quitting smoking

[lioness]

AAAGGGGGHHHH!!!! i failed. i just took a smoke break. do i feel better??? NOOOO!!!!! i didn't really smoke on it but a few times. it was mostly the comfort of having one lit in my hand?! :confused:

ok, i hijack'd.. for purely selfish and gainful reasoning. i am interested to hear everyone's input on quitting smoking. i have tried gum, candy, toothpicks, straws and everything else i can stick in my mouth, including mass quanities of food.

what have you tried? what worked? what didn't? i am open to most suggestions (wiring my mouth shut or cutting my hands off is not an option)

[GreatCarouser]

How does one hijack one's own thread that they've just started?

[treebeau]

How about make up your mind not to smoke? Then stick to it. Your mind is stronger than your urges, I guarantee it.

Regards,
Tim B.

[Trumpetmaster]

Lioness,
Don't let a setback stop you.
Keep moving forward.
A friend of my quit smoking using those nicotine patches. Might you consider that?
Hang in there!!!!!

[lioness]

GC: it didn't work. i tried to hijack my old thread i just started

treebeau: i like your style. for the most part, i really agree with that! i have been trying to quit for a long time now. the withdrawel and mood swings are horribly nasty. i will go pick up the patch when i get out of work. maybe it will help curb my attitude!!

[OperaTenor]

Hi Lioness,

Good luck bucking that monkey off your back, it's one of the nicest things you can do for yourself, IMNSHO.

If this might provide any inspiration, my father said he started smoking when he was 12, and very soon worked himself up to 4 1/2 packs of Luckies a day. When he was 58, his doctor told him to quit smoking because of his heart trouble(just reporting here, not interpreting). He quit cold turkey, and never smoked another cigarette the rest of his life(died at 71 of cancer). I remember watching him play pinochle with my three brothers-in-law, who all continued to smoke like freight trains, and he would occasionally say, "You know, I sometimes go as long as 15 seconds without thinking about a cigarette." I don't recall him exhibiting any other manifestation of stress or anxiety about quitting. To me it was a huge example of his strength of will.

On the other hand, if you do end up clawing someone's eyes out, at least it's for good cause.



Good luck!

[shostakovich]

I had a weight problem. I took up smoking to break the eating habit. It had all the charm of chewing on rotten socks (That's just a guess, mind you).

My wife was a 2-packs-a-day person. She tried to quit several times. Reducing the number of cigarettes/day worked up to a point. She could not reduce beyond 1 at each meal (but stayed with only 3 meals/day, thankfully). When she went back to smoking, though, she was satisfied with less than a pack a day. A few years later she was able to go cold turkey.
So my suggestion is reduce as much as you can, and level out. If you can't stand it, at least go no higher than your previous successful level. Then try alternating cigarettes with nicotine gum, and see if that helps. Ultimately you will give up smoking. Just don't beat up on yourself when you backslide. Your body will tell you when it's time, even if your mind is on a different schedule.
Good luck.
Shos

[barfle]

I can tell you what worked for me, but it wasn't really my goal to quit smoking, as I had never tried before this event.

One day, I thought it would be interesting to see if I could go that one day without lighting up. I carried my smokes and my lighter, and just about everyone where I worked smoked. When I got the urge to light up, I just told myself I could put it off for a while. Several times, I had one in my mouth and fire on my lighter, but I put them back. Seriously, I only intended to quit for ONE DAY.

I felt a little strange at times during the day, but I survived it without clawing anyone's eyes out, and when I realized my accomplishment, I figured, "What the hell, let's see if I can do two days." Again, my goal was NOT to quit smoking, just to see if I could go through the day without a cigarette.

After a week of this, I threw the pack away, but kept a fresh one handy, because, again, I wasn't really trying to quit smoking, just to see how long I could go without.

After several weeks, I quit carrying cigarettes around.

Then....

Six months or so later, I was drinking beer in a bar with a friend of mine who had a cigarette going, and I bummed one off him. Man, was it great! And I was back to smoking, although I was never back to a pack a day like I had been. Another year or so of smoking less and less, the last month or so was just while driving to and from work.

Now, I can smell smoke on people who have just been around people smoking, and it stinks. Once in a while, when frustration really kicks in, I wish I had something to light up, but that feeling only lasts for a couple of seconds. I haven't had a cigarette, nor the desire for one, in over 30 years.

[Nicole Marie]

I quit after 7 years. I woke up one morning and the first thing I smelt was that terrible stink... it grossed me out and I quit that day. When you quit it only takes 7 to 10 days for you to get over the physical addiction. Once your body gets past that first 2 week period, it's then all mental. You just want to quit. If you really want to, you will.

[Serenity]

I found that increasing the amount of time between cigarettes gave me something simple to focus on and eventually reduced my nicotine dependency to the point I could go cold turkey when I was ready. I got down to 3 per day (after meals) and then gradually increased the time between the meal and the cigarette. When I got to one cigarette a day, it was much easier to quit.

[lioness]

that was funny Shos... and those socks probably taste much better! ).

[OperaTenor]

When I mentioned my dad died of cancer, it had nothing to do with smoking as far as we know. It was bladder cancer.

I reread my post and thought that needed clearing up.

You may proceed...

BTW, anyone who quits smoking gets put in my book of heros.

[lioness]

oh, i'll be there buddy, in yours & my mom's!

[piqaboo]

I've heard that the mental connection to cigarettes is a doozy, so I second everyone - dont beat yourself up. One day, one meeting, one commute at a time! Praise yourself for every step, and if you slip a bit on the wagon, dont beat yourself up, just try to get seated again.

One person I talked to had quit using heroin, cocaine and a few other fun substances, and decided to throw in ciggies whilst at it. He said that after 13 years clean, the only ones that ever tempted him were ciggies, and he thought about them pretty much constantly. But he didnt smoke em.

Its a good thing you are doing for yourself, lioness. Good luck and kudos to you.

[Trumpetmaster]

Lioness,
Glad to help.
When I'm practicing later I'll toot a few fanfares for you!
Hope the patches work.
Good Luck
TM

[BigJon]

If you tried toothpicks and they didn't work, you weren't using them right. Do you know the pink flesh at the corner of your eye . . .

<serious>And yes OT, smoking has been connected with increased risk of bladder cancer. </serious> I just shudder to think how the smoke gets up there in the first place.

BigJon

[OperaTenor]

*igJon,

I'm channeling this from my dad:

"LMAO! "

[lioness]

Originally posted by BigJon:
If you tried toothpicks and they didn't work, you weren't using them right. Do you know the pink flesh at the corner of your eye ...

... so every time i fall off the wagon & smoke, i'll stick a toothpick in my eye. after a while i'll have serious cornea damage

...but i won't be smoking!!!!!

[Trumpetmaster]

Lioness,

You've been pretty quiet this morning.
How R U Doing?
Hope the patches are helping out!

TM

[RC]

I tried the patches too - they really helped.
I think I'll try them again.

Seriuosly though, worked for me once - I'm just ignorant.