I just hit the three day mark!
I’m so proud of myself. It’s been thirteen years since I went to bed without a last smoke, had my first smoke the next morning with my coffee, smoked one after dinner…
And I did it cold turkey. No money helps though.
Anyway…I’m a happy girl.
Not to be a jerk, just in my best attempt to try and help you, I hope this comes off in a good vein.
As a long time smoker, and a many time quiter, my advise is to not be too proud of your self on not smoking. If you have truly given up. and will never touch the things again my most heart felt congradulations to you. But if you are like me, feeling too proud of your self leads to the downfall as is the saying goes. You will be tempting to smoke again, and you very likely will smoke agian. The problem lies in the next morning. If you have convinced yourself you had completely given it up and realized you had smoked, it is a crushing feelling and you feel really week and pathetic, and it is easy to get in the habit of smoking again because you feel depressed about failing. But if you know you are just someone **trying[\b] to quit, then it is easier to wake up the next day and know that the couple of smokes you may have had are a setback, but you really intend to quit.
I don’t know if that makes sence, but good luck on your quest to give it up, and keep it in perspective, cause it isn’t easy.
On the other hand, it actually may turn out to be easy. Or easier than you might think.
I recently did the same thing – just quit cold turkey. I was ready to do it, and I had steeled my resolve. And after the first week, I really was pretty fine with it. The cravings had reduced to twinges, which were easy to ignore, and I felt strong and empowered. I knew I was through with it, for good. Haven’t smoked a cigarette since May 1. Almost five months. Yay me!
So, Rushgeekgirl, you may already have gotten through the toughest part. Now I would recommend that you start thinking of the benefits you’re getting, rather than what you’re missing.
Your breath and hair and clothes smell fresh.
Food tastes better.
You are a person with strong resolve, and therefore a better person.
You are healthier.
You will have more money to spend on other things.
This last one was a real incentive for me. Instead of smoking, I’ve been putting the money aside. Five dollars a day adds up to quite a tidy sum in just a month or so. Try it. When you get a craving, or are tempted to buy a pack, think of the secret stash you’ve tucked into an envelope at the bottom of your underwear drawer, and tell yourself you’d rather be a happy miser and keep saving your mad money for something totally selfish and indulgent. It’s fun!
And congratulations.
I quit last week. I was sicker than a dog with a nasty cold/flu and found it hard enough to breathe without smoking, so I said the hell with it and threw out my smokes and ashtrays. This is the third or fourth time that I’ve quit. Each time that I’ve back slid its been because of stress. So far I’ve not noticed a big difference in my personality or anything else. (Heck, people hardly even notice that I’ve quit smoking!)
In any case, good luck to ya, RGG!
Keep going!
For me it’ll be 8 months this Tuesday… best thing I ever did.
Yay us!
Way to go! I quit in March of '99 and am so glad I did! You’ll soon realize that people who smoke literally stink and can delight in the fact that you no longer did.
My party pooper contribution – make sure you don’t fulfill any oral needs you may have by eating too much – I gained a bunch of weight that I still haven’t taken off. Chew on a pen or something – it sounds stupid, but I really am an oral type, and I think that’s a big help.
Congrats!
I wonder what happened to those folks who quit on the SDMB Smokeout in August.
That thread kinda just vanished.
It will be 3 months smokefree for me this time around on Oct. 1st. I cheated once when I went out partying, so I don’t really party anymore, but that’s OK.
I smoked for about 3 or 4 years. Granted it’s not a long time, but hey, it’s an addiction, right?
I stopped cold turkey. Christmas Eve 1999. Got a really bad breathing/hacking/coughing problem and got sick. Swore off smoking right then and there. I can’t say I haven’t smoked since then, but I can count on my right hand how many cigarettes I’ve had since then. The psychology of it was the toughest. My body wasn’t all that addicted, and I assume it was the brand I was smoking. Toughest part was not lighting up in the truck on the way somewhere.
Thanks for the replies!
It’s been four days and twenty six minutes now, and I DO feel better.
The oddest thing is my desire for water. I have never liked water, but I’ve been guzzling it all day long quite happily.
I have not had a single really strong craving today, which is amazing to me. I have thought about smoking a few times, but I just check in on my silkquit monitor and smile.
I have been snacking a bit, but with no money I don’t have much to choose from. There’s cheerios and belly button lint.
Guess I’ll have some more cheerios…
Hey there Rushgeekgirl. First, congrats on the quitting thing. I quit back in March for the bazillionth time and I think this time it’s finally going to stick. You’ll still get cravings, I still do and I haven’t smoked in 6 months, they they get less and less strong. I found quitting this time to be quite easy in fact. It seemed once I made up my mind I was really going to quit, that’s all I needed. I didn’t even put on weight this time like I did last time.
One thing you’re likely to notice (at least it was something I noticed) was that there is suddenly a little extra cash at the end of the month that I didn’t used to have before. It was just something I never thought of, but turned out to be a nice bonus.
Anyway stick with it and keep drinking that water as I understand it helps flush the nicotine out of your system.
I have been 10 years and 5 months smoke free. I still have cravings once in a while. But don’t worry, each day is another day cleaner, another day further from the addiction.
Congratulations, and keep drinking lots of water.
(it helped me)
You go Rushgeekgirl! Congratulations and keep up the good work!!!
Congratulations, good for you!
I quit recently and it is still a concious decision almost everyday to not bum a cigarette or a drag or a carton. It’s hard, but so much better in the long run. So, here’s to future health! Proud of ya.
I started smoking when I was 14 and I’d been smoking 3 packs a day (no, that’s not a typo) for over 8 years when I quit cold turkey. I had a really bad cold, too, and my mom was in the hospital with severe bronchitis. I realized at that moment that I was literally killing myself, and I quit.
It will have been 16 years this Christmas. I’m not well-known for my strength of will, so if I could do it, anyone can. Good luck!
WHOO HOO!
Five days, 1 hour, 9 minutes, 38 seconds!
I made it through the day without a craving. Late last night I went through a rough patch, but with no smokes in the house and no transportation I couldn’t do anything about it anyway. It’s not really a craving, it’s more like a reach. I wanna reach over and grab the pack. So I peek at my silkquit monitor and take a few deep breaths.
I’m still chugging the water. I had a glass of tea with dinner and it seemed waaay too sweet, so I guess my taste buds are waking up.
Thanks for all the support. It helps.
I quit in August–the 27th. I’ll admit I’ve smoked since then. The weekends are/were the hardest for me. It doesn’t bother me not to smoke during the week, but there is something about Saturday morning coffee and smokes. I truly believe quitting is a process, not an event. Hard to describe, but it’s not as if you say “I quit” and it’s over and you never think about it again. That’s why I still consider that I’ve quit even though I’ve had a few. I’m doing the patch. I know I’ve gained some weight, but since my heart no longer hurts I think I can start exercising. By the by, I was a pack a day smoker for 26 years.
Okay, I’m almost at six days now!
I’m doing great. I even threw away my last three cigarettes I had hidden away in case I faltered. Ahhh…
But I’m a bit worried about tomorrow. I’m going to be spending the day with my best girl friend, better known as Chain Smoking Woman.
I’m hoping to be completely disgusted. I won’t say anything though, because I REFUSE to be one of those people.
I had jelly bellies today, and they were yummy! I think I’m gonna be okay.
Tark and I both quit around a month ago…couldn’t afford to smoke AND have other luxuries in the house, like, say, food.
I still get cravings, but I sorta shrug them off. “DAMN, I want a cigarette.” Bip. Next thought. Having the attention span of a ferret on crystal meth doesn’t hurt.
I haven’t been crowing about it everywhere, but I’m pretty damned proud, so I’m glad this thread’s here so I can pat myself on the back quietly.
I have this conversation with a friend of mine every time I see him:
Him: “Want a cigarette?”
Me (in a mild voice): “Yeah.”
Him (incredulously): “Still!?”
Me (again, mildly): “Yeah.”
I think he keeps hoping I’ll say I don’t want one any more; he’s getting ready to quit and I think he’s disappointed that I still crave them. 
congrats for staying smoke free, i’ve been smoking for about 10 years now and i quit smoking last week but i dont know how long it will last
the reason i stopped was because i got sick and it hurt too much to smoke but the test for myself will be when my throat feels better, right now im eating alot just to put something in my mouth and the cravings are still there.
The key to quitting is to realize that you can never, ever have another smoke. Period, end of story. If you backslide, you will start again. Right now its killing my marriage. My wife and I quit 5 years ago. At some point, she started again, just one or two when she was out of town with friends or family i’m guessing. Now she is smoking at work, and she smells so bad when she gets home that i don’t want to kiss or hug her anymore. She says she only has a couple and its from other people that are smoking, but it doesnt matter. The smell and the fact that she lied about it for a long time is what is killing us.
It is very hard to be an ex smoker and not be totally turned off by the smell. I cannot stand to even be in the elevator with a smoker for long, i’ll feel sick to my stomach. Just so you smokers understand, we arent trying to be assholes, we just cannot help it as we aren’t used to smelling it like smokers or those that never smoked are.
To Rushgeekgirl; keep it up. Its worth it. It will take a while for the craves, the habits, etc… to fade. But in the end you can smell, taste, and breathe again. Gotta watch out for the weight gain though, and its not just eating more. Your metabolism changes so eating just the same as before will make you gain weight. Gotta exercise (i need to take my own advice).