Trying Desperately to Quit Smoking & Needing Some Support

I stopped about 17 weeks ago, same time I joined MFP to maintain my weight, rather than gain after quitting. I smoked ofr 14 years and used the Allen Carr book. My husband used it 6 months before me. He was a 40 a day smoker for 26 years and just stopped. I couldn't believe he had done it but it still took me six months to try. I was sceptical that I was going to read a book and suddenly stop smoking 20 cigs a day, and be ok with it. I won't lie and say day 1 and 2 weren't bad...I found the physical withdrawal from going cold turkey hard work but I haven't smoked since. I get the odd craving but know that I will never smoke again...even in the first few days when the cravings were harder, I knew I wouldn't give in. people ask me why or how i think the book works. I have no idea. for some reason it just made sense to me and worked.

No matter how you are doing it, you are doing it. You will have mega hard days - don't beat yourself up over that. I put a post it note on my desk that just said "suck it up"...and you just have to. The book says that the best way to be a non smoker is to not have a cigarette and it is that simple (if not always that easy). Good luck and do what feels right for you x

I am trying to quit CT today. Has any one else had any weird symptoms? Other then wanting to stuff my face with chocolate I have found the expected feeling of being exceedingly grumpy but then I have found the less usual feelings of: .

.Being dizzy
.Shaking
.Exhausted
.Head aches
.Mild panic

Ugh! Massive well done to every one who has already quit, I hope I can achieve the same soon!

I smoked for 22 years and quit May 15 of last year. The reason I quit was because of my health. It is so hard on your bones and body. I didn't realize that smoking was actually making my deginerative disc disease worse in my back and that after my back surgery it would slow the process of healing. So I had to tell myself...no matter how much I try to cover it I still smell, it is so expensive, is that fair to my family?, my teeth are going to end up like another family member who smokes and drinks coffee, I want to be one of those people who is a "non-smoker" when they ask me on a job or on a medical questionairre. Change your frame of mind to believe that you are a non-smoker. It also helps that I don't drink anymore and that my friends have changed because of a move. Moving is pretty drastic...lol :laugh: but if you need to change to some friends that are more supportive you might have just have to for a little bit for your own health. Good luck!

I gave up when I found out I was pregnant with my first baby (12+ yrs ago) and leading up to that point I had cut right back as my husband was a light social smoker and could go for months without touching them.
So...for me I had already tried a couple of times, but being pregnant was a no-brainer, there was no way I could smoke while pregnant.
So that made it easy, and prior to the pregnancy, I had given up from time to time for a year here and there - what worked for me was cold turkey and being strong mentally - reminding myself at the end of the day how many cigarettes I had 'saved' my body from was a good visual...and how much $$$ I saved also. Rewarding yourself with a treat, perhaps a new hairdo, or outfit etc with the $$$ saved can also be a good motivator to keep at it. (or better still put the $$$ away for a trip).
I had a friends' mum die at 37 from emphasema (sp?) which was nasty and caused by smoking.
Anybody who claims smoking is good for your health is just, well, a bit naive with 'head in sand syndrome'. Good luck to them.
You will smell better!
You will save money.
your health will improve - and your breath.
Chew gum - drink water.
research the benefits of quitting, and think of them daily as you allow your body to withdraw from the nicotine. Visualise this daily.
Just believe this is the right thing to do.
Tell yourself you are a non-smoker.
Be wary of situations where you will be tempted. Steer clear if you are not strong enough for them.
Set yourself up for success. Good luck - but it really has nothing to do with luck - sheer determination - just like anything good in life. x

Hey jedikrissy, really wish you luck!

I'm trying to quit (again) myself. Had two good years without cigarettes and relapsed three years ago (stress). Right now I live in a smoking environment, and dealing with the habit and cues is harder

I really liked the Carr book. Totally made me reframe smoking, and got my attitude about it in the right place (at least).

Are you going to use NRTs? I've read that combining the patch and gum is a good way to go.

Wishing you well!

(I'm going to pick it up again tonight, actually)

Read Allen Carr's EasyWay to Quit Smoking.

^^^^^^^Yes! I had already been cig-free for 5 days (with the aid of Chantix) when I decided I'd read this book, even tho I'd made it over the "hump" of the 1st three days (which had always been hard for me). I hadn't even heard of the book before I quit. But then I kept seeing references to it here on MFP. The more I read what people were saying, the more interested I was in reading it.

The book reinforced my desire and resolve to be a non-smoker. The author encourages the reader to continue smoking while reading the book, so while I was reading it, I imagined that I was still smoking.

I'm now at Day 45 of being a non-smoker. I didn't pick up my "continuing packet" of Chantix, as I didn't need it. There is a 3rd continuation of Chantix, and I won't be needing that, either. Chantix is very expensive (even after what my insurance paid) but in the end, it was worth it to me, as it did get me thru the initial "quitting." You know...where you smoke your last cigarette and you don't want another one and you don't buy any more!

What helped me most from reading Allen Carr's book was understanding the "Little Monster" and the need to keep feeding him. Now, if I do have that little fraction of a second where I think of a cig, I smile to myself, take a deep, lung-filling breath, and exhale with another huge smile, and sometimes I even say to the monster "I'm kicking YOUR *kitten* now!"

I wish you so much luck and success with your quitting. You'll never be sorry that you quit!

I quit smoking (last December) using a really good e-cigarette, not the kind you buy at a store, but the kind that lasts a long time before you have to charge them again. It was SO easy.. and my doctors just love me for doing it. Once I started, I never looked back, never had nicotine withdrawal, nothing. If you want to know which are the best ones to buy, message me.