The Giving Up Smoking Thread!! Part 2

I_Wanna_Retire_Someday

Yahhoo first 24 hours are over :j

Have a piece of really difficult work to do this afternoon......this might bring on some nasty nicotine pangs :eek:

larmy16

Well done IWRS I have been thinking about you today and wondering how you are getting on.:T

Don't know if you have ever read the Allen Carr book but he says you are already a non-smoker the moment you put the ciggie out. Yet somehow we project into the future that we will be free even though we already are! It's just getting our brains around that concept, then letting it go and accepting the freedom.

Awww bet your hands smell a lot nicer!;) I used to wash mine about five times after a roll up and I could still smell it. Foul.

I_Wanna_Retire_Someday

larmy16 wrote: »

Well done IWRS I have been thinking about you today and wondering how you are getting on..

Still going. Feeling great. 2 days at lunch time. The last 45 hours have not been as bad as I expected. I'm glad I gave up at mid-day as I think the worst nicotine fall was while I was asleep:rotfl:

I put off the difficult piece of work I had to complete. I will do it on Monday. I'm trying to have a stress free couple of days. I feel worse when I try to concentrate or am stressed.

I found the following on the web:-

In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal. In 8 hours the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal. In 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will return to a normal level. In 72 hours your bronchial tubes will relax, and your energy levels will increase. In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks. In three to nine months coughs, wheezing and breathing problems will dissipate as your lung capacity improves by 10%. For people who have not yet contracted emphysema, they can usually throw off most of the effects of smoking within 6mo's to 2 years.In 1 year your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half. In 5 years your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker. In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker. In 15 years your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.

Edit Found this from elsewhere

How long does it take for nicotine to leave your body (urine and blood stream) after you stop smoking?

72 to 96 hours. Trace residues can remain for up to a year but these have no addictive effect.

So my next goal is the 72 hours!





Larmy - many many thanks for your interest and encouragement:D

.

larmy16

IWRS so glad to hear you are feeling great and I think you are very wise to make your first few quit days as stress free as possible. Not long for you now before our "friend and crutch" will be physically kicked to the kerb!

You know quitters are all so different. Some people stop and somehow never are troubled again. I am so glad to be free yet still have the odd moment when the attatchment will re-appear. It is keeping up with this thread, posting those moments, knowing that someone will be appear to encourage me in my best and worst moments, that has kept me on the straight and narrow.

Some posts back Graeme Carter is ever mindful of the fact that just one puff could set him back to square one and I do still tend to do one day at a time, even though I am not so conscious about the fact I no longer smoke (what a great thing to be able to say!).

Also the fact that I no longer smoke and continue to succeed at this, has made me more confident that I can work on issues, such as low self esteem and doubts and worries about myself that caused me to think I needed a crutch in the first place.

Anyway I am waffling as usual. Keep it up. You are doing G R E A T! :T

PS If you look at your first post you were expecting it all the to be dreadful and yet you are managing it all really well. Good for you.

jo1972

IWRS, congratulations on kicking the habit and joining the thread

Larmy has given you the key to success here:

larmy16 wrote: »

you are already a non-smoker the moment you put the ciggie out. Yet somehow we project into the future that we will be free even though we already are! It's just getting our brains around that concept, then letting it go and accepting the freedom.

Just keep reminding yourself that you are now a non-smoker and you have been since you put your last one out.

Yes, there will be times that cravings will come, that's the habitual part of the disease, it's all subconcious. You need to prepare yourself for those and be aware that they will turn up. Don't be caught out by a craving, prepare a plan for when one arrives, how you can busy yourself. Carry some mints/gum to shove in your mouth, have something you can do with your hands to keep them busy.

At this early stage take each thought of smoking as it comes and don't worry about any you might get later. The time between cravings will get bigger and bigger very quickly, in a few days your brain will start to habitually NOT smoke during certain situations, it's all about re-training.

Good luck and keep us updated
xx

larmy16

Great post Jo. Also another thing I found helpful was to chew on a biro.

jo1972

Yes that's a good one, also saves on calories!

I_Wanna_Retire_Someday

Still going.

By lunch time it will be 72 hours and most of the nicotine will have left my body. I have a fairly relaxing day ahead of me so I think I will be untroubled today. However, tomorrow when I am back to the stress and strain of my working week I think this is when I might find it very difficult.

BUT I am in a determined mood. I have quit many times before but I realise now that I have never truly said to myself "That's it - I'm truly quitting forever ever"

I really am liking not having nicotine in my body.

Many Many Thanks for all your support.

jo1972

Well done IWRS :T it will get easier as the days go by I promise

kezzae

:jHi all,

Just a flying visit...............
Hubby and I are still smokefree:j dont even know how long, Ive lost count lol
The thought of ciggies pop in and out of my head occasionally but not very often and it doesnt make me badly crave one, as quick as the thought pops in it pops back out again......... that wasn't the case on Friday though..........

I could have strangled someone for a ciggie but I am pleased to say that although I spent most of the day in tears and feeling really low, I didnt give in and boy was I glad to see Saturday arrive.

I have been toddling along nicely and then bang out of nowhere that happens.:mad:
I spoke to hubby about it and he has noticed a pattern....... I seem to crave a ciggie when it's close to my 'time of the month' and when I thought about it he's right (sorry if thats too much info:o).

Does anyone else have this problem? Don't like the idea of feeling like that every month!

Great to see you all doing well:T