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I haven't quit yet, but I'm pretty sure the greatest part about it (besides the financial aspect) is the control. I work with almost all smokers and when our day shift manager who hates smoking covers for a night shift all of us freak out pretty bad. It goes from "hey, I hope I make some money tonight," to "I DONT CARE IF RENT'S DUE AND THERES NO FOOD TO EAT IM GETTING CUT FIRST." I'm not exaggerating at all. People will get late fees on rent because they left early because day shift manager covered the shift. When I ask people about jobs, its the same question list: 1) how much do you get payed? 2) do you get to smoke? 3) what are the hours? 4) do you enjoy it? What a pathetic existence we live in. EDIT oh, and what's also funny/sad is that when we're all withdrawing like the addicts we are, I'll make light of it and get a response like, "IM NOT FIENDING JESSICA IS JUST A STUPID LAZY BITCH oval office, I HATE HER UGLY FACE." Black Cat fucked around with this message at 04:02 on Oct 4, 2012 |
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Oct 4, 2012 03:59
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jax posted:gently caress. I was brought up in a household full of smoke and smoked to 30 and thought 'yeah it smells a bit but it's only smoke', after stopping I've noticed it's worse than poo poo, seriously it loving reeks. My dad smoked nasty cigars, and I smoked cigarettes until 30. I didn't realize just how disgusting I smelled until I quit. I don't know how the gently caress my wife stood that.
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Oct 4, 2012 18:03
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My favorite part is not being interrupted in my day anymore. I used to think my daily smoke breaks were nice unwinding sessions but it turns out that THAT IS A LIE. I can still take breaks when I want but now they come at logical transition periods in my day, not when I start jonesing. I get more work done, more reading done and I don't rush to finish tasks to smoke anymore. I can spend an entire day being productive and not notice. It's so freeing.
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Oct 4, 2012 18:23
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BelgianWaffle posted:299 days smoke free! coming from an almost a pack a day habit. Feeling physically greater than ever. I'm having a bit of a nose problem though, it feels like I'm still exhuming nicotine residues from the past through my nose. other than that the symtptons are very positive! Congratulations to me! Today marks 300 days smoke free 
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Oct 4, 2012 21:01
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WarMonger posted:
- I sleep better - I am less stressed out by poo poo - Feel more euphoric/good moments - Money is less tight - I breath freely all the time, fell less sick - Sports! - I smell things. I remember things better because I remember the smell. No poo poo, I didn't know that existed - General stress level is down - More energy I dunno there's probably more but srsly it's amazing. Best thing I ever did for myself probably. Boner Slam fucked around with this message at 21:11 on Oct 4, 2012 |
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Oct 4, 2012 21:09
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WarMonger posted:
I don't cough up black stuff anymore. I don't cough up anything, in fact. I have more energy, all the time. I don't get bogged down with a craving. I don't get frustrated over stupid poo poo and "need a smoke." I don't smell like poo poo anymore. Yes, smokers, you smell like poo poo, all the time. All of your clothes smell like poo poo. Jackets I used to wear when I smoked still smell of smoke around the arms, years later. My breath doesn't stink anymore. My teeth are white, and my fingernails aren't stained. Life is good.
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Oct 5, 2012 02:47
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I recently got a real bed so I'm sleeping in my bedroom instead of in the living room. It gets kind of stuffy and hot in here, so I like to open my window and let the nice cool fall air in. However, one of my neighbors (can't figure out which) smokes in like exactly the right spot for their smoke to drift in my bedroom window. I think it's one of my downstairs neighbors smoking in their bedroom. I don't want to go find them and tell them to knock it off, I can't stand to have the window shut all the time while I'm in this room, and by the time I smell smoke it's really too late to close the window because the breeze has carried it into my room enough that it'll linger if there's no circulation. I've been doing pretty well with quitting, but smelling smoke coming in my window is making me a little crazy. Any suggestions?
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Oct 5, 2012 07:16
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It's been 4 weeks this coming Monday. I've been on the patch. I had to start over at Step 1. I was taking the patch off a couple hours before I went to bed because I heard poo poo about having nightmares. Then I would just smoke before bed. The day I failed my 70-640 exam, I went and bought the Step 1 nicotine patch and started from there. The dreams aren't as bad as people make them out to be. Last night, I had a dream that I was walking my dog Zeus and he killed some wolves and ripped the face off a little kitten. Blood was spurting everywhere. It was awesome. 
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Oct 5, 2012 18:03
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I'm on 15 days as a non-smoker and it absolutely gets better. I'm coughing up the grey protective lining I've been applying to my lungs for the past few years, but apart from that the cravings are further apart and not nearly as demanding (most of the time). Also,  helps distract me from wanting cigarettes, if that's useful to anyone.I've been on the Step 1 patch the whole time. I usually have weird dreams from time to time, so at first I thought it might just be coincidence. It's not. In the past few days I've had unusually vivid dreams and I wake up feeling like I barely slept, no matter how many hours of sleep I'm actually getting. I've been too afraid of early morning cravings to take the patch off before bed, and honestly this is a fair price to pay for being able to breathe and not smell like stale cigarettes (holy poo poo can I smell that on other people now). I'd also highly recommend QuitNow or an equivalent smartphone app for progress tracking. When you get a craving, look at how many cigarettes the app says you didn't smoke. Decide if one cigarette is worth resetting those numbers. Tell yourself you'll wait an hour and see if the craving is just as bad (it won't be). Divide time into reasonable chunks - whatever works for you. At first for me it wasn't day by day, it was hour by hour. No matter how bad it was, I told myself that I can survive for one more hour without a cigarette. vez veces fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Oct 6, 2012 |
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Oct 6, 2012 00:11
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Boner Slam posted:- I smell things. I remember things better because I remember the smell. No poo poo, I didn't know that existed Ditto on the weird smell-memory connection. This is indeed awesome, although some things I was happy not smelling. Food tastes better, too!
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Oct 6, 2012 21:18
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remembering my hs biology class its probably because smell was one of the first senses evolutionary wise and is connected directly to some brain functions without necessarily taking the route over the cerebral cortex or something. Anyway, smell and memory are related for me. I was not making all the memories I could while smoking. Just one more reason not to smoke
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Oct 6, 2012 22:42
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I have never had nightmares on the patch. Weird, bizarre, incredibly hot sex dreams yes, but no nightmares.
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Oct 9, 2012 00:38
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Going on just over a month and a half. I get cravings pretty intense from time to time, but if I keep my mind occupied with something else I usually forget about them in 3-6 minutes time. My inability to sleep seems to have all but vanished with a little help from a Melatonin supplement. Hopfuly I will stick with it and not cave on my cravings.
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Oct 9, 2012 06:39
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WarMonger posted:Just curious, what is everyone's favorite part about being an ex-smoker? Let's give the newbies something to look forward to. Being able to smell things. Not stinking like that moldy tobacco smoke. Not feeling like my lungs are filled with plaster. Being able to exercise without passing out. Really quitting smoking is one of the greatest things I ever did. I quit cold turkey and was 100% decided to do it and I didn't really have that difficult a time of it. If you're always thinking about smoking and not totally sure you want to quit then it's really torture. Edit: also, don't pay attention to how long it's been since you quit. If you're going to quit forever then it doesn't matter how long it's been.
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Oct 9, 2012 06:45
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Grammaton posted:I quit cold turkey and was 100% decided to do it and I didn't really have that difficult a time of it. If you're always thinking about smoking and not totally sure you want to quit then it's really torture. Edit: also, don't pay attention to how long it's been since you quit. If you're going to quit forever then it doesn't matter how long it's been. I disagree, keeping track of milestones gives me opportunities to reward myself and strengthens my resolve to stay off nicotine. Also, quitting "forever" feels like an insurmountable task compared to taking it one day at a time, like alcoholics commonly do. Keeping time hasn't weakened my quit in any way.
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Oct 9, 2012 07:16
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Feb 7, 2011Warthog posted:I started smoking in 1997 must have been an average of about 10 cigs a day. Still clean. (Saved a few thousand bucks by now) Warthog fucked around with this message at 09:45 on Oct 9, 2012 |
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Oct 9, 2012 09:43
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Whats the best way to acquire Chantix? I don't have health insurance, but I don't think many insurance policies cover smoking related things anyway. I see where I can order online for 300 bucks. I assume a doctors visit will cost me 300 dollars for the prescription plus another 100 or so for the consultation. Going to a doctors office gets me the meds faster than waiting on the mail. Also, as much as I distrust doc-in-the-boxes, it may be simpler than putting down my card on a website hoping they send me the right pills. I've been trying to quit for over a year and have given every NRT a shot. Also I've read up on so much quit smoking literature that I feel like I could write a book on why I should not smoke with a forward addressing my own hypocrisy for continuing smoking. I have the money to drop 400 dollars on this and it'd pay for itself in a few months anyway. Also I've heard where you can turn in (or not get filled) part of the prescription and get your money back.
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Oct 11, 2012 05:11
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I smoked for about ten years, close to a pack a day towards the end. Quit once for about nine months, which ended with a very spontaneous "You know what, gently caress it, I love smoking and I'm going to start again." About a year and a half ago I stopped again for a few different reasons and didn't touch a cigarette for a year. Lately I've gotten into the habit of sharing one with a friend when I am out for a drink. This culminated with a recent vacation where I decided to smoke as an indulgence for the one and a half weeks of the holiday. I am back home now and going cold turkey again. It's been two days since the last one and I've got little more than a mild craving and I have no doubt I'll leave them behind again. Here's the thing though: I love smoking. I really really do. It's great. Cigars do nothing for me, nicotine gum had no noticeable effect, ecigs the same...just cigarettes. I never really noticed the money I spent on it. I've had no boosts to my health or fitness since I stopped (I never noticed any problems while smoking either). Literally the only benefit I've experienced has been the freedom from cravings on long flights. That's it. I won't take up smoking again because I don't want it to ruin my health and my family and friends would be very upset at me, but man oh man I wish I lived in a world where smoking wasn't bad for me. I would happily accept all of the other downsides if it wasn't a one-way trip to a pair of ruined lungs.
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Oct 11, 2012 06:39
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InEscape posted:I am not sure about efficacy studies but I remember one study in Canada looked into which packs made smokers uncomfortable (ie they asked the cashier for a different one), and the only one they consistently asked to replace was the one that intimated that smoking causes erectile dysfunction. I liked that.  So that's probably what I most enjoy about not smoking - freedom so far as physical activities go. My body will now lift weights or ride a bike or gently caress or even walk briskly quite happily, and I get a nice 'honest' kind of overall tiredness after exercise rather than my lungs burning after two minutes. I don't know if it's been mentioned ITT already but I use an Android app called 'Get Rich or Die Smoking' to track things. Not really as a motivational tool any more, but you can set up various money saved rewards and it'll count you towards them. I used it for fitness-related stuff like gym membership, protein powder etc.
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Oct 11, 2012 09:48
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I know it's not the same really, but after smoking on the regular for the last 5 years of my life I'm finally stopping for good. Been trying to quit for months but I was being exposed to it constantly which made it harder than it needed to be. I would stop for a week or so then smoke up again and wonder to myself why I even bothered since I almost couldn't discern the effects anymore. I've got asthma and esophagitis so that poo poo was just a massacre. Only a few days out and my chest is already giving me a big thank you. It isn't difficult or anything to get by without it, the toughest part was to just stop acquiring it. Not feeling tired constantly is a big bonus and my thoughts feels less cloudy already. Plus, I was shelling out $50 every other week for highs that stopped being enjoyable a long time ago. Just moved out of town so I don't know a single place to acquire any of that non-sense and plan to keep it that way. This new job randomly drug screens throughout the year so I'm hoping that time doesn't come by January. I would be devastated cause this place is a big step forward for my career. I'll miss what it was like to just get high once or twice a year with some friends, but I'm obviously the kind of person who couldn't moderate properly. I was smoking from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed and sneaking hits in on breaks and just being real stupid with it in general. Time to exercise, drink plenty of water, and feel good about myself. AwwJeah fucked around with this message at 13:30 on Oct 11, 2012 |
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Oct 11, 2012 13:27
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Wingless posted:I smoked for about ten years, close to a pack a day towards the end. Quit once for about nine months, which ended with a very spontaneous "You know what, gently caress it, I love smoking and I'm going to start again." Unlike last time, I'm only telling my close friends and colleagues and not making a "big deal" out of it. I'm giving myself a 3 day weekend so I can hopefully sleep thru most of the nicotine withdrawal/psychological issues. From doing research on going cold turkey, I know to drink juice regularly for the first few days to keep my blood sugar normal. Nicotine is not going to mess with me this time. Dammit.
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Oct 11, 2012 16:11
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I hosed up  I had quit for 4 months and was feeling pretty pleased with myself. I had even drunk some weekends during that time, no craving. Feeling pretty great. Now term has started and deadlines are piling up. But in the end it was a party. Throughout the party I was fine, although drunk, and even bragging about having quit (because nobody there smoked and I was getting kudos). Everything was fine until at around 3am I offered to go and walk to the pizza place. There was a huge queue, I was sobering up, feelign really anxious and nervous. And I asked the people outside for a fag, and smoked two. Four months down the sodding drain! Now it's back to 6 days. Ho-fricking-hum.
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Oct 12, 2012 03:51
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Noreaus posted:I hosed up That's a very negative attitude to take. There's literally nothing that's different about your situation right now compared to before smoking those cigarettes, except for the fact that you did it. The good you've already done yourself by not smoking, the money you've saved, are all still there. I think a lot of people who are quitting smoking slip up like this and then use it as some sort of strange excuse to start smoking again, since they "already failed." Don't be that person.
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Oct 12, 2012 04:15
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Noreaus posted:I hosed up It sucks doesn't it? 4 months smoke free, then you went back to smoking. But now it's back to 6 days. Which is good. You're a non-smoker again. Remember that guilt, that loving terrible feeling when you realized that 4 months disappeared and gently caress all of sudden I'm smoking again? That feeling sucks. It's the loving worst. That feeling is worse than any pleasure derived from smoking a cigarette. The guilt outweighs the cigarette. You've reached the point where guilt>smoking. That means you can think rationally about the subject now; there is no physical addiction, and you've been separated long enough where you can logically and rationally think through the mental addictions. That means you can quit. Don't smoke, or you have to start this process all over again. It's simply not worth it. Stay happy.
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Oct 12, 2012 05:29
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Hey quitters, here's a really good article from the guy who created the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence: http://emash-portugal.net/site/images/stories/colaboracao_cientifica/Fager%20Determin%20Renaming%20FTND.pdf quote:The high level of dependence that develops to cigarettes and tobacco is hard to reconcile with the notion that it is solely an addiction to nicotine. Some of the evidence for this is summarized below:
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Oct 13, 2012 03:17
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I've been a pack-a-day smoker for 18 years. We have a 2 1/2 year old boy, and a daughter due in January; and I just finished my first week of Chantix Wednesday night and smoked my last cig about 50 hours ago. This is the longest I have gone without nicotine in 18 years. The best part is I don't really miss it, I have to attribute that to the Chantix. Any time I have tried to quit I go for a few hours and then I start to feel panicked, like holding your breath underwater and approaching your limit type of panic. This time around there is none of that, it seems like the Chantix just eliminated the physical withdrawal symptoms and all I have to deal with are the cues (after eating, getting stuck on a problem at work, stuck in traffic, etc). Thus far, I've been able to fight through those by telling myself that blowing this streak isn't worth the 2 minutes of smoking. The first day was a little rough, I didn't get much done at work because I was constantly getting impressions that it was time to go outside and I had to keep fighting them down. Day two was a lot easier, only a handful of occasions where I caught myself thinking "it's been a while, time to smoke" and then reminding myself that we're done doing that. The doctor had told me that of people who try Chantix about 25% quit, and of those about 50% stay quit. I seem to have managed to get into the first group, hoping I can make the next cut as well.
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Oct 13, 2012 06:06
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Le sigh. So after, what, two months of no cigarettes I ended up relapsing for, oh, about two weeks. Since then, it's been two weeks of no smoking, with two explicit exceptions--one a few days ago, and once again tonight. So, I've smoked...about 4 cigarettes in two weeks. I'm not happy about it per se, but I'm comforted that both times were caused by drinking--in whatever sense where drinking a bunch makes me really want the taste of a cigarette. It's irritating, really. Every time I think I've made it past the hump, I get into a position where I really want a cigarette and my resolve collapses. I've avoided buying packs for a bit now, but it's still so very frustrating. At least while sober it's pretty easy for me to ignore the weaker cravings, but smoking and drinking just go so well together. 
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Oct 13, 2012 07:30
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Arclyte posted:I've been a pack-a-day smoker for 18 years. We have a 2 1/2 year old boy, and a daughter due in January; and I just finished my first week of Chantix Wednesday night and smoked my last cig about 50 hours ago. This is the longest I have gone without nicotine in 18 years. The best part is I don't really miss it, I have to attribute that to the Chantix. Any time I have tried to quit I go for a few hours and then I start to feel panicked, like holding your breath underwater and approaching your limit type of panic. This time around there is none of that, it seems like the Chantix just eliminated the physical withdrawal symptoms and all I have to deal with are the cues (after eating, getting stuck on a problem at work, stuck in traffic, etc). Thus far, I've been able to fight through those by telling myself that blowing this streak isn't worth the 2 minutes of smoking. The breath holding analogy is a good way to sum it up. I can rationalize to myself how time always passes and if I quit smoking things get better eventually. That type of thinking doesn't help when you have that underwater panic. Its like telling someone X minutes isn't very long, and if you hold your breath for X amount of minutes then you'll set the world record. With smoking for me its like, "yeah, it'd be awesome if I'd quit, but it'd also be awesome if I found a billion dollars, now lets talk about things that exist in reality." I want to start chantix though, I just don't know how to go about the doctors visit and 400+ dollars for the whole process is pretty steep.
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Oct 14, 2012 08:36
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Started 10 hours ago from 1 1/2 pack a day to 0. I think you call it 'Cold Turkey'?
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Oct 14, 2012 10:06
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For chantix, doc in the box or therapist? Price is the priority but if it doesn't take a therapist would be able to help further from there, in my opinion, than a doc in the box who's probably going to treat me like a drug addict  I'm in Texas if that matters.
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Oct 16, 2012 06:58
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7 days without smoking. I had quit two weeks ago but I went to a party and had some cigarettes without even getting to that drunken desperation stage. I figure I didn't put a lot of stock into my willpower. After that I was a lot more resolved about not smoking anymore and I have been doing ok so far. Two things that are helping me are thinking about my cravings in relation to the cravings I had yesterday, and how they can't possibly be worse. If I didn't smoke yesterday, why would I smoke today? Another is convincing myself is that alcohol has always made me feel super tense and irritable. I also congratulate myself when I go to bed. Keep it up guys! I believe in you all!
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Oct 16, 2012 13:44
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54 days now doing pretty well! Sounds like a lot of you are too. Keep up the good work all!
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Oct 16, 2012 16:09
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redweird posted:Two things that are helping me are thinking about my cravings in relation to the cravings I had yesterday, and how they can't possibly be worse. If I didn't smoke yesterday, why would I smoke today? I'm 11 hours away from 1 week of being an ex-smoker. Haven't had a single slip since I quit, and honestly after the first two days I haven't had that many cravings. It's actually kind of funny when I do have one now, as it reminds me how long it's been since my last craving and that time period gets longer every day and the craving get less powerful and easier to fight through. Although I did forget to take my Chantix this morning so I am heading home for lunch to get it. I don't feel any different not having taken it, but I don't want to take any chances either.
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Oct 17, 2012 17:09
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My eCig broke on me the other night at group so I bummed a smoke from someone, a Marlboro Black. Ugh, so nasty. I can't believe I used to do that poo poo! I took two puffs and then put it out. I'll stick to my lovely, flavorful clouds of vapor, thank you very much.
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Oct 17, 2012 19:04
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I quit cold turkey 6 months ago for 3 weeks and I started again because I thought it was too easy and hey, I could smoke some more time if it was that easy. Boy was I wrong. Then I quit with the gum for three more weeks, then the patch for a month, then one week's here and there. I'm on day three of the patch but I started with step 1 (as opposed to step 2 when I last quit) because I was at a pack a day and I want to do it with the instructions this time. Gonna do the whole Nicorette program, which is 6 weeks of step 1, 4 weeks of step 2 and 2 weeks of step 3. Bought a no-nicotine e-cig for the habit portion of the whole ordeal and I can feel that this time it's gonna work. I haven't had a single craving since I started. I will be tested when I go down to step 2 and 3, though. Hopefully I stay strong. Don't start smoking kids, it's a loving hassle to stop.
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Oct 17, 2012 19:08
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Well, at some weekend in october (I'll call it a year now) I had my last cigarette. I have not smoked but once since then, and that was a Cuban cigar at my wedding (I don't count that). This night the smoking literally made me sick. It's been almost two years since I "Quit", but I smoked three times up to this, so this is my official quit date now.
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Oct 17, 2012 19:28
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I'm trying to switch over to an e-cig and eventually stop altogether. Last cigarette I had was about an hour ago. Yeah, not that long but I've got to start somewhere. I've got a pack in my fridge and I have 4 cigs left in the pack in my pocket. I could go ahead and finish them but why prolong it? I need to do it eventually so I'm starting now. I'm not gonna worry about quitting the e-cig yet. But I gotta get these traditional cigarettes the hell out of my life, starting now. edit: I no longer have 4 cigs in the pack in my pocket. Just crushed 'em and threw it away. GutBomb fucked around with this message at 19:51 on Oct 22, 2012 |
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Oct 22, 2012 18:36
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I can feel my gums peeling away from my teeth, my eyes hurt, and my head itches. What the gently caress. I just want to chew on a lightbulb or something. Everything is pissing me off and I'm so loving angry. Like seriously, I'm gonna choke a nun or something my god. I want one so frigging bad. It's my 4th day cold turkey, I used to smoke 7 a day since I was 12. 7 years later, I found someone who made me want to live as long as possible, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna die right now. Like. Right now. What the hell should I do? I feel like pulling my fingernails off and sucking any nicotine left in them.
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Oct 22, 2012 20:13
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8th day since quitting cold turkey, couldnt be more happy. I feel much better and with a lot less trouble on breathing.
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Oct 22, 2012 20:29
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So after failing "quitting" a million times over the last few years and screwing up a few serious attempts around 7-10 days, I'm officially a month smoke free! No matter how hard you loving fail just keep trying. Also read this.
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Oct 24, 2012 06:13
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