I need to quit smoking, any advice from successful quitters?

[in stitches]



There was another thread about quitting a couple months ago so you may want to search for that one as well and one interesting bit I found was (and i'm paraphrasing):

Don't quit because you have to but because you want to.

There's a lot of truth in that. Best of luck and keep us (much to the chagrin of some here) posted. I'd be happy to read upon progress.

thanks

i definitely WANT to. for the sake of my family and my health.

i did finish the last 2 smokies in the pack :badboy:

its is my goal to just quit cold turkey like before, but i did make an appointment with my doctor to talk about possibly using a suppressant of some sort. i will also use this thread as a source of help and support as well. i shall keep you all informed. like it or not.

 

[Fang66]



You must be popular with the ladies...

If you say **** in front of my wife , she would tell you to shut the **** up...

I don't associate with women who swear, it's so un-lady like.

 

[eztantz]

I'm smoke free for 3 years (actually the 3rd anniversary is next week Tuesday) after enjoying over 10 years of Parliament cigs! While I believed (and still do to some degree) that I smoked because I enjoyed it immensely and it was a great social outlet, those with a psychoanalytic bent will argue that there were definitely underlying reasons for pursuing cigarettes over more productive and healthier outlets. When I stopped it was all about willpower and at the time that was all I made of it. In hindsight I know it would have been better to have worked it through properly, perhaps evaluating what it did for me and coming to an understanding of what motivated me to smoke and when. I still have unhealthy behaviors that resemble my smoking although they are manifest differently now. My point is that without understanding the role it plays in your life, some other **** will come along and take its place. Without adapting/substituting a healthy coping mechanism you only stand to lose by stopping cold turkey. If its a stress reducer find a replacement that works - but more importantly, one that will work for you. Share your plans with the important people in your life and ask them to be supportive of you, its a hard enough journey as it is and doing it alone makes it near impossible. You seem to have people you care about and I'm sure they feel the same way about you.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[lasbar]



I don't associate with women who swear, it's so un-lady like.

Agree with you ...

Women for you...

Can't stand the C word and in the same breath fart on the sofa and swear in the front of the kids...

 

[curzon]

It's all about will power. If you don't have a strong will use this opportunity to build one.

When I quit I embraced the discomfort and the urges. I learned quite a bit about the patterns of my life and the when, where and why I had a smoke. It was quite predictable, in fact initially I found I was on auto-pilot, i.e., do this and then have a cigarette. I recall walking outside for a smoke break and then remembering that I quit. Anyway, the jones would last for a few minutes and then subside. After several months I could have a coffee or a drink or eat a meal and not have that urge anymore.

I smoked for many years, and I can tell that I irreparably damaged my lungs.

 

[lasbar]



It's all about will power. If you don't have a strong will use this opportunity to build one.

When I quit I embraced the discomfort and the urges. I learned quite a bit about the patterns of my life and the when, where and why I had a smoke. It was quite predictable, in fact initially I found I was on auto-pilot, i.e., do this and then have a cigarette. I recall walking outside for a smoke break and then remembering that I quit. Anyway, the jones would last for a few minutes and then subside. After several months I could have a coffee or a drink or eat a meal and not have that urge anymore.

I smoked for many years, and I can tell that I irreparably damaged my lungs.

You can still turn back the clock a little bit...

I quitted at the age of 30...

I was doing a lot of sports and I did only find it difficult to exercise after my mid-twenties...

I'm 42 and try to get fit , run and so on but my asthma is getting worse...

I would have never smoked if I knew but it's too late..

 

[deburn]

July 25th was 3 years since I stopped smoking. On a regular basis, I'll feel astonished that I actually don't smoke. For me the most difficult part was getting started ie making the decision to quit. I'd wanted to quit for many years, just wasn't serious (desperate?) enough.

In my case, I used the patch and the gum for some period of time. Don't remember the exact details, but I found that it was mostly in my head. At some point the physical craving reduces drastically, but the mental stuff is as powerful as ever.

I used a 1-800 # from work, the QuitNet forum, and telling as many people as I could. I also created an email list that went out to a bunch of people, plus updates on FB, that I would send on a regular basis, like:

- 36 hours (2 weeks/3 months etc) since my last cigarette

which was very helpful to get emails back supporting me

Side note: I don't understand people who say "watch out for the weight gain" Is that saying don't stop smoking because you'll gain weight? That doesn't make any sense.

 

[in stitches]

eztantz, curzon and deburn.

thanks, all different but good ideas. will try and incorporate some of those. and i think my doctor once said id have to gain about 100lbs for the weightgain to be as bad as the smoking.

no cigs today so far. yaaay

 

[83glt]

I have quit smoking about a half dozen times. I always found quitting the easy part. Staying quit has been the problem. This latest time feels different though. I wanted to quit so bad for so long, and this time I really felt as though it's final. I have a kid now and I'm not getting younger so perhaps that's it. It's been a few months now and I don't think I've had one real craving since the first day. That in itself is a notable difference. I've been drinking alcohol/coffee as normal, engaging in other triggers, etc., and nothing. I'm also trying to exercise a lot more and get back into shape which is helping. But I can definitely still feel the crappy lung capacity and it's frustrating. I went to a doctor about 8 years ago when I was quitting then and he said I probably didn't do any serious long term damage. Thousands of cigarettes later I'm not so sure. Can any long time smokers comment on how/when their lung capacity/strength recovered? Or if it ever did?

At the end of the day I think quitting is really easy if you really want it. I truly believe that once you get over the initial breaking of the physical/chemical dependence/addiction - maybe 48-72 hours, it's all mental from there.

 

[Fang66]



eztantz, curzon and deburn.

thanks, all different but good ideas. will try and incorporate some of those. and i think my doctor once said id have to gain about 100lbs for the weightgain to be as bad as the smoking.

no cigs today so far. yaaay

Good job, now one more day.

 

[pnutpug]

Quitting is at once the easiest and most difficult thing you will ever do.

Bottom line, it's will power. After nearly two decades of smoking, I went from 1-2 packs of non-filtered Camels a day to nothing. Cold turkey. No patches, gum, pills or anything else. I did spend the first eight days hiking in the wilderness where there were no cigarettes to buy, and plenty of opportunities--i.e., can't breathe as I crest this next hill with my backpack--to realize how stupid smoking is. And, yes, I am immensely proud of myself after six years without a puff.

At the end of the day, no matter what anyone says, it's just a matter of not doing it anymore. That's why quitting is so simple: All you have to do is not smoke. It's difficult because nicotine is so addictive. You can either do it or you cannot--my mother is a helpless addict, my dad, like me, just said nope, not gonna do it anymore. So, I would advise taking a good look in the mirror, taking a deep breath and then decide you won't do it anymore. All that other stuff--hypnosis, drugs, gum--is a bullshit crutch.

 

[Fang66]



Quitting is at once the easiest and most difficult thing you will ever do.

Bottom line, it's will power. After nearly two decades of smoking, I went from 1-2 packs of non-filtered Camels a day to nothing. Cold turkey. No patches, gum, pills or anything else. I did spend the first eight days hiking in the wilderness where there were no cigarettes to buy, and plenty of opportunities--i.e., can't breathe as I crest this next hill with my backpack--to realize how stupid smoking is. And, yes, I am immensely proud of myself after six years without a puff.

At the end of the day, no matter what anyone says, it's just a matter of not doing it anymore. That's why quitting is so simple: All you have to do is not smoke. It's difficult because nicotine is so addictive. You can either do it or you cannot--my mother is a helpless addict, my dad, like me, just said nope, not gonna do it anymore. So, I would advise taking a good look in the mirror, taking a deep breath and then decide you won't do it anymore. All that other stuff--hypnosis, drugs, gum--is a bullshit crutch.

What a load of he-man horseshit. Get whatever help you can, some things work better than others for different people but generally cold turkey has the highest rate of recidivism.

 

[PipersSon]



..................So, I would advise taking a good look in the mirror, taking a deep breath and then decide you won't do it anymore. All that other stuff--hypnosis, drugs, gum--is a bullshit crutch.

Congratulations on your quit.

Now: The above is a load of $hit. People do what they can to succeed, crutch or no. My personal experience is that the more help you take, the better your chances of succeeding, so never be afraid to get help.

By telling people that yours is the only method, your are not only dead wrong but reducing their chances of success.

 

[Nereis]

I did it cold turkey. It was not pretty. I would have gone to my physician for help if I knew just how badly my body would take it. I only kept up with it because it was a waste to start suffering and not keep at it.

 

[lasbar]

I did it cold turkey and it was fine...

If you have asthma and not a great job, you have two of the best reasons in the world to quit...Money and health.