anybody here ever quit smoking?

[peacepipe]

I'm only in my second day but damn. I wish I never started.any advice that will make it easier, or is it just a shytty process to go through.

[Crushaholic]

Originally Posted by peacepipe

I'm only in my second day but damn. I wish I never started.any advice that will make it easier, or is it just a shytty process to go through.

I've never smoked, but I know plenty of smokers. Their advice? Make sure the person with whom you are cohabitating is a non smoker or willing to quit. The peer pressure of smoking will continue, if your roommate doesn't want to quit...

[peacepipe]

I'm the only smoker in the house,so that's a positive. doesn't feel any better.

[ghwk]

Bang your head against a wall for about three weeks, after that the urges will start to subside. Congrats on getting started and hang in there!

[Requiem]

Originally Posted by peacepipe

I'm only in my second day but damn. I wish I never started.any advice that will make it easier, or is it just a shytty process to go through.

Hey peacepipe,

Glad you started this thread.

I tried smoking when I was a teenager and didn't really enjoy it. My parents smoked and my grandparents smoked (they quit while I was growing up) so it was something I was around. No excuses, but I was probably destined to smoke. I never got packs during high school. Smokin' cigs was a social thing I did when I went downtown in college, but I really was stressed to the max and smoking them hard when my best friend passed away. Over the past three years, I have smoked cigarettes regularly, with some breaks in between. I probably do a half a pack a day now and it's terrible. No doubt it comes from stress, but that's no excuse. I definitely need to quit.

I still find healthy outlets to relieve my stress. I play my guitar at least an hour and a half a day and I walk a lot of places. I'm gonna go get a nice fixed speed bike here instead of this mountain bike that serves no good purpose on the prairie. I just try to lose myself in my hobbies and keep busy. Smoking cigarettes is a total time waster. I made out with a broad at the bar this weekend and I felt terrible because I knew I had ash tray mouth. But she didn't seem to care. bWahALsolol

The dudes above are right. Being around people who smoke, certainly living with them won't help. I also bring a pack of gum and mints with me everywhere I go. Any time I feel the urge to smoke, I just chew on a stick of gum or have a tic-tac. Jolly ranchers are good too. Cough drops as well. A lot of people stress eat and binge eat to replace smoking when they are attempting to quit and that can be super bad for you.

This is the big demon I'm trying to tackle in my life. I'm just worried about the fact of gaining a bunch of weight after I stop. However, if I eat right and exercise like I have been (and if not even better) -- I'll probably be fine. It's just been an extremely hard habit to kick.

I'd appreciate any advice people could offer too.

I won't bang my head on the wall tho.

[nyuk nyuk]

My understanding is that it is easier to taper off. I've never smoked so I can't say definitively. Good luck.

[theAPAOps5]

I smoked for almost 7 years, not long compared to many people but still long enough for it to straight suck ass when I quit.

You are going through physical withdraw right now and that part doesn't last long. It's rough but it eases quickly. I used the patch after trying several times with no success. That got me over the edge.

Believe it or not the physical withdraw ends up the easiest part. The mental part of quitting is the hardest. You dont realize how many triggers you have programmed in your brain that trigger cravings. You have your typical after meal cravings, waking up and that first smoke craving, etc. You need a plan for that as they will break you down if you aren't ready.

Another thing to watch for is about a month from now some crazy as thing will trigger a craving. It will be totally random but one of the hardest cravings you will face. It sucks because your triggers will start to be in decline and this will bring it back a bit.

My go to crutch when I quit was these things called tea tree sticks. They are sold at health food places and are like toothpicks that taste like menthol. These were huge in helping because it helped me dull the cravings. I had them everywhere and for the first few months chewed on them a lot. I probably didn't need it for the second month but those became a habit.

Finally, you need to understand that you can and will do this. Get past these few days and it gets better. Keep up the fight and if you slip don't beat yourself down just remember what triggered it and be ready for the next time.

[Meck77]

I quit many years ago. It's tough. Get's easier after about a month. Would recommend a huge box of nicorette from Costco. Stay away from the bars or any alcohol for awhile. Run your ass off.

Once you quit you'll realize it's the best thing you could have done for yourself and quite frankly others around you.

Google cancer lung images. That should give you some incentive. Good luck man. You are going to feel like a crack baby for awhile but it gets easier!

Once you quit don't let your mind try to convince you that you can have just one. You'll be right back where you started. Yes it's a **** process. Quite possibly the hardest thing you will ever have to do.

[sidaz]

hi there, trust me budy i know exactly your feeling ,
i was like you once , the smoking problem had some consequences not only on
my body but also in my relationships, but that never stops me from lookin for a
solution, dont you think that you can resolve this problem overnight, you need commitment,
hard work, patience, endurance and you need to get motivated, i've searched many weeks in
the internet looking for a real solution until one day i came up by this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzfCJECLTDo ,
all what i can say is waw, the review was real
credible , i've bought the product immediatly knowing that this is is going to be the solution, and
now after a month a can already see positive results !
i hop this could help too my friend

[theAPAOps5]

Spammers are such a-holes

[orinjkrush]

i quit after about 9 years. you cannot drink while you are quitting. your willpower goes into the toilet with a beer. or two. it was hard. just one day at a time is the way to go. products are fine but its your willpower that is the issue.

when you can start smelling things again, is when you know you're getting closer.

[mnfan]

I smoked for 13 years. Gave it up December 2nd, 2003 and haven't had one since. I tried several times before I finally was able to kick the habit. It would have been earlier, but I slipped a few times, the trick is to never give up. Know that life will be better after you are done. Things will smell better, taste better, you'll have more energy. One thing I found helpful was going to a website (I can't remember it) that showed how your body was responding. I still remember sitting down, a few months after I quit thinking, I didn't even think about a cig today. The first week is the worst, after that your cravings subside, but I would have a craving every so often that was bad, but it would only last a couple minutes. Be prepared for that, maybe you have more will power than I do. Good luck, keep your head up, it gets better quick.

[Dr. Broncenstein]

Think about this from my personal experience with smoking patients:

Not everyone who smokes gets cancer. Certainly every type of cancer imaginable is more likely if you smoke, but some people get through an entire life of smoking without cancer... and vice versa.

However... every single smoker will get some degree of COPD (emphysema) and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries or "ASVD"). If you smoke, you will get this. The severity depends on the amount of time... but you will absolutely get both. Add either of these to chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, and you can't imagine the suffering you will endure. Don't believe me -- go hang out around a dialysis clinic for a few minutes.

[Rohirrim]

Originally Posted by peacepipe

I'm only in my second day but damn. I wish I never started.any advice that will make it easier, or is it just a shytty process to go through.

First, change your name.

I kid. I've been a non-smoker for about 11 years now. I smoked for many years. It took me about seven times trying to succeed in quitting. The patch worked for me. Exercise is a great way to speed up the process. After about thirty days you're over the physical part, then it takes a few months to get beyond the psychological part - all the good associations you had with smoking, like that first one with coffee in the morning, or after sex, or while drinking. I'm at the point now where I can't stand the smell of cigarettes.

[The Lone Bolt]

Clean from tobacco since 1990.

the first two weeks are the hardest. If you can get past that you're home free. I quit by setting a date a month in advance. Every time I lit up from then on was a reminder that quitting day was coming.

Oct. 31, 1990, just before midnight: lit up my last cigarette ever, smoked it, then put it out. Haven't had tobacco in any form since.

You can do it.

[Elway 4 Life]

Quitting the addiction to nicotine only lasts a week or so but quitting the habit is much harder. My advice is workout alot and chew a crapload of gum. I smoked for 15 yrs before quitting cold turkey in 2004. You will fell amazing and your food will taste so much better. Good luck my friend.

[gunns]

What everyone has said has truth in it. Felt like I lost my best friend. I never had problems with living with people who smoked but after about 3 weeks had a stressful situation and wanted one so bad. Luckily had friends who talked me out of it and I stayed off for 7 years. Then went through a divorce, was going to the bars and remembered how good one tasted when drinking. Bought a pack and it was over very quickly. And quitting the 2nd time around is 10 times worse than the 1st. Just keep telling yourself you really want to do this, save some money, etc. And do not try one again.

[Bronco Bob]

Yes. It was tough. I started when I was 13 years old. But it's been 23 years since I last took a puff. And I think a lot less about doing it now than when I first quit.

[t-diddy]

Chantix. I smoked a pack and a half a day for almost ten years. Have been smoke free for almost 3 years...

Seriously, its kind of expensive but it makes you HATE cigarettes.

[Rigs11]

e-cig