Quit Smoking Suggestions Needed
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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Replies
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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!
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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.
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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 -
I started smoking when I was 13 years old. They say that the younger you are when you start the less likely you are to quit.
I tried everything, and I have always been very active, which should have given me adequate motivation. I played soccer. I jogged miles and miles. I played tennis. But I couldn't quit.
Finally, I tried Chantix. I had a hard time getting my insurance to approve it. I had to take a class and get a special note from my doctor to the insurance company. I suspect the insurance company was skeptical of the drug because it is expensive and nothing is that successful for smokers. In the clinical trials of Chantix, about 5 percent of the people who took a placebo were not smoking a year after the trial started, and about 14 percent of those who took Chantix were not smoking.
But, I'll tell you, it worked for me when nothing else did. And I had tried HARD and tried for MANY YEARS.0 -
change the things you always did when you smoked. instead of smoking two cigarettes in the am before work, i now put away dishes , pick up a little and read for five minutes. i also havent sat on the back porch or grilled on the grill for a while because i always smoked doing those things. when you crave a smoke, do something else for ten minutes, the feeling will go away, really. you will feel worse for a while, coughing and such but keep going. you will be so proud of yourself and feel great. be careful dont substitute it for food. walk or do yardwork instead. good luck!0
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read this book before you quit
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Book-Quitting-Allen-Carr/dp/0140289003
the amount of people that have successfully quit after reading is amazing (myself, OH, SIL, SIL girlfirend etc etc)
hits & tips that helped me
I went cold Turkey, OH used them little mints, my advice is look for help and do the best for yourself - what works for one doesn't work for another - what I'm saying here is if the first thing doesn't work try the next and keep going until you find the thing that works... I quit, quitting many times as I kept trying the patches and like the saying states insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results ... I released for me, nicotine replacements were not the right thing for me and found cold turkey worked (longest time being a non smoker so far 18 months and counting)
Were possible don't take any cards / money with you ie school runs etc too easy to nip in and buy some - cravings normally don't last too long each time so if you have no way of buying them when out and have to go home for the cash, then the craving will pass in time for will-power to kick in - saved me on multiple occasions
Breaking the habit - this for me was the hardest - and the one I knew would effect me the most was after eating a meal - the habit use to be eat, make a pot of tea and enjoy the cig. Baring in mind I had got to the point of not enjoying smoking but the cravings for the cig after food was very high. So what I did was before I ate I filled the sink to do the dishes, then I'd eat and as soon as I finished I'd put my hands in the water until the need for a cig passed (crazy yes, but it worked) I broke the habit associated with smoking,
And on that note I will say that it is the best thing that I've ever done and I did have an NSV a few weeks back in A&E (cycling accident) the nurse checking my lungs said they were in great condition and really found it hard to believe I smoked for nearly 20 years so I also recommend plenty of exercise!!!!0 -
I smoked for ten years, used Chantix to quit smoking. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done with out the Chantix, it truly took the craving away. It did make me feel a bit nauseated, but hell, a little nausea to quit for life? Heck ya.
I had found lumps in my breast the year before and was very on edge about having cancer. The thought that I could be giving myself other forms of cancer AND paying out the @ss for it? Couldn't deal with it. Had to quit. took me two rounds with Chantix, it's hard to quit, but always remember the easiest thing to do it nothing at all. I don't have to worry about how much money I have, how many cigs I have left, where I'll be able to go to smoke, who will go with me, wether or not the gas station with the good prices is on the way, ect. Life is easier without cigs.
You can do it. Just decided it and do it.0 -
I quit 11 years ago. I used the gum and also peppermint altoids. I was a person that didn't smoke with gum or just after brushing my teeth so the peppermint altoids were a cheap alternative to the nicotine gum. Of course I ate so many of those that I now have no desire for an altoid - lol. Every now and then I want a cigarette but I just remember it's not worth it. One will lead to one pack which leads to "I'll quit tomorrow." Best of luck to you!0
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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.0 -
I quit using the gum... the hardest part was definitely just some habits - like every time I got in my car I would smoke, so for a while once I quit I was still reaching over to the passenger seat, looking for my pack whenever I got into the car. Once you break those situational habits it's so much easier. And opening/chewing the gum gave me something to do with my hands/mouth, so that worked well for me.
I tried twice after my mentor died of lung cancer. The first time it didn't stick, and the second time I did. I don't know why - I didn't feel much more "ready" the second time or anything. But now I look at people smoking and I honestly can't believe that I used to just sit on my couch, sucking them down... crazy!0 -
I started as a teen, quit a number of times, but quit for good in my early 50s about 4 years ago.
I did it cold turkey - cutting down only made it harder because each cigarette simply restores the nicotine dependence that makes you crave the next one.
In the first week, I never spent the evenings alone - I would hang with friends so I wasn't sitting in front of the TV or the computer wanting a cigarette
I spent a lot of time on-line on quit sites, reading about quitting to distract myself
I listened to "quit smoking" hypnosis and motivational tapes at night before going to sleep
When I felt a craving while driving or walking, I would take 10 deep breaths and then, literally, sing songs until the craving passed
But more important than any of these things was the attitudinal change - rather than thinking of myself as deprived, I thought of myself as liberated. Rather than think "oh my I want a cigarette" I would think "dang it, I'm a nonsmoker and I resent these cravings that interfere with my enjoyment of being a nonsmoker"
Good luck! It's really really worth it!0 -
I stopped on Jan 6th 2012, used patches for a week but they gave me nightmares. Also used the nicorette inhalator which I am still using to this day (1 cartridge a day) ....... although I am smoke free I am not nicotine free.0
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I quit smoking more than a year and a half ago. I tried the patches. I couldn't do the gum or lozenges since it made my stomach burn. I tried chantix. It definitely didn't work. My doctor finally put me on wellbutrin and even though I suffered through some major headaches and had some weight gain afterwards, I am thankful for it. I never thought I'd quit. I'm an anxious person and the smoking helped to ease that. The wellbutrin treated my emotional needs while I taught myself how to get out of the habit of reaching for a cig. Best wishes ! I have all the faith in the world in you. 0
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