I had smoked for 40 years and was up to almost 2 packs a day. I got some nicotine pills a few years ago, but they didn't get rid of the urge to light up. With the pill, I didn't need as much nicotine, so I would take a few puffs and put out the cigarette. But ten minutes later, I would relight it for a few more puffs. I couldn't see how this was getting me to quit, and I wasn't sure I could quit. I guess I knew it was an addiction. By 2004, in addition to shortness of breath, I was beginning to have coughing spells in the morning. And that was scaring me. So, I knew I had to quit - one of these days. On 2/6/05, my husband was hospitalized. By my birthday (Valentine's Day), we knew his stay would be lengthy. Since he couldn't smoke in the hospital, I thought I should try to quit too.
I didn't plan ahead to quit. I saw an ad for nicotine lozenges, and since it wasn't my habit to smoke if I was sucking on candy, I thought it might have a chance to work for me. So, while driving to the hospital to see my husband, I stopped at a drug store to get him a Valentine's card and decided to purchase the lozenges and give it a try. I did not toss out my cigarettes. I was afraid that if I did that, I would obsess, and all I would think about is cigarettes and how I didn't have any available. Instead, I put them in the garage. That way, they weren't easily available and I would think twice about if I really wanted to go out in sub-freezing temps - or maybe go a little longer without a cigarette. I put all the ashtrays in a box and took them out to the garage too. I washed all my curtains to get the smoke stain/smell out, and put a "No Smoking" sign on my front door. I took my truck to the car wash and cleaned the brown windows and vacuumed up any evidence of smoking.
I followed the directions and popped a lozenge whenever I got an urge for a cigarette. They took care of the urge so well that I was able to avoid lighting up, and I never even thought about going out to the garage. Every hour was a milestone, "I can't smoke a cigarette now and spoil my record, it's been an hour.......three hours.......ten hours.........a whole day.........three days........etc." When I had gone a whole week, I tossed out the cigarettes in the garage. Then I went through every drawer, purse, coat pocket, picnic basket, any place I could think that we might have left cigarettes. I wanted to get rid of all of them. I was so proud of my one week milestone that I knew I never wanted to go back to smoking.
My husband came home in April. And we were both smoke free and not missing it. Then I was hospitalized for a week in June. My husband needed bandages changed three times a day, and one of our sons came home to take care of his dad while I was gone. The son is a smoker and my husband was back to the habit - much to my disappointment. So, he's smoking again - outside. His doctor got him the patches, but they didn't work for him because he put no effort into quitting. I'm after him all the time about it - suggesting he try the lozenges. But, he'll have to get the determination for himself.
I have not smoked a cigarette in over a year!!! If I can quit after smoking for 40 years, anybody can do it. You have to make up you're mind that you're really going to quit. Not lighting up was important. You can't go off gradually if you're going to feel like you're actually quitting. Acknowledging small milestones was very important for me. It became a contest with myself . I did gain some weight. But, I had been gaining weight before I quit. So, weight loss is my next self-project. If I can quit smoking, I can loose weight. I can do anything I put my mind to. So can anyone. Best of luck to all.
