[Closed] Stopping smoking!!

Really ?? Well surely thats the whole thing sorted then ??

Yeti, that's some good advice.

I tried patches, which worked as long as I was on the kick-ass powerful one but stopped working when I had to move onto the weaker ones.

The habit, for me, is as much about having time to myself several times a day as it is about enjoying the smoke. Getting out of the office is especially wonderful.

It's this regular escape habit that's difficult to break. 😳

Violently sick is a bit of an overstatement but it certainly makes a smoker feel pretty ill.

You still need the will power to take it though.

Camo16 - Apples. Go off and have an apple. They take about the same time to have, they involve your hand and your mouth and they're good for you.

I would hereby like to apoligise in advance to anyone who is at the receiving end of any gratuitous and totally unwarranted tirades and abuse over the next week or so

Apart from the people who are normally at the receiving end of any gratuitous and totally unwarranted tirades and abuse. Business as usual there I'm afraid

This +1!!!!!

Camo - 😳 - no need to salute your superior, it'll make mu gush 😉

You're actually inspiring me, Yeti, you know that?

I think, perhaps, the time's come to have another, proper go.

If it goes well, you're going to be my official hero - and I will need a poster-size picture for my wall. 😆

Camo16 - Apples. Go off and have an apple. They take about the same time to have, they involve your hand and your mouth and they're good for you.

what about when they slice your gums open and make you bleed? (or is that just me....?)

Us Yeti's are notoriously shy Camo... you'll be a very lucky person to get one with my face in it.

Seriously though, if quitting smoking is something you've tried before, or something you've considered for a long while...

By quitting you'll come to realise that you are more Awesome!!! than you had ever imagined. You'll no longer have that nagging feeling that you shouldn't be doing something, you'll no longer loathe youself a little bit everytime you have one. You can't help but feel more in control and feel happier with yourself.

Quitting smoking is the one time when it's actually good to be a quitter 🙂

and I will need a poster-size picture for my wall

😯

Shut up morgs - have you seen how beautiful I am?

Sammie-Louise x

You'll no longer have that nagging feeling that you shouldn't be doing something, you'll no longer loathe youself a little bit everytime you have one.

* senses previously unnoticed levels of perspective and wisdom in TSY, and is impressed * 😆

Right. I'll have a word with Mrs 16 (this co-dependency lark is tough) and see what I/we can do.

I want to be Awesome!

I want to be awesome too!!!! 😀

Coming up to 4 1/2 years for me after 20 years on 20 a day.
Read the book over about 2 months and then went cold turkey
If you get your head right its not too hard and very worthwhile.

Got me into cycling and my 2 boys as a consequence-one of the best things I did.

The habit, for me, is as much about having time to myself several times a day as it is about enjoying the smoke. Getting out of the office is especially wonderful.

Once you proper stop you will wonder why you ever smoked tbh the only issue is how long it takes you to get to that point

When you achieve Awesome!!!ness we can all meet up for a smoke-free blast up a hill, eat some flapjack and then hammer back down again 🙂

Re the co-dependancy. Tell her you're doing it and then tell her you can't kiss her anymore because she stinks*.

*hopefully has regained idiot status, although this did actually work for me.

I use those inhaler things as for me it's the hand to mouth thing I like! I have kind of figured it doesn't matter if I never give those up, as it's not nicotine that's bad for you. Still they should be banned ****ing horrible things!

I am a week into no smoking, from a packet a day. First four days with feeling of wanting to kill everyone and argue with everyone, that's now subsided. Got to keep it going, the comment about not hating yourself like i did every time i had a smoke is a good one.

The Southern Yeti - Member

Shut up morgs - have you seen how beautiful I am?

Sammie-Louise x

You are such a hero!

* salutes morgs *

Surely camo wanted a picture of me......who'd want one of you????????? 8)

I stopped for good in 2007, though I had been tending to smoke less and less for quite a while. My partner and I were thinking about a family so it was a good time to do it, and it gave me something to focus on. Just did it cold turkey, but it really was just the habit I was breaking for me (rather than nicotine), so replacing one habit with another seemed a bad idea to me 🙂

Good luck anyone who's trying - it really, really does get easier the longer you go on. One hour, one day, one week - break it down into manageable chunks and it makes it seem less daunting.

Fags are shit, you don't need 'em!!!

random pointless update....

got through the afternoon with out too many problems.

The evening entertainment will keep me smoke free until tomorrow.....so all I have to master is the driving without a smoke!

Look out for other smokers in their cars... don't envy them, pity them.

One of the most hardcore smokers I know did this to great (and comedic) effect.

Go for it - I quit 'cold turkey' about 15 years ago, and it's a brilliant feeling once you get past the side effects.

I say 'cold turkey', but I did actually develop a serious Fruit Pastille habit for about 6 months - had to work to limit myself to one bag a day, especially as I was supposed to be writing my Masters thesis at the time, and found it really difficult to concentrate for the first few weeks.

One of the things that really got me over the hump mentally was working hard on my fitness - as I got back more and more of my aerobic fitness, I really began to resent the idea of smoking again because I didn't want to lose the feeling of being able to exert myself without becoming breathless.

Good luck!

Been quit 4 months, but wobbled several times in the 3rd month, due to drinking. So I've quit alcohol for the time being also. I don't get on with Alan Carr personally - though some people swear by him - but "the Nicotine Trick" by Neil Casey is good if you can get a copy.

It's hard to get your head around, but what worked for me was [i]finally[/i] properly understanding that I didn't smoke because I wanted a cigarette... I wanted a cigarette because I'd smoked.

I recently looked at the price of decent cigs. **** they aren't cheap 😮 I think when I quit they were 3.50 for 20.

The ironic thing is when I finally quit I went to work in one of the most stressful industries out there. So if you think its stress that makes you smoke it isn't. You'll find ANY excuse to spark up- such are the cravings. Get your head round this- its addiction saying to you 'just need one more'..

I found patches and gum just prolonged the painful cravings- I just drank A LOT of fresh orange juice

When you achieve Awesome!!!ness we can all meet up for a smoke-free blast up a hill, eat some flapjack and then hammer back down again

Sure, sounds great Yeti – that's when I'll take a sly photo for my poster-size inspiration wall! 😆

Do ex-smokers really get up hills faster?

Surely camo wanted a picture of me...

Yeah, you'll be on the wall too when we're both fit, healthy and utterly, horribly smug non-smokers. 😆

I found patches and gum just prolonged the painful cravings

Is it honestly better to go cold turkey, then?

I'm worried I'll become (more of) an angry ****.

It was the stop smoking thread that was on here before that made me stop. have been mostly smoking free for ages now. and I don't smoke unless I'm really pissed and really whiney and even then my friends won't give in.

It's worth it, I've saved loads of money, and I feel LOADS better. and best of all your non-smoking gf will snog you more: FACT!!

I'm interested to know how long after you quit can you legitimately start glaring self-righteously at the poor faggin' fools huddled up in doorways?

I'd also tut-tut-tut them and raise my eyes like this... 🙄 , but I wouldn't be smiling.

*dons skinny chinos* 🙂

about an hour camo.

this is the length of time it took me to become the single most irritating non smoker (according to some of my so-called mates) apparently.

😆

about an hour camo.

Suh-weet!

I'm definitely doing this now... well, I'll start tomorrow. Wouldn't like to waste money and not utilise the ones still in the pack. 😳

Which means by 8am tomorrow I'm going to be one self-righteous ****.

Probably shouldn't post here for a while or I'll lose my 'impossibly cool' rep.

I bunged the pack away, i think it was Yeti who said if you're going to stop then ****ing well just stop.

It's good advice really.

soz

Ah camo16 moving from big hitter to big quitter?

Good luck hope you manage it, holding my first kid after a 24 hr labour then c-section stress and noticing her little head in my blackened nicotine stained fingers convinced me and I've never smoked from that day to this. (Except the occasional extremely pissed induced spliff).

Great if you manage it.

Well I'm going to try, derekrides. I wish the OP and Binners all the best and (following TSY's advice) hope I don't get sick of apples...

I stopped 9.5 years ago after smoking from when I was 12 till I was 31, I reckon I've saved myself £15,000+

OP the cravings are of course caused by Nicotine still in your system. Taking gum/patches keeps the Nicotine in you and prolongs the agony. All you've done is sidestepped the issue. Then at somepoint you'll get a trigger that makes you say '**** this I'm having a fag'. It could be as little as a friend disagreeing with you and because you are in period-head mode (sorry for the discriptive) you mini-flip. Its all you need.

Another (possibly not a great analogy) but would you take anabolic steroids now?

If the answer is ****ing hell no way!

Then why do you smoke?

Whats my point? you enjoy something now then in your early 50's its payback time.

If you are 40 now. In just over 10yrs time do you want to be seeing your GP for breathing difficulties, taking meds and the possibility of the big C? Yes people can smoke until they are 90 but there are always the Genetic anomalies.

I've been to the Manchester Royal Infirmary a few times during the day with hora junior and outside the entrance you always see this age range fagging it, looking ****ed etc etc.

Whats your motivation? See your children past their 20th birthday?

Lets say you live until your 80. Who wants 20-30yrs of a poorer quality life shuffling, popping alot of daily meds etc?

I'd love to be still riding my bike in my 60's - road or mtb.

UPDATE!!

18.5 hours in and feeling pretty good. The test will be the drive into work and the 10:30 smoke break. I reckon if I can get to lunch then I'll be ok as that will be the magic 24 hour marker.

Camo - have you joined us yet? I'll still always be ahead of you 😉

Binners, how are you getting on?

motivation is varied for me.
- health (son, partner & family to live for)
- money (I smoked between 10 and 20 a day, but working on just 10, that's over £1300 a year = a lot of blingy bits)
- career . I'm back to uni next year, so need to be smoke free for the course (teaching) and my overdraft
- fitness. Self-explanatory...?

loads of others that aren't coming to me right now 🙂

Good luck folks. over two years cigarette free for me.

I'm doing very well at the moment..
I've been a regular smoker since before puberty and quit smoking last year for the first time in over 25 years..

I lasted six months before succumbing to an occasional smoke which led to full time smoking again very quickly..
I've quit again this year using patches to control the cravings for just the first few days..

I'm already feeling the benefits and it's now my muscles that complain before my lungs on the climbs..

😀 😀

Camo - have you joined us yet? I'll still always be ahead of you

Right behind you, kiddo!

Had my last one at 8ish last night, so I'm a little way past the 12 hour marker.

Okay, I was asleep most of the time, but it's still a marker. 😆

Good luck, morgs - you're sounding pretty chilled, considering.

EDIT: By the way, I've just avoided one of my smoke rituals - the pre-work huddlin' in the office doorways fag. Next one's about 10.30!

Well done all of you ! One day at a time...

Well done people. 🙂

So you're going to be hitting the 3 day mark on Friday? I'd recommend planning to do something differnet from your normal Friday routine... something that makes smoking harder to do... go out for a meal instead of down the pub for instance.

Keep it up quitters!

It isn't an easy thing giving up (and staying off them), but the benefits are huge.

I think that I am just over 19 months off them now - I gave up in March 2010, but I have forgotten the exact day, which is a good thing IMO.

From my own experience having stopped 5 years ago:

You need a very powerful, personal reason to stop. Summarise your heartfelt reason for stopping in a sentence or two and refer to it whenever you feel a craving.

Make it a personal experience. Don't turn it into a game by giving up with other people.

Don't hide the fact you're stopping but don't go on about it either. Do it quietly.

Don't replace the fags with anything else. Don't change any other part of your life.

Do not underestimate the power of your addiction. Never ever have even one fag ever, it'll be the thin end of a long wedge. For me this is the golden rule of stopping.

You will be amazed at how much fitter you become.

It's going to tough at times but well worth it.

I used to get chest infections every winter when I smoked. I think that (and mrshora) were enough motivation in the end.

My old GP was fantastic. She took her time and said to me 'one day you'll be permanently like this. Is this what you want'?

Hows everyone feeling this morning then?

[url= http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/international/iran-better-not-f*ck-me-around-today%2c-warns-cigarette%11free-obama-201111024493/ ]Like Obama?[/url]

Looks like we've got a high profile comrade* on board 😀

I've got a couple of fags left in my last packet. And it is the last packet! I'm going to have my last smoke with a pint this evening, then its game over! I asked my daughters if they wanted me to stop last night. I got a very enthusiastic reply. So now I'm threatened with all kind of sanctions should I waver. I'll never get another hug ever again apparently

*are you allowed to use 'that word' about an American President?