Quit smoking cold turkey

[Grmnshplvr]

Today is my 2 week anniversary of being smoke free. I decided 2 weeks ago today that my morning cigarette would be my last and haven't had one since. Not even a puff. Honestly, if I knew how easy it was going to be I would have done this years ago. I'm 36 and have smoked for 20 years, I'm well aware of the damage I've probably already done and just hoping I'm young enough to heal some of the damage.

Panic and fear of quitting has kept me from even trying all these years. Day 1 and 2 were hard, very uncomfortable but not unbearable, not painful. Just felt like I was crawling out of my own skin at times but not the worst thing I've gone through by far....Day 3 was so much better and every day has gotten easier, less triggers as time goes on. It's the oddest feeling but I just don't feel like I ever smoked if that makes sense. Majority of my day I dont even think about it, hoping as time goes on I can get through days and weeks without thinking about....but for now I'll take a couple hours of not thinking about it. I feel brand new.

My fear is I read about people who quit for 1-3 months of even years and go back to it, any successful former smokers here with a few years under their belt for motivation?

For anyone looking to quit I read Allan Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking and bought a harmless cigarette, it isn't electronic has no vape or nicotine, its basically a straw that resembles a cigarette. It gives me something to do with my hands especially when I'm driving because that is a big trigger for me still.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I'm not a former smoker so I don't have advice, but I do want to offer sincere CONGRATULATIONS.

You already did the hardest part which was to make the decision to quit. Everything else is mind over matter. You got this.

 

[ronandannette]

Sincere congratulations from me too! I’m on the verge of another quit attempt, having done so several times. My only advice is DO NOT take even one, single smoke. You may miss it for a long, long time and giving in is the beginning of the end (my longest quit was 3 1/2 years).

 

[John VN]

OUTSTANDING and hoping your will power lasts forever.

 

[Donaldswife]

Today is my 2 week anniversary of being smoke free. I decided 2 weeks ago today that my morning cigarette would be my last and haven't had one since. Not even a puff. Honestly, if I knew how easy it was going to be I would have done this years ago. I'm 36 and have smoked for 20 years, I'm well aware of the damage I've probably already done and just hoping I'm young enough to heal some of the damage.

Panic and fear of quitting has kept me from even trying all these years. Day 1 and 2 were hard, very uncomfortable but not unbearable, not painful. Just felt like I was crawling out of my own skin at times but not the worst thing I've gone through by far....Day 3 was so much better and every day has gotten easier, less triggers as time goes on. It's the oddest feeling but I just don't feel like I ever smoked if that makes sense. Majority of my day I dont even think about it, hoping as time goes on I can get through days and weeks without thinking about....but for now I'll take a couple hours of not thinking about it. I feel brand new.

My fear is I read about people who quit for 1-3 months of even years and go back to it, any successful former smokers here with a few years under their belt for motivation?

CONGRATULATIONS!! My Mother passed away in December from lung cancer at age 61. She had been smoking since she was a teen and never was able to quit, though I wish she could have. Stay strong and I wish you the best!

 

[Klayfish]

Good for you!! I've become a health nut over the past 10-15 years, but I wasn't always that way. I smoked from about age 15 until about 30 or so. Everyone is different, I fully realize that, but I also think quitting is easy. I think people make a much bigger deal out of it than it really is. If you really want to quit, then just do it, I don't see the need to "try" or make a big deal out of it. Put the cigarettes in the trash and that's the end of it. I know plenty of people who always say "Yeah, I want to quit and have tried", but still smoke. I don't know exactly what they've done and I'm not in their personal lives, but I often wonder if they really truly wanted to quit or were just doing it lip service. I fully believe that if you truly want to quit, then you will. When I was done, I was done. Simply lost interest and walked away. No "withdrawal", nothing, easy peasy. I haven't smoked in many, many years and will never do so again. Can't even stand the smell of smoke and now wonder what the heck I was doing for all those years smoking.

Congrats and keep it up!!!

 

[Minnesota!]

Congrats! I quit 1/21/2001 - outside the Orlando airport. I was almost 23 and had smoked for.... ugh, a long time. I started around 12/13. It was hard, no doubt. I had cravings for a long time - mainly in situations where I would, prior, have a cigarette...in a bar, casino, car ride, etc.

Congratulations...you can do this! Each craving lasts about 10 seconds. Find some other way to occupy your hands and mouth during those 10 seconds...gum, ice, etc. I, unfortunately, picked up chewing on the inside of my lip...I still do it to this day...

 

[Hikergirl]

I started smoking when I was 14, I quit when I was 23.
It was one of the hardest things I did, and while I was successful there were times where I gave in and had a cigarette. Don't get discouraged if that happens just keep the big picture in mind. Good luck!

 

[Grmnshplvr]

Sincere congratulations from me too! I’m on the verge of another quit attempt, having done so several times. My only advice is DO NOT take even one, single smoke. You may miss it for a long, long time and giving in is the beginning of the end (my longest quit was 3 1/2 years).

3 1/2 YEARS!! wow Do you know what got you back to smoking again after being free for so long?

 

[Grmnshplvr]

Congrats! I quit 1/21/2001 - outside the Orlando airport. I was almost 23 and had smoked for.... ugh, a long time. I started around 12/13. It was hard, no doubt. I had cravings for a long time - mainly in situations where I would, prior, have a cigarette...in a bar, casino, car ride, etc.

Congratulations...you can do this! Each craving lasts about 10 seconds. Find some other way to occupy your hands and mouth during those 10 seconds...gum, ice, etc. I, unfortunately, picked up chewing on the inside of my lip...I still do it to this day...

I bought a harmless cigarette off amazon, no nicotine or vape its basically a straw that resembles a cigarette and I've been using that to help get me through the cravings. Better than eating!

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

Congrats! Keep it up. I have read that the lungs start repairing themselves the moment you stop so it is never too late. My dad started smoking at around 15 and continued until he was 62. That was when my dd was born (their very first grandchild). He used to smoke in the house and even though he did not when the baby was there, the smell still was. I refused to bring her over and basically gave him an ultimatum. He was so in love with her that I figured if not now then never. I told him his choice was smoking or his grandchild. It worked, he quit cold turkey and has never touched a cigarette for the past 21 years. This from a man who used to say that smoking was not bad for you and that the doctors were lying lol! He is now 83 and going strong. Good luck to you!

 

[Grmnshplvr]

CONGRATULATIONS!! My Mother passed away in December from lung cancer at age 61. She had been smoking since she was a teen and never was able to quit, though I wish she could have. Stay strong and I wish you the best!

I am so sorry Donaldswife, my mother is turning 60 this year and has been a heavy smoker all her life, the toll it has taken becomes more apparent every year and it kills me to watch, she was a big reason I wanted to quit in my 30s. A friend of mine's mother is struggling with lung cancer now, she is in her 50s and smoked all her life too. Her cancer is being managed but the constant pneumonia has her in and out of the hospital (she is in there now).

 

[Grmnshplvr]

Good for you!! I've become a health nut over the past 10-15 years, but I wasn't always that way. I smoked from about age 15 until about 30 or so. Everyone is different, I fully realize that, but I also think quitting is easy. I think people make a much bigger deal out of it than it really is. If you really want to quit, then just do it, I don't see the need to "try" or make a big deal out of it. Put the cigarettes in the trash and that's the end of it. I know plenty of people who always say "Yeah, I want to quit and have tried", but still smoke. I don't know exactly what they've done and I'm not in their personal lives, but I often wonder if they really truly wanted to quit or were just doing it lip service. I fully believe that if you truly want to quit, then you will. When I was done, I was done. Simply lost interest and walked away. No "withdrawal", nothing, easy peasy. I haven't smoked in many, many years and will never do so again. Can't even stand the smell of smoke and now wonder what the heck I was doing for all those years smoking.

Congrats and keep it up!!!

I've always gone to the gym but since I quit I have been there every single day, it SO much easier to run and the runners high does help with cravings for a few hours. Hoping I wont be one of those people that gains 20 lbs after they quit too. 3 people asked me how I quit and I said I just didn't want to do it any more so I stopped. It really did come down to that.

 

[bellebud]

I smoked from 13 to 23 (I'm 50 now). The thing that kept me from going back was the 'clean' feeling I noticed about 2 weeks after I quit. I felt like a film of nicotine had been peeled off my body. My skin felt different. My hands felt different. I was like "ewwww, I was gross and I didn't know it" Congratulations and good luck. Take a little money that you would have spent on cigarettes, and treat yourself to something.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Another non-smoker here, but my parents both quit and didn't have another.

They are both gone now, but neither smoked for decades.

Both actually got to the point that they hated the smell. Not because they wanted a puff, but because it was an awful stink.

 

[Klayfish]

I've always gone to the gym but since I quit I have been there every single day, it SO much easier to run and the runners high does help with cravings for a few hours. Hoping I wont be one of those people that gains 20 lbs after they quit too. 3 people asked me how I quit and I said I just didn't want to do it any more so I stopped. It really did come down to that.

You won't gain a lot of weight if you don't want to, it's all in your control. Good for you going to the gym. DW and I are gym rats...there 5 days a week at 4:30am. Quick suggestion, don't do just cardio, such as running. It's not the best way to be really fit, use resistance/weight training and sprinkle cardio in. True runners require a very different nutrition plan than most of us do, so people who eat "normally" but do a ton of running wind up what is often called "skinny fat"....look thin but have a high body fat %

 

[cabanafrau]

Congratulations. I hope it continues to be an easy and lasting decision.

 

[Jaime4004]

Congrats!! My mother quit smoking 15 years ago, after 35 years of smoking. It was when she was ready. She never had another. Good luck!

 

[cluvsdisney]

Congratulations!! I quit cold turkey in 2003 and it's one of the best things I ever did for myself. It wasn't easy for me and I only got through the first few weeks/months by counting the days since I had a cigarette, than the weeks. I never wanted to reset the number nor go through the initial phase of quitting.

Keep up the good work!!!

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Congratulations! I quit almost 30 years ago at age 19 (using acupuncture), after having smoked for about 6 years, and haven't had a cigarette since. In fact, the smell of cigarette smoke nauseates me so much that I wonder how I ever tolerated it while I was smoking. I come from a family of smokers. My grandfather died of lung cancer in his 60s. My mother died of heart disease at 50 after having had triple bypass surgery about 8 months earlier. She finally quit when she was diagnosed but it was too late. My father smoked all his life and died at the age of 51.