I'm quitting smoking RIGHT NOW!!!!

[shadowknows69]

well since 3am this morning anyway. been up since 6:30 AM si 4 1/2 hours without a smoke so far. Logest I've gone while awake in probably 10 years. Status report: mild to severe agitation. I love my dog but she better just stay asleep today if she knows what's good for her. My wife cheated and smoked her last smoke before work today when before bed last night was supposed to be go time. Worse she LET ME FIND OUT ABOUT IT!!!! That's it for her then. PITY ME DU!!!

[Bluzmann57]

1. Good luck to you

As a former smoker I can sympathize with the withdrawal you must be feeling. Don't give in! Fight off the urges and in about two weeks or so you should be able to say "I'm smoke free." But beware, I used to quit two or three times a week. Hang in there, you can do it.

[Skidmore]

2. Good luck and don't give up.

I lost my brother last spring to lung cancer. He was a heavy smoker up until the day he was diagnosed.

My sister quit once and put the money for the cigs in a big jar to see how much her habit had cost her. She saved up enough money in six months to take a nice weekend jaunt. Keep that in mind for positive reinforcement.

Good luck and I'm pulling for you and your wife... and doggy too.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. Are you going cold turkey?

First of all, congratulations on making a great life choice in quitting!

Secondly, quitting smoking can be worse than quitting heroine. Are you getting some kind of help in this?

[shadowknows69]

28. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr n/t

[CornField]

4. You'll do well -- just distract yourself

I stopped last November -- the first three days were the worst, with day three being a BEAST!! :)

You can do this. Munch some carrots, chew some gum, hold some straws (cut to the right length). You'll make it because you are stronger than the cigarettes.

[ewagner]

5. Good Luck!

The nicotine withdrawal phase is going to be the toughest. Keep some "Jolly Ranchers" handy......

Yesterday was 13 weeks since I was forced to quit.....

Still reach for my trusty old corncob pipe every now and then even though it's not there............

I know it's tough for you. Think about the possibility of heart disease or lung cancer in the future. It's a sobering prospect.

Best wishes!!!!

on edit: Have you tried the rubber band on the wrist trick yet? Put a fairly tight rubber band on your wrist. Every time you want to take a smoke, give it a snap.....one suggestion from a "Stop Smoking" Program at our local clinic.

[katinmn]

6. You can do it.

Can you take the dog for a walk to get over the urge?

Tell your wife she needs to smoke outside, away from you.

[LynneSin]

7. Get to a doctor or drug store and get some helper products

They may be expensive now but cheaper in the long run. Plus many states have "Quit Smoking" programs to help you out.

Don't cold turkey it or that dog will be a goner!!

Good Luck :loveya:

[RebelOne]

23. Helper products don't work, at least not with me.

I have been taking Wellbutrin for months and it's not helping.

[murray hill farm]

8. Cinnamon sticks!

go out and buy some...they are about the same size as a cig..and same length...and keep one in your mouth for the first week...it also gives you great clean breath.

[central scrutinizer]

9. I quit cold turkey 19 years ago

the stars must have been in alignment because it really wasn't that hard. Just flushed my last half pack down the toilet (Camel straights) and never was strongly tempted to light up again. Of course, Mrs. Scrutinizer, who is still a smoker, had to put up with my self-righteous bullshit but I have stopped cold turkey on that as well.

[shadowknows69]

29. Thank you so much for the support

and great ideas all. I'm kind of taking the self imposed rehab approach right now. I made the wife abandon me at home with no money or vehicle. Although I have several friends that would probably rescue me I haven't broke yet. Clearly I should have got some helper products. May have to move to low dosage mode (one or two cigs) until I can get nicotine substitutes. Withdrawal is worse than I thought and I have some experience with jonesing for addictive substances in my past if you feel me. Nicotine is definitely right up there.

[Kazak]

10. I'm coming up on 5 years tobacco free...

None of those products ever worked for me. Persistence and determination won out in the end, and falling in love helped me a lot too. Get enough time under your belt and you'll never go back. The thought of smoking cigarettes now makes me want to wretch.

[Ravenseye]

11. Quitters Never Win, Winners Never Quit

That's what an alchoholic friend once said to me.

Good luck.

[shadowknows69]

30. please no glaring cliches

those and bad puns will break my will in a new york minute.

[aintitfunny]

12. I quit 5 weeks ago

Been doing remarkably well with the help of Wellbutrin (anti-depressant - the same ingredients as Zyban the stop smoking drug) and the Nicotrol Inhaler. My biggest problem was going out and having a drink, that is when I wanted to smoke the most. So I use the Nictrol for that, the inhaler kind of helps the habitual stuff. I have not had a cigarette and it has been the easiest time I have ever experienced. I have quit smoking 3 or 4 times prior to this. I have decided to take it easy, keep the Nicotrol (I use very little and can go several days without it at all) for as long as I feel I need it. Anytime I get the urge I just remind myself that I am no longer a smoker.

Good luck and best wishes for your success.

[seabeyond]

13. you are so funny

so so funny. go dude. hey, am with you. gosh so with you. k. will reaD YOUR UPDATES, SIT WITH YOU IN IT. sorry for caps

[coffeenap]

14. Cold turkey for me 18 years ago--when you really DECIDE you are finished,

you CAN do it. Good luck!

[GoldenOldie]

15. GOOD LUCK TO YOU.....HANG IN THERE

Lost my vocal cords to cancer due to smoking for 30 years. I quit twice but just like any addict, but after 1-year, finding myself with a group of smokers, thought I could just have one more.

It doesn't work that way. There is something in the brain that clicks you right back to the addiction and within a short time you are smoking at the same level you were when you quit.

If you stop and get the urge, do something, anything, to get your mind off the thought of picking up a cigarette. If you plan ahead on what things you might do to get over the urge, you will find it a little easier.

Don't wait for something bad to happen as I did. Once the Doc pronounced cancer due to smoking, I had no difficulty quitting but within the process I lost my ability to naturally voice/sing/laugh/blow my nose, etc., etc.
I speak with an prosthesis valve and I am very good but the majority of others have many difficulties.

The best to you and your spouse....YOU CAN DO IT.

[shadowknows69]

31. ironically

it's not even financial (well partly) or health concerns that finally pissd me off enough to try this. I am so sick of the new "fireproof" paper they're using that I'm ready to blow. For those of you non-smokers or recently quit smokers they have been using some new paper designed to save the lives of people who fall asleep smoking. IE the paper is designed to make an unattended cig go out quicker. Problem is it works too well as everytime you take a drag your ash falls on y our clothes before you can get it back to an ashtray and the thing actually goes out harder towards the filter (marlboros anyway. almost lit my table on fire once because I started a blaze in the ashtray.) So if this works I'm going to write a letter to big tobacco thanking them for thinking about the safety of my house if not my lungs because that was the straw that made me quit.

[kwyjibo]

16. Congrats! Just wait until you get your sense of smell back...

then you'll walk by smokers and realize how awful and disgusting they smell, and you'll never want anyone to walk by you and think about how you stink.

It's been a few years since I've smoked and now the smell of it is absolutely disgusting to me.. and if I smoked a cigarette, I think it would make me sick enough to vomit.

[ObaMania]

17. I am trying right now.

Smoking is 80% mental and 20% physical. I can get over the physical part, but the mental is thr toughie!

I just bought the Final Smoke system from http://www.finalsmoke.com and it seems to help.

.. wish I could afford Nicorette though, that would do it for me!

[shadowknows69]

32. I wish I had nicorette too...

it would cost me even more though becuase I'd be like ben stiller in meet the parents just chewing a box of it at a time.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

18. Nothing to it. I've done it hundreds of times.

Might even do it again.

[shadowknows69]

33. LOl

alright the first realist to chime in so far.

[kwassa]

38. I quit a half-dozen times before I stayed quit

[T Town Jake]

19. All the best to you in your quest to quit...

...I know what you're going through, believe me: good luck.

[proud patriot]

20. You Can Do It ..I've been Smoke Free for 10 weeks

:hi:

[d_b]

21. Good luck.

Try not to gain any weight in the process.

[gauguin57]

22. Get some Q-Tips.

My Dad swore by whole cloves when he quit cigs and later his pipe ... but when I quit cigs many years ago (years before "the patch"), I kept Q-tips in my desk drawer at the office (and around my apartment). The cotton swab stands in for a cigarette filter -- you can drag some air through it. Yep, you may look a little silly fake-draggin' on a Q-tip. But silly's better than sick or dead.

They helped me, anyway. And I went COLD TURKEY! And I haven't smoked in at least 18 years.

GOOD LUCK!!!!! You're doing something WONDERFUL for yourself. In just a few weeks, your lungs are gonna start feeling so great you'll just want to take long, long walks in the spring air!

[otohara]

24. Drink Lots of Water

get that nicotine out of your body faster - might want to take some vitamins, extra C - detox teas are good too. Good luck.

[shadowknows69]

34. TEA!!!!

thank you....I have some too. Don't know why I didn't think of that.

[mattclearing]

25. It's been a year now.

And I think this time I might have it beat, after ten years of smoking.

Cold turkey was the way for me, so best of luck, and try to remember to bite your tongue early and often.

If your withdrawal is anything like mine was, you will hate any and everybody, and the temptation to sarcasm and nastiness is overwhelming.

:)

[kwassa]

26. I've quit for 21 years now

Smoked 2 packs of Marlboros a day for 14 years before that.

[Cheesehead]

27. I got myself hypnotized almost 20 years ago and quit on the spot

Try to get the notion in your head that you don't smoke. If you still consider yourself a smoker who's trying to quit it is much harder.

I smoked 2 packs/day of unfiltered Pall Malls for 20 years and quit virtually without cravings. I have to admit that I have recommended this route to others who didn't have the same success that I did, but good luck - it's worth the effort for sure.

[shadowknows69]

35. I tried a little self hypnosis before sleep last night

sadly it did nothing for my withdrawal apparently lol. Hey I could always just sew my mouth shut...Yeah it would be hard to smoke like that for sure...shit, my hands are shaking too hard to thread the needle.

[kwassa]

36. I did this a little differently

I tried to see how few cigarettes a day I could smoke and still be comfortable. I dropped from two packs of Marlboros to about 6 or 7 cigarettes immediately. From there, I gradually whittled it down to 1 cigarette a day, after dinner. Finally, I took the plunge and cut it off completely, though I gave myself permission to have one if I really, really wanted it. This whole process took a couple of months.

It didn't happen. I kept an unopened pack of Marlboros in a kichen drawer for several months. I had no cravings at all because I had gradually weaned myself. I literally FORGOT I was a smoker in a couple of weeks.

I could never ever ever do cold turkey, I couldn't stand the cravings on previous attempts. I quit in 1984, and have never looked back.

[MissMillie]

37. SWEET

Go to www.quitnet.com.... lots of advice and support.

You'll never regret it.

[rndmprsn]

39. goodluck...its been 6 years for me

cold-turkey too

[4_Legs_Good]

40. Wooo Hoooo!!! Way to go!!

Keep it up!

Whenever you feel like you can't live another minute without a smoke, post something incindiary in GD and that might help take your mind off it...

Good luck!

david