I quit one month ago today and I am rather proud of myself. I smoked two packs a day for twelve years which is neither as much nor as long as a lot of people but I still feel it is an accomplishment.
Cold turkey was the way to go for me because I hadn’t planned on quitting. I woke up one morning and decided that I was sick of being to weak-willed to quit, shredded my remaining few cigarettes and bought some mints.
It is going much better than I had expected. The first couple days were a little strange. My head was completely in the clouds; so much so that I was walking to the store, got halfway there and couldn’t remember where I was going. When I finally got there, I walked around for a little while then turned around and went home because I couldn’t remember what I needed.
My weight has dropped since I quit. I started walking between three and five miles a day two days after my quit date and whenever I really wanted a cigarette, I would do a lap around the block. It feels good to walk that much and not be ready to die.
So, how long for you and how did you go about quitting? Is it going better or worse than you expected? Tell me about your experience and when you are done, give yourself a big congratulatory pat on the back. Your lungs (and not to mention your wallet) thank you.
Just about 65 minutes now, I see a relapse coming in 40 more.
Seriously though, I’ve been considering quitting but just haven’t convinced myself that I really want to. The excercise thing isn’t a factor, I already walk about 4-5 miles a day (half mile on each break,about 1-1.5 miles on my lunch and 2 miles home from work). Money isn’t a real issue for me though it will be if the new cigarette tax goes in here in CA.
Shade over two years, I think. Gained weight, was really edgy for a couple days, used the gum when I couldn’t stand it anymore. I don’t think I have (or will) ever get over wanting a smoke - I enjoyed smoking! I didn’t enjoy the morning hack-fest or the price. It took a couple months for the wheezing and hacking to go away and my sense of smell to return.
It wasn’t as hard as the first time, which lasted several years before I picked it up again in England.
I also enjoyed the act of smoking and that is what I miss. The taste did nothing for me but the feeling and the motion of smoking were good. My sense of smell is beginning to return at least in regards to other smokers. When a customer comes in, I can tell if they are a smoker by the smell. Before I quit, I wouldn’t have noticed.
Side note…I just realized that the first part of your user name is Bobo, not Bob.
Just over 3 years, starting May 6, 2003. No measurable weight gain. And no significant cravings in all that time, either. Every now and again, I’ve been tempted, but it has always been easy to brush it aside and forget about it. There were many, many false starts in the years prior; you really have to have the right mindset to make it work. If you’re not ready to quit, you almost certainly WILL fail.
And I’ll be damned but I still miss it sometimes. Particularly on a crisp fall morning standing on the porch with a cup of hot coffee…damn, that was the best.
I quit for about 3 or 4 months once a couple of years ago. To do so, I had to quit drinking. This involved ostracizing myself from my beer loving, bar going group of friends. I also started working out with a vengence and lost about 40 lbs.
I am now a drinking, overweight smoker. Man smoking sucks.
My only advice is once you quit, don’t start again. Don’t have that one cigarette at a bar or when you go out. It’s not nearly as harmless as it seems at the time. It is so much easier to stay quit that it is to start all over from scratch.
It CAN be done. Congratulations, I hope to join your ranks soon.
Almost 5 years ago. I quit cold turkey too, and it sucked. That’s good though, I won’t start again just because I never want to go through the hell that was quitting again. Plus now in Michigan cigarettes are like $5.35 a pack and my pack a day habit would cost some serious money.
It gets easier. I don’t like being around smokers now because the smell bothers me, but it doesn’t make me want to smoke. I have had one or two cigarettes since I quit, thinking it would be the best thing ever and that I would enjoy the cig like I used to, but instead it was nasty and tasted like ass. So I know now that the old feeling of a great cigarette isn’t going to happen unless I get addicted again. So there’s really no incentive for me to smoke anymore.
I gained a few pounds over time but that could have been due to lots of other factors too. Now I have lost it all and then some more. I am in the best physical condition of my life right now. Plus my allergies and sinus problems have all but disappeared. Lots fewer colds too.
According to my Q-gadget, 427 days, 13 hours, 22 minutes and 48 seconds.
I smoked almost a pack a day for 6 years, less than that for 4-5 years before that.
I’ve tried to quit many, many times. I went cold turkey, and for me what gave me the strength to carry through this time was allowing myself to fail. So many people think that if they screw up and have a smoke, then all their hard work is for nothing. It’s not. Just admit you screwed up, and when you finish that cigarette, you are a non-smoker again and back to quitting. The important thing is not to break the momentum. Every day, pat yourself on the back for what you’ve accomplished, and if you make a mistake it’s not the end of the world. You can still choose to quit again right afterward. Just keep making that choice to quit, every minute, every day.
One year as of yesterday. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I did. I used the patch for the full 6 weeks and joined Quitnet. I had weird dreams when I kept the patch on all night, but after a couple weeks I’d take it off before going to bed. With cold turkey, the nicotine is out of your system faster, but you have to deal with quitting the physical and chemical addictions at the same time. I still get the occasional craving, but it goes away pretty quickly.
SilkQuit meter:
Three years, two weeks, four days, 16 hours, 37 minutes and 40 seconds. 27867 cigarettes not smoked, saving $3,971.09. Life saved: 13 weeks, 5 days, 18 hours, 15 minutes.
I quit cold turkey, too. I was going into a sleep study for my sleep apnea, and would be “locked up” for 12 hours in the hospital, so I decided that would be my quit day. I smoked up until 6:59 pm and gave my cigs to a guy in the smoking area.
The next day, I was so tired (from being bothered during the study) that I ended up sleeping almost 16 hours. Then I was on the third day, and it wasn’t so bad any more. I didn’t go out drinking for about a month, to prevent any “accidents.”
I’ve had a few cigarettes over the three years, but only when drinking, and they taste like ass. They also give me a hell of a hangover! I haven’t had even one cig for over a year now, since last year’s vacation. I don’t miss it very often, and it smells nasty when I smell smoke on another person.
Congratulations on your quit!
(Oh yeah, I gained about 45 pounds, but I’m working on that, and have lost 20. The weight gain could also be attributed to Depo Provera, which I started about that time also. )
Heh – had to launch my Silkquit “Smober Meter” when I saw this thread. It reads. . .
Four years, two months, two days, 10 hours, 49 minutes and 57 seconds. 22881 cigarettes not smoked, saving $4,004.31. Life saved: 11 weeks, 2 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes.
Amazing.
What got me over the edginess and the hand-to-mouth habit in the first few months was always carrying around a bottle of water with a sport top, so I’d have to suck the water out much like taking a drag off a cigarette.
Also really important is to remind yourself from time to time to BREATHE, as in take long, slow, deep breaths in, hold it for a few seconds, then slowly release, just like you would if you were smoking. That’s actually the part of smoking that “relaxes” you when you’re stressed, seeing as how nicotine is actually a stimulant and would otherwise have exactly the opposite effect. To this day, I still enjoy taking long, slow, deep breaths, but would never even consider putting another poison stick in my mouth.
and gave my cigs to a guy in the smoking area.