Advice to quit smoking please?

pinkledoodledoo

I used nicotine patches and have been smoke-free for over 6 months now (after many failed prior attempts). The oral fixation can be difficult to avoid... my fingernails took a beating, I chewed gum once in a while (not supposed to because of TMJ), and I absolutely ended up eating in place of smoking a whole bunch of times but overall I felt like a little extra weight was worth quitting smoking because I could always work on losing the weight once I didn't have to concentrate on quitting anymore... and that's what I'm doing now.

pseudomuffin

I started vaping when I quit smoking, there's lots of vaping stores out there since e-cigs are a good way to quit smoking and ween yourself off nicotine without any sort of medication. My setup cost about $100 to get started but now I maybe spend $10 every couple of months to buy new tanks and e-juices. I sometimes call it a "pocket hookah" since it's water vapor

DownrangeDave57

Add me to the e-cig reco parade. I get mine from smokesations.com, multiple flavors and strengths. Use "gunshow" coupon code for 10% off. Worked great for me- been off cigs a year next week. Also worked great for my stepdaughter, who quit totally without even really trying...

BOL with this. You WILL feel a big difference. I smoked for nearly 40 years, with a year off here and there...but this works great and I have no desire to go back.

CarmenSRT

Cold turkey. Repeat as needed. You've done it before, you didn't die, right? Do it again. You know it will suck physically for a while and then it's all mental.
Just do it.
EDITED TO ADD: Just background info: I quit smoking when I was 19. I'm now 46. The single best decision I ever made.

juliegrey1

you have my sympathy its very hard to break the habit!I satarted smoking when I was 12 packed them in when I was 21 so 23 years free! I just stopped went through all the cold turkey thing,its not easy there is no real easy way!wish you all the best!

MizTerry

I had a pack a day habit for 32 years. I've been quit for a year and a half.
Cinnamon sticks. You may chew so many that you burn your tongue, but I promise, it's only temporary. I kept a jar at the office, in the car and at my Moms. They helped me.

Change your location habits. What I mean is if you are used to going outside on the porch first thing in the morning, sleep in. If you smoke when you read, try doing something else instead of reading for a while.

These helped me. I wish you well.

amysj303

I used the nicotine gum. I think it helped for the times I really wanted a cigarette, I got the nicotine but without all the harmful stuff and a lollipop wasn't really going to make me feel better. Also, I got the cheap Target-brand gum. It's sort of waxy and peppery and not at all like yummy gum, so there wasn't any pleasure in chewing it. I didn't chew it like they prescribe, the package basically says to chew it all the time so you don't experience nicotine cravings, but I had already cut back to a few cigs a day so that would've been too much.

I really don't think you have to be ready. I never wanted to quit exactly, I just wanted to prove to myself that I could. Also, quitting was so hard I never wanted to do it again So, if you mess up and have a cigarette, give yourself a break, just note the day, the reason, and develop a better coping mechanism for the next time.

The problem was, smoking was sort of a coping mechanism and new stressors might make you want a cigarette but once you get through it you'll do better the next time.

Also, some people say to not do things that remind you of smoking like drinking or whatever, but I think it's better to keep doing those things so your brain forms new connections and those things will stop reminding you of cigarettes. Like, I used to light a cigarette every time I got in my car at the end of the day of work. But I had to keep doing that and after two weeks I got in the car and got home and never thought about a cigarette, the brain is amazing:happy:

You can do it, you've done it before!

kimberley6453

when i quit smoking i used a nicotine patch and it was completely painless to quit. Unfortunately, not everyone has as good as results. just recently, during rounds a doctor instructed a patient to use the e-cigarettes along with the nicotine gum.

Jessica2942

Chantex was the only thing that worked for me. Along with a lot of prayer. Smoked for 15 years and then did that...never went back!

bcattoes

My husband is using Nicotrol inhalers and having good success. He hasn't had a cigarette in 5 months.

jaena4

I quit smoking about 12 years ago and it was definitely the best decision I ever made! For me, it was totally the Zyban/Wellbutrin. It allowed me to forget about smoking until I saw or thought about something that reminded me, which made it much easier to just quit. I think I took it for a few weeks, only smoking when I felt like it, although the pills helped me not think about it for hours and hours at a time until I felt ready to just quit. First few months were hard, but I always told myself when I had a craving that, if I really still wanted a cigarette in 20 minutes, I'd have one. The craving never lasted that long

I don't remember any difficulty getting off the Zyban - I was on it for maybe 6 or 7 months, but it did have some side effects. I could go to sleep just fine, but I would wake up at like 5AM and be unable to go back to sleep. Also, I had the most awful, vivid nightmares while I was on the stuff. It was still well worth putting up with the side effects to be able to quit!

JenAndSome

I made a promise to my son and I kept it. It started with smoking in the car. I never smoked with my kids in the car, but if they weren't in it I was puffing away. One day I kicked up the heat on the way to school and asked my son if that felt better and he said, yeah, but if smells like you're blowing smoke in my face. I nearly cried. I promised him right then that no one would smoke in my car again. A couple months later after cutting back a lot on my smoking my other son saw a pack of cigarettes in my purse and was furious with me. "You said you would quit smoking! :mad:" I felt so tiny right then. I had said I would work on it, but hadn't really made a hard commitment, yet. I grabbed him up and held him and told him right then that it was the last pack of cigarettes he would see me with. I promised him that I was done. Now whenever I have a craving (not very often, really) I think of my kids and how it truly does affect them. They mean much more to me than cigarettes do.

wannabea10again

I smoked for about 25 years and I quit finally by using Chantix. My doctor prescribed it for me and my insurance actually paid for part of it. It wasn't all that expensive and I only had to take it for 2 months. I literally forgot to smoke after I had been on it for a few days. The urge was just gone... the physical urge that is. The mental urge is what you will have to fight against the hardest. It is a habit like no other. There are a lot of times now when I think I want a cigarette, but I just have to fight through it. I haven't smoked in over 3 years. In talking to other people who have quit I find that they all still have the urge to smoke at times no matter how long it's been since they had their last one! Good luck to you however you choose to quit... JUST DO IT!!!!

acpgee

I stopped cold turkey in 93, but used a reward system for positive reinforcement. At the time my smoking habit cost about 20 euros a week, so like the price of a CD back then.

At the beginning of the week I would spend my smoking money on a little indulgent gift, a new CD, a Chanel lipstick, or something and my contract with myself was to hold out until the end of the week until the gift was paid for. As time went buy I would buy bigger gifts with longer contract times. Say designer shoes with 3 months worth of cigarette money.

kuntry_navy

i quit dipping tobacco with gum. a 5cal piece isn't gonna ruin your diary

stardancer7

I quit smoking when planning to get pregnant--it wasn't easy, but the health of my child would be/is too precious to mess with. Now, I am one of the horrible warnings rather than a good example, LOL, because that is when I began to gain weight. And my daughter is now 18. I've never smoked again, because I looked into my baby's face and promised not to. Can't break that. But there is no way I will blame the results of 18 years if over eating and under moving on quitting smoking. You are wise to take care of the 'weight' side of things as you begin. Oh--and I put the cost of each pack a day into a jar and bought a tv.

Lots of ice water, a few jumping jacks when the urge hits (I think because it increased my heart rate, but it worked to stop the cravings) and learn new habits to replace the old. Be ready to get grossed out as you cough up mucous for a few weeks and if you have stored clothes from other seasons, believing them to be clean, you'll be astounded that they smell of cigarette smoke when you get them out again. Quitting isn't easy, but it will be worth it.

mommy8777

Hey everyone who offered me advice... Tonight (midnight) will be a whole week of smoke-free-me! Cold turkey and it really sucks but it is totally worth it. The water tips, healthy snacks like carrots, and gum and sugar free candy tips are my go tos. When I get stressed and wanna reach for a smoke, I hop on the elliptical to sweat the want away. Thanks again everyone!

totalsham

Dont put in mouth and dont light it.


Or just tell yourself, i wont smoke today. After a few days months and years will go past ya.

joyincincy

My husband and I both quit. The patch, deep breaths when an urge hit, and when he was quitting and was having a withdrawal attack - he would do deep breathing and I would chant "no cancer, no cancer!" he later told me that actually helped a lot. Good luck and you are starting it off right - you want this, not others telling you it's bad or gross, as if you didn't already know that! Oh yea, DO NOT keep anything related to smoking in the house and if you like coffee and smoking in the morning (was my hardest habit to break) change the location of where you drink your coffee.

MizTerry

I quit January 2012.

Cinnamon sticks at every location, and gum. The cinnamon sticks helped a great deal, and they make your breath smell good.

I also invested in chewing sticks from the health food store that are infused with tea tree oil.

gangstagirl625

Hi everyone,
I've gone cold turkey in the past (as soon as I found out I was pregnant) and I wound up replacing that bad habit with hard candy, gum, and food. Like a moron, I started smoking again 6 months after my son was born. My kiddo is now 2 and I'd really like to quit again because I felt so much healthier and want to be around for a long time for him but I'm worried that I'll cave into the same "replacement habits" as I did before. So, my question is, does anyone have any tips on how to go about kickin the butts while not resorting to food as replacement? I figure sugar free candies can be a fall back but all that fake sugar isnt healthy either. Any ideas or tips would be greatly appreciated :flowerforyou: Thanks!

i say cold turkey is the best way to go this next november 10 will be 7 years for me..... i found that you have to really want it in order to do it. just like with weight loss.

Valtishia

My husband and I used Champix ( I believe its called Chantix in the U.S. though). It seems to be a very different experience for everyone. You are supposed to start with 0.5 mg once daily for the first 3 days, then 0.5 mg twice daily for the next 4 days, then continue on 0.5 mg twice daily or increase to 1 mg twice daily thereafter, and you are on it for 3 months. I personally took it for 2 1/2 weeks and that was enough for me to kick the habit, but my husband took it for almost the full time. I also kept my dose at half cause it made me soooo nauseous. My husband on the other hand had no side effects other than graphic sex dreams(lucky jerk lol).

My motivation to quit was to step up my game when it came to my running, so really, thats what I did... atleast until I found out I was pregnant hahahaha. So the weight gain was not killer for me. It may be different for you. My husband gained some weight, but I am not sure how much of that was quitting smoking.... or sympathy weight from eating all his pregnant wife's crazy cravings lol.

TheBaileyHunter

I set a date about 6 weeks ahead. I knew what day I was going to quit and every day before that day I mentally prepared myself for the change. I didn't freak out, I just started really getting myself ready.

Then when the day came, I quit as planned.

I used a nicorette inhaler for the commute to and from work the first couple days just to get through that trigger, and then it was all cinnamon toothpicks from there on.

I smoked for 31 years (and tried quitting a few times). I've now been quit for 3. I think preparing my mind for the change really helped with my task. I had already decided and was ready for it by the time quitting day came, so the triggers didn't seem as bad

chezjuan

Catch bronchitis and feel like crap two days after you quit... it worked for me

My actual plan had been to quit cold turkey, and get the inhaler or lozenges if, and only if, I couldn't make it, but I felt soooooo bad when I was sick I didn't even notice the nicotine cravings.

Seriously, though, remember that triggers can happen the first time you do something that you used to do while smoking. For example, the first wedding I went to after I quit (two years after), I felt like I needed a smoke at the reception. The craving comes back like you haven't quit. It only lasts a few minutes though, so just be prepared and be strong, and you'll get past those trigger moments.

okcat4

livestrong has a free ap for smart phones to help one step down. Helps you break patterns ( HABItS) and address cravings. Great community. I used it and am smoke free x2 years after 30 years of puffing. Good luck. But be sure you are really ready to quit. Repeated failures because YOU are not ready ultimately make it harder. Same as losing weight. You have to be ready and have your own motivation.

msimswil

Hey everyone who offered me advice... Tonight (midnight) will be a whole week of smoke-free-me!

That's fantastic. Fabulous. Well done.

All you have to do is not do anything. Remember: there is no such thing as one cigarette. Every single one of them is a deadly trap.

I stopped smoking at the same time as I started dieting. Keeping track of all my exercise and food intake etc. was a great distraction from the 'missing' activity of smoking.

Chickyjd

The easy way to stop smoking by Allen Carr - So so easy, I've been smoke free almost 3 years now. Patches, gum, hypnotherapy none worked but the book did!

JackWeaver84

E-cig. I was a pack a day smoker. Been quit for 6 months. Try www.myvaporstore.com , www.puresmoker.com or www.aquavapor.com. Seriously it works, you.still get to enjoy smoking and I can run miles a day now!