The Giving Up Smoking Thread!! Part 2

MrsChips

Hello Everybody... I'm new here, I've been lurking around the board for a few weeks now :cool: but i've now decided to Go for it (well try anyway!!).

I've just ordered some Nicorette Inhalators - I've gone for these rather than patches or Gum as I think i'll miss the feeling of having something in my hand so i'm hoping they will work for me.
I've been smoking since I was 14... 18 years now :eek: I'm currently on 15-20 a day. My main reason for giving up is the money I will save. I'm Self Employed and last month I earnt a measly £130 but spent £150 on Cigarettes!! It just doesnt make sense anymore (Not that it ever did)

I am one of those odd people that actually ENJOY Smoking - So God knows how I'm going to cope without my L&B's !! I've not taken the plunge to go Cold Turkey just yet (still waiting for my Inhalator to arrive) but as soon as I've had my first puff on my Nicorette I'll let you know how I'm getting on.

Thanks for all the helpful advice and Tips - Keep up the Good Work :T

graemecarter

I really wanted a ciggie today, have not had one though

Mrs_Jones22

Good luck all i plan to quit Tuesday the 17th of Marc, the day after my birthday as there are a few celebrations to go to so i am stopping the day after, and it is a milestone Birthday too

I have my jar of sugar free chubba chups at the ready.

skr80

Mrs_Jones22 wrote: »

Good luck all i plan to quit Tuesday the 17th of Marc, the day after my birthday as there are a few celebrations to go to so i am stopping the day after, and it is a milestone Birthday too

I have my jar of sugar free chubba chups at the ready.

Excellent - are the chubba or chuppa chops - not seen those for ages,,,

jeaniej_2

Good evening everyone and good luck to you if you are just starting on your smoke free journey. Just want to say to Sue-uu wow and want a fantastic achievement to be a non smoker for ten years you are a real inspiration for everyone on here well done. It shows everyone that it is possible to be a lifelong non smoker.
I've had a great day even forgot to take champix today and didnt even realise till I got in from work tonight. To be honest didnt notice any difference. I must continue though as I feel I need support and I enjoy visiting the Nhs for the support they offer. I am still hungrey all the time but am trying to eat fairly healthy meals and not too many snacks. Got weighed this morning and I havent put any weight on at all, but I always feel a lot heavier and bloated now than I did when I smoked. Still eight weeks and havent put a pound on so I am really motivated and my general health is much better now. I even had a small run tonight and no wheezing coughing and feeling exhausted.great. It is thirty two years ago when I first started this dreadful habit and I refuse to let it ruin the rest. Good luck and keep up the excellent work everyone.

skintandscared_2

MoonRose77 wrote: »

Morning cigarettes were the hardest for me to give up so I decided that I was going to stop at midday then when I woke up the next morning I was closer to being on day 2 as a non-smoker. Might not work for everyone but for those that are struggling maybe worth a try this way instead.

Morning ones are the most treasured because you've gone quite a few hours without while you've been asleep. The nicotine gremlin is a hungry hippo first thing and he wants his breakfast!! Just try one thing though. Sit on the bed, close your eyes and take two deep breaths. Really concentrate on the "in" breaths and slowly let your breath out.

Now just concentrate on how you feel at that moment. That is the WORST your cravings will EVER get. They will never get any stronger than that and they will never last more than 2 minutes at a time. There is no actual "pain". In fact (sorry fellas) but I have had monthlies that hurt a damn sight more than quitting cold turkey did!! Now, is that feeling really SO unbearable that you can't cope with feeling like that a couple of times an hour for three days?

I think part of the fear of quitting cold turkey is that it's hard to believe that jittery feeling will ever go. You think that's how you will feel forever. But believe me, when you wake up on the fourth day and the nicotine has finally left your body completely, the feeling of calm is really lovely. I'd forgotten how good it is. And I wasn't a "part-time" smoker either. I've smoked 30 a day since I was 18 and I'm now 41!

If you want it, and you believe you can do it, you really CAN do it.

skintandscared_2

MrsChips wrote: »

I am one of those odd people that actually ENJOY Smoking - So God knows how I'm going to cope without my L&B's !! I've not taken the plunge to go Cold Turkey just yet (still waiting for my Inhalator to arrive) but as soon as I've had my first puff on my Nicorette I'll let you know how I'm getting on.

Hiya, and welcome to the thread! I'm sure you'll find lots of helpful advice here.

The really clever thing about nicotine is that it works on your brain so gradually, that by the time you are a 15-20 a day smoker you truly believe you are actually smoking out of choice. I don't pretend to know you but I can tell you one thing for certain. You are not smoking because you enjoy it. You are smoking because you are addicted to a drug and your body needs a fix of that drug at regular intervals which you have created a "routine" for in your life.

The one advantage of going cold turkey instead of using nicotine replacement products is that you don't replace ciggies with the same drug but in a different form. But I totally understand how scary it seems before you quit, and anything that helps has got to be a good idea. I found Sue-UU's suggestion of drinking water and fruit juice a massive help. It's replacing the action of smoking with something completely different. It's amazing how quickly we "unlearn" habits. You'd think that doing something 20 times a day for 18 years would mean it is pretty much embedded in your brain forever. But it's not. I'm desperately trying to remember where I read this - I WILL find it to prove my point - but apparently it only takes about 20 times of doing something differently to unlearn that behaviour. It's nowhere near as long as you'd expect.

I think the important thing is to stay with people (like on this forum) who will support you no matter what!! If you have a good day/bad day, fall off the wagon or whatever. We are all only human and can only offer bits of advice that have worked for us. But we're all different and all respond to different methods. That's why I love this thread - there seems to be support for pretty much every method of quitting and at the end of the day it's the quitting that really matters, not how we get there!

nikzGfx

skintandscared wrote: »

Hiya, and welcome to the thread! I'm sure you'll find lots of helpful advice here.

The really clever thing about nicotine is that it works on your brain so gradually, that by the time you are a 15-20 a day smoker you truly believe you are actually smoking out of choice. I don't pretend to know you but I can tell you one thing for certain. You are not smoking because you enjoy it. You are smoking because you are addicted to a drug and your body needs a fix of that drug at regular intervals which you have created a "routine" for in your life.

The one advantage of going cold turkey instead of using nicotine replacement products is that you don't replace ciggies with the same drug but in a different form. But I totally understand how scary it seems before you quit, and anything that helps has got to be a good idea. I found Sue-UU's suggestion of drinking water and fruit juice a massive help. It's replacing the action of smoking with something completely different. It's amazing how quickly we "unlearn" habits. You'd think that doing something 20 times a day for 18 years would mean it is pretty much embedded in your brain forever. But it's not. I'm desperately trying to remember where I read this - I WILL find it to prove my point - but apparently it only takes about 20 times of doing something differently to unlearn that behaviour. It's nowhere near as long as you'd expect.

I think the important thing is to stay with people (like on this forum) who will support you no matter what!! If you have a good day/bad day, fall off the wagon or whatever. We are all only human and can only offer bits of advice that have worked for us. But we're all different and all respond to different methods. That's why I love this thread - there seems to be support for pretty much every method of quitting and at the end of the day it's the quitting that really matters, not how we get there!

:T Great advice, breaking the habit is the hardest part, but once done you won't realised you've done it. I have more time to do more things and even at work I am not constantly out smoking, work would of been the hardest place for me but I've learnt to deal with stress in other forms, the stress feels better than being stressed when smoking not that stress is a good feeling but I don't feel as stressed about having a cig to relieve stress. If I make any sense lol.

skintandscared_2

nikzGfx wrote: »

:T Great advice, breaking the habit is the hardest part, but once done you won't realised you've done it. I have more time to do more things and even at work I am not constantly out smoking, work would of been the hardest place for me but I've learnt to deal with stress in other forms, the stress feels better than being stressed when smoking not that stress is a good feeling but I don't feel as stressed about having a cig to relieve stress. If I make any sense lol.

It makes perfect sense! The work stress exists anyway and is there whether you smoke or not. If you are a smoker, you have the EXTRA stress of going through withdrawal and having cravings every hour or so. What happens if you are just about ready for your ciggie break and you get a really awkward phone call or your boss gives you a nasty urgent piece of work?! Yup, you feel like exploding!! But once you've quit, those same stressful situations suddenly are a LOT more manageable.

I was bullied at school for the first year of middle school, and changed schools several times with my dad moving jobs and us moving areas. That was probably the most stressful time of my life. But I managed to get through that quite easily without ciggies!!

Nicotine is a very clever drug. We persuade ourselves that it's helping us through those difficult times but actually it's the withdrawal from the drug that CAUSES the difficult times!!!!!!!!

KatieShopstoomuch

Hello newbie to this thread i've failed at quitting smoking soooooo many times i'm only 22 but started when i was 13 :(for some reason i'm finding it so so hard. I've quit again and lasted 2 weeks so far which is the longest i've ever lasted......I've always found it so hard i've tried the inhalator, cold turkey!, patches, champix (couldn't hack them i went a bit mental)........the first week was hell and then this past 6/7 days i've felt ok until this evening.....I was watching corrie lol and one of the characters becky had a cig in her mouth and i just ended up crying?! I really wanted one i felt awful but i've got over it now and stuck another patch on..........I'm really determined this time and i'm also reading alan carrs easy way book..... Really i'm just joining in here for support and to say well done to everybody who has quit or in the process of quitting!!