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zalderach posted:The sleeping is the worst, I never fall the gently caress asleep. I'm just so used to a cigarette before bed. Did you reduce your caffeine intake? Smoker metabolism seems to make caffeine's effects weaker or at least shorter-lived, so when you quit the same level of caffeine that you're used to drinking suddenly stays with you all evening and can cause brutal insomnia. When freshly quit I had to cut myself off at like noon if I didn't want to be twisting around in bed till 3 or 4am. As a smoker I could sit here at work pounding coffee till I went home, follow it up with a mountain dew at night and go to sleep like it was nothing. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Oct 10, 2011 |
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Oct 10, 2011 19:05
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I need that coffee to stay awake at work, but I will try cutting out all coffee afterwards.
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Oct 10, 2011 20:13
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I quit six weeks ago. Yay me.
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Oct 10, 2011 21:18
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23 days quit and counting. Went out drinking the other night and didn't think about having a smoke once. I'm getting there, slowly but surely.
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Oct 11, 2011 01:23
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Today marks 2 weeks since my last cigarette, I went cold turkey and haven't looked back. The withdrawals weren't nearly as difficult to deal with as I thought they would be, but then again when you've got a respiratory infection that makes you cough hard enough to make you vomit, you hardly notice them at all. Root Bear fucked around with this message at 05:03 on Oct 11, 2011 |
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Oct 11, 2011 05:00
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I've quit for 14 months now. I used to read this thread and wonder how people could manage that. If you're at the beginning of your quit then you need to focus on the difference it will make in your life. Let me give you a couple of examples. I felt like I was getting a cold last night so I took some pills and went to bed early and woke up this morning feeling fine. Before that my respiratory system was so weak that I ended up getting a cold every time someone was passing one round - I worked in a school and had a near permanent sniffle. Flu would knock me out for weeks at a time. I've not had a full blown cold since I quit. Exercise. quitting smoking is supposed to make you gain weight but it also gives you the ability to exercise. I run 8km every other day now where before even going up the stairs would put me out of breath. I've lost 5-6kg since quitting. Circulation. My leg used to cramp up almost instantly if I lay on it while sleeping, that's gone now. General mental health. When you're spending every day obsessing over cigarettes you're making yourself feel unhappy. Getting back your sense of self worth is a wonderful thing. Time, 20 cigs a day, 5 minutes a pop, that's 100 minutes of your day you are wasting every day. You could become fluent in a language if you put that time to better use! It might feel like a break from your routine when you are addicted, but you'll look back and see that it WAS your routine.
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Oct 11, 2011 05:19
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I started smoking when I was 15, quit at 24, and have only had a few cigs when I was drunk since then. I have now been (mostly) smoke-free for 7 years. Two things that helped me, that may help you are: 1) the gum - yeah you can get addicted to it, but mostly I just stuck it in my lip like a dip of skoal because when I was weak and tried to smoke on top of that it made me nauseous. I think the nausea prevented me from becoming addicted to the gum because it got associated with a bad feeling and not a feeling of relief. 2) chopped vegetable sticks - you are going to eat like a loving pig when you try to stop smoking, so you might as well eat healthy! Everyday I would chop a gallon size ziplock bag of celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and whatever else, and grab a bottle of ranch dressing, or some other dip. The dip makes it less healthy, but delicious. I would kill an entire bag a day of that, and while it got expensive, I'm saving a hell of a lot more money now not buying loving $5 a pack cigarettes. Good luck
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Oct 11, 2011 05:55
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Fiacre posted:2) chopped vegetable sticks - you are going to eat like a loving pig when you try to stop smoking, so you might as well eat healthy! Everyday I would chop a gallon size ziplock bag of celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and whatever else, and grab a bottle of ranch dressing, or some other dip. The dip makes it less healthy, but delicious. I would kill an entire bag a day of that, and while it got expensive, I'm saving a hell of a lot more money now not buying loving $5 a pack cigarettes. Carrots and dip? That sounds pretty delicious. Seems like worth a try even though I require no substitutes anymore, since I'm 5 months cigarette-free now.
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Oct 11, 2011 18:53
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Yesterday was my 9 month anniversary of quitting smoking. I smoked for 18 years and quit cold turkey. I haven't had one smoke this whole time and I am amazed at my discipline. I play a lot of poker and shoot a lot of pools at pool halls and people are always smoking around me but I never broke. My only problem was I started eating a lot more and gained a good amount of weight. I have decided that on my 1 year anniversary I will be changing my diet drastically and also start an exercise program to get me into shape. For everybody struggling, the first few months are the worse but after your body clears all those nasty chemicals out you will be amazed at how much better you feel especially in the morning.
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Oct 11, 2011 21:38
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I'm one week in. I've been on the patch, no withdrawal symptoms really. Yesterday i switched down from stage 1 to stage 2 and i havent noticed a difference. Today has been the same. On the downside, i've had a sore throat since ive quit, im tired all the time, and i have no motivation at all. I'm going to try not sleeping with the patch on tonight to see if i get better rested. My throat never hurt when i smoked, and i ran more when i smoked. The whole idea of "stop smoking and enjoy the hell out of your much healthier lifestyle!" is loving gone. Its a different battle. A week ago i wanted a cigarette like it was food or something. Now it looks like more of a medicine. I have another health problem i can't figure out, acid-reflux-ish, who knows. Omgawd fucked around with this message at 02:17 on Oct 12, 2011 |
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Oct 12, 2011 01:55
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Omgawd posted:My throat never hurt when i smoked, and i ran more when i smoked. The whole idea of "stop smoking and enjoy the hell out of your much healthier lifestyle!" is loving gone. Its a different battle. A week ago i wanted a cigarette like it was food or something. Now it looks like more of a medicine. I have another health problem i can't figure out, acid-reflux-ish, who knows. if you're a week in, you're probably at the worst (in my experience) part. your body's going to feel like a shitheap for a few days. on the bright side, you're at about the halfway point for physical withdrawal. or at least you would be if you weren't using the patch, I don't know how that influences the duration.
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Oct 12, 2011 02:25
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Pharmaskittle posted:if you're a week in, you're probably at the worst (in my experience) part. your body's going to feel like a shitheap for a few days. on the bright side, you're at about the halfway point for physical withdrawal. or at least you would be if you weren't using the patch, I don't know how that influences the duration. Im going to take the patch off when i go to sleep. I think ill sleep better and be more rested the next day. It worked well when i went without it one night this past weekend, but my grandma woke me up screaming and crying, so i was in a poo poo mood all day and possibly stressed myself into some gut issues that lingered into my workday yesterday.
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Oct 12, 2011 03:29
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A perfect storm of circumstances led me to quit smoking. 1. I had a cold. 2. I was out of smokes. 3. I was sick of being out of breath all the time. OK maybe not a perfect storm but it was enough to get me to kick it. I've been smoke-free since September 19th, no aids or anything, just good old willpower. The absolute worst of it was the first 3 days, when I'd get all hot under the collar thinking about having a cigarette. It's mostly gone now, and it's become a battle of wills that gets easier every day I don't have a cigarette.
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Oct 12, 2011 03:57
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After a full 24 hours with a cigarette (only lozenges) I had one (well 4) this morning. So close! Will try again and this time for longer. Btw, how long is it usually until your breathing during exercise improves? Theres a 5k coming up in a few months that I want to start training for.
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Oct 12, 2011 17:49
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Omgawd posted:I'm one week in. I've been on the patch, no withdrawal symptoms really. Yesterday i switched down from stage 1 to stage 2 and i havent noticed a difference. Today has been the same. When I quit cold Turkey the first 3 weeks of my life was hell. My throat hurt really bad, every morning I coughed until I almost vomited and there were a couple times I actually did, I broke out with really bad acne all over the front of my face underneath my eyes so bad I didn't even want to go out in public. I was dead tired but couldn't sleep. The throat hurting and the acne was from all the poisons leaving your body and there are so many at once leaving that every ones body deals with it in different ways. After a month I was feeling much better and it has been really easy not smoking. My theory is if you go cold turkey and don't replace your addiction with a patch or nicotine gum or other things that supposedly ween you off cigarettes, then you will have a really hard time the first few weeks but you will be able to stop smoking so much easier after all the poo poo gets out of your system. That's just me though its different for everyone else. Just keep yourself disciplined and remember that while it really is going to suck right now, your whole life will change once you go through this awful period. I can't tell you how much better I feel. When I walk outside and I can just breathe fresh air, when I wake up in the morning I feel so good and food just tastes amazing compared to what it tasted like before. I can actually pick out certain flavors and tell what they put into the dish. Every time I have thought about a cigarette I immediately force my self to think about what I went through to quit so far and I just don't want one anymore.
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Oct 12, 2011 18:00
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Omgawd posted:I'm one week in. I've been on the patch, no withdrawal symptoms really. Yesterday i switched down from stage 1 to stage 2 and i havent noticed a difference. Today has been the same. Remember this: Your body is now fighting the withdrawal from not smoking. It's too busy fighting that to notice all the other things attacking you. I went through the same as you the first week or so. Within 2 days of quitting, I had an over all head cold. Sore throat, sniffles, coughs, mild fever, aches...pretty much the works. I got over that in a day or so. I think one head cold that doesn't last forever is a fair price to pay for what I've done to my body with smokes.
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Oct 12, 2011 19:09
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I'm on Day 4 cold turkey. It sucks. BUT here are some things that help: *I ride my bike to school every day, 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back. The bike ride helps kill that first cig of the day crave. *I have bananas, mandarins, carrots, peanuts, and cashews that I'm constantly munching on. I've been getting super hungry, so I might as well get into the routine of eating good stuff and not eat a tremendous amount of junk at the same time. Because drat have I been getting hungry. *Carry a notebook, so you don't always have to vent to your friend about how much quitting sucks. After the withdrawals, it's all mental. So why not have an outlet to reflect on the transition from a smoker to a non smoker identity. Good luck to all, but mostly, good luck to me.
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Oct 13, 2011 10:12
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I ran out of the 7mg patches. So.... Here we go
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Oct 14, 2011 13:31
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I tried to quit a while back (around 9 months ago or so) and it wasn't too successful, due in part to dealing with a huge breakup (cheating whore! I kid.. kind of.) and losing my apartment (Due to cheating whore!). The last 7 months since we broke up, my smoking habit only worsened. I picked up smoking from her, and it's the pits. Smoking a pack a day sucks not only on my health (although I've always been a very fit guy, I've noticed my breath saying "bye bye!".), but on my wallet as well. Today, there is good news though! Haven't had a cig in 24 hours. Holy poo poo this is going to be hell. Tell me I'm doing the right loving thing.
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Oct 14, 2011 16:22
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Doctor Butts posted:I ran out of the 7mg patches. Bah, 7mg's are so weak as to be practically nothing already, you're gonna be fine unless you convince yourself otherwise. It's a very tiny 3-day physical step down  . Better than fine if you're tired of the patches giving you horrible breath, interfering with your sleep or giving you dirty squares of tenacious glue all over your back.
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Oct 14, 2011 16:27
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Runefaust posted:Holy poo poo this is going to be hell. Tell me I'm doing the right loving thing. Dur, of course you're doing the right thing. Quit sticking poo poo in your lungs. Also, one of the addicted brain's tricks is to convince you that withdrawal is bigger than it really is. If it (you) can convince you (yourself) it's a heroin grade addiction and start obsessing until you're ready to scratch out your eyeballs and then, predictably, snap, then the part of you that wants you to fail so you can have a cigarette will have succeeded. So relax, don't obsess or focus long on it till it's in the rear-view mirror. The first 3 days are usually the biggest, so you're easily halfway through the toughest part and have already accomplished something. Don't get drunk. If you find yourself staying up late convincing yourself you need something, put your rear end to bed. If your brain offends you, remember that even staring blankly at a wall is more productive for you right now than entertaining junkie thoughts.
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Oct 14, 2011 16:46
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Did any quitters find it easier with Nicorette? I met a guy recently who has been chewing this stuff for 2 years. Is it better to just go cold turkey?
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Oct 14, 2011 18:48
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for me, nicotine replacement products (i used the lozenges) helped a lot, but you're probably not supposed to be using them for 2 years.
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Oct 14, 2011 22:29
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red_blip posted:I met a guy recently who has been chewing this stuff for 2 years. Oh no, how horrible! Imagine how sore his jaw would be!
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Oct 14, 2011 23:12
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I smoked close to a pack of cigarettes a day for almost 10 years, but I've been smoke free since February 26th of this year. Physically, I feel much better. My sense of smell has fully returned, as well as my sense of taste. I can breathe deeply now. I don't have coughing fits or cough up brown goo anymore. I don't feel like a slave. I've gained close to 40 lbs since quitting...I went from 150lbs to 190ish. I still get a craving for a smoke nearly every day. I'm 29 years old. I quit with support from my girlfriend who I moved in with on my quit day and also the occasional nicotine lozenge when I felt I might be about to lose the battle of wills with my addiction. After a month I didn't feel the need to use them. That being said, I still have them sitting near my desk within reach. I wish I'd never started. I'm hoping I don't already have cancer.
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Oct 14, 2011 23:15
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red_blip posted:Did any quitters find it easier with Nicorette? I met a guy recently who has been chewing this stuff for 2 years. Is it better to just go cold turkey? I quit and failed dozens of times since my early twenties, mostly using nicotine replacement, some of the more recent attempts were cold turkey. The latest, longest one ever was cold turkey, but that doesn't mean cold turkey is better for me- I owe many lengthy runs of being clean to nicotine patches, lessons and memories without which the last quit might not have stuck. The only reason my smoking rituals are easier to break now is because the last decade has been a disorderly miasma of patches and quitting and smoking and quitting again instead of the long, uninterrupted addiction I began with. You can cram the physical work into a rather hellish 3-5 days cold turkey or an easier but long 2 months with replacement therapies. The mental stuff has to happen sooner or later, but the good news is your mental work and suffering from one quitting attempt actually carries over to the next one. I remember on one quit I actually bawled like a loving baby one morning I was so frustrated at my smoking days being over. I mourned it so deeply I can't imagine how depressed I'd have been with more severe withdrawal. Since that quit, I haven't had the mental depression again, just the standard physical exhaustion. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 02:10 on Oct 15, 2011 |
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Oct 14, 2011 23:44
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OK I'm tentatively saying that I have now quit. I had a grand total of 2 fags yesterday, and it has been touch and go with me slipping up a couple of times. Today I feel like having no fags at all. Guy friend has been guilting me for the past couple of weeks, and I don't think I could handle his disappointment if he found out I didn't totally didn't quit a week ago like I told him. I'm pretty sure I'm at the least on the home straight now. I thought I'd go cold turkey, but have been gradually cutting down since I last posted through a combination of my friend's support, guilt trips and Nicotinelle spray.
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Oct 16, 2011 10:10
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Officially been over a month since my last smoke, and all is well. I get the occasional craving after a meal, and that's really it. Still going strong on the Chantix. I'm very excited about how well it's working this time around. Keep your spirits up! It does get easier.
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Oct 17, 2011 12:12
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Does anyone know if health insurance will cover over the counter stop smoking aids? (Like nicorette).
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Oct 26, 2011 07:00
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My dad and I made a pact that when one of us quits the other will too. That was two years ago. He's old and fat and has hypertension (high blood pressure, but you knew that) and these cigs are surely not helping at all. I, under the scrutiny of the internet, hereby pledge to quit smoking.
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Oct 26, 2011 09:20
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cr0y posted:Does anyone know if health insurance will cover over the counter stop smoking aids? (Like nicorette). I'm almost positive they don't, but some states offer coupons for discounts on those products. Try searching "your state quit" in google.
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Oct 26, 2011 10:44
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1 month, 4 days in, no longer using the gum. Pretty sure I win.
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Oct 26, 2011 16:04
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casual poster posted:I'm almost positive they don't, but some states offer coupons for discounts on those products. Try searching "your state quit" in google. If you're attending or working at a college it's also worth checking with their health services, I've gotten free patches through programs at both institutions I've been at.
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Oct 26, 2011 16:26
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Remy Marathe posted:If you're attending or working at a college it's also worth checking with their health services, I've gotten free patches through programs at both institutions I've been at. Wow, thanks for this. I didn't know that. These lozenges are pretty expensive too. Been switching them on and off with snus to save on money. It's been 11 days my last cig though, pretty hard to get it off my mind but on my lunch breaks I've been staying inside (work at a college so it'd be easy to bum a smoke).
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Oct 26, 2011 18:19
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Alright, so, it turns out my work gives nicorette out. I went and talked to a nurse for about ten minutes and she gave me 3 tubes of lozenges, the good kind too (not the cheap CVS knock off that I've been using). It's been 2 and a half weeks since my last smoke. Going pretty well.
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Nov 1, 2011 18:27
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Day 4. Here we go again. I've done this so many times it's like an old joke. But I promised myself it would only be a "college thing," and with six more weeks of school left I figure what the gently caress. I was a pretty below-average smoker (probably 5 a day, but for like a week before quitting I was up to around 15) but I feel like poo poo. I got kinda  when I decided the reason I feel so tired and moody is that I'm not smoking.
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Nov 2, 2011 22:01
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My favorite's when you know you're craving something, and it's not food or drink and you get all restless but it takes you a while to realize it's a cigarette you're after. It always made me happy to realize that smoking was at least a little distance from my conscious thoughts, and was validating to witness the way my body and subconscious were supporting the addiction. Recognizing the discomfort as progress, totally
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Nov 2, 2011 23:44
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nagycky posted:1 month, 4 days in, no longer using the gum. Pretty sure I win.  I'm just over a month in myself, and the only gum I've tried using since I quit was Winterfresh, which I ran out of yesterday and have yet to replenish as well, and yet no desire too. Looks like I win too! 
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Nov 3, 2011 00:32
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Wow, can't believe it's been nearly a year. It'll be a year for me on the day before Thanksgiving... haven't had one slip and I can't imagine myself smoking ever again. I don't even get the urge anymore. At first, right after I quit, the stench of tobacco smoke would nearly make me gag. I couldn't stand to be around smokers, it was a real problem. Now it doesn't bother me very much at all, in fact my girlfriend smokes and I couldn't care less. When we're at my house, she smokes outside or in the garage. When we're at her house, she smokes inside and it doesn't bother me. It also doesn't tempt me. I used to be tempted to smoke when it was raining, cold, dark, or around dawn if I'd been up all night. Of course I was tempted after a big meal, an argument, while drinking, etc- all the usual triggers. Now those things don't make me want to smoke at all. Smoking is loving disgusting. I'm really amazed I ever started, especially since I didn't start at all until I was 21. I'm not writing this to be smug. I usually check in on this thread every couple months, and I just want to encourage anybody who is thinking of quitting. If I could do it, you can do it too. The worst part lasts only a couple days, and it's really no worse than having the flu or something. Don't put it off. Just loving quit already. Within a month or two you'll be feeling much better.
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Nov 3, 2011 00:42
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Just put on my first nicotine patch. I've made a few attempts at quitting cold turkey before but they have been pretty short-lived, hoping this goes better. Thirty minutes in trip report: my arm is really tingly.
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Nov 4, 2011 20:28
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