I smoked about a pack a day for over 13 years. Tomorrow will make two smoke-free weeks for me.
And frankly, it sucks. I don’t feel any better and I am still craving like mad. It seems that this would be a little bit easier if:
a.) My lungs felt any better than they did when I was smoking (they don’t)
or
b.) I was feeling any healthier at all. (I’m not).
Someone please tell me this gets easier.
Jan will make two years smoke free for me. Let me give you the low down on the craving part of it.
After one month (with no cheating) the hardest part is over. By this I meaan the actual cravings.
After two months you will still have occasional cravings but they will be waaayyyy less than the ones you’re having now.
The third month can be a trap so beware this is when alot of people start to miss the psychological part of smoking. This is where you convince yourself that you can be an occasional smoker. NOT TRUE DON’T FALL FOR IT
The rest is all downhill from there.
Some things that can help:
1)accept the fact that your life is going to suck for the next month or so.
2) Avoid social gatherings where there is going to be smoking. You don’t need the temptation.
3)stay away from nicotine products such as gum or patches. The sooner you get the nicotine out of your body the sooner the cravings will stop.
Good luck buddy I hope you make it.
p.s. I smoked for 17 years and it took a good year before my lungs felt normal again.
I’ve been free for 2 years and 1 month now. Probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I will NEVER go back though. Now that my chest doesn’t feel like a brick wall when I walk uphill. I can keep up with my kid without passing out.
I still crave occasionally. I really loved to smoke, cigarettes, cigars, cloves… What I’ve found helps me the most is to do something else when the cravings hit. If I’m talking with a girlfriend at the kitchen table, I ask if she’d like to move outside. If I’m watching TV, I get up and do the dishes. Just the change is enough to take my mind off it.
Just don’t have that first cigarette. It always leads to the next. Good luck!
i quit cold turkey after a pack a day for about 7 years.
first month
I can taste snapple again
second month
i can run after (and catch) the bus
third month
“i cant believe i ever smoked”
Good luck, first month is the roughest.
Yes, you will feel better. (I celebrated 1 year Sept 9, after 26 years of 2 packs a day, and I feel fantastic.)
You have to change how you think about it, though.
This book saved and changed my life both. I suggest you get it right away. It’s only $7 and it will help you.
stoid
From listening to people relate their experiences with this, it seems to me that it’s a pretty individual thing. So all I can tell you is my individual experience.
Keep in mind that I smoked for 20 years, and was up to 2.5 packs, with occasional gusts to 3 packs, a day when I quit. That was 14 years ago.
I was manic for about 2 to 3 days, by that I mean I wanted to hurt somebody, a lot. Of course I didn’t, but that wouldn’t have been a good time to piss me off at all.
I think it took about 2 weeks for the nicotine to completely leave my system, and about 6 months before I noticed my lungs starting to clear out and my breath starting to come back.
The cravings, while pretty mild after the first 6 months or so, lasted for about 7 years though.
Again, I stress, YMMV. In fact, your mileage almost certainly will vary.
Remember, you can never let your guard down, ever. But it’s also the absolute best thing you will ever do for yourself, and for your loved ones.
Good luck mouthbreather, and hang in there. We’re pulling for ya’.
I smoked more than a pack a day for 10 years. During some spots, it was more than two packs a day.
I quit cold turkey about a year ago. No cutting down, no patches, etc. I don’t remember how I felt at the time. I don’t remember having cravings. I don’t seem to feel any differently in an every-day sort of way…
However, I used to have a heart-palpitation problem, which has not recurred in the last year. I also used to wake up in the middle of the night suffering from something akin to an asthma attack (that a glass of water would always clear up) that I have not experienced since I quit. I guess YMMV.
From a third to a full pack a day here, sometimes more, for 17 years.
I got tired of
So I quit.
That was 5 years ago. I had really intense dreams about smoking that lasted until about a year ago. It wasn’t easy but it’s SO nice now to be completely away from it.
One note though… if you’re like me you’ll really dislike being around smokers after you’ve quit. If I’m in a smokey room now my eyes will just scream. Even the smell of stale smoke on an elevator left over from someone returning from a break I think absolutely stinks to high heaven.
Weenies.
One year, four months, ten days ten hours and twenty nine minutes.
I don’t feel different.
I stand around people who smoke and breathe deeply.
I’d kill for one sometimes, but it’s, like, illegal.
Former 2 pack a day smoker here… and not those baby US packs, either. I’m talking “Alberta 25 cig packs” baby.
I quit cold turkey after about 7-8 years of smoking. I haven’t had a cigarette in about 3 years (although I did have a cigar or 2. Does that count? ) Best thing I ever did. I quit because I noticed I was “coughing” (actually, a hack) in the morning for no reason.
I’d say after a couple weeks I was starting to “feel” better. A month or so and I could run without running out of breath after 100 feet. Tastes improved quite shortly too, like about 2 weeks but it was subtle. If there was a spicy dish that you enjoyed when you smoked, try it now. I bet you’d taste a difference now. Spicy things especially.
Congrats. The first 2 weeks are the toughest. Thats not to say you can’t relapse, but just remember the worst parts are behind you.
Advice: Watch it when you drink. That is about the only time I still have an urge. When the night is over I am pretty relieved that I haven’t.
5 years now for me, and I still get the occasional urge but it’s easily suppressed. The urges usually come when I am on the computer or drinking coffee… or driving… walking… working… (sigh). I also have “smoking dreams” where I wake up feeling guilty. I am also ashamed to say that I sometimes daydream scenarios where I’m justified for smoking… “There’s a huge asteroid heading towards Earth? Well, a smoke’s not going to kill me now!! whip out my trusty zippo and a Players Plain”
Fricking addiction…
Quitting is the best thing I ever did for myself. I used to gobble these potent (think “Buckleys in a lozenge”) cough drops called “Fisherman’s Friend” to easy my poor throat from the abuse I put it through on an hourly basis, but now I can’t finish just one! It’s too damn strong!
Don’t give up! It gets easier, and you will notice little things that make it all worthwhile.
I used to smoke two packs a day; gave it up about two years ago (BTW I disagree with SHAKES about the patches - I never could have done it without them).
Anyway, you will start feeling better, but it will happen gradually, so it’s easy to not notice. You’ll definitely find yourself clearing your throat less. You will also find your food tastes more interesting than it used to, and things generally smell better than you remember.
It would be a good idea to get some Febreeze (or similar product) and use it to get the smoke smell out of your furniture, curtains, car etc.
I smoked at least a pack a day (Reds) for about 15 years. I quit four years ago, and I still don’t notice a difference in taste or lung capacity, although I don’t crave them anymore.
Here’s something that might offer some hope, though. About a year after I quit, I was sitting at a stop light and smelled something awful. I looked over, and three cars away was a dude smoking a cig. Smelled really, really bad. I never realized how crappy those things smelled, nor how far away one could smell them.
Knowing I don’t smell like crap (at least from smokes :D) makes me feel better.
Good luck, dude - they aint gone go easy like. Ya gots to evict them forcefully.
My name is Ruby I smoked over a pack a day for over 15 years and I’ve been smoke free for over 10 years.
[sub]Hi Ruby![/sub]
Seriously, freshmeat is on the mark. Smoking STINKS! However, I still crave a smoke now and then, especially when I’m in a bar drinking. The cravings are not so bad that I can’t tolerate them, though.
“Feeling better” also was a sloooooowwww process. I thought I would be “all better” in a few weeks, months, then years… The change was so gradual that I didn’t notice until after the fact.
Good luck mouthbreather. I know I’ll never smoke again and I’m proud of it.
I quite over 3 years ago and admit to still having some pretty strong cravings once in a while. Do I feel better? You better believe I feel better! After quitting, I really had no excuse not to eat better and excercise. Did I gain weight? Yes, at first. But now I am in much better shape than I was before. I actually run 3 times a week!
The bottom line is; it took awhile to feel better, it won’t happen over night.
BTW, when I miss smoking, I just look at the burn holes I have on my car seat and it makes me feel better!
Ex-smoker for 6 months, 3 weeks, 13 hours, 17 minutes checking in.
Cravings were unbearable for the first 3 or 4 days. They were horrible for the first month. I frequently wondered how long they would last and how long I could hold out. The thought of resetting my quit meter and struggling through the first 4 days again stopped me from relenting. The second month I craved cigarettes all the time, but I could stand those cravings. By about the fourth month, I would occasionally realise with a shock that I hadn’t had cravings all day, or that I actually wasn’t craving cigarettes. Six months in, sometimes I forget that I used to smoke, sometimes I nearly forget that I’ve quit. I still haven’t given into temptation because the memory of the first few weeks quitting is still strong in my mind. I couldn’t do that twice. However, I still sometimes dream that I’m smoking and that confuses me.
My quit meter says I’ve saved over $1,300 in the last six months. Considering the financial struggles I’ve had in that time, I find myself wondering what I would have gone without in order to buy cigarettes. I suspect that if I was still smoking, I would not have had so many meals.
It’s been 2 years and 3 months for me. The first month is the worst. Each month it gets easier. The wheeze and coughing went away after about 2 months. Stick with it! It WILL be worth it.
I felt better immediately – really. Maybe it was all in my head, but hey, that’s okay.
I quit on June 24, after reading the Carr book recommended by Stoid. There’s been no pain or cravings, just a feeling of relief that I don’t have to smoke anymore.
I’m 55, and I smoked at least a pack a day for 40 years, except for a period of about 8 years in my 40’s when I quit after hypnosis. Started up again in 1992 and smoked very steadily until last June. I have mild COPD and emphysema, but even though I’ll never have full lung capacity again, at least I won’t get worse.
It’s really been easy. And there’s been stress – my mom died in August – other stuff too, but I haven’t even been tempted to light up. She spent the last three years of her life connected to an oxygen tank – maybe that helped me. She was really glad to know that I had quit, and I’m glad I did it before she died.
The coolest part is not having to worry about when and if I can smoke. Especially with winter coming.
Just a bump, and some thoughts, on the off chance anyone gives a rats ass.
For starters, Thanks to everyone who wished me luck.
I am still smoke free, and this past week has been much easier than was the first two. I’ve even been out drinking twice and didn’t cheat. Tonight will be 3 weeks. I feel pretty good about it. I played in my softball league on Tuesday night and I did notice a difference in my lung capacity, so that is at least encouraging.
I picked up the book that was Recommended by Stoid and AuntiePam. While I appreciate the recommendation and I am not at all angry I got it, I must say that I find it to be somewhat an insult to my intelligence. Some of it is good, but it seems like the author thinks that it doesn’t matter what his point is, if he just repeats it enough times that you will accept it as truth. (I must admit I am only about 1/2way through the book, so there maybe things I haven’t seen yet.) but two things kind of jump out at me. 1.) no matter what that man says, smoking was pleasurable. I know it is bad for me, and all that, but I enjoyed smoking. He keeps trying to tell me that I didn’t. I don’t buy it. And he just repeats repeats repeats himself and puts A LOT OF UNNECESSARY BOLDING AND CAPS. Not horrible, but mildly annoying.
Those of you who found the book good/effective, what did you like about it?
Good luck to you Mouthbreather. I stopped smoking 15 years ago and I still crave it. Playing cards or drinking are the worst times. But, non-smokers do eventually end up becoming more critical of other smokers I have found. My husband still smokes and he irratates the heck out of me sometimes. After awhile, you don’t understand how smokers can’t smell the smoke on themselves and see that they have stained fingers etc. It won’t take you long at all to see a marked improvement in your health. Maybe your sinuses will clear up too and than you won’t have to be a mouthbreather 