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So I'm quitting smoking. I've quit twice in the past for a week each time. The last time went pretty okay, I actually made it through the worst of the physical cravings. But on that 7'th day the addiction changed tactics and hit me with an emotional sucker-punch out of nowhere that I wasn't prepared for.

It has to be cold turkey for me. The patches and e-cigs and stuff just remind me how much I want an actual cig. I'm just going to have to be strong and stubborn and hard-headed to get through this. Hopefully I'm not too much of an emotional wreck.

Anyways, I'm counting on all of you to not let me not quit. So...thanks!

Way good on you!  The vast majority of smokers want to quit.  I was an on and off smoker for decades and the cold turkey method was best.   Just grabbing one occasionally proved to be a slippery slope for me.  It is worth noting that the tobacco companies actually promote the patch and e cigs on their web sites.  Cynically so as they know they are the least effective.

Making a public announcement like this and letting your circle of friends know you are a non smoker is also helpful.  Nice to get free and if you are on or considering HRT it is imperative.

Jeez, I'm sorry I missed this! Congratulations, and do you have an update? Smoking is a tough one, you definitely have all my support!

Hugs, Devlyn

Joining you right along tommorow
that's money better spent on some pretty clothing  :-*

I just went cold gable gable. 1st week not good , next week almost as not as good, each week thereafter better, but to be honest it never goes away. Just have a solid reason for you to quite and always keep that on your mind.

I was a smoker for about 13 years and then my endo told me he wouldn't treat me if I was a smoker. I ended up quitting after I was told that. About a year later I picked up the habit again but I tried the Vape thing instead. I ended up using the vaporizer more than an actual smoke. I got my stuff at http://www.vaporfi.com/ and I started on the highest nicotine level. I gradually went to a lower nicotine because obviously you can't smoke before surgery. I was able to quit 2 weeks prior to my surgery and have been smoke and vape free for 4 weeks :P. I know Vaporizing is probably not the safest thing but it's probably a tiny bit better than smoking nasty cigarettes.

Good work on quitting as I have see how hard it is for others to quit. My father fought that battle until cancer finally took him so I hope you win your battle and stop now.  I have allergies to smoke and it looks like I am going to quit my neighbor. I'm have voice surgery in 3 weeks and I can't risk being around her when she smokes as I might damage something. I may have to go cold turkey on her for a month or more.

Congratulations! I was a 1 pack a day smoker for 2 years, and I quit in 1995. The cravings are tough in the beginning, and it is such a tough habit to break that I still crave them occasionally, but just for a moment. Best wishes, you can do this!

Pro tip: take a hot shower when you get a nic fit.  I was wet a lot the first couple of weeks but I haven't had a smoke since Oct 21 '11. 

When I quit and I got cravings I would repeat I will never smoke again, until the cravings went away. I have never smoked again.

Quote from: stephaniec on June 24, 2015, 05:49:14 PM
I just went cold gable gable. 1st week not good , next week almost as not as good, each week thereafter better, but to be honest it never goes away. Just have a solid reason for you to quite and always keep that on your mind.

Hey Stephanie we are totally worth the effort.   We win one day at a time if we keep at it!  Yes the desire may remain but especially after the first three days that addictive voice become less and less until finally it is so quiet it can be forgotten or ignored.  Hope your post means you're done too ;D

Quote from: IdontEven on May 23, 2015, 03:17:13 PM
So I'm quitting smoking. I've quit twice in the past for a week each time. The last time went pretty okay, I actually made it through the worst of the physical cravings. But on that 7'th day the addiction changed tactics and hit me with an emotional sucker-punch out of nowhere that I wasn't prepared for.

It has to be cold turkey for me. The patches and e-cigs and stuff just remind me how much I want an actual cig. I'm just going to have to be strong and stubborn and hard-headed to get through this. Hopefully I'm not too much of an emotional wreck.

Anyways, I'm counting on all of you to not let me not quit. So...thanks!

Okay, I woke up

waaahhhhh this is boring

NO SMOKING YOU!   :laugh:

I'm thinking about taking a hike everytime I want to spark one up :'(

Many, many years ago I tried quitting a number of times, well at least 3 times, each time was about a 2 year gap and I lasted 1 week, worst culprit for making me start again was Alcohol or driving!

Then 32 years ago I quite again, this time I thought I will not go back, and admittedly my youngest daughter had something to do with it... yukky smell she kept telling me, I bought a packet on quitting day, put them in the car, opened but just out of reach, one day, about 4 days after quitting I stretched over to the pack, took one out, rolled it in my fingers, then screwed it up. That evening when I got home from work, I threw the pack away and to this day I have never gone back to it.

L Katy  :-*

Congratulations!

I smoked a pack or more a day for 33 years. I quit when my doctor informed me that he would not prescribe hormones to a smoker under any circumstances. I smoked my last cigarette that day, 500 days ago today. Keep it up, you can do it!

Happy 500 days!  ;D

Hugs, Devlyn

I think today is a good day to quit. I've done it before with hypnosis and that worked for a while, but it's time to just do it. Tried vaping as an alternative before but I found it raised my blood pressure more than cigarettes did. I guess it's cold turkey time.
My doctor said he wouldn't deny hrt solely because of smoking but it does effect my bp so it's got to go no matter what.
Hopefully I can report back with success.
Good luck idonteven. I know from experience that it's hard and never really goes away. And "just one" never works either. And no substitutes. Cigars got me back smoking the last time.



Ella

Quote from: Swayallday on June 25, 2015, 05:09:13 AM
Okay, I woke up

waaahhhhh this is boring

NO SMOKING YOU!   :laugh:

I'm thinking about taking a hike everytime I want to spark one up :'(

Great idea!  I was somehow "rewarding myself with a butt" after a hard day at work, hack, cough, sputter (years ago).  You suggest a far better option.  Good for you!

Quote from: Tessa James on June 26, 2015, 11:04:13 AM
Great idea!  I was somehow "rewarding myself with a butt" after a hard day at work, hack, cough, sputter (years ago).  You suggest a far better option.  Good for you!

Works tough  :P
Don't feel bad. Addiction plays tricks on the mind, I know all about it  ::)

This is how i've succesfully quit for over a year (then relapsed on stimulants ;p)

Sit down for five minutes or so and think about quitting, try to realize that you *want* to quit.
By acknowledging this, don't expect from yourself that you should cease/quit immediately
It only makes it harder on your mind and you'll feel dissapointed in yourself when you relapse,
relapsing is fine, it's part of the progress
but you must be in control of the progress

When I was at that point, I allowed myself 2 smokes per day. Once in the morning and once in the evening.
This way it's gentler on well-being and you can cope from one moment to the other
I did that for a day or two
Then switched to only rolling one when I really, really wanted too. So at random intervals.
Keep that up for a few days and self-actualization ensues and thought occur alike "why am I even smoking this one at all" anymore?

It's much easier that way, I find, and it only took me a week or two.
:angel:

And OP, if you really have difficulties, champix is a medication used off-label for cessation. It has quite a high success-rate.

I think it is important to also know that 70% of smokers WANT TO QUIT!

Most smokers also start before they are 21 yo so our efforts to keep youth free from this scourge are needed.

My father smoked 2 packs a day. Then one day he decided to quit by throwing his cigarettes over his shoulder and never looked back. It just is your determination to quit. Just keep doing what you are doing. Take it at one day at a time. Each day you will get stronger at resisting smoking. Don't forget smoking is bad for your health. A girl cousin of mine died from lung cancer by smoking 3 or more packs a day. she was also on oxygen the year before she died.

Have a wonderful day

Some people are not cut out to say no. Food, smoke, drugs, you name it.
If you are one of those, you will never be able to quit.

Quote from: Girl Beyond Doubt on June 26, 2015, 05:12:56 PM
Some people are not cut out to say no. Food, smoke, drugs, you name it.
If you are one of those, you will never be able to quit.

Addictions and dependancies are troubling but I look at it differently.  People do change their lives and behavior and this site is filled with personal stories of real drama that involves changed lives.  I have worked professionally with some programs and sadly some of the best have only a 20% success rate (alcohol and other drugs).  Personally I have said YES to a life free from cigarette smoking.  I am also trying to say yes more often to better foods.  There are so many positive motivators we can enlist to strengthen our resolve and an avalanche of assistance available for those who reach out. 

I stopped drinking alcoholicly (not a drop since) almost four years ago, I quit an addiction of compulsion (graffiti) three years ago and I quit cigs over two years ago. It can be done! Now, i do still have trouble with pot, tv, junk food, caffeine, sugar and exercise endorphins. But one can't shake all of one's addictions at once. I have learned to take on one thing at a time and to start with the most destructive and life controlling. I also believe that everyone needs a vice and if one can learn moderation that vice can be quite healthy. But substances that can make an addict out of anyone (booze, tobacco and hard drugs) should be avoided by most people. 1 in 10 becomes addicted to alcohol and I have never met a "casual smoker" who didn't end up addicted. Some addictions are chemical and mental, some are purely mental but they all have physical elements.

When I was working on tobacco I quit and went cold turkey a dozen times in a year or so before it finally took. Tobacco withdrawl is the worst and it lasts for weeks at a time. I know an ex heroin user who still can't kick cigs. He says it is worse than the h.

Perseverance is what I learned by entering recovery. Never give up, care about yourself, learn from your mistakes and try again.

Quote from: Girl Beyond Doubt on June 26, 2015, 05:12:56 PM
Some people are not cut out to say no. Food, smoke, drugs, you name it.
If you are one of those, you will never be able to quit.

Everyone needs to ask themselves whether they have the required strength of will, whether they can muster the courage to make the right choice for their life and stay strong and true to that decision. I have met so many people who are too weak to even ask themselves these questions. No help from anyone whatsoever will ever make a difference for them unless they learn to realize that they are responsible for making that decision for themselves.

Please - those who want to quit and are trying to quit - please keep us posted about your progress!  I want to help support you on your quit journey and help you out. 

Just try to think about all of the money you can save by quitting cigarettes and buy beautiful clothes and accessories and various things, including HRT and surgery, etc etc.  Maybe that will be motivation enough to quit?  Just think and envision it as often as you can and think to yourself, I have a choice - cigarettes or something more positive and inspiring?  It helped me to quit recently (a while ago, last year?) in thinking I have a choice, and weigh the pros and cons of cigarettes and saving money to buy other things.. it helped me to quit.  It took me many times in trying to quit before I was successful.  I often get angry when I see people smoking, since it doesn't help me to see them, it makes it harder to quit!  I long for the time where cigarettes will be obsolete including cigars, e-cigs etc.

Alexander

I wish but my smoking habit isn't that expensive.
I thought making a jar of "prutty clothes here" would suffice but I relapsed anyhow.

Living conciously is certainly an effort.

Oh well atleast no more hard drugs.

& I quit nailbiting so now I can paint them  :D

The smoking addiction sucks. I smoked off and on from the time I was 16. Then 21 years ago I had my 2nd child and I knew that it was time to quit after 17 years of smoking. I kept away from them for over 9 years and then for some stupid reason thought I would have just one which lead to another then another and the next thing I knew I was back smoking full time. 4 years later I'm driving home and I lose consciousness at 70 mph and end up with a pacemaker. So I stop again. This time it lasts just two years and then when I start my divorce proceedings against my ex-wife I start again.  I stopped again for awhile and then started after my mother passed away. I kept that up until Jan 1, 2014 when I stopped hopefully for the last time. It takes an incredible amount of willpower to stop cold turkey but it's the only way I have ever been able to stop for any length of time. Good luck to all of you that have or are thinking about quitting.

congrats on quitting.  I too quit smoking almost 2 months ago...its hard but better for us  ;D 8)