Smokers

you ever think about trying those e-cigarettes?

you ever think about trying those e-cigarettes?

I have. So not the same (even the ones that contain nicotine), but they definitely do help! I'm sure that's what I'll be going to when I do finally quit.

I've quit smoking almost 2 years ago and yes i've gained 25 pound. Now i am trying to get back down to 115lbs. It is just a start but i am doing pretty good.
I also used to smoke since i was 15 and i absolutely loved it unlike most people i didnt want to quit.
But i was worried what it may do to my skin. I want to stay young looking as lonest as possible. So when i had a prefect chance to quit i took it.
I ran out of cigaretees at the place where i couldnt buy any and i was stuck there whole day. After maybe 6-7h of no smoking i was lossing my mind, going crazy and my hubby went to some store that was selling green teas. We tried few samples and by the time we were done with buying teas i was completely calm. All my nervousness was gone completely.I figured that green tea had some sort of calming afect on me. So i've decided to try and see how long i can go without smoking. I had like 10 cups of tea every day but it did calm me down and thats how i quit smoking.
I still had accasional nicotin cravings up to 6 months after i quit.
But now i feel sooo healthy and energetic.
I am glad i quit.

Sit down, this is a long one.

I quit 11 months ago tomorrow after smoking a pack to a pack and a half a day for 10 years.

Before that, I tried many, many times to quit. I think the only difference was that this last time I really wanted it. I was sick of being a smoker. I felt embarrassed by how I stank. Even after a shower, the smoke smell was still in my hair and on my skin, on all my clothes, in my car. Heck, I recently opened up an old textbook and was smacked in the face with the stank of old stale cigarette smoke. Blech.

I tried cold turkey. This worked for 9 months for me in 2004. I still had cravings like crazy. I wasn't ready to quit, and with enough stress from a crappy restaurant job I picked the habit back up.

Later I tried the patch. I had an allergic reaction to the adhesive and had red squares all over my body, no matter where I tried to put that thing. I quit the patch.

I tried the gum. This was when the gum still tasted like butt. I hear it tastes much better now. This is not intended to be chewed like regular chewing gum. You chew it till it's soft, then wedge it between your cheek and gum, and the nicotine gets absorbed through the mucous membranes of your mouth. Between TMJ, tons of expensive dental work, and many other excuses, it didn't work for me because I wasn't ready to quit.

I tried the lozenge. I don't know if this has improved in the last 5 years, but this looked so promising. I thought it'd be like an altoid or something. It was more like an aspirin. Bad taste = noncompliance = kept smoking.

I tried the patch again, taking a benadryl 30 minutes before putting it on at bedtime. I was too hungover in the mornings from the benadryl to wake up for work and overslept 3 days in a row.

I tried cognitive behavioral therapy with guided meditation. This worked for 3 months for me. I still was not ready and found an excuse to start up again.

I got tired of the stigma. I hated the looks I got outside when non-smokers walked through my cloud. And I was going into nursing school. Most hospitals around me do not allow smoking on the premises, so I'd have to walk at least half a mile to a smoking spot. Not only that, but who wants a nurse who smells like smoke? How can a nurse who smells like smoke effectively promote healthy behavior in their patients?

I did my research and I went to my doctor and asked for Chantix anyway. She warned me. The internet warned me. The pharmacy warned me. I cannot recommend this method of quitting smoking, which sounds hypocritical because it sort of worked (though not in the way it was intended to). But seriously. Don't mess with this stuff. It should be removed from the market. I didn't just feel angry all the time. I felt blinding rage. All. The. Time. Not even close to what I felt when I quit cold turkey. This was a true neurochemically induced rage that I could feel vibrating in my skin, boiling at the surface. The dreams are nothing. Those go away in 2 weeks for most people. And I had some good trippy dreams. But that rage and anxiety, and the hysterical crying. Oh yeah, and the puking. I puked after most doses when I reached the 1mg twice a day point. This stuff destroyed my GI tract. This will be TMI for most, but Chantix took me from pooing twice a day to every 3-4 days. I was taking 4 colace a day with no improvement. So add constipation to that rage. It just stoked the flames. The worst part for me was that even after I quit smoking and quit Chantix, my mood didn't return to normal. I have depression anyway, which is likely a good part of that. But never have I ever felt as low as I did on Chantix, or after stopping Chantix. Even 6 months out.

In late June 2012 I went on a 10 day trip to California. I left my cigarettes, lighter, and Chantix at home. I smoked my last cigarette before leaving for BWI airport. I missed smoking at first, a little bit. But I was ready this time.

So maybe Chantix worked, but just not the way it was intended: I never want to have to take Chantix again. I never want to go through quitting smoking again. "Quitting smoking sucks" is an understatement. My experience with Chantix changed my brain on a biochemical level. Effed up doesn't begin to describe how I felt. I was a crying, angry, libido-less zombie. Oh, I didn't mention the lack of libido? Yeah, you forget you have lady or man parts. I didn't want to be touched. I didn't want my fiance to even think about touching me. Or breathing on me. Or talking to me. Or talking near me. Or anyone to do any of that or anything near me. I was a walking ball of fury, constipation and vomit.

But, I'm 11 months smoke-free. I'm running (which I'd never done before), exercising, and giving myself permission to take care of myself. Being smoke-free is amazing and freeing. I very rarely get cravings. I wouldn't even call them cravings. It's more of a compulsive thought that just *happens* out of nowhere. I don't act on it, and there's no urgency behind it like before. And they happen maybe once every 4 months.

Find your reasons to quit. Write them down. Keep them in your phone for easy access. Make a list of things you want to do as a non-smoker. Find your readiness and reasons to quit. You have to want it for it to stick. If nothing else, cut back as much as you can, even if it's just by 1 cigarette a day for a week (and so-on).

You also have to understand that smoking is more than a habit. It's a chemical addiction, a chemical dependence, and a physical addiction. Your body wants it. And you can never be that "Oh I only smoke when I drink" person, or "I'm just a social smoker," because THEY ARE SMOKERS, just bull s****ing themselves. They're still doing damage to their bodies. There are receptors in your body that become activated by the presence of nicotine. In the presence of nicotine, your body up-regulates or creates more nicotine receptors, creating more cravings. The more you smoke, the more addicted you get. This isn't even the most messed up part. Tobacco producers spray their tobacco plants with ammonia, which makes the nicotine absorb into your bloodstream at a ridiculously high rate, getting you addicted sooner. These aren't your mother's cigarettes anymore. (FWIW, the way Chantix works is it blocks the nicotine receptors from picking up the nicotine in your bloodstream, so your body down-regulates or produces less receptors, causing less cravings the longer you're on it).

Understand that you use smoking as a punishment/reward system. Make the connections between your smoking behavior, your eating behaviors, and any other addictive behaviors. When do you smoke? Why are you smoking? What could you be doing instead?

There are people who are on the patch or gum or lozenges for years. That's ok. Nicotine is not the cancer-causing agent. It's the 7,000 other chemicals.

Your local hospital likely has a quitting group. Check it out. They will help you get on the appropriate quit-smoking regimen for you. You can do combinations, where you wear the patch but use the gum for break-through cravings (yes, it's really ok to do that).

Don't use e-cigarettes. You're just inhaling different awful cancer-causing chemicals, because it's not just nicotine in those vapor capsules. And your exposing everyone around you to that crap too.

It's like the song, "You can get it if you really want..." You really have to want it for it to stick. And the more often you try to quit, the more likely you are to find a way that works for you.

Looks like you really did your homework! I have never been a smoker but lived with smokers...horrible! You put a lot of good information out there and I'm sure it will help someone, really serious, about quitting. Just wanted to let you know...thumbs up!

Im currently in the process of smoking, im a student so cant afford to smoke and also being a student i get all the quit stuff for free thought might as well quit whilst its free for me to do so... I must admit haven't gone out and bought cigs since feb HOWEVER i do tend to have a cig when im drunk, its habbit i have yet to have broken, drinking for me = cig but all the other times i dont mind the first few weeks were hard and yes my diet did struggle because of it but eventually your will power for smoking gets easier adn you can the apply it back to food again.

Its not easy but you deffo have to wait until your ready to quit, its not going to work otherwise, you will find a reason to start again, luckily i don't use the drink excuse to start again just to have a few that night and not have one again until i have a lot to drink again and this isn't regular max twice a month so good luck hope you get there

you ever think about trying those e-cigarettes?

I smoke these now and have noticed a massive difference in my fitness level. I in no way think I could just stop smoking the e-cigarettes though - I have traded one addiction for another but my nurse seems happy with the switch.

Oh and I didn't gain any weight switching to e-cigarettes neither did I become devil woman trying to deal with the cravings.

I smoked from the age of seventeen until last June. So that's 26 years! Take away the nine months I was pregnant,

What changed for me was having a child, Last June my son brought home a letter from school saying "Mommy, please stop smoking" I didn't even know he knew!!! I never smoked in his presence. I thought I hid it from him, I was so ashamed!

The next day I quit, cold turkey. He was my inspiration, the final push I needed and I have never looked back. Good luck to you, it was the hardest thing I have ever done but I am super proud of myself for it and you will be too!!!

you ever think about trying those e-cigarettes?

I smoke these now and have noticed a massive difference in my fitness level. I in no way think I could just stop smoking the e-cigarettes though - I have traded one addiction for another but my nurse seems happy with the switch.

Oh and I didn't gain any weight switching to e-cigarettes neither did I become devil woman trying to deal with the cravings.

That's great that you're off the *kitten*, well done...but... There are no cravings because you're still addicted to nicotine!!! People shouldn't kid themselves, they've taken a big step but true freedom is cold turkey. Good luck.

I've been smoking since I was 18. 11 years. It's horrible. So expensive. But I honestly love it. I kind of chain smoke. Scratch that. Okay, I chain smoke. I would probably save $30/week if I quit since I probably buy a pack 5 times a week. That's $120/month which would cover the cost of my cell phone or cable bill. It's crazy! I also quit in 2006 for a year. I used the patch and it worked well that time. This time I tried to quit a few weeks ago, used a generic patch that my friend gave me. I put it on my shoulder blade and it made my whole right arm hurt. Not sure why. So I would use it until I felt the pain coming back then take it off. That did the trick for 2 days while I was away with family (I NEVER smoke in front of them. They hate it and it makes them sad). As soon as I came back I started again. I also tried the e-cig about a month before that. I didn't really like it. Nice concept but it's too heavy and doesn't feel like a cigarette. It feels like a long AA battery and the vapor actually bothered my lungs more than a real cigarette. Plus it was weird and kind of felt like a show like "ooh yes I'm trying to quit smoking look at my cool blu e-cig with the little light on it. I can smoke in this restaurant or in your house now!" Haha. I know I'm not mentally ready to quit. But it's scary because I think the only time I really will be is if/when I get cancer/emphysema/COPD or pregnant. But who knows, by that time I might say "Screw it I already have cancer". I know what cancer looks like since my fiancee passed away from brain cancer. We quit together for a year, but then when he passed away I started smoking again at the funeral for obvious stress-related reasons.

It's a really tough road. I would strongly encourage anyone to just not even start. It's soooo not worth it at all. The cons outweigh the pros by leaps and bounds. It's really sad how big of an industry it is because all of these companies should not only be shut down but also sued and the CEO's incarcerated.

p.s. Also DEATHLY afraid of gaining weight again. When I quit for a year my weight went up to 190. Highest it has ever been in my life. I'm 5'4"! But I was also pretty much living in a hospital, going to college and working part-time at a stupid job. So none of those things helped!

I quit a 20 year smoking habit cold turkey a year and a half ago. You have to be ready to do this or its not going to happen, cutting back from a pack to 2 or 3 a day is pointless, you need to just stop. The first 2 weeks will be pure hell, insomnia, mood swings from angry to sad to really angry to really sad. I drank LOTS of water and did deep breathing to get past the really bad moments.

After a month you will feel better, the mood swings should stop and all that is left is the urges to smoke.. I wont lie and tell you the urges will stop soon, they take about 6 months before you totally forget about them. But its all about self control.. and you can do it!

I know this all sounds like a "hassle" .. and it is. BUT the other side of things is to continue to smoke, you will smell like crap, you will spend a crazy amount of money and all for the price of early death. It isnt a possibility that you will die young, its a guarantee. You will end up with COPD or Cancer or both. So stop now, you will be glad you did.

I cant stand how smokers smell now, its a dirty, stupid, ugly habit that will kill you.

Im scared too..Ive been trying to ween down w/ the electric ciggs, but I still smoke about a pack a day...argh. But Ive decided to start slowly doing it, ...like the first day ( today) I am only having 1 cigg per hr, then next week, only 1 every 2 hrs, and when I crave in between I will have the electric cigg.

I am more afraid of snapping ..because I have anxiety issues than gaining weight.

I have been smoking 21 years..im 35 and I have COPD( Lung Disease)...
I say lets do this.

I quit smoking 60 days ago (give or a take a few) just by stopping. In order to stop smoking, you have to WANT to stop. That is only the first step. You have to decide why you want to stop and ask yourself if that is important enough to you. I quit smoking when I was pregnant with my daughter and after for almost 2 years. I told myself she was important enough to me to quit. and it was nasty anyway! Well sure enough after all that good work and tough talk, I let myself fall right off the wagon with a resounding thud to the point where last November after not smoking but maybe as cigarette or 2 per week (socially), I was smoking a half pack a week. I missed my hubby and was stressed out of my mind about bills and such. I never smoked around my daughter because I think it is just wrong to smoke around anyone that doesnt. Let them have a chance. Slowly though I cut down because it was interferring with the little workouts I was managing to do (pre MFP). Sucked! Finally I figured why I needed to quit and I had done it before so I could do it again. For good this time.....and I did. The first couple weeks are the worst but once you get past that, there really is no turning back. I am a BIG girl and have not gained any weight. Ive been losing weight actually. Not as fast as I would like but the scale is slowly moving.

I hate to see people constantly worry about gaining weight after cigs. You are here now with all these good people. You are not out there with no support system. You can lose weight after quitting. It is all in our mind. Finding that self control and making time for yourself. Telling yourself that you are worth so much more than that cigarette, that bowl of ice cream wanting to take it's place.....