Cigaretts

Super_mom

For those who have stopped, what did you do? How long have you been cigarette free. I want to stop soooooo bad but it seems to hard. Any advice?

menutrit

The thing with staying off cigarettes is that you have to use immediate incentives for immediate goals, at least for me. I tried convincing myself all the problems that will happen in the long run (lung cancer, yellow nails/teeth, lip wrinkles, etc.) The only thing that worked for me was exercise and having fitness goals. Once I was able to combat smoking with immediate effects like it interfering with my running that day, or decreasing my mile time, it helped me fight off that present craving. Its like fighting fire with fire: you want that cigarette right now so you have to put into a frame where it will contribute to problems right now, not down the road. Since I've started running, I became less dependent on cigarettes for stress relief and mood elevation and replaced that with exercise. Everyone is different though but I hope this helps!

barkernc

I am using the e-cigarette and I haven't smoked a real cigarette in a month (as of tomorrow)!! I have really liked the e-cig and I haven't had any problems with it. Good Luck.

kissy28wv

I used the patches combined with willpower, and its been 10 months!

Shock_Wave

gum lots of gum..

iron_jj

Willpower.
I quit last october, went from smoking roughly 40 cigs a day to 0. One day to the other, havent touched one ever since.

7moose

I stopped and started so many times I started wondering why do I keep doing this to myself. So at new years this year I said enough is enough. I'm going to do a year without smoking. I haven't had a cigarette since. I found exercise helped me too. Having a shower after a workout and spraying on some nice perfume knowing I wasn't going to smell like an ashtray at all was beautiful. Chew gum, and enjoy that it doesn't kind of taste like cigarettes. Flush your body, eat fruit and veges and drink water. Treat your body to some goodness.

For me tho the biggest thing was giving myself that one year goal. I want to be able to say I went a year without smoking, and by then I'm not going to want to smoke again anyway. I'm not going to have a smoke this year because then I will spend the rest of the year with the guilt and battles in my mind about that one smoke. I have better things to think about and worry about than smoking. I found that everytime I'd have a smoke I was thinking about giving up. Now I have one less thing to worry about, and it's GREAT!

SteffieMark

I tried 100 times over 30 years, to stop. Nothing worked. I tried cold turkey, patches, gum, even hypnosis. Then about 4 years ago, I started having a really hard time breathing, I was sure I had emphysema. Did I stop then? No! I finally sought medical help. It turned out it was Asthma and I had been making it worse over the course of many years. The doctor prescribed Chantix when I told him there was no way I could quit. I smoked for the next week, while taking Chantix. That was the last time I smoked, it has been over 3 years now. I won't say that I never had another urge to smoke, I did, but it passed. Best thing I ever did, for myself and my family.

rextcat

minie lossenges and a ton of gum, been smoke free for 2 years

Droope2

I used Chantix that was prescribed by my doctor and it worked wonders, I was a pack a day smoker, this June will be 3 years smoke free, it takes a lot of willpower but the long lasting effects are so worth it.

kELELA2012

I want to quit so bad and I have tried everything. I have not tried the Chantix, because I was afraid, so many I know that did it had crazy dreams and nightmares and I am not sure if I could handle that. Did anyone have any crazy dreams? I have the script for it in my hand now...and I am not sure what to do, but i really want to quit.

Super_mom

thanks, we will see how it goes. I tried Chantix and I also had crazy dreams so I stopped. My dr. gave me wellbutrin maybe I should go back to trying that.

hezzyhlo

I quit just over 3 years ago. I used the patch for about 2 weeks, but think it was more for psychological support.

Honestly, you just need to make yourself quit, there is no easy way. It sucks. It sucks REALLY BAD! The first couple of weeks is really hard, but then it starts getting easier. You just have to want to be smoke free more than you want that drag. There is the biological addiction, but that only last a few days. The habit part is what killed me!

For me, I just took it one day at a time-I didn't worry about tomorrow. On day 5, I congratulated myself for getting that far, and told myself I would NEVER have to go through those 5 days of hell again as long as I didn't have another drag.. That got better and better as I started getting to day 10, 15, 25, 75..etc.. By that time.. there was no way I was going to start back out at day 1!!

You CAN do it, just remember that! It is hard, but it does get easier.. "If you're going through hell, keep going."-Winston Churchill

gatorgirlyyy

You can so do it! I've been smoke free for almost two months now. I smoked for about 9 years at 2 packs per day. I would have never thought I could have quit (especially while losing almost 40 pounds) at the same time. I used nicotine gum.

kjerstenkipp

You can do it! It has been 176 days since my last smoke. I smoked for 27 years. I used the gum to help me get past the times when I was thinking "Eff this I am going to go get a pack"...i still have those moments from time to time and when I do I break out the gum :-)

Sharonks

I smoked for 30 years. during that time I ranged from 1/2 pack to 3 packs a day. I quit while I was preg. I sometimes quit for a few months or even one time a few years.I have quit on Zyban (Wellbutrin) and patches, patches alone, never did well on the gum, and chantix. Some people have problems with chantix and some don't. If you don't have major side effects it does work well. Last year I quit as a New Year's resolution using chantix. Did fine until about the 8th month and had a disaster hit me and I started smoking (mind you, hubby has never really quit so I have easy access). After a couple months of that I quit cold turkey and have been doing well. This is the last time I quit.

Part of my problem has been that I get dumb and think I can have just one. You can't do that. I am a nicotine addict and like any drug addict I am never cured, just reformed. If I take one drag, it is like a heroin addict just shooting up a little. I will fall off the wagon and I will fail. And I'll be darned if I suffered through nic fits and psych nic fits to have to do it all over again.

Tell yourself you only have to make it a month. After a month you will find that the worst of it is over (really after a few days the physical stuff is much better). Then you just keep going. If you find that drugs, patches, gum, or whatever helps you then go for it. You'll only be using it for a short period of time but you will get off cigs forever!

hopefloatsup

I haven't quit....I do want to though but as crazy as it sounds, I'm afraid....I've smoked for 20 years....(btw, that's the first time I've ever actually SAID that and brought attention to it. That's a lot of years - more than half my life). My husband quit in September 2011 after he had an appendectomy. He came home from surgery and it had already been 2 days since he had one. He was recovering and on pain meds....tried to smoke but got sick and threw it out. He hasn't had one since. He did sleep the first week away though LOL. I saw his mood swings & temper and I'm really afraid of going through that, to tell you the truth,,,I'm not as worried about the physical addiction as I am the habit. It's the only time I really get "alone" so to speak. It's my escape since I don't smoke in the house. Definitely looking for tips as well! I'm hoping now that I'm working out, it will push me even more to want to quit!