[jbug]

I started the gum a few days ago and its working so far. I haven't had a cigarette in 3 days. Yesterday and so far today I haven't even used the gum. Maybe this time quitting won't be so bad. I do know that tomorrow when I go to see the family the gum is going with me.

Jbug

[seeker1950]

Well, I've gone 4 days now without smokeing....sounds like not much, but for me in my mindset and smoking behavior, it is a big step. I am putting a patch on at noon, when I usually leave school and drive around the block for a cig during my lunch break. Today, I didn't even need the patch. I did put one on later, however, since my habit has been to smoke while driving home from work, and then also thereafter while here at home alone.
I've asked myself, "How damn hard can it be???" remembering that I've been thru lots of hard stuff! Well, this IS hard, but I want to succeed this time.
Patty

[bebop]

Patti you are doing great hon! keep up the good work. I remember when I quit on the patches one time I had to take my then hubby to the VA hospital and I forgot to put one on that morning! it hit me a few hrs later. I never put another one on.
good luck my dear! you can do it!

[seeker1950]

Two weeks smoke-free! I used the Step 1 patches in the afternoons and evenings till about an hour before bedtime. They still disturb my sleep, though. Today I've started the lesser "Step 2" patches.
I'm determined to quit this time. It's still hard, but getting better.
Patty

[sujunew]

. I quit (cold turkey for like the 100th time lol) about october last year, then had a packet while daughter was in hospital- I always do that partly coz of the stress partly coz it gives me a 'reason' for time out, then today I was craving so badly a mate who smokes called over and I had one of his. Then I went to the shop just before and bought a packet. Daughter is back in hospital next week and I was planning on having a pack then, so I will try to keep it to this pack and one next week then leave it at that...I hate it but the stress in my life is the trigger...ugh. That horrible ash-tray taste in my mouth and the smell on my clothes..

[sujunew]

I meant to say thank you earlier Patty for this thread. I had seen it before now, just didn't feel I needed to come anywhere near it seeing as how I was doing fine (oh how wrong I was lol).

[wickedwings]

hi, i'm still smober now for 80 days.... it took a trip into hell. so hard, too hard. yet, i did it. still, i still struggle.... bugger frack.... oh, well...

[ECHOES]

Patty it keeps getting better. Keep up the good work!

After over 30 years of smoking I quit cold turkey 3/1/05.

I had a plan for stressful times and that helped a lot, along with some other things like drinking lots of water, getting plenty of sleep, and knowing a craving will go away.

Non-smokers smell sweet! lol

[youOme]

I really want to quit smoking. I have before when I was pregnant with both my children, cold turkey. For some reason it's not possible to do that now maybe because me, myself, isn't a good enough reason to quit. I smoke outside and this winter has been hell. I'd prefer to be a none smoker and stay inside when it's freezing outdoors.

The places I want to smoke the most are in the car, right when I wake up, after I eat, and while I am drinking. It'd be hardest doing these things and trying to keep my mind off of it. I decided with my new car that I'm getting next week that there will be no smoking in it...one little thing at a time. Hopefully I will get used to that because driving is the worse for me.

I'd love to just pitch this dirty old habit and find a healthier one as a substitute...but I'm thinking a bit ideally.

[seeker1950]

My goodness...the responses all sound just like me in my struggles over the years! As Wickedwings has said, "it took a trip into hell. so hard, too hard."
YouOme....I just bought a new vehicle last month. At first, I did smoke in it, even though it lacked the "smoker's package" of a lighter or ash tray! But after a couple of weeks, I decided to quit, and, like you, I love to drive and smoke, as well as the other times you've noted. I still wake up thinking of a cigarette and my coffee.
I am smokefree now almost three weeks, and I do commend those strong souls here who were able to do it cold turkey. I had tried that many times before and failed. This time, I went the full two weeks with the Step 1 patches, which are very strong and which have side-effects of their own. Now on Step 2 in the afternoons and early evenings, I am doing about as well, though I forgot the patch this morning and driving home from work, it was hard.
Well, at least I'm not sucking toxic smoke into my lungs!

I identify and recognize all of the symptoms, battles, and addictive behaviors posted here by all of you. It's mind-boggling, this addiction! I'm told by several people that it's as addictive as heroin. So we must commend ourselves for our attempts at quitting through whatever means.

I'm determined this time to be successful. I want to respond individually to some of the posts here, as I have directly similar experiences to relate.

Love
Patty

[seeker1950]

Sujunew....
At Thanksgiving, my mother passed away in the hospital. I had been caring for her here in my home when she fell and broke her hip and was taken there. There was NO WAY I could have quit smoking at that time. I also was going out to my garage while she was here and smoking next to an exhaust fan in the window out there. When she was in the hospital, my sister and I were taking turns doing 12 hour shifts there, and I took many smoke breaks during the long nights. It is only now, after all this if a couple of months passed, that I have been able to concentrate on myself and quitting seriously.
You are to be commended for your attempt during this difficult time.
Love
Patty

[seeker1950]

I just want to add here, that I should probably post a thread about my history of smoking addiction, but I can't face it right now. I'm age 57, and started smoking at age 22 with my first job of teaching.....much about that in between, but just let me say, I've been such an addict that in trying to quit, I would wear a patch for a day, then rip it off in the evening and smoke my brains out! Sad, I know!
So, there is nothing one can say here about this habit that would shock me! Not only have I been addicted to the nicotine, but also to the physical ACT of smoking!
I come home to my empty house, and I honestly thought I would NEVER find the resolve to do this! And, yes, I'm still struggling, but each day is a landmark and a victory!
Patty

[ECHOES]

Hi Patty,

I was remembering when you mentioned the physical action of smoking... I was at a loss as to what to do with my hands! My co-workers and I would go outside our building for our 2 breaks and also at lunch. I always smoked.. suddenly my arms were just dangling there,.."useless"!! lol. So I began standing with my arms crossed, my (clean, smoke-free, lotioned) hands tucked under my upper arms. Or I would take a bottle of water with me.

At home I took up needlework again as well as crocheting.

I carried a book with me for any time I was somewhere and had 10 or 15 minutes to wait, times I would normally have a (stinky old) cigarette. Instead, I would read my paperback.

It is the one thing about smoking... no other activity really takes it's place so it's not as if you can trade one thing for another (like trading beer for coffee or something like that).

I found it hard when I did my weekly cleaning too, because I would take a break to have a (stinky old) cigarette. Without the (stinky old) habit, it was as if I didn't know when or how to take a break. Silly but true.

Cheering for all who are becoming non-smokers!

[BlueFaith]

I haven't had a cigarette now for 2 weeks. Quitting cold turkey! It's still hard with the cravings, but not as hard as it first was. I'm tired of smelling like an ashtray, too. I make sure to carry some sort of hard candy or mints with me... or gum. And when I get a craving I just pop one in my mouth.... it's helping some. Good luck to everyone else who is quitting! We can do this!

[seeker1950]

Yes, I'm still smoke-free, now into three+ weeks. I am feeling much better, find that my mind wanders toward adventures which previously I dismissed while attending to smoking! This is an unexpected bonus! Also, feeling better physically as well as mentally.
I used the patches constantly for the most of the three weeks, and, even with them, I still had to use all my willpower to resist the addiction. Now, I can go for a day without them, and I never expected to arrive at this place.
Doing a lot of crocheting, and that is good as I'm workng on fiber art for my grad exhibit.
Love,
patty

[RozG]

I've been smoking for over 30 yrs now and I'd love to quit but whenever I bring it up with my doc, she always says now is not a good time, too much going on, too much stress etc! Maybe she's right, I did try patches but to no avail. Got no idea what else might work! And to make matters worse...right before I found this thread, I just spent $20 cab fare to go buy smokes.

Anybody out there like to share their success stories of how they done it or what methods they currently use.

[EvenMoreLost]

I too have been struggling to quit smoking. I've been smoking about a pack a day since I was 17 - I'm 31 now. I've tried to quit many times in the past - usually either cold turkey or with the patch, once with Wellbutrin. It never lasted more than a couple of days, and then I'd have one, then another, on and on.

Lately I've been feeling the physical effects more than I ever have before, and my doctor told me she can hear signs of early lung disease. So I decided to try again.

My friend recommended this book to me called The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr. She read it and has been smoke-free for a month or so now.

I spent most of last Friday reading it. I found the book to be wonderful. It examines many of the excuses we give ourselves to continue smoking - to help us concentrate, to relax us, to ease boredom etc - and demonstrates why smoking helps us with none of these things in reality, and in fact helps us in no way. It gives us nothing, or at least nothing good.

Well, I finished the book that day and then smoked what I decided was my last cigarette ever. I was doing really good with it - I felt wonderful that I was now a non-smoker finally, I felt physically great - better than I had in a very long time. Then I smoked one Monday night, and then another Tuesday night, and then another an hour ago. And they all made me feel terrible, yet I still want another. Ugh...

I'm finding it difficult to maintain the positive frame of mind that I was in over the weekend, and that seems essential for this process. When my depression kicks in I become self-destructive, and I don't really care if x, y or z will hurt me, or make me feel worse than I already do. I fear that as long as I suffer from depression, I will always struggle with smoking. I dunno. Well, I just threw out that pack I've been holding onto since Monday night, and I'm still trying.

I'd still recommend the book to anyone trying to quit. It helped me way more than anything else ever has. It (obviously) really focuses on the psychological addiction and helps you overcome it without substitutions and urges you to celebrate the physical withdrawal symptoms, rather than dread them. Check it out.

[seeker1950]

Hi, Even...
I will try to get the book you mentioned. I went a whole nine weeks wihtout smoking, then weaning off the patches, I found myself with extreme anxiety, reliving all the personal mistakes I've made in relationships, and feeling shame. I've smoked for 35 years! I think nicotine has allowed me to be placated and indifferent to a lot of my behaviors. I couldn't stand lying awake at night reliving all the mistakes This makes me realize how nicotine had affected and enabled me for all this time, and I'm age 57. I have relapsed into smoking now for almost a week, telling myself I can quit anytime...NOT! I hope to resume my quit soon. I have been visiting a website on Paltalk, "voicesofnicotinerecovery." They have live voice online meetings several times a day. I continue to go there, and I invite you to do so also.
Love in heaing.
Patty

[ECHOES]

Hi Patty,

Like you my anxiety went wild when I quit smoking 3 years ago. I still use Xanax from time to time, sometimes just a "nibble" as I call it.. a quarter of a .5mg tab.

It wasn't until after I quit that I read that smoking is a common anti-anxiety behavior and that is why so many go back to it. No wonder, huh?!

Have you considered hypnotherapy with a psychologist? I did that very short term, not for smoking, and it was really helpful and so relaxing!

[seeker1950]

Hi, Echoes, and thanks for the feedback on you experiences with the big quit and anxiety. Yes, I've sort of considered hypnotherapy, and done a lot of relaxation techniques myself. It got so bad, though, that nothing worked. In the past, I have taken Xanax, and if I went to my doctor and asked for it, he would begrudgingly provide a prescription, I think, but I hate to go and ask, though I'm sure he would applaud the quit.
I've also considered getting some sort of sleep aid, which might help, as I didn't sleep at all once the patches were done.
I look at this one week of relapse in smoking as a "glitch," as I know I must resume my resolve to be a nonsmoker.
Love
Patty

[ECHOES]

Practice makes perfect!

I know you are committed to becoming a non-smoker and I have faith that you will succeed!

[Defective]

Hope its okie i post this here instead of starting a new thread, i did so because it has to do with stopping smoking.

Im coming up on my fifth day smoke free. I definitely feel more confident that ill be able to stop. Before this time i never made it longer than 10 hours

That confidence though is making me weary. Like somehow im missing something big and its going to hit me out of left field and sink me. For those of you who are veterans of quitting smoking what are some of the pitfalls that i should watch out for?

For me what worked pretty good was just allowing myself to fail but just not right now. Kind of like in AA where you go one day at a time instead of forever. I went one craving at a time and came through the other end okie, wasnt easy but so far so good. I have an easier time than most i would think in i didnt really leave the house to drive anywhere or anything so i avoided(who me? avoid stuff?) most of the stressful things in my life.

Thanks for any advice/warnings.

[chitsychatsy08]

you should really try meditation, yoga works too. while you do it chew the gum. your cravings will diminish.