Help me quit smoking PLEASE!

[Tink888]

I used the patch and found that it really helped with the cravings.

You do have to want to quit and to be honest, I STILL have cravings, especially if I'm stressed. Like you, I just enjoyed smoking. Like others have said, it's an addiction. I don't know if that want ever truly goes away but it does get easier.

Other things that helped me......

Like MysteryMachine suggested, find an exercise to replace it. You will gain weight. When you crave a smoke, do sit-ups or jumping jacks for a few minutes.

Look at pictures of cancerous lungs. They are disgusting. It helps.

Make a list of the money you spend on cigarettes. Per day, month, year. Beside those numbers write down other things you could buy with that money. Clothes, things for the house, vacations. Hang it someplace where you can look at it and look at it often.

Reward yourself. When you go without smoking for a week, take the money you would have spent on that and treat yourself to something. A movie, an outfit, etc. When you know you've got a reward coming, it does make it easier to not give in to the cravings.

In the beginning, stay away from other smokers when they are smoking. It is so, so hard to be around them and quit.

Good luck to you. It's tough but YOU CAN STOP!!!

 

[ols386]

Last year I had part of my lung removed due to cancer (my lung cancer was from the spread of my breast cancer, not smoking). It was enough to get my son to son to stop smoking. He saw how gruesome my surgery and recovery was.

He used the nicotine gum to quit.

If something like that didn't work, I'd try hypnosis. I'd try anything. Cancer is a terrible thing.

Hope you are feeling ok now.

Oh yea, I was you. I am on quit #4 and making it stick. I requit in Oct. I was a "closet smoker".

1) You have to want to quit. Without that you can't do it.

2) You are a drug addict. It is an addiction. Stop thinking about it in terms of "willpower" or other goofy things.

Now my dh is going to quit again in June. This will be #2 for him. He is taking Welbutrin and that is what helps him to quit.

I go cold turkey.

Now granted I have GAINED 10lbs since Oct. So word of advice....take up some form of exercise when you do quit.

Last time I quit I took up walking and actually lost weight. This time I am older and more out of shape.

I am a cig-a-holic. I want a cig everyday and will want one forever....I have to choose not to smoke.

Good Luck and don't beat yourself up if you struggle. It is not easy.

Way to go!!!

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

My sweetie used e-cigs to quit smoking. He never cheat, not even once, because he said it helped with his "oral fixation" that smokers have. He was able to start with a high nicotine level and then drop it down from there.

He still uses his e-cig on a regular basis, but he now has his nicotine levels down to 5 mg. and sometimes 0 mg. One added benefit to using the e-cig is that he actually eats less because he is now vaping flavors such as cotton candy, chocolate, and other yummy flavors.

I know there is no odor in the house from the e-cig; I would not let him smoke in the house. His sense of smell has returned. He can go up and down the stairs without huffing and puffing now. He just feels better.

I wish you luck!!! The most important thing to keep in mind, don't quit quitting!!!

PS...if you are interested in the e-cig stuff, he uses the Volcano line. He is a big fan of their stuff.

 

[LuvtheMouse88]

Congratulations! You already have the most important thing to help you quit....Motivation! My suggestion is to throw out any cigs you have in your house, try to stay away from anyone that smokes. See if your state has a quit line. NC has 1800quitnow. You can call them when you are having craving and they can help talk you through it and also give you lots of information on quitting. Good luck!

Also I see you are at Fort Hood. An old friend of mine is stationed there now and is getting ready to get deployed.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Congratulations! You already have the most important thing to help you quit....Motivation! My suggestion is to throw out any cigs you have in your house, try to stay away from anyone that smokes. See if your state has a quit line. NC has 1800quitnow. You can call them when you are having craving and they can help talk you through it and also give you lots of information on quitting. Good luck!

Also I see you are at Fort Hood. An old friend of mine is stationed there now and is getting ready to get deployed. His name is ..... Don't know if you know him or not.

There are a lot of people here in the "Hood" LOL...I don't know him though. But, you should edit your post and remove him name. I'm pretty sure you're not suppsed to say those things. I removed it from the quote too so it doesn't stick around.

 

[I Love Pluto]

I quit smoking on Nov. 26th, 2007 - after consciously vowing to quit while I still had two packs of cigs in the house. (I kept them in a quart bag for about 2 years to remind myself that they were there if I needed them, and that I really was succesful at quitting if the temptation was still around.)

I had tried to quit 7 other times, but I couldn't do it. I just gave in and smoked.

I used Nicorette on this try, and I was shocked at how successful I was. I really didn't want to quit, but my doctors "strongly suggested" that quitting was a good idea. I chewed Nicorette for 2 years, then I switched to regular gum. Yes, I am addicted to gum chewing, but my lungs and bones are thankful that I quit.

You CAN do it! Don't give up!

 

[LuLuO]

I smoked for 12 years. I used the patch and quit just over 8 years ago. I only needed the patch for two weeks. My mom did Auricular Therapy. She had smoked for over 45 years.

I still want one every day and that's no joke. Even after 8 years I still want to smoke and think about it every day. I wasn't really prepared for that. I thought that after a while of not smoking that the craving and desire would fade, but it hasn't. However, I know that if I have just one drag, I won't be able to stop. So every day I choose not to smoke.

It may not be easy but it is worth it. No more stinky clothes/breath/hair/car/house. No putting my family in danger. No planning my day around smoke breaks. Lots of money for Disney and other fun things.

Good luck!

 

[Owlpost23]

Check into cold laser treatment.My husband and I quit this way,and it's been five years,and there is no desire at all! You can do this.

 

[LuvOrlando]

The fact you've done it before probably makes you think it's no big deal to pick it up again because you can stop whenever you want. I never picked up a cigarette after I quit at 20 (don't ask how old I was when I started) because quitting was so incredibly hard for me, I don't think I would be capable of it more than once.

Anyway, it sounds to me like you are using smoking as an excuse to step outside of your home for a few minutes. Why not just get up, walk outside and NOT smoke? Enjoy the air, enjoy the sky, have a magazine at the door waiting for you to distract yourself from stressors. Give yourself permission to walk away every once in a while, you don't need a cigarette to justify it either. Try replacing the rituals with other ones and it may help. When I quit I started drinking OJ instead of my 1st & last cigarette of the night and would make myself a cup of tea every time I wanted to smoke, it was a distraction and it generally worked. The first 72 hours was the hardest, after that it was all me vs me.

To me the hardest thing to give up was the social aspect of smoking, stepping outside for some hanging out time with people I would not have hung out with otherwise. On the other hand, I will hopefully be able to skip my mother's death due to lung cancer, my fingers don't tingle & go cold anymore, I don't get cravings and my breath doesn't smell like smoke. All in all quitting is a big plus.

Good luck

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Check into cold laser treatment.My husband and I quit this way,and it's been five years,and there is no desire at all! You can do this.

No desire? I want a cigarette everyday. Some of us are "addicts". Not that I am not happy for you but posts like this stick in my craw.

 

[melissac]

My sweetie used e-cigs to quit smoking. He never cheat, not even once, because he said it helped with his "oral fixation" that smokers have. He was able to start with a high nicotine level and then drop it down from there.

He still uses his e-cig on a regular basis, but he now has his nicotine levels down to 5 mg. and sometimes 0 mg. One added benefit to using the e-cig is that he actually eats less because he is now vaping flavors such as cotton candy, chocolate, and other yummy flavors.

I know there is no odor in the house from the e-cig; I would not let him smoke in the house. His sense of smell has returned. He can go up and down the stairs without huffing and puffing now. He just feels better.

I wish you luck!!! The most important thing to keep in mind, don't quit quitting!!!

PS...if you are interested in the e-cig stuff, he uses the Volcano line. He is a big fan of their stuff.

This is my second day on e-cigs and It is great. The first day was hard but now that I have figured out the right way to use the e-cig I love it and really believe this is my chance at quitting. Everyone is amazed that they have no oder. Yes, I'm still on nicotine but every Dr. I talked to said it is better then smoking the real thing and it all the chemicals in cig that cause cancer and other health issuses not the nicotine. Even on The Doctors TV show it was listed as number 9 on health break throughs for 2009. They all even tried it on TV. Anyway, how every you go about quitting good luck