Previous Smokers .... I just quit and I'm miserable - any SUCCESS Stories ?

Holly_Wood_888

I quit smoking on Saturday..... I was never a heavy smoker but I did smoke daily and mostly in the evening after work ... I'm having a hard time. I went cold turkey for the first time and I am SO EMOTIONAL. I spent most of Saturday and sunday crying... especially when we broke down on the 401. I feel like someone close to me has died.

I guess I'm just looking for support ... Right now I'm either ready to cry or extremely IRRITABLE and FRUSTRATED ... I know it sounds extreme, but right now, I feel like What the hell is the point to this life. I feel like I have nothing to look forward to. My work involves me interacting with around 80-100 people a day and I am about ready to rip the head off of the next person that asks me how I am .

Mycophilia

I randomly came across this page and decided to quit the same day. That was over 3 years ago now and I haven't touched it since.

Alatariel75

Quitting smoking is the easiest thing on earth. I've done it hundreds of times

In all seriousness, I smoked from age 13. Some days, months, years I would be a pack a day smoker, some days, months years I would give up, or only have a few, or only when I was drinking.

I was 30 when I gave up my last pay every couple of days habit and it was only about four years ago (33) that I finally stopped stealing smokes off my friends when I was drunk. It finally just started tasting awful, so matter how in my cups I was.

I think for me the key was very similar to weight loss, that if you slip up, it's no reason to think "I've blown it" and go back to bad habits. Many a time I would want a smoke when I was partying, so I'd buy a pack and whaddaya know, keep smoking the next day and bam, I'm back in the habit.

Forgive yourself the slip ups but don't let them become excuses to give up givving up! Also forgive yourself if you gain some weight from snacking, chew the top off every pen in the house, become a gum cracker, develop an obsession with mints or any other distraction technique

DamienAngelica

I tried quitting cold turkey several times but I was always so irritable, so in 2016 when I decided I wanted to be a nonsmoker, I used nicotine patches. It made the withdrawal tolerable and I wasn't a cranky monster. I'm still a nonsmoker, too.

If you decide you need help through this phase, there's no shame in it. Whatever you need to do to successfully quit will be worth it in the long run.

jayemes

This too shall pass.

I did it cold turkey 11 years ago. You've already done the hardest part. Now just keep going!

steveko89

Personally never been a smoker but my dad was a pack-a-day smoker when I was a kid, quit ten years ago. I remember when he first quit he didn't tell my mom and I and was really irritable for a week or so, then that subsided and he just kept not smoking. From what I understand, these extreme withdrawal symptoms should subside in time. From what I've learned talking with my dad over the years about his experience, having multiple motivating factors was important for him. One was me, I was a young teen and he didn't want me to start smoking, another was his overall health, he did some reading about heart health and how much risk for heart attacks/disease you avoid by smoking and the different benchmarks, used these as time-goals. Another motivation was money, he put together a spreadsheet of how much he was saving by not smoking and updated whenever the minimums/taxes raise. He also mentioned that it was harder to break the ritual-based habits vs. the substance addiction. Things like driving, mowing the grass, or shoveling snow, which he'd done with a cigarette for years, instant brought on cravings. To combat this he picked up a new habit of chewing gum (just regular gum, not nicorette or anything) and would pop a piece whenever he felt a craving.

Not sure how helpful that was but I'm sure you can do it. Good luck!

urbaneveline

READ ALLEN CAAR EASY WAY TO QUIT SMOKING.
I couldn't wait to stop smoking while I was reading it and the minute I finished book (as directed), I feel fantastic!

kommodevaran

I quit smoking in 2006 and it was easy. I stopped smoking at home first (or away from home, I don't remember), and then when the last pack was gone, it was over. I had some strange sensations, bad taste in my mouth (blood, dirt), but it soon passed. My sense of smell increased suddenly, or maye I just imagined it. It was liberating. It was just a bad habit I had had for 15 years.

(Getting my eating habits in check took me an additional 8-10 years and is a work in progress.)

Robo014

Went cold turkey 38 years ago, after a bad dose of the flu, cigarettes tasted fowl so I didn't smoke for 4 days and then thought I'm over the worst part of stopping so I'll try to give it up again, haven't smoked since, Good Luck

JeromeBarry1

I tried to start smoking but couldn't get the hang of it so I quit trying.

BrookeRunningMom

i quit and made a healthy lifestyle was smoking almost a pack a day for years, an when I quit and started running i could run for less then 60 seconds , took out my urge to smoke on running, then about 1 1/2 months ago I started getting into depression and started smoking the same amount and instead of going to gym 6=7 days a week id go once a week and gained 10 lbs, now about 4 weeks ago i quit an am running 40 minutes straight and can breath so much better, I fined when I quit smoking i need to sleep for a while, usually takes 4 days cold Turkey to kick the habit, its really is a gross habit, and expensive, coughing up nasty stuff and being addicted to some thing so unhealthy is really just not worth it, my dad is a huge smoker he smokes at least 2 1/2 packs aday since he was 11 he just quit last Saturday hes 58, im so proud of him, he had hard time breathing when he got a simple cold I think it really scared him, he started an inhaler thing, seems to be working, he also has emphysema and sleep apnea from smoking, you can do it!! fined a healthy habit

saraonly9913

Chantix helped me. Smoke free since 2011.

LZMiner

Quitting smoking is HARD! I quit 25 years ago and I remember it vividly. Took me two serious attempts, both cold turkey. First time
lasted 3 months, second time stuck. I stuttered, couldn't think straight and was pretty much a wreck for at least three weeks. I couldn't talk on the phone and hated driving in my car, because those were two activities where I smoked.....Sooooo....one day at a time....you can do this. Relish in how fresh your clothes smell, how clean your mouth feels. You're adding years to your life. No more shortness of breath from smoking. Three weeks and you'll start feeling better. A year from now you'll wonder how you ever smoked because you'll see just how dirty a habit it is, and you'll feel sad when you see others lighting up. Good luck to you!

goyologo

I was a pack-a-day smoker for about 20 years.
I quit cold turkey because I was sick of the hassles of being a smoker.
When I stopped smoking I made a deal with myself: I could have absolutely anything I wanted except a cigarette, no matter what it was. For a few days I did have terrible withdrawal symptoms but I kept my pact with myself to get through them. Perhaps unfortunately my go-to to fulfill my pact with myself was mainly See's candy , so over the next few months ended up gaining about 30 lbs. It was so worth it. Once I was completely off cigarettes successfully for several months I started working on my weight through reasonable eating and exercise and eventually lost it all. I have now been off cigarettes for about 25 years. Although I have had dreams in which I relapsed and smoked (woke up in a cold sweat "oh n-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!!!!!"), in real life I have not. A big reason is that I never want to go through that withdrawal misery ever ever again. And of course, it is a real pleasure to be able to breathe freely, and to smell things like pine trees and flowers and ocean air, and to not be a slave to nicotine and the cigarette companies any more. There are so so many rewards to quitting. You can do it, and you will be so glad you did. Good luck!

Marilyn0924

Congratulations on your decision to quit!! The good part is that you've passed through physical withdrawl, the battle now is to break the psychological habit, not so easy, but you've done it!!

After more far too many years of smoking (I stupidly started when I was 13), and far too many attempts at quitting, I've now been smoke free for just over 14 years. I was ready and I quit cold turkey. I felt like hell for the first week, and then it started to get better. I started knitting. A lot. Family and friends ended up with sweaters, scarves, hats, comforters, you name it. Puzzles worked as well. Just small things that keep your hands busy and your mind occupied.

After a month, I started to feel better. The morning cough was gone. My hair and clothing didn't stink, and in the long run, not only did I do something great for my health, I saved a huge amount of money!

Sorry about the breakdown, the 401 sucks at the best of times, never mind being stuck on the side waiting for CAA in the freezing temps we've had as of late. You can do it!

mamabear1114

I started smoking when I was 14. To be honest, when I finally decided to quit, it took me two years to slowly scale back. I used to smoke about a pack a day. Finally after two years I got down to one cigarette per day and then I realized smoking one cigarette a day actually made me feel worse so I was finally able to give it up. Maybe I’m not the best example of how to quit considering cold turkey is probably the best for your health BUT I did quit and haven’t touched a cigarette in over two years. Just know once you finally drop it for good you will feel so free. I never imagined in a million years I could quit but I did it. I’m a weenie, so if I can do it, I know you can too. ))

laurenebargar

I stopped smoking at the end of November its been hard definitely but I feel so much better now!

It does get easier I only get occasional urges now and they pass quickly.

ridiculous59

I quit cold turkey when my dad phoned to tell me he was dying of lung cancer (he had smoked most of his life). For a while I took up knitting to keep my hands busy in the evenings but I'm not going to lie....I gained some weight. Mainly because all of a sudden food just tasted so darn good!!! But because I could now run more (I had run as a smoker too), the weight soon came off. That was 35 years ago and it was "the good old days" when you could smoke at work too, so I was a pack and a half a day girl. Even now, all these years later, sometimes it just smells so good when someone lights up a smoke. Fortunatley that doesnt happen very often and most of the time it just smells disgusting. I never re-started.

Was it hard to quit? Yep. But watching someone die of lung cancer is pretty hard too. Its the best thing you'll ever do for yourself. You will get through this

chrislee1628

at first it is hard, but it gets easier, think of it this way, every cigarette that you do not smoke? that is money towards that fancy new handbag

joking aside, it gets easier, chew gun, mint, do stuff to take your mind away from smoking, keep your hands/fingers occupied

when me and my brother in law quit, we started looking after gold fish

get a box, everyday that you do not smoke, put in a £5

kimkimcoleman

I quit in 2005 for good. I loved smoking at the time so it was hard for me. The first few days are the worst so once you're through that, keep going! Now I find smoking disgusting and can't believe I used to smoke! You can do it!

Katerbels

I quit 3 different times before I gave it up for good on my 4th try. It'll be 2 years at the end of this month since my last cigarette and honestly there are some days that I forget that I was a smoker for so long! It SUCKED in the beginning, especially when I was around other smokers, but now I don't even have cravings for them like I used to. I do still have dreams though, at least 1-2 times a month, that I've started again and each time I wake up SO mad at myself until I remember LOL. Things that helped me were Tic Tacs, the patch, candy crush on my phone (each time I wanted to go smoke I would play a game or two) and avoiding other smokers for a few weeks as best I could.

pmastro724

I second reading Allen Carr's the Easy Way to Quit Smoking. It helped me quit cold turkey almost 10 years? Who knows I stopped counting! There is nothing to be miserable about. You've done it!!! You are smoke free!!! Don't feed the nicotine monster!!!

twinkles4

You're already 5 days in! You can do this! Keep strong. I'm pretty sure the irritability is normal, I turned into some psycho lunatic when I quit in 2012. It'll pass. It only gets easier from here on in.

Holly_Wood_888

Thank you Everyone for the Support! Much needed. Today is day 6 without cigarettes ! ... I am having an easy time not smoking in the mornings (surprising!) but after lunch I seem to be very irritable... I'm used to my scheduled smoke breaks so its been trying to break these habits...

Someone lent me Allen Carr Easy way to quit smoking, So I'm hoping that will help ! At this point I don't care about weight gain - I just want to kick this ... Ive been chewing gum, using lollipop, drinking water, and trying to treat myself ... Tomorrow My hubby and I are going for a facial ! Going to work on the self care aspect for now.

Cheers to all you NON SMOKERS ! Way to go on quitting, thanks for being my inspiration !

zcb94

saraonly9913 wrote: »

Chantix helped me. Smoke free since 2011.

Mom and Dad tried that, and it just gave him a bad case of PTSD (made him relive his hardest days of serving our country, vivid flashbacks of ‘Nam).

Jessiedawn3

Holly_Wood_888 wrote: »

Thank you Everyone for the Support! Much needed. Today is day 6 without cigarettes ! ... I am having an easy time not smoking in the mornings (surprising!) but after lunch I seem to be very irritable... I'm used to my scheduled smoke breaks so its been trying to break these habits...

Someone lent me Allen Carr Easy way to quit smoking, So I'm hoping that will help ! At this point I don't care about weight gain - I just want to kick this ... Ive been chewing gum, using lollipop, drinking water, and trying to treat myself ... Tomorrow My hubby and I are going for a facial ! Going to work on the self care aspect for now.

Cheers to all you NON SMOKERS ! Way to go on quitting, thanks for being my inspiration !

Great job on quitting!!! Its one of the best things you can do for yourself! I have spent the last 5 years back and forth with quitting and have been smoke free this time around since August. The first week is the absolute hardest and then it begins getting easier. Distraction is key. Keep yourself busy and occupied so you don't think about it. Keep your "smoke" breaks, just do something else instead...a quick walk..a quick game on the phone... anything. One thing that helped me was keeping a list of why I wanted to quit close by and I looked at it often. Keep a positive attitude and remind yourself of all the positive of quitting when your brain wants to focus on the negative feelings. Its a fight, but you are stronger so stick with it. Congrats!

dfranch

Try to avoid situations where you would usually smoke. I was a pack a day smoker and I quit right before a vacation. I was so busy on vacation and so taken out of my daily routine that it really wasn't too bad. Ok, maybe the wife and I got into an argument or 2 on that vacation because I was cranky, but it's been 21 years and I can't see myself going back.

Rebecca9048

I quit about five years ago, and I know how hard it is. You think you’ll feel this way forever, but I promise you it will dissipate. Once you’re on the other side, it’s so freeing. I had good luck using a quit smoking app that came with a craving timer, daily/weekly goals, etc. And I just had to power through activities where I’d normally have a cigarette: warming up the car, after meals. One day at a time. The withdrawal symptoms are finite. Good luck!!

amykay9377

WARNING: Long Post! I love talking about this!

Cold turkey is the hardest way to go, but whatever way gets you to quit is the BEST way to go.

I am 40. I started smoking at about 12, filching cigarettes from my grandmother's case during summer vacations. In middle school, I'd pay older kids to buy cigarettes for me (they were the "trashy" kids who had ways of getting stuff like that). When I got to high school, I stopped for a while, but by my senior year, I was smoking a pack a day.

In college, I was smoking until I found out I was pregnant. I quit cold turkey (the hardest way) the entire time I was pregnant. However, at my first hard test the semester after I gave birth, a guy offered me a smoke, and I was back on that wagon, for 4 or 5 more years.

I quit again after I graduated, this time choosing to wean myself - I'd have 10 smokes today, then 9 the next day, or 8 the following day... all this did was drag out the quitting process and it was actually the WORST way to do this! But, I was successful, and I was smoke-free for a few more years.

Then, in 2004, I had some family issues and all I could think about was smoking. I got a box of the cheapest, nastiest smokes I could find, thinking that (because they were so nasty) I'd have a few and be done.

Nope. Addiction doesn't work that way. I was hooked again within a week.

In 2006, we went on a family vacation to Chimney Rock, NC, and we hiked to the bottom of a waterfall. The trail was a decline, but I had to stop to rest halfway down because of smoker's lungs. I couldn't hike DOWN a trail. God help me, getting back UP the trail was hell. I decided it was time to quit. And time to quit for good.

I did a lot of research this time, and learned that quitting HEROIN is easier than quitting nicotine. I learned tips and tricks on how to handle quitting. I saw my doctor at the end of 2006 and she gave me a prescription for Zyban (or whatever it was called). It's an antidepressant that also helps people quit smoking. I was told to take it for a week before quitting, so I could build some up in my system. I planned out my quit so that it would happen on a Friday. I'm not a social creature, so the weekend would give me time to detox alone at home before going back to work. I flicked my cigarette out the window on the drive home from work (yeah, don't judge...) and never looked back. That was February 2, 2007. The weekend was hard. I desperately wanted a cigarette. I yearned for a smoke. But, because of the meds and my preparation, I was okay.

It's been almost 11 years since that weekend. I've never had the urge to put a stick back in my mouth. Sure, sometimes when I walk by someone who is smoking, it smells really (really!) good and I take a good deep breath, but I remind myself the hell I've put myself through, how much healthier I am for it now, and to begin smoking again is to negate the past 5 years of running (including 11 half-marathons and countless 10ks and 5ks).

I'm not a "non-smoker." I am a recovering addict. If I treat smoking the same way I would treat other drug addictions or alcoholism, I know that I can never "just have one" again. And I don't want one.

Okay, so some tips and tricks?
Have something to distract you - I was a Car Smoker. Automatic light up as soon as I got in the car. So, I put some Dum-Dum Pops in the place I used to carry my smokes. I would unwrap one as soon as I got in the car, and my eye would catch the little white stick hanging out of my mouth... like a cigarette. Sounds silly, but it worked.

Use treatments to your advantage - I read a weird tip that if you mixed cream of tartar with orange juice, it would help detox you faster. I don't' know if it really did or not, or if it was just placebo effect, but I did it for 3 or 4 days, and I felt like it did help.

Chart your progress - I don't remember where I found it (it's been 11 years), but I found a website that shows what is happening to your body 1 minute / 1 hour / 1 day / 1 week / 1 month / 1 year - all the way up to TEN YEARS - after you stop smoking. It was fun to put little check marks by the milestones.

Reward yourself - For the first 2 months, I did something every week: I bought myself flowers. Back then, you could get a dozen roses from the Fresh Market (like Whole Foods) for $8. It was nice to come home to fresh flowers all the time. After the first 2 months, I did it every month. I remember about 4-5 months into this process, I came home and SMELLED THEM when I walked by! You don't realize what smoking does to you until the effects change. I had not been smelling these the whole time until I got my sense of smell back! After 6 months of doing this, I changed to every year, then did that for maybe 2 more years. Soon, it became a day to go out for dinner and celebrate. Last year (my 10th), I bought roses again (dude, they were $14!) and ran my 10th half marathon.

Please know that you (or anyone else on here who has/will quit and needs a quit buddy) can DM me at ANY TIME. I'm not that sanctimonious person who tells you what to do; I'll be the person who you can *kitten* to about how hard it is and help you through the cravings.

Whew! That was longer than I expected...

Frater_Nox

I quit three months ago.
The first week is hard. After that, not so bad.

Remember, even if you give in and smoke a cigarette, that is not the end. Don't throw in the towel over it. In fact, giving in once or twice will remind you how fr&cking horrible cigarettes are. You will feel sick and guilty and wish you hadn't and then the next time you are tempted, you will think twice. It may actually help in the long run.
Pretty soon you will begin to notice how nasty they smell as a non smoker and you will notice how much better you feel. There are NO upsides to smoking. Not one.

Good luck. But really, you don't need it. Persevere.

CallMeRu

I went from a pack a day smoker to quitting cold turkey... it was the same day I was diagnosed with cancer. No one ever thinks it will happen to them until it does.