OT: wish me luck - I'm quitting

[Rod Trussbroken]

I used to smoke 3 packets of Camel a day but went cold turkey just on a year ago. I then gave up regular drinking in Jan and went on a diet 2 months ago (not that I was terribly over weight). I've gone from 82kg down 76kg and, all up, feel great.

Good luck Arin

 

[BigTony]

Phatty, don't forget to reward yourself for all your hard work. A nice meal out with friends or family can really help to remind you of why you are doing it. Being a non smoker is so much cooler than smelling like crap and coughing a lug up every mornin. My baby also likes the new healthier cleaner me, the kids think Dad is amazing

Nowt more satisfying than knowing you beat those miserable nasty b@*tard's that kill so many of us each year.

Go for it Phatty, you know you can do this, a day at a time.

 

[SteveB]

Arin,

Best of luck to you. I quit cold turkey on Valentine's day 1991. It gets easier over time.

 

[Colin]

I quit cold turkey on Valentine's day 1991

you quit smoking right? Not women....

 

[Ken Baker]

Beth knows this advice from me...Program yousrself to say and think " I don't smoke" not " I can't smoke" dont impl.ies that it is your choice

Absolutely!

I tried to quit MANY times in years past, but I was finally successful when I WANTED to quit. Most anyone who smokes will tell you that they need to quit, and they all know all the reasons why.

18 months ago I quit because I wanted to. Cold turkey. No gum or patches. I did take Welbutrin for a month before and a few months after quitting, but that was mostly to protect those around me. Know what? It was easy. No struggles with cravings at all; not even the first couple of weeks, and I didn't bite anyone's head off.

Side effects of quitting? Yeah - there are some, but most are individual. I put on weight, which is normal. My digestive tract remained as it was, which is not normal. After about 9 months the smell of tobacco smoke became repulsive. My sleep habits are still a bit screwed up. My body is STILL getting used to not getting a regular dose of stimulant. Afternoon naps are VERY nice!

I'd like to tell you that it was easy, but I can't. The first 2 or 3 months were actually easy for me, but it's been a struggle in one form or another since. Still, I'm very glad that I quit. Do know that the struggles are becoming fewer and easier to deal with.

Worth it? Hell yes! I don't smell like an ashtray anymore, nor does my car, nor do my clothes. I don't have to hide the habit. I don't feel like a social leper. The health benefits are a plus too.

Good luck, Mr. Duckk. I'm sure you'll get it done.

Ken...

 

[robobass13]

+1 ken, I tried to quit smoking many times over the years, but when I was ready it was easy. I haven't had a smoke in almost a year. BP is right "you don't smoke anymore". hang in there, you will live longer and have more money to buy more MM basses, BONUS!!

 

[Alz®]

Absolutely!

I tried to quit MANY times in years past, but I was finally successful when I WANTED to quit. Most anyone who smokes will tell you that they need to quit, and they all know all the reasons why.

18 months ago I quit because I wanted to. Cold turkey. No gum or patches. I did take Welbutrin for a month before and a few months after quitting, but that was mostly to protect those around me. Know what? It was easy. No struggles with cravings at all; not even the first couple of weeks, and I didn't bite anyone's head off.

Side effects of quitting? Yeah - there are some, but most are individual. I put on weight, which is normal. My digestive tract remained as it was, which is not normal. After about 9 months the smell of tobacco smoke became repulsive. My sleep habits are still a bit screwed up. My body is STILL getting used to not getting a regular dose of stimulant. Afternoon naps are VERY nice!

I'd like to tell you that it was easy, but I can't. The first 2 or 3 months were actually easy for me, but it's been a struggle in one form or another since. Still, I'm very glad that I quit. Do know that the struggles are becoming fewer and easier to deal with.

Worth it? Hell yes! I don't smell like an ashtray anymore, nor does my car, nor do my clothes. I don't have to hide the habit. I don't feel like a social leper. The health benefits are a plus too.

Good luck, Mr. Duckk. I'm sure you'll get it done.

Ken...

Quitting for me was one of the easiest things that I've done (considering I always thought it would be the hardest thing ever)......

I was given the Allen Carr book, the actual copy that had already helped another 4 people to quit. Just read it and stopped. Period!

No need for expensive Nicotine Replacements, just the good old written word.

 

[SquidLizard]

What PzoLover said on the previous page reminded me of something funny (I think). We were at a very nice outdoor jazz concert at a local winery (McCoy Tyner -- if you get a chance to see him play don't think about it -- do it). Had the picnic lunch and everything all set out on the lawn. A group of young teens come and plop down next to us. "Oh, no," we think, "there goes the neighborhood." They were actually very nice neighbors and were quieter than some nearby adults ("Ssssh!!") during the music. Anyway, at one point during a break a boy was talking about someone smoking. His sister interrupts him and says, "And what does Mommy say about smoking?" He says, in a well-rehearsed and slightly sing-song way, "Smoking is for white trash and Europeans." No offense to white trash OR Europeans, but it was really funny. You could have heard a pin drop in the nearby audience when he said that. I can just see a teenager's mom trying to keep him from smoking and coming up with that as a deterrent. Kooky, but apparently memorable. LOL.

 

[phatduckk]

ya know the gum wasnt that expensive. its like $30 for 40 peices and today i chewed only 2 peices. i chewed each peice for a couple hours tho. it totally worked. i didnt want a cigarette at all actually.

i remember reading interviews online w/ Matt Freeman from Rancid talking about quitting while on the wraped tour. he replaced smoking with playing a mandolin. he said he carried it around with him all over the place to give his hands someting to do. maybe i should get a mandolin.... but for today i just sat around the hours and played my Luke a ton

 

[OnlyMe]

Best of luck to you, buddy!! Just believe in yourself, and if you really want to quit, you'll do just fine!!

I quit back in 2000 and it's the best thing I ever did (apart from picking up bass perhaps )

We're all rootin' for ya!

 

[Spudmurphy]

7 years for me. Nicotine takes about 48 hours to get out of the bloodstream.
If the gum works for you fine - but get off it asap - do yer 48 hours cold turkey then be like a reformed alcoholic and say to yourself if I have a fag (sorry that's British) I meant a cigarette then I'll start again and will have to go through the 48 hours frigid turkey again. Don't give up giving up!!

Oh and if you can give up before your 40, an eminent professor on the BBC said that your lungs will return to normal in a number of years - I think he said 5 - 7 years.

Keep at it.

 

[TSanders]

Great to hear Arin.

Hang in there. Im almost at 3 weeks since I quit dipping, and it feels good.

 

[francric]

Way to go Arin. Hang in there you will do it................

 

[JimB52]

Good luck. I've quit a few times, longest for 7 years. Not smoking isn't that hard after a few weeks, just don't get cocky in a few years and think one or two at a party or the pub won't hurt.
On the plus side, you'll get more kudos from friends and strangers for not smoking than not doing almost anything else.
JIm B

 

[roburado]

Good for you, Arin. One day at a time... Then, you'll grow to hate the smoke.