NEED ADVICE FROM EX_SMOKERS

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  • MsJulielicious
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
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    I just recently quit cold turkey (Saturday will be 2 weeks) Every time I want to smoke I pull up some saved pictures of Lindsay Lohan and remind myself that she is a few years younger then me but looks decades older bc of her poor lifestyle choices. Sounds odd, but its helping. I also quit drinking bc I know if I have a cocktail I will smoke.
  • Wickedone1973
    Wickedone1973 Posts: 43
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    I quit smoking about 12 years ago. I got a very bad lung and sinus infection on top of my asthma. I was miserable, but still puffed away. Then one day I was feed up and said to myself "NO MORE". I have not smoked since that last one coughing and hacking. The key for me was that it had to be my choice, not "I won't buy anymore after I finish this pack/carton". That tacktic had failed me many times. I had a half pack open and almost a whole carton. I carried that half pack around in my poket, just like normal, for about 1 month. It made it easier, because I could have one if I wanted. I chose not too. Those first few months I had to litteraly tell myself 'NO" when the cravings would hit. After a month that half pack got moved from my pocket to my truck. It remained there until I sold the truck a few years later. That carton was on the top of my fridge until 2 years ago until I moved to my new home. Hope my story helps, this is my first post. You inspired me to finaly do it.
  • Beautifulsoull
    Beautifulsoull Posts: 136
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    I stopped then went back to it 3 different times.It wasn't till I was talking about children that made me want to stop and I knew I had to stop for my health and the babies health so I stop in Nov of 210 and got pregnant in Jan.2011 and have been smoke free since.
  • Cherbear67
    Cherbear67 Posts: 245 Member
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    Good luck.. I am going to a workshop next week that they hold here in Ontario to quit smoking.. I am getting some product to help me..
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    I quit using Chantix and it works great. I haven't gained a pound so far, but it has only been about a month. Take each day one at a time. Recognize that slip ups happen. If they do, don't panic and continue on. The first 3 weeks are the hardest. They were for me. Now, I rarely crave a cigarette. When I do, it lasts only a few minutes at the most.
  • barb1241
    barb1241 Posts: 324 Member
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    I only tried to quit once. 4 years ago. Used Chantix for 6 months. It stuck. There is so much hype about all of the possible side effects-but honestly the only side effect I experienced was the ability to quit smoking.It was not easy, but it wasn't nearly as awful as I expected. I remember when I forgot to go to the store and would paw through the butts in the ashtray in the car until I could make a ciggie run-pathetic addict I was! And based on that-it was much easier to quit permanently with Chantix than to wait an extra half hour to get a pack while I was a smoker. There is great support at Quitnet.com and a number of states have programs that will help pay for patches, gum or prescription meds based on a sliding fee scale.

    Best of luck to you!

    ETA-Forme, the Chantix made smoking seem like ordering a pizza and licking the box but not taking a bite of pepperoni. All of the "reward" was gone after the first week, leaving only the habit which just took time. Lots of triggers and just remembering that I was no longer a smoker.
  • jha1223
    jha1223 Posts: 141 Member
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    I quit cold turkey because I was ready to start trying to get pregnant and didn't want to be one of those people who waits til they're pregnant to quit. DH had a MUCH harder time quitting. He ended up getting an e-cig. I think he has the ego-C. I can't vouch for their safety vs cigarettes but his doctor said he'd rather him vape than smoke. Have you tried any of the other stuff? Gum, patch, Chantix(sp?) Good luck!

    Sadly, I'll admit, I had to go the ecig route too. I just didn't have the will, I'm weak, however you want to put it. That being said, I'm six months on vaping, can smell and breathe again. I'm hoping over the next few months to ween myself completely off the ecig as well.

    I have a counter in my sig on an ecig forum. So far, I have saved myself from over 4k smokes and saved about $800 (that includes taking out expenses on ecig supplies). Its a path to the permanent solution - completely quitting.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,220 Member
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    Quit twice on the patch, once lasting six month and once lasting one year. Finally quit for good on my third attempt using lozenges. They were fairly new at the time. It has been five years this month and I can be surrounded by smokers and don't even give it a second thought. Absolutely no desire to smoke at all.
  • LSeales
    LSeales Posts: 54 Member
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    I used a hypnosis dvd to quit. I don't know if that really helped or if I was just really determined to do it. You essentially quit cold turkey. I heard it takes 3 days for the nicotine to get completely out of your system and then the rest is just mental. I can honestly say that I haven't craved them since. My husband quit cold turkey and he still wants one. February, WE will celebrate 5 years since we quit.
  • underwater77
    underwater77 Posts: 331 Member
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    This is a very odd way to quit, I'm sure, but I kept a full pack of cigarettes on me for a year. There was some comfort in knowing I could smoke one, but even greater than comfort was the strength I felt each time I decided not to. I finally gave the pack away a little over a year after I quit and haven't so much thought about it. I was ready though. And I do think it was easier because it was time.

    Good luck to you! Put your mind to it - decide you're done and be done. I know it sounds cliche, but that is what it comes down to.

    Be strong and know you CAN.
  • brianddl
    brianddl Posts: 2 Member
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    Smoked off and on for more years then I would like to admit. Finally kicked it with.the help of e cigarette. No real.seceret just will power. Have to give yourself a real reason to do it and stick to it. Hardest part was adjusting to having a ton of free time on.my hands. Some things work better for certain people. Blu worked wonders for me.
    Smoke free 2 years in May.
  • mrso97
    mrso97 Posts: 147 Member
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    i was on my way to work june 20, 2011 and decided "i'm done" finished my last cigarette and never turned back...you have to WANT to stop....
  • The_Invisible_Boy
    The_Invisible_Boy Posts: 568 Member
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    I quit in 2006 with acupuncture. Walked out of the office and it was like I never even smoked or chewed tobacco. My addiction was gone. It was easy. No cravings or withdraws whatsoever.
  • The_Invisible_Boy
    The_Invisible_Boy Posts: 568 Member
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    I smoked and chewed since 1988.
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
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    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.
    I'm coming up on 12 months off them. I used to smoke about 25 cigarettes each day. I quit cold turkey. I was sitting in work one day. I had just come back into my office after being out for a smoke. I had the urge to go back out for another cigarette. I looked down at the pack of cigarettes and said to myself "you're an idiot! Why are you even doing this to yourself? Once that pack is finshed, that is it, no more. Never again".

    I stubbed out the last cigarette in that pack at 11:57pm that night and haven't looked back since. The first month was probably the hardest. It was trying to break the habits like walking outside for a smoke when in work.

    I think quitting is 90% mental. You have to be prepared for it mentally and then just fight through cravings etc.
  • pwnderosa
    pwnderosa Posts: 280 Member
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    I use/used an ecig to quit...I feel no shame in it, I breathe easier, reversed the gum disease I was being treated (very expensively & painfully for!).

    Things that helped me keep my cool:
    Green tea
    Lots of walking & yoga
    Spending time on arts & crafts
    Talking to ex-smokers about it
    Celebrating the mini-victories
    Fancy new perfume that I could smell for a change!

    Good luck & congrats to all the quitters here!!!
  • Coltsman4ever
    Coltsman4ever Posts: 602 Member
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    Hardest and biggest accomplishment of my life. I smoked for 26 years.
    I quit cold turkey when I was 40. I knew it was time because every night when I laid down in bed I thought I was going to die.
    I had to take it not a day at a time but more like an hour at a time.
    If I was really struggling in the evenings, which was my hardest time, I would lite a cigarette and smoke it w/o ever inhaling. I probably did that 5 or 10 times total and only when I really felt like I need to. The trick was having the discipline to never inhale it.
    Every day got a little easier and eventually the desire goes away completely. I can not even imagine smoking a cigarette now. I can't stand the smell of it on people's clothes and I hate that I used to smell like that.
    Exercising and being healthy feels SOOOO much better than ANY cigarette ever tasted.

    Good luck to you. You can do it if you really want to. It's just a decision.
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
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    I smoked for 27 years. Got news from my doctor that I was in the beginning stages of emphysema, so I ran directly to the mall and bought an ecig.

    There are dozens of other additives besides nicotine that are addictive in cigarettes that I had to get used to being with out. That took me about 3 days then it was smooth sailing after that. I puffed on my ecig all day for about 2 months, then a couple of times a day for a few months then I noticed I was only doing it after big meals. One day I realized I had not used it in 4 months so I was done.

    I also took bee pollen to help with my appetite. I took 2 before 10 minutes breakfast and the same for lunch. This kept me from eating everything in the house as it curbed my appetite.

    I am now 2 years traditional cigarette free and I can honestly say I am tickled to death. I never thought I would say that because I loved smoking LOVED IT! I also can smell other people that smoke from 10 feet away. Its really gross.

    Good luck!
  • ghdsmais
    ghdsmais Posts: 31 Member
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    congrats to everyone who quit smoking!!!! Like everyone else, I smoked for most of my life. Over thirty years. Pick a day and stick to it. I used the patch to take the edge off. Now I have the eye on the prize of running the marathon in October this year. Good luck
  • JaErb183
    JaErb183 Posts: 10
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    Quitting is one of the hardest things I have ever done! (although i believe that losing weight is harder) I quit Dec 10th 2006 using the patch, after being on it for 2 weeks I had decided I had enough and went cold turkey! I also used Quitnet.com Best site out there and truly I believe that is how I kept my quit. You really do have to want to quit for it to stick.. if you believe in yourself you can do it!! Good Luck!

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