Let's get healthy! Stop Smoking Ideas?

[Pebblszzz]

Geez, I must really feel the need for my DIS buddies today, I just can't stop posting! I think I'm getting "re-addicted".

Anyhow, I was thinking of ideas on making it as easy as possible to stop smoking, and thought many of us could benefit from this thread.

If you (or someone you know) has ever successfully stopped smoking, what tips could you offer those of us who keep making failed attempts?

I have in my arsenal:

Nicorette Gum
Nicoderm Patch
Life Savers
Suckers
Stop Smoking Spray (found this at a dollar store!)

I've been collecting goodies over the past few months, and am about to embark on my final shopping trip. Anything I should add to my list?

I hear keeping your hands busy helps (crochet, needlepoint, etc), too.

 

[Colleen A.]

Hey, welcome back!

DH used the patch after MANY MANY attempts to go cold turkey. He has been smoke free for 10 years now! He found that chewing gum also helped....and pretzel sticks for something to keep his hands busy. Oh yeah, he said having a 'nagging spouse' around didn't hurt either!

 

[Deb in IA]

As a life-long non-smoker, I don't have any first hand recommendations, but I just wanted to say

WELCOME BACK, PEBLSZZZ!!!

My MIL was a smoker, and when she quit, she did the needlework route. Now, their entire house is loaded with afghans, cross-stitch, needlepoint, etc.!!

 

[Kitty 34]

I had Acupuncture done 7 years ago. Worked like a charm!!!

 

[marlasmom]

I had pretty much stopped smoking a couple of weeks ago and then DH did something that set me off and I'm right back where I was. The doctor gave me a prescription for Wellbutin and it works. I just haven't taken it for a couple of days.

 

[Mskanga]

Someone please keep adding to this....I am the nagging spouse here and I'm desperate for dh to quit!

 

[CynJ]

Red Hots are your best friend!!!!

Actually for me it was anything with cinnamon in it- like gum, candy, breath spray.

I haven't had a cigarrette since May 23rd, 1997

 

[DNSDisney]

I have alway read that Sunflower seeds have something in them that make you not crave nicotin so much. The kind in the shell not roasted.

My DH stoped using the new lonzengers (sp?) . He has been nicotin free for 3 weeks now. Be careful with the gum it can pull fillings out ( he learned this the hard way)

 

[CRB#33]

This may not be an option, but getting pregnant did it for me . I threw those butts out the second I started trying to get pregnant and never picked them up again.

Welcome back!

 

[Mskanga]

Originally posted by CRB#33
This may not be an option, but getting pregnant did it for me

Although I would love that , I don't think dh can do it , much less go through it! ROFL

 

[TiggerPiglet]

I quit cold turkey once I decided I was going to have children. Before that I had tried and tried and nothing ever worked, but once I knew I would be affecting someone else's lungs if I smoked while pregnant, besides my own, it gave me the incentive to quit.
I think in order to quit you really have to truly want to quit, otherwise nothing will help.

 

[mrsmom]

I quit almost 7 years ago and so did my dh, I went cold turkey don't know why i was able to do this time after umpteen times trying. But it worked but i did change my routines, when i usally smoked a cigarette after dinner i got right up and did laundry or dishes , i just keep my self busy, and i kinda stayed away from things that tiggered smoking, like talking on the phone. and i knew if i tryed one puff i'd go back to smoking and all i did would have just been a waste.
Now my dh had a harder time of quitting, he got the nicoderm patch and when he felt a crave he would rub the patch and it worked. and with all the extra money we saved, i bought and inground pool!!
I wish you the best , Truely you will feel so much better.
Mrsmom

 

[cgcw]

Brushing my teeth every time I had the urge for a cigarette worked for me. I smoked menthol cigarettes and used a really minty tasting toothpaste. It's been 13 years!

 

[wdwnutze]

I quit smoking 12 years ago this month. I had smoked 2pks a day for quite a long time. I agree with Mrsmom that you need to change your routine and get rid of your habit smokes 1st. I knew I was going to get hypnotized on a certain date so before that time I stopped smoking in the car, after meals, with coffee etc. By the time I went to be hypnotized I had already cut down to just 3-4 a day. I would pick a day on your calendar to be your quit day and every day up til that point I would cut back. Quitting is not easy but after the 1st week or 2 the worst is over. I still think about smoking but would never do it again because it was so hard to quit.

 

[CRB#33]

Originally posted by Mskanga
Although I would love that , I don't think dh can do it , much less go through it! ROFL

ROTFLOL!!!
Yep, I guess it won't work for a man!

 

[tstobb]

Nagging will NOT have a positive effect! I just passed the 2 year smoke-free mark and still do miss it terribly but I quit because I wanted to, not because of any outside influence. no matter what they say, smoking is more of a mental addiction than a physical one.

 

[Buckalew]

Thank God I don't smoke. You'd have me stopping. LOL I still keep my pantry cleaned and organized like you taught me. You should see my canned food. You'd be proud!!

 

[d.kurz]

The patch worked for me!

Also, seek support.....I wished I could have talked to someone at the time and really wasn't all that comfortable here (yet!).

And I don't know if this happened to anyone else when they quit, but when I quit my brain went on a vacation. I felt incredibly stupid for about 8-10 WEEKS!!! Hard to concentrate. Lost words. More forgetful than usual.

Good luck to anyone giving it a shot!!!

 

[kaabost]

DH likes WDW but not like I do. He told me that he wouldn't go with me to WDW again until something new (Mission Space) opened. BUT if I quit smoking that day (cold turkey) that we would go as soon as we could (which was in October)......no kidding! I thought about it for a couple hours, smoked a whole pack of cigarettes (so that they would make me feel bad), and quit cold turkey. Despite the pack of cigarettes, I still wanted one an hour later. Anyway, I haven't had one since that day (and we did go to WDW in October). Diet Dr. Pepper, gum, and yes, SUNFLOWER SEEDS in the shells became my best friend.