Quitting Smoking

Ok, need all your help. ONLY ANSWER IF YOU PERSONALLY QUIT, PLEASE. I appreciate the advice, but it helps more when its from former smokers. They are the ones that will understand.

I need to quick smoking for numerous reason. If you quit, how did you do it? Being sick, I haven't really smoked this week (1 pack is still half full that I purchased last Saturday evening).

I've tried cold turkey and eventually caved in due to my friends at work (they all smoke, especially when we go out for Happy Hours).

Thanks

Re: Quitting Smoking

I quit cold turkey. Honestly, you'll have to limit your time at bars, if that's your weak spot.

That's what I did. It was the only thing that helped me get over those first few hurdles (3 weeks, 3 months).

Plus, I ALWAYS keep gum or candy in my purse.

Does your DH smoke?

Re: Quitting Smoking

Let me start by saying I quit for 8 months and then started again.

When I am sick I hate the smell of smoke, I hate the smell of smoke NOT sick(go figure, being a smoker). I was sick and could not smoke, so I used the patch, I know someone who has died from smoking while using the patch so that was an added reason to NOT smoke while using the patch. It worked for 8 months then the stress of wedding planning I started again. DH quit Cold turkey and lasted 14 months, he has since started again. It is VERY hard to quit, Unless you have smoked I really dont think people realize how hard it is. GL to you.

Re: Quitting Smoking

I tried so many different ways, and the only thing that worked was quitting cold turkey.

However, with that said, I had quit cold turkey before, but the last time I did, it worked. It's been 6 years...I won't lie and say I don't miss it, there are times I would LOVE to light one up, but just knowing it will make me sick to my stomach is enough to fight the urge.

Re: Quitting Smoking

I quit when I found out I was pregnant, it was probably the only way I would have quit cold turkey. It was honestly, not that bad but since my dd was born, I have had a few (well more than a few) cigarettes...it is SO hard but SO worth it, good luck

Re: Quitting Smoking

Thanks all. My DH does smoke, but promises that he will not smoke around me if I do this. He doesn't smoke as much as I do.

I'm going to try this weekend. I'm going to stock up on gum. I hope I can do this. Aside from the money savings, I need to quit for my upcoming thyroid surgery.

Did any of you use any websites (ie message boards) for moral support?

I hoping this time will be easier than last. Plus, last time I tired in the Summer, way to hard with outdoor BBQs and such.
I did just have a cig about 30 mins ago. I'm starting tomorrow. That's it, I've gotta do it.

Re: Quitting Smoking

I quit when I started stimming for IVF. I quit cold turkey..honestly it was hard. And if I didn't get pregnant I probably would have went back. Now that I have quit for 9 months I dont plan on going back. I had to stay away from my smoker friends for awhile though and obviously no bars LOL. Good Luck it's hard but once you do you will feel so much better.

My mothers neighbor used the commit lozenges and they worked for her. She was a heavy smoker for over 30 years and she quit 4 years ago.

Re: Quitting Smoking

Good luck!! Take one day at a time and try to avoid the places you would normally smoke for a couple of weeks.

I quit cold turkey a few years ago and while it was the hardest thing I ever did, it was also the best thing I ever did for myself.

Counting smoke free days helped motivate me - I didn't want to go back to 1 day again. The first few days were the hardest - I was edgy & irritable but that goes away and you will physically start to feel better - a little less winded, stronger taste buds & sense of smell.

Re: Quitting Smoking

My Dh and I both did recently.

I quit almost cold turkey (I cut down to two a day immediately and then a week later to zero).

He called 1-866-NY-QUITS and got a ton of FREE lozenges (you could get gum or patches as well) and I don't think that he would have been successful without it. He also bought gum and chews on straws constantly.

One thing you have to realize is that if it was something you really enjoyed to do, that won't change. You will still have to face it everyday.

DH and I still want a cig because we both really liked to smoke. But the reason for not smoking is much more important.

Good luck!

ETA: There is also a perscription medication that you doctor can give you to help you stop. I know many people who have been successful with this. It takes away your craving for the cigs.

Message edited 11/9/2007 11:12:50 AM.

Re: Quitting Smoking

i had tried cold turkey before but that didn't work too well for me. this time around, i told myself that i would stop buying cigarettes, and only smoke when someone offered one, or when i wanted one and could bum one. i smoked a lot less that way. that lasted about two months, and then one day at a baseball game someone offered me a cigarette and it tasted AWFUL and that's when i realized i was DONE.

it's been two years and i've had maybe 4 cigarettes since then, which i know isn't great, but sooo much better than what i used to smoke.

good luck!! FM if you want to talk or vent - i know how hard it is to do it alone!!!

Re: Quitting Smoking

I quit cold turkey...but I know that this doesn't work for everyone.

I have a friend who was honest with herself, she knew that she would smoke at a few upcoming events where alcohol was involved...so she allowed herself to only smoke at those events...and then finally got rid of the cigarettes

Message edited 8/24/2009 10:41:15 AM.

Re: Quitting Smoking

i quit cold turkey when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. it was the kick in the *ss I needed. i've had an occassional craving now and then, but for the most part it hasn't been that tough.

prior to this, i have quit before. usually i did best quitting if i also got into a healthy habit at the same time -- train for a walk or run, start going to the gym etc...

also, tell the people you are most tempted to smoke around that you quit and tell them not to ask you if you want one, etc... i did this at work when i quit recently and the smokers i used to go outside with have been great about not tempting me.

good luck! you can do it!

Re: Quitting Smoking

Kerry I quit cold turkey. I followed the guidelines on the NY Smokers Quitline website. I went through their surveys about reasons to quit, triggers to smoking etc. I got myself 100% mentally prepared to actually do it FIRST.

Then I picked a quit date. I actually had my last cigarette before that date. I was at the LIW 06er end of the yeat GTG and at the end of the night I had ONE cigarette left in the pack. I smoked it and made a decision NOT to stop and buy a new pack on the way home. I also knew myself well enough to know that the "quit date" would only work if I had no cigarettes left b/c I would never throw out part of a pack.

The physical part of quitting cold turkey wasn't that hard - after @ a week it was ok. The mental part of it however, continues to be a struggle. There have been times since last December that I would have picked up a butt to alleviate stress in a split second if I wasn't pregnant. I am hoping and praying that when this little bundle of joy is part of the world instead of part of the womb I won't pick it back up.

Re: Quitting Smoking

I've tried to quit a few times. Then, I just did it cold turkey. We're TTC and having a healthy baby is WAY more important to me than smoking. It was the best reason I had (since my health wasn't good enough) and it's been the easiest to quit this time around. I just haven't had one.

It was as simple as that.

Re: Quitting Smoking

Wellbutrin (Zyban) took ALL the physical cravings away 100%

Re: Quitting Smoking

I quit cold turkey over 3 years ago. DH and I quit together at th etime, but he started again. Jerk.
I had tried a few times cold turkey, but got fed up with that first week of hell, and decided this was the last time I was going to put myself through it.
I think I got a lot of help from the fact that I had always envisioned quitting. I knew I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life as a smoker.
My dad had luck with that prescription- I can't recall the name. But he also has recently started. ther eis no miracle drug, no easy way. It has been said that it's harder to quit than heroin.
I wish you the best of luck- it's not easy, but it's really just stupid to smoke these days.


eta- it helps to embrace the weight gain, if there is any. It was 1000% easier to lose the weight I gained than it was to quit smoking.

Message edited 11/9/2007 12:52:58 PM.

Re: Quitting Smoking

I quit cold turkey.

I was a chain smoker at the time. Deep down I wanted to quit but never had the ambition to do so until I become very ill. Several years ago I had a terrible stomach virus and I didn't even want to look at a cigarette. I was sick for almost 2 weeks and went the entire 2 weeks without smoking one cigarette. After I got over my sickness I lit a cigarette, took a drag and almost gagged. It made me so lightheaded and tasted horrible, I never went back and am proud to say it's been over 5 years now.

Message edited 11/9/2007 12:58:06 PM.

Re: Quitting Smoking

You MUST get this book- it helped SEVERAL of my hard core smoker friends to quit

The Easy Way to Quit Smoking by Alan Carr

They all said it was like brain washing and really worked. Good luck!