anyone wanting to quit smoking?

I had tried several times to quit with patches etc from the doctors. It worked for a little but there wasn't a day that past that I didn't still crave that want to hold a cigarette and just generally want one. I had given up for 5 months first time. 7 months the next and just over 7 months again for following.
I didn't feel like anything would work and I thought I'd have to go down the route of hypnosis. Which when I looked was very expensive but also very successful.
I went and spoke to my doctor again and he referred me back to the smoking team. I chatted with someone for a while and he recommended I try Champix. He gave lots of success stories to which I just said, "yeah,yeah I will see".
I don't know how much you know about the drug but basically it's meant to block out the receptors in the brain that trigger that want/need for a cigarette.
If I'm honest I went into thinking it was a load of BS and said to myself, "I will take the damn tablet, won't read up on any thing and just see how it goes".
In a nutshell you take one tablet a day and increase it to two. There can be symptoms as with any medicines. You carry on smoking whilst taking the tablets and gradually you smoke less until you just don't fancy it anymore.
You're probably reading taking BS like I did.
Anyway cut a long story short, within days I was smoking about half of my 20+ a day habit. Day 10 I finished my last cigarette and never looked back. I just didn't want the *kitten* and tasted horrible and I even tried forcing the *kitten* in me. You continue to take the tablets daily and reduce back down. In all I think it was a 3 month tablet course.
My symptoms were the feeling of sickness daily and I had a few nightmares.
It's been over 2 years and I have never wanted one since. I can't explain it. I honestly thought it was BS.
I had been a heavy smoker for 15 years. Everything I did worked around me smoking. For example my routines of getting up making a cuppa and having a *kitten*. Get showered and have a *kitten*. Get dressed and drive to work where I smoked two. Had a *kitten* before I went in the building. Had a *kitten* a break time 10:15. Started lunch at 12pm and have 3 in my hour lunch. Etc etc
It's bloody brilliant. I cannot praise it enough. I just don't understand it.
If you speak to your GP I am sure they will offer great advice and support.
Good luck

I started smoking when I was 12 years old. I used to think I wouldn't have the willpower to quit. Then it became the, "Well, I'm just not ready right now" excuse/game.

I wrote something way back that might help you or might inspire you just to do it. I know that one day, I realized that I was just making excuses and just like weight loss, if I wanted to succeed and change then I needed to commit to it and "just do it." And I did..and I did it cold turkey too. Coming this August 13th, I'll have been smoke-free for 2 years after about 16-17 years of smoking.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/PikaKnight/view/are-you-ever-really-ready-to-quit-smoking-454253

Best of luck and just know you can quit smoking. It's not easy, but if I can do it, so can you.

I think that was one of my hardest things about quitting...if I'm not smoking, WHAT am I going to do!?!

^ So much this.

smoked for about 17 years on and off, quit with pregnancies, and for short bursts here and there.

I will say this:

IT WILL NOT WORK until you are mentally ready and TRULY want to stop. If you think, "I'll try but i really love smoking" you are setting yourself up for failure.

One day i just woke up and said I am not going to smoke any more.

March 13, 2010. I just stopped. That's it. For a few weeks it annoyed me when people smoked around me because i'd have a craving and i could not go out or drink because one leads to the other, but after a while, it looked gross, it smelled gross, and I am not even SLIGHTLY tempted.

And if you look at my MFP start date, that was the same day i joined here. I lost 20 pounds in the first 4 months i was here, and that was also the first 4 months of quitting. It can be done EASIER while on MFP, because you have something to occupy your mind. Eat veggies raw to have something to put in your mouth. Spend your time planning healthy recipes and grocery lists and logging your day in advance to have a plan to stick to.

People say you gain weight when you stop smoking, but this is only because THOSE people mindlessly snack MORE to have something in their mouth....

Since you are on MFP, you WON'T put extra stuff in your mouth and can track carefully to ensure you DON'T over eat!

Also, take up walking/jogging, or do Couch to 5K. You will be amazed at how much better you breathe after just 2 weeks, and even better after a few months!

I miss it, a lot. But when I'm running, I'm so glad I haven't started back up. I'm near death without smoking when I run; it would be full torture if I was still smoking.

I quit smoking in October of 2013 and have not smoked since. I am really excited that this time, it stuck.

I read Alan Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking and I was very much in the mindset to quit. Halfway through the book, I was no longer a smoker.

I actually thought about it this morning...how glad I was to not be a slave to cigarettes any longer! Life is much easier!

I quit a little over 2 years ago cold turkey after smoking for 20 years a pack of reds a day. It was by far the hardest addiction I have ever had to break but the worst part of kicking it only lasted 3 weeks, after that it was all mental. Just stay busy, drink lots of water and take deep breathes when things get bad. That pounding in your head will go away.. I promise.

You can do this, its going to suck and like I said probably be the hardest thing you will ever do but it is worth it. I watched a parent die from Stage 4 COPD, that's what made me quit, he died at his home from respiratory arrest.. I didn't want that for myself, and I would guess no one does, so quit while you can.

I am a nonsmoker living with a smoker (rarity, I know!) In Montana we have the Montana Quit Line and it is free. You can access patches, lozenges, gum for free and Chantix for a reduced rate after talking to a support person on the phone. The people they have as support personnel are former smokers themselves.

here is the information: http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/mtupp/quitlinefactsheet.shtml

and Good luck!

There are two ways to use the
Quit Line: Call or visit www.QuitNowMontana.com

Montana Tobacco Quit Line Services
•A FREE personalized quit plan
•5 FREE pro-active cessation coaching sessions
•8 weeks of FREE nicotine replacement therapy (gum, patches or lozenges). Callers who enroll in Quit Line services may be eligible for up to 8 weeks of free NRT. The Quit Line will explain to the caller how and when these medications will be mailed out.
•Chantix at a reduced cost ($50 co-pay per month for three months)
•Bupropion at reduced cost ($5 co-pay per month for three months)
•FREE educational materials for health care providers as well as friends and families of tobacco users
•A fax referral system for health care providers who have patients that want to quit using tobacco (see provider link)
•Trained staff that offers culturally appropriate services for American Indians
•Pregnancy and Postpartum Program offers special services to women who enroll while they are pregnant.

Montana Quit Line Hours

We're here 7 days a week: 6:00 AM to 11 PM, MST.
We have 24 hour voicemail, so please leave us a message.
We will call you back!

Provider Resources

Refer a Patient: To refer a patient to the Montana Tobacco Quiline please print out the referral form fill it out and
fax it to: 1-800-261-6259

Think of not smoking as a learned skill, like learning to walk. So many people try to quit and if they fail, they just give up. If babies treated learning to walk like that no one would ever learn how. I quit smoking a dozen times or more, and after starting to smoke again, I would feel guilty for a while but I refused to feel beaten. I told myself that I was practicing how to not smoke and was getting better at it every time. Finally, one day I quit and it stuck.

P.S. Nicotine gum helped, but you have make that a very temporary crutch.

I quit for about the 10th time two days ago. Been smoking since I was 12, so for 33 years. But I've had several years in the middle of no smoking.

For me, the best method of quitting without the crazy withdrawals is using the patch. Without the patch, I would barely make it through the first few days. With the patch, I don't have the withdrawal so it is easier to handle. I usually do the patch for about a month. Hopefully, I won't fall off the wagon again this time