For those of you wanting to quit smoking

[livi]

Stijn, hang in there !!

I would like to be able to quit walking along all day long with a bulging upper lip (Swedish wet snuff - as opposed to British stiff upper lip). Look like a fool.

[svandamme]

i know the swedish stuff, collegue had some , tried that just like i try anything ... man that's nasty stuff, felt like my gums were burning...

[Superman]

It's also known as "Bupropion." BTDT. It does seem to work, but each time you stop and start again, the effect is less.

I'm quitting right now also, and not using anything. I guess it was just time. It's much easier than before, to quit.

Leland, shame on you for smoking. I had the impression you were far too smart for that.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

I used nicotine lozenges.

Worked well. Whenever I had a craving, just popped one in my mouth nd let it dissolve, gives you a minor rush.

It's nice to have my sense of smell back.

[cstreit]

Leland and others...

I tried this stuff for about a week and found that it made me kinda stupid.. I lost focus and motivation. Did you experience this? What did you do about it? How long did it last?

[svandamme]

the zyban thing, first day it was a bit high , but very functional and upbeat... not a all unpleasant

the focus an motivation issue, not really , just got the nasty side effects and resulting feeling miserable

got new plan now , starting june 1st, i'm on a strict 20 ciggies regime
1 less every week... and hopefully clean after 20 weeks without having terrorised my collegues ( well , not more then normally that is )

[livi]

I´ll be cheering for you Stijn! Checking up on you regularly..

Although it does sound a bit like when I tried to quit twenty years ago. Must have tried at least a handful of strategies. They all started with 'got a new plan now' and ended with 'nope, that didn´t work..'

[svandamme]

new plan !

had one of those anxiety attacks again , all of the sudden , it always flows from the idea that i'm not breathing properly , which then does turn into not breating properly and an episode

i'm well ticked off about this, and i'm fed up with those episodes...
cold turkey boys... it's been 3 hours, and i'm ready to start breaking stuff... my cat is looking worried, and so he should be ... there is a fair chance of me turning into some wild animal...

i'll try to apply the experience gained from acid... bite my teeth and ride it out... obviously acid only takes 12 hours to clear up the madness which is childsplay compared to nicotine detox... so now it's wait an see ...

[svandamme]

just completed 1 week cold turkey
no patches, no pills, did have a couple of nicorette 2mg chewing gum
but kept it to an absolute minimum and only the first 4 days....

starting to smell things again, food tasts better
it's not cheaper though , i'm spending more on candy , food , and "stuff todo to keep mind of smoking ", and antismoke cleanup ... new curtains for instance...

[Vin-barrett]

I've been taking Wellbutrin since the beginning of April, last cigarette was on April 30th.

I was itching like crazy and wasn't sure if it was the pills or not. Glad I saw this thread. The itching has seems to have stopped lately, also built up a tolerance to the "high".

cstreit-
I'm sure it's the high that makes me loopy but it's almost gone now.

So far so good though as I don't really have the urge to smoke anymore. I still feel something when I finish eating but it passes quicker every day.

[artplumber]

Originally posted by rfuerst911sc
I'm probably in the minority with my opinion but you can quit smoking if you WANT to without any outside assistance. I'm a firm believer that your brain and willpower can overcome almost anything if you really want to within reason. I am 48 years old and I smoked from about 16 to 23. There were times I thought about quiting but it was half hearted and the results proved it as I kept smoking. I probably tried to quit 5-6 times with the same results. Then my wife became pregnant with our first son and at that time I REALLY decided that for my sons future,mine and my wifes it was time. Now let me tell you when I decided to really quit I was in a high stress job and smoking almost 3 packs of cigs a day!!! I went cold turkey and have not had 1 cigarette in 25 years. Was it easy? No. Was it worth the pain,anguish,panic etc.? Hell yes. I realize everyones situation is different but sometimes just sucking it up and being responsible will get the job done.

Actually, having seen a number of people attempt to quit, I do agree with you. In fact, the people with the lowest recidivism are those that stop cold turkey (one can get into the chicken-egg question with that statement).

[econopa]

Here's my story & my suggestions that worked for me some 15 or so yrs ago1) Don't tell anyone that you are trying to quit(2)Only do this for yourself,otherwise it doesn't work(3)Start your withdrawl on a Fri.,post work.(4)By the time you wake Sat AM, you have 12+ hrs invested- you can't have a morning smoke because you will lose all the effort, thus far.(5) from here-on-out, think of what you have invested in time & torture. It gets progressively easier, believe me.(6) with the money you are saving from buying smokes, go buy that part for your car or driver that you thought you couldn't afford.This was a really good one.(7) Don't smoke stogies. This cost me an additional year or so to comple smoke-free existance. (8) don't look back-it was all bull. Hope this helps. By the way, my opinion on commercial patches isn't high. Do this for yourself & your family.That's all you need.

[svandamme]

well, 14 days down the road, still clean
i'm off the nicorette gum as well

still got some nausea at time ( cause i only quit the nicorete the last days and still have some nicotine withdrawel )

not eating that much , in fact, eating less, spending less time behind the computer ... hence my OT presence is a lot lower.. (somehow i think that's not a bad thing )

[Rick Lee]

I'm about 10 days into quitting. My plan was to live it up in China (where every single man chain smokes) and then quit when I got home. Got home on a Friday, smoked what I had left on the weekend and threw out the rest Sunday night. Monday I put the patch on. I buy the 21mg patches and cut them in half to make the box last longer. I've jonsed a little bit, but not too badly. I haven't gained any weight and I've been pretty careful about what I eat. In China I only ate freshly killed stuff and vegetables, so I dropped some weight there. It's hard to be healthy in this country, since junk food is so ubiquitous and I drive a desk at work. I'm still coughing up bit of phlegm, but it's lessening each day. My cars seem to smell better. Just bought a CPO BMW 330i last night that smells new and I won't let it get stunk up with smoking. I haven't hung out with many friends, wrenched on cars or gone to a bar since I've been back, so I don't know how that will feel as a non-smoker. Those were the times when I smoked the most.

[svandamme]

i went to a wedding on day 3


i shook hands, gave my present, congratulated them and in the same breath apologized for the runner ...

i actually ran from the smoke
it was disgusting me and at the same time incredibly tempting.

either i ran , or i would have blown it right there...

no bars or pubs yet... but i've noticed i can bear beeing around smokers without to much hastle now... the first week that drove me nuts...

[livi]

Happy for you, Stijn!

Its plausible you just made a change in your life that will render you 5-10 additional healthy bonus years of Porsche driving.

[svandamme]

Originally posted by livi
Happy for you, Stijn!

Its plausible you just made a change in your life that will render you 5-10 additional healthy bonus years of Porsche driving.

either that, or i'll be needing more speed to get an adrenaline rush ( instead of a nicotine rush) and i'll exit a turn the wrong way , and loose 30 years in a snap second

[89911]

Originally posted by Leland Pate
You need to get a prescription for Zyban.

I can't stand going to bars anymore because of the smell.

It's nice to hear that from a smoker's point of view. Maybe more will understand why non smokers shouldn't have to endure 2nd hand smoke at any restaurant.

[svandamme]

Originally posted by 89911
It's nice to hear that from a smoker's point of view. Maybe more will understand why non smokers shouldn't have to endure 2nd hand smoke at any restaurant.

i'll agree to some extend, for restaurants , definately ... they can ban it , even when ismoked i wouldn't have complained about that...for pubs. i'de say that's part of the territory...

i never smoked untill i was 17and a half

i'de been hanging out in pubs since i was 14, it never bothered me much, i had been complaining to my mum throughout my child hood , told her to quit , but to be truthfull, that was mainly because i was fed up running to the ciggie store every 2 days.. to get 2 packs... and because she never wanted to buy a carton in one go (because it then looked like she was bigstyle addicted.. go figure ), i didn't complain because the smoke bothered me...

these days smoke does bother me , not because of the smell itself, but because it makes my brain crave... it's a different thing to endure...it's way worse

[cstreit]

Keep up the good work!