Questions for the veterans

[Hooked Up ©]

I'm a smoker and want to quit. I've got what I assume are all of the typical excuses and fears that y'all may have had when you quit. I understand the all or nothing "cold turkey" technique but I have to be honest. I dont think I'm "there" right now. Starting a new job tomorrow and dont want to blow it by throwing a withdrawal temper tantrum. I say this because I remember what happened when I quit Copenhagen and it wasn't pretty! I didn't even realize what an a-hole I was being until the damage was already done. Sucks admitting that I have such an addictive personality! I'd really like to hear about any techniques, vitamins(?), safe meds, etc that have actually worked for somebody. I'm excited about this new forum! If you're not willing to share "your" experience in open forum, please PM me and tell me what worked for you. Thanks so much, Guy

[seapro]

Hooked Up, I did not use any pills or patches, I quit by going cold turkey. I was a bear to live with but it got better over time. After about three weeks the craving for nicotine starts subsiding. That is what worked for me, other people may need help in the way of gum or the nicotine patches. Keep in mind you have to really want to quit. There is no such thing as cutting back or saying I'll quit tomorrow. There is no time like the present.

[Mrschasintail]

My hubby and I did it for our kids. We wanted to be around for them for a long time, and we don't want them to smoke. It's the best excuse. good luck!!

[Bobby]

Guy I quit cold turkey a year ago and I never had the withdrawal symtoms(sp). But you have to really want to quit.

[Walkin' Jack]

Guy, first of all let me offer you my heartfelt congratulations on the new job. Keeping my fingers crossed that it goes well and works out the way you want it to.

The following is my opinion on quitting smoking/dipping. It is an "informed opinion" based upon my own experiences and my observations of others as they go through the process of quitting. True as I believe it to be it IS only my opinion but before you dismiss it out of hand give it a little thought. You may find that you agree.

All the patches and gum and gimmicks are just CRUTCHES. You must realize the this process is AT LEAST as much psychological as it is physical. Probably a lot more. A lot of people KNOW that they SHOULD stop but are still free of related health problems and enjoy smoking/dipping. That makes it harder to stop. You haven't had a scare yet. But smart money will stop BEFORE health issues arise.

Don't dillude yourself. If you aren't really committed to quitting then all the gum and patches and gimmicks in the world will not help you. If you ARE fully committed and set, mentally for the process then you DON"T NEED CRUTCHES. You have your will power. Every time you start to light up or load that lip, picture your family around your hospital bed, all the tubes and hoses running in and out of you and oxygen mask covering your mouth and nose. You will be watching them watching you die. Long, slow, painful, agonizing, and costly death. Your friends and family will be left with the memory of your shriveled and wasted body as you finally kick the habit. Every body quits.

JUST STOP IT....STOP IT TODAY...RIGHT NOW!!

[cncman]

I quit almost 4 years ago, 2 packs a day, I quite for about a month before that cold turkey but came back, then my doctor told me why I failed, it was an addiction! I know this sounds obvious but I did not really equate it to that in my mind, once I had that mindset I was able to quit almost 4 years ago, I tried the gum, made me sick, the patch only seemed to make me want to smoke more, so I was smoking and wearing the patch, I finally tried the zyban, it worked like a charm for me, I planned it when I was going to California to stay with my grandmother for a couple of weeks, she did not even know I smoked and did not allow smoking around her so I figured it was a good way to keep me honest. I can't even picture myself with a cigarette anymore. Good luck everyone, just don't let it get you down if you fail a couple of times, keep at it and when you are mentally ready it will happen.

[KellyL]

I ate a lot of baby carrots when I quit smoking. I figured I was hungry so it was best to satisfy the craving, and carrots weren't going to make me fat. I got sick and tired of carrots, but at least I didn't gain any weight while I was at it.

I don't know, but quitting while changing jobs might be the perfect time. No one knows the real you, and you would get nicer over time :)

Also, waiting for the right time to quit is never going to happen. You just got to do it, or you will just keep finding excuses.

Best wishes!

[Walkin' Jack]

just don't let it get you down if you fail a couple of times, keep at it and when you are mentally ready it will happen.
Now THAT'S excellent advice!! Never give up. It's never too late to kick it. :)

[Tom]

I started playing with cigarettes when I first started school but didn’t really start smoking until I was twelve. In my late fifties and early sixties I tried to stop several times using the patch and gum but didn’t stay off for long.

I wanted to be a nonsmoker but didn’t want to stop. I didn’t have a good enough reason to stop at that time. At sixty-seven I had a heart attack and almost didn’t make it. After two helicopter rides, a little cutting and a few hundred needles a doctor looked at me and said "if you don’t stop smoking now you are going to die."

Sounded like a pretty good reason to me. Never smoked another cigarette. Find a reason to stop and stick to it. I am a seventy-one year old nonsmoker.

[Walkin' Jack]

I started playing with cigarettes when I first started school but didn’t really start smoking until I was twelve. In my late fifties and early sixties I tried to stop several times using the patch and gum but didn’t stay off for long.

I wanted to be a nonsmoker but didn’t want to stop. I didn’t have a good enough reason to stop at that time. At sixty-seven I had a heart attack and almost didn’t make it. After two helicopter rides, a little cutting and a few hundred needles a doctor looked at me and said "if you don’t stop smoking now you are going to die."

Sounded like a pretty good reason to me. Never smoked another cigarette. Find a reason to stop and stick to it. I am a seventy-one year old nonsmoker.
Congratulations Tom! That story is nothing short of inspirational and the advice reings true as well. Happy for you.

[Boaz]

Now THAT'S excellent advice!! Never give up. It's never too late to kick it. :) Good advice! The patches worked for me the 3rd time. You are always afraid you may not really want to quit. Try anyway, it worked for me the 3rd time. Good luck!!

[kenny]

Guy,
The medicine Wellbutrin is good for helping people quit smoking. It's non addictive and needs a prescription.
Good luck,

kenny

[Hooked Up ©]

Thanks Kenny (and everyone else too) I've heard that, but the idea scares me half to death. I've made up my mind though. I'm gonna join the October 1st gang and I'm just gonna DO IT. Ole Jack sure can paint a graphic picture with words cant he?! Anyhoo, wish me luck. Hopefully I wont need any bail money! Tight lines, GuyGuy,
The medicine Wellbutrin is good for helping people quit smoking. It's non addictive and needs a prescription.
Good luck,

kenny

[jimk]

I quit "cold turkey" after quail hunting in S. Texas with an old friend suffering from emphysema....he just couldn't quit...he was thin with a constant cough...just listening to him, I could tell there was something seriously wrong but he wasn't about to stop. I had 2 young daughters with another on the way and it weighed on my mind. On the way home (I can still remember where I was) I reached into my shirt pocket and found an empty pack...I thought, I'll just quit right now. That was in the early 80's and it stuck. I still have some dreams about how I can smoke one or two and not really start back up....WRONG...that'll never do. I am convinced that there are bad and good times to quit. I quit once for a year on a $50 bet and started right back up. After that, I tried many times to quit and couldn't. I think the combination of my friend's unwillingness to stop, my responsibility to my family, and probably picking a good time to quit made it work. I know it's a tough thing to do...you gotta steel yourself to overcoming the urge again and again...it does get easier. Stay positive....overcome it....don't give in...it really is a fight for your life.

[activescrape]

I quit cold turkey 15 years ago. The thing I remember most as motivation is similar to what Walkin' Jack said. I DID NOT want to be looking up from a hospital bed at my children fielding questions like "Weren't we worth it. Why did you love cigarettes more than us" I also did not want for them to have to feel the pain of me not being there to toast them at college graduation, walk my daughter down the aisle and take the grandkids to feed the ducks.
Another tactic I used while quitting was when I would get the urge I would say things to my self like "Oh, poor Mike, can't have a cigarette, poor poor Mike." I made myself sick with that. Good luck to everyone trying this. You can do it!!! and you will love yourself for it.