ok guys, i am finally going to do it for good this time. Since i started 20 some years ago i have quit 4 times but this time i am determined to do it for good (guess that explains why i have had more time the past few days to post and why things irritate me more, huh?). Anyway, for those of you that have successfully quit for more than 3 years, what are your best tips and tricks? Not gonna do drugs, i just don't, but just ordered the Apollo e cig and hoping that will help, i think my biggest problem is the habit of having something in my hand, as HG and hubby tell me, "flick that ash" and "i waste more cigs than i smoke" hoping having something in my hand with no nicotine will help. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.
If I were you I would just become a drunk. :lol: I dont smoke and never have so it's hard for me to understand why anyone would want to smoke, but I have friends that did and I know two things that helped. One was acupuncture. personally I think that's poppycock, but he swears that it worked. It was at a place behind The Melting Pot on Wake Forest Road. The other one you mentioned, electronic cigarettes. I know several people who switched to them and they claim it works. Good luck -
Good for you! I have a friend who quit after 40 years of smoking. It was unconventional, but it worked for him. His medical doctor put him on Wellbutrin. Whenever he tried to smoke, it made him physically ill, as in nauseous. Nothing else would work for him. Good luck to you. http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/bupropion-hydrochloride-zyban-for-quitting-smoking
thanks guys, normally at this time of night i am out in the garage smoking and talking to DH, but now he is out there smoking and i am sitting here online, hopefully the time will come when i can still go out there and enjoy our normal late night conversation.
:lol::lol::lol:I love ya girlie, but if you smoked for years, a little pharmaceutical help ain't gonna hurt ya! ; ) If it gets you to stop smoking, it's worth it. :cheers:
I have tried them all. Wellbutrin, Zyban, Nicoderm patches, gum,and lozenges, hypnosis, acupuncture, specialized doctors as well as shrinks, fake cigs and Chantix. NONE of them work UNLESS you WANT to quit smoking. I have had a love affair with lung biscuits, specifically Player's Medium Navycut. After 45 years of non-filters, I decided to quit. (The quad by-pass plus 2 laterals was also an incentive). I was on Chantix for 4.5 years (great dreams) and finally stopped. However, 3 months later, I started smoking cigars and now I smoke 3~4 a day but I inhale the smoke from cigars. I am fully aware that smoking is bad. It makes your clothes and hair stink, it costs a fortune, it makes people avoid you like a leper, it ruins your teeth and your health. It dictates your life. It is a form of slow suicide. Nicotine is a powerful, addictive drug and more difficult to stop than weed or coke. You can quit. It takes every bit of willpower that you can muster and therapy and drugs can help in fighting the cravings. I can tell you that the first 3 days are the worst and if you can get past that, you have an excellent chance of quitting. When you get the urge to smoke, if you can wait or keep busy for 7 minutes, the craving will pass. You must fight one craving at a time. It's either that or go to an uninhabited island. Use a physical placebo, (i.e. fake cig, pencil, straw). Buy up all the carrots and celery at the store. Wear a thick rubber band on your wrist and snap it every time you want a cigarette. Get a buddy that you can call who will either talk you out of a cig or at least delay it. Identify the 'triggers' that cause you to smoke; like after meals or with coffee or drinking alcohol. You need to change your schedule to avoid these times and places that trigger your smoking. Don't be discouraged if you fall off the wagon. successful quitters usually average 8~10 times before they actually quit. Your mantra should be, "N.O.P.E." - Not One Puff Ever. Within one week of quitting, your lungs start to repair themselves. Your heart isn't working as hard and arteriosclerosis stops and begins to decrease. Within 3 months, you lungs will have regained 85% of capacity, breathing will be normal. the hacking cough will disappear and you'll feel ten times better. After one year, your body should be back to where it was before you started smoking. Just remember that you have to WANT to quit, NOPE and the 7 minutes. I wish you all the luck in the world and if I can help you in any way, you know how to reach me. BTW, the Nicoderm patches don't work. If you roll them up too tight, they don't stay lit.
It's the best decision you could ever make. I know your grandkids will be happy. I never used any drugs or patches or gum. I just knew I wanted to quit and I did. approaching my 8 year, smoke free, anniversary..... Not going to lie, but it's going to be even harder for you since your roommate (aka husband :mrgreen is going to smoke. things that worked for me: for the first three months I stayed away from people who smoked (which wasn't too hard, I had only one friend at the time that indulged) and situations where there would be smoking. It was a bit challenging, but I made it work. I didn't drink any alcohol for the first three months. Drinking is a huge trigger for most smokers.(again not too hard for me since I really don't drink that much) I would have a glass of wine with dinner, but that was it. Didn't just drink to be drinking. Declined social events that were "smoking" events in my mind. After dinner was the hardest for me to conquer. After dinner I would go for a walk. Every time I wanted a cigarette, I would go for a walk. Not necessarily a long walk, but to the end of the street and back, around the block, around the yard. After about a month, you naturally just go for a walk after dinner, and not a cigarette. I have never smoked another cigarette since July 9th 2005. I have never looked back. They disgust me. I won't go where cigarettes are. Not long after I quit, they banned them from restaurants and bars. It was like Christmas. I used to track how much money I saved (with a free app on the computer) for the first year or so....it was in the thousands. You will never regret quitting smoking. I don't know of one person who has ever said, "I sure wish I had quit smoking". The mind is so powerful. I know you are strong willed too. If you have made your mind up, then don't let anything stop you. I know you can do it!!
Navycut is absolutely right....you MUST have the desire and drive to WANT to quit. I smoked for 20+ years, and I have been off of them for 2.5 years now. People that say they are quitting for their kids, their spouse, their grandkids, etc, are fooling themselves. I love my family, but I quit for me, and only me. I used the nicoderm patches, they worked beautifully...delivering the nicotine, without the smoke. This process allows you to break the "hand" habits, and gradually phasing out the drug. I've tried all that other stuff too (not the drugs...those scared me) and nothing worked, primarily because I was not ready to quit...then one day, MY DAY, I quit, and never looked back. I quit at probably the toughest point in my life (to this point). I started my quit journey in June 2010, 1 week after my father was admitted to the hospital for 6 months, with esophageal cancer. 6 months later, my father had died from complications from cancer surgery and I was still smoke free AND off the patches. I am a firm believer that if you are not ready to quit, you will NEVER succeed in quitting. It's tough, really tough. I still crave them. You are tougher than the cravings, you just have to believe you are...mind over matter. Good luck!
Starting my 6th year free now. For me it was easy. Well easy in theory. Quit cold turkey. Make it through one day. Then two days. Then think to yourself....you know how hard those 2 days were? Well if you give in, then it was all for nothing and if you ever think you are going to quit again, that is the "pain" you will have to endure again. So you make it a few more days and then you think to yourself the same thing. After 2 weeks it really wasnt bad at all but yeah, you gota want it. If you dont want to quit, all the gadgets in the world wont help.
That worked for me when I quit the first time. I thought it was great. Zyban actually took away the flavor of the cigarette for me and made it taste nasty. Sort of like that stuff you put on nails to keep you from biting.
I really want to quit again. But my will power today is not like it was. I have no motivation. I refuse to use food as a vise.
YOU CAN DO IT KC!!!!! If you need support, holler at me. (and no I'm not quitting) :lol::lol: CONGRATZ TO THE NOW NON-SMOKERS!!!
