Want to stop smoking

[bbbamI]

sam...I'm sorry you lost your parent at such a young age. I know that I will never be able to get my mom to quit.

meadbh...The support that I am getting here is beyond words. Simply put...thank you.

 

[Outtahere]

Every little step in the process of breaking this habit is a victory WTG!!

 

[CybrMike]

Is there a way that I can get people to follow my dad and beat his ass everytime he smokes. This way, every time he thinks about smoking he will remember how much getting his ass kicked sucks and won't do it anymore. I'm out of other options. I will pay $2000 per month if anyone is interested. I am in Indiana.

 

[bbbamI]

CM...

I laughed when I first read your post...then I thought, wow he might really be serious!

My experience with smoking is that it is emotional and personal. The smoker has to make the decision on their own. I started smoking when I was 17 and have continued to smoke until the age of 49. 32 years of smoking and in 2 days my last cig will be lit. A lot of water has passed under the bridge in the past 32 years and regardless of what happened, I continued to smoke. Then I decided to stop.

Maybe your dad will too.

 

[lets-retire]

The smoker has to make the decision on their own.

That is the most important part of it. If an addict doesn't decide to quit then as soon as it gets hard they will go back to their addiction.

 

[samclem]

Hey bbbamI,

Heading into your first weekend on "reduced rations." Keep your head up and stay busy so thoughts of smoking stay in the background. We're puilling with you!

 

[bbbamI]

Thanks Sam....

Actually I had my last cig tonight. When I looked in my pack today, I noticed I only had 2 left. I have to admit a bit of panic went through me.

So tonight while DH and I sat on the patio, I saluted my last ciggy with a Shiner (beer). The funny thing was, we had tornado warnings out for the area. It got a bit creepy and all I could think of was Lloyd Bridges in the movie Airplane! You know, when he said, "I picked a bad day to stop sniffing glue."

Our house didn't get blown away, the last cig was smoked and that was pretty much it.

This week has been tough...a lot of tears and guts spilled. I think it will get better now.

 

[73ss454]

Look at it this way, you'll smell a lot better in the morning

Good luck!

 

[Khan]

I have read that when quitting smoking, it is a good idea to get the car and house cleaned/detailed, as the smell of smoke will be found to be either disgusting or curiously sought.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

bbbamI - I always found these stats pretty amazing and I hope it helps you stay motivated:

Here are some other good things that happen to your body once you stop smoking:

Within 8 hours

carbon monoxide level drops in your body
oxygen level in your blood increases to normal

Within 48 hours

your chances of having a heart attack start to go down
your sense of smell and taste begin to improve

Within 72 hours

your bronchial tubes relax and make breathing easier
your lung capacity increases

Within 2 weeks to 3 months

your blood circulation improves
your lung functioning increases up to 30 percent

Within 6 months

your coughing, stuffy nose, tiredness and shortness of breath improve

Within 1 year

your risk of smoking-related heart attack is cut in half

Within 10 years

your risk of dying from lung cancer is cut in half

Within 15 years

your risk of dying from a heart attack is the same as a person who never smoked


1. Health Canada, Tobacco Control Program. On the Road to Quitting - Guide to Becoming a Non-Smoker 2003

 

[donheff]

Good going bbbamI. Hopefully, your public commitment here will help you stay the course. It will get much easier with time but expect some tough periods. If your withdrawal is like mine, the cravings will continue to pop up and surprise you but the duration will quickly get shorter and shorter. When you get slammed with the need don't make the mistake of thinking it will never stop.

 

[bbbamI]

Ok, I'm gonna remember your remarks as a promise. Thanks don.

29 hours smoke free....

 

[Meadbh]

Congratulations! You have proven you can do this for a whole day!
Now just focus on doing it for another day!

 

[citrine]

I quit smoking for my 32nd birthday November 21, 2006....prior to doing so...I wrote down why I wanted to quit. Whenever I would get cravings, I would pull that piece of paper out and read it.
I have a little bit over 4.5 months and I am so glad that I quit. I still get cravings sometimes and I look at the reasons which helps me put it into perspective.
Replace the cravings with something positive....do some physcial activity like situps, clean up a closet, mop the floors....it does and will get better with time.

Just remember....there is no point in ER'ing only to drop dead from lung cancer.....something to think about!

 

[calmloki]

Quit (for about the 3-4th time) during first year law school finals, in the middle of a really phlegmy cold. The quitting took, law school didn't. What really worked for me was the strong desire to smoke - I didn't like feeling controlled by something internal, not being "master of my own domain", if I may channel Seinfeld. The stonger the desire, the more I laughed at my weak self and the stronger my resolve not to smoke. The smell is repugnant to me now, but for several years I would have trigger moments (a campfire at dusk in crisp night air or after a few drinks in a bar...) when I would really want to light up.

Been about 27 years now. My gal continues to smoke, out on the porch by her own choice. Travel is done in one hour spurts (she doesn't smoke in the car either). Train travel is out. Wish she didn't smoke, but it's her choice, and she has lots of positive traits and i plenty of negative ones, so it all balances out. She has great genes and no doubt will outlast me.

I'm a major creature of habit - usually have a drink every night, just one, but every night. About 10 years ago I started taking January off. Zero drinks. It's.... amusing. If it bothers me too much I figure it's a real good thing to not be drinking, if it doesn't bother me then it's no strain not to drink for a month. In any case it's kinda fun to do a little check on the will power. My version of playing with myself.

 

[al_bundy]

i can't remember the name of the book, but it's a small paperback, yellow in color and written by a former smoker who is a dentist's wife.

it's a 1 month process to quit. she says most people have trouble with cold turkey because it's a physical and psychological addiction. she helps you break the psychological so when you finally quit the physical part is a lot easier.

it's pretty much of waiting to smoke after eating, drinking coffee and alcohol which most people associate with smoking. week 1 you start out with waiting around 10 minutes and by week 4 it's an hour or so. week 5 you quit.

 

[riskadverse]

I quit cold turkey maybe 30 years ago. I had been smoking for about 15 years. I had quit for as long as two years in there somewhere. There was no special event that caused me to quit, only that I knew I needed to. Cigarettes still smell good to me, and every once in a while I think I might like one. The one piece of information I can pass on is that once you quit, you can never have another cigarette. Not one. If you have that one, you will be back to full time smoking within a few weeks. Just remember that when you go to light up that first cigarette. I never seen or talked to someone who is an exception to this rule.

 

[LKH]

Hey, there! I'm late weighing in, but I quit a pack-and-a-half-a-day habit in 1990. The only thing that I've found more difficult is losing weight.

Two things I found that helped. First, I asked my doc for something, and he put me on a patch for high BP that calmed me a bit. It got me through that first 2 weeks, which is when the addiction part is pretty fierce. It took another 6 months or so to really kick the psychological cravings, but - and here's the second thing that helped - I kept reminding myself that, at that point, it wasn't addiction any longer, but emotion, and that if I let myself smoke even one more cig, I was going to have to kick the addiction again. Take it one day at a time, resolve not to smoke today, and every time you get the urge, remind yourself that every day you can knuckle through, it gets a little easier, and that's one more day you won't ever have to go through again if you just don't smoke.

To this day, every once in a while, I will get an urge. I really LIKED to smoke - loved that wee little high you got from the first cig in the morning. But none of it's worth starting up again. I'm really glad I quit, and I never want to go back there.

It's worth the white knuckles. Hang in there.

Now WEIGHT LOSS, that's another thing. You can't quit eating cold turkey, and every time you eat, you risk OVER eating. It's MUCH harder, IMO. I've never managed to do it for keeps. Most people don't.

L

 

[bbbamI]

3 days and 3 hours since my last cig and no nicotine aids.

The only withdrawal symptom that I have had has been the feeling of being on edge. So, I have helped myself to a (1) glass of wine in the afternoon and have kept myself busy. Unfortunately, I have some pain due to arthritis and that causes me to dwell on the way my body feels. So, I'm trying to breathe deeper and lessen the tension. So far it's worked.

In just over 72 hours, my sense of smell has increased, I sleep better and my heart rate has slowed down. Even though I miss smoking and probably always will, I am no longer a slave to it.

I can handle the edginess for a couple of more weeks. If it doesn't get any better, then I will talk to my doc.

I do not intend to continue posting my updates on this thread, because I don't think it's proper for me to do so. There are so many other topics of discussion that are much more important than the ups and downs of my day. That being said, I have learned so much from all of you. I know that I opened up some old wounds and for that I am sorry. Please be aware though, that because of you, bbbamI is on her way to "retiring" a bad habit of 32 years. Thank you.

 

[Khan]

After my mother quit smoking, she said she had more vivid dreams.

Good luck and be strong.

 

[LKH]

Go, bbbamI! It's hard but worth it. Just don't talk yourself into "just one puff." That's how I got started again, every single time. It's easier to pass on that "one puff" than it will be to quit again later.

 

[d]

congrat's -- do keep us posted.

 

[spideyrdpd]

I dont understand why people have the adversion to taking the medications.
People also will tend to complain about the price of the medication.
Its still cheaper than smoking
. They have a new medication out for stopping smoking
http://www.chantix.com/content/About_Chantix.jsp?setShowOn=../content/About_Chantix.jsp&setShowHighlightOn=../content/About_Chantix.jsp

Atleast with the other nicotine products your not getting all the carcinogens
Rob

 

[d]

i tried some meds (Zyban), side effects were quite unpleasant, and they were a minor assist at best ... nicotrol, on the other hand, has been remarkably effective.

 

[Beststash]

I quit cigarettes 13 years ago - but in the process of trying to quit I weaned myself off because of the smoking rules at work and the general taboo against smoking in Austin.

Once I finally quit - I just bit the bullet and on business trips did not smoke the cigars with my business associates and although it was hard, never, never, ever buy a pack of cigs - just in case. After I had been quit for about a year a friend asked me if I could tell the difference - actually no I could not. But as time progressed in the next 2-3 years I could tell a definite difference. I did not get winded, and I just felt better in general. I would also recommend you get into a walking or some type of exercise program. It will help you convince yourself to never start again. As many smokers have testified - I wish I had never started but it is never too late to quit.

Peace