Need some support. Stopped smoking

[golfingchuck]

Stopped smoking 7 days ago and still crave a cigarette! I'm taking chantix and have been eating sunflower seeds like there going out of style. I'm 34 and have been smoking since I was 18. The past couple of years I've been smoking at least a pack a day(camel Turkish silver).

 

When did you quit and how hard was it.

[mcharlton]

Congrats man!! ... I wish I could give you some advice, but I'm a smoker. I'm 28 and I've been smoking for 12 years ... I give you credit for sure!!!

How hard has the journey been so far?? ... Is it getting any easier?

[tbowles411]

Congrats and keep it up! Think of all the money you'll save in order to buy more golf stuff!

[Kadin 25]

Stopped 10 years ago. Good for you!! It's hard my friend stick with it! Your body needs to get to the two week mark, at that point your body doesn't need the nicotine. From that point forward its a mental battle. Try to separate yourself from "triggers" if you like a smoke with coffee try drinking some pop or after eating go for a walk or hit balls at the range. You can do it!!

[profsmitty]

I quit smoking 30 years ago right before I checked into the hospital for surgery. Was on pretty strong pain medicine for a few days so no problems then. After I "came to", I realized that since I knew that I would have to stop sometime and that if I restarted, I'd just have to live through this hell again if I did, I decided it was just too painful to restart. I did it cold turkey since then, there really wasn't any alternative. It was really hard but it got easier, especially once I convinced myself that smoking was just not going to be an option for altering my mood. Good luck, man. Hope it gets better soon.

[golfingchuck]

[quote name='mcharlton' timestamp='1350922732' post='5827771']
Congrats man!! ... I wish I could give you some advice, but I'm a smoker. I'm 28 and I've been smoking for 12 years ... I give you credit for sure!!!

How hard has the journey been so far?? ... Is it getting any easier?
[/quote]its been easy but hard at the same time! Nobody around me smokes, so easy in that regard. But hard in that I smoked a lot! I'd get up let the dogs out smoke, get a cup of joe and smoke. Drop girl of at daycare and smoke, get to work and smoke. Other than the oral fixation it's easy.

[oldyaler]

I've been smoking for 37 years and I've tried to quit numerous times to no avail. In order to be successful you have to "really want" to quit. For example, a former co-worker thought he wanted to quit. He started using nicotine patches. After about 5 days he had patches on both arms an still smoked a couple cigs a day. On the other hand, I knew a man who had smoked for 45 years and one day he threw his pack of cigs on the dashboard of his truck and never touched them again.

Quitting smoking is one of the most difficult things to do. I wish you luck.

[rufus mangler]

I quit 3+ years ago. I didn't really enjoy it for the last couple and still couldn't stop. I didn't tell anyone in case I started again. 3 weeks after I stopped, the wife and I went to Utah on vacation and hiked up and down mountains. I'm not saying I was a Sherpa guide but I realized how much better I felt after just 3 weeks.

While I know it hurts, the cravings get shorter, not as strong, and less frequent. DO NOT SMOKE (don't even handle one) or you'll have to start over. It WILL get easier.

Good luck to you.

[xerpro]

Congrats on quitting...I quit 2 years ago in December, and to be honest, it was after 5 or 6 unsuccessful tries. The difference was, I had a reason to drive me to quit. We were expecting our first daughter in February. I wanted to give myself enough time to get over being an A$$hole before she made her grand appearance. I am a true believer in that I would not quit until I was ready. So with that being said, I quit cold turkey. I smoked Newports for over 18 years at about a pack a day, unless I was drinking, and that would usually lead to a pack and a half a day. Since then, I have yet to touch another one. Mainly because I limit the things that would trigger me. Also, for 6 months, I took the cigarette money and put it in an envelope. I ended up depositing over 800 dollars in my daughters savings account that my wife started for her. Needless to say, she was so happy, and it felt good to do something for my family and my health. I wish I could tell you it gets easier, but on the course, there I times that I crave one....Just remember, your mind is the most powerful thing you have, and you can resist those temptations.
Congrats again

[xerpro]

[quote name='rufus mangler' timestamp='1350925378' post='5827943']
I quit 3+ years ago. I didn't really enjoy it for the last couple and still couldn't stop. I didn't tell anyone in case I started again. 3 weeks after I stopped, the wife and I went to Utah on vacation and hiked up and down mountains. I'm not saying I was a Sherpa guide but I realized how much better I felt after just 3 weeks.

While I know it hurts, the cravings get shorter, not as strong, and less frequent. DO NOT SMOKE (don't even handle one) or you'll have to start over. It WILL get easier.

Good luck to you.
[/quote]

I did the same thing....Since my wife was pregnant, I wouldnt smoke around her or even at home....I quit 2 weeks before Christmas, and didnt tell anyone until Christmas day....Wanted to make sure I didnt fail....

[tec333]

I quit smoking 2 years ago. I was a pack a day smoker. Used chantix as well...the electronic cigs were the most helpful. Used the e-cigs for about 6 to 8 months then quit all of it.

Bad thing for me is 6 months after I quit everything, I started on cigars. You don't inhale the smoke with cigars so my lungs are a bit more clear but still a bad habit I have to stop or at least start smoking less. Hurts the wallet more than cigarettes....

Good luck!

[Gotblades]

12/1/2006 at 3:45 PM. I used the book: "The easy way to quit smoking". One month of hell for me, then bliss! It's worth it, bro!!! Feel so much stronger.

[oldpalchamp]

I quit in January of 1981. I had been smoking for about 16 years and just quit cold turkey. It was without a doubt the hardest thing I had ever done. Congrats for taking the first step and best of luck in kicking the habit. When I quit I took up running and ran my first marathon about 10 months later. You can do it. The urge for a cigarette only lasts a few minutes. Like any other addiction, just take it one day at a time. Best of luck!

[Veng]

The biggest hurdle is chemical and it's not having any nicoteen for a few weeks. After that the cravings will die down, otherwise a single cigarette will undo all the hard work you've been putting in.

[Mulligan26]

All nicotine leaves the body after 72 hours, then it's all mental. Good luck dude, I've tried and failed a few times now

[Scottcon]

Quit a couple years ago, cold turkey. It sucked. I didn't have even a beer for a couple months, it just intensified the craving too much. The cravings were strong for months, but after 3 weeks or so you stop thinking about it every minute of the day. I still have one now and then when I'm out having a beer with buddies or something, but have to be careful with that, I went a year without before I did that just to make sure it didn't start me up again. I do miss them when playing golf though still. I don't think the urge will ever completely go away for me - I know some reformed smokers who can't stand the smell and make a big deal out of it, I'm just the opposite, smells great to me hehe.

edit: don't tell anyone you are quitting! Nothing sucks worse those first couple weeks than someone coming up and asking you how your cravings are. You're irritated enough as it is, and that could just tip the scales from irritated to assault

[theslflash689]

Congrats on quitting, and doing it fairly young. My dad finally quit last year after 38 years, 28 years of heavy smoking. Fortunately he is still in very good health. He used one of those electronic smokers, but the one with no nicotine. And now he is completely smoke free!

He told me it was one of the toughest things he had ever done in his life, but he is grateful that he was able to overcome it.

[butch33611]

I can do better then support. I can give you the 100% fix to your situation. First, my smoking history. I smoked for 40 years ( I think It was developing into a habit). Like most people I quit a few times only to start up again, mainly when I got into a stressful situation. My wife has tried to get me to stop for a long time but I wasnt having any of that. I came home from work one day and she says, I bought you something. My guesses were, new driver, big TV?? No she said and handed me this box. Inside the box was one of these high quality electronic smokes. I was like Are you kidding me with this thing. She said will you please at least give it a chance and mess around with it. So to make her happy so I could throw this what I thought was a gimmic piece of crap away I agreed.

Remember I smoked a pack a day for 40 years. I used this thing for 2 days without smoking a real one. I walked into the kitchen with almost a full carton of smokes and said. Hey babe, watch this and I dropped them into the trash can. She almost fainted. This happened 8 months ago. Since the first day with this thing I have absolutely no desire to smoke a real cig. Im not fighting it or resisting it, I just dont care to do it.

There are only up sides to doing this.

1. you dont get all the harmful chemicals you get with real cigs.
2. You dont smell like a cig.
3. you can smoke inside the house.
4. Its basicly just water vapor but you get the nicotine your body is looking for.
5. You dont crave the real thing.
6. After you get going with the kit and supplies it costs about half of much as smoking real cigs.
7. Easy to use and maintain.
8. When you smoke a real cig you have to smoke the whole thing, Its just what we do. With this you can take one or as many puffs as you want and then just lay it down.
9. No more runnin out of smokes.
10. Anyone in your life will be so happy you quit.

And probably the most important one, As soon as you start smoking this way your body will start to heal its self. No more smokers cough. Your lungs will begin to fix all the abuse they suffered from smoking the real thing. This thing is just mainly water vapor with some nicotine.

Its a win win for everybody, My wife thinks I quit smoking and I dont feel like I did...lol

So here's what you do. Follow this link, buy this product, try it out, repost here and tell me how right I was.

This is the real deal:

[url="http://www.volcanoecigs.com/electronic-cigarette-starter-kits/inferno-kit.html"]http://www.volcanoecigs.com/electronic-cigarette-starter-kits/inferno-kit.html[/url]

One last thing, The nicotine comes in different levels, 24,16,8. Go with the 16. I got the 8 at the begining and It wasnt strong enough and I wanted a smoke, the 16 is the right level. maybe drop down to the 8 later on.

let me know If I can answer any questions.

Good luck, but you wont need it.

If you have any question, let me know.

[Scottcon]

[quote name='butch33611' timestamp='1350937103' post='5829101']
I can do better then support. I can give you the 100% fix to your situation. [/quote]

There are lots of "100%" fixes, just have to find the one that works for you. For some its e-cigs, patches, chantix, cold turkey. I think it comes down to really wanting to quit for yourself, not because people are asking you to.

I was a bit leary of anything that kept the nicotine addiction alive after the cigs were gone, but thats probably because I didn't trust my willpower as much.

[tec333]

I second the post regarding the e-cigs...really makes it easier to quit...

You can quit the e-cigs easier than cigarettes, but one step at a time. Don't buy the ones that look like a cigarette and have a charging pack that look like a pack of smokes ...those are junk...the ones like the link above with the better/bigger batteries and separate atomizers and use the drops and not the refillable cartridges.

Off course that's if u try the e-cig route...

[anth]

As someone mentioned earlier one of the things that helped me quit for good was the fact that I felt so terrible during those first few weeks, I just didn't want to have to go through the ordeal again. After that it gets easier by the moment.

And you have to take it on moment by moment. You can work yourself over worrying about the times you might be tempted, but just worry about the here and now and win every craving one battle at a time. Eventually the cravings will become less frequent and less intense.

Well done on getting this far and good luck!

[J13]

Congrats on taking the first step typically being the hardest. Never been a smoker but from having people in my life with other addictions I can tell you the first step is wanting to do it for yourself. Understand why you want to quit and keep your focus on that every minute of every day. ALso talking to others like your doing here is a tremendous help. Support is crucial for long term success.

[butch33611]

[quote name='Scottcon' timestamp='1350937721' post='5829141']
[quote name='butch33611' timestamp='1350937103' post='5829101']
I can do better then support. I can give you the 100% fix to your situation. [/quote]

There are lots of "100%" fixes, just have to find the one that works for you. For some its e-cigs, patches, chantix, cold turkey. I think it comes down to really wanting to quit for yourself, not because people are asking you to.

I was a bit leary of anything that kept the nicotine addiction alive after the cigs were gone, but thats probably because I didn't trust my willpower as much.
[/quote]

Nicotine is no more harmful to you then caffine in a cup of coffee. You can use this device for the rest of your life. I have no intentions of quittng. For me this is a replacement for the real thing. I enjoy smoking and have no plans to quit. And now I dont have to.

There are not a lot of 100% fixes for anything. This just happens to be one of them. I have 3 guys I work with that laughed at me when they saw this thing. Now they have one too and love it.

[dbringans]

4 years ago, I quit cold turkey, no patches or anything, after smoking for 20 years. I'd been wanting to quit for some time, but it took a while to muster the courage.

What made me succeed was having a [b]strong enough motivation[/b]. In my case, it was financial - at the same time I quit, I had taken up membership at my golf club. The cost of the member fees was about the same per month as I was spending on smokes. I said to myself that I could only afford one and not the other. I love golf so much that this motivation and ultimatum helped me deal with the cravings. [b]It was knowing that if I smoked, I would lose something dear to me [/b]that made it easier to stay with the plan.

As others have said, after you make it through the first few weeks, the physical cravings disappear.

The other part of the battle is dealing with routines/habits/triggers such as coffee, alcohol, driving etc.

I love coffee, so instead of a smoke, I have a chocolate cookie with my coffee - sweet things and tobacco don't go together for me.

With a beer, I eat some potato chips or nuts.

Only problem is, now I'm addicted to chocolate biscuits and chips (just kidding).

To reiterate, the most important thing in my experience was to have a strong enough motivation/opportunity cost. Having a new baby and not wanting to smoke around the child would be a great one.

Another thing I noticed is just how bad smokers breath smells when they've just had a cigarette. To think that my previous girlfriends had to put up with that smell, I don't know how they did it. Yuk!

[Gutz_it]

Congrats buddy
I quit 2 years ago after smoking for 14 years
I just carries a pack of Nicabate mini's for the first month incase the urge got to much
Couldn't even fathom putting a smoke near my mouth anymore
They are foul
In a month you'll feel yourself feeling better and better every day
Stay strong and keep at it
Good luck

[honketyhank]

I scanned the responses to see if I had anything to add other than my support and relating yet another story of "quitting" (my last cigarette, after 40+ years of a pack a day, was in 2003). Yeah, it's hard. Yeah, it helps to have support from those you love and/or respect. And yeah, there are some ways that your doctor can help.

But my contribution to the discussion (I didn't see it in my scan of all the above,, I hope I am not repeating): Expect a bit of weight gain. Know also that this weight gain is temporary. Not sure why this happens, but it didn't seem like I did anything different with regard to eating and exercise while my weight fluctuated like this. My advice: use the craving for something oral as an excuse to eat some raw veggies - carrots, celery, etc. I am not a health food freak, but I know I ate a ton of rabbit food and it minimized the weight fluctuation. Once you begin "getting over" the cigarette urge, you should also see your metabolism speed up again and weight come back to normal. No guarantees, but it happened to me.

[Vintage1976]

+1 for honketyhank there. Cigarette's are as stimulant as well as a carcinogen. Getting off of them will temporarily slow your metabolism.

I started when I was 15 and quit cold turkey at 21 after reading "The Scientific Case Against Smoking" on a Sunday night while I was bored. That lasted two years until my Mom (thanks Mom) offered me one without thinking one day and I accepted without thinking. I tried to put the brakes on but it didn't take. I quit cold turkey again at 28 after noticing that my [b][i]heart[/i][/b] started to hurt after my normal ''relaxing" smoke break.

A few main things I wasn't prepared for; I had trouble sleeping for a few weeks. A lot of tossing and turning. That did subside with time. Also I had weird dreams for a while - probably my subconscious venting. I had zero libido for this same amount of time. My sense of smell returned after the first time I quit, but not the second time. I still haven't regained 50% of that function compared to my healthy young adulthood.

A few things that helped me; Exercise. Every time I had a craving (if I could) I would jog, do push ups, pull ups, squats, whatever just to reroute my thoughts. Cravings were pretty bad for me but only for a few minutes at a time. Also to get through tough moments I would think back to a time in my life when I wouldn't have even thought about lighting up a cigarette like when I was much younger. Again, trying to reroute my thoughts, and it did help. Actually one of the bigger contributors was a good friend trying to tell me flat-out that [i]nobody[/i] could just quit cold turkey. After that I had to stick to it or never hear the end of it from him.

Best of luck. The human mind is capable of pretty much anything.

[Mulligan26]

[quote name='butch33611' timestamp='1350938297' post='5829193']
[quote name='Scottcon' timestamp='1350937721' post='5829141']
[quote name='butch33611' timestamp='1350937103' post='5829101']
I can do better then support. I can give you the 100% fix to your situation. [/quote]

There are lots of "100%" fixes, just have to find the one that works for you. For some its e-cigs, patches, chantix, cold turkey. I think it comes down to really wanting to quit for yourself, not because people are asking you to.

I was a bit leary of anything that kept the nicotine addiction alive after the cigs were gone, but thats probably because I didn't trust my willpower as much.
[/quote]

Nicotine is no more harmful to you then caffine in a cup of coffee. You can use this device for the rest of your life. I have no intentions of quittng. For me this is a replacement for the real thing. I enjoy smoking and have no plans to quit. And now I dont have to.

There are not a lot of 100% fixes for anything. This just happens to be one of them. I have 3 guys I work with that laughed at me when they saw this thing. Now they have one too and love it.
[/quote]

Uhhh yeah dude, you're waaaaaaaayyyyy off as far as nicotine goes. It's is one of the most poisonous substances on planet earth, over 10x more dangerous than CYANIDE in its raw form.

[Yuck]

Simular to what others have mentioned, I quit before our 1st child was born. Get to the 3 week point, then physically it becomes easier. Then it is like an ex girlfreind, the longer time goes by, the less you think about it. (and if you do think of it, focus on the negatives and avoid temptation to go back)

[golfingchuck]

Thanks for the support guys! I knew I could count on a lot of you for your story.