I'm dying...

[wooly]

....for a ciggarette,lol. :

I haven't had one in 2 days. Today is very hard. Not sure how all you quitters survived the withdrawl. ???

Gotta admit, I was getting a bit rediculous up to 2+ packs/ day.

I have a hard time doing anything in moderation,lol.

Any other quitters out there wanna blow some second hand smoke up my arse about how easy it was for them...I could use the fix.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Its so freakin easy if you dont act like a baby about it, geeze, man up and grow a set!  ;D

Seriously, its just plain not easy, but if you are really ready to quit, youll find it inside yourself to get past the cravings. I quit almost 2 years ago and got it done with the patch for a month, then just stopped wearing those. I was ready to stop though, it was probably my 8th time trying to quit. Just hang in there, you are in the worst part of it right now. Just keep telling yourself it gets better, it really will.

[Geno C]

2 DAYS?! c mon deal with it! lol

grin and bare it! 

[Elmo]

I used Wellbutrin aka Bupropion.  Just tell your doc that you want to quit smoking and he'll write you up a prescription.  Their not cheap (roughly $120 for a months supply) but if you think about the amount of money you spend on smokes, they're actually cheaper.  I took it for a month.  You keep smoking for the first 2 weeks because that's how long it takes the drug to kick in.  Once it kicks it, you will naturally lose the physical craving.  Talk to your doctor about it.  The key word is "physical".  It takes your body 72 hours to purge itself of nicotine.  It takes your body a week to physically re-adjust to not receiving nicotine.  After a week your body no longer craves it.  The rest is mental and unfortunately that's purely up to you.  I smoked a pack a day for 10 years.  When you're doing something 20 times a day for 10 years, you get so use to the routine.  I chewed sunflower seeds to help keep my hands and mouth occupied during times I would normally be smoking.  Took me almost a year to go through the mental stage of it.  I gain 10 lbs from all the sunflower seeds I ate in that year but has since dropped it.  Now I can't stand the smell of cigarettes.  Haven't smoked in 7 years.

[wooly]

I can't believe how miserable no smokes makes me feel.

I hate you all! >

[nyantler]

gotta replace it with something else... run, workout, swim ... something that makes you feel healthy... once you start feeling good you won't want to go back to smoking.

[wooly]

Just one problem. I smoke when I do all those things.

I think what I really need is a good exorcism to get this demon out of me,lol. That's how it feels anyway. :

[nyantler]

you smoke when you run???...LOL... maybe you should just go back to smoking..   the stress might kill you if you don't!!

[Geno C]

Just one problem. I smoke when I do all those things.

I think what I really need is a good exorcism to get this demon out of me,lol. That's how it feels anyway. :

LOL!

the power of christ compells you!! 

[fasteddie]

It took my father dying of lung cancer at the age of 66 to make me quit . I had my last smoke at 8 am Dec 24 , 1979 . Quiting smoking was the hardest thing I ever did ! I tapered off and then just quit .

Don't be a Wuss , just quit !

[Doc]

The effects and success of quitting smoking is different for each individual. I will honestly tell you that I have quit for 3-1/4 years and still have times when I have a quite powerful urge for a cigarette. The difference now is that the urge only comes occasionally and passes very quickly and is easily overcome.

I used Chantix, but I'm not sure I could swear that that was what finally created success. My feeling, looking back at it is that for the first time in my life, I really wanted to quit and I credit that attitude change with the success more than the Chantix.

I was developing a chronic cough. I was coughing up some nasty looking gray goop. I was told by my cardiologist that he was quite sure that he was hearing the beginnings of emphysema in my breathing. I had also had a stroke a few years earlier which I had been told could be aggravated by smoking. All those things taken together finally convinced me that I probably shouldn't be procrastinating any longer and that no matter how hard it might prove to be, I perhaps had one more good run at it left in me, and failure this time would most likely lead to all kinds of nasty consequences. 48 years of moderate to heavy smoking had taken its toll, and I truly convinced myself that I had just one chance left. I still don't know what kinds of permanent damage may have actually taken place, but I can say that the chronic cough stopped within a week. The nasty looking crap that I was coughing up stopped almost as quickly. There has been a marked improvement in my blood pressure, but medication is still required. So perhaps I dodged the bullet. My Dad had emphysema and died of all kinds of complications that were due to his condition and also due to the fact that he never could quit. One would have thought that that would have been sufficient motivation for me to quit right then and there, but like so many people I made excuses and continued smoking for another 8 years. Finally the symptoms got to be something that couldn't be ignored or explained away.

I hope it doesn't take all these ugly symptoms and problems to properly motivate you. I waited way too long and still may pay the price for my procrastination and excuse-making ..... I don't know. I know it is an ugly tough addiction and for many is the toughest challenge we will ever face. But when you sit down and honestly look at the possible alternatives, the motivation will come and so will the success.

Good luck to you.

[catskillkid]

I can't comment on how hard it must be to quit smoking as I never saw the need to smoke. But 3 years ago, my brother and his wife, my mother and 3 of my friends went to a hypnotist in our town to try to give it up. Each one quit after one session. TRUE STORY

I don't know what he has in that office but it sure must be good!

You may want to give it a try

[Karpteach]

It soooo sucxs. It's been 13+ years since I quit, and I'm still finding for a Marlboro light or a Parliament. It get's easier as time goes by.

[erussell]

Quit 6 yrs ago, best thing I ever did. Keep at it.

[ny hunter]

Wooley hang in there brother,it is going to get a lot harder before it gets easier,I am going on 8 years still have the urge,just get through it.I found it very easy with the patch,nothing else worked for me.You have to have it in your head to quit.I was up to 3 packs a day my self and I did it,I know you can.

[Water Rat]

Man..............I feel your pain !!!    I was spending close to $20.00 a day on cigarettes.    I have been a smoker on and off since I was in high school in the mid 70's.  I stopped again on New Years Day and today marks 5 months exactly since I last smoked a cigarette.  I still miss lighting up and I don't think that will ever change . I know that I can't just have one or even smoke a cigar, because the cravings will return . I hope I never have another cigarette for the rest of my life and hope you do the same . Best of luck cause your gonna need it !

[Gthphtm]

I am glad a friend of mine took me to Green Siminar In LIJ hospitle ( A prep for an hour and then the try to Hipmotize you) It worked for me ,2 packs a day for 15 years .I have not had one since and that was 15 years ago.The best $60.00 I ever spent.

[Cabin Fever]

Keep the faith!! You CAN do it!

Think about how they are KILLING you! Think about dragging an oxygen tank around with you later in like after they have destroyed your lungs. Think about how you would feel if the doc drops the "C-word" on you and how it could have been avoided if only you had quit. Think about your body rotting away and dying pre-maturely, all because of the smokes. Think about your family having to take care of you and watching you deteriorate. Think about now being able to get out in the woods later in life, because you can't walk abd get your breath anymore. What's more important??

It's really tough, but it can be done. I quit 12 years and 5 months ago. I used Wellbutrin. That was before the days of Chantix. Most people that I've heard of that tried Chantix have had great success.

Whatever you do, DON'T fall for the old, "I'll just have one" BS!!! Remember it's a slippery slope!! One leads to another, and another, and another, until you end up saying "screw it" and start back in full swing again!

Good Luck!

[wooly]

Well, all good encouragement guys. I did survive the rest of yesterday and through the night without lighting up.

These mornings are toughest on me sitting here with a bite to eat and a cup of joe, the urge is really strong after that.

So 3 full days under my belt now. Making it past these first few hours of the new day is most challenging till I can find something to occupy my mind without waking up the entire household. :

Soon as the sun pops up I'll grab the camera and go for a hike.

[First-light]

Good luck Wooley!

[Cabin Fever]

My cousin is also trying to quit. His doctor told him that after 3 days, the nicotine is out of your system, and after that, it's all mental.

[ny hunter]

You are on your way now,do something differnt,break your old habits as well.You got this keep it up!!!!!!!

[Paula]

Do not give in to the temptations! For me the first 2 weeks were the hardest and now i feel like i should have quit so much sooner. Been 8 months and i have not cheated once. I used chantix for the first month thats it. Good luck!

[fasteddie]

I found myself reaching for a cigarette from my pocket months after I quit . I didn't have any cigs in my pocket ----- It was HABIT ! Good luck !!!

[Fitzy]

I had a heart attack when I was 32! I was very healthy 'cept for the smoking, and the doctors blamed it on the ciggs. I really enjoyed smoking and I may be a stubborn SOB but I'm not stupid. No tobacco for the past twenty five years.