Quit Smoking Suggestions Needed
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Lrdoflamancha
Posts: 1,280 Member
I have smoked for years, I know all about the health risks. What I would like to know is: If you have quit smoking. How did you do it? What strategies did you use? I am thinking about patches, but what about gum? I will do it, I am motivated and ready.
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I smoked almost 3 packs a day when I decided to stop. One day I just said "I HAVE TO STOP" it was getting to be to expensive and definitely bad for me. Once I made up my mind, I went to the store, bought the patches and I used them for a week. That was it. I have never smoked another. Even though it has been over 10 years, I still want one on occasion, but I know if I picked one up...that would be it, I would start again. Good luck. I hope you find something that works for you. It sounds like you are ready and that is the first and most important part of stopping~0
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The first step is having the desire to quit. I smoked for 30 years and it will be 3 years on Oct 31 since I quit. I haven't looked back. I used Champix (Canadian) and it was an amazing experience for me. I know there are some who say it was the worst thing they ever used to try and quit. I just had a really good experience. Lucky me. Good luck in your journey, it's such a feeling of empowerment to overcome such an ugly addiction. It truly was life changing for me.0
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Very honestly, I merely quit sticking them in my mouth and lighting them. When I'd get the impulse to smoke, I'd go do something else. It's been a good 10 years, and I don't have the least desire for a cigarette ever.
I'm using the same strategy to lose fat. I quit sticking the in-between meal snacks into my mouth and chewing them.0 -
Firstly, as others have said, I wanted to quit! I remember smoking on day 2 of an epic hangover and thinking 'Why the hell am I doing this? I feel like cr@p!' So I resolved to finish that packet (of which there were 4-5 left) then stop.
One thing that helped was writing a list of reasons I wanted to quit - I still remember most of them as I had them pinned to the back door for months (I uesd to smoke in the back yard):
- No more Scary Sheila in the smoke room (that woman terrified me!)
- Running will be easier (I'd just started)
- No more yellow fingers
- Hair and clothes will smell nicer
- No more worrying that my mouth will look like a cat's backside when I'm older
- MORE MONEY!!! (I was permanently skint!)
As you can see, health didn't even feature in my reasons to quit, but I did it - it's all about finding your own motivation. And patches...I was homicidal pre-patch of a morning for the first week...!! I tried lozenges, but they tasted rank!
I also lied to myself for a while and claimed that I was just quitting for a month to 'break the addiction' then maybe I'd allow myself 1 or 2 with drinks...then it was 3 months, then a year....6 years on and I no longer feel the urge. :bigsmile:
Good luck!0 -
Thanks for the suggestions. I am going now to buy the patches and get started. If you don't take a shot you will miss 100% of the time. Michael Jordan. So i am taking my shot.0
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I smocked a pack a day for 13 year but when i decided to quit, I set up a date and decided that I quit on that day. The night before I had my last cigarette from my last pack and never looked back. No patches, not gum. They say it is all in your head and it really is. I am going through some right times right now and this is the first time since 1997 that I feel like I want a cigarette. But I know if I have one I will start smocking again, so I just go on without having it. It is all in our head, just like food cravings.0
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I was a heavy smoker 2 packs a day since I was 13. I quit last year january 5th and have been smoke free ever since. I used an e cigarette it really really helped me. I couldn't have done it without it. I actually feel like I was never a smoker.0
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Just stop.
It's like eating healthier and working out. There are a million different plans, pills, self-help books, strategies, habit-re-learning exercises, meditations, etc. But what it comes down to is simply just not doing the thing that's bad for you.
I smoke every now and then (not every week, not even every month) because I am in control of it.
I encourage you to find what works for you. Do you need incentive? A gift or experience for every "good" week? A list? A friend to yell at you if you break your own rule? Try everything and, in the meantime, rely on yourself to control it.
Good luck!0 -
I quit when I was 18, so it was probably easier since I had only smoked for a couple years. For me it was the thought of how much it cost and I hated smelling like an ashtray. It was just mind over matter.
I have several friends who have had great success with Chantix.0 -
I used patches and exercise. Good luck to you - quitting smoking was the best thing I've ever done for myself. You can do it too!0
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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!0 -
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.0 -
There is a wonderful forum I used to help me quit
Google About.com Smoking Cessation Forum
It is amazing. Lost of information, TONS OF SUPPORT (and no drama that mfp is known for)
Check it out.0 -
I've taken up and stopped smoking several times. I believe I have an 'addictive personality'. I find it hard to balance consumption of anything, smoking, food etc. Alcohol, funnily enough, I don't have control issues with.
The best way to stop smoking is to just stop. Of course if you have trouble doing that them just accept that you need some help. Don't beat yourself up over not 'being able to' go cold turkey.
I've tried hypnotism in the past. It's not magic though. I think it's mostly a placebo effect. When I did it I booked a week in advance. They told me to just smoke as normal until my session. Because I was going to the session on the Friday, the whole week I felt guilt free. There was no anxiety over trying to quit.
Anyway the session was nice. It was like guided meditation. You close your eyes and the hypnotist just talks. I'm thinking of doing hypnotism again just because it's so relaxing.
Either way I suggest finding help. Here in Australia there's a "Quit Line" which is a government run call centre that you call and they counsel you on your issues with smoking and help you make a plan to stop.
Just don't punish yourself. Give yourself some slack. One day you will never smoke again. (Frightening thought right now, isn't it?)0 -
I was a pack to pack and a half a day smoker for 10 years. I used gum to take the edge off when I got b*tchy. I also brushed my teeth after eating anything; that cured the craving to smoke after eating. I quit 14 years ago. I watched my mom die of lung cancer and was there when she drew her last breath. If I hadn't already quit, I would have then.
I forgot to add--I gave myself a huge reward with all the money I saved on cigarettes. After a year of not smoking I bought myself a new car.0 -
I had to quit twice. Stupid I know.. I was totally quit and I started up again. When you quit.. don't count the days, hours, and seconds it's been since your last cigarette. When someone asks how long has it been? Say "Awhile" and don't let you mind start calculating. Also, don't be around other smokers.. avoid smelling the smoke and avoid booze.. it's hard not to have booze in one hand and a cigarette in the other.. they just go together. Grab a calculator and add up how much a year you've been spending on cigarettes and figure out what you are going to buy yourself with a years worth of unspent money that would have gone to smokes.0
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it stinks. once you have quit your sense of smell gets better and you then notice how other smokers stink really bad.
keep track of the money you spend.
breath deep.
sugarless gum.0 -
I used the patches, it took me several tries to quit. You have to want to quit and you have to cut your self some slack as it is an addiction and if you "fall off the wagon" just start over with day 1 again. The thing wtih the nicotine patches that I enjoyed is that you are getting as much nicotine as if you were lighting one up every hour so there is no chemical withdrawal to start with. It is all your psychological part of the addiction. It was super interesting to see what my triggers were, after meals (of course) but also certain spots on the way to work that were like 10 minutes away from walking in the door. If you feel bad during the quitting process then direct that hate at the chemical that controls you, not at yourself. Enjoy the extra money that you will have and the extra years that you will live.
You can do this.0 -
I know exactly what you are going through I just recently quit too. I was a pack a day and when I started my bariatric program its a requirement and plus my kids have been asking me to quit for a long time. What I did was went to my primary care physician and asked him about Chantix. It worked wonders I have been smoke free since August 27th. Good Luck0
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The fact that you are thinking about it this seriously is a very good sign. After pre-contemplation, comes contemplation - then action! I smoked a pack a day for 14 years when I quit almost 18 years ago. Here are the things that helped me through it all:
-I kept changing brands until I was on the brand that had the lowest tar and nicotine. I figured this way the withdrawal might not be so drastic.
-I gave me quitting as a gift to my husband (I quit smoking on his birthday). There was no way that I would take that gift back. It kept me honest and got me through the rough spots.
-I quit drinking coffee and changed routines that were linked to smoking. For example: I always lit up a smoke as soon as I phoned a friend. I started phoning my friends from places I never smoked. For example: my kid's bedroom.
-I avoided the smoke pits at work, malls, etc. Just the smell made me want to light up so I avoided them.
-I got rid of all my ashtrays, cleaned out the car, etc so there wasn't any reminders.
-Once I quit, I started taking vitamin B6 50 mg everyday for my mood swings. It saved my life and I'm sure a few others. LOL!
You can do it!0
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