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Old 12-02-2006, 08:13 PM   #1  
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Default Has anyone quit smoking?

OK.. so I have been working on quitting for forever now. I am down from over a pack a day, to like.. 4 a day. Unless I drink and then.. well.. no holds barred. Anyways... Im scared to quit for a variety of reasons.. boredom.. and gaining weight. That is why I didnt go cold turkey. I didnt want to replace one bad habit with another. Now.. Im just looking to see if there are people here that are, or have gone through this. I really dont need to hear " gaining a little bit of weight reaps less havoc than CANCER!!!!!!!" Cuz I kinda already know that. I really dont need any smoking and the adverse effects on your health .. * im moody a little can ya tell ha!* What are some things you did when you were quitting?? I am doing the gum.. it helps. What do you do after you eat? or.. When you are really really really stressed out, and you get that knot in your belly that screams.. " I NEED AN EFFIN' CIGARETTTTTTE" Agh. Smoking sux. I need to quit, im down to 4 a day, and i just need help kicking it forever. I think I will always have a pack of cigarettes on me, even if I never smoke then, it some how pacifies me.. its like my blankie or something! Whoa. Addictions.. are.. not.. cool!
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Old 12-02-2006, 08:15 PM   #2  
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and I mean regular gum, not nicorette.. blah
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Old 12-02-2006, 08:50 PM   #3  
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I took Stamp Out Smoking cessation classes. Chewed the yucky nicorette gum. Ate hard candy. I never have quit wanting them but it doesn't bother me near as often now as it did at first. I quit 11 yrs. ago. When my mother quit smoking, she saved her last pack for many years. I threw mine away, too much temptation for me. My brother also quit by just chewing regular gum all the time. There are now nicotine patches available, but I didn't have an opportunity to try those. Good luck and good job on cutting down to 4 a day. That is making good progress. I later went on to teach the smoking cessation classes at the hospital where I worked.
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Old 12-02-2006, 10:47 PM   #4  
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Default I am right there with you

Lilybelle - 11 years THAT IS WONDERFUL. I so want to do that this time - I am really trying to be very committed this time.

Ready - I so know how you feel - I am quitting as well - did great for a week and then had a melt down this weekend (TODAY) but - I am back on track. I am taking Chantix - it is a new pill out that is wonderful. To be bluntly honest - I could have done just fine without slipping this weekend - but - I was being hardheaded. Chantix is really really good and I have smoked for almost 20 years - would quit for a few months at a time and even made it to a year. I know what you mean when having the pack with you as a comfort. It really is a crutch, for the longest time - I could not picture myself without cigarettes - I could not see being smoke free in my future. As a helper - I have found that chewing either sugarless gum or Big Red gum to be the biggest helpers. After a meal - I get away from the table and start walking either around the house or at work around my office building for at least 5 minutes or however long it takes just to get past the craving - I also stick a piece of gum in my mouth. As long as I can do those two things - I am okay.

Good luck with the quitting - it can be so hard at times - I just have to keep convincing myself - it is worth it....
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Old 12-02-2006, 11:19 PM   #5  
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I quit on September 10th with no aids. Well, except Creamsavers.

I was deathly afraid of gaining weight and it was the only reason I hung on to it. I was pleasantly surprised when I did put on 4 pounds and it was gone when my metabolism re-adjusted itself a couple weeks later. I have slipped up twice at the bar and oh my goodness did I get sick.

My big problem wasn't weight, but having to deal with the anxiety that smoking swept under the rug. It definitely revealed me to myself. I noticed that exercise was the one thing that came even close to being the stress reliever that smoking was. As far as keeping busy, I went through a LOT of Creamsavers the first couple of weeks. After that, I just got used to it. Good luck to ya, and I will stress that the weight thing isn't a big deal unless you let it be a big deal. I think it may even be easier for you as a person trying to maintain a significant weightloss.
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Old 12-02-2006, 11:43 PM   #6  
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I feel like quitting smoking is just like losing weight. You'll do it when you're darn good and ready to do it. Until then, no aids, no tricks, nothing is going to help you quit. BUT...if you truly are ready to quit, the same as being ready to lose the weight once and for all, some of the things I did was to chew lots of sugar free gum or suck on sugar free hard candies. If I found myself wanting one, I'd distract myself with something, get up and go do something to take my mind off of it. And I would absolutely not go near anyone with a cigarette for awhile. I had to keep away from the smell so the smoke wouldn't entice me. Once I'd quit long enough, I could be around them again. But even now, from time-to-time, I'll get an urge when I smell the smoke. Then I have to walk away, get away from the temptation. If I give in just once, there's be no going back, so I won't give in.

I quit June 16, 2001.
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Old 12-03-2006, 09:47 PM   #7  
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I quit smoking 10 years ago next August. I smoked more than two packs a day for about 30 years. I can tell you that one of the problems you are having is "breaking the habit" of when and where you smoke, as in right after meals. Maybe trying the SmokeEnders way of waitng 15 minutes after meals before smoking for a week then 30, then 45, then 60 will help. As far as that knot in your gut goes, that is the nicotine fix...the gum will help that go away.

When you are truly ready, it will be easier, there are no easy ways but some ways are more helpful than others.

All I can say is the gum FINALLY worked for me...but then I also WANTED it too!

I have never had an urge to start after quitting...I didn't go cold turkey, it took time and effort cutting back a little each day until all I did was chew nicorette then regular gum...sugar free of course!!

Good luck to you.
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Old 12-03-2006, 10:23 PM   #8  
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I finally quit successfully 8 months ago after battling it for years. I have to say that it's a mindset. Once you have the mindset that you just don't want to smoke again ever no matter what, it's so much easier. I feel great physically and emotionally. I feel more at peace with myself because I know I'm no longer killing myself.

You have done great with cutting down to four! Keep us posted on how you're doing!
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Old 12-03-2006, 10:33 PM   #9  
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And just to illustrate that everyone is different-- on and off, I desperately wanted to smoke after I'd quit. (The cravings happened less often as the years went by.) For me it wasn't that I didn't want to but rather that I wasn't going to, period.
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Old 12-04-2006, 12:14 AM   #10  
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I quit smoking 11 years ago, cold turkey with no aids. I just smoked the last cigarette in my pack and refused to buy anymore. I remember that first two weeks were a b****, but once I got through those, it got a lot easier. Evenings were the hardest for me since I lived alone and didn't have a TV, so my evening routine was to read and smoke. It was hard to fill the time, I can't remember what I did now--maybe I just worked really late every night and went to bed as soon as I got home. For the first year or so I still had cravings but I hardly ever even think about smoking now. I changed jobs a couple of years ago and the decision was really stressful--it was the first time I'd wanted a cigarette or even thought about having one in probably 8 or 9 years.

Here is a somewhat amusing story: About a month after I quit, a friend of mine showed up at my door with a half pack of cigarettes that I'd left at her house. She didn't know I had quit (I quit without telling anyone because I didn't want anyone to know if I failed. I didn't even tell my SO; it was three or four months before he realized I'd quit--he just thought I was trying not to smoke around him. He was in law school and I was busy with work, so we must not have been spending a lot of time together.) With the best of intentions, my friend had even kept the pack in her freezer in an attempt to keep it fresh. But of course the cigarettes were totally stale since she'd had them for well over a month. Even so, I felt like I was a heroin addict and she was handing me one last hit (or whatever it is people do with heroin). I allowed myself one cigarette and smoked it all the way to the end, savoring have last, stale moment. While I was smoking it, I threw the rest of the pack down the garbage chute. I was afraid if I just threw it in the garbage, I'd dig it back out, so I walked down the hall and made sure to throw it in the chute where it would be really disgusting to try and dig it out.
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Old 12-04-2006, 12:23 AM   #11  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EZMONEY View Post
I quit smoking 10 years ago next August. I smoked more than two packs a day for about 30 years. I can tell you that one of the problems you are having is "breaking the habit" of when and where you smoke, as in right after meals. Maybe trying the SmokeEnders way of waitng 15 minutes after meals before smoking for a week then 30, then 45, then 60 will help. As far as that knot in your gut goes, that is the nicotine fix...the gum will help that go away.

When you are truly ready, it will be easier, there are no easy ways but some ways are more helpful than others.

All I can say is the gum FINALLY worked for me...but then I also WANTED it too!

I have never had an urge to start after quitting...I didn't go cold turkey, it took time and effort cutting back a little each day until all I did was chew nicorette then regular gum...sugar free of course!!

Good luck to you.
Its totally breaking the habit for me.. because I really only smoke in the car, and after I eat, but I have noticed.. if I dont get full.. I dont really wanna smoke, that car drive just kills me. I know its a boredom thing.
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Old 12-04-2006, 01:14 PM   #12  
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I quit smoking after about 30 years last Monday. Like you, I had been cutting back and smoking only in a few places, but finally got tired of feeling stupid for doing it and just didn't buy any more. I'm using the nicotine gum from time to time when the craving gets too bad. If I don't, I start putting other stuff in my mouth! (and it's never veggies).
I'm not one who can keep cigarettes around and not smoke them. Been there done that and it didn't work for me. But a friend of mine left a pack in her car all the time while she quit and hasn't smoked for several years. I think you have to just keep trying until you find the method that works for *you*.
I've quit for months at a time in the past and ended up starting up again. I have to say that this time, the fear of quiting was worse than actually doing it! I hope I've finally hit on what's going to work for me. Good luck to both of us! If I can give you any moral support let me know!
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Old 12-04-2006, 02:20 PM   #13  
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I quit on November 6th. (4 weeks ago). My doc gave me a prescription for Wellbutrin. I started taking it 1 week before my date to quit and (knocking on wood) so far so good. I have had really no cravings at all and rarely think about them. I have noticed I want to eat alot more. I guess that's not such a bad thing, just what you eat. Plus the Wellbutrin helped with my mood.
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Old 12-04-2006, 07:44 PM   #14  
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Ready2shed- If you can lose 100 lbs, you can definately quit smoking!!

I quit last January. (gum- worked 4 me) I gained weight. But I didn't have to. It can be a really minimal weight gain if you're focused. I would suggest giving yourself a little leeway though during the first 2 weeks, with everything.

btw- I'm guessing it will be easier to quit altogether, then cutdown past your 4 cigs a day. It's almost like every person has that minimal cig count. (mine was 5) and past that I'd just have to quit completely, otherwise it was agony!
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Old 12-04-2006, 09:25 PM   #15  
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I chewed nicorette gum. It would say on the box to replace 1 an hour or so but I would chew the same piece for hours. I really dug the burn in my gums from 'parking' it up there and the throat burn I got from it reminded me of smoking. I tried the patch first but after 2 days I thought it was making it worse so I just took them off. I was a 1.5-2 pack a day smoker and I quit over a year ago. Staying busy like cleaning takes your mind off it too. If I can quit you can, they were a total crutch to me and I've quit twice now. The first time lasted 2 years. This time it's for good because I know if I smoke one I'm a smoker again. Good luck!
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