Reformed Smokers Please help - Page 2

mykee · 09-19-03, 09:13 PM

I've been smoke-free for a little over a year now. I woke up one morning and said I was going to quit. I had considered it for a while, and what it boiled down to essentially, is if you don't really want to quit, you won't. You have to really want it. I was sick of blowing $50 a week on something that made me feel like crap all day. If you have willpower, and you really WANT IT, you can do it. Good luck.

burmer · 09-19-03, 10:22 PM

I am still smoking but not as much. I quit two years ago for a year. I just did it cold turkey. As far as the cravings went I just drank lots of ice water it seemed to help. Also you could take vitamins and double or triple up on Vitamin C. I'm told vitamin c and other antioxidents lessen the withdrawl effects. I have kept up with working out and running and find that the effects on my lungs are not as bad if I exercise alot.

MouseKilla · 09-19-03, 11:41 PM

Cold turkey for me. I just decided I was sick of it. Unlike what others have done I purposely did all the things that made me want to smoke. I figured if I held out through doing that the rest would be easy. I still kind of feel the craving when I have a coffee some mornings after 18 months but you learn to live with it.

Stockwell · 09-19-03, 11:50 PM

Smoking is a bi*ch!! I absolutely hate it, but yes I was a smoker too. I started on a trip to Europe and ended up smoking cigars then colts, then cigarettes, than any damn thing that would stay lit, for several years. Those damn patches just kept going out (;o)
Step one.... Admit that you are a drug addict... no minor BS about it simply being a bad habit..
Its full fledged, physiological substance addiction. Getting that into the old head, is half the way to correcting it.
It took me 3 years to get off the stuff...
For me, I waited till I had a bad cold/virus.
I found the cravings were less when my craving to
simply breathe was more...
So I made the concious decision to not restart smoking when I felt better.
I smoked herbal cigarettes for a full year after that. You can get them at health food stores. They contain rose hips and herbs and lots of neat stuff but still have tar, but no nicotine.
They smell like weed, so that can be good or bad depending on the company you keep..
I don't recommend them for business lunches..LOL
But it worked for me...
I now have zero tolerance for smokers.
Hats off for recognizing your problem. Self admission is the first step to self correction!

ohh_kristina · 09-19-03, 11:54 PM

I started smoking when I was 12, and quit cold turkey when I was 15. Smoking is nasty, and I'm glad I gave it up. I'm ashamed to admit that I had such an addiction at such a young age. Oh well, though..no regrets, right? Good luck quitting!

LISA127 · 09-20-03, 12:10 AM

I am 34, and I have been smoking since I was 12 years old. I smoke about 2 packs a day, and I feel I can't function without them. Plus, I'm afraid of gaining weight. That's 22 years of smoking, I don't know how to live without them at this point. when I'm not so tired I will read all the posts and hopefully find some encouragement to someday quit.

lilyskip · 09-20-03, 12:22 AM

my dad quit when i was born and my mom made him smoke in the garage (hehe--he hated it in there). He chewed gum (just regular gum, not nicotine gum) so that he had something to do with his mouth. Just a warning though...he still chews it, and is still struggling with cravings almost 20 years later! He smoked for 25 years, though, so I assume it's different for others.

Yve · 09-20-03, 07:22 AM

I smoked for 8 years and have been smoke-free for 5 years.....i did not quit cold turkey....but I didn't use any aids such as the patch, gum, etc...what set my quiting in motion was that my lifestyle changed, I wasn't really conciously thinking about quiting....I moved an hour away from my close friends(who ALL smoked like fiends), got really busy and had a boyfriend that didn't smoke and wouldn't let me smoke in his car either(bless his heart)! At first I realized that I had cut back a bit on smokes.....and was proud of that tiny unplanned accomplishment so continued cutting back until, I was having the occasional smoke at a bar or party....eventually the taste started to bug me....then the smell....it is a long road to recovery but every small step you take towards it is an accomplishment on its own.....One thing that people don't realize is how crappy they feel when they smoke because they become used to feeling that way...when you quit you'll realize that your health improves, you have more energy, your cardio gets better, you don't run out of breath so fast....i couldn't believe i let myself get so run down to not even notice! Also, alot of people say they gain weight when they quit smoking, possibly because they eat more to replace the habit...i'm not sure....i think it can be avoided...get a hobby...join a gym...started riding a bike for an hour daily...play tennis...go for walks....it'll keep your mind off of smoking as well as improve the shape of your heart!

Good habits can be formed just the same as bad habits!

Good luck to you!

Linds · 09-20-03, 07:29 AM

I have to agree with everyone. The urge to smoke never really goes away... its always there in a lesser degree. Nothing unmanagable though

Quote:

Originally posted by Yvonne Kostecki
Also, alot of people say they gain weight when they quit smoking, possibly because they eat more to replace the habit...i'm not sure....i think it can be avoided...get a hobby...

Most definitely. I know many people that have quit smoking and not had any weight gain as a result. Its only if you choose to wean yourself off smokes with food

Wraith · 09-20-03, 07:35 AM

I smoked for 15 years. At the end I was up to 2 packs a day. I tried cold turkey and almost killed somebody lol. And the gum was a joke (at least for me) so I tried the patch and I have been smoke free for over 7 years now and never felt better.

jaybox_reptiles · 09-20-03, 08:09 AM

i have been smoking since i was 10 thats 2 packs a day since i was 10 years old now im 15 and trying to quit manley for my dad they have known i smoked for three of the 5 years but my dad hates it his dream for me is to go to coledge and become a zoologist and i cant afoord that if i have to buy 10 dollers worth of smokes a day but i am going to chew lots of gum and get on the patch thank you all ( im still open for sugestions)

LISA127 · 09-20-03, 08:58 AM

not to get off the topic or encourage anybody in any way, but i only pay an average of 2.00 per pack of cigarettes. are they all that expensive there? when i started smoking 22 years ago, they were only about 85 cents a pack. imagine that! and i remember in high school i used to put 10.00 aside per week for a carton of cigarettes.

anyway, after only 5 years of smoking, it will be hard, but u should be able to do it. it's not like it's a life long habit for you. i wish you luck!

Dozer · 09-20-03, 09:58 AM

Shane, you and I gotta listen into this , especially you man, you pretty much eat the cigarette man...

drewlowe · 09-20-03, 12:19 PM

I've been a smoker since about 10 years old. Have quit a few times once in middle school and once at the end of highschool. But when i was in middle school i wasn't a huge smoker only when i had the chance to steal my fathers cigaretts LOL. So i've been smoking for at least 14 years off and on.

I'm currently trying to quit for health reasons but ahhh it's really hard!!! Call me a wuss i don't care but it is extremly hard. I was doing pretty good a few months back quitting cold turkey but then that wonderful stess hit and now i'm almost at a pack a day again. I've tried the gum and ewww that stuff was horrible it tasted like licking a 20 year old ashtry that's used everyday but has never been cleaned.

Now i'm telling myself everytime i smoke that this taste like crap and smells the same. I notice i really don't want to smoke but i lit it up anyway and it just burns it self out. (this trick worked in highschool quit for 2 years) I'm almost to that point where i won't smoke but once i quit i hope it will be for good. Good luck on quitting !!!!

marisa · 09-20-03, 12:42 PM

I have been smoking since I was 12-13 years old. I started stealing my Dads KOOLS. lmao.

Anyways I smoked about a pack a day or Marlboro Reds until I was 20, and then moved up to canada and now I smoke about a half pack a day of Players Extra Light king size.

I have woke up like 6 times in the past year and said "NOT ONE MORE SMOKE EVER!" Felt all into quitting, excited, motivated, etc. Then if you wait an hour you see Marisa FREAK OUT and frantically do anything she can to get smokes. LOL.

Its so hard but I like all the suggestions you guys have made, especially the one about waiting until you get sick, because personally I never smoke when I am ill but thats the only time I can not smoke. I may have to try that.

Marisa
P.S. Smokes are $7.75 a pack here