Quit Smoking - so far so good...

[nosmo_king]

Don't go back for "just one" and if you do, analyze what it was that made you slip. Then, quit again but this time w/ a plan of action so that when confronted w/ what made you slip the first time, you'll be prepared. And keep trying.

Best of luck to you and Ben!

Nosmo king

[cstreit]

Thanks guys,

A few ways I've managed to work through cravings...

1. Explaning to my kids that Daddy won't be around anymore and imagining the look in my wife;s eyes. Morbid but effective
2. Eating lunch while looking at pictures of Emphysema lungs. (eeew!)
3. Thinking of the cool racecar stuff I could buy with the $1500 annual.

I've had a few hard spots, but it's been manageable thus far. Every days a different battle. As someone suggested I'm telling EVERYONE so I have to feel like a heel if I sneak 'em.

[Sonic dB]

cstreit.... If you are not already doing this... make sure that you Up your level of Physical Activity now that you are quitting...
Lift Weights, Run or do some Cardio - 30 minutes per day.

Not only will your body shape up and you will lose weight, but you will also increase your cardiovascular function, blast out a lot of the crud in your lungs, and also give you something constructive to do, to pass the time and make you forget about cigarettes. Studys show that people who increase their level of fitness activity quit much easier than those who dont.

[cstreit]

Thanks Sonic, I'm back on my bike, does a great job of reducing my cravings during and after.

[Sonic dB]

Do it every day man... excercise should be your #1 priority.
Stick with it & good luck.

[austin552]

Just remember, each day gets a little better.

[azasadny]

Chris,
Good luck! I sincerely hope you can do this. After watching my grandfather die last February from COPD and seeing my mother-in-law going through the same thing now, it's incredibly frustrating and sad. I know you can do it, hang in there, buddy!!

[on2wheels52]

Hang in there with it, will get easier. Almost 20 years now, haven't had a craving since seven years.
Incentive was to buy a quality firearm every anniversary. Can't smoke for the next 20 years, bought ahead.
Jim

[Rick V]

After 27 years I quit a pac+ a-day habbit. Feb will be 2 years for me. I did the cold turkey thing. I had some good incentive, my (then 15 ) year old daughter started smoking................"well dad you do it" She told me if I quit, she would quit.
We are now both smoke free.
Make sure those around you know what you are doing, it will help explain the grouchy behaviour you are about to exibit.
Good luck...........you can do it. Chocolat is a good substitute, temporarlly.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by nostatic
don't go to a bar...

You can smoke at a bar?

[SLO-BOB]

Originally posted by milt
You can smoke at a bar?

Yeah! I thought most areas were enlightened enough to ban smoking in public places. Most places but here in the midwest anyway. We're behind in many ways.

Chris, Ben, and all who are battling, keep fighting the good fight! You realize that it's more than just about you. It's as much, if not more for your kids, loved ones, and all of society. Don't ever drop your guard. It is a battle and the enemy is a very rich, multi-national army. They have poisoned you with propaganda and chemicals to create an addiction that can only be defeated by super-human willpower. It's going to be tough, but you CAN be tougher. There can be NO maybe here. No weak moments. No "just one". There can only be grim resolve and finality of decision.

Get through this! Keep a picture of your kids in your pocket at all times and when you get that craving, instead pull out that pic and think of your kid taking their first drag because "Daddy does it, It must be okay." It's THAT important and it will have THOSE consequences. You are going to have to strap on the biggest set imaginable to beat this, but I have faith in you.

[cstreit]

Well I'm on day 4 now.

Yesterday evening was one long craving. Literally had to take it hour by hour, but I made it through and today is better again. I'm already sleeping better and coughing less, and I don't hear that wheeze when it's real quiet at night.

The support and encouragement I've gotten from friends and from here is simply incredible. I really appreciate all the kind public and private words from you guys.

[svandamme]

keep going Chris,
i quit 1st of june , the first weeks are the worst
i kept a calender, with mile stones, to have something to look forward to

looked something like this
20 minutes blood pressure and pulse go normal again

24 hours, no more carbon monoxide in your body , lungs start to clean

2 days, no more nicotine in the blood stream, taste and smell improve

3 days, bloodclotting turns to normal, breathing improves, more energy

1 week , craving at it's worst, headaches, throat aches(Vicks lemon mints.. awesome for this purpose), agitated, in a way , this is good, they are tell tell signs of repair... improves in week 2, some nicotine patches in moderation can take the edge off ( but wean em quickly as possible)
2 weeks, blood circulation is a lot better, you can run better allready
3 weeks...

1 month
2 months, at this time cravings go away, this is the time to start loosign those pounds again...

3- 9 months, lung function improved by 10%, no more coughing and squeeksing in the respirating



yes, the nicotine will talk to you, just get angry at it , it works
become anti anti anti, get ticked off at smokers if you have to
it's your lungs, your life , your health

it's ok to be selfish for a change

[svandamme]

one more thing, i felt like i had beaten it after the initial 2 weeks
but on day 19 , out of the blue i had gotten insane cravings, caught me off guard, because i had weaned off nicorette chewing gum allready.. drove to fuel station , bought a pack and smoked one ciggie

man, nearly fel over , i was dizzier then ever before
imidiately felt bad, and mostly sick as well
so forced myself to smoke that second one , while i was sick
it made me sicker then i allready was, which was in effect a good thing, i destroyed the rest of the pack and flushed it.. never had any problems with it anymore since...

[David]

I'm with you Chris.

I joined the big quit smoking thread a year or two ago and I lasted about 6 months. I've fallen off the wagon again. I was never a big smoker, maybe 5 a day, but over the last few months I've gotten close to a pack a day!

I'll be turning 40 this next year and seeing that my father died at 42 due to heart problems, I figured it's time to get serious.

I went out yesterday and bought a new Gary Fisher Paragon 29er mountain bike to replace my 15 year old Rockhopper. It'll be a few weeks before I get it due to some changes I wanted, Hopefully I'll get back into riding more so I'll be in shape to see my son reach his 40th birthday.

[speeder]

I quit almost 3 years ago, (so far so good), and one other time for 4 years before relapsing. The important thing, IMO, is to realize that you are addicted to nicotine, not "smoking". If they took out all of the nicotine from cigarettes, 99%+ of smokers could quit tomorrow.

Nicotine is supposedly the most addictive substance known to man, as measured by the percentage of people who ever tried it once and then become addicted to it at some point in their life. Believe it or not, lots of people try heroin or narcotics once or twice w/o ever becoming addicts; not so w/ nicotine.

Why the mini-lecture? Because it's important to know that you are fighting a gnarly physical addiction, not merely a "bad habit" of lighting stinky tubes and sucking on them all day. One of my best friends "quit" smoking a few years ago but switched to the gum, he chewed the gum daily for two years!

He never gave up nicotine for one day, he just changed his delivery method. And guess what? He is smoking again. Big surprise. I don't believe in the gum or the patch, I smoked w/ the patch anyways after a day or so. You need to stare your debilitating addiction straight in the eye and quit nicotine, go to battle w/ it and win. You can do it. But you have to treat it like a lion in a ring w/ you, and the cravings and mental tricks that it uses are its weapons. Once you accept that, you can deal w/ them. In my experience, once I totally accepted that this addiction was powerful and that it had me bent over for years, it made me so pissed-off that I became stronger and it became weaker. Chewing nicotine gum is admitting defeat before the battle has even begun.

A powerful mental tool in the fight against addiction is the knowledge that "a craving will pass, whether I give in to it or not." If you smoke, the craving will go away. It will also if you don't smoke. Your choice.

One of my best friends recently quit a 40 year Marlboro habit when he got divorced and started online dating. The selection of women his age who smoked, (and therefore would date a smoker), was enough to make you stab yourself in the eye w/ a pencil. It's a gnarly addiction. If they took the nicotine out, every smoker in the world would quit tomorrow. I wish you success.

[cstreit]

Well I've made it 6 days so far...

The cravings?

Seem to be getting a little less frequent, but stronger and longer.. WTF is THAT about? Still going and trying to be strong, but some of them are very distracting!

[speeder]

Keep going. This war. What did Churchill say? Oh yeah; "When you are going through hell, keep going."

You can do it.

[svandamme]

Originally posted by cstreit
Well I've made it 6 days so far...

The cravings?

Seem to be getting a little less frequent, but stronger and longer.. WTF is THAT about? Still going and trying to be strong, but some of them are very distracting!

another week and it'll become easier and easier
get angry at em

[stomachmonkey]

The cravings are the worst the first days and then gradually tail off.

Around the 2 week mark they will come back with a vengeance.

I inadvertantly quit this weekend.

Have a bad sinus infection and have not left the house since Thursday.

I ran out of smokes and have not gone out to get more.

Today will be tough as I neeed to get out to attend to business.