46th birthday, since my Dad was 46 when he died from lung cancer. I started plotting and planning about a year before, and was trying to figure out what to do with my hands, when my Mom brought over a box of stuff from my old bedroom. Inside was the tools I used when I was 14-16, the famous basic seven. The lightbulb went off above the head, and after googling Tandy, the new addiction was born. It's still not easy sometimes, but I just tell myself that's something I used to do. I made a concious effort to put away the money I used to spend on the 2 packs a day I smoked, and it has gotten me a new lawn mower, dishwasher, and this weekend I pick up my new bass boat!! I have to say the benefits of quitting far outweigh any cravings I still have. My wife is still a little sore at me, I didn't tell her until the last minute, and she felt she had to quit with me. She's much happier not smoking but every now and then I get a growl...lol It is very doable, Joanna, just adopt the mantra "that's something I USED to do" take deep breaths(very deep sometimes) and keep truckin'! It's been almost 3 years for the bride and I, and it's still getting better.

[gunfighter48]

Hi Johanna,

Keep at it lady!!!!! It's not easy but you can kick the habit. I smoked 2 to 3 packs a day for 32 years. I finally got tired of burnt holes in my shirts and the expense. I quit cold turkey about 10 years ago. I got rid of all the ash trays and lighters and washed all my clothes to get rid of the smell. The first 3 weeks are the worst and it takes that long to get the nicotine out of your system. After 3 weeks things will get better. I sucked on hard candy for the first month and then tapered off those as I was gaining weight!! After the first month or month and a half it really gets much easier. Even after 10 years of not smoking there are times when I'm really stressed out and I'll catch myself patting my shirt pocket, looking for that pack of cigs. But them I think to myself how much better my health is without them and just grin and bear it. There are new meds that a doctor can prescribe to make the transition much easier, it you need it get it!!!!! This is something you can do, just take it one day at a time!!!!!!!!

John

[Johanna]

I quit drinking in 1993. I lost 100 pounds and kept it off after my son Jack was born 8 years ago. I even stopped swearing (well, mostly!) after the kids were born. This is harder. Much harder. I drank a lot of water today.

~J