The Giving Up Smoking Thread - Part 3

salski

Popping on to say hello and that we're still smoke free in this household.
Thank you all for your well wishes and congratulations. Its hard work breastfeeding on demand, but Im keeping at it and smoking is becoming less and less on my list of things to think of!
Oh and the smell!! People who smoke that come near my baby....oooh they make me so mad, smelling the way they do and their clothes and their breath! Grrr LOL - I am turning into an ex-smoker lol
Hope everyone is doing well, and Im sorry to not be around much! Feeding the little one every 2 hours means when I do get 5 mins, its getting food in me! LOL
Sal xxxxxxxxxx

Lucy1010

determined_new_ms wrote: »

hey Lucy the pleasure is all mine! Am so happy to help anyone get free, but you've done all the work! I just pointed you in this direction, and yes this thread and the wonderful supportive people on it make all the difference! I wish we could get an ad on the TV we could cure millions - although would we have the time??!? :rotfl:

so you will need to update that thread you started very soon as you have a it more to play with now eh??? :T

so sorry to hear about your break up but hopefully over time something much more wonderful will happen for you (when I broke up with my partner 6b years ago I was devastated and had a breakdown. Now I realise as difficult as it was it was the best thing as I have met someone who has changed my life - I really wish you the same x)

You are right, I am sure that everything happens for a reason, if it weren't for the break up I would not be here, I had no intention of giving up... it was only until we broke up that I started chain smoking, so much so that my poor chest couldn't handle it.

Hey, this morning when I woke up, instead of feeling chesty I could actually BREATH properly... like properly breath! I haven't breathed like that for years and its only been 3 days! I never ever thought I could do this... ever! I am also £200 richer this month... that's £200 to throw at my credit card! Woohoo! :j

MissGolightly

Good morning all! Have hit another milestone, 5 months, can hardly believe it :j only 1 month until my big treat :j

£200 thrown at a credit card is amazing Lucy, well done! I wasn't chesty at all to begin with, but had a horrible throat infection in the 4th month which ended when I coughed up something... well... rank and inhuman, haha. Have been bringing up quite a lot of phlegm this past couple of weeks, but then I have also started a running class, so maybe all the deep breathing is helping shift it too (read deep breathing as panting like a dog, haha)

salski I always joke I am the worst kind of smoker... and ex-smoker! I almost thumped my brother on Sunday, as we were all sat in the kitchen having a gossip, and my mum and him were smoking, I asked my mum to open a window or something and he blew his smoke right in my face!! I thought I was going to hulk out I was so angry! haha. Smokers do totally stink though, I loathe giving kisses and hugs goodbye to family if I know they've been smoking in the past 10-15 minutes cause they reek!!

Lucy1010

MissGolightly wrote: »

Good morning all! Have hit another milestone, 5 months, can hardly believe it :j only 1 month until my big treat :j

£200 thrown at a credit card is amazing Lucy, well done! I wasn't chesty at all to begin with, but had a horrible throat infection in the 4th month which ended when I coughed up something... well... rank and inhuman, haha. Have been bringing up quite a lot of phlegm this past couple of weeks, but then I have also started a running class, so maybe all the deep breathing is helping shift it too (read deep breathing as panting like a dog, haha)

salski I always joke I am the worst kind of smoker... and ex-

Thank you for your support!!! It's day 4 cold turkey, had the day off work today so kept really busy.... gardening, clearing out garage, ironing and then a spinning class at the gym and some weight lifting... it was all good until NOW, I am craving so badly... I keep thinking you can do it... you can do it" but the craving is driving me mad... I want this horrible feeling to go away... it does go away for a min or two but then it comes back in a massive wave leaving me feeling like a crazy woman, washing up, drying up.... I have ran out of housework !!! Help me!!!!! xx

determined_new_ms

hey Lucy sorry have been away from the comp all evening but have seen ur cry for help now! I totally know how you feel right now, that weird feeling for the first fews days, it does get better I promise. It lessons, but its a really weird needy feeling (or that's how it was for me)

In the first couple of weeks I spent time reading through the old thread - so this is part 3 & on page 1 there are links to 1 & 2. It was really helpful for me and totally kept me occupied those first few days when my mind & hands needed to be kept busy at all times

You've done fantastically though you should really be proud of urself! Keep plugging away at it and before you know it you'll be debt & fag free :j:money::j

hethmar

Dont usually post on here but saw the thread and just wanted to congratulate all you new non-smokers. I stopped 4 years 3 months ago after 40 years so yes, you can all do it.

Lucy - dont fight it - dont think to yourself Im desperate for a fag, because really you arent. After you have the fag, what great difference will it make - none except you will feel miserable for giving in.

Have you downloaded the Silkquit meter which I found a terrific aid when I gave up. It tells you how many fags you havent smoked, how much money you have saved and how much time you have potentially added to your life span and it ticks away all the time in the background. When you start seeing the number of fags in the thousands, you realise just how awful an addiction it is. AND you see the money you saved mounting up. I bought a Radley handbag (my first ever) after being off the fags for 3 months - I was wasting £40 a week on them, 12 weeks and I had nearly £500 in the kitty to spend on ME not on the cancer sticks. Then it was having cosmetic dentistry and my god after years of fags you do need it - so £3k on the teeth and they are brilliant. Think of the money and what you can do with it and think of how your lungs were getting blacker and blacker every time you lit up.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:C5oFC6DSmzcJ:www.silkquit.org/stop-smoking/quit-meter.aspx+silkquit+meter&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=firefox-a&source=www.google.co.uk

SO now, I donate some of the money I save to a cause I am devoted to (animal welfare), I have more than enough to have a facial at a beauty salon every 6 weeks and I have my hair done every 6 weeks. Just think of the benefits. Your hair stops stinking, your breath stops stinking, you dont cough up phlegm (so unlady like!) and your teeth and gums improve, your skin improves and you will stop adding wrinkles to your face. Ive saved over £8k since I packed up and I buy treats for myself and family which is much better than spending it on the cigs.

Also, on top of the silkquit meter, get yourself some inhalators - you can even get them on prescription now.

Good luck, dont think about the next hour or next day, think about NOW - you dont need the fag now and you wont next time you think about it. Its an evil little stick that wants to make you ill - do you really want to let it do that? Buy the handbag, not the cancer

Triciaxx

Good morning.

Lucy : I hope you feel better after a night's sleep. It honestly does get better - if it hadn't I'd have started again.:eek: One of the things I kept thinking was that, once this was over, I would NEVER have a craving for a cig again. :j All those times when I was somewhere I couldn't smoke and got all twitchy were stopping me having a normal life.

hethmar : thanks for posting. I find it really helpful to hear of people who have stopped for so long. The government stats (pauses to recite a curse here:mad:) don't follow up for a long period so I do wonder how successful the NHS scheme really is.:(

Sally : 2 hourly feeds is another experience I've been through! Good for you and I agree entirely that you do not want smoke anywhere near your baby.:eek:

Miss Golightly: I didn't have any chest problems when I stopped but now (2 months on) feel constantly as if I have phlegm in my throat which won't clear. I feel better knowing that someone else had a good clear out several months down the line. Thanks for sharing that and I'm so pleased you are nearing your 6 months. :T:beer::T

I had another of those little milestones yesterday - another thing I hadn't done since quitting:cool: The weather was lovely and we decided to drive up to the Lake District for a few hours of lovely views (and, for me, a little trip to Lakeland shop in Windermere for some kitchen gadget !!!!!! :cool:). We stopped at the cheapest petrol station on the way in good MSE style. I would have bought an extra pack of cigs, just in case, and felt really weird not doing it. It makes me realise how much was ritual and habit.

That little bit above is one of the reasons I post on here. My DH would absolutely not understand if I had told him as he has never smoked. I've no other ex-smoker to tell and you guys are all on the same path.

All you new folk :wave::wave: Rant away on here, share your experiences - good and bad! We have either been there or will get there soon. Like DNMS, I read through the old threads and found it helpful. There's a linky on the post of the current thread and there are 9 in total which should keep you out of mischief for a good long time. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Remember, we only know you on here - not in real life, so you can say anything and only your virtual friends will ever know and no one here will judge you. We'll cheer you on :T:T. We'll try and support you through bad times :kisses3:

And we'll all get there TOGETHER.

elliegibbo

Hi All

Sorry I havent been on in ages.

I seem to be struggling now more than ever even though I'm near the 2 month mark.

Keep having the thoughts that "one won't hurt" (although havent caved in). Is this normal??

Thought things would be getting easier but my cravings seem to be worse now more than ever...

hethmar

Tricia - and OMG, dont you feel smug when you see people standing outside a pub or a theatre in the rain sucking away madly on a fag in the interval - its so degrading having to do that, isnt it I was on a train recently, long distance. And there was one guy who would jump out to have just a few drags when the train had an occasional stop at a station. I honestly felt sorry for him

Ellie, of course its normal. Even after over 4 years I often go to look for my fag packet in my bag - its ingrained into you. BUT no you mustnt have just one. I did that after Id been off them six weeks on my previous try, apart from my legs buckling as you feel a rush of the chemicals in your blood (seriously) I felt absolutely sick with myself. That one fag in the drawer became, just one pack of 10 .......... within 2 weeks I was back on 30 a day. DONT have even one fag, dont keep one in the house, just in case. Think of NOW, imagine you have just put a fag out so you dont need another one NOW. And do that every time you crave one. It will pass when you start seeing the benefits. Dont dwell on NOT smoking, think I am now a non-smoker, I dont need those things.

As I said above, download the silkquit program to help your self, treat yourself with the money you save and if you want to drag on something, get some inhalators.

Lucy1010

Thank you so much everyone

I went to bed early so I didn't have to sit through the cravings

I have been fine up until now, I am at work and I don't usually smoke during work hours but at lunch time I do go out for one... so right now is a little difficult for me and I certainly don't want to start munching on sweets and chocs - don't want to ruin all the work I do at the gym.

I need one question answered please??? What are your cravings like? My mouth feels weird all that time, I don't know how to describe the feeling but its like an unpleasant tingling sensation in my mouth and gums... what is it? Is is the craving in my mouth? I feel this more than anything.

Please tell me what it's like for you xx