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This kind of thread seemed to help a lot of people quit smoking (or at least convince them to try) when I saw it last, so now that I have decided to quit (for good this time) and I need all the help I can get, here is another  "Quit Smoking GBS!" thread."I'm Slimy Hog, and I'm a ciggaholic" I have been smoking for around 3 years now, and since I am going to start a teaching internship next quarter (and probably not going to stop being in a classroom until I retire) it's about time to quit. I haven't had a cigarette since the 6th and even then it was only one for that day, I'm going cold turkey, and the thing that is REALLY helping me right now is being sick. I had a fever starting on the 9th which broke by the 13th, but right after that I got a sore throat, so smoking does not sound very good at all right now. This is my 13th day, and I'm holding strong! Let's hear about Allan Carr, Chantrix and how it is you cope with drinking and not smoking. GBS, together we can do this.
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Nov 19, 2009 09:27
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 05:38 |
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I've been quit for 1.5 years, I still chew the 2MG Nicorette. I started with the patch and just fighting it like a raging flu. Quitting smoking isn't just stopping smoking, if the issues making you smoke or act in a destructive manner aren't dealt with, you'll be like me and get hooked on the gum or something stupid like that. Still better than smoking, I suppose. Good luck everyone! Your sense of smell returns within months and you will smell things that remind you of when you were younger. Food tastes better and in a short time your breathing is exponentially better.
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Nov 19, 2009 09:36
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Amen! I'm a pack-a-day smoker, and have been for around 2 years. I plan on this pack being my last.
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Nov 19, 2009 09:38
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I feel that moderation of one's vices is not necessarily the same as the complete removal of them. I enjoy the act, and as such am currently aiming to cut down from a pack a day to one-to-four cigarettes a day. I understand that this is still bad for me, I am more interested in the economic strain caused by excessive smoking than that of health concerns. I was at a pack a day by the end of September, and can now no longer smoke more than about ten a day without feeling sick, more often smoking one to three on days I am working and four to seven on days I am not. I am finding that switching to menthols helps marginally, because they are disgusting. Also simply not buying them helps, too, though I imagine this would be tougher for someone more addicted than I am.
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Nov 19, 2009 09:39
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blastdoctor posted:Good luck everyone! Your sense of smell returns within months and you will smell things that remind you of when you were younger. Food tastes better and in a short time your breathing is exponentially better. Quoting this, because it's God-drat true. Walking past a florist is enough to give your nose an orgasm. That... sounded better in my head. For my part, I found the inhaler really useful. I didn't use it according to the directions (which suggest 4-6 cartridges a day), I just used it as my fallback. When I would normally have caved in and had a smoke, I used the inhaler instead. After about a week or so, I didn't need either.
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Nov 19, 2009 09:47
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Sure, I'll quit right now! No I'm not.
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Nov 19, 2009 09:49
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I found a very specific reason to quit. Instead of general health, I stopped smoking to improve my run time and endurance. I quit just over two months ago and I can plainly see the improvement. It was when I realized that smoking was preventing me from being better at something that I had to put it aside. I like to think I could moderate myself to fewer cigarettes per time interval, because I don't necessarily like fearing them. I don't have the urge to smoke cigarettes anymore because I can't remember what was so great about it. I'd rather not remind myself and focus on the positives. I will still have a cigar, though. That's just a whole different world. edit: also, toothpicks helped the oral fixation
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Nov 19, 2009 09:49
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Pumaman posted:I don't have the urge to smoke cigarettes anymore because I can't remember what was so great about it. I'd rather not remind myself and focus on the positives. I think what worked for me this time is that I realised that out of the 15-20 cigarettes a day I smoked, I only reeeeeally enjoyed one, maybe two. The rest were more just something to do. The most important thing after the first 1-2 day hump is to accept the fact that yes, that one cigarette WOULD be really good. For about 5 minutes. You're going to give up all that work for 5 minutes? What about the hours after that? Yeah, of course you'll need another one. But that one won't be anywhere near as good as the first. And then you're right back where you started. If it weren't for the money, the loss of smell and taste, the inconvenience (I used to dread flying), the loss of breath and the risk of cancer, I'd still be a smoker. But that's no short list of drawbacks for something I'm only enjoying 5-10 minutes a day.
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Nov 19, 2009 10:01
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Man I haven't smoked GBS since I was in high school...
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Nov 19, 2009 10:15
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I wish I can stop from smoking 10 to 15 cigarettes a day. I'm working on smoking only one cigarette per day for just pleasure. I guess I will try gum, but no money. I quit from my lovely job yesterday. gently caress Walmart.
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Nov 19, 2009 10:25
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I'm on my sixth, going on seventh week of not smoking, I got a prescription for Chantix from my doctor and it worked wonders for me. I feel better than I can ever remember feeling, and I only had to deal with mild cravings when I stopped smoking thanks to the medicine. And those were really not physical cravings, more just withdrawal from the 13 year habit I had just set down. Good luck to anyone who's going to quit, you'll honestly be glad you did.
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Nov 19, 2009 10:30
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Socket Ryanist posted:Man I haven't smoked GBS since I was in high school... I kept getting neckbeard hairs in my mouth 
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Nov 19, 2009 10:32
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I smoke nearly two pink cigars a day, to fund a cocaine lifestyle. Maybe if I could lower that to one cigar every couple of days or three high-quality cigars in a week, I'd be happy. Let's do this GBS!
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Nov 19, 2009 10:38
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Tried it multiple times and failed each. My longest break was for 2 years. Well, at least I am at not smoking more than 5 cigs a day.
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Nov 19, 2009 10:40
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Been roughly a pack a day smoker for the past 5 years, but I've had it! I have four left which are getting smoked semi-ritualistically (I know, I know) with various smoking buddies tomorrow. My reason isn't health related, it's that I buy an expensive brand ($11 a pack here in Victoria, BC) and my parents have told me that they'll go halfers on a condo downpayment with me if I can save up the cash semi-quickly. How will I quit? I'm just not going to ever bring my bank/credit cards with me when I leave the house and I'm going to put all non-essential money in an untouchable account. If it comes down to cigarettes or jam spot payments/groceries it's no contest.
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Nov 19, 2009 10:44
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I quit about 10 years ago. It's worth all the trouble to quit. Keep trying. Don't be like my old bitch neighbor that I have to listen to cough constantly.
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Nov 19, 2009 10:45
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I've posted this before but "Easy Way" by Allen Carr is the best quit smoking book out there and I quit after reading it once. I will never smoke a cigarette again and once I put that last cigarette down I had no cravings. It's really easy  e: don't cut back on smoking, if anything you should try to increase the amount you smoke as much as possible it'll make it easier to quit
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Nov 19, 2009 11:11
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Cutting down does not work. It may work for a few days, a few weeks even but sooner or later you'll be back where you started. At first just don't drink at all and in the long run take care to not replace smoking with drinking, which is what I did the first time around. When you're ready, cold turkey works. I bought a pack of gums and still have half of them. After the first few days I think chewing nicotine gums would actually be counter-productive. If you do smoke (perhaps because you've been drinking), don't give up giving up smoking but throw the cigarettes away if you still have some and continue not smoking. Don't be a whiny baby about it. I stopped 70 days ago and smoked about 20 cigarettes in that time (always when I'd been drinking). Sure, that's not good but I did NOT smoke 1380 cigarettes in that time.
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Nov 19, 2009 14:55
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Day 2 of using the patch here after smoking about a pack per day for 4 years. At $4.50/Pack average that's well over $6000 spent. My motivation is a 50/50 split between financial and the urge to bulk up. Good luck everybody!
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Nov 19, 2009 17:00
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I have been quit for 2 years now. I took chantix. It was amazing, I had been smoking for 15 years prior to that. In three days I was done smoking. No cravings, the only reason I still smoked for the remaining week was because I had the cigarettes and you have to smoke for a week while taking the medicine. I recommend it for everyone. I heard about the side effects but I had none of them. So if you really really want to quit go Chantix.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:04
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I've been smoking GBS for about a year now, I don't like doing it but I'm addicted. I've tried everything, the patch, hypnosis, everything. But nothing can get me to stop smoking GBS all the time. I just want control of my life back.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:04
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I haven't bought a pack in 12 days now, but I cheated a bit last night and had 3 from a friend  Ive had on some days 1 or 2 of those primetime flavored cigarillos to cheat as well.. I really have to convince myself to stop buying those it's just making it harder I think
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Nov 19, 2009 17:07
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I started this summer mostly because in the restaurant biz you can't take an outdoor break without a cig in hand. Factor that in with a bunch of stupid hipster parties all summer long and I'm smoking everyday. I've been planning on stopping and using my old favorite activity, running, to fill the gaps and let off some steam. I'm in. (after I finish this last pack tonight.)
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Nov 19, 2009 17:07
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I've been off cigarettes for four months now, though I'm still a passionate cigar smoker (I average one every two or three days, which I'm fine with, since it's something I really enjoy, not something I do to keep myself occupied). It doesn't get any easier with time, as far as I've found. Good luck to everyone, and if you don't want to quit outright, switch to smoking high-quality cigars and never look back!
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Nov 19, 2009 17:11
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My desire to quit smoking stemmed from GERD, which stands for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. I never ate breakfast, work in a high stress job, and would down multiple cups of coffee and cigarettes before lunch (which I would occasionally miss.) The GERD got so bad that I thought I was having heart attacks. After dealing with it for three months I finally worked up the nerve to go see the doctor, all freaked out that my body was falling apart and what I would say to my friends that I was 27 years old and having heart attacks. After the docs EKG came back negative and he prescribed me prescription grade pepcid and Chantix, I knew it was time to quit. Ive been cigarette free for three years Nov. 25th. I still smoke an occasional imported cigar when I want to kick back on my front stoop and read. I didn't touch cigars though till a full year after quitting, I at one point had given up cigarettes and had ended up resorting to inhaling cigars (not recommended.) I can currently enjoy a cigar now like a normal cigar should be enjoyed, not through the lungs. I took the Chantix for 3 months. I had to start eating breakfast every morning otherwise it would make me sick. Also the dreams were a bit realistic at times but looking back at it now, it was worth every pill, breakfast, and funky dream. I had tried cold turkey but it got too easy to convince myself that I could smoke one and be fine. Or I'd blame a situation on stress and tell myself that a cigarette would help calm the situation. Ultimately the patch and the gum failed too, all had been too easy to convince myself, when drinking, that it was OK to smoke while I was out with friends.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:13
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Seashell Salesman posted:I've posted this before but "Easy Way" by Allen Carr is the best quit smoking book out there and I quit after reading it once. I will never smoke a cigarette again and once I put that last cigarette down I had no cravings. It's really easy I'm about halfway though Carr's book. I've tried other methods of quitting without luck, so I figured why not try reading it since it's been recommended. So far it half feels like he's selling me something and half telling me what I already know, so I'm curious if his method has worked for others. I'm sure it'll make more sense once I finish the book, but it's a weird read so far. Anyone else have something to say about Carr?
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Nov 19, 2009 17:17
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I've cut down from 10 a day, whilst working in retail, to one a day on the drive home from my office job. But I live with my girlfriend who smokes weed religiously so on a normal weekday I smoke one cigarette and maybe 2 or 3 joints (with tobacco  )I know I should quit and I can easily go a day without smoking a cigarette but there are times that I crave them and that's usually in any social situation. Going out drinking is the only time that I will buy a packet because I know I will smoke so it's best to have my own than to bum them off people. About twice a year I'll try and quit but I will always end up smoking again. I don't know if I can dedicate myself to quitting now because the time doesn't feel right. I know I have one cigarette in my car and I'm really looking forward to lighting it up whilst sitting in traffic. I think I need to learn to not enjoy it so much which is to focus on the damage it's doing to my lungs, lifestyle and wallet.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:21
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Mourning Due posted:Been roughly a pack a day smoker for the past 5 years, but I've had it! I have four left which are getting smoked semi-ritualistically (I know, I know) with various smoking buddies tomorrow. Expensive brand, hah. Here in NYC a pack of Marb lights is $10.50.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:24
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Chantix. Eventually I wondered what I ever liked about smoking.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:28
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I stopped smoking in March.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:33
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I am on day 8 of Chantix. I'm really hoping that it will work. I just bought my last pack of cigs and after those I will not be buying anymore. I can see already right now my biggest problem will be the mental part of not smoking as from what I understand Chantix will take care of the physical cravings. Has anyone else had a problem breaking the mental part of the addiction to smoking? Also, I am quitting mostly before I have to. I resigned my old job to go to a new job and then the new job screwed me over (long story), so I am broke as rear end and waiting on both EI and the results of pursuing a settlement with the company I was supposed to go to with the assistance of my lawyer.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:34
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Can I quit another addiction in this thread but just say that it's "smoking?"
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Nov 19, 2009 17:34
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I was finally able to quit smoking. I smoked for 12 years, was up to a pack and a half a day. I really didn't want to quit because I enjoyed it a lot but at $6 a pack it was getting too expensive to smoke that much a day and cutting back was nearly impossible. I had tried in the past to quit for health reasons but like I said, I've always enjoyed it. This time I used the patch and stuck to their program exactly and it worked, I haven't smoked in over 3 months now. I had to cut way back on the drinking in order to pull this off which was very hard to do.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:36
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Hell yeah excellent timing. I just finally got to the realization that I am now completely addicted and need to stop. I think I'm on my 5th last pack, but this thread should help a lot. Can't wait!
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Nov 19, 2009 17:36
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I'm not trying to quit per se, but I've definitely cut back. I was at 1pack/day to 1.5 packs a day last month. Now I'm down to about maybe 1-3 cigs a day, and thats only if they're offered to me. My new fix is Snus. Its delicious and (supposedly) not really bad for you at all.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:44
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carealicious posted:I am on day 8 of Chantix. Yeah, I still pick up toothpicks and fiddle with them from time to time, but the cool thing is that Chantix makes you kind of forget about those moments that you usually had a smoke. You know how you smoke when you get in your car or after a meal or with a drink or whatever? You end up forgetting to do those things. After a while, the habit of NOT doing them is what becomes normal. I still get semi-strong cravings when I'm wired on coffee, but they're nothing I can't push away. I even had a friend in town a few weekends back, and I had one of those solid 10 hours of drinking type days. It wasn't a problem. Oh, and after two months on Chantix, I quit that about a month ago too, so I'm not smoking or using Chantix at all at this point, and I'm doing great.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:49
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Schistosity posted:I'm about halfway though Carr's book. I've tried other methods of quitting without luck, so I figured why not try reading it since it's been recommended. So far it half feels like he's selling me something and half telling me what I already know, so I'm curious if his method has worked for others. I'm sure it'll make more sense once I finish the book, but it's a weird read so far. Yes; why are you approaching it with such suspicion? If the first few chapters don't strike some sort of chord with you, or you don't genuinely want to quit, don't read it. Also, nicotine replacement therapy is a sham.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:53
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37 days smoke free. I was a smoker for 17 years, but recently got tired of the cost, the smell, the anti smoking laws, the lovely weather you have to smoke in, and the smell. I cant believe i stank that bad from smoking. I quit cold turkey. It was difficult for the first few days, and i still crave a smoke now and then, but its a lot easier to shrug it off now.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:55
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Good luck to everyone trying to quit, it's the best thing you can do for yourself.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:56
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 05:38 |
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Whatever you guys do, do NOT take Champix. I work with a guy on it and he has become a loving scary monster. I'd rather be with someone who smoked any day than someone on that poo poo.
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Nov 19, 2009 17:57
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