NEED ADVICE FROM EX_SMOKERS

Akdn

I used the patch about 15-16 years ago. I had tried many time before but always failed. I think the last time I was just ready to quit. I haven't looked back since.

Beth24793

I stopped cold turkey, I sat one night having a cigarette and said to my partner "This is going to be my last ever *kitten*" He didn't believe me and about 8/9 months down the line I'm still smoke free I use to have my family say to me when I smoked I smoked like a chimney and I did but I wanted to change my life style choices and here I am today

Tell your self that you CAN and WILL do this, find your motivation and make it stay

Good luck!!

likemeinvisible

I smoke two packs a day. Have for most of my life. I have quit several times but it never sticks. I am trying again cold turkey. I could use advice and stories of how you did it, what it took to make that decision. I hope this will help and inspire me.

Cold turkey is the only way, as long as someone keeps smoking he is still hooked. Only way to free yourself is not to smoke for as long as possible.
I smoked for 15 years before I quit. I knew the dangers of smoking and I felt bad every morning but I told myself that lung cancer is relatively rare compared to other cancers and that I only smoke half a pack so I'm at a lesser risk than the average one-pack-a-day smoker.
One day I was lying sick in bed with the flu. That was very common for me, two, three times a year and each time took longer to recover - 12-14 days on the recent ones. So I looked up online about it a bit when I stumbled upon a thread in a health forum about lung disease. That's when I found out that cancer is not the only lung disease, there are many worse diseases, caused by smoking of any amount. People have no cure, quitting will not reverse it. The treatment can only slow it down. Every flu damages your lungs, leaving a scar. First you can't run, then you can't climb stairs, then you can't walk without an oxygen bottle. Finally you just sit and wait for death.
I decided to use the flu as a jumpstart to quitting. When you have the flu your smoking crave subsides a little, and I used that push to quit. I also decided that to make things easier, I am allowed to whatever I want as long as I'm not smoking. Any food any candy, whatever. It's all better than smoking. I kept that for a year until I realized I'm gaining weight and considered changing the "everything goes" rule.
And it takes a year. It takes more than a year, it took maybe 18 months until I could say I don't need a cigarette after a meal. There was also the problem of ending a meal. There was no need to stop eating and my appetite got bigger so I ended up eating more. For me that was a blessing maybe, I was very underweight.
It's a struggle, but every day it's a tiny bit easier. There is only one rule, don't smoke. Whatever you do don't smoke.
It's been almost five years and the last thing I want to do is smoke, the smell is terrible, can't stand it !
Best of luck.

bitxbit

I was able to quit "cold turkey", 15 1/5 years ago July 1997. Three days later, l got that dreaded call from my mom...a "mass, the size of a baseball" was found in her lung. Oh, yes, a cigarette was the first thing l wanted, my stress factor was through the roof!! But, l didn't cave in to the urge. l left home immediately, headed for California, where l stayed for the next 3 months..., til the end, watching my momma die and be buried.
Yes, the whole situation screamed at me to just give in! "You are under sooo much stress and added responsibility and away from your comfort zone and on & on. Still, l remained a new non-smoker, even though dozens of family and friends,visiting, waiting through surgeries and trying their best, to give comfort, surrounded me with their smoke!!
When l returned home, at the airport gate, the first thing my 13 year old daughter said to me, when l hugged her, wasn't "momma l missed you". lt was "momma, did you smoke?". At that point, l knew l'd never smoke again!
Yes, it was hard!! I ate thousands of wintergreen lifesavers (my many thanks to my brother, for the constant supply!) and yes, l gained 75#'s in that first year after my mom's death. Combined factors are tough to deal with, but physically, l felt better for not smoking. You can make it through the withdrawals and cravings! After meals, instead of smoking, drink another glass of water. While driving, crank the radio up and sing real loud, chew gum, eat lifesavers. Watching t.v., crochet, knit, do word search/crossword puzzles, whatever it takes!!! I know you can become a non-smoker!! l'm proud of your efforts!! Keep going forward and never look back!!:flowerforyou: My best to you... ♥bitxbit

Mylolamia

I quit smoking over a pack a day when I was 23. I am now 65 and have not looked back. My husband did not smoke so that was a tremendous help, but back then at least 85-90% of the population smoked. I was smoking just over a large pack a day, 25+ cigs. I quit cold turkey as many here have done...it was one of the hardest things I had ever done but I knew in my heart it was the best decision for me. So I used Nicorette gum way back then when I needed it. I kept the cigs. in my desk for a month (I was a secretary back then), they were totally dried out by the time I finally threw them out, but never touched one. Guess they acted as a security blanket for me.

But during that month, my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer...she smoked two packs a day. My mom was only 48 years old. She had surgery to remove one lobe from her left lung and lived another five years when the cancer reappeared and spread through every organ of her body. I was three months pregnant with my first son when she died...she never saw her first grandchild. This was the hardest thing for me and frankly, It was twenty-five years before I totally got over losing her. My boys are now 36 and almost 38, never having met their beloved grandmother. I have spoken to them many many times about what a beautiful kind loving person she was but it is not the same as her being there.

I was determined to never start smoking again. So please, think about your loved ones before you take that next cigarette. Quit smoking is not easy. It is an addiction which needs to be broken and replaced with something else. I did put on about 10 lbs. after stopping but for me, it was well worth it just knowing my lungs were clearing(ed) up, I could breath more easily, my hair and clothes did not stink, for lack of a better word, any more and I was healthier as a result.

If you are interested in friending me, please feel free. I feel we have a kinship here. Good luck.

Lalasharni

I got down to my local surgery and begged for help. My doctor was supportive and gave me Champix which allows you to smoke while you use it, after about five days the cigarettes start to taste like hell. You will stop.
What you then need help with is the withdrawal from nicotine which is an extremely addictive substance. The only way is to use NRP - gum, lozenges, sprays, patches, whatever works for you. I found gum was the best option.
I havnt touched a cigarette in 5 years, but if I feel like a "smoke" I use an electronic cigarette which has a fruit flavour. Even that I can go without, but sometimes I enjoy it.
It takes a lot of commitment to quit and no one denies that its hard, but if you look at it like an addiction, which it is, and ask for professional help, you will have more of a chance.
I wish you all the luck in the world and admire your conviction and tenacity in trying again.
Best regards.

aviseli

I used the patch...all 4 levels of it and stuck with it till the end....my mind set was "I'm only going to quit once" and the patch worked for me. I was smoking close to 3 packs a day for most of my life and on Aug. 13, 2001 my right lung collapsed. Went to the ER spent all day there on oxygen and the threat of putting a tube in my chest, lucky for me they didn't have to do that. But after I talked them into letting me go home, I had kids to take care of etc etc I left against medical advice. I tried to smoke when I got home cause I was wanting one so bad, but it hurt too bad to finish. So I lit one got a couple of puffs and then put it out and repeated an hour or so later. The pain was pretty bad and it was extremely hard to breathe. So the next day on the 14th I told my then husband to go and get me the patch. (he wanted me to quit for years and couldn't wait to go and buy them) I put the first patch on that night before bed so that when I woke up I'd have at least 8 hours of nicoteine in my system, so my official quit date was August 15, 2001 and I never smoked another one. Best decision I ever made, and I think saying that I was only going to go thru that once has made me never second guess it. Good luck to you!

DaniH826

Can't understand this e-cig thing. Nicotene isn't good for you, and why not just break your addiction instead of trading it?

It's a step-down. My reasons for smoking had as much to do with keeping my hands and mouth busy as it did with the nicotine fix.

The e-cigs give me that for the time being, minus all the tar and added toxins and bad breath and stinky clothes and burning lungs and guilty conscience. I get to play around with a variety of flavors, none of them nasty. Plus, I don't get the lightheadedness and all-around feeling badly and sickly that came with smoking cigarettes (and I only ever smoked ultra lights, mind you).

I quit after I got the flu and was too sick to smoke for a couple of days. Then when I lit up again, it tasted so nasty that I could only stand taking a couple of drags and had to put it out immediately. I switched to e-cigs that day.

So my advice to the OP would be to get the flu and then switch to e-cigs, but of course that's not exacly something you can duplicate, is it? LOL.

I had been thinking and praying about quitting for some months by then, though. I had made it a goal to quit smoking once I'd lose enough weight to get a "buffer" so I could gain some weight back without having issues.

But, as life goes, you make your plans and then life happens. As it turns out I quit first, and now I'm working on losing weight by taking control of what I put in my mouth so I don't fall off the wagon again.

Kudos to everyone who has quit cigarettes, especially after being a long-time smoker. I fully understand how challenging it is.

booboo68

I just made up my mind one day that I was not going to smoke anymore (after smoking on and off for 20 years), put them down and put the price of a pack of cigarettes in a jar every day and then bought myself an elliptical with it. I've been smoke-free for 3 years now.

Travelchiick

I was a smoker for 30 years(yes I started young) I have been a non-smoker for 3 years. Anything you need plese let me know

lilcupcake213

I switched to an electronic cigarette.. It's not quitting, but I can breath easier..

me too. I smoked for 13 years...I tried to quit numerous times and never stuck with it. All I did was think about smoking. And you're right, it's not completely quitting but it's 1000 times better for you and will help you cut down slowly until you eventually quit.

chokeslam512

I quit cold turkey then started again, then tried doing five pushups every time I had a craving. What finally worked for me was the e-cig. I stepped down the nicotine level and then it broke and I never replaced it.

FlipThis112

Read Allen Carr's the easy way to quit smoking. Works!

This booked inspired me to quit and now I have been smoke free for a year and a half!

SRH7

Read Allen Carr's the easy way to quit smoking. Works!

This booked inspired me to quit and now I have been smoke free for a year and a half!

Ditto - smokefree four years this week! Was also a 40-a-day smoker, so completely sympathise.

My top tips:

1. Buy the Allen Carr EasyWay book - read it from cover to cover and refer back to it any time you want to reach for a cigarette. It makes complete and perfect sense and is, for me, the only method that worked.

2. I avoided any kind of nicotine replacement (patches, e-cigarette, gum etc) as I wan't to get rid of the addiction. I knew it was nicotine that made me want to smoke, so why feed the nicotine monster? I also know plenty of people who kept falling off the wagon using these as the urge to smoke did not go away.

3. Join a free forum. This forum was a massive help: http://forum.nosmokingday.org.uk/

4. Cut up straws into cigarette-sized pieces and use these to 'smoke' with. Sounds daft, but it really kept my hands busy and helped psychologically.

5. Keep yourself busy - if you usually sit and smoke while watching TV in the evening (for example) then find something else to fill that time. Breaking the 'habit' will really help. For example, I avoided going to bars for a month after stopping as I knew it would trigger a smoking urge. After fours weeks I started going again (and got my social life back!) as I was free of nicotine and could resist smoking more easily.

6. Set up a Quit Counter on your computer (see the forum link I pasted above - there are links on it). Every day it shows you how money money you have saved, days of your life added on etc. It's a real incentive.

7. Ask for help - it's great that you've come on here to ask for help. And any time you need any support or want to go out and buy a pack of cigarettes, come on here first and ask for help!

8. Make sure you friends who smoke know you are serious about this and you really need their support to stay smoke free. Let them know it's not a criticism of them but you do need their support - being offered cigarettes is not funny!

9. Fill a jar with old cigarette butts and water and whenever you feel the urge to smoke, open the lid and have a sniff. This is what your hair, clothes and breath smell like when you smoke. I guarantee it will put you off lighting up.

10. Believe you can do it. As you can see from these responses plenty of us have succeeded. It's not easy and I have to admit the first three days were truly horrible. But it does get better - I promise. And once you are free not only of the addiction but the guilt that goes with it you will be so proud of how far you have come.

Take care.

KenosFeoh

I quit spontaneously when I had pneumonia. I had quit a lot of times before that - for each of my 2 pregnancies, etc - but being so sick and having to really work to breathe completely erased any urge to smoke that I had. I think I've taken a puff off my husband's cigarette (he only smokes outside) twice since then (15 years maybe) just to reassure myself that I really don't want to be a smoker. I really don't.

Mia_RagazzaTosta

As soon as that pregnancy test turned positive I quit and never looked back.