Off Topic attn ex smokers:How did you finally quit?

[Bowks]

I stopped smoking 5 and half years ago by attending an Allen Carr's Easyway clinic. I smoked my last cigarette that day and I've not had one since then.

I smoked at least a pack a day from the age of 17 until I stopped at 30. I also joined the gym in the same week and lost 4.5 stone over 6 months.

Still off the fags, but I need to start the gym again!!

 

[catdaddy]

Chantix. I smoked thirty years. Made me feel weird and have technicolor dreams but it definitely decreased the urge. When I got to the point that I thought I could do without it I stopped taking it. September will be three years for me.

 

[sandmannn69]

send the Black Silo to me and Ill "look after it" till you can go a year with out a smoke

Hey, that idea's a ripoff from that Stephen King story "Quitters Inc.".

Pardon me, of course if you're Mafioso. I like my kneecaps just the way they are, thank you.

 

[paranoid70]

My wife did the hypnosis & the patch. It was a tough go, but she kicked it about 15 years ago.

 

[shredhed]

I just decided to - and did

 

[LawDaddy]

OP: I never have smoked, but congrats on losing that 50lbs. Whatever will power and self-discipline you invoked to lose the weight will go a long way towards kicking the habit. Best of luck!

 

[whitestrat]

I'm trying to kick the habit. I think at the end of the day, it boils down to sheer will power and the desire to actually quit and not make a half hearted attempt. It's also a lot to do with breaking the physical habit. Most smokers do it as a routine. One after lunch, one after dinner, one before bedtime etc etc. I'm trying hard now to actually break the routine, and not smoke if I don't have to. It also helps to change the environment a bit. Avoid your friends who smoke for a while. Let them know what you're trying to achieve. Get them to help you as well. All of this matters more than any aid a doctor can prescribe. For me, I've gone months without smoking and have suffered no withdrawals. It's always the familiarity and friends that brings it back. That mainly happens because I weaken my resolve at times. No will power. That must change.

 

[mwinemil]

I quit when my ex-wife was pregnant with my first kid. I didn't want the kid to grow up with me smoking and that was the reason. Up to that point I had smoked for about 12 years or so. One thing that used to be weird for me was, when I used to get up in the morning my jaw would hurt until I had a smoke. After I quit my jaw would hurt like mad - so 30 days or so after I quit I couldn't take it and bought a pack of smokes. I got up, my jaw hurt, I had a smoke, my jaw still hurt. They stopped doing for me what they used to do - at that point it was pretty easy for me to see how pointless they were and I threw them in the trash.

My oldest child just turned 11.

 

[knguro]

I met a lady that was embarrassed to smoke in front of her new grandson, and at that the moment that he born, she quit smoking just like that, of course she had some bad times because of her mood, but since everyone in the family was supporting her, she quit, and believe me she use to smoked a lot, 2 boxes per day, bottom line, it takes hearth, self care, and a lot of support, can be either family or friends, aaaaand since here we all are both, GO FOR IT PAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mikeller]

I smoked for maybe 10 years and quit 30 years ago - cold turkey. Here is the deal - aside known health risk and excessive cost, at the end of the day I came to the conclusion that it isn't all that enjoyable. Sure, first cig of the morning, maybe after a good diner or with a beer, but the rest of the pack was a habit.

I decided cold turkey was the way, tapering off doesn't work. So my thought was to just do it - never have the first cig of the day. You have already gone 6-8 hours without nicotine, much longer likely than anytime during the day, and you are likely in somewhat of a withdraw mode.

So I woke up on August 19th (Thursday) - not sure of the year and said to myself "Today is the day". Haven't smoked since and feel much better at 56 not smoking than I ever did at 26 smoking.

Then I took the money I was saving on smokes and bought a house!

Good luck to you

 

[prowler]

Cold turkey. Wasn't the first time i tried to quit, but it was the first time i seriously wanted to quit. Certainly wasn't easy, the first 2 weeks were hell, but it's been over 5 years now and it's the best thing I've done for myself.

 

[agt]

Cold turkey. Set small, attainable goals. If you can make it two days, the worst is over. Make it two weeks and, with the will to stop, you are home free. At least that has been my experience.

You have two things going on: the physiological addiction (your body needs nicotine to feel "normal") and the psychological craving (your mind is comforted by the act of smoking).

For the psychological part, you have to have something to focus on instead that is more important than smoking. Exercise and your health is best. Look at some photos of smokers' lungs. That should motivate you! Think of how much more attractive you will be when you do not stink of smoke! Some folks suggested rewarding yourself with some gear if you accomplish your goal. Whatever works.

For the physiological part, I have no scientific data to back it up, but from experience I am convinced that your body's craving is related to nicotine in remaining in your system and that after two days, enough has been flushed out of your body that your willpower can handle it. And after two weeks, enough has been flushed out of your body that the craving is reduced to the point where, if you really want to stop, you can pretty easily.

Just remember to focus on two days/two weeks. You can do that!

 

[ScoobySteve]

I'll re-post my thoughts here, and even though I'm a youngen compared to most, the experience of quitting after years and years of chain smoking is a crossroads where age is irrelevant, it just plain sucks.

Like everyone mentioned here, its will power and for most of us its cold turkey. It will very likely suck for the rest of your life (A friend of mine has been clean of cigs for over 20 years and still sometimes habitually checks his pocket for his lighter) but that's the burden we signed up for when we started. Have a powerful and compelling reason to quit. It doesn't have to be dramatic and epic, like some of ours has been, but a strong one.

"I don't really enjoy it and it makes me feel like crap" is a powerfully compelling reason to quit. So is, "I want to watch my kids grow up." A good reason to quit, is a good reason IMO.

It's a struggle, a real hard struggle, but your will power is going to win it for you, and only that.

Best of luck, and if you relapse and go back, hey it happens to 99.9% of us. Just keep marching forward and don't give up. You have years on your life to gain, so you're losing nothing!

 

[DTG]

Just smoke the fags you enjoy. For a week just have the one
with your coffee break the one with lunch ect. ...the slowly
give them up too it worked for me 10 years on still smoke free
but I do have a cigar every few years !

 

[Rufedges]

The Nicoderm CQ patches work pretty good......if you are a heavy smoker, start out with the 21 mg ( probably like 3/4 pack day +), if not, can easily start with the 14mg. Patches are small, square, clear, and stick very good, 10times better than the generic nicotine patches. Well worth the $$$

 

[Astrofreq]

Quitters, Inc.

 

[njhammer]

I smoked 2 packs of Marlboro Reds for 25 years. Ended up with a case of Bronchitis and in the hospital for 3 days. Longest time without a cig since I started. I decided I'd be the biggest moron ever if I smoked again when I went home, so I stopped at the supermarket on the way and loaded up with olives, cheese, Italian sausage, etc. to keep me busy. It helped that I was on antibiotics for 2 more weeks and couldn't drink either!

First 5 days are the worst. Plain sailing after that and I'll be fag free for 4 years on July 5th, cold turkey and I don't crave them at all.

Best of luck!!

 

[Joe Nerve]

Didn't read all the posts. It's late and I have to go nitey nite, but I wanted to respond.

I smoked from when I was a real little kid for 20 years non stop. 2 1/2 to 3 packs a day after the first year or 2. Tried quitting literally hundreds of times unsuccessfully. I actually gave up on giving up and then I somehow got lucky. A friend and I were talking one night and we decided to give it a go, together. We leaned on each other, and somehow for some unkown reason, it worked. I got one full day from waking up to falling asleep without a cigarette and couldn't believe it. Something I hadn't done in 20 years. When I got 2 days, I kinda wanted to just start collecting days... it's been many years now. Don't want to admit my age yet.

Anyhow, some things that were helpful and some things I learned. First and most important for me was that one drag of a cigarette would start the whole nightmare over again. I heard someone say once that it was like they had a pilot light in their chest. As long as they stay away the light is out, once they take a drag the light goes back on and the addiction is alive again. Every smoke starts the whole process over again. It was so tough for me that I just wanted to get past all the urges and not have to relive a single one of them. They definitely got easier and esier to deal with.

Another thing I learned was that all my failed attempts really weren't failures after all. They were practice. Sounds cliche, but if was for real. I was learning all that time how to deal with the cravings.

I read up a bit on quitting smoking and learned some things that also helped. I think one of the most important things I came across was something about the addiction being real tricky. That insane urges can and will come out of nowhere, even after a significant amount of time away - and they did. 3 or 4 months into my quitting I felt one day like I was only 5 minutes away from a cigarette, out of nowhere. And it didn't pass immediately. As time went on though, those urges got shorter and shorter. I rarely if ever get them now.

Could write pages and pages on this, but I'll end here with one of the thing I think was most important for me. CINNAMON STICKS. I bought em in supermarkets and coffee shops and made a habit of them. I'd break them in 2, clean them up a bit, and put them in a little package like cigarettes. Whenever I wanted I popped one in my mouth and sucked on it or played with it like a cigarette. I don't know if I'd have been able to quit without that. People warned I was going to start a cinnamon stick habit. It didn't happen. I just one day decided to quit it and that was end of them. no withrawl or trouble whasoever. I read somewhere shortly after that that cinnamon is actually super helpful because it stimulates you taste buds the same way nicotine does.

Oh yeah, a last note for real now. I tried nicorette and other such things, but when I finally succeeded, it was cold turkey. I got a little physically ill (sore throat and cold kinda thing) but what I loved about it all was I was flying high from withrawl. I felt like I was wasted for about 2 weeks and I think it helped me to stay away. I don't drink or do any drugs so this was probably more intense for me than would be for most, but it was a wild ride.

Good night.

 

[JMB27]

Good thread. Very informative. Interesting timing as I am working towards making some changes as appears there will be 40 candles on the cake this year ....

cheers always, eh

Joel

 

[beej]

Here's incentive- just imagine how many EBMMs you can buy when you save all the cash you're spending on smokes.