The Giving Up Smoking Thread!! Part 2

donnaessex

Hi all.

I'm new to this thread but me and my partner have given up smoking.

I was a 20 a day girl and though my husband only smoked 2-3 cigs a day he could easily go through a pack of 20 if he had a night out. I have smoked for about 18 years (I am 31) - god I've just realised how terrible that is!!! I worked out that I spend over £2,000 a year on cigarettes and I only earn a very average salary.

Two weeks ago we caught our 2.5 yr old daughter "smoking" a straw. When asked what she was doing she said "having a cigarette like Mummy". It broke my heart. I have always tried not to smoke in front of her - we always smoke in the garden and I always tried to hide it but she's obviously seen me sometimes if she was playing or if we were at the park etc. I dont want her ever to remember me smoking. I also have an 18 month old boy. I gave up with no troubles when I was pregnant but only lasted until my daughter was 6 weeks and my son was 3 weeks. :mad:

My husband gave up last Sunday and I gave up on Monday.

However... I had a hard day on Friday and was doing my online shop late Friday night and automatically added my cigarettes to my order. I knew it was wrong and didnt tell my husband, but it didnt stop me and when they arrived on Saturday I lit up straight away. I was so disappointed and when my husband came home from work he was too. I ended up smoking all 20 of them Saturday and Sunday.

Today I start again. I have a patch on - I went cold turkey last week.

God its hard. Any tips? I know it sounds stupid but I bought some Roundup weedkiller last week and when I wanted a fag I just went into the garden and sprayed some weeds! It helped a bit.

We are putting £30 a week into our ISA and that plans to be our holiday fund for September next year. :T

grandmasam

Thanks for the encouragement to give up again, Andrew, Sheldon and Sue uu. My new date will be posted here, and it will be sooner rather than later!
When the last doggy lodger went home I really missed him, and the state of the house [rewire :eek:]just got too much.Now, [get a grip girl :cool:] tiling bathroom should be finished this week, and then i can start decorating and tile in the kitchen.
I really do not need or want this silly stick in my life :mad:
Caz

larmy16

Awww Donnaessex. What an amazing and touching story.

The only thing I can say to you is to bear in mind that so few parents nowadays smoke.

I know of a little girl who went out with her friend whose parents smoked in the park while they were playing.

When she came home she told her mother that she had felt really upset because the parents were smoking!!!!!! At first I thought, blimey, how sheltered her life is that the sight of some people smoking upset her?

But then I thought, this is how it must seem to children who have not been exposed to smoking in their homes.

Another little boy I know was telling me how horrible his teacher is. He said "She is really horrible and she smokes. Isn't that terrible?
I hate being near her cause her breath really smells".

I grew up around smoking parents in the days when everyone smoked, so I thought nothing of it. Times are changing.

Well Donna, it probably wont be easy, but you can do it. Try to remind yourself that it will get worse. By the time your little one gets to school and you are still smoking, she will be worrying herself silly that you will die..........not very nice for you or her.

Just post on here and join us all. We are all on the same journey - stopping and staying stopped. It gets so much easier after a couple of weeks and you will be so proud of yourself!

sheldon08

Hi everyone. I've reached 14 days without smoking:T

I think the actual cravings have gone altogether now. It certainly doesn't bother me when I get up in the mornings and it's not my first thought any more either. I think I *miss* the last one at night more. I suppose that's just routine as I would think to myself "One more, then bed time" which written down like that looks daft but I'm sure you all know what I mean:o

I had quite a difficult day yesterday. I wasn't craving but the habit was very much at the fore front of my mind most of the day. I came in from dropping my daughter off and as I had the house to myself I missed lighting up. I'm glad I don't have any in the house, it would be too easy just to reach for one.

In contrast today has been very easy though I have had a busy day at work so that helps.

Welcome Donna:T I think stopping smoking is a very personal journey but you CAN do it. Don't let cigarettes be the boss of you;)

andyc225

I just looked back at this thread and noticed that it's been nearly a year since my last post, and even then I'd been at this a month. I'm still a non-smoker today. It's amazing what really wanting something can get you.

donnaessex

larmy16 wrote: »

Awww Donnaessex. What an amazing and touching story.

The only thing I can say to you is to bear in mind that so few parents nowadays smoke.

I know of a little girl who went out with her friend whose parents smoked in the park while they were playing.

When she came home she told her mother that she had felt really upset because the parents were smoking!!!!!! At first I thought, blimey, how sheltered her life is that the sight of some people smoking upset her?

But then I thought, this is how it must seem to children who have not been exposed to smoking in their homes.

Another little boy I know was telling me how horrible his teacher is. He said "She is really horrible and she smokes. Isn't that terrible?
I hate being near her cause her breath really smells".

I grew up around smoking parents in the days when everyone smoked, so I thought nothing of it. Times are changing.

Well Donna, it probably wont be easy, but you can do it. Try to remind yourself that it will get worse. By the time your little one gets to school and you are still smoking, she will be worrying herself silly that you will die..........not very nice for you or her.

Just post on here and join us all. We are all on the same journey - stopping and staying stopped. It gets so much easier after a couple of weeks and you will be so proud of yourself!

Thanks so much Larmy you are so right.

I too grew up with smoking parents and it just wasnt questioned when we were younger. I remember my mum breastfeeding my youngest sister with a fag in her mouth and the ashtray on the arm of her chair! Its just not done anymore...

My daughter is just able to carry a conversation and even she has told us that cigarettes stink like poo. :rotfl:

It really struck a chord with me when you said about her worrying that I will die. I used to worry too about my mum.

More to think about and keep me going.

jammy_dodger

a warm welcome aboard donnaessex having motivation of a wee one mimicking you smoking is surely to be a deterent , i was one of the smoking by the playground mums , its true you see a lot less of them now and smokers are getting to be the minority of most social groups ,

so in a positive way if you cant beat em join em .. the none smokers that is

whatever your motivations keep them firmly in your mind at all times as that niggling craving will come your way and you'd be thinking " just one wont hurt "

i have saved too i whopping £770 already and would of smoked 2547 smokes i was on 15 a day

that is an awful lot of money and a lot of disgusting tabbies left not to mention the inhalation damage not just to me but to my family

keep it up guys the time soon comes when you barely / never think about them i promise stay strong you CAN DO IT x x

little_lily

Hello All!

I haven't posted on here for AGES but hve just had a catch up and thought I'd add my two -penneth worth!

I stopped in December 2008 - 1 year, 6 months, 2 weeks and 4 days ago (I STILL love my SilkQuit!) and have saved just short of £2000. But better than the money saved is the freedom from the slavery of nicotine. No more jumping out the car after a long journey for a fag, not more chain smoking before a flight, no more dashing out of the cinema at the end of a film or jumping up from the table in a restaurant to stand outside with the other nicotine saddos. It is TRULY WONDERFUL to be free.

Do I still think about smoking - most days it doesn't even cross my mind (I was a 20 a day girl for 25 years, by the way!). Very occasionally, I think "Ooh, I'd love a fag" but because I abslolutely know that one fag leads to another and then to another, there is NO WAY that I would ever smoke another one. I have beaten the nicotine monster - but he'd have me back tomorrow if he could...

And I have my own story about children. A friend has two boys - 11 and 9 - and he smokes like a chimney. A couple of months ago, the eldest broke down in tears when staying at ours - at 11, he knew, beyond any shadow of doubt, that smoking was seriously bad for you. He'd been studying the effects of smoking during science at school and had sat through a double lesson (including a video showing a smoker's lungs and a hands-on experiment with a 'U' tube, cotton wool and a Benson and Hedges to illustrate the tar in a single cigarette!). He was fully aware about EXACTLY how nicotine poisoned the body.

He wasn't crying because he THOUGHT his dad was going to die from smoking, he was crying because he KNEW his dad would die from smoking. These days, children don't learn that smoking might harm you one day in the distant future, they are taught in detail about how smoking can lead to heart disease, mouth cancer, throat cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, emphysemia....

This child was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders that night - I am SO glad I have lifted that burden from my own children.

Come on guys - I did it - you can too.

KellyB

Hello everyone.

I'm currently pregnant and very much want to quit smoking.

I started by cutting down but that lead to me smoking even more to make up for what I felt I was losing! If that makes sense?

I know I'm putting my baby at risk, I feel so guilty everytime I light up. Yet, the guilt makes me feel bad so then I want a ciggie! I'm messed up!

Anyway, today I have decided I'm no longer going to smoke. I'm not sure I can use any replacement things like patches as I am pregnant but I really want to quit for good.

I've been smoking up to 20 a day since I was 15, I'm now 29. I've never tried to quit before. Since finding out I'm pregnant I have cut down but nowhere near enough - Zero!!

I think the hardest times will be after eating and first thing in the morning but I'm just trying to think of all the benefits to my baby and me. I'm sick of feeling breathless and smelling like an ashtray too!

My partner doesn't smoke but I know he'll be very supportive and happy once I'm no longer smoking.

So anyway, that's my story

donnaessex

Hi Kelly!

I managed to give up smoking on both my pregnancies but it was still hard - people say "think of the baby" but when you have a cigarette in front of you or a baby that cant be seen the urge to smoke is still huge!

It will give you the kick start to quit though. My trigger points were first thing in the morning, then straight after my first cuppa, then driving home from work, then after dinner. I got round it by having 2 showers in the morning (barely got wet - just jumped in then dried myself off) - one as I got up, then another after my cup of tea. Then when I drove home from work I weaved a large elastic band through my fingers and pinged it while driving, and then after my dinner I had another shower. I dont think I've ever been so clean!!! But my point is that you have to find something different to do for a couple of weeks, just till the habit dies down.

I'm no angel, and I did slip a few times during the pregnancies, but only had maybe 1 or 2 every 6 weeks or so but I did start again after the babies were born. Grrrrrrr.

I have two toddlers now and am only on day 2 but feeling stronger than ever! The people on this thread seem to be a lovely bunch too.

Good luck. xxx