I want to be smober!

I don't have any real advice that would be practical for you to use considering I've never smoked. But whenever someone talks to be about smoking and wanting to quit I always share my dad's story of how smoking has affected him so that maybe his mistakes will make a difference in someone else's life.

He started smoking when he was 14 or 15, I forget. He got to the point where he was smoking a pack a day, often it was multiple packs a day. My mom one day decided to up and quit cold turkey because she realized how much me and my older brother hated it. Well, my dad tried to 'quit' by using the patch AND chewing the gum. However, he did both while STILL SMOKING!! He was medivacked from where he works in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (the very northern tip of Alaska) to the Anchorage Hospital because he had given himself nicotine poisoning and was basically suffocating himself. If a fellow worker hadn't found him in his bunk turning blue he would have died. Even after all this, my dad said he still hadn't decided to permanently quit smoking, and that he still wanted to smoke when he finally came to. The ONLY THING that made him change and decide not to start up again was when he was sitting in his bed by the hospital window and he could see my mom pull up, park the car, and two little kids get out and rush to the door to see their dad. That's when he knew that he wanted to be around to see his kids grow up, get married, and see some grandchildren too.

Even with the celebration of 12 years not smoking this past month, there still is bad news. My dad's oxygen levels are only about 70%. He's on oxygen all the time now and he might need a lung transplant or they may just remove a lung, the doctors 'haven't reached a decision yet' because they're 'still waiting on test results.'

This story is sad, I know, and you're probably wondering why I even bothered. It's just, I really really hate smoking, and its because of my dad's life. I'm only 21, and I'll be 22 soon. My husband and I haven't had children yet, but we will in the next few years. I can only pray that my dad can make it to see his baby girl have kids of her own. Living a life like that everyday, just hoping your dad will make it through one more day, one more week, one more month, is terrible. Now I've gone all pity party and sad here but my real emphasis is for you to take this story and reflect it on your own life. Perhaps you don't smoke near as much as my dad did, it doesn't matter. The effects are still the same. If you have kids, which I think you're picture shows you do (or you at least have a kid in your life you care about) then I suggest you take a good look at them and use that as you personal advice and method to kick the habit. Because honestly, when it comes right down to it, if they're not enough, nothing will be.

I'm sorry to be such a sad sally but I really am passionate about promoting my dad's story for others to learn. Good luck to you and I hope you can quit for good!

I used the patch for about one month and herbal cigs for about the first two weeks. They are so gross that after you have a few you don't even want them, but it helps with the initial withdrawls.

I have been smoke free now for a little over a year and feel GREAT! It's hard....you have to be completely ready. I tried several times over 20 years to quit and it never stuck. This time I was really, really ready. So don't beat yourself up if you don't actually quit the first few times...the important part is that you try and that when you are really ready, you will do it!

Lastly, you MUST find something to do to keep your hands busy and your mind occupied (knitting, crocheting, puzzles, etc.) TRUST ME! If you sit around doing nothing thinking about how great a cig would be, you WILL smoke.

I joined this site right after I quit to maintain my weight and I didn't gain anything during that year. The weight I'm trying to lose I already had before, so you can do it without gaining weight as well if you watch what you eat and don't replace the gesture of smoking with food.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Cold turkey doesn't work for everyone. My Mom quit cold turkey, but she never really smoked, I don't think she ever really inhaled when she smoked. My Dad smoked since he was 12, and my Mom made him start smoking outside, and he started by cutting his amount in half, then when he was ready he cut that amount in half, and so on. Now he sneeks one on occasion, and one can last him about a week. He will go a couple of weeks without one too. He says the gum worked the best for him, not the stop smoking kind, but really strong kinds and altoids.

I used Chantix... I tried many other times to stop using every method there was. This was the only thing that helped me stop and stay stopped!!

I also quit cold turkey. It's almost been a year now and I feel a BILLION times better! I think it is all a mental thing. I smoked about a pack and a half a day since I was 14. SO that's 10 years. And I had tried to quit in the past but not for myself...it would be because my parents wanted me to or whatever. It wasn't until I decided I wanted to do this for me that I was able to quit.

My husband also smoked for the same length of time, but he didn't smoke quite as much. He quit after his dad had a heart attack solely from smoking. See...something in tobacco actually changes the chemical properties of cholesterol making it more "sticky" which causes it to create blocks in the heart. SO...ergo heart attack! When Michael heard that this is what cause his dad's heart attack, he quit on the spot and hasn't had one since.

So...I think if you put your mind to it, you can do it! I have faith! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!:flowerforyou:

This fall will beeee.....*thinking* 13 years since I started smoking. I quit once for 9 months but started right back up. I've wanted to quit for sometime but I just love it so much. Knowing what it's doing to my body is my only motivation and I wish I could say that's enough but I'm still waiting for that thing to "click" in my head to make me give it up. Personally I'd have to go cold turkey, just like I did the first time I quit... doing it gradually is still smoking and it'd be too easy to fall right back into my old routine. I say go cold turkey and deal with the withdrawls best you can. Incorporate healthy snacks since you'll wanna fill that void of constantly having your finger(s) near you mouth. ... Good luck! :flowerforyou:

I was the slowly cut down method. I quit on a vacation so I wouldn't have my normal habits (and I would be happier than normal). I attribute my continued success to intense exercise. Good luck!

And I shortchanged myself in my original post too, forgotten that I'd given up the smokes when I was pregnant so I've gone longer without them and that shows me I can do it. I loved my babies enough to not hurt them so now I am going to love them enough to not hurt them by being sick or dead (or worse, turn them into smokers) And anyway, that's why I started this whole MFP thing - I had finally decided to love myself enough to take care of myself - so I might as well do it all the way and quit smoking too!

YAY YAY YAY!!! That's a great frame of mind to start on your smoke free journey!!! :smooched: