Yeah, I know. Three days. But it’s just another step down. I spent five weeks on the strongest patch, three on the middle, and two on the weakest, and each time the first two or three days were toughest, and involved much being craftier than my brain. One of the things that has helped me is the knowledge that I do not want to start again permanently. If I start smoking again, I will just want to quit again, and - frankly - quitting is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’ve no interest in repeating this process.
Congratulations. Now, when you hit 3 months, count up all the money you’ve saved and spend half of it on something for yourself. Repeat at 6 months and a year.
Congrats, man. I’d like to quit at some point, but it’s something that both myself and MindWife have to decide to do together, because one half of a smoking couple quitting just doesn’t work. Being weak of will, I hope that I can, but I’m almost certainly going to have to have help – either the gum, or a patch, or something. How easy was it breaking the habit (not the addiction) of smoking? You know, the unconscious action of reaching for a smoke? I have a feeling that that’s going to be just as tough to break as the addiction itself.
That is great Frank. Keep it up, I quit a long time ago, but it was easy, I was a light smoker of only a few years and I quit during boot camp.
I have seen my brother try and fail to quit a dozen times. The nicotine withdrawal is harsh and tough. It is extremely hard to quit and it is great you succeeded.
My father has had multiple heart attacks and still won’t even try to quit. His only concession was to cut back.
Again, more power to you. This is a great accomplishment!
That’s the point of using the patch. (Or gum, or whatever.) I found the patch to be helpful in that I had some nicotine in me, and was not totally desperate. I found that touching the patch when I wanted a cigarette helped remind me of why I was not smoking. It was not a magic bullet by any means, but it helped.
That said, everybody has something different that will work for them, and you won’t know until you try what works for you. So start trying! I failed a hundred times, and finally succeeded.
Great news, man. Cigarettes shot my family tree full of holes, so I had plenty of incentive to steer clear of that particular vice growing up. I have plenty of respect for anyone who smoked as long as you did and is able to quit.
Congrats! I’m at 7 months - I used Chantix to help me quit, and it worked far better than I expected it to. I still have moments that hit me seemingly out of the blue, but more and more often I think that smoking smells stinky rather than like something I want. Good luck on the next few days!
Way to go! And keep it up. Like you said, everyone has different things that work for them. For me, I just did it cold turkey. I woke up one morning and was out of cigarettes. I just decided that I would not go to the store and buy any more. I am an alcoholic as well, so I had to stop drinking at the same time because as everyone knows smoking and drinking go together so well.
It wasn’t easy, but I found that keeping myself busy really helped. I got more work done in the first week of quitting than I usually do in several months. Both at work and at home. Seriously, you should have seen it - it was crazy.
And TokyoPlayer, it looks like you and I quit drinking on almost the same day. Yeah!
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I failed a hundred times, and finally succeeded.