Quitting Smoking...

[HottieMama]

I have decided that Friday March 16th, I am quitting smoking. It is a long time coming. I'm 36, have smoked since I was 14, with the only exceptions being my pregnancies. (Even then I wasn't fully quit... I still snuck one every few days.) It's affecting my health, obviously...and my self-esteem. I need to do this for my kids and for my girl who is utterly repulsed by smoking, but wants to be with me anyway... (go figure...) There is a huge age difference between us, and I need to be my healthiest to "keep up" with her...

So..for anyone who has done it... What worked for you???

 

[knot_sweet]

HottieMama I don't know you at all, but I want to give you a massive high five with accompanying little boogie dance. (I can't find the dancing banana)

Sorry if that sounded patronising or anything...

Anyway, mum said when she quit smoking, the natropath she went to see suggested chromium supplements for the sugar craving would help. Who knew cigarettes had sugar on them, cos I sure didn't...

Also, lots of water. This is supposed to help with the slight dehydration caused by the stress of quitting and help the body detox faster.

Hope this helps.

Here's wishing you the best of success with what you're trying to do for the woman you care about.

 

[ecstaticsub]

I have decided that Friday March 16th, I am quitting smoking. It is a long time coming. I'm 36, have smoked since I was 14, with the only exceptions being my pregnancies. (Even then I wasn't fully quit... I still snuck one every few days.) It's affecting my health, obviously...and my self-esteem. I need to do this for my kids and for my girl who is utterly repulsed by smoking, but wants to be with me anyway... (go figure...) There is a huge age difference between us, and I need to be my healthiest to "keep up" with her...

So..for anyone who has done it... What worked for you???

My mother smoked almost 2 packs a day for 56 years. After a scary hospitalization in an overseas hospital while on vacation she quit more or less cold turkey. She started on Wellbutrin daily and went down to 3 half cigarettes three times a day for a week then went to none. She needed an occasional ativan to help with the anxiety but that was only 1 or 2 tablets every 3-4 days for about a month. She was on the Wellbutrin for about 6 months and then was slowly weaned off of it. She has been smoke free now for over a year. I am extremely proud of her and completely amazed that she actually did it.

Good luck to you !

 

[Cattypuss]

I gave up smoking about 8 years ago, when I was 36.

At the time I had been a 20-a-day smoker for 20 years (40-a-day on a night out) and was so addicted that I kept an ashtray and a pack of cigs and a lighter on my bedside table so that I could have a cig every morning before even having to think of getting out of bed.

I gave up countless times during those 20 years, with varying degrees of success (longest was I think 6 months) but the cravings never reduced. I was what AA call a "dry drunk" during those times.

When I finally cracked it and gave up it was without patches etc (I am allergic to them) and it was while living with my heavy-smoking husband, who did not give up. And I found it surprisingly easy.

The single secret of my success was this one little book. It may not work for everyone but it worked FANTASTICALLY for me. I know beyond all doubt that I will never smoke again and I get maybe one 2-minute craving, once every year or two, which of course is very easy to get through.

Here's the book that saved my health and my bank balance -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Allen-Carrs...7633/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1330351788&sr=8-7

 

[wahoo33]

Hello HottieMama,

Congratulations on making the decision to quit. I've done it several times via several methods.
Cold Turkey really sucks for a few weeks, maybe more. I think I finally calmed down at about the 30 day mark.
Welbutrin made it easier, but I felt a little too out of touch. Still, it really did help with the withdraw. And it's generic so the price is not too bad.
Chantix is very expensive, but it is an amazing drug. During the first week you take it you just keep on smoking like nothing has changed. After taking it for a week or so the urge to smoke just kinda goes away. It's the strangest thing. You sort of forget that you are a smoker. With very little effort you are down to 2 or three smokes per day. Stopping is easy and even if you cave and have a smoke it doesn't really set you back at all. It's difficult to describe but you really do cross a mental bridge and view yourself as a non-smoker. And you are. It was that easy. Just stay on it for a few months after you quit because the nicotine monster is a patient and persistent stalker.

Best of luck,

 

[HottieMama]

Thanks for all of the advice and support so far. Cattypuss, I will certainly look into that book. From the amazon preview it looks interesting.

It's funny because I have been in recovery from drug addiction for over 14 years. The 12 steps got me clean...They just might help me not pick up a cigarette. I'm trying to avoid taking psych meds to quit because I have abused psych meds in the past and they are a slippery slope for me.

I really appreciate all the support I can get, folks..

 

[BiBunny]

I'm not a smoker (I'm both allergic and asthmatic), but I was going to suggest Wellbutrin, too. I take it, too, though obviously not for smoking cessation. Because it acts as a mild stimulant and often causes a little weight loss when you first start taking it, it might also help you avoid gaining weight when you quit. Plus, the generic's not terribly expensive.

Good luck, HM!

 

[DVS]

I have decided that Friday March 16th, I am quitting smoking. It is a long time coming. I'm 36, have smoked since I was 14, with the only exceptions being my pregnancies. (Even then I wasn't fully quit... I still snuck one every few days.) It's affecting my health, obviously...and my self-esteem. I need to do this for my kids and for my girl who is utterly repulsed by smoking, but wants to be with me anyway... (go figure...) There is a huge age difference between us, and I need to be my healthiest to "keep up" with her...

So..for anyone who has done it... What worked for you???

I'm not a smoker, but I am behind you all of the way, on quitting. I know it isn't easy, mostly because the makers of those things have so much stuff in them to get addicted to that it's very difficult to stop. But, even though I say that, I know it isn't impossible to do.

One thing I would suggest is to not have anything else that is stressful going on in your life, because you know stress tends to require a cigarette. Try the least difficult times when you are on vacation or something, if possible. I know that can also be a stressful time, but if you put your mind to it, you'd be surprised what you can do.

I had a friend who quit by using those filters you get in a drug store. She said they work on weaning you off of the nicotine and such in stages. She said just cleaning them out made her that much more determined to stop. And it also helped to see that stuff that the filter caught, knowing that was not going into her lungs.

I've seen the e-cigarettes on the market and I wonder how close they are to the real thing. There is nicotine in them, but there is no smoke and so there are also no other chemicals that a real cigarette has that would help you eventually quit. Also, I think those e-cigarettes are a cheap option, because they cost less than the real thing, as well as less than any drugs or patches that you might use to help you quit.

I've heard that you get the same satisfaction from an e-cigarette, because of the nicotine and because there is no smoke, you aren't offending anybody when you do smoke. It's just vapor. Again, I don't know from first hand experience, but it seems to me that if you can cut down from real cigarettes to the e-cigarettes, that would make actual quitting easier, as well as making the times you do smoke less of a burden to those around you.

I've heard that you can even smoke those things where smoking is prohibited, because there is no smoke. And no smoke means a lot less of those chemicals in a real cigarette. Not going cold turkey is probably less of a stress factor, and so less stress means you would have the desire to smoke less, too. Taking away the addictive chemicals, the smoke and the offensive odor your friends and family don't care for will also be less stressful. And, if you need them, you could still go with drugs or patches to assist in your quest.

I love hearing when someone decides to quit smoking. And, if you're determined to make it stick, your health will begin to get better very soon and you'll notice it. Food tastes better and just about anything that smells good smells even better. Another big plus to help you stop. Back just 10 or 15 years ago, it was all just sheer determination and bare knuckle will power to stop. Today, you have several options to choose from. I hope these options help. As for the e-cigarette, I'd be curious to know if those things are true to their ads.

Good luck! But, I don't think you're going to need it.

 

[mediocre]

I quit smoking two years ago. Long story about they why I quit smoking but after years of trying I am finally done with that habit. I have one word for you,


Chantix


much better than Wellbutrin. After two days of being on drug, I was done. The hard part was staying off smoking after I stopped the drug. You just have to decide not to smoke again, ever. Expensive drug but cheaper than smoking. My insurance wouldn't pay for it. It was about $150 per month for three months.

Now, if losing weight was only that easy.....

 

[HottieMama]

Oh....BTW....To the six people that PMed me about fulfilling their smoking fetish...

Fuck you, you motherfucking asshole! Is that clear enough?!?!?!?!

 

[Sir_Winston54]

HM,

First, let me congratulate you on your decision, and the public announcement (which is supposed to be a good second step {after making the decision, of course!}, because it gets people on your side, and also provides the incentive of not wanting to embarrass yourself with failure). I have tons and tons of faith in you to succeed in this. You've been in drug addiction recovery for 14 years, so you know what it takes to do this. And don't fool yourself: Nicotine/smoking addiction is just as tough to recover from as either alcohol or drugs. After all, nicotine IS a drug, as are some of the other "harmless additives" that are included in cigarettes.

I've been a smoker almost my entire life. Fifty-one years and some months ago, I started smoking a pack a day (or more), and essentially never quit, except for some short periods that didn't last. I blame that not on any of the programs I was on, or the chemical aids I was given, but on myself and my lack of willpower, plus the fact that with most of the chemical aids available, I'm either not allowed to take them (Wellbutrin, because I have/had high blood pressure and have had five heart attacks), or suffered from relatively rare side effects.

With the nicotine patch, I quickly found myself trying to sleep through the most funky detailed, 3-D, Technicolor dreams I had *ever* had. Even following my doctor's advice and taking the patch off about 2 hours before bedtime and replacing it the next morning didn't help. Scratch the patch.

With Chantix, I did pretty well, at first. I even posted an "I quit!" thread here. Then the side effect hit. Anything more than slight physical effort, or moving my head quickly, threw me into a near gray-out. One night at bowling, I was having to take a few seconds after each time I threw the ball to re-establish my balance and my vision. Finally, a few frames into the second game, one of my teammates asked if I was okay. I said, yeah, just a little dizzy, and she looked at me and said, "Well, *we* thought you might be having another heart attack... you were losing every bit of color in your face." Called the doctor the next morning; she said, "Quit taking the Chantix NOW. That's a rare, but dangerous side effect." <Sigh>

That was shortly before I moved up here to the northern Midwest. I had managed, during the Chantix period, to quit for a few weeks, but once off Chantix, I soon started back up, a couple a day, then a few a day, but not more than a half pack a day. Since I had previously been smoking at least a pack, and up to two packs, a day, that was a great improvement, but still not what I need. I'm still smoking less than half a pack a day (except when I go to the casino for more than an hour or so The casino here {on reservation land} is exempt from the state law that prohibits smoking in public buildings, so the temptation - and the desire - is there, as well as the ambient smoke in the facility.)

Regardless of *my* tale of woe and failure, I have every faith that YOU will succeed, and you have my heartiest congratulations for making this decision, and my wholehearted support and best wishes in your quest!

 

[Sir_Winston54]

Oh....BTW....To the six people that PMed me about fulfilling their smoking fetish...

Fuck you, you motherfucking asshole! Is that clear enough?!?!?!?!

And to those six people, here's *my*

FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE!

to add to HM's. What she's doing is hard enough without idiots like you trying to make it seem glamorous and desirable.

Trust me, y'all... if I could go back in time and change just ONE decision I've made in my life, it would be the one to ever smoke that first cigarette. Now, I've made some pretty damn dumb decisions in my life, some of which have had lifetime repercussions. For me to single out *that one* ... well, that might give you some indication of how important it was, and how much I regret it.

 

[BiBunny]

Oh....BTW....To the six people that PMed me about fulfilling their smoking fetish...

Fuck you, you motherfucking asshole! Is that clear enough?!?!?!?!

Just send them to me, and I'll tell them that, coincidentally enough, I have a fetish for setting men on fire and that we should get along quite well.

 

[intothewoods]

Oh....BTW....To the six people that PMed me about fulfilling their smoking fetish...

Fuck you, you motherfucking asshole! Is that clear enough?!?!?!?!

No one ever PMs me to solicit anything!

Um, good luck with quitting smoking. You should look at KC's old thread on this.

 

[midwestyankee]

Congratulations on the steps you've already taken. I'm not in my office at the moment but there's a book on change that I'd like to recommend. Will pass it on when I can.

I know you can do this.

 

[ultramarineblue]

Good luck. Getting through cravings isn't easy. Reminding myself I had made it so far each time I felt a craving helped a lot.

 

[bhndblueyes88]

First of all, Hottie, if I could I'd give you a massive good-for-you-go-get-'em-girl hug for even wanting to try, I would and I might give you a platonic ass-smack of encouragement as well.

As far as quitting, I've never smoked so I can't give you any advice out of personal experience. however, based on the experiences of some friends and my boyfriend, what seems to have worked for them is a huge overwhelming powerful REASON. one friend quit because she wanted to have kids. Every time she thought about one, she thought about having kids, and raising them without smoke everywhere. My boyfriend quits cold turkey (not too difficultly, actually) every time he comes to visit me. He's even able to maintain it for a good while on his own at home but...well he's a social smoker so it does't last long in Australia where everyone and their mother seems to smoke or have smoked. but my point there is that when he's here, with me and my sensitive lungs, he hardly even wants one after the first couple days. My poor lungs are his reason.

Well. That or I"m just THAT FANTASTIC in bed that he doesn't even want to smoke...but let's not kid ourselves

 

[graceanne]

I haven't quit smoking, but I've quit morphine (prescription), which was no walk in the park. I did it by quitting a little at a time. I was taking 8 a day, so I started taking 7 a day, then 6, then 5. It made quitting completely a lot easier, because I got down to one a day, and that's a lot easier to quit than 8.

K's starting quitting tomorrow, and that's how he's gonna do it. We figure one cigarette for when he wakes up, one for when he goes to bed, one after each meal, and two 'i'm gonna kill someone if i don't have a smoke'. That's a three cigarette a day drop from where he is now, just fyi. In a week or two, he's gonna drop to 6 a day, then the week after to 5 a day. The idea is we'll get him down to one a day, then quit.

 

[Etaski]

Three Cheers To You!

No one's mentioned this yet, I simply must tell you:

Check out Auricular Therapy.

http://www.neurologyassocinc.com/stopsmoking.shtml

(The above link is just a little "what is it?" You may have to search around your area for a provider, if there is one.)

In a sentence: it is like acupuncture using a small electrical charge, and it "resets" your brain into thinking that you quit 3 days ago (the plain worst days for cravings, while you're breaking the physical addiction).

You break the addiction in 3 days. You spend years truly breaking the habit.

My husband smoked from the age of 12 until he was in his 30s. He wanted to quit; he tried nicotine gum/patch and cold turkey, both didn't work. The auricular therapy did. He was also a lot less of a bear in the following month or so. He was still anxious and had an increased appetite (as expected), but he still resembled my husband and didn't turn into a stranger like the other two methods.

If you're ready to quit, this may help you.

A few support things you should have in place:

EXERCISE and Low/Non-calorie oral stimulants!

You will gain weight after quitting smoking; your taste buds and sense of smell will return in full force, and eating is a common way to fill the void. Do everything you can to curb this!

I bought my husband all the cinnamon toothpicks he wanted (I bought a case online from a candy vendor: 20 little boxes filled with 50 cinnamon toothpicks each!), and he would chew/fiddle/gnaw on them whenever he had a craving/urge for a cigarette. I bought him all flavors of sugarless gum for whenever he wanted. The stronger/tarter, the better (the saliva production and taste bud response actually helps calm his cravings).

He's been smoke-free for 2 years and counting.

This is totally worth doing.

Wash your drapes afterward.

Wash all your clothes and coats and gloves, all your bedding.

Febreeze the HELL out of your car, your furniture, use a carpet deodorizer.

Pick up allllll the little butts loitering around, get rid of them. Get rid of all lighters, all lingering boxes, keep matches only for nice-smelling candles.

Get yourself a brand-new trash can (or three); pitch all the ones with linger ash-smell.

Doing this type of deep cleaning afterward re-enforces your "new start."

Best wishes and best of luck. I know you can do it. Exercise, watch your portions at meal time, drink tons of water, avoid candy and sweets and sucking on sugar-pieces to control your cravings, chew on whatever you need to chew on but keep it healthy (carrots?) and no-calorie. Clean and wash your house and car.

Avoid gatherings with smokers for at least a few months. A pox on anyone who offers you a cigarette (no, you can't have "just one" and be alright!!!).

Hang in there. Your kids will be proud of you.

 

[Curious_in_Cali]

I don't have any advice to share, but I offer my wholehearted support!

 

[Aurantica]

Ive never smoked but after listening to this I never want to start.

http://www.causticsodapodcast.com/2011/08/08/tobacco/

Also, may I suggest yoga, walking or some other form of excercise to help with the stress. You'll get to see your lung function come back too!

 

[satindesire]

Another vote in for Wellbutrin. My husband stopped smoking when he was put on it for depression, and quit smoking ACCIDENTALLY. He didn't want to quit, didn't plan on it, he just didn't want to smoke anymore. It was really amazing.

If it can make a smoker that doesn't want to quit, quit, it might be able to help you.

 

[Cattypuss]

Just coming back to this thread after seeing all the talk of drugs to ease the transition, and of how much willpower it all requires etc**. As someone who has been free of tobacco (both mentally and physically) for 8 years, I would URGE you to read the Allen Carr book. It requires only about a week's worth of willpower, if that, and no drugs or replacements, and no hypnosis or anything like that.

That one book really DOES make quitting smoking easy (almost enjoyable!), even for the heaviest, most addicted smoker.

I strongly urge you to acquire it and read at least half of it before 16th March.


[**edited to add: for the avoidance of doubt, I tried willpower for many years. I was truly very addicted. I am NOT dismissing how hard it is to give up smoking without Carr's method - I've been there, and done that, many times, and those times were some of the hardest of my life]

 

[kiwi_submissive]

I had to tell my friends not to ask about how my giving up smoking was going. Every time I had finally gotten it out of my head that I wanted a smoke someone would ask and it would start up again. I couldn't even have the TV on because of those giving up smoking ads. I must admit that I do find the non smokers at work incredibly anti social so I still go out with the smokers for breaks to talk to them.

A friend of mine was a 40 a day smoker and he made a $100 bet with a mate that they would both give up and the first one that had a smoke had to pay the other $100. Neither of them have smoked in over 3 years because they don't want to lose the bet. They both went totally cold turkey, no books, patches or drugs.

Maybe you could set up a treat plan, so once you go so many days then weeks then months without a smoke then you treat yourself with something? Gives you something to look forward to and if smokes are as expensive there as they are here then you will have a fair amount of spare cash to be able to do that.

 

[waaitg]

All the best to you in your efforts.

My brother smoked for nearly a decade and it took him multiple tries before it finally took. What I learned was that in his case, it was the 3rd day that was the hardest for him (aside from stressful days).

Don't worry if you have trouble, there are people who care for you and want to help you. Let them know and keep us posted.

W~