Faced with reality.......... help with quitting smoking

[Laurabearz]

Babar's thread about stopping smoking is the reason I am posting this.... LOL

My husband and I are planning to stop smoking on our upcoming trip to US/WDW (less than 3 weeks now) We have too.... There is no reason to smoke other than the adiction, and with me it is very strong. But we have to stop. I want to be around for my grandkids, and being older parents that means I gotta be in great shape in our 60's and 70's and that aint gonna happen if we keep smoking.

We both have known for a while..... slowly working up to giving up our beloved smokes, but it must be done.... has to be done.... we gotta do it..... SO we figured we would go and take a trip to WDW. A great place to aviod our regualr smoking pitfalls.... at least for the first 4 days of us quitting........

We are leaning towards the patch..... I was also toying with the idea of hypnosis and/or accpuncture, right before the trip, but then I thought that would be going overboard....

I gotta tell ya, I really am amazed at what a strong hold smokes have on me............ I like to think of myself as a smart woman, so how come, when I know all that I can loose, and all that I can gain, do I continue to smoke. It is mind boggling.......

..................lighting a smoke..................

BUt I figure this.... the first couple of weeks will be hell........ then the physcal urge should subside..... and life will go on and I will be smoke free.... and not feening contantly for a smoke, 24 hours a day 7 days a week.... RIGHT???? LOL


So the point of all this......... please post your tips on how you succussfully stopped smoking.......... Ozo and I sure could use them!

 

[Tiggeroo]

I quit because the smell of cigarettes made me nauseous because.................................
I Was Pregnant!!LOL I Was Pregnant LOL!!

 

[caitycaity]

well, i just quit cold turkey one day. my primary motivation was my then fiance, now dh. he hates smoking. before that any of my attempts to quit didn't work.

since i quit two years ago, i've only smoked once. i regretted it.

but: "BUt I figure this.... the first couple of weeks will be hell........ then the physcal urge should subside..... and life will go on and I will be smoke free.... and not feening contantly for a smoke, 24 hours a day 7 days a week.... RIGHT???? LOL"

i hate to break it to you, but i still have cravings, even two years after i quit. they aren't all the time, and i have been able to 'just say no" to myself, but i still crave them, particularly when i am drinking. sometimes i wonder if i will feel this way for the rest of my life. obviously, i assume that any physical addiction is long past, but the psychological addiction is definately still there.

if you do decide to go with the patch or something, i suggest talking to your doctor about zyban. i have some friends who have used it with great success..

good luck!

 

[d.kurz]

That's a good idea to try and quit at WDW. You know it's a pain to find those smoking areas, anyhow. I used the patch. A girlfriend of mine works at SmithKline and bought them for me half price. She suggested I try cutting the patches in half and see if that would be enough for me. So I went with the half patch for a couple of weeks, then went to thirds, and finally quarters. Part of the reason the patch worked for me is that they tell you if you are wearing one and light up, you will become physically ill. Two friends testified that this was true. So it works in 2 ways....fights the physical cravings, and scares you off of the psychological cravings!! So I only needed one box.

I still crave every day. It's been 11 months. Drinking is hard for me too, CaityCaity. I stopped drinking (which is only a social thing for me, anyhow) for about the first 6 months. Just couldn't handle it.

Like I said in the other thread....once you stop, that PRICE is a great deterrant!!

Good luck!! PM me if you need to. Seek support. It will help.

 

[EROS]

I would agree with caitycaity. I'm a big fan of ZYBAN (Buproprion); it's quite safe and well tolerated. I feel that it's more useful than the patches and would urge that you start it several days BEFORE leaving for WDW.

If you can get through the first 10 days, the PHYSICAL craving will subside. It's the PSYCHOLOGICAL craving that subsequently "does people in".

Good Luck...........it's YOUR life that you're saving

 

[loisg1]

DH is trying to quit also. He never smokes around me or DDs only at work (stress). He'll go for weeks - i.e., when we were at WDW in April, without smoking but put him back in the work situation, and that's it!! Someone suggested SmokEnders as a possible method of quitting. Since there aren't any meetings in our area, he ordered the kit from SmokEnders.com. It has tapes and a workbook that you do on your own. You gradually work down the amount of tar in the cigarettes as well as the number of cigarettes until you finally stop...hopefully forever!!

Good luck to you and your DH. I hope whatever method you use works for you!!

 

[popeyeohoh]

QUIT LAST JUNE USING ZYBAN. WHEN YOU LIGHT UP A CIGARETTE AND TAKE A PUFF IT IS THE MOST HORRENDOUS TASTE. IT'S ALMOST PAINFUL TO SMOKE!! MY BROTHER TREID IT AND IS STILL ON IT SINCE OCT. HAS NOT QUIT. I WAS HYPNOTIZED ABOUT 10 TIMES. IT WORKS FOR A WHILE GOOD LUCK THE ONLY THING I CAN SAY IS NEVER GIVE UP TRYING IT WILL BE THE BEST THING YOU EVER DO!!!!!!

 

[JESW]

My DH smoked for over 16 years and stopped when we moved into this (new) house 5 years ago. At that time DS was just over 2.5 and DH didn't want him to know his Dad as a smoker - that was one of his motivators. Plus the fact that he was now a Dad and wanted to be around for his kids.

DH had quite an addiction and used the patch and that worked real well for him. He used each "level" for at least twice the amount of time they recomended. He hasn't had a smoke since.

Good luck to you! It is such a tough thing to quit - but, as you know, very beneficial for your health.

Jill...now, if they would only invent a patch to help lose weight....

 

[Dan Murphy]

I smoked from age 14 to 28 and quit shortly after getting married. I had tried many times before, but always gave in. I tried again, cold turkey, and never looked back. (Well, I did, but never gave in). It is tough, but so worth it in better health and life expectancy. I always had a smoker's cough, it was gone in weeks.

I just heard today a bill is going to be presented in Chicago to ban in all restaurants, like CA. It is getting tough to find places to puff.

My best to both you and Ozo, Laura.

 

[snoopy]

My sister just quit using Zyban. She was a heavy smoker, and its been 6 months since she had a cigarette. I never thought she would quit, she was the type of smoker who would light up first thing in the morning (for the life of me I can never figure out how someone could want a cigarette in the morning - yuk!). Anyway, she said the Zyban pretty much eliminated all of her physical cravings, she now just has to deal with the emotional cravings.

Good luck to you! I also think a trip to WDW, where almost everyplace is smoke free, is a good place to start your smoke-free life.

 

[Regina]

At the time that I quit, I was smoking a pack and a half a day for 13 years.(And yes, I lit up as soon as I work up in the morning.) As I said in the other thread, I did the Smokenders program. That was 23 years ago, and I haven't touched a cigarette since.

I don't know what the program is like now, but it definitely worked for me.

Good luck!!!!!

 

[fkj2]

I'm very fortunate; I never tried it and never had the desire to. I've had some friends really struggle to quit. My dog's pediatrician (yes, the vet) had been a heavy smoker for years. I suppose about 10 or 12 years ago, I made mention of him gaining weight and he told me it was because he had quit smoking, which I thought was great. I had to ask what finally prompted him. He replied that he had noticed a number of dogs and cats in his practice were being diagnosed with lung cancer. The owners were smokers. That did it for him. So much for "second hand" smoke not hurting.

Oh, and do some math. Just imagine how many more trips you all could afford to take at WDW just by saving cigarette money! That should be a big incentive right there.

 

[dmslush]

(this is going to be long, so be prepared LOL)


I quit in May of this year. I'll be honest with you, I think the absolute hardest thing was making the decision to quit. I was about to turn thirty and had been smoking for 17 years (more than half of my life). I worried about not being around to see my daughter grow up. I worried that she would have to watch me die a painful, horrible, death. I didn't want to be a burden on her during her best years. I didn't want her to be an orphan. I finally just made the decision that I loved my daughter more than I loved smokes. She was my life. Smoking no longer had a place in my life, I had done it, and now it was time to move on. It had controlled so much of me, where I went, where I ate, when I took breaks, etc.. it ruled my life, when I should have been ruling my life.

Once I made my decision, I set a date. I set it for a week when I knew that I could be home, everyone would be gone to work and school and I could get past the withdrawls alone. I'll be honest with you, there is no way I could do it at disney. I was sick for several days!

Anyway, I timed it to where I smoked my last smoke before going to bed. I threw out all ashtrays, and only kept on lighter for lighting candles. When I woke up, I was in a slight panic.. no smokes and I had actually told people I was going to quit. I drank a glass of ice water really fast, it kind of gave a sense of relief like a smoke does, I still rely on those quick drinks of water.

The first week was rough, but not so bad that I used the nicotine gum I had bought. After the first day, I thought, "well, I have most of the nicotine out of my body, why put it back". Everything kind of tasted funny, I just generally felt bad. I was sweaty, my head hurt, I was shaky.. but none of these were overwhelming, just a pain in the butt.

I found this chart, printed it out and kept it by my computer, I would check off as I passed each milestone, that made me feel like I was actually "doing" something.


~Within 20 minutes of last cigarette
blood pressure drops to normal, pulse rate drops to normal
body temperature of hands and feet return to normal

~Within 8 hours
carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal

~After 24 hours
sense of taste and smell improves

~After 72 hours
bronchial tubes relax, making breathing easier, lung capacity increases

~After 2 weeks to 3 months
circulation improves, walking becomes easier
lung function increases up to 30%

~After 1 to 9 months
coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decrease
cilia regrow in lungs, increasing ability to handle mucus, clean lungs, reduce infection
pregnant women who quit before the fourth month of pregnancy eliminate risk of still-birth and low birthweight caused by smoking
body's overall energy level increases

~After 2 to 5 years
risk of coronary heart disease is significantly reduced
sharp decline in risk of developing mouth cancer
risk of bladder cancer decreases

~After 5 years
lung cancer death rate for average smoker (one pack per day) decreases from 137 per 100,000 people to 72 per 100,000.

~After 10 years
lung cancer death rate decreases to 12 deaths per 100,000 almost the rate of nonsmokers
risk for developing larynx cancer approaches that of a never-smoker



I would say different phrases to myself, "Oh, I am so glad that I don't want to smoke anymore." "I am so glad that smokes don't rule me anymore" and stuff like that. When I would see someone light up, I would think to myself, "I am so glad that isn't me" I also never said that I was trying to quit, I had quit. You can fail at something you are trying to do, but if you have already done it, you are a success!!!!!

It was about a week after I quit that I could "smell". It was horrible, my house stunk, my furniture, clothes, carpet, etc.. everything smelled horrible. No one is going to look at you and say, "you stink, your kids stink" but as an ex-smoker, I'll tell you that. You stink, your house stinks, and your kids stink. You can spend all the money you want on soaps, deoderants, perfumes, etc.. and you are still going to smell smokey.

My kid, the stinky kid... That was the biggest blow to me, I realized that for years I had been sending my kid to school looking great, but smelling like funk! It was my decision if I lit a smoke and smelled bad, but she had no choice. She didn't have a choice of how she smelled. I can't hardly look her former teachers in the eye, I had stinky kid I don't think I will ever get over that guilt. That right there is all that it takes for me to know that I will never smoke again.

It then started dawning on me how smoking could have really been affecting my life in a way that I had never realized. How many times have I smoked before going into an interview, well if the person interviewing you is a non-smoker, they can smell you when you enter the room. How many of those jobs did I not get because I stunk? All of mine and my daughter's allergies are mysteriously gone. My house isn't as dusty, requiring much less cleaning. It is just little things like that that really stick out to me.

My entire home is now a smoke free zone, my car is smoke free, my life is smoke free. I know how hard it is to make that decision, and I don't preach at people, I just tell my story when asked (don't want you to think I am fussing on you!!). If you set your mind to it, you can do this. You have a great support system here!!!

I'm not going to say that I still crave them, but I will get a passing sensation, a familiar feeling of sorts. I just say wow, take a deep breath and it passes.

 

[Buckalew]

Just wanted to give support. MY FIL died in January and he smoked for years which helped him get in very bad shape physically. His granddaughter misses him terribly. Do it for those future grandbabies!! Good luck!

(PS I was hooked on nose spray & thought I might die getting off of it! I can sympathize a bit!)

 

[Dan Murphy]

Very nice thoughts, dmslush. And I love your signature picture.

 

[Laurabearz]

Thanks everyone for your support. And no, I dont think I will try pregancy but thanks for the suggestion!

I am siked.... and scared.... but going to do it.

BTW I have yet to tell Ozo that the house will become a smoke free zone, which will devastate his buddies..............

 

[caitycaity]

i think keeping the house smoke free is a really good idea. i know reactions differ for everyone, but sometimes (again, especially while drinking, even one beer) second hand smoke actually smells good to me.

 

[dmslush]

Thanks dan! That was our very first glimpse of the castle as it peeked out of the fog on our very first trip last november. It was absolutely breathtaking!


It did take everyone a while to remember that my home and car was smoke free. But, you know, none of them have really said anything about it. My attitude was, "if I'm not going to get the pleasure of smoking, no one else was going to get the option of stinking up my home!"

 

[figmentvi]

Laurabearz..........

Thanks so much for starting this thread. I will be quitting as well. I've set my date. I have my prescription for Zyban (doctor said to start 2 weeks before my quite date) and I have patches in case I need them.

I'm hoping that by DISCON, I'll have most of my cravings under control. DATW is going to be tough !!! LOL

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Good Luck! I want to quit too!!!
We don't smoke in the house or car already. DD was born with heart defect (repaired now), so we do not allow smoking around her.
At least your dh is going to quit with you!!! I am envious....My dh is not ready to quit so I use him as my excuse, you are LUCKY.