Previous Smokers .... I just quit and I'm miserable - any SUCCESS Stories ?

You're already 5 days in! You can do this! Keep strong. I'm pretty sure the irritability is normal, I turned into some psycho lunatic when I quit in 2012. It'll pass. It only gets easier from here on in.

saraonly9913 wrote: »

Chantix helped me. Smoke free since 2011.

Mom and Dad tried that, and it just gave him a bad case of PTSD (made him relive his hardest days of serving our country, vivid flashbacks of ‘Nam).

Try to avoid situations where you would usually smoke. I was a pack a day smoker and I quit right before a vacation. I was so busy on vacation and so taken out of my daily routine that it really wasn't too bad. Ok, maybe the wife and I got into an argument or 2 on that vacation because I was cranky, but it's been 21 years and I can't see myself going back.

WARNING: Long Post! I love talking about this!

Cold turkey is the hardest way to go, but whatever way gets you to quit is the BEST way to go.

I am 40. I started smoking at about 12, filching cigarettes from my grandmother's case during summer vacations. In middle school, I'd pay older kids to buy cigarettes for me (they were the "trashy" kids who had ways of getting stuff like that). When I got to high school, I stopped for a while, but by my senior year, I was smoking a pack a day.

In college, I was smoking until I found out I was pregnant. I quit cold turkey (the hardest way) the entire time I was pregnant. However, at my first hard test the semester after I gave birth, a guy offered me a smoke, and I was back on that wagon, for 4 or 5 more years.

I quit again after I graduated, this time choosing to wean myself - I'd have 10 smokes today, then 9 the next day, or 8 the following day... all this did was drag out the quitting process and it was actually the WORST way to do this! But, I was successful, and I was smoke-free for a few more years.

Then, in 2004, I had some family issues and all I could think about was smoking. I got a box of the cheapest, nastiest smokes I could find, thinking that (because they were so nasty) I'd have a few and be done.

Nope. Addiction doesn't work that way. I was hooked again within a week.

In 2006, we went on a family vacation to Chimney Rock, NC, and we hiked to the bottom of a waterfall. The trail was a decline, but I had to stop to rest halfway down because of smoker's lungs. I couldn't hike DOWN a trail. God help me, getting back UP the trail was hell. I decided it was time to quit. And time to quit for good.

I did a lot of research this time, and learned that quitting HEROIN is easier than quitting nicotine. I learned tips and tricks on how to handle quitting. I saw my doctor at the end of 2006 and she gave me a prescription for Zyban (or whatever it was called). It's an antidepressant that also helps people quit smoking. I was told to take it for a week before quitting, so I could build some up in my system. I planned out my quit so that it would happen on a Friday. I'm not a social creature, so the weekend would give me time to detox alone at home before going back to work. I flicked my cigarette out the window on the drive home from work (yeah, don't judge...) and never looked back. That was February 2, 2007. The weekend was hard. I desperately wanted a cigarette. I yearned for a smoke. But, because of the meds and my preparation, I was okay.

It's been almost 11 years since that weekend. I've never had the urge to put a stick back in my mouth. Sure, sometimes when I walk by someone who is smoking, it smells really (really!) good and I take a good deep breath, but I remind myself the hell I've put myself through, how much healthier I am for it now, and to begin smoking again is to negate the past 5 years of running (including 11 half-marathons and countless 10ks and 5ks).

I'm not a "non-smoker." I am a recovering addict. If I treat smoking the same way I would treat other drug addictions or alcoholism, I know that I can never "just have one" again. And I don't want one.

Okay, so some tips and tricks?
Have something to distract you - I was a Car Smoker. Automatic light up as soon as I got in the car. So, I put some Dum-Dum Pops in the place I used to carry my smokes. I would unwrap one as soon as I got in the car, and my eye would catch the little white stick hanging out of my mouth... like a cigarette. Sounds silly, but it worked.

Use treatments to your advantage - I read a weird tip that if you mixed cream of tartar with orange juice, it would help detox you faster. I don't' know if it really did or not, or if it was just placebo effect, but I did it for 3 or 4 days, and I felt like it did help.

Chart your progress - I don't remember where I found it (it's been 11 years), but I found a website that shows what is happening to your body 1 minute / 1 hour / 1 day / 1 week / 1 month / 1 year - all the way up to TEN YEARS - after you stop smoking. It was fun to put little check marks by the milestones.

Reward yourself - For the first 2 months, I did something every week: I bought myself flowers. Back then, you could get a dozen roses from the Fresh Market (like Whole Foods) for $8. It was nice to come home to fresh flowers all the time. After the first 2 months, I did it every month. I remember about 4-5 months into this process, I came home and SMELLED THEM when I walked by! You don't realize what smoking does to you until the effects change. I had not been smelling these the whole time until I got my sense of smell back! After 6 months of doing this, I changed to every year, then did that for maybe 2 more years. Soon, it became a day to go out for dinner and celebrate. Last year (my 10th), I bought roses again (dude, they were $14!) and ran my 10th half marathon.

Please know that you (or anyone else on here who has/will quit and needs a quit buddy) can DM me at ANY TIME. I'm not that sanctimonious person who tells you what to do; I'll be the person who you can *kitten* to about how hard it is and help you through the cravings.

Whew! That was longer than I expected...

I went from a pack a day smoker to quitting cold turkey... it was the same day I was diagnosed with cancer. No one ever thinks it will happen to them until it does.

It has been said that it takes at least 21 days to break a habit. You are 1/3rd of the way there! You will smell better, feel better and be wealthier. Just fantasize that you are freaking out at people until, poof, the feeling passes and you are a more desirable version of your old self.

I quit cold turkey ten years ago. It's easier when you have a solid reason that makes you really WANT to quit, not because you know you should.

Once I decided for myself, I didn't get the withdrawal side effects other than mild headaches for the first few days.
The emotional aspect is your state of mind that you can control.
Note, I was a few packs a day, 15 years!!
Good luck and hang in there!

And put ur cigarette money in a clear jar so u can see it! The amount that gathers in a week should spare u on to keep going ha

I quit 6 1/2 years ago and life is SO much better.......I remember having to switch planes between flights and just RAGING because I didn't have time to have a quick one and get through security again. Every once in a while I dream I buy a pack and have a few just because......then when I wake up I'm mad at myself because I have to quit again. I did it cold turkey, smoked for 25 years, pack a day +.........it can be done!!

I smoked for over 20 years. I started vaping. I didn’t get the withdrawal from the cigarette. I’m still vaping but am on the lowest nicotine. I hope to quit eventually but for now I feel great! Maybe try that if u really can’t quit cold.
Good luck!