Fuck fuck Fucky McFucktard! I can't fucking quit these fucking cigarettes!

[Sampiro]

This is in the pit because 1) I'm using profanity and 2) I'm essentially pitting myself, but I would value any advice from ex- smokers. (No offense, but advice from people who haven't ever smoked [or who smoked three cigarettes twenty years ago and consider themselves reformed smokers frankly doesn't mean jack.)

I know every reason to quit smoking from the excellent (cancer, heart disease [my family is blessed in that there's never been a case of cancer {not to say there couldn't be} but heart-disease has shortend the lives of more men in the family than the women in my family have shortened) to the vain (worsens lines and wrinkles) to the practical (it's $100 per month I could use elsewhere) to the social (increasing social unacceptability and limited smoking places) to the considerate (many people just don't like the smell) to the hygienic (you smell like a fucking chimney if the wind blows the smoke back on your or- sometimes you just do, never have understood why sometimes you absorb the odor worse than others). I can think of no reasons TO continue (well... it's a great ice-breaker for meeting new people, but usually there are better ways). I see how it's ruined my mother's health (I've literally seen her light up while a tracheotomy scar is still visible and when she had pneumonia- she's 70 and in nowhere near as good-a-shape as her 83 year old sister {who quit smoking on her 60th birthday}).

BUT I CAN'T FUCKING STOP!

I've worn the patches- they make me itch like crazy and the nicotine attacks still come. (Actually, I quit smoking for 3 1/2 years the first time I used them, but then stupidly started back thinking I could handle "just one".) I hate the gum with a passion. Cold turkey works fine for about three or four days but then I'm climbing the walls unable to sleep and looking for a fight and doing a one-man show of The Lost Weekend. I really and truly WANT to quit, but for some reason I can't endure the cravings (and while I don't have spots on my lungs or anything major, it's definitely already affected my health in terms of stamina, chest tightness occasionally, etc.). Does anybody have ANY advice, cause to quote the great Barry Corbin from WAR GAMES, "I"d piss on a spark plug if I thought it'd do any good?"

[Fritz]

I am now without cigs for four days now, and the patches are working well for me. I put a new patch on every 12 hours.
Once or twice a day, I get a really intense craving, and I'll chew a piece of Nicorette - not recommended, but hey, it works for me.

It's still way to early to say I've quit, but so far, I'm managing.

Good luck, Sampiro. This is a wicked tough habit to break.

[Lsura]

I've got no advice, but I almost wrote this same damn rant the other day.

Patches: allergic reaction, although they helped when I wore them - or they at least took the edge off a bit.

The gum? Does nothing but give me heartburn.

I'm 31, and I realized recently that I smoked my first cigarette at 13 - that's 18 years ago.

And my father had surgery recently for a recurrence of throat cancer - brought on by a combination of smoking and acid reflux - but the smoking was the bigger factor, I'm sure (and he is - and he went cold turkey when before the biopsy when he was originally diagnosed about 2.5 years ago.

I'm at the same place you are, I think. I suck, at least when it comes to cigarettes and quitting.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Recently, a column written by [/b]Cecil Adams[b], Master Of THe Straight Dope, recommended using antacids during cold turkey.

Look up the column, & give it a try. WTH--it's only Tums! What could it hurt?

[fishbicycle]

I want to quit. I need to quit. I wish I could quit, but I am terrified. I quit once, 20-some years ago, and have never been so sick in my life. It was like the worst flu ever, times ten. It's possible that I got the flu just as I was going cold turkey, but if not, I am petrified to go through that again. If there was some way to do it without that happening, I'd be all for it. Does Wellbutrin work to stave off the cravings? Sometimes I wish I could do what Keith Richards is rumored to have done to kick heroin once - go to a clinic in Switzerland and have my blood exchanged. I like smoking. I hate being addicted to narcotics and I hate what it's doing to my body.

[squeegee]

Zyban -- an antidepressant, also known as WellButribin -- did it for me.

I smoked -- a lot -- for over 20 years, never even came close to quitting even though I didn't even like smoking any more. My spouse, my sister, and my doctor finally guilted me into trying the Zyban + Nicorette. I was very skeptical that it would work.

Imagine my surprise when it did. After 3 weeks of taking the Zyban, I suddenly hated smokes. They tasted terrible!! I smoked a couple of cigs in the AM, a couple before bed, and chewed the gum all day. After a week of this, I finally ran out of smokes, and just chewed the gum. It's been 16 months, and I haven't had a cigarette since.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Firts of all, don't use any aids like patches or gum. All you're doing with those is changing the delivery system and retaining the addiction. Go cold turkey all the way.

The physical cravings are at their worst on about the third or fourth day. If you just nut it out. I believe that successfully quitting or not really boils down to just willing yourself to endure that very worst part - that 72 hours or so of wall climbing hell. Once you get past that it's pretty much down hill. It's not over but it's managable.

Some of how I got through the shittiest part was eating a lot. I know they tell you not to do that but I decided I'd rather be fat that be a smoker. I was really skinny when I smoked and after I quit I gained about 50 pounds over the next several months. I made hughe bowls of popcorn and just munched and munched and munched. I also drank a ton of liquids.

Do NOT drink alcohol. If you are a smoker then I don't need to tell you what alcohol does both in terms of craving and lowering will power.

Keep your eye on the ball. I can guarantee you that it WILL get better. Keep reminding yourself that the hell is temporary. It won't last forever. The cravings WILL subside. The first time you realize that you went a whole day without thinking about a smoke will come before you know it.

I used one other bit on mental juijitsu that helped me. I promised myself that if I made it an entire year without smoking that I would reward myself with a single cigarette on the anniversary. For some reason it helped me to think that I would still get one more cigarette before I died.

Of course when the year came around, I had absolutely no more desire for it but it did help get through the worst time.

Good luck, man. And don't let anyone tell you not to eat. It's worth a few pounds to kill that fucking monkey, believe me.

[squeegee]

Oops, "Wellbutrin".

[pokey]

I would have said the patch. It worked for me. Plus a lot of mental game. I think a lot about how bad smokers smell to me when I'm not smoking and how I feel like I have some kind of unfair advantage because I know all about their dirty little habit while my dirty little habits stay private thanks to the fact that they don't produce a lingering odor (most of the time!)

The other thing is that deep down, you really do know that smoking isn't that great. When you're craving, you can fantasize that it will be the ultimate scratch to that deep itch, but you know when you do it it's just going to be one more headache. The first time I quit and started again it was such a letdown. I never forget that starting again is not like starting the first time was.

The final thing I think about is that I don't want to be some old hag with a cigarette dangling out of her mouth. Maybe if I could be 22 again it would work for me but I'm 33 and I don't want to be Selma/Patty. I want to be Marge!

[squeegee]

Originally Posted by Diogenes the Cynic

Firts of all, don't use any aids like patches or gum. All you're doing with those is changing the delivery system and retaining the addiction. Go cold turkey all the way.

There are quite a few people that advocate cold turkey, and the NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) is flawed. I don't know who's right, but I'll note that gum and patches won't kill you, and cigarettes will. If you come out the other end addicted to gum or patches, you have an expensive habit (probably as expensive as smokes) but one that doesn't stink, make you an outcast, and all the other disadvantages of cigs. This doesn't make it a 'good' addiction, just (overwhelmingly) 'less bad'

[Fritz]

Originally Posted by Diogenes the Cynic

Firts of all, don't use any aids like patches or gum. All you're doing with those is changing the delivery system and retaining the addiction. Go cold turkey all the way.

I'll have to go ahead and disagree with you on this, DtC. It seems to me that the addiction is made of two components, one physical, the other psycological. YMMV, but I find it helpful to defeat each component separately - get used to not lighting up, not having a pack/lighter in your pocket, etc., then a week or two later, start on the physical addiction by weening away from the nicotine by reducing dosage.

I know that cold turkey is the best way for some, but that seems brutal to me.

Again, YMMV, but this worked for me the last time I quit...

_{(...quit for two years - then I started again. I am an idiot)}

[pokey]

Originally Posted by squeegee

There are quite a few people that advocate cold turkey, and the NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) is flawed. I don't know who's right, but I'll note that gum and patches won't kill you, and cigarettes will.

Getting off the patch wasn't that easy for me but I guess the thing is that there wasn't that impulse to run and throw 6 patches on and just enjoy some relief from the withdrawl. The idea doesn't come to your mind because you don't get your patch nicotine in a "hit" so you don't feel a direct connection. With withdrawl from cigarettes, it makes sense to think of the cigarette as an end to the misery. After 6 weeks of fiddling with patches, I didn't associate the withdrawl with cigarettes. I just felt like I was sort of sick and crybabyish. But by then I hadn't smoked in a while and I didn't feel in any way that my withdrawl symptoms could be cured by a sweet sweet cigarette. Logically I knew that stepping up a higher patch would probably help, but there's no feeling compelled to run to the drugstore and do it.

[Sampiro]

What I would love to do- I'm coming into a little bit of money soon and I've never been to Europe. I want to open a savings account with perhaps $500 or so that's explicitly a "Send Jon* to England Fund" and each day count out the $3.00 that I would spend on cigarettes and put it aside to add to this fund. At the end of a year I would have enough for this and it would be an "eye on the prize" sort of thing- I'd rather go to England than to light up.

I do know from when I quit before that you do not really notice the money you're saving- it just gets reabsorbed into day-to-day expenses- but if I made a conscious choice and could actually pick it up and do the whole "rolling around nekkid INDECENT EXPOSURE thing" with it that might help.

Stephen King, who quit drinking (alcoholic), cocaine and other narcotics says that cigarettes were the hardest to quit and the only drug he still misses.


*My name when it's not Sampiro

[Fritz]

One thing that helped me the last time I quit was being able to run. This really flushed out the crap pretty quickly.
Can you engage in intense aerobic exercise?

It worries me that I'm not nearly as fit as I was before, and I haven't yet done any serious exercise, but I know I'm gonna need to.

[Fugazi]

I went the Wellbutrin route also. I was only on it for 2 weeks though, had to quit the Wellbutrin for other reasons. By then, I'd been off the smokes for a week.

To this day, I don't know if it helped. On the one hand, the cravings seemed just as bad. On the other hand, I did manage to quit. Maybe that was psychological though, thinking "I've been taking this stuff for a week, time to quit".

I am now 3 days short of 9 months, if I can do it, anyone can.

[LouisB]

I used the patch for three weeks (IIRC) and then went cold turkey. I remembered a recovering alcoholic once telling me that he quit drinking ten minutes at a time---he would tell himself he was going to wait ten minutes and then have a drink. When the ten minutes was up, he would busy himself with some task and postpone the drink for another ten and so on. I did that with smoking and it worked although it was very hard. But, it got less and less dificult as time went by and now, nine years later, I think it was worth it. I was 55 when I stopped and 14 when I started so I had a deeply ingrained habit. It is very easy to convince yourself that you CAN'T stop, but your self-esteem takes a big boost when you DO stop and you CAN stop. I am sure pulling for you as is every reformed smoker on the SDMB.

[jackelope]

I tried Zyban back in about 2001; it had no noticeable effect.

When I finally quit, I just did it cold turkey. I promised myself ahead of time that I wouldn't go around bitching about the cravings, and I reminded myself that plenty of other people have quit before, and so on.

Also here's a rather strange mental trick that helped me: I tell myself that cigarettes are not actually addictive; the evil tobacco industry has in fact been funding all the studies that say it's addictive, in order to get people to believe that they can't quit.

Don't want to be a sap to the tobacco industry, do you? Don't believe the hype! Fight the Power! 911 is a JOKE! (OK, that last one isn't really applicable.)

Anyway, I know it's probably not true, but getting into that tough, paranoid mindset helps me externalize the cravings a bit, if that makes sense.

Stick with it.

[villa]

6 years (one month & 26 days) out of a 1.5 to 3 pack a day (depending on whether I went out or not) habit. I quit with the patch, so I am sorry that does not work for you. While I agree with the not drinking aspect, I did not avoid bars. I was such a bar fly at the time, I knew I had to test pretty much immediately if I could sit in a bar and still not smoke, so I spent 1/1/1999 sat in my local watching football.

A good friend of mine quit a 2 pack a day, 20 year habit overnight with hypnosis. I think it only worked for him because he wanted it to work so badly, but he has not smoked since (and that is about 15 years ago).

Good luck with it.

[Sampiro]

I think I'm going to try Fritz's suggestion of applying a new patch every 12 hours; while expensive, at the rate cigarettes are rising in price it's not that much moreso than cigarettes. (I don't want to go cold turkey in part because of the extra-eating- I really didn't gain weight when I quit before but I feel if I go cold I'll definitely put on the poundage and I'm already 50 pounds heavier than I should be.)

Thanks Fritz (and to all others for encouragement).

On the subject of patches- I don't remember them being as prone to falling off the last time I used them, but I have a major problem with them slipping off during the day. (I wonder if it's the fact that they're transparent now whereas before they were beige.) Any suggestions as to where to put them? (I've been wearing them on my forearms and upper arms, but I'm thinking of shaving my legs [since it's not shorts weather yet] and wearing them there; my understanding is that pretty much anyplace is fine though they shouldn't be worn on the chest or stomach.)

[Fritz]

Clean skin, upper arm next to shoulder, make sure you hold the patch in place for 10 seconds with your hand flat against the patch. I haven't had any problem with patches falling off or loosening up.

[Fritz]

I'm going to try Cecil's advice by keeping myself as non-acidic as I can. I've been sipping on bicarbonate of soda throughout the day. It tastes nasty and it's a load of sodium (Tums would probably be better), but it's cheap.

It also kills the heartburn that I'm getting from eating too much...

[Essured]

I do not believe that there is "one true way" that will work for everyone. Different methods and mentalities work for different people.

That said, you sound like you're in the right place mentally, but haven't found a method that works for you. Before going on to the more expensive methods, may I suggest the method that worked for me? Read this: Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking. It may not work for you, but you can probably get it from the library, so it's a cheap method.

Good luck!

[Lynn Bodoni]

Originally Posted by Sampiro

What I would love to do- I'm coming into a little bit of money soon and I've never been to Europe. I want to open a savings account with perhaps $500 or so that's explicitly a "Send Jon* to England Fund" and each day count out the $3.00 that I would spend on cigarettes and put it aside to add to this fund. At the end of a year I would have enough for this and it would be an "eye on the prize" sort of thing- I'd rather go to England than to light up.

I do know from when I quit before that you do not really notice the money you're saving- it just gets reabsorbed into day-to-day expenses- but if I made a conscious choice and could actually pick it up and do the whole "rolling around nekkid INDECENT EXPOSURE thing" with it that might help.

Stephen King, who quit drinking (alcoholic), cocaine and other narcotics says that cigarettes were the hardest to quit and the only drug he still misses.


*My name when it's not Sampiro

My husband tried to quit several times before he actually managed it. He used the "step down" patch, but stayed on the strong patch longer than he was supposed to. He chewed a lot of gum. And every day, he'd put three or four single dollar bills into a special container. They had to be singles, and he didn't want to swap out singles for fives or tens or twenties. Every now and then he'd iron a batch of them, count them, bundle them, and put them in his underwear drawer. I thought that this was rather odd, but it seemed to help him, so I wasn't going to mention it. I took care to be extra supportive and sweet to him (usually I'm cranky and not at all supportive), even though he was bitchy. It's been two or three years now, he still hangs out with smokers (his whole family smokes) and he doesn't smoke at all. He's happy about not having to make sure he has cigarettes all the time.

Good luck to all those trying to kick this habit.

[Qwisp]

Above all else I hate being a smoker,but I am frightened to death of quitting. I tried to quit a couple times in my life and both times I believe I was a hazard to my kids and husband. The closest I came to quitting was when I had hip surgery 5 or so years ago. I was with out a cigarette for 4 days. There I was in the hospital pacing back and forth between my bed and the bathroom, barely able to walk.I was using a walker, was up for 72 straight hours in incredible pain from my hip,on Vicodin, and all I could think about was how a cigarette would calm me down and let me sleep. The doctor wanted to keep me for an extra day, but I was determined to go home.I streched my endurence by proving I could "pass" the physical therepy by using stairs and generally getting around. When I was finally discharged from the hospital it was nine at night by this time I kept telling myself I'd gone this long without a smoke I'd be stupid to have one. Needless to say I got about 10 miles (home was 30 miles away)before my resolve cracked and I said FUCK IT and I lit up. I went home and slept like a baby.

_{My first doctors appotment after surgery the nurse said "We could have given you the patch" Duh ..........It was plainly stated in the doctors records I was a smoker. I plainly told the nurses in the hospital I couldn't sleep I was going thru withdrawels. After I get out of the hospital you tell me I could've had the patch???}

[MaddyStrut]

What helped me was to take a vacation to start my quitting rather than to reward myself at the end.

Patches worked okay for the physical addiction. They didn't totally alleviate it, but they did make it bearable. However, the habit of smoking was really difficult for me to overcome. It was near impossible to skip that "come home from work, have a cup of coffee and relax" cigarette or the "surf the Web and smoke" cigarette. I just couldn't break out of my smoke-filled routine. Plus, I was really worried about getting into trouble at work for that first bitchy week of quitting.

I decided the only way I could realistically quit was to get away. That way I could change my environment and routine and also avoid being around co workers when I turned into a raving, nic-craving bitch. So I decided to take a smoke free vacation. I chose a horseback riding vacation since it would be full of activity (most of it physical) that would keep me occupied and not be all that conducive to smoking.

It worked really well for me. I didn't see that ashtray sitting on my coffee table begging to be used at the end of a hard day. I didn't have to worry as much about offending anyone with my quick temper since I'd never see them again (okay, I worried about it a bit--but not like I would if I'd snapped at a co worker).

Another that helped me was to not eat a lot while I was quitting--or at least not a lot at any one meal. I loved--loved--that after dinner cigarette. It's the best one of the day! For some reason, resisting a cigarette on a totally full stomach was totally impossible for me. So I had really small meals and snacked more during the day. I didn't want to be hungry (that led to cigarettes as well), just never totally full.

[detop]

I am in the process of stopping myself, I just finished my first week. Although I wasn't a huge smoker (100 g a week), I miss my cigarettes dearly. There are several times a day when I find myself wishing for one (especially in the morning). The patch works for me for now but I'm wondering if it will work later on.

[Cerri]

I just bought Alan Carr's Easy Way To Quit Smoking this week. Going to read it this coming week. We'll see. I'll let you know how it goes.

[calm kiwi]

Originally Posted by Diogenes the Cynic

Some of how I got through the shittiest part was eating a lot. I know they tell you not to do that but I decided I'd rather be fat that be a smoker. I was really skinny when I smoked and after I quit I gained about 50 pounds over the next several months. I made hughe bowls of popcorn and just munched and munched and munched. I also drank a ton of liquids.

Good luck, man. And don't let anyone tell you not to eat. It's worth a few pounds to kill that fucking monkey, believe me.

I have ZERO willpower when it comes to smoking. Cigs are my lil crutch through life. Ok it is a crutch that may/will kill me but dying is something I will do one day anyway.

Dio's post is what scares me though. I was a FAT teenager and evolved into a sometimes-slim-sometimes-have a few-pounds-to-lose but not fat adult. I really would rather keep smoking then hate myself for fatness. I don't question anyone else, I just know how much I hated myself when I was really over weight. Somewhere down the line I "decided" to be a smelly social pariah instead.

I'm a heavy smoker and I would love to kick it (well I would love it in theory). I laugh at US prices of $3 a day, a pkt here is at least double that (more actually)and I'm a pkt a day type. I just can never see myself quitting. I am prepared to stand on the footpath when it is pissing with rain. I am prepared to be eternally broke because I smoke my money. I am prepared to be unwelcome in more and more places. I am prepared to get the Emphysemia that kiled my grandmother and will do away with my dad.

I feel withdrawl if I have only 2 cigs left. I am pathetic and a slave to the cigarette.

I am sorry that this was NO help but I wish I could have spoken to you as a former smoker...........it just ain't gonna happen.

[don't ask]

I used How To Stop Smoking And Stay Stopped by Gillian Riley. I bought it remaindered for $1 and had it round for years before I used it. She recommends the opposite of most quitting methods - carry around cigarettes, hang with smokers, don't change your other habits, don't tell people you are quitting, don't use patches or other aids.

Her philosophy is thatthe reason you smoke and the reason you have cravings is that you get a buzz out of smoking. Therefore it is stupid to expect cravings to just go away, you have to learn to deal with them. This involves a little "mantra":

I am really craving a cigarette.
I could have one if I wanted (you have a packet on you)
But if I have one I will be smoking again
And for the following reasons....blah blah...I have chosen to not smoke.
So I won't have one now.

I followed her plan and it was almost fun. I went from 30 a day for about 30 years to dead stopped. I carried cigarettes for 6 to 8 weeks, still went out with the smokers for cigarette breaks at work, kept drinking and going out with people. I would sit outside with a packet of cigarettes and an ashtray. Sometimes I would take a cigarette out of the packet and play with it to stimulate a craving (part of the process) and because of all these things no one knew I had quit for over a month. I even lost weight during giving up. If you can find the book and absorb the psychology it is far more wholesome and empowering than any other methods I have seen.

[AuntiePam]

Originally Posted by Essured

I do not believe that there is "one true way" that will work for everyone. Different methods and mentalities work for different people.

That said, you sound like you're in the right place mentally, but haven't found a method that works for you. Before going on to the more expensive methods, may I suggest the method that worked for me? Read this: Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking. It may not work for you, but you can probably get it from the library, so it's a cheap method.

Good luck!

Definitely -- it's different for everyone.

I quit for three years after reading the Carr book. It felt like nothing short of a miracle. No withdrawal pangs, just a wonderful feeling of freedom. I started smoking again last June, out of boredom more than anything else. I'm thinking of reading the book again but I'm afraid it won't work a second time.

I quit for ten years after several sessions with a hypnotist. No withdrawal pangs that time either.

The plan now is to (I hope) get a full-time job so I don't have so much spare time, and then get a prescription for Wellbutrin.

I won't even consider cold turkey. As people have said, it's brutal, it feels like punishment, and if you thinking of quitting as punishment, the attempt would be hopeless.

[GaWd]

Well, I'm in the same boat, folks. I've now been smoking for 11 years(I'm 28 now), and I need to quit. If I don't, not only will I die, but my wife will fucking kill me, too!

I quit about 2 years ago with my brother. I used the lozenge and got to where I rarely, if ever needed a 'bump'. THen slowly but surely smokes creeped back into my life one at a time until I was smoking again. I hide my smoking from my wife like a creep, and it really bugs me(note: I know she knows I'm smoking-I'm not as slick as I fancy myself).

For the last 6 months or so, I could get through the day with some form of Nicotine replacement and only need one or two smokes a day to satisfy my heroin-addict-like need for a smoke. But not now. I've been stressed out and I haven't had the energy to fight my addiction.

I really feel like a loser at times. It's hard to let yourself and your family down repeatedly like this.

Sam

[Caffeine.addict]

I quit back in 2000. I had quit for a few months in 1999 but quickly relapsed one night when I went out for beers with friends. By the end of the night I had bought a pack and was chain smoking.

For the second sucessful try, I had a few things going for me, I had moved to a new place where I only had non-smoking friends, I had set up a routine where I only smoked outside, which by December when I quit made it quite unpleasant, and I had it planned so I would be alone and not at work for about 4 days after my quit date. I set a date on the calender about 5 days before I did it. For the last evening, I gave myself a full pack to smoke. I did this so I would eventually puke from it. I wanted my last smoking experience to be absolutely vile and disgusting, and it was. My last cigarette was outside on a cold drizzly night and ended with me puking into the bushes before walking up the stairs to my third floor apartment. It was lovely. For my three day shut in period, I had plenty of rice cakes, jerky and other things to snack on. I agree with Diogenes, the first three days are the absolute worst, if you can get through those, it will be OK. I found that I had to stop drinking for a few months to make sure I didn't slip.

Sampiro, you did it before and you can do it again. Just remember, you can't go back to having one every so often. If you slip up, it will be OK, don't go back to smoking.

[Soul Brother Number Two]

Exactly, Sampiro. You did it once and you can do it again. It's about mental game, as someone said. All the pieces are in place, because you cannot quit unless you REALLY want to, and you really want to. Four or five days and you're past it, or using the patch the way you're supposed to will take a while longer, but it all boils down to not picking up the first one. One puff and you're back; it doesn't matter how long you've quit. My mom started smoking again after 8 years. Me, it's been 19 years. And I still get a jones once in a while. But I ride it out and it goes away.

You can do it, man. Step up to the plate and be ready to feel like shit for a week or so. And stay out of bars for a while. I'm rooting for you.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Yeah, nicotine really hooks you thru the bag. At least it did for me. I gave up morphine, alcohol, and marijuana, and thought that was tough. Giving up nicotine was harder. I am clean and sober for over 14 and a half years, but it took 7 years off the other drugs before I gave up nicotine. And it took a heart attack to give up the nicotine.

Nicotine replacements are a great crutch, but they're not perfect. That's because tobacco delivers so many chemicals in combination with the nicotine that it's effect on the mood and physiology is much different than nicotine alone.

So, do what I did! Pharmaceutical treatment! I had IV nitroglycerine in the ER and hospital, along with a cardiac cath and stenting, and after that I have not yet had any nicotine in any form! Just wait for the crushing chest pain, the inability to breath, and stare down that long dark tunnel into the light! Then say goodbye to nicotine!

Just make sure someone's dialed 911 and is ready to start CPR!

[Cisco]

My experience has been pretty different from most of you.

I quit cold turkey on December 20th, 2004 after being a smoker for 13 years and never trying to quit before and my worst cravings within the first couple weeks of January.

I have found that eating helps, and I've been eating a lot more, but I've been excersizing a lot more too so my weight hasn't changed. I've also found that drinking helps, as long as I'm not around other smokers. It takes my mind off of it.

The absolute, hands-down hardest thing though - and it's still hard now - is watching someone else smoke a cigarette and not asking them for one. I can sit at by myself or be with my (non-smoking) girlfriend or other non-smokers for days or weeks at a time without even thinking about a cigarette, but as soon as I'm around a couple of smokers it feels like someone is torquing my soul with a monkey-wrench.

If you can beat that part (which I still haven't beaten), you're golden.

[Cisco]

I've got to quit using quick reply. That post was begging to be proof-read.

[nitroglycerine]

I really don't have anything useful to add to this thread, except to say that I'm on my 15th day of quitting. I'm on Wellbutrin and the patch, and so far I've been coping surprisingly well.

I'm a hardcore smoker. I LOVE to smoke. I love the taste, the instant stress relief you get when you take that first hit after a hard days work, the ritual of waking up with a smoke and a cup of coffee.....BUT I'm almost 40 and I have a 2 year old and a 3 week old, and I don't really want to die any younger than I have to so I quit. I know it's a cliche, but If I can quit, ANYBODY can. There's still a lot of times when I really REALLY want a smoke. I really want one right now, but so far, I've been holding firm.

I have to say, I'm proud of myself. I have no willpower whatsoever and yet I'm actually doing it. Yay me

[Khadaji]

I am struggling with giving up something too. I just want to encourage you to keep trying. If you fail this time, maybe you'll succeed next time. Keep trying!

[Lamar Mundane]

Originally Posted by nitroglycerine

I really don't have anything useful to add to this thread, except to say that I'm on my 15th day of quitting. I'm on Wellbutrin and the patch, and so far I've been coping surprisingly well.

I'm a hardcore smoker. I LOVE to smoke. I love the taste, the instant stress relief you get when you take that first hit after a hard days work, the ritual of waking up with a smoke and a cup of coffee.....BUT I'm almost 40 and I have a 2 year old and a 3 week old, and I don't really want to die any younger than I have to so I quit. I know it's a cliche, but If I can quit, ANYBODY can. There's still a lot of times when I really REALLY want a smoke. I really want one right now, but so far, I've been holding firm.

I have to say, I'm proud of myself. I have no willpower whatsoever and yet I'm actually doing it. Yay me

Do you think being in QtM's arm helped you?

I had IV nitroglycerine in the ER and hospital,

[stretch]

I quit in January 1999, along with mr.stretch. We both used Zyban/Wellbutrin and mr.stretch also used the patch.

I smoked for around 20 years; it was hard to quit. We got the Zyban, used it as directed, set our quit date on a Tuesday (no way was I quitting on a Monday!), and quit. I back slid after about 5 days and had 5 smokes; I haven't smoked since. I had a pretty bad hand-to-mouth habit, so I ate Tootsie-Pops for about six months while I was in bed reading which was one of those times when I always smoked.

Driving was my big smoking trigger and even now, sometimes I'll be next to someone at a stop light and s/he'll be smoking and it's all I can do not to jump out of my car and bum a smoke.

I've had one beer since I quit smoking--and beer must have smokes so no more of that for me. I also tried drinking mixed drinks while out with friends, but after a couple of drinks I started craving the smokes so I've given up drinking entirely. I kinda miss tequila.

I still consider myself a smoker who is not smoking right now. I know if I have just one cigarette, I'll be smoking again so I don't have that one cig. The smell can still start a craving in me--I loved to smoke and I still miss it.

[Kansas Beekeeper]

Wellbutrin (Zyban) helped me a lot also. In fact, I doubt I could have quit without it.

If you try it, note that it is available as a generic at a reasonable price.

[Mgcklmoon]

It has been 3 years that I have been smoke free and it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I started when I was 15 years old and quit when I was 33yrs old.
Well, I was able to quit for 6 months or so using the patch, but then I got stressed and arrogant thinking I had control. That idea was and will always be a bunch of bull for me.
When I finally got serious about quitting, I tried the patch again. For some reason the second time around caused allergic reaction. My skin broke out like it had an acid burn every place I tried a patch. Needless to say, that was out. So I tried the gum - well, my throat started to close up and get tight the first 10-15 second of chewing. But I was not going to give up. So I tried Wellbutrin. Heh. three days after taking it, horrible itchy hives broke out all over me. Needless to say, Wellbutrin was not an option either. I was pretty much down to cold turkey.
So, cold turkey it was. But I did time it to right before I got my gallbladder removed. Due to previous surgery scar tissue they had to get it out by cutting me open, so I should have been stuck in the hosp. a few days. 24 hours before surgery, no smokes. Removed them from the house entirely and put up/threw away ashtrays. Of course I was not a happy camper, but I dealt with it.
After the surgery, the doctor ticked me off so bad (another rant for another time) that I was out of the hospital 1 day after the surgery. The only thing that got me past the next few weeks was judicious use of pain pills. Pain from the surgery - not really... not that much at least. But pain from the craving? Oh without a doubt. Every time my body went to the "you NEED nicotine!!!!" stage, I popped a pill. Went to happy land for a few hours. Long enough for my body to reboot and decide that I would survive without the nicotine. I did that for a few days, then it started edging back more and more and needing the bliss time less.
By the time the pain pills ran out, I was actually ok. Still crave them now and again but would I? Ah, hell no! Actually even though I still crave them now and again, the smoke now make me sick to my stomach (as a visit to a non smoking pub proved to me in many dry heaves)
Now, would I recomend using one addictive substance to control another to anyone? No. But I am saying that is what worked for me. I really think it was more the mental need for a cruth than anything else.

[Mgcklmoon]

I really think it was more the mental need for a cruth than anything else.

crutch

[danceswithcats]

I must be lucky, because I was able to give it up cold turkey. Before those who have met me holler foul, I'll admit that when I hang out with people who are smoking (and drinking) I enjoy a butt or two. Quitting completely wasn't easy, but I'm glad I did. Fortunately, I can snag a butt or two when I'm at a party and don't have the craving afterwards.

[Fritz]

Originally Posted by stretch

I had a pretty bad hand-to-mouth habit, so I ate Tootsie-Pops for about six months while I was in bed reading which was one of those times when I always smoked.

Yes, lots of Tootsie-Pops...lots and lots of Tootsie-Pops.

_{Except for the watermelon kind...they're evil...}

[groo]

433 days, 10 hours without a smoke.

Repeating various others' statements:

• Keep trying; one of those times you'll get so pissed at yourself for failing that the next time you quit you'll be successful.
• There are many ways to quit; at least one of them will work for you. I advocate all of them, but the thing that worked for me this time was a (not recommended) combination of the patch and the gum. The patch kept me at a baseline where I could get through most of the day, but I needed to keep a few pieces of gum handy for when I started crawling out of my skin. I was so scared that I might fall off the wagon that I stayed on the intermediate patch for several months.
• (I'm hoping) the thing that will keep me from starting again is that I can never say I'm an ex-smoker or a non-smoker. Complacency or arrogance has nailed me in the past, so I'm still a smoker, but I haven't had a cigarette in 433 days.

[Kansas Beekeeper]

Originally Posted by danceswithcats

. Fortunately, I can snag a butt or two when I'm at a party and don't have the craving afterwards.

I can't do that. I've quit several times. Each time I started again, it was with the thought, "I'll just smoke one. I can handle it." I can't.

[buns3000]

Originally Posted by Essured

Read this: Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking.

Seconded. Worked a treat for me nearly 6 years ago and haven't had one since. No desire to smoke either - reading the book takes that away.

My grandma quit after about 60 years following just 2 trips to a hypnotist. Btw, after the first session, she said she came out and thought "what bullshit" and lit up a smoke straight away. I'd say you'd have to give hypnotism a whirl before all the crutches - patches, gum, etc. YMMV, of course.

[Merkwurdigliebe]

Here's my quitting experience:

I basically quit semi-cold turkey. The important thing is to smoke nothing for three days at least. Then you should be out of the woods as far as the intense physical need. But then there are always the psychological problems.

I don't think it would be a stretch to say that a lot of us use cigarettes as a way to relax. Its nice after a nice meal and makes you feel really good. You are really relaxed and its a nice thing. But after you quit you'll always want that, as far as I know. Sure, it gets better. But one thing I found that actually helped was actually smoking a cigarette after the physical effects went away. I would focus on how they made me sick and tasted bad and basically ruined the experience for me. I know the only way to be able to acchieve that relaxation would be to go through the process of becoming addicted again, which wouldn't be fun because it isn't fun to smoke when you aren't addicted.

But still, its hard to replace something for that after-dinner urge

[Hoops]

I'll just throw out this idea as one which I am contemplating (though I have not tried it yet): headstands. Yes, headstands.

For me, cigarettes are entwined in taking time out from whatever I am doing to go out and get a little rush. I figure that, every time I feel the urge for a cigarette, I could go out to my smoking place and instead do a headstand for thirty seconds or so. I get my break, get a little rush (which is entirely dissimilar to the nicotine rush, but is a rush nonetheless), and as a bonus get some exercise and a potential conversation starter if I am brave enough to do it in public.

This might only be effective if you do not smoke indoors--I'm in California, where smoking indoors is verboten most places, including where I live, so the physical changing of locations is a big component.

Like I said, I haven't yet put this into practice, but I hope to soon, and maybe other folks could try it for themselves.