WoooHooo! Good for you and good luck!
Great, I have now signed up.
I’ve also looked at buns3000’s link and I’ll make a trip to B&N or something to pick it up.
I started taking vitamins today, I’m going for a hair cut tomorrow, and I’ve signed myself up for a Pilates class. None of this has much to do with smoking (or not), but I’m at a point in my life now where health is more important to me than it used to be and I think that changing other areas of my life will help me kick this habit.
Many thanks again for the support and continued good luck to everyone!
I made it until 4:30 today without smoking, and then I just forgot and lit one up. :smack: :smack:
HA! Quitnet says to replace activities that I associate with smoking; if I smoke after eating, I should brush my teeth right away or take a walk, etc. But I smoke more right here, in front of my computer, than I do anywhere else. Other than that, it’s a pretty good site. I haven’t involved myself in the forums just yet and I’m not sure I ever will, but it has good information and stuff.
My official quit date is tomorrow night at 10pm CDT. I think (and this isn’t an excuse, I swear) my problem was I didn’t wait long enough after starting Zyban. So tomorrow all my ashtrays will have a new home. I’ve decided to keep my lighter for candles and stuff, but “out of sight, out of mind”.
I will quit smoking. We all will.
No offense intended, but—why do you have cigarettes around in the first place? The temptation would be too much for me.
For some reason, not having any will make me want one. I don’t understand it, but if I have a pack, I can do without smoking one. As soon as I don’t have any, I want one RIGHT NOW.
A previous time that I quit, I once had a horrible urge to smoke one. I went to the store, bought a pack, put them in my pocket, and they stayed there for 2 weeks untouched. Don’t ask me to explain it, I can’t.
Drugs in hand! The funny thing is that the doc told me not to just quit right away…let the drugs do their thing…and they will, so don’t sweat it. Ooookay…guess he knows what he’s talking about right? I’m all over it.
Unrelated to that, the good news is that after completing a sleep study, I don’t have sleep apnea…the bad news is that I just can’t freakin’ sleep! :smack:
What kind of drugs, Faruiza? With bupropion (Wellbutrin/Zyban), it’s recommended you use the drug for at least one week, sometimes two. I waited about 5 days before attempting to discontinue smoking.
It’s important to remember to finish the entire prescription even if you feel “okay”. I happen to have 2 refills before 2005. I don’t know if this means I have to use them, or if they’re there in case I fail. As I near the end of my first bottle, I’ll have another appointment with my doctor at which time I’ll ask.
Good luck to you.
Whoops, I forgot to address your sleeping thing. When I started taking Zyban, I was also on a ten day Ambien run. When I asked about drug interactions, my pharmacist informed me that Zyban can cause insomnia so, if you’re having sleeping problems anyway… 
Be sure to take your first pill ASAP in the AM because after three days, when you begin taking two pills a day, you’ll want to have 8 hours between doses and you’ll want to take your last dose at about 4 or 5 o’clock in the evening. I’m told by doing this, it will have less of an effect on your sleeping.
However, I am not a doctor and you should always check with your physician if you have any questions.
Again, good luck to you (and everyone).
Thank you, Silver Fire! You’re absolutely right. The doc gave me some pills for sleeping, although at the moment I can’t recall what they are called…I’ll have to look when I get home. Starts with a T and ends in a pam. I took one last night, and it didn’t do a damn bit of good. Gah! I was awake a bunch of times!
Anyhow, it IS Wellbutrin that I got, and he did tell me about the exacerbating the insomnia thing. I’m ready.
Keep trying!!! I quit 7 or 8 years ago. I think it is a good sign that I’m losing track. I had made several attempts and what finally did it for me was I was SICK of continuing this habit.
I was SICK of the expense.
I was SICK of smelling bad.
I was SICK of being ashamed.
I was SICK of being weak in my resolve.
I was SICK of not being able to breathe (forget a good yawn in the morning!)
I was SICK of having the support from my friends and not being able to succeed
I was OVER it. When I quit, I did it cold turkey and didn’t tell anyone for a week. I felt it was MY battle and that I was the only one that could focus on this demon that had a hold of me! BTW–I’m not religious, but it FELT like a demon!
Keys to my success were/are:
–Expect cravings. Go through them. They will pass. . .quicker than you think. Even now, I get a craving every once in awhile. It’s just bizarre. . .WHERE did THAT come from :eek:
–When you get a craving, go do something. Take a walk or do something that requires some physical exertion.
–Reward yourself. . .not necessarily with food. A fragrant bouquet of flowers is nice. Figure out what works for you.
–Don’t have a cigarette. . .NOT EVEN ONE!!! The brain is a trickster. If you satisfy it’s craving for nicotine, you set yourself back at the beginning. . .the brain got what it wanted. Don’t give in. . .be in charge!
Also, be aware of a couple of days in your initial smoke-free period. Day 3 tends to offer strong physical cravings. . .your body is letting go of the last of the nicotine and it doesn’t want to. On about Day 10, you will go through another tough day because your psychological self is beginning to let go of the habit and it’s making a “last grab” to get the habit back.
I also experienced a couple of dreams in the first month where I thought I had smoked. I woke up sweating and very afraid that I had slipped. The good thing was that even in my dreams, I referred to myself as a non-smoker. In one of the dreams, I was actually yelling at someone that I DON"T SMOKE!!!
I can’t offer any cite on this, but I read somewhere once that MOST people who successfully quit, do it cold turkey. I remember a figure of like 80-90%–it was something very significant.
Good luck. It’s the hardest thing I ever did. I am also the most proud of it. So, hang in there–you can do it!!
I quit over a year ago.
I used Zyban and Nicorette. I didn’t really make a hard decision to quit, I just decided to try and see if I could. I was really skeptical that the Zyban would work. So I took the Zyban, and after a little less than 3 weeks, I was smoking and… the flavor had changed. It was awful! I suddenly couldn’t stand cigarettes.
For another week, I would have a smoke or two in the morning (“bleah” was my reaction each time), then chew the gum all day, and have a smoke after dinner before bed (“bleah”). One morning (9/11 of last year, just by coincidence), I ran out of cigarettes. I never had another.
Now if I can just quit the gum. :smack:
A warning on the Zyban: I took it for about 4 weeks after quitting. I was afraid I’d want to smoke again if I stopped taking it too soon. Well, it made me go from sleepless to mania, then to outright panic attacks. I had to wean myself off of Zyban quickly with the use of some anti anxiety meds. I can’t thank Zyban enough for helping me quit, but those side effects are nasty, and I wish someone had told me about them.
Do to a promise I made to my 2 nagging daughters (whose Elementary School pumps them with the type of propaganda Goebbels would be proud of), my last cigarette will be midnight 10/4/2004.
Fact is, I don’t wanna quit - I enjoy it too much. I’ve yet to experience any of the negative affects attributed to tobacco and feel just about as passionate as smoking as Virginia Postrel did (does).
I’m gonna rely solely on willpower - and when the urge is really strong, I’ll use the mayonnaise jar method.
Hopefully, once I remove cigarettes from my daily life, I can become a social smoker like my brother and mom (+/- 1 pack a month) and enjoy the occasional Camel Crema or Twist.
Due I know how to spell do? I guess not - I must be rattled already
You’re welcome. 
Triazapam? You should know (and I’m surprised you weren’t informed) that when you begin to use a sleeping aide, it generally won’t work right away. I started trazodone and it didn’t really help much until the 3rd or 4th night, so don’t give up hope yet. Take your medication right before you go to bed, and GO TO BED. When I used Ambien (a nonbenzodiazapine that isn’t used more than 7-10 days) I would take it about 30 minutes before I planned on sleeping and wait for it to “kick in”. This usually took place in front of the computer and it never helped. So just go to bed.
Good luck with all that, sleeping problems are a total bitch.
Again, I’m not a doctor and none of this is meant to substitute real medical advice. It’s just what I know from stuff I’ve researched in my quest for the perfect night’s sleep. And, damn it, I’ll get it someday.
John, I wish you good luck and hope you succeed.
I’m picking up the book (linked to by buns3000 on page one) tomorrow. My plan is to use it, hopefully quit (it’s a miracle, apparently) and then pass it on to my mom. She will then read it, quit, and pass it on to someone else. And so on until everyone I know and love is smoke free. So we’ll see how that goes. I will report back after I’ve read the book to tell you all what I think.
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
I still have those, over a year and a half after quitting. I’m always so relieved to wake up and realise it was just a dream. I think these dreams actually help me, because my reaction reminds me of how I will feel if I ever do slip. This is important because after a few months off cigarettes you will start to forget why you quit in the first place.
Good luck, but please don’t expect a miracle. The book does not work for everyone.
No worries. I’m actually taking a very realistic approach to this whole thing. I know I might fail, but I realize that there are a lot of options I can try if some don’t work. I have to say I’m quite confident that Zyban will help; I quit four years ago with a prescription of Wellbutrin. The book is just one more thing to help me out, along with QUITPLAN, Extra spearmint gum, Pilates, etc. Thanks for the luck.
True enough. I know a couple of people who kept right on smoking after reading it (including my sister). I also know of a few heavy smokers who I’ve put on to the book who read it and quit (and I hafta say that makes me feel pretty good ).
Re the smoking dreams, I am still having these (though with decreasing frequency) some 5 years on! Always the same and always depressing - dream kicks in and I’m already halfway through the cigarette and devastated that I’m smoking again.
Once again, best of luck to **Silver Fire ** and everyone quitting.
I’ve tried to quit about 17 times in the past few months, some of the attempts lasting only hours. I tossed them out again tonight.
Gonna try again and keep checking in here… maybe the support of you guys and the missus (who is trying to quit, as well) will be a big help.