Topic : Trying to Quit Smoking?

Hi Gina, so proud of you for holding on and not giving in to the "nicotine demon". After 5 months, I thought to I would not be having cravings. I heard of others saying "they still think of them twenty years later,,,,, "and I say you got to be kidding",But it is a passing thought, like a second or two or three. 

I guess when we smoked for so many years, that habit is hard pressed in our minds. I believe we related to the cigs in good times and bad, they (the cigarettes) were there for us always!!! 

I have not replaced one habit with another, I just try to keep busy, and keep in my mind NO MORE. 

Look at the amount of money we are saving!!  WOW 

 Linda 

Five months, two weeks, six days, 11 hours, 2 minutes and 3 seconds. 4163 cigarettes not smoked, saving $786.62. Life saved: 2 weeks, 10 hours, 55 minutes.
 

One year, two weeks, one day, 14 hours, 56 minutes and 11 seconds. 7612 cigarettes not smoked, saving $1,807.96. Life saved: 3 weeks, 5 days, 10 hours, 20 minutes.
 

I found a quit smoking site that really helped with my quit. I honestly can say that if you have support, you CAN quit.  Remember that each craving is only a minute or two. Find a way to beat the Nicodemon at his game. Yes he is sitting there taunting, but grab a water bottle and drink it! Lots of ice water, support and NOPE.... Not One Puff Ever!  It is hard, but it gets easier every day.  I would love to be support to anyone who needs a hand.  I will post my email here and hope it is okay?  jessicagreen917@msn.com 

HUGS!!! 

Remember Not One Puff EVER 

(((((((((((Linda)))))))))))))))  Congratulations on your almost 6 months! You are at the halfway mark. I would not be at 1 year if I had not found the forum.  I really really love it!  You are doing SO great, and you seem happy. 

HUGS!! 

One year, two weeks, one day, 15 hours, 2 minutes and 43 seconds. 7612 cigarettes not smoked, saving $1,807.98. Life saved: 3 weeks, 5 days, 10 hours, 20 minutes.
 

On September 20, 1996, I threw away my emergency panic partial pack of cigarettes (or coffin nails if you prefer). 

Today everyone, I am celebrating my 6th anniversary, SMOKE FREE!!! 

It took me about 6 months to finally quit because I went at it differently than most do.  I realized that when I started smoking, I didn't start out by smoking a pack & a half a day.  Heck, it took me about a month to smoke a pack back then.  And I also realized that there are many drugs that you aren't supposed to just stop taking when you're giving them up.  You have to taper off of them so you don't have problems like strokes, heart attacks and severe depression and such.   

So I started out by leaving the pack home when I went to the store or shopping, little errands.  I also marked time on the clock.  I timed my smoking so that I couldn't have a smoke until at least 15 minutes had gone by and increased that to 1/2 hour, an hour, and so on.  I have to admit, I had some goofs.  I'd get caught away from home for longer than I'd planned to be and a few times I just had to buy a pack to get me home on.  I know the toughest smokes to deal with are the after meal and morning wake up smokes.  Those were really tough to control, but I did it. 

Finally I got to where I was keeping them in the fridge cuz I wasn't smoking them too much.  Maybe had 4-6 a day.  So one day I decided to really quit.  I threw away the partial pack in the fridge.  BIG MISTAKE!  I found that I panicked.  I didn't have them to fall back on and I panicked.  So I went out and bought a pack and put them unopened in the fridge.  I realized that I wasn't quite independent yet.  But, I also realized that just having them there was enough and I dealt with it. 

Perhaps my method will work for you if you're having trouble with quitting.  My way put me in charge of quitting and not trying to stick to some company's idea of how to quit.  And I wasn't replacing one habit for another, like the gum chewing and lollipop suckers. 

It was tough, but I did it.  And one last thing:  I broke down about a year after I quit.  I just HAD to have one.  Bought a pack, and wound up buying three more packs and smoked them all one day at a time.  But by then, I'd made up my mind that I wasn't going to pay someone to kill me.  It was easy to stop again and I've been off them ever since. 

I did it and so can you!!!! 

Hi Everyone, talk about a stress factor, Hurricane Rita !!! That girl will not stop growing!!!! We live 60 miles from the coast line. No one is leaving our small town, but the towns closer to the coast are mandatory. So we got all the provisions and we are staying. According to the weather channel, they are truly not 100% sure where it will go in, local weather has it coming in at the closet port to us.......YUCK..... SCAREY AS HELL!!! At times, I think about go get a pack, this is a time of need !!!!! Then the other half says, we don't have time for this now, get busy with preparing for the storm. Tensions run very high now, have seen what Katrina can do, but Rita keeps growing....So far holding on, I don't want that meter to go back. This is the time when you say to yourself, what all have I learned, time to put it to use. Can you imagine be huddled in middle of your home, and one person smoking. I will not give in.  

Linda 

Five months, three weeks, one day, 8 hours, 5 minutes and 26 seconds. 4208 cigarettes not smoked, saving $795.14. Life saved: 2 weeks, 14 hours, 40 minutes.
 

checking in to see how everyone is, it looks like the board livened up a little after Doc had it on his main page about quitting smoking..I am still in relapse, so i don't come on very often, but I like to say 'hi' to the old timers that were here and to greet the newcomers..I've pretty much given up on quitting for now..I just passed my tenth anniversary of being sober and just don't want to face giving up anything else right now..I did have four months though, so this board DOES WORK..it was like an oasis..I talked to my sponsor in my twelve step program and she told me if I'd just get off my butt and do some type of volunteer work I wouldn't have as much time to be so self absorbed with my own issues..I got kind of mad at her, but I've been doing everything I can to help during this hurricane, it looks like we may have a lot of people coming up from Texas, so i'm going to help at the shelters..I have a small home and no place to put anyone up, but I can go out and help, maybe that will get my mind off of me, me me and my cigs..love to all..Ann 

Hey ladies, I'm sure glad to hear of your attempts and truly hope you can make it.  I know its tough, sure do.  I started at 13 and quit at 49.  Was smoking one to one & half each day.  Its torcher but if you believe in yourself you'll make it.  Gina, keeping those emergency smokes around is a great help.  I realized that, as I wrote earlier, when I threw that partial pack out.  I felt like I couldn't think.  I really experienced panic and was fine after I got them.  If you're really determined to quit, then having them around won't do any harm. 

Linda, I love your counting, but hope its not actually putting pressure on yourself to go "just one more day"?  You'll have to keep all of us posted tho so we can root you on!! 

This is probably one of the very hardest things you'll have to do in your life, but I promise you, once your head clears and the fog rolls out, you'll feel so much better.  Food will taste better, your clothes don't smell anymore, you don't have to worry about having enough to get through the night and all that, you know what I mean. 

I was so desperate for cigs one year I actually walked to a mini market 2 miles from home in sub zero weather (lived in Wisonsin at the time) just to get them.  My husband couldn't get the car to start and he said he wasn't going to walk for cigs. 

My legs were truly BLUE when I got back home and it took forever to get the shaking to stop but boy howdy, I had my cigs!!!  Yeah, sad huh? 

So keep it up you two and I'll send a little prayer for you both for the strength and WISDOM not to kill anyone!!!! 

Kat