Anyone quit or quitting smoking......

[crustychief]

I could not quit cold turkey unless they sent me to outer space without any smokes.

[wolf76]

I've quit for over 2 years now. I used the lozenges but hte biggest motivation is my son. Best of luck to you.


Chris

[Crowbob]

Just don't buy a pack. The cig. companies have done extensive research. 20 cigarettes is the optimum number to get back on 'em for most people. If you really need a smoke, offer to somebody to buy ONE cig. for a buck. You don't go home with 19 cigarettes wispering in your ear. If you need another one, buy another one for a dollar. Just don't buy a whole pack. If you do, smoke one give or throw the rest away. The cravings are the worst. You break down, have a smoke and then get the double whammy of guilt and fail. DON'T BUY A WHOLE PACK. Fight the cravings one at a time, minute by minute. They do diminish. If you fall off the wagon-no biggy. Just start all over. You know what to expect. It can be done.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by crustychief

I could not quit cold turkey unless they sent me to outer space without any smokes.

Thinking like that has you defeated before you even begin.

You da man chief. You could throw those things all around you in a circle and sit there at peace indian style for a month, and they wouldn't faze you.

It's really all in your head.

[charlesbahn]

I quit 25 years ago after smoking most of my youth. Thing is, I didn't think I'd ever be able to quit- I always had to have cigarettes around and would panic when I ran out. Tried to quit "cold turkey" several times and was only successful for about a day. I was pretty much resigned to smoking, and didn't really want to quit.

Then my wife enrolled me in "Smoke Enders" (or ? Smoke Stoppers). It is was a behavior modification course, not sure if they even still exist.

Anyway, that is how I quit. It is EXTREMELY well done. They get you over the physical addiction which only lasts about 3 days. The harder part is the "in your head" where you have to learn that cigarettes are not your friend.

I understand the success rate was pretty good. Anyway, worked for me.

Might give it a try if they are still around.


P.S. I still got bladder cancer ("smoker's cancer").

[dhoward]

Quit for a little over two years. Used Chatix, no problems. No nightmares, just vivid dreams. Like I could wake up and remember every color of wire in a 911 wiring harness. Wait, maybe that was a nightmare.

No desire to smoke at all, even while drinking. Doesn't bother me either, so I don't get all uppity on smokers.

[crustychief]

Day two no smoke. I started to want one last night but just went to bed.

[TerryH]

Smoked 2 packs a day for 30 years. Quit cold turkey 2002. Gained a lot of weight. Allowing the heart attack and diabetes to catch up with the lung cancer and emphesyma. It's a race to the end now. Tough call.

[drew1]

Good for you Chief

[speeder]

You can do it, if you think you can. I quit, (again), 3 months ago and not looking back. Sure, I miss smoking sometimes for a minute but it passes quickly. I miss everything I've ever done in life that gave me a thrill once, no matter how self-destructive. One of the most important tools for me was information+ a support system of friends and other people quitting smoking. They might have such groups where you live, don't knock it until you've tried it. People helping each other do something difficult together is a powerful force.

One thing that never worked for me in the least was patches/inhalers/pills or any other *substitute* for nicotine. The only way to quit is to stop going to the store and buying them and then stop putting them in your mouth and lighting them. It's a fact.

[dhoward]

Wife just got a couple of e-cigarettes. So far she likes them.

[chuckw951]

I am a smoker that has not had a cigarette since September 6, 2009. I am 39 and started smoking when I was in high school.

I tried to quit in 2008 but was not successful. I tried the patch and then Zyban. The patch didn't give me the nicotine that I needed and Zyban didn't seem to do anything. So I gave up with my effort to quit smoking..

After the birth of my second son in August 2009 I decided it was time to quit for real. It has not been easy.

I used the nicotine lozenges to quit smoking. The lozenges worked well for me because they give a jolt of nicotine just like a cigarette does. With the patch the nicotine is distributed evenly throughout the day. That didn't do it for me the first time around.

I was on the lozenges from September until January 2010 which was longer than recommended. I was still addicted to the nicotine. I noticed that the lozenges were creating some problems with my oral health so I switched to the patches for about a week. I should note that both lozenges and patches can cause dry mouth. For me the lozenges created some red spots so I knew it was time to give them up but I did not want to go back to smoking. So I tried the patch again.
The patches did not meet my nicotine needs. I was extremely iritatable.

I did some more reading about Zyban online and convinced myself that I should try it again. My doctor wrote me a prescription for 3 months worth of Zyban and I started the drug. The doctor warned me that at the end of the 3 month that I may have to step down my dose before quiting Zyban. I didn't understand why that was important...more later on that.

I started taking Zyban and gave up the patch. That was not an easy process. While the Zyban helped, I still went through nicotine withdrawal for about a week. That was not fun at all.

After getting through the nicotine withdrawal, things really started to improve. I was on 300 mg (two 150 mg tablets) a day. I could feel the Zyban "building" up in my system. It is hard to describe. Zyban took the edge off big time. I am now convinced that it is a very powerful drug. For some reason I had expected Zyban to make me not want to smoke. Instead it helped with the withdraw symptons from nicotine.

I did have some side effects. I continued to have dry mouth so my oral health continued to decline. I started going to the dentist and then the periodontist. I can't prove that these things caused my problems, but I know that I didn't have a problem until I quit smoking and started taking them. Anyway, in addition to the dry mouth, I think that zyban was starting to make me a little nutty. It is hard to describe, I just didn't feel like myself any more. So I decided that I needed to quit Zyban and stopped taking the pills cold turkey.

That was a mistake. I went a day without my 300mg of Zyban and I started to go through zyban withdraw. I asked google, and sure enough, zyban withdraw exists. I became extremely iritatable, just like after I gave up nicotine. So I restarted taking the Zyban, except I dropped down to 150mg per day as the doctor suggested. I stayed on the 150 mg dose for two weeks, then stopped taking the pills completely.

I did more research into Zyban, the drug can stay in your system and still have an effect for up to a week. So it took a while for the effects of the drug to fully wear off.

I have been Zyban free for about two weeks now and my head is back to normal.

I have not had a cigarette since September 2009 and I refuse to go back. I hope that maybe after a year I will not think about smoking or nicotine. I've only been smoke free for 7 months. I hope that I can keep this up.

Good luck to the original poster and to anyone that is trying to quit.

[FLYGEEZER]

Chief, if your retired now just don't smoke anything that don't get ya high. Cigarettes were a way of life in my military career. Everybody smoked... and drank. Didn't trust folks that didn't. As I got closer to retirement in 1999 smoking became very unpopular. In 1990 the command stopped all smoking on airplanes. A 8 or 9 hour ocean crossing became almost unbearable. Some crew members went down in the cargo compartment to light up near the outflow valve in the C5A just keep sane. That became a real pain in the can. Went to snuff (spit fast or puke) . I just gave up and smoked only on the ground where authorized. That helped a lot. Never smoked in my house or cars. After retirement worked at a flight simulator facility for 9 years. No smoking on the job,period! Then retired again, no more drug testing. Now if it don't get me high, I don't do it. Life is much better, I feel better, haven't had a cigarette since I can't remember when. A little burbon now & then. Now I guess I'm just an old weed monkey but life is good. As the old movie line goes "smoke up Johnny" !

[crustychief]

Chuckw, I tried the zyban as well. Chantix is different, it really helps! Day three no smoke! I actually drank a couple of beers last night and thought it would make it tough. Not so.

Thanks Drew!

Denis, right now family and Pelican is my support group. Great advice though.

Dan, I asked my doctor about those and he said "let's see how the pills work first", I am very exited about this. Good luck to your wife.

Edgar, I will heed that advice.
Thanks for everyone's words of encouragement.

[dhoward]

Originally Posted by crustychief

Dan, I asked my doctor about those and he said "let's see how the pills work first", I am very exited about this. Good luck to your wife.

Cignot your Midwest Electronic Cigarette store.

[jshape]

Three things did it for me 28 years ago....

1. A sincere desire to quit;
2. Knowing that the urge to have one will pass - whether you have one or not; and
3. Knowing and accepting that you can NEVER - HAVE - ANOTHER - CIGARETTE. PERIOD.

It's all up to you. Either you quit - or you don't - your choice.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by FLYGEEZER

Chief, if your retired now just don't smoke anything that don't get ya high. Cigarettes were a way of life in my military career. Everybody smoked... and drank. Didn't trust folks that didn't. As I got closer to retirement in 1999 smoking became very unpopular. In 1990 the command stopped all smoking on airplanes. A 8 or 9 hour ocean crossing became almost unbearable. Some crew members went down in the cargo compartment to light up near the outflow valve in the C5A just keep sane. That became a real pain in the can. Went to snuff (spit fast or puke) . I just gave up and smoked only on the ground where authorized. That helped a lot. Never smoked in my house or cars. After retirement worked at a flight simulator facility for 9 years. No smoking on the job,period! Then retired again, no more drug testing. Now if it don't get me high, I don't do it. Life is much better, I feel better, haven't had a cigarette since I can't remember when. A little burbon now & then. Now I guess I'm just an old weed monkey but life is good. As the old movie line goes "smoke up Johnny" !

To add to that, many report that reefer is a great aid in quitting cigs.

It eases the nic fit by mellowing your butt out.

[crustychief]

1 week and two days no smoke! I have been to two parties where I was surrounded by drinking and smoking, the urges are very few and far between and easy to deal with. I am so stoked!

[UconnTim97]

Originally Posted by crustychief

1 week and two days no smoke! I have been to two parties where I was surrounded by drinking and smoking, the urges are very few and far between and easy to deal with. I am so stoked!

Good for you! You have survived the hardest part, it gets easier form here.

Those urges will come up from time to time, but they get easier and easier to deal with. Keep it up.

[RacerX1166]

Today will be one week for me, sans smokes. I'm using Zyban and low dose patches and have found they really take the edge off the desire to smoke.

Zyban is pretty awesome in that it not only helps take the desire to smoke away but it also removes the pleasure from smoking. You start taking it a week before your quit date so you're still smoking as it builds up in your system. By my planned quit date, I still 'wanted' to smoke (habit) but found lighting up gave me none of the familiar pleasure. Heck, I found I was walking away after smoking half a cigarette.

I had tried multiple times to quit over the past several years, using the patch, gum, cold turkey (ouch!) but nothing 'took'.

After 23 years of smoking, I'm having to re-learn how to eat, wake up, go to bed, etc. By effectively mitigating the effects of nicotine withdrawal, the patch and zyban have allowed me to more easily modify my life.

I believe the biggest (and most effective) tactic for me this time is how I'm viewing what I'm doing, since I'm admittedly not terribly motivated to not smoke. I'm not 'quitting smoking', rather 'I'm becoming a non-smoker'. The former has connotations of sacrificing something you enjoy whereas the latter is a lifestyle change.

After 7 days, the cravings are still there but it's more of a twinge and I'm no longer seeing having a cigarette as a way to satisfy what's bothering me.

Hell, if I can get through being bitten by a dog I was training at the SPCA without reaching for a smoke, I figure it's downhill from here.