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Quitting smoking help

Posted: Dec 1, 2015

Let me start out by saying I am looking forward to saying I am a nonsmoker (and saving a lot of money), but I am having a hard time getting there. I have been cutting down, but I seem to have reached a plateau. I really do not want to take Chantix. I have used a patch in the past, but I developed a rash from it. Looking for tips from anyone who has been there. Most of my friends are smokers so am not really expecting any support from them. Sometimes this seems a little overwhelming. No haters please, I know the associated health risks. Thanks in advance.

;

QUITTING SMOKING - KAH

[ In Reply To ..]
You may just have to stop and take the consequences for the next two or so days. I worked with a lady that quit cold turkey, but I wouldn't advise that for anyone! If you are down as low as you can go with assistance, just put them down and prepare for 48 hours of being very uncomfortable, but at the end of that time your system should be cleaned of nicotine. If it's too uncomfortable, in about 24 hours, smoke about half a cigarette, then stop again, and you should be clear. Remember, nicotine is not your friend and if you are determined you can do this...it just won't be easy. Good luck. This is what I observed while my co-worker was quitting, but sounds like you are a good ways into the process. Yes, it's going to be uncomfortable, but if it's worth doing it's worth getting through the discomfort. Believe me, it's well worth it...you just aren't aware of all the good things that will come to you after you quit.

I had to quit - anonie

[ In Reply To ..]
I did have to quit. I had pneumonia and was hospitalized 12 days. I had made up my mind that this was it. I could not breathe so it was time to quit.

I did use a patch and it was a bit itchy under it but I persevered. I had some redness, but no rash.

Then after I was finished with the entire bunch of patches, I got me some Nicorette gum. I had cut down half of my smoking years ago that way. I have also used cold turkey but that is way too hard.

Anyway, I can't take Chantix as I have depression and they don't recommend you taking it.

Don't give up. I was lucky I didn't really have to be around people who smoked for a while till I was past the physical need.

I won't lie to you, though, I occasionally still want to smoke one but not physical need, darned emotional need. Anyway, I still have a few Nicorette for those cravings and I have become a gum chewer which I will have to stop as well as I hear it is not too good and most gum is sweetened with aspartame which causes me extreme diarrhea.

Good luck. I am coming up on my first complete year. I quit January 1, 2015.

ER visit from smoking, thought was going home same day, - stayed for 2 weeks

[ In Reply To ..]
Going home to work from the hospital setting just gave me more time to smoke and I was probably a 2 and a half pack a day. Thanksgiving Eve 1998 showed me winding up in the ER. You know you are in bad shape when no name is asked nor do they ask if you have insurance coverage and immediately start working on you. I was given some drug in the ER and kept on that for 2 days, something akin to speed because I did not sleep for 2 days, sweated like a pig being roasted, sweating, hair soured, bathing and then drenched again in sweat in 60 degree room. I was told not to talk to company, to save my air for myself and almost put on a ventilator, that bad. I said dear Lord please let me go home and I swear will never smoke another cigarette. I gained 26 pounds in 2 weeks because of steroids. I looked like Puff the Magic Dragon and was I ticked! Guess what, never again did I pick up a real cigarette. I say not real because I did light up phantom cigarettes I was so used to smoking. In earlier days after hospital stay I would try to be down wind from smokers just to smell the cigarette smoke. I so dislike it now after all these years and never realized just how much I would stink from being a smoker. My clothes, my house, everything stunk and I never knew it until I didn't smoke. So glad that was back then because I married a man who is totally against smoking and this marriage would have never happened had I still been smoking. My father was a chain smoker of unfiltered cigarettes and he also quit cold turkey one day after thinking he was having a heart attack.

if you want to quit - gradually

[ In Reply To ..]
You might want to look into vaping. You could take a few weeks or months or however long to decrease your nicotine level until you're at 0. You could start at 18mg and then go down to 12mg, then 6mg, and quit when you get to 0mg.

Seventeen years for me - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
I think one of the reasons we put off things like quitting smoking or stopping overeating is that we're afraid it will be painful. I don't want to sound glib, but for me it wasn't a painful experience, even after 30 years, and mostly 2 packs a day...just the fear of pain was enough. It is SO worth it to stop (but you already know that). I was like you, knowing the risks, but it just didn't scare me enough to stop. Really, it just took a little perseverance. Remember...don't anticipate pain!! Instead, try to anticipate the joy of getting that monkey off your back.

Quitting Smoking - Help

[ In Reply To ..]
i used to be a smoker. Quit in 1997 and cannot stand to be near anyone who smokes even now. I was lucky back then, because there was a "subliminal hypnosis" tape that was on the market back then and I purchased it. It has been so long that I could not even tell you the name of it or if it still even exists, but it worked for me and continues to work. I quit smoking in one day, believe it or not, and have never looked back! If you can find something like this now, I would suggest trying it. It was not just hypnosis... it left a subliminal message behind in your psyche that would keep you from smoking at any time. That subliminal message is still with me after almost 20 years now!! If you can find this, I think you would be amazed at how quickly you throw those death sticks away!

as for vaping, as others suggested, these are just as dangerous as actual cigarettes and i would not advise them for anyone. Look up risks and benefits of them before even attempting to try them. good luck!!

Quitting smoking - MLS

[ In Reply To ..]
I work at Nuance, it was either quit or lose my house. I was spending $200 a month on cigs and simply couldn't afford it. I bought a pack and chain smoked it. I truly didn't want to see another cigarette after that. It's been 3-1/2 months for me. Good luck to you!

Try this - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Allen Carr's the Easyway book. I think you can get it on Amazon for about 8 dollars (the kindle version). I read it a few months ago and I don't know how, but it worked for me. :)

My Story - see msg

[ In Reply To ..]
I quit cold turkey back in 1987. I don't have a dramatic health story to tell, but I can tell you what helped me quit.

First, while nicotine is physically addictive to a certain point, it's NOT the whole story behind a smoking habit. For me, it was just mostly a BAD HABIT that I take responsibility for.

One thing I had to do was know what associations I had with smoking. For me, it was my morning cup of coffee and my can of beer after work. So, I quit coffee and my can of beer after work. Another trigger for me was after eating a meal. Now, you can't just stop eating food, so that's a tough one.

A lot of it for me was what to do with my hands! They didn't feel right without a cigarette. So, I took up counted cross-stitch to keep my hands and my mind busy.

If you were a smoker where you lit up before a shower, after a shower and everything in between, it's going to be harder. But eliminate as many possible cigarette triggers that you can, whether it's soda, coffee, alcohol, whatever. And keep your hands busy!

Another trick I used that helped tremendously is this: I just kept saying "I'll have one later." The thought of never having another cigarette was extremely frightening to me, so I used that little phrase, and "later" never came. It was comforting to me to think I could have one later. This isn't for everyone, but it worked for me

Good luck. I think you realize that you can't expect others to stop smoking around you, so this is all yours.

Oh, and yes, it does stink once you quit smoking. I hadn't realized how offensive I, my clothes, and my house were until I quit. And it's disgusting to me now. Believe it or not, I do get a craving now and then, but I don't act on it.

great insight - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
You have the best advice I've ever heard. The triggers you speak of are why I find it SO difficult to quit. The associations have become stronger than the cigarette craving, like a deeply ingrained "habit" that has become automatic.

A few years ago I went out of town and shared a nonsmoking hotel room with a family member. Since I was out of my home environment and not doing my normal everyday things where I would usually smoke, I didn't smoke that whole week. During the trip, smoking would mean I had to get on an elevator, go outside, walk to the smoking area at the side of the building, it was a hassle and I didn't do it. Plus we were busy most of the day and evening, and I didn't have a lot of idle time, which helped me not think about.

I was smoke free that entire week. After I got back home and into my usual daily routine, the cravings came back with usual triggers and associations you mention, and I started up again. Really regret it because I had a good start.

Also, the fear you speak of "never having one again" is so true. Like I would lose my one sure-fire coping mechanism. Sounds crazy, but that's what smoking is to me with handling stress. You have great advice about that, too.

I'd love to quit for good. Thanks for sharing your story. Very inspiring to those wanting to quit and a good way to look at the process.

If any current smoker had watched my - mother slowly die from - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
not lung cancer, but congestive heart failure caused by smoking, and the leg gangrene that resulted from that, I doubt they would ever be able to pick up a cigarette again. What a horrible way to go in exchange for her nicotine fix.

After my aunt was diagnosed with lung cancer - SM

[ In Reply To ..]
my uncle, who was a smoker all of his adult life, never picked up another cigarette. He told my dad that listening to my aunt retching in the bathroom constantly while receiving chemo did it. She lived 6 months after her diagnosis. He remarried, only to lose another wonderful woman to the same diagnosis from smoking.

I smoked for 34 years... - NO MORE FEAR

[ In Reply To ..]
I smoked for 34 years and still didn't quit (although I tried and tried) even after watching my mother die of lung cancer from smoking at the tender age of 56. I was only 24 years old when I lost my mother. I was always fearful of smoking. Every cigarette I smoked I would say, "Is this the one?" I took a job that was out of this world stressful and my cigarette smoking went through the roof ti a pack and a half to two packs a day. I also had another transcription job that I loved and was virtually no stress at all. Someone was retiring from my transcription job so I got rid of the stressful job and vowed to myself that when I went to work full-time at my transcription job, that I would quit smoking permanently. I bought patches (as that is what I usually used when attempting to quit in the past)and I used those patches for 9 months. I have been a nonsmoker for over two years and I ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! Other than having my children, it is the fourth best thing I have ever done in my life. I loved to smoke. I loved my cigarettes even though they made me so afraid. I love my LIFE and the PEOPLE in it way more. I listened to my youngest son tell me every day for years, "Mommy, please, when are you going to quit? Oh, mommy please quit. On the day that I quit smoking, I told myself that this had to be permanent because if anything were to happen to me, my youngest son (and all of my children actually) would never forgive me. So I did and I can tell you it is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You CAN quit. You CAN!!!!!

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