I'm already planning on surrounding myself with foods that I can pig out on without gaining, so I hope that helps.
I just last 60 pounds in preparation for this surgery and my doctor told me that I could gain up to 15 back without it being a problem.
Thank you all in advance.
Because smoking is such an “all body systems involved” phenomenon, I believe that whatever replaces it has to occupy as much of or very nearly as much of your being as did/does the original habit.
You already know that your hands, your eyes, your lungs, your breathing, your neurosis level are all involved.
It may be that you have to get all of those elements involved. It is a viciously and seriously insidious habit and I know, as a smoker and half a dozen times unsuccessful quitter, that you have to have a fully “theatrical” plan.
By theatrical, I mean that you have to have the stage, the orchestra, the building, the actors, the producer, the script...you really have to construct a multi-front attack on the habit. You’re going to have to become a full-on Nazi on yourself if you really want to quit....assuming you’re not one of those lucky people who can just decide. The truth is that all of us can just decide but it is awfully difficult to make that decision and have that decision come out the same way each of 173,528 times you will want to smoke over the next several years.
The things that have come closest for me but ultimately failed are:
Hypnosis
Poliacrix gum
The things that have completely irritated me so that I want to smoke a cigaret or three just out of irritation are:
“becomeanX.com” the whole support group and making a diary and bowing to the East and tying rubber bands around your pack of smokes and all that stupid nonsense.
Now that does not mean that those things will not work for YOU.
I think you have to become quite systematic and orchestrate upon yourself a complete program.
You can search for subliminal hypnosis downloads and burn them to CD. My suggestion: try a couple of them. If you blow $10 - $20, that should be worth it. IMO this is superior to going to a live hypnotherapist. To use them, you have to have a quiet room in which you can be uninterrupted for about 1/2 hour, headphones, and a comfortable chair. Doing it at the same time every day is allegedly a plus.
The gum, I usually have to cut the pieces in half or they sicken me to chew.
I think exercise is also important. Did I mention that I HATE exercise?
Those are my thoughts. Best of luck to you. It’s a massive bear to quit.
Looks like many of these suggestions will help you :)
I was a 3-pack a day smoker and what finally got me to quit was a website someone setup that showed how quickly their mom and dad got sick and died from smoking. Complete with bedridden photos. So from that link I followed other links with more *detailed* photos that were pretty gross. All stuff that I had laughed at before and pretty much made fun of.
I researched what other folks had gone through and found that the physical withdrawal symptoms last about 72 hours. After that it is all in your head. For me at least, that alone was enough to keep me going after 72 hours.
I was doing the gum and lozenge. Following their instructions it was pretty clear that what little nicotine I was getting from them was NOT on par with what I was getting while smoking 3-packs a day. So they were pretty useless until I tallied up how much nicotine I was getting from 60 cigarettes a day and then that determined how many gum/lozenges I would take. I’m sure this isn’t recommended but it worked for me :)
However, after the 3d-day, (remember the 72 hour withdrawal) I decided that I was not going to suck on gum or lozenges for 12 weeks as the program suggested so I just quit. On the third day. I was jumpy for about 12 hours after that and then - fine.
For years after hearing about how hard it is to quit smoking, and how addictive it is, comparing it to heroin, who the hell wants to go through that? And then I found out, at least for me, it was a piece of cake. Hell, I would have quit years ago had I known it was going to be that easy for me.
The biggest reason my mother kept smoking is her behavior became horrible when she stopped. When you say the “crazies” keep causing you to go back to smoking, I hear your pain; I saw it myself firsthand and it's not pretty. As others here wrote, it can sometimes seem like a mercy to your family to start smoking again.
Some “mercies,” however, have consequences far greater than the benefits.
My mother died about a decade ago of what the doctors said were the consequences of long-term smoking; my father said she had quit smoking but the medical tests showed otherwise. I have no way to know whether the tests were wrong or whether my mother was sneaking cigarettes my father didn't know about. What I do know is that my mother's inability to handle the anger and rage — not just mild irritability but outright rage — resulted in her being unable to quit and led directly to her death.
Personally I love the smell of cigarettes. I'd smoke today if it weren't for the fact that they cost too much and will kill me sooner or later. What I saw my parents go through with obvious addiction was more than enough for me to decide not to take up the habit, even though to this day I love to inhale smoke, especially some good aromatic pipe smells, or to sniff a freshly opened pouch of tobacco. I need to realize that wonderful smell is not something good for me but rather a powerful addiction waiting to pounce if I would permit it to do so.
Why do I say this? It's to rebuke in the strongest possible terms what Humblegunner wrote. Smoking **WILL** kill you eventually. It's already messing up your life and draining your pocketbook.
Fortunately not one person on this thread on Free Republic agreed with him.
Surround yourself with people who hate smoking and will encourage you to quit. Don't listen to people like Humblegunner who will give your addicted mind the idea that maybe, just maybe, he's right and you don't need to stop smoking to have the surgery you need.
Lots of good practical advice has been given. Some of it is probably better than others; some of it may work better or less well for you than it did for others.
What counts is that all of the advice is better than what you're getting from people who want to keep you from quitting. If they stop you from quitting, they are helping you kill yourself. Flee such advice. You're obviously addicted or you would have been able to stop on your own, and you need to surround yourself with encouragers, not discouragers and excusers.
Best wishes to you.
My wife, on the other hand, lit up as soon as we got in the car to go home.
I'm told the secret to quitting smoking, like most other addictions, a person has to want to quit, more than to smoke.
Anyway, I have my own opinions about nicotine addiction, both less and more complex than what people know (or think they know) about it. There's a tendency to trivialize the power of this substance, which is decidedly non-trivial for people who've smoked cigarettes, for example, as integral to their life's style, for decades, to cite just one example.
Will Power, which is what some folks used to call it, won't cut it, even for people with ordinarily strong personalities.
About twenty years ago the "addictive qualities" of substances was statistically related to that substances ability to transverse the, so-called, "blood brain barrier," that secondary set of internal kidneys in our heads that separates the central nervous system from the circulatory system, keeping toxins in the blood away from the brain.
It appears that the potential strength of an addiction to a substance is related to the fat solubility of that substance. Very high on the list are opiates, not coincidentally because of their similarity to compounds produced naturally to regulate our responses to pain. The molecular basis for Valium, and all of its "left-handed free radical" cousins are also very high on that list. Higher than just about anything, however, are those plant alkaloids normally produced in certain species as natural pesticides, specifically nicotine and more specifically nicotine produced in abundance by Tobacco and it's first cousin Tomato plants.
Nicotine isn't recognized like alcohol, as "the grand-daddy of all addictive substances," but it is probably the most physically addictive substance known to man.
Most surviving former main-line heroin users will tell you nicotine is more difficult to whip.
I quit smoking tobacco after 43 years by switching to an e-cigarette. It’s still a nicotine habit for me but at least I’m not inhaling carbon monoxide and there’s no tar being deposited in my lungs. I don’t stink of smoke anymore and my lungs are clear. My doctor was skeptical at first but now says it’s a big improvement.
Liberty Flights has one of the best deals on an effective e-cig if you’re interested, about $40 for a starter kit. Freepmail me if you want additional info (after 2 years of using a variety of different e-cigs I’m a bit of an expert on the subject).
I cannot thank you all enough for the wonderful advice and compassion.
Believe it or not, the thing that’s sticking with me the most are the stories of people who were just as addicted as I am who’ve managed to do it.
i think that there’s a part of me that believed that it wasn’t possible. That fear has been building as I get closer to ‘d’ day.
And that fear makes me light up more, and faster, than anything else.
But you guys are showing me that it is possible. And it’s possible to get through without all of the insanity.
I’m only down to post 63 right now. I’m reading each one carefully and I’ve already found more than a dozen that I know I can directly apply to my particular situation.
I’m going to go through it all a few more times and make a definitive plan that I’ll start to put into action next week.
But I can already feel my attitude shifting. I’m beginning to feel optimistic. I’m actually a little excited about being free of my addiction! I’m starting to accept that I can do this. I see that positive affirmation is vital to this process.
Thank you all so much! (and thank you especially for the prayers. I really appreciate that.)
I’m ready. :-)
If you choose to use a nicotine patch, make sure that you do not get TOO MUCH nicotine. When using the patch, I bought the weakest one (there are usually 3 different strengths to 'step-down') and it was too much to wear all of the time. I got headaches, sick to my stomach, etc., and thought that it was withdrawal, but it turned out that it was excessive nicotine. I had to wear the patch intermittently to avoid this.
When you do something that triggers the urge, immediately think of something else or use hard candy or something to satisfy the oral part of withdrawal. The need to have something in your hand will also be difficult. Do what suits you ... you WILL find something. For me the biggest trigger was getting on the telephone. I didn't realize that I always picked up a cigarette with the phone, but I did. Having a cup of coffee was the other BIG trigger, as was finishing a meal. For a while I had to quit coffee and use caffeine tablets (another addiction).
Expect a weight gain of 10-20 lbs., unless you really do a bunch of snacking instead of smoking. Don't anticipate doing anything like instituting an exercise program at the same time that you quit smoking ... it is just too much stress all at once unless you are a unique individual. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it is difficult.
A good time to quit is when you are out of your element, such as the beginning of a vacation. Less familiar things that will trigger an urge to smoke.
That's all I can think of right now. Come the end of this month, it will be 5 years since I smoked a cigarette. I still miss smoking, but it is much better that I don't. It also helps to remember that nobody has ever died as a result of quitting ... it gets bad, but it will get better. Prayer helps as The Good Lord always answers prayers ... although sometimes you don't get the exact answer you thought you were asking for (mysterious ways and all that).
I wish you a tremendous amount of strength and the good health that will follow.
No time to go through the thread so can’t say if the following had been suggested:
Some of the habits to prepare for and have some replacement “habit” - talking on the phone, getting in the car to go somewhere, after meals, during tv shows... note those moments that you mindlessly light up.
Then have something ready to replace it. One of the crazy things I thought was goofy but actually worked was taking a drag through a straw, simply taking in fresh air, but still occupied the hands. You have the idea of snacks already - sure want low-cal. Having a closed container of smoked butt swilling around in water will remind you what you’re trying to quit... And from what I’ve seen others suggest - working out, walking, running, biking, whatever you can handle and keeps you busy.
Not sure if E-cigarettes are an option but might be worth the consideration. I didn’t do any drugs or patches - went cold turkey after a serious hangover - but can understand how that may be tempting if you get really groully. After getting through the first three months, I knew I had it beat, but for quite a few years after, every three months I had to fight the urge all over again. The first 3-4 days were the worst and the first year I caught colds and flus pretty easily. But hang in there and fight this like you’ver never fought before! Wishing you the best and prayers up for your success!
This New Years eve will be 20 years since I quit. Just went cold turkey. Every time I wanted a cigarette I would think about all the negative things about it and talk myself out of it. It truly is mind over matter. Also try to stay away from things you associate with smoking - like coffee or a drink. Good luck to you!