Any other people trying to quit smoking out there?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
81

Kudos to all you quitters! Yay for you! Such inspiration you are giving me. I’m looking at you, specifically, Ultraviolet, niblet_head, velvetjones, GomiBoy, Hal Briston, This Year’s Model, CynicalGabe, and Marlitharn. Did I forget any fresh quitters? Everyone still smober? I hope, I hope!

Went to the doc today. He practically did backflips when I told him I was ready. He’s been my doc for years and has been waiting for this day. Got my prescription for Wellbutrin (150 mg). I start with one/day for the first week. Then bump it up to two/day at week 2. At the start of week 3, I stop smoking. So, my Quit Date is now officially 3-Feb. I’m kind of excited. Weird. It’s like I’m looking forward to that date right now. :eek:

Preliminary plans for the next two weeks:

  1. Clean out my basement (my at-home smoking haven) and remove all evidence of smoking by the end of Week 1. Start spraying to rid of the smell. Week Two: no smoking in my house.

1b. Same goes for my car. This will considerably reduce my habit and get me started on changing my expectation for a cigarette while sitting at my desk or driving. If I force myself to go outside or pull over, I won’t be smoking as much.

  1. Start keeping a journal of my daily smoking habit. Lessen it by 1 each day. That should get me to around nil by Quit Date. I’m reopening my blog-city blog for this purpose.

  2. Hi Opal! Sorry, I’ve never done that and I don’t really have a three. Can anyone help me out?

  3. Oh yeah, I’m buying Allen Carr’s book tomorrow at B&N (thanks buns3000!). Although I find it difficult to believe a book is going to change my life. Hey, I’m game, though. Will start reading it tomorrow night after work, while I’m not sitting at my desk smoking. Might have to take a smoke break, though… :wink:

I’m trying not to be too hard on myself. I’ve done the cold turkey thing before, but I’m just not up to it this time. I don’t need the added stress right now. It’s really a crucial time in my career for me not to be a complete PITA at work. There’s a lot already on my plate. But I really do want to do this and I’m feeling more ready than ever before, so I’m gearing myself up for it. It’s scary (sad, I know), but I feel like my cigarettes have been my best friend for all these years, and now I’m leaving them because it’s the right thing to do. Because I need to. For my kids. For my husband. For me. It’s gonna be a good thing, once it stops feeling like a bad thing.

Oh, and another thing, NorwegianBlue is already calculating how much money we’re going to save when he stops buying me cartons every week. Lots! Might have to start socking that away for awhile and buy myself a smoke-free vacation in Hawaii.

Thanks for all the support and recommendations. Keep it coming. I’m watching this thread religiously. And not too many threads get my undivided attention for long!

82

Well, I’m NOT quiting but good luck to all that are trying. I’ve read that if when you want a smoke you should stop and take VERY DEEP LONG breaths for a few minutes. When I couldn’t find my pack or was at work this worked well for me(goes with the theory that part of what you want is more oxygen/relax/something to fixate on).
I’ve been smoking for 8 years…1 carton every 2 or 2-1/2 days, but then, I only pay $4 per carton(not pack, carton). Good Luck, try the breathing thing.

83

I stopped smoking (cigars, well cigarillos, really) nearly two weeks ago as a result of reading this thread and looking at Allen’s website. Have smoked for more than 20 years.

84

Two weeks and three days and still no smoking! I’ve been chewing a lot of gum and doing a lot of knitting (I have a scarf that’s roughly 6 feet long and growing; but besides the fact that it’s keeping my hands busy, I can’t remember how to bind off an edge). I figure I’m going to save somewhere between 700-800 dollars a year not smoking. If I make it a whole year I’m going to take at least part of that 700 dollars and buy a real professional sparkly belly-dance costume!
Cinnamon Girl, best of luck to you! Keep your mind on that Hawaiian vacation (why not use your first year’s savings to reward yourself?), and just think how yummy those tropical coconutty drinks are going to taste when your tastebuds are no longer dulled by cigarettes.

85

Okay, in the interest of full disclosure…

I did just today smoke just one of those cigarettes in the pack I bought the other day. (Christ. What sentence structure. Lemme try again.)

You know how I bought a pack the other day but then didn’t want any when I got home?

Well, I didn’t throw them away. And then this afternoon I gave in to the NicoDemon and had one (outside in the cold).

Man, it made me feel really, really sick. Like upchucking sick. And that feeling didn’t go away for a good hour (and some saltine crackers later).

Interesting. Last time I quit cold turkey and got to the three week mark, a cigarette was like heaven to me. Huh. But this time, not so much! Very effective reinforcement, and I haven’t had a craving for the rest of the day. Plus I tossed the pack and then tossed some coffee grounds in on top of it.

Also, I’m taking 2400 mg of Omega-3 and B-Complex, and I think that’s made a big difference. Really helps with mood and clears the mind.
**
2W

4D

8h

56m

Cigarettes not smoked**: 183

86

Wrigleys Doublemint gum and carrot sticks are some things that help. If you are very careful, and know a herbalist you can trust- Lobelia tea has worked wonders. Warning- the stuff can be dangerous. Make sure you read up on it, and consult someone who knows what they are talking about- some non-chain natural food & vitamin stores sometimes have a dude who knows his/her stuff.

If you absolutely can’t quit- then try going to cigars, then a pipe. SafeR and easier to quit. Remember to not inhale.

87

Heh, when I first quit I kept that last pack in my pocket for a couple of weeks. Even though I was “quitting”, I just needed to know that I had some cigarettes close - just in case!

…

Here’s a question - for all of you following this thread: what made you first admit to yourself you were really addicted?

For me, I denied it for a long time - what got me to admit it was the fact that, lazy as I generally am, if I didn’t have smokes on a week-end I’d get up early, as soon as the stores were open, just to buy some - rather than sleeping in. That was very unusual behaviour for me …

I really knew I had quit, when I finally threw that last pack away.

88

2w 2d 07:12 smoke-free, 328 cigs not smoked, £82.00 saved, 1d 03:20 life saved

Convert that to dollars from pounds, and you get almost $160 saved. Smokes are very expensive over here.

I knew I was addicted when I did the same thing as Malthus. That and the lengths I would go to the night before, walking far out of my way home to a shop I knew was open or taking a cab to a petrol station, to ensure I had that first cigarette in the morning.

But the only thing I can say I don’t like about being a non-smoker is the nasty-ass chest infection I am only just now getting over.

89

Cinnamon Girl Good luck. It’s great that you have a plan. Really my husband and I had decided that we’d quit back around Thanksgiving and just knew that the holidays would make it difficult so we decided on the New Year’s resolution thing. Planning ahead really helped me prepare mentally.

niblet_head Good that you threw them out. Too much temptation after you smoked one. I always ran water over mine so I wouldn’t smoke them. So much $$ down the drain.
In the incentive department my company is giving $5 per pay period to anyone who quits Jan 1 2005 and stays quit through open enrollment 2006. The $5 comes in the form of a discount on our health insurance.

And my mom said that she’d match what I’d saved not smoking for three months and put that toward plane tickets to CA where my sister just moved.

I love it when people give me money for taking care of myself. :smiley:

90

bump

4w 1d 01:28 smoke-free, 581 cigs not smoked, £145.25 saved, 2d 00:25 life saved

91

Everybody’s got their own trick. Ultimately it boils down to your personality and what works for you. Here’s what worked for me:

I didn’t characterize smoking as an awful, evil thing that would taint my entire existence. I simply characterized it as a behavior that I intended to stop doing, and gave myself permission to have a cigarette if I ever really felt like I absolutely had to have one. I quit cold turkey and the permission turned out never to be needed. I did use nicotine gum for a month.

Very infrequently, perhaps once every 2 or 3 months, I’ll have a social cigarette. But since I didn’t buy into the “cigarettes are evil” mentality, it doesn’t act as a “gateway drug” and I don’t pick up a habit again.

Bottom line - cigarettes are nothing but an enjoyable vice that shouldn’t be a habit, although I’ll allow myself once in a while if I desire it. If I feel too much of a need for cigs, then I’ll go back into habit breaking mode and stop.

92

Oh yeah… one more trick… I saved up a bunch of butts and put them in a plastic bag with a little water. Whenever I got a craving, I took a nice deep smell of disgusting soggy cigarette butts, and believe me, it killed the craving and reminded me of why I didn’t want to smoke.

93

OK, 4 weeks 2 days for me.

I have pulled in to the convenience store twice with the intention of purchasing a pack but ended up just driving through the parking lot both times. Just came to my senses at the last minute I guess.

Now, I only ever get the urge to smoke if I’m drinking.

94

That method worked for me with alcohol. I didn’t quit drinking forever, I just keep putting off having the next drink. By now it’s been so long that the off-putting is automatic.

95

It’s been a month! I went down to the level 2 patch a couple of days ago, and aside from some randomized bitchiness (one of my trainees at work threatened to stuff me under the floorboards) it’s been okay. I’ve been kind of tense but I haven’t really wanted a smoke. On an impulse I took a drag off my best friend’s cigarette the other night, and dear Lord I thought I was gonna die. Once the coughingchokinglightheadednessracingpulse died down (this was all from one single drag, mind you), I thought to myself, “Damn. I think I’m cured.”

And my sense of taste is coming back. I’ve been drinking Pepsi One for years and I’ve just realized it tastes like ass. On the plus side, I’ve re-discovered the joys of iced tea, so I purchased a Monster Mug capable of holding about a quart of the divine stuff; that should get me through the night at work.

How’s everyone else doing?

96

And would you believe it? Someone back a way posted the opinion that we smoke because we enjoy it. It’s been 66 years ago now, but as I recall, it was quite an effort to learn to “enjoy” inhaling.

97

4w 2d 04:18 smoke-free, 605 cigs not smoked, £151.25 saved, 2d 02:25 life saved

Doing pretty well. I have had no major cravings, the minor ones are going away, and I am REALLY looking forward to tomorrow night. That’s when I am officially off this stupid detox I embarked on. The only ‘good’ thing I am keeping from the detox is no more cigarettes; I am done with those nasty fuckers.

I can’t wait to drink coffee again, especially not smoking. I used to looove the taste of coffee, and look forward to that first proper coffee with the full flavour.

That and Red wine too! I am so excited for that.

Tomorrow night is gonna rock!

:slight_smile:

98

Today is my 10th day smoke-free. This thread was my inspiration. I found Allen Carr’s book very helpful. I’m still having pretty bad cravings though.

99

Well, since I started this thread, I guess I should weigh in. My quitting has been very on and off. I’ve cheated quite a few times, but, being the eternal optimist, I’m back off the smokes. I don’t know why I am finding it so difficult to quit this time. I was only a casual smoker, but it seemed as soon as I decided I was going to quit for good, I couldn’t stop smoking!

100

Woot! One month quit!

Your Quit Date is: 1/3/2005
Time Smoke-Free: 31 days, 15 hours, 1 minute and 53 seconds
Cigarettes NOT smoked: 791
Lifetime Saved: 6 days, 1 hour
Money Saved: $213.13

On top of that, a bunch of us went to a bar on Friday. Now, my first time at a bar has been the downfall of every quitting attempt I’ve ever made. Smooth sailing this time. :smiley:

Keep it up, everyone!