Quitting smoking... Anyone else think its hard?

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  • raviwong6
    raviwong6 Posts: 8 Member
    Quitting smoking is really hard. It's really hard to replace the instant gratification that cigarettes give you. For me it was fast food and instant ice tea (out of a straw). I quit smoking and picked up the bad habit of eating and snacking on fast food for my instant fix. I hope that doesn't happen to anyone else because it was a spiral of weight gain and feeling really bad about yourself (and then eating more to feel better). The one thing I had was that I am going through this because I was quitting smoking.

    Exercise became my out. It feels good to go for a walk/jog/run and it feels good to play sports and lift weights. If you can rely on that as well as knowing you're doing something good for yourself and those around you - you'll get through most of the rough times.

    The instant gratification is something I wasn't able to replace right away but the cravings go away eventually. Try every suggestion people give you to get through those times of craving (gum, count to 10, beef jerkey, candy etc). It took about 10 months for me (I haven't smoked in 4 years). It was a great feeling seeing others smoke where you're used to smoking and not wanting one - very liberating.

    Good luck, especially today! Then good luck tomorrow and the rest of the week. Then the month. Hope to see a reply on this thread you're smoke free after 7 months!!

    You can do it!!
  • SouthernCountryGirl
    SouthernCountryGirl Posts: 195 Member
    I recently quit smoking after 33 years. I woke up one day and realized I was tired of smoking. Tired of smelling nasty. Tired of spending so much money. Tired of my family complaining about it. I was tired of smoking for so many reasons, but mostly I was tired of the smoke! So I decided to put myself on a time limit, I would limit how often I could smoke. 1 cigarette every 30 minutes, if I didn't pay attention and missed a cigarette, my bad I simply lost it...I know this wasn't the smartest plan in the world but hey it was a plan. Believe it or not it actually worked and I decreased the amount I was smoking! It was during this time that I decided to get healthy too, to start exercising, eating better, ect. When I started walking everyday, I had trouble breathing normally, my lungs were in horrible condition after smoking nearly 2 packs a day for 33 years! So I went to see my doctor and talked him into letting my try Chantix. Side effects aside (it made me dream like crazy at night), this stuff was the best decision I've ever made in my entire adult life! I quit within 2 1/2 weeks, completely. Fortunately for me, I was already in the middle of trying to lose weight and eating better so I haven't gained any weight since I've quit smoking. I have cravings sometimes, out of the blue, and want one so badly I can't stand it, but then I think about me running, not walking, running doing my C25K and breathing better every day that I do, and my cravings go away lol. Please, to those of you considering quitting, DON'T ever give up. If you don't succeed the first time, keep trying until you do!!! It will improve you're life a 100 times over.

    I have to add this too, the first time I went to visit my parents after I'd quit smoking, really opened my eyes to the 'smell' factor of smoking! My dad smokes. I walked in their house and was immediately assaulted by a horrible smell. I couldn't figure out what it was and I mentioned something about it to my mom. She had no idea and none of us could figure out what the heck it was. I had stepped outside for a few minutes then came back in the house and dad was there smoking a cigarette. And the SMELL was absolutely disgusting, horrible!! I looked at my dad, turned to my mom and said, 'I've figured out what was smelling so bad. It's dad smoking!'

    It struck me then, 'so THAT'S what my family has complained about all these years, oh my gosh, that's how my house smelled to others whenever they would come visit us!' I was completely and thoroughly disgusted, embarrassed and ashamed that I had ever allowed that in my home :(

    DON'T EVER GIVE UP!!!
  • FionaAnne22
    FionaAnne22 Posts: 178 Member
    I've quit so many times its almost comical, I seem to find the actual quitting fairly easy, its just staying off it! When I drink alcohol I just end up smoking too! Although at the moment I am currently smoking so I sound like a hypocrite to say this, Allen Carr's Easy Way to stop smoking is great, twice I have quit with it, once was for over a year, if you are in the right frame of mind (and even if you aren't the book will get you there) you can quit with absolutely no problems.

    I got how to quit smoking permanently, read it very quickly, quit, started again, am planning on reading it again, slowly this time...need to stop for good! Its horrible, smells horrible, looks horrible, kills you, costs a fortune, and there are no real positives! Argh as I'm saying this Im wondering how I started again :/
  • timbiden
    timbiden Posts: 21
    Quitting smoking isn't easy. I have had friends that quit smoking crack and shooting heroin that can't quit smoking. Sure, they quit smoking for a week or 2 but then they're right back at it. And don't you think that the way the big tobacco companies want it

    Cigarettes really are that tough to kick. I give major props to anyone who can do it.
  • srslycolette
    srslycolette Posts: 40 Member
    I too have quit smoking on a number of occasions. The longest I've stopped for is nearly 2 years (then I went to a pub, drank too much and hey ho back on the ciggies :mad: )

    I want to stop again - especially as I want to try for a family. I wish they'd ban tabacco completely.

    All the best to all you quitters. It's hell. I'm thinking of setting a quit date soon, as I want to be fitter, I'm knackered after going up and down stairs, not good

    Keep up the great work

    xx Vicky xx

    I feel the same way! The stairs tell me to quit every time.
  • srslycolette
    srslycolette Posts: 40 Member
    YES It is very hard. especially if you have people who never smoked harping on you saying just quit or I dont believe you quit. I tried EVERYTHING. I still have my electronic cigarette (the expensive one) the ones in gas station taste REALLY BAD. Its also harder cause I quit before everythime I wanted one I took off for a walk (and it was frequently) But I have a kid now and can't just take off. I am still in the process of trying to stop buying them. Its like an a emotional tie to food. Plus I get really mad when the electronic one needs charged I had 2 but lost one (grrrrr). I went almost a month the first of the year but broke down for a reason I dont remember. I know it will get easier. and I wouldnt have "PITY" for people who smoked after I quit either. Thats just mean. Its like losing weight you have to make a lifestyle change and really want it. Excercising does help get the fustration out. Try to do stuff that will require you not to smoke cause your habds are busy or you really cant smoke while doing it. Like rock climbing, running, parasailing, jet skiing, zip lining, any sport, painting , gardening, home imporvement, wood wokring , biking, ect. Try new things you will feel proud about yourself and before you will know it the craving will be gone. I am still with you cause I have yet to smash them to bits. Also clean your house, car, get rid of all lighters and empty packs anything that will remind you that you smoked.
    That sounds great! I really only smoke in my car, but I have lighters everywherrrreee!
    I do agree that it is a lifestyle change though. You have to want it enough for you. So that when your friend lights one you can say no, or when you're in a bar you don't subconsciously fish one out of your purse.
    Bye Bye lighters! :D
  • sempertracy
    sempertracy Posts: 50 Member
    I'm a quitter of 14 years-I didn't want to be a bride who smoked in her wedding dress. I started with the patch, thought it was working great but realized it fell off and didn't look back. One of the best decisions in my life.

    As I walk down the street now and someone is smoking ahead of me or standing by a door smoking I have to cover my mouth and nose. So PLEASE PLEASE quit! Don't put others in harms way with the smoke and flying ask after you flick.

    Also check your state Department of Health website for information and programs to quit. Many people don't know this but after the tobacco lawsuit the states were given so much money to institute programs to quit for free to residents from the settlement. I'm betting your state has resources for free including a 24 hour help line (my state does).
  • srslycolette
    srslycolette Posts: 40 Member
    i posted this in another thread but got no responses so maybe someone here will know what i am talking about and have some thoughts, i am on day 21 now, anyone else feel the same as me now or in the past? it is funny how i dont think about smoking at all for hours or most of the day really and then all of a sudden i start obsessing over it and thinking about how much i miss smoking, not a physical craving but a mental or emotional one (my relationship with cigarettes was very close).

    when i am not in those moments i think about how silly smoking is, how much of a waste of money it is, how whenever i see a man smoking i think they look silly and unattractive and i dont want to look that way of course but on the flip side when i see a woman smoking i immediately want one. i really do miss it a lot and i assume i always will which is kind of a hard thing to accept, it is hard enough to miss something you cant have but to miss something that i could get any time i want is pretty tough - i just need to think of it as something i cant have but i am not fully there yet. how do i get past this or will it always be something i have to deal with?
    I get that! The emotional tie to your cigarettes, because what else are they good for than to "help" when you're in a crummy situation. They give you something to do with your hands when you're not entirely comfortable w people. And, mentally, they take away some of that hunger! They're almost broadcast to be your friends. I know, that sounds really weird, haha, but I'm with you as I do really well when I don't want one. I've gone months before. As soon as I start to think of one though, it starts to gnaw at me that I "NEED" one, if for nothing else than to stop thinking about it.
  • Morethanwillpower12
    Morethanwillpower12 Posts: 74 Member
    I started smoking regularly in 1994 and smoked all the way up to 2008 when I quit. I haven't touched a cigarrette since because I know that if I did, I would be a smoker again. I couldn't just have one. I used the patch for a month or so but it raised my blood pressure so I took it off and went cold turkey after that. It wasn't easy, as a matter of fact next to losing weight, it was the hardest thing I have ever done. I feel for people who are struggling with this addiction because I know how hard it is. I used to think that losing weight is maybe a bit harder though because I don't ever have to pick up another cigarrette but I do have to eat to survive. On the other hand food isn't really a physical addiction like nicotine so I don't know. What I do know is that both are extremely hard. Good luck to you! You can do it!! :)
  • Halleeon
    Halleeon Posts: 309 Member
    I smoked for 15 years, regularly. I am SO glad I quit. I am on my ...idk 10th try, but this is the second time I have been successful for any length of time worth stating. The first time I quit was 2 1/2 years ago and I stopped for 1 year. I had some sort of emotional event (can't remember what it was now) and I didn't know how to feel better other than to go buy some cigarettes. I regretted that choice and smoked for about 6 months. Now, my last cigarette was mid October of 2011. I'm coming up on an anniversary! :D Maybe I should consider celebrating in some way...hmmmm, anyway!

    What got me to stop this time (besides all of the obvious reasons) was that I was doing some research on cigarettes and realized that they were not doing what I wanted them to do. I wanted my cigarettes to CALM ME DOWN. I need to calm down during work since I have a high stress job, I wanted to relax because I am generally high strung and I wanted to be able to "unwind" in general. When I read that smoking increasing your heartrate and gives you adrenaline...I was like Uhhhhh that is the opposite of what I want! No wonder I was so wound up - everytime I got upset or stressed and went to "cool off"....I was just exacerbating my situation. lol...silly me.

    At any rate. The cravings are horrible, it's true. I personally chose to tackle one beast at a time, smoking first, then eating habits. I know, and this is just for me, I would have crumbled under that amount of restriction all at once.
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
    stay away from the ciggys.........ha ha
  • CountryDevil
    CountryDevil Posts: 819 Member
    I smoked for almost 24 years but growing up in the country I started out as a chewer when I was younger. I tried quitting several times but failed at each attempt because I really didn't want to quit. It was not until almost three years ago when I finally decided I had enough and quit with the aid of Chantix. I am not going to tell you it was easy, because it wasn't. Being a smoker and a chewer, I was getting about twice the amount, if not more the amount of nicotine that even a 1 1/2 to 2 pack a day smoker would be getting.

    For me the key was using the Chantix and eliminating as many of the "triggers" that made me want to smoke or chew. The others, I just had to fight through. The day I made the decision to quit, it was one day and one step at a time. Since then, I have not even had the urge to smoke or chew. Best decision I made!!
  • blackcoffeeandcherrypie
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
    I wouldnt have "PITY" for people who smoked after I quit either. Thats just mean.

    It's not mean, it's sympathy when you know there is just no reason for them to keep on wasting their money and their time with something that isn't worth it.

    I loved smoking, but once you have quit for good, you realise how pointless it all was - the time, the expense, worrying about the smell, getting your teeth cleaned, those little orange bits on your fingers where you hold it. I don't pity smokers in a cruel way, I just pity that they are leashed to a habit that ultimately takes and gives nothing back. I have family who still smoke and I don't judge them, I just know that their lives would be so much easier and more pleasant if they didn't smoke. *shrugs* I don't see that as mean.
  • katysmelly
    katysmelly Posts: 380 Member
    My husband has Small Cell Lung Cancer and End Stage Emphysema, is getting Chemotherapy and is still smoking. Hard, yea I think so. He keeps saying it doesn't matter now. It is a horrible way to die, gasping for breath, the panic in their eyes. It's like watching someone drown and you can't reach them. Only instead of minutes its months and months. I'm not sure I am going to get through this. Good luck

    Just to add, he is only 57 and our Daughter is pregnant with our First Grandchild. He'll never get see her.

    I am so sorry. (((hugs)))
  • katysmelly
    katysmelly Posts: 380 Member
    I agree it helps to be in a quitting frame of mind. Gearing up for it ahead of time is really helpful, although some people do wake up one day and simply say "no more!"

    What I did was buy a bunch of duty-free cigarettes. I came home with two cartons (double what the UK says I can bring in, but I got away with it.) They were about £2.50 duty free, but over £7 at the shops, here. £50 a week is a LOT of money for me, so I knew that I couldn't afford to keep smoking. So, I smoked the Hell out of those two cartons. In a way, it was great. Just smoked and smoked and never worried about buying more. But, I was thinking all along about how expensive and disgusting it was. I said that this was going to be the end of it. When the duty-free smokes were gone, I was going to quit.

    And, that's what I did. I used gum and lozenges (mostly lozenges, but I had some gum in the house from a previous quit.) Some people eschew the nicotine replacement aids because they don't want to be addicted to them. I say, don't let that stop you. If they keep you from killing the kids or lighting up, they're worth it. My mother actually chewed the gum for the final decade of her life. Not very much, but she had maybe one piece a day. Hey, she had the beginnings of emphasema... I think a little nicotine gum is just fine if it means not inhaling toxic smoke! Anyway, I didn't get dependent on the lozenges. I just used them when I felt myself getting irritable, and that gradually became less frequent.

    So, I psyched myself up for it, I used a nicotine replacement for the first couple of weeks, and I exercised to keep myself focused on my health and my lungs. I also avoided drinking in the pub, where I might be tempted to light up. I can actually drink and not think I want to buy smokes. I just avoid drinking around smokers.

    My weight did creep up. But, since I was exercising a lot, it wasn't really all that much. And, really, I'd rather be a few pounds heavier than stinking, wheezing, and dying. So, it's all OK.

    Now, I'm trying to lose maybe 10 pounds. This may be a struggle for me that is never fully resolved. But, I know that the most important improvement to my lifestyle has already been made. I am running 5k or more four days a week. I climb mountains, now, and barely have to stop to rest on the way up.

    It's really been worth it.

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