Posted on 09/07/2012 1:20:27 PM PDT by Randy Larsen
I've smoked since I was 15 years old. I turned 55 last March and now it's time to quit!
Oh, and you can save the money you are not spending on cigs in a jar and watch it add up. Best of luck you you. You CAN do it.
You trying to have someone to kill himself???
How I Did It:
--told myself I was gonna see how long I could go between cigarettes
--kept my filled ashtrays around for a couple of weeks
-tried to ingest as much second hand smoke as possible
--ate a lot of gummy worms
--pretended to smoke and visualized myself smoking
--told myself that if I slipped it was okay and there are lots of worse things I could do to my body than smoke tobacco.
It worked. I essentially weaned myself off of cigarettes. Just be gentle on yourself. You can do it.
To this day I still enjoy a blast of second hand smoke and it doesn't tempt me to start up again whatsoever.
I agree on cold turkey. You just make the decision and stick to it. I quit that way 7 years ago, not a puff since. Still like the aroma of tobacco, though.
I will say this one thing. It's like alcohol or drugs. One day at a time. You can't have even ONE. The urge wears off over time, both the intensity and frequency. This is a double edge sword because you let your guard down.
Now that it's been over ten years, (I'm 62), I seldom think about it, BUT every once in awhile....... So you have to be vigilant for the rest of your life. It gets a lot easier, but never completely goes away. (for me anyway).
If you drink alcohol, that's a problem. Stay away from bars. Don't get high, you'll give in to temptation.
Best of luck, but luck isn't really a factor. Determination is.
OK!
When do we start?
I’m gonna use the patch, is that ok?
Best of luck in your effort to quit, Randy.
I smoked from age 16 to 52 with a 2 year period when I was able to stop.
It was the heart attack in 2002 that finally was the catalyst for me. Not much of an urge since then; I decided that I was addicted and would not let it control me anymore.
One final note - I wish someone had told me how bad I smelled when I was a smoker.
I know I want to badly because my life has changed immensely and I have a lot of things I want to do!
Cigarettes will keep me from doing those things!
Good luck, and ask God for help. I watched my mom die at 66 from lung cancer. It’s not a good way to go.
Congrats on your decision. Wanting to quit is a big part of the battle. I used the patch. It took several attempts, but I haven’t had a cigarette since July 31, 2007. I did gain some weight, about 30 pounds. I carried it until I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes last year. I dropped a lot of the weight as a symptom before I was diagnosed. But, I have joined a gym since and have never felt better.
Let’s pick a drop dead date to quit then keep in contact to make sure we are progressing!
Are you with me?
Was a smoker for over 50 years and finally quit at age 73. Used Chantix at first, then sucked on nicotine lozenges. Make up your mind to quit and keep trying no matter how many times it takes to do it. You will find that it’s great to breathe again. Good luck and here are some tips from the Mayo Clinic that may help you:
Quitting smoking — When a tobacco craving strikes, use some of these tips to resist.
For most tobacco users, tobacco cravings or urges to smoke can be powerful. But you’re not at the mercy of these tobacco cravings. When an urge to use tobacco strikes, remember that although it may be intense, it will be short-lived, and it probably will pass within a few minutes whether or not you smoke a cigarette or take a dip of chewing tobacco. Each time you resist a tobacco craving, you’re one step closer to stopping smoking or other tobacco use for good. But it can be difficult.
So here are 10 ways to help you resist the urge to smoke or use tobacco when a tobacco craving strikes, no matter where you are:
1. Delay. If you feel like you’re going to give in to your tobacco craving, tell yourself that you must first wait 10 more minutes and then do something to distract yourself for that period of time. This simple trick may be enough to derail your tobacco craving. Repeat as often as needed.
2. Don’t have ‘just one.’ You might be tempted to have just one cigarette to satisfy a tobacco craving. But don’t fool yourself into believing that you can stop at just one. More often than not, having just one leads to another, then another — and you may wind up using tobacco again.
3. Avoid triggers. Urges for tobacco are likely to be strongest in the situations where you smoked or chewed tobacco most often, such as at parties or bars, in the car or while watching television. Identify your trigger situations and have a plan in place so that you can avoid them entirely or get through them without using tobacco. Don’t set yourself up for a smoking relapse. If you usually smoked while you talked on the phone, for instance, keep a pen and paper nearby to occupy yourself with doodling rather than smoking.
4. Get physical. Physical activity can help distract you from tobacco cravings and reduce the intensity of cravings. Just 30 minutes of moderate physical activity can make a tobacco craving go away. Get out for a walk or jog. If you’re stuck at home or the office, try squats, deep knee bends, push-ups, running in place, or walking up and down a set of stairs a few times. If physical activity doesn’t interest you, try prayer, needlework, woodwork or journaling. Or do chores for distraction, such as vacuuming or filing paperwork.
5. Practice relaxation techniques. In the past, smoking may have been your way to deal with stress. Trying to resist a tobacco craving can itself be stressful. Take the edge off stress by practicing relaxation techniques. These include deep-breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, yoga, visualization, hypnosis and massage.
6. Call reinforcements. Touch base with a family member, friend or support group member for moral support as you struggle to resist a tobacco craving. Chat on the phone, go for a walk together or simply share a few laughs — or get together to commiserate about your cravings.
7. Remember the benefits of quitting. Write down or say out loud the reasons you want to stop smoking and resist tobacco cravings. These might include feeling better, getting healthier, sparing your loved ones from secondhand smoke or saving money. And if you’re a closet smoker, you may save hours of time since you no longer have to spend time trying to conceal your habit.
8. Go online. Join an online stop-smoking program. Or read a quitter’s blog and post encouraging thoughts for someone else who might be struggling with tobacco cravings. Learn from how others have handled their tobacco cravings.
9. Try nicotine replacements. Try a nicotine replacement product instead of a cigarette. Some types of nicotine replacement therapy, including patches, gums and lozenges, are available over-the-counter. Nicotine nasal spray and the nicotine inhaler are available by prescription, as are the stop-smoking medications bupropion (Zyban) and varenicline (Chantix).
10. Chew on it. Give your mouth something to do to fight a tobacco craving. Chew on sugarless gum or hard candy. Or munch on raw carrots, celery, nuts or sunflower seeds — something crunchy and satisfying.
Remember, trying something to beat the urge is always better than doing nothing. And each time you resist a tobacco craving, you’re one step closer to being totally tobacco-free.
Started smoking at 15, now 72.
Quit for over a year several times. Problem is that smoking even a butt is enough to get you rehooked.
I wore the patch for awhile but started wondering if my smoking while wearing the patch was a no no.
Best I have been able to do after 57 years is to cut down to 10 cigarettes a day (1/2 pack). I absolutely stick to this routine and once in awhile I’ll actually skip 1 or 2 scheduled cigarette sessions lowering my useage to 8 or 9.
I am now trying to skip the scheduled smoke if I can not find a place to truly enjoy a smoke. In other words, not while walking or doing a chore, gardening and other tasks that may come up.
I’ve been on this routine for about 5 years now. I’d like to get it down to 6 per day.
Using Patch and gum. It works.
Correctly size the first patch and use gum for breakthrough cravings.
Diminish the patch size and continue to use gum for breakthough
Remember that you just chew the gum enough to get it soft and then park it between gum and cheek. Chew occasionally to get more nicotine.
Drink lots of water.
Keep busy away from food.
Exercise.
Do deep breathing exercises every hour.
Have your thyroid checked regularly after quitting to make sure it is working properly.
I will follow your instructions but most likely won’t need the patch after 10 days.
My problem comes when I can taste and smell food.
Suddenly food tastes and smells sooo good and I don’t even think about smoking anymore, all I think about is eating!
I will pay more attention to the eating urge this time.
I started smoking in my early teens and quit at age 37
I used the Nicotine patches to taper down, then used the Nicotine gum on occasion to finish tapering down and to quench the occasional nicotine urges I had.
The process took about 4 months, but I also exercised and as mentioned above, tapered off of nicotine slowly.
It may take 6 months for you, or maybe 3 months - everyone is different.
I also didn’t consume any alcohol during the time as I would have smoked for certain as the two tend to go together.
That was in 1997 and I haven’t smoked since.
I hear cigs are also quite expensive these days too, so not only will you be doing your health a favor, you’ll be saving about $5.00 a day or more, depending on how much you smoke and how much your state taxes cigs.
But it’s also one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself.
1. Taper slowly.
2. Don’t drink alcohol while quitting and afterwards as long as you are having nicotine cravings. Alcohol will derail your efforts to quit faster than anything.
3. Exercise, even if it’s a short walk after dinner and steadily increase your distance to keep the weight off.
4. Keep some sugar-free hard candy and nuts like almonds, cashews, etc...on hand to have around when the nicotine urge strikes.
5. Once you are off of the nicotine substitutes, get a big glass jar and put the amount of money you would be spending on cigs in that jar so you have a visual reminder of how much money you were spending. At the end of each month, invest, save, or buy yourself something nice as a reward for quitting.
After you quit and get your lungs clear, you will feel great, have more energy, have extra cash and will prolong your life and will improve your overall health.
Just remember, you didn’t become dependent on nicotine overnight, so it will take some time to undo that dependency/addiction, so don’t rush it, but set a reasonable timetable, including goals such as tapering to a lower-strength nicotine patch and avoid any self-rationalizations to smoke (I had a bad day at work, death in the family, fight with my spouse, etc...)
Just take it slow, don’t beat yourself up if you relapse and think about how much better you will feel and how many years you will be adding to your life as well as the quality of your life and any other positive aspects of quitting smoking.
And you won’t stink like stale cigs anymore.
I didn’t realize how bad smokers smell until I quit.
I’m a single guy and my “social life” with the ladies improved quite a bit after I quit smoking because I didn’t have that “smoker’s stink” anymore, plus I began exercising to avoid weight gain and ended up getting into pretty good physical condition. It felt nice to have pretty girls staring at me and was extra motivation to stay smoke-free and to exercise and to eat a fairly healthy diet.
If you really want to do it, you will.
And remember, there are plenty of ex-smokers here to support and to help you.
Good luck.
I know you can do it.
That’s why I came to FR first! The non-smokers here will set you straight in a heartbeat.
I was a two+ pack a day smoker who came down with a case of pneumonia and wound up in the hospital for five days on oxygen. My roommate was in his 90's and in a coma from a stroke. His breathing sounded like he had emphysema and every six hours or so I ring for the nurses so they'd come in and aspirate the fluid buildup from his lungs (he was drowning)!
He was still gurgling when I was released, I never smoked again.
Regards & best of luck,
GtG
I’m sure that would do it too!
MCB.
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