sick of my smoking habit

[YT2095]

aah, but i fully intend to be hung-over as shite tomorrow, and don't feel like adding to my woes by not smoking

 

LOL, fair play to ya

for Me, alcohol is something I have to avoid entirely as well, times when I have failed in the past have been after a few drinks and I crave a cig really bad then, so no booze of any sort for a good 6 months or so until I`m sure that I`m over cigs.

which isn`t really as bad as it sounds because I don`t drink that much anyway, and the beer I have is Alcohol free anyway.

Same with my morning coffee, so I`v decided not to put any sugar in it (I still need my coffees), as sweet things make me want a cig too.

[stevo247]

After smoking for over 30 years, I haven't had a cigarette since this past September 14. Here is how I got away from them.

 

I think it started when I went to the dentist, and the hygienist (during one of those ultra-vigorous cleaning sessions) stated that she found it to be very curious that smokers gums rarely bleed during these cleanings. For some reason that got me thinking about smoking and my health. I found that the more I convinced myself that I needed to quit, the more I smoked. Crazy. In desperation, I just slapped a 21mg. Nicotine patch on my upper arm. I told myself that I could smoke if I wanted, but I was going to keep the patch on. A couple of hours later I smoked a cigarette. I realized that I really didn't need it. A few hours later I tried another. As I was smoking it, I realized that the patch was giving me the nicotine that I desired, and I really didn't need the cigarette. That was my last cigarette.

 

For four weeks I used the 21mg. patch. For 2 weeks I used the 14 mg. patch. For another 2 weeks I used the 7 mg. patch. I also used the 4mg. Nicorette gum during the bumpy transition periods. I also went to a weekly Nicotine Anonymous meeting for additional support.

 

After 2 months of using the patch and gum, I stopped all nicotine. After decreasing to the lowest patch, I expected the transition to “nicotine free” to be rather gentle. It wasn't. After about 24 hours, every cell in my body started screaming. It seemed like an eternity. It went on for about 10 days. I had a lot of trouble concentrating and focusing. People would talk and their words would just bounce off my head. I was irritable. Nasty. But it finally calmed down. Looking back, I would recommend using the nicotine replacement products for longer than I did. What's interesting is that it's not about smoking. It's all about nicotine.

 

I've quit smoking a few times in the past. This time I don't refer to it as quiting. I'm finished. I'm finished smoking. I'm done. I've had enough.

 

It really is amazing how quickly you can regain your health. I am jogging 5 miles now. When you stop smoking, you will look noticeably younger, and you will feel a whole lot better. It is such a relief to know that I no longer need to feel shame about doing something that clearly was destroying my health.

 

Just yesterday we went to a funeral for a friends mother. She was 62, and a smoker. Four weeks ago she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Her family and friends are just shocked and devastated. It ain't no joke.

 

Stopping cigarettes is a big thing. Especially if you've been smoking for a long time. Nicotine addiction is an all day long affair. It becomes a part of so many activities. But if you can break away, it seems like you gain something important. A certain presence. A consistency of will. A confidence. It's worth it.

[Shadow]

It really does help to see how many people try and stop on the same day I do. It's a reminder that I'm not alone, and that there are other people around the world who are going through something similar. I "quit" smoking a couple of time before, and what basically happened was that I woke up one day and was "done". I didn't need any gum or anything, I just forced myself to stop. And yeah, I felt like crap for a couple of days, but after that it was fine. I would "be finished" for as long as I had promised myself, and then willingly started again. Now, ever since September, I have been promising myself to stop on New Years. It's been 3 months since that decision, and I have had plenty of time to think it over. Lots of times, I got the "Well, how about you quit but you allow yourself to smoke at party's. Or when you're with your friends. Or when your on tournaments. Or anything." voice in my head. Thankfully, I've always resisted, and told my self to eff off with that bull. Up until recently it had worked, until I discovered like two or three specific situations where I knew that I would have a smoke no matter what, so I allowed myself to have a cigarette in these situations. Luckily, I fell asleep and when I woke up the next morning I had no clue what those situations were So I guess I'm safe. Anyway, good luck to us all, I hope it works this time, and for good.

 

Cheers,

 

Gabe

[YT2095]

well, according to my stats: "I have been quit for 6 Days, 19 hours, 42 minutes and 14 seconds (6 days). I have saved £9.73 by not smoking 136 cigarettes. I have saved 11 hours and 20 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 01/01/2009 00:00"

 

how is Dak doing?

[blike]

Good job YT! That's awesome

[Royston]

well, according to my stats: "I have been quit for 6 Days, 19 hours, 42 minutes and 14 seconds (6 days). I have saved £9.73 by not smoking 136 cigarettes. I have saved 11 hours and 20 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 01/01/2009 00:00"

 

When I quit previously, for roughly a year, it seemed to get much harder around two weeks to a month after quitting. Although it's quite hellish for the first week, people tend to ready themselves and compensate for how it will feel. It's sustaining it, that's the trick.

 

I can't remember why I started again...probably down the pub. But I've been weak and pathetic and didn't even consider quitting this year, albeit I wouldn't class myself a heavy smoker.

 

Congrats to you and Dak, I've always considered it a daft habit, but logic and cravings don't tend to mix.

[iNow]

Snail raises a good point. It's not over. Stay in it for the long run, and don't let yourself fail. Don't become complacent. Keep your eyes on the prize, and remind yourself that your cravings are not over. Well done, man. Keep it up.

[jeffreyfrog]

Honestly, it depends on your body. Everyone has cancer cells in them - they are just mutated cells. If your immune system is good and healthy, your body will get rid of them. If it's not for some reason - if you smoke, or eat badly, or don't exercise, or just have a low immune system, they will build up in one place and accumulate and then you will develop tumors.

 

Some people never have cancer and smoke 40 years. Some people never smoke, and get cancer of the lungs - or throat, etc.

 

It all depends on your body.

Edited February 8, 2009 by Phi for All
advertising link removed

[imp]

Hello there........Am sick of my smoking habit as it is really having a toll on my health. I want to quit but am unable to do so...maximum I can quit is for a week but after that it becomes unbearable to stay away. Please help!!! I have browsed the net for solutions and have found sites like chantixhome.com which sell pills like chantix for quit smoking. Since the pills cost a good amount I want to know if they really work. Should I go for it or not???

 

Get a grip on your MIND, and start making it do YOUR bidding, not it's addictive bidding.

 

Strength comes from being STRONG, not caving in by saying "I'm weak".

 

Millions upon millions of people have quit. Find someone you dearly love, truly love, not some BS fantasy, and quit when that person encourages you to do so.

[YT2095]

after a close call a little while back, I found that taking Snuff totally gets rid of the cravings and constant agitation/stress that were still present a Month after being quit.

so I`m still addicted to Nicotine, but I`m not killing my heart and frying my lungs.

[johnbrandy]

As with alcohol, quitting tobacco may require acknowledging, and addressing people, places , and things that one associates with smoking, in order to avoid certain well established triggers directly related to the perceived need to smoke. No doubt, there is a genuine physical, as well as psychological justification to continue the habit. Yet, the desire to smoke is never the result of a bodily need. The mind directs the body to smoke and is therefore the source of the decision to smoke. Quitting is also a decision, the physical need to continue is not. Often, one must develop the ability to monitor their mental content in order to understand and control the desire for unnecessary satisfaction or false rewards. A constitution, conditioned with a disciplined life style, coupled with a strong, and informed desire to desist, will harbor a better chance of permanently eliminating any undesirable habit; whether physically and/or psychologically grounded. The lack of such greatly increased the probability of failure, and largely characteristics the challenge.

[Externet]

In case is of help to anyone; buying an 'unpleasant' brand of cigarrettes does diminish the smoking; if does not give you also a nasty throat infection* that forces to not smoke for at least several days.

That can be used as an opportunity to stretch the days and hold on to a non-smoking future, or change then to yet another brand.

 

I have stopped two or three times for a year or so; and now am back on a much less intensity; but just because I am bored at work breaks, and do not now what to replace the habit with.

Smoking gives me nothing, no high, no relax, no nothing, no shit. Just a sensation while smoking that cannot feel later nor lasts. If someone comes up with a similar harmless thing to aspire it would be good to switch to.

 

*Seen it happening several times. A change in brand nests some different kind of resident microbes on the throat that we have built no defenses against ¿?

 

Miguel

[YT2095]

meh, I`v taken to smoking my pipe again, but I`m still off the 40 a day Cig habit I had.

I don`t think I`ll go back to being a cig smoker again either, I tried one a couple of weeks ago and it really hurt my lungs when I took a drag, so I`m glad I`m off them.

I`ll have a glass of Port before my dinner, but no more than that as I don`t want to risk my old cigarette urges coming back again, I still need to put more time between me and them.

I Bought a new Laptop with the money I`v saved too, so Something must be going right

[tulip]

Hypnosis worked for a friend of mine. She put the money she saved from smoking in a jar and treated herself at the end of each month. Good luck and think of all the money you'll save!

[kleinwolf]

For me biking helped me to give up, because breathing was so difficult, I stopped since 1 year, but I had an accident with my bike. So I stopped biking and now the cigarette-envy strikes back, it's a pity.

[MM6]

Hello there........Am sick of my smoking habit as it is really having a toll on my health. I want to quit but am unable to do so...maximum I can quit is for a week but after that it becomes unbearable to stay away. Please help!!! I have browsed the net for solutions and have found sites like chantixhome.com which sell pills like chantix for quit smoking. Since the pills cost a good amount I want to know if they really work. Should I go for it or not???

 

Have you considered coupling your smoking with some unpleasant stimulus (as if knowledge of the destructive effects of smoking isn't enough). For example, between puffs you could punch yourself in the head. Or with every cigarette you smoke you donate $10 to some organization you dislike (more civilized/sane?? lol). You know, a form of Pavlovian conditioning! It's a good idea, try it!

 

BTW, on February 1, 2008, the FDA issued a Public Health Advisory on Chantix.