MoneySavers don't smoke!

wooza_2

Rikki wrote: »

You can use all the patches in the world to try and give up smoking, but if you don't have the inclination or the will power you will never give up.

Just go to an Easyway session. I went 26 days ago, havent smoked a single roll up since. Haven't wanted to or felt the need to smoke. I know it is early days yet, but after abseiling down the 4 storey building I work in for Comic Relief and not getting stressed out and giving in and having a ciggie. I just know I will never smoke again.

I would previously have thought the cigarette calmed me down so I would be brave enough to dangle from a rope 4 storeys up, and that I couldn't manage without one. Now I know I don't need to smoke to be calm and that the cigarettes just made me think they calmed me down. Because I did it without the aid of nicotine.

Will power was not involved at all, you just have to want to give up smoking. And believe what your being told. "Whats the point"

I am now going to set up a direct debit to pay the extra money I am saving off my mortgage each month. And look forward to 11 month time when I can ask for my health/life insurance to be reduced.


Go on just do it.

wooza_2

saverman99 wrote: »

will go to gp and ask for zyban

Before you use ZYBAN make sure you read up on it first. Its not suitable for everyone.

You need to research it before you even ask your doc for it.

debs_si

This is my third attempt. 1st lasted 3 months, 2nd time was Dec 06, but the day after I quit my husband was involved in a motorbike accident and broke his leg in two places, I was traumatised and ended up buying ciggies. I decided to try again on 1st March and have not had a ciggie since. I have been using the Nicorette inhalor and it is brilliant. I have had the patches before but you miss the "having something in your mouth/hand" but you have all that with the inhalor. I was not a heavy smoker and I have worked it out, that I would have spent approx £60 -£70 a month. I have now signed up with a gym at £35 a month, so I am usijng my savings wisely

Good luck to all those who have quit!!

Croc_Mad

I last smoked properly over a month ago. I developed pneumonia and was told "if you don't quit soon you'll die; your lungs can't cope." My doctor refused to help with patches, etc as I was on "too many medications" with my asthma spray and antibiotics.

I spent the next week after coming out of hospital having about one a day until my sister said something that really hit home with me. She said "Charlotte, what the **** are you doing? You're stood in the snow, in your dressing gown smoking when you've got pneumonia!" It didn't really hit me until then, but I bought some gum (sod the Doctor; it's better for me than smoking!) and at the moment I give into about one a week when offered/drunk.

It also helps that I've met a new man, and he really hates smoking. I had two on Friday night when I was really stressing out (found myself homeless, thankfully am sorted now). I've also bought a copy of Free Yourself by Kristina Ivings. (Bargain at £2.99 AND cheaper than a packet of fags!) Has anyone else read it? I'm still on the first chapter but it's helping me a lot.

Anyway, rant over but I saw this post and had to put my two-penneth in.
Good Luck to you all :-D

Cat_Wasilewski

dibdab wrote: »

I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has tried/succeeded quitting using Zyban as reading the leaftlet enclosed in the tablets is pretty scary.

Thanks

Hmmm, I tried Zyban, and the first week of one tablet was so awful - I daren't up the dose to two. I was shaking, crying all of the time (it works on mood receptors in the brain and mine didn't like it!), I lost the craving to drink water, and generally thought I was going mad. Having spent a week curled up miserable and freaked out - I quit taking it. But don't give up though.

I've now quit for four months - using the nicotine nasal spray - it's unpleasant (my sister call's it Pavlov's cigarette!) but it really really worked for me. Nothing else has (I've done Allan Carr sessions, hypnotherapy, patches, cold turkey and Zyban!)


Go for it, I've now calculated that since I quit I've saved £567 that would otherwise have gone directly to the evil profiteers at Philip Morris and the Treasury. :beer:

Cat x

BargainHunterCat

Well now I feel really bad...I had a fag in my hand as I was reading this thread!
I really want to stop but it's not easy because OH smokes and he doesn't want to stop so I'm surrounded by it.
The problem for me personally is not that I'm addicted to the nicotine ( I can actually take it or leave it). Allow me to explain - as long as my mind is occupied with something else, I can go without a cigarette for 8 hours at work quite happily!
I'm addicted to having something to do with my hands - it's a nervous thing from what I can ascertain. I don't like nicotine patches or gum because they're too strong and the nicotine hit you get from them makes me feel woozy!
Does anybody have any advice for me please?

vik6525

BargainHunterCat wrote: »

Well now I feel really bad...I had a fag in my hand as I was reading this thread!
I really want to stop but it's not easy because OH smokes and he doesn't want to stop so I'm surrounded by it.
The problem for me personally is not that I'm addicted to the nicotine ( I can actually take it or leave it). Allow me to explain - as long as my mind is occupied with something else, I can go without a cigarette for 8 hours at work quite happily!
I'm addicted to having something to do with my hands - it's a nervous thing from what I can ascertain. I don't like nicotine patches or gum because they're too strong and the nicotine hit you get from them makes me feel woozy!
Does anybody have any advice for me please?

What about knitting? Or something daft like that? it'd give you something to do with your hands, and you could end up with a nice scarf at the end of it... (but then what do i know? im a 20 a day gal.... oh dont shout at me....)

leeds6lad

There is a new drug called Champix now which is meant to be pretty good in helping you to stop. Remember, dont rely completely on these drugs or health care professionals. At the end of the day, it has to all come from YOU. Are you committed? Why do you really want to give up - make a list. Make a list of things that smoking does that you dont like and keep that on your person all the time to remind you (eg yellow teeth, bad breath, holes in clothes, messy dirty car, effect on children etc).

Finally, put away the money you would have spent on smoking into a jar every day. Look at it weekly: now that will really open your eyes and keep your motivation going. At the end fof the month, remember to treat this money on YOU - you deserve it...... this is important 'cos you need to reward good behaviour even on a subconcious level.

Ram
a GP in Bradford

notsolucky_2

I asked my GP for this and he hadnt heard of it,is there another name,i would really like to try it,zyban didnt suit me patches and gum are out to.Why did we ever start??

ailuro2

BargainHunterCat wrote: »

I'm addicted to having something to do with my hands - it's a nervous thing from what I can ascertain. Does anybody have any advice for me please?

Remember the kids craze for skoobies??
You can do that on the bus or at lunchbreak a lot easier than knitting!

You would be surprised how addicted you actually are to Nicotine...it is easy to tell yourself you aren't addicted when you know you'll get your fix at the end of 8 hours.

Do you ever stay over at work? How do you feel then without nicotine?

I speak as a smoker who stopped when I realised it would soon be my dd's first birthday, and we never smoked in front of her, hid behind the car after shopping etc...and realised she would soon be 2 then 3 then old enough to copy us and it would imprint on her that smoking is a normal thing to do, and I couldn't bear that, so me and dh both managed to stop- me first, him 2 months later.

What worked for him was changing to rollups with filters first, otherwise I'm not sure he could have done it,it made the withdrawals a two stage process then.;)

Not giving up because a partner smokes...if they say they want to stop too then relegate yourselves to outside every single time you smoke. It makes it a lot easier when one is stopping...you don't smell it every time they light up.

We went to Vegas and got married off of the first year's non smoking proceeds, whizzing down into the Grand Canyon in a helicopter is much more of a thrill than the one fag in a hundred that is enjoyable and not out of habit.
We have now been stopped for over seven years.
Best of luck to you all.