Quit Smoking Suggestions Needed
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I used patches to quit. The first week I work both a setp 1 and a step 3 to get over the hump. I then stayed at each level for about twice as long as the plan called for. I figured patches were better than smoking and the longer term made it stick for me....
Good Luck!
That plus a lot of encouragement from loved ones!
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I smoked upward of 2 or more packs a day since I was 16/17. I'm now 54 soon to be 55. July 24th I started Chantix and I have been smoke free since. Over the years I have tried everything from cold turkey to patches to gum. One month on Chantix and I stopped smoking. My insurance has a co-pay of $40 and it was $40 well spent for me. Yes, I had the weird funky dreams and dry mouth issues. But it was worth it. My Dr was very supportive and said if I made it the first month with no slips or massive cravings I didn't need to do more time on the drug!0
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I smoked from age 15 to age 42 and have now been quit 8 years. I went cold turkey. I used a support group similar to MFP called quitnet. It told me how much life I had added each day quit and how my lungs had changed. The 1st month - I air smoked. I just used the motions and took very deep slow breaths - inhale, exhale -invisible cigarette. After that, I just would tell myself - wait out the craving, if you really want it in 10 minutes you can have it but eventually, I didn't want it. I celebrated successess like going to a bar and having a cocktail without smoking, watching a football game without smoking, etc. I used the cigarette money to treat myself to gifts. It took months, but I finally reached a point where I did not want a cigarette at all. Now - I am a hater! I hate the smell of my hair and clothes when I go somewhere that allows smoking. My contacts burn when in a smoke filled room. It now turns me off so bad that I'm almost a ***** about it - ok, maybe not almost .............but it truly turns me off. It is all about really wanting to quit. I am using that approach now to my weight loss. It took me getting very, very large to face the truth but I plan to succeed at this that same way.0
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I am a quitter as of last tuesday (with exception to one cig at a party with beer and jager on Saturday-was a habitual temporary relapse). I waited until I KNEW for a FACT that I will not have a good reason to smoke "because I need it." I am discovering something. I am in a groove where I do not have very much stress in my life, so I decided enough was enough. I find myself NOT EVEN WANTING TO SMOKE LEISURELY, which tells me a lot! I feel a lot different than the other times I tried.
Yes, i still cuss and scream at the computer when it takes too long to load, or when my hands decide not to cooperate when typing (although in moderation when around other people). And yes, I still have an urge at some points. It is getting easier and easier, but it is already 10 times easier because I do not have stress.
I think that is the key. You need to be at a place in your life where you are not stressed out. If you do have negative stress, the deck is stacked against you, as it was to me. Reason being, you need to have time to give yourself an alternative, and let your body decide you don't want to smoke.
I quit cold turkey, with exception to the first non-smoking day where I had 4 pieces of gum, but after that, nothing except extra food. I am working on that though. Check out my diary over the past few days. I have been eating pretty weird. (like eating a whole box of cereal dry, in one sitting)
We can do it. I know we can.0 -
BTW, on my last night of smoking, my beloved Cowboys got pummeled by da Bears, and I gave 10 cigs plus a lighter to an older guy asking for a cig at the bus stop. My previous quit record was 30 days. I am looking to beat that by a longshot.
I am already running longer runs, and breathing easier. It is quite rewarding, and I do not stink! I am loving it!0 -
I quit 25 days ago!
Yay!
I now use that money for a monthly pedicure.
You are bigger than the addiction. TAKE CONTROL. The first few days SUCK *kitten* as the nicotine is leaving your system ...but after the first week, I never felt better. Holy crap. I LOVE IT! I'M FREE!!0 -
When I finally quit I was at 3 packs a day and had smoked for 20+ years. I had been trying to quit for 5 of those years. I tried everything. Gum, patches, lozenges, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, brushing my teeth, exercise, Popsicle... EVERYTHING.... nothing worked.
Why?
Because, even though I was on a quest to quit smoking, even though I knew the health factors and the expense, even though I watched my Grandmother die of Emphysema, I WAS NOT READY.
Then one day I woke up and was done. I gave the rest of my cigs to my mother...who lived with me... and never picked them up again.
Out of everything I did to assist me in stopping smoking, none of it worked. I kept saying I wanted to quit...but I didn't, not really. When I was finally ready to quit, I did.
I wish you luck on your journey.
Totally. You have to want to be done. I didn't quit for years because I wasn't ready.
I am ready now. Especially when I look into my children's eyes. Hell if I'ma die some horrible death and leave them before my time.0 -
I was a pack a day smoker while working in a non-smoking environment--so I really smoked in my free time. It took about 3 serious tries for me to quit. Using nicotine gum worked best for me. I used a lot of it for 3 years before I switched to regular gum. I am now nicotine-free as well as a non-smoker. I still have cravings sometimes, but remind myself that it would take almost nothing for me to be back at a pack a day, so I do not act on the cravings.
Driving new routes so you do not stop at stores or gas stations where you have bought cigarettes helps, also. I would sometimes say to myself "Drive by this store, if you still want a cigarette when you go by the next store, stop there" Usually, the craving was gone by then. Like all addictions, one day at a time. Good luck.0 -
For me, I just one day made the absolute decision I didn't want to do that anymore. That day I washed all my clothes, cleaned out my car, got rid of all the ash trays, smoke butts, and chucked them out. I cleaned out my house from top to bottom, cleaned everything...
then ran out and got patches... LOL
You need a hand, pays to know what your triggers are, mine were, coffee, alcoholic, after meals... So I cut out the alcohol and coffee... and stayed inside after I ate a meal.... I had a couple of slip ups... but I never went back to it full on. I allowed myself hiccups... which will happen. There was a few months where I smoked when I drank... but when I got home, I would shower all the smoke smell out of me. brush teeth and start a new...
Great for you to... its not easy quitting... but it is so worth it
Jay0 -
I've never been a smoker, but I learned about the effects of it in my Psychology classes. Addiction can be both a physiological need (your body craving the tobacco) and a psychological need (a mental thing). Some smokers find the most difficult thing to do when breaking the habit is to find something to do when they aren't smoking. If you're used to putting a cigarette in your mouth when you're stressed, what are you going to do now when you get stressed, and you're not smoking anymore? If you're somebody who took a smoke break every couple of hours during work, you need to find something to do with that time instead. If you don't fill that time slot that you normally spent smoking, or you don't find a replacement for smoking as your stress-reliever, you should immediately work on that. That's one of the top reasons smokers fall off the wagon and start smoking again.
I hope this helps you, and I commend you for quitting! I've seen from family that it's difficult, but it's so worth it.
I agree, MFP lady. It is worth it. The benefits to quitting vs the benefits of not quitting are about 30:1. One I look forward to is that men who do not smoke end up with way hotter chicks later on down the road. But you are right, and I am glad you understand. It is a drug and it is an addiction that is a step underneath heroin in terms of grip. I live in CA, so my cigs were costing me about $5.00 a pack, and those are the cheapies. The Starbucks brand runs about $6-8 per pack.
I started when I was 13, and am 26 now. I am way too young to be killin myself, and I want to skydive someday ( I know, that's technically a contradiction)!0 -
...even though I was on a quest to quit smoking, even though I knew the health factors and the expense, I WAS NOT READY.
Then one day I woke up and was done. I gave the rest of my cigs to my mother...who lived with me... and never picked them up again.
Out of everything I did to assist me in stopping smoking, none of it worked. I kept saying I wanted to quit...but I didn't, not really. When I was finally ready to quit, I did.
This is me exactly. One day something just clicked into place and I never went back. It was almost spooky.
OP,
There is only ONE way to quit smoking: THE WAY THAT WORKS FOR YOU!
Some quit with nicotine gum.
Some quit cold turkey.
Some quit on the patch.
Some quit by stepping down.
Some quit with Chantix.
Some quit with hypnotherapy.
Try the one you think will work for you. If it fails try something else until you find what does work. For me, and a few others it was as simple as having something go off in our brains saying "I'm not a smoker."0 -
I smoked for many years and had quit and started again many times. 4 years ago when NYS was raising the taxes (again), I decided I couldn't afford to smoke anymore. I used Chantix (prescription from dr.) and quit. I still have cravings, but cigarettes have doubled in price since then. I did put on weight, however if you find something to do with idle hands besides eating, it may be easier to quit smoking and lose weight.0
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I quit 25 days ago! Yay!
I now use that money for a monthly pedicure.
You are bigger than the addiction. TAKE CONTROL. The first few days SUCK *kitten* as the nicotine is leaving your system ...but after the first week, I never felt better. Holy crap. I LOVE IT! I'M FREE!!
Bump!!!!0 -
I smoked from 13 till I was 29 and boy did I smoke! Over a pack a day and the belief that it was part of my personality. Two words...Allen Carr.
That was over 4 years ago and I have not smoked a cigarette or wanted to. I can be around people smoking and it does not bother me at all. All I did was read the book.
I have passed the book on to heaps of people and it has worked for nearly all of them. Give it a read you have nothing to lose but your habit.0 -
I was a pack a day smoker while working in a non-smoking environment--so I really smoked in my free time. It took about 3 serious tries for me to quit. Using nicotine gum worked best for me. I used a lot of it for 3 years before I switched to regular gum. I am now nicotine-free as well as a non-smoker. I still have cravings sometimes, but remind myself that it would take almost nothing for me to be back at a pack a day, so I do not act on the cravings.
Driving new routes so you do not stop at stores or gas stations where you have bought cigarettes helps, also. I would sometimes say to myself "Drive by this store, if you still want a cigarette when you go by the next store, stop there" Usually, the craving was gone by then. Like all addictions, one day at a time. Good luck.
Be like that guy in that Nissan commercial, and go give your "gas station gear" back to the counter guy lol. Pay for gas at the pump and do not go into the store. You got this!0 -
I quit cold turkey, January will be 5 years ago...
I cut drinking straws into cigarette sized sections and kept one in my hand or mouth for about 2 weeks... then I just ... didn't...0 -
Just quit 3 days ago, finally, after a few false starts. Started in early teens; mid-30s now. Quit for a year and a half in there.
Immediate reason: I got bronchitis AGAIN, and I have a scary wheeze, and feel (& have been told) that while obviously no one should smoke, *I personally* am not allowed to smoke anymore. Cancer and emphysema are no longer distant spectres, and COPD's, like, breathing down my neck. (Or not, as the case may be.)
I'm using puffers again, and hope like hell I won't have to permanently.
I have felt this way before & forgotten about it months later. Not happening again. I have more to do on this planet, and would be pissed if I didn't get more time.
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Other things:
- I read Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking some years ago. It helped me frame things in a way that's stuck. Rereading it now. Highly recommended.
http://www.theeasywaytostopsmoking.com
- In part with the help of that book, I formed a vision of myself as a healthy, capable, vital person. I connected that image with myself as a kid. With things I have yet to do. Cigarettes and addiction have no place in that life. They are a kind of enslavement. No person should be a slave to anything or one.
- When I quit last time, I found myself with so much more energy. And time. To do things that matter. I honestly was a better person. (And am on the way again
- Smoking ages skin & hair, & I don't want to look older than I am. Or FEEL older than I am.
- I persuaded the people close to me not to smoke in my presence. Thankfully, they agreed, and it's made a difference. (Some people are highly sensitive to cues; I'm one of them; it makes a difference. Though it obviously comes down to me. But it makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE.)
My intention is to avoid smokers & smoking situations for some months. I'm glad it's fall/winter now.
- I'm almost the last person I know who's my age to smoke. It's considered a sort of low thing to do. It's embarrassing.
^ mostly motivational factors. Important to build them up, make them matter.
- I am using the PATCH BACKED UP BY NICOTINE LOZENGES. I haven't had a problem with physical cravings yet. This is recommended by lots of experts now, by the way.
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Good luck! You deserve health.0 -
I have strategy for you. No wise words of wisdom ... But I can tell you I would be happy to be supportive. I am now smoke free for 21 days. I have made it 3 weeks. I won't lie ... It's been rough and the cravings are still strong, but I am determined.0
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BTW, on my last night of smoking, my beloved Cowboys got pummeled by da Bears, and I gave 10 cigs plus a lighter to an older guy asking for a cig at the bus stop. My previous quit record was 30 days. I am looking to beat that by a longshot.
I am already running longer runs, and breathing easier. It is quite rewarding, and I do not stink! I am loving it!
OMG!!!! I so wanted a cigarette that night! And every day I had to look at the bear logo on my FB profile for losing a bet. But I didn't smoke ... Not yet. 21 days ... It seems like it has been so much longer.0 -
Anyone on this thread who wants a weight loss, quitting smoking buddy ... I'm here for ya.0
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Didn't read all the responses you got, but here's how I finally did it (smoked for 15 years, quit 15 years ago):
1) BEFORE you stop, concentrate every time you smoke on how the back of your throat tastes. Really notice that rancid, rotting flavor that lives back there at the base of your tongue. That *kitten* is gross. Tattoo it on your brain.
2) Again, before you stop, concentrate on the tight, almost head-achy feeling you get in your temples when you over-smoke (if that term makes any sense). That just feels so unpleasant. Really seriously yucky.
3) Still before stopping, notice yourself clearing your throat. Notice the texture and the taste of that stuff you're moving around when you do that. That is some of the nastiest goop ever. Like just so disgusting it's hard to imagine. Now notice it some more.
4) Stop any of the behaviors that encourage your smoking before you try to quit cigarettes. Like if you really enjoy a cup of coffee and a cigarette, stop drinking coffee before you tackle smoking. When I stopped cigarettes, I first quit coffee, drinking, and my loser boyfriend. I have since gone back to the coffee and drinking. :drinker:
5) On the day you quit smoking, get rid of the smokes. Either by smoking them or by wetting them down so they disintegrate.
THEN
6) Begin fantasizing about the next time you smoke. Yes, I know the whole point is to QUIT, not to think about starting again. But much of what you're doing when you stop smoking is training your brain to stop (mental stuff), not just getting over the physical withdrawals from nicotine. When I first stopped, I woke in the morning thinking about how I would reward myself at lunchtime with a cigarette. I told myself I would concentrate on getting through the whole morning and then going to a certain store to purchase a certain brand and then go to a certain spot to enjoy it. Then when lunchtime came, instead of actually going out and buying cigarettes, I'd move my reward out to after work, then after my drive home, then tomorrow morning -- each time building my perfect smoking moment in my mind, beginning with buying a pack of smokes. I was very specific. There were times I wanted to smoke something dark and foreign -- Gauloises perhaps -- and other times I wanted more of a straight-forward American flavor like regular Marlboro's or maybe Camels. Sometimes I wanted to smoke on the balcony at my work, sometimes on my sunny back porch, sometimes in my car. Get creative -- this is YOUR fantasy. And it's pretty amazing how satisfying it can be if you give it a shot. Pretty soon I noticed my stretches of time between thinking of smoking grew longer and longer until they were just gone. Was it easy? Oh, hell no. But it worked.
7) This is actually a disclaimer, not an instruction: I made this "system" up. It occurred organically within my own little mind and it worked for me. There is no science behind it and I have no proof that it works except myself. It may help you, it may not. I certainly hope it does!
8) This IS an instruction: Remember to be kind to yourself. It's a hard addiction to kick.0 -
I decided that I was ready and just did it. I threw out all my lighters. It definately was hard not to smoke after I would eat. I had to learn how to be in the car without smoking. I turned up the radio. I started putting the money I spent on smoking in a pickle jar. I was surprised how quickly the money added up and I took the family on a surprise mini vaction0
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I can't name the source, but I know this HAS to be scientific fact:
People who are non-smokers have better sex!
It has to be true! Guys, this should be a good chunk of motivation!0 -
I haven't read the whole thread (on my phone), but there's a great book that really helps (yeah, a book, I know!) called the Easyway to stop smoking. The author's last name is Carr.0
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I love how much we recent quitters are into caps, in this thread, lol.0
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My Bustec Professor said that I should get into something to read, as it may pop up as an interview question. You guys are telling me about this book. I think I should get this book. It is on Amazon for about $8. I just read the intro, and it had me intrigued. I may get it.
I am also going to be doing some resume building, and I think that on a refresh resume, it would look good to say "I quit smoking."
Doesn't that say more about someone than a lot of other things?0 -
Wish you the best....Shoot me a message if'n ya ever want some support or just want to chat....I quit March 3, 2010.
Hugs
Shelly0 -
After reading this i have no reason to light one up tomorr, n with great mfp friends n support not only can i do it wevall who want to can...i started due to mad stress bad reason
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i used the patch step down method along with quit tea, or other tea and a quit smoking app on the front page of my phone with achievements and such telling me my progress! since i lost the taste for a cig by using the patch im not tempted to light up and i am so happy i am where i am right now 0
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I smoked for 33 years. 4 years ago I got a prescriptin for Chantix. Some folks have nausea odd dreams etc. from it and some of the warnings they put on the packaging are things one would expect to experience just from qujitting smoking. I had none of those possible side effects at all so don't be scared to at least give it a try. Anyhow I got the meds and I used Quitnet (dot) com as a support group and even though I never believed I could quit...I am still smoke free and shocked every time I realize it. I took the meds for 6 months. it is expensive around $125-$140/mont (I don't remember exactly) but the state i live in has a program to help pay for the meds on a slideing scale fee depending on your income so they helped subsidize me. Even if I had to pay myself it would've still been cheaper than te price of cigarettes for a month in my case.
Best way I can think of to describe what the Chantix does is make ya feel like you ordered a pizza and onlyt got to lick the box. You can smoke for the first week or even two if you need to do so, but it just does nothing for ya so eventually you don't want to bother to smoke for no "reward".
My withdrawal dymptoims for quitting smoking felt exactly like being really hungry even had a growl in my tummy. If I knew then what I know now i would have made a point of eating properly and exercising a lot to help stay busy and to have not gained 80+ pounds. I've actually lost 50 ofthe weight but still a long ways to go. I figured at the time that quitting smoking was more important.
I don't work for whatever company makes Chantix. i am an innkeeper and a professional crafter so no motive for me to suggest Chantix except that it worked for me.
Barb0
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