The Giving Up Smoking Thread - Part 3

kahunababy

Just a quick on to let you all know that according to my Quit Now App I have just broken the £100 saved mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All that in 2 weeks 1 day, shocking really!

Sue-UU

Brilliant really too, kahunababy!!! Fantastic news!!!!! :T

Sue x

Erme

Sue-UU wrote: »

Try the same place that you lost your camera

:rotfl: have you seen the amount of ironing on there? LOL

dizzydonkeys wrote: »

hi, hope I can join in here, really feel I need a bit of support.
Have not had a ciggy for 3 weeks and 24hrs now, was a 20 a day smoker. Have been doing really well but now seem to be struggling and getting cravings, have been tempted the odd occasion to have one but have managed to resist.
Would appreciate any tips, hep support whatever and to just be able to type nonesense to get past the wobbly moment.

Och anything you can do to distract yourself...even a straw might help or a plastic cig that tastes like a cigarette but has no nic or anything. We know you can do it hun :T and we're all right behind you

kahunababy wrote: »

Just a quick on to let you all know that according to my Quit Now App I have just broken the £100 saved mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All that in 2 weeks 1 day, shocking really!

I know amazing ...Quit Now apps and the like are fab

Had another good sleep last night though still can't sleep in my bed so well happy..

E

prepareathome

Hi all, well I am a smoker and I have got to give up for both health, safety and financial reasons, but it might sound daft as I am scared still. I know it does sound daft but you see I am bed bound a lot 80% + and so its hard to take my mind off not wanting to smoke. Health reasons are obvious as are financial, but safety you might say, well you see my hands like to do their own thing - suddenly open, I have no sensation of them opening and first thing I know is a burning on my leg if in bed. I don't think I own a set of bedding without one burn mark or hole, nor pjs. I am in pain a lot and unfortunately past few years hand pain has become more of a problem so a lot of times I just sit here reading kindle ( have it on a stand on overbed table) or online. I want to stop before I must due to income going down, not quite there yet, as I know it will be even harder, but stress of now applying for ESA ( on Incapcity at moment) and waiting to here if one of the redundancys at hubbys work is him - he only works part time now due to them trying to keep company going but now they want 8 people to volunteer - not worth it for him, I am smoking more - had got down to 10 but now up to 19 - the packs I buy have 19 in them and I will not open another pack if I smoke all them in a day, I have at least that little amount of will power.

Been smoking since I was 20 and I am 55.

Is there any hope for me or am I a hopeless case?

Sue-UU

Hi prepareathome and a warm welcome to the thread. I've just replied to your post on SPC, then come here and.....!

No one is a hopeless case and it's within us all to be able to quit, though I do appreciate that it's not quite so easy when you're as incapacitated as you are.

I firmly believe you were on the right track in cutting down, why not give than another try: Each time you reach for one, put the first in another separate packet, let at least 1/2 hr - 1 hr go by before allowing yourself one, but be sure to take it from the normal pack of ciggies not your "I didn't smoke these woopee!" ones.

Do that throughout the day and at the end of the day look in the pack and see how many you did NOT have and allow yourself the pride of being thrilled at saving a bit more health, being a bit safer, a bit better off too, it really does all count.

Make yourself do this every day "because I want to!", then go down a little further, even if you only reduce by one or two cigarettes a week at first - it's extremely applaudable as I think you'll realise! Then reduce by another one or two the following week..or more!

Now, you want to get to Australia, I know, put that at the forefront of your mind and while you're going without one, allow yourself to dream about the journey, the wedding, the beauty of the country - and a really wonderful holiday there. Even though life is anything but easy for you, no one can take away your hopes and dreams and the mind is a very powerful tool, use it to your advantage always.

Give me chance to think more about things that might help you, I have a "tailor-made" private message which I'll send to you now, but forgive the fact that some will definitely not apply to you, but skip passed those parts and pick out any that will.

Please, keep in touch with us, talking is another extremely helpful tool, so too is typing and whilst you're doing that (or using a speech to text system, like me) you're not think about fags! Doing that - even if you don't submit the message can be amazingly helpful.

Allow us the chance to help you, if there's a way of being as helpful to yourself as is possible then what a great thing for you, for us too as it's always marvellous to see folk say goodbye to those nasty horrible fags! Bit by bit you can do this!

One of our quitters is jammy dodger (better known as JD), she always used to have a jar that she put old dog-ends into, then added a little water...can you imagine how that stank?!!!! Use the image to see and SMELL that...what a thought. Stinking ashtrays too, a right turn off!

Use the mind preareathome, it IS possible to get you free, I'm sure of it!!!! I really do hope things work out well for your Husband and that his job will be safe.

Hugs, Sue x

jammy_dodger

good afternoon folks

just wanted to echo my two penny worth to prepareathome, sound help as ever from sue-uu

, i do hope you take those first steps and join our merry gang of freedom fighters ...freedom from old nic , it sounds like you have so much to look forward to and plan and if you can focus on that , maybe enilst some support from smoking cessation nurse ??

it truly is the best gift you can give yourself and your family

we all wish you well

JD xx

and yes sue-uu I do still have that stinking tabby pot ( one sealed pot i do not wish to open .....EVER ...ha ha ) ...not neecded to lift its lid for quite some time but .....if the screen was scratch and sniff would send you a pic :rotfl:

Sue-UU

jammy_dodger wrote: »

and yes sue-uu I do still have that stinking tabby pot ( one sealed pot i do not wish to open .....EVER ...ha ha ) ...not neecded to lift its lid for quite some time but .....if the screen was scratch and sniff would send you a pic :rotfl:

Oh thanks a bunch, JD, you're such a friend to think of me like that! Oh dear, just the thought of doing that turns my stomach :lipsrseal :undecided

I wondered about a Cessation Nurse, but wasn't sure about visits, definitely worth finding out about though prepareathome.

I'm off now, suddenly feeling quite queasy...JD's fault!

Sie x

prepareathome

Thanks all for your support, you give me hope. I am going to try what you say Sue-UU about if I want one put it aside and see if I can take my mind off it for as long as possible. If I could stop the money I saved would pay for the trip to Australia on its own as just worked it out would save 1938.15 at current prices so one year savings would pay for the flights and the other the spends, so you have certainly given me a new way to look at my stopping smoking.

So am really going to try to cut down and for every one I do not smoke in a day I will put that much away in another pot. Now I know easy to be eager but I know its going to be very hard but I have for first time managed to start savings - just never been a saver, never had much money but I know people on far less income than us that save so at long last I am learning, again early days only done so for a month but so far have over £60 in a pot from my change, so if can change my habits over money I know I can do it with smoking. In my family its just me and sisters that smoked, youngest sister has stopped but she is now hooked on the nicotine gum and her and her husband spend a fortune on that each week as they go through packets of the stuff. i don't want to replace the cigarettes just stop them.

I want one now but trying to be strong.

Thanks

Sue-UU

Hi again preparathome, I'm so thrilled to see you've found that there are ways to cut down, then to finally stop smoking. I was also pleased to hear you're saving all the money you won't spend on them, that will be a real incentive as well as your health and the safety aspects.

Personally, I truly think it has to be easier to give up smoking by cold turkey, it always seems to me to be a quicker way and less dragged out, but each to their own. Have you ever read one of Alan Carr's books on how to quit? Chrissie, (I just can't think of her username right now) one of the girls here who's recently stopped absolutely swears by his books and many others here have had great success with them over the past 3 - 4 years. Worth reading through for sure.

You're doing so very well with your finances now and I'm hoping that saving more gives you so much pride, so too will cutting down the smokes! You mentioned on the "Sealed Pot Challenge" thread that you do knitting, you can also get many free patterns on line to help save! Knitting is also something to help take your mind off cigs. You have much to look ahead to with your Son's wedding and the trip of a lifetime - enjoy getting prepared and let yourself get excited!!

One other thought you can try as you get closer to stopping altogether is the pledge below - which could even help NOW on an hourly or 2 hourly basis!

The Quitters Pledge

Tell yourself every morning "I'm not going to smoke at all today, but if I wish to, I may smoke tomorrow." Repeat that pledge every morning, it tricks your mind and makes things more bearable to do it in bitesizes.

Every best wish possible is heading your way, prepareathome for you to beat this awful habit - and you CAN! Stay strong!

Sue xx

jammy_dodger

hi there preparathome

we all know what you are going through and are wth you all the way

be magic if you can start cutting back , old nic wants you to stay loyal but kick him into touch and regain control of your life and expenditure ..

i can recommmend ravelry website for tons of free knitting patterns i have enough saved in my favourites there till i retire its free to register and though ive not been in the forums i believe from the knitters thread on moneysaving old style forum they are a friendly bunch and may be a welcome distraction

best of luck

jd xx

i'll be disappearing again for a few days ( visiting friends and family with festive gifts ...eek what a thought , could do without it really so much to do in my own place but has to be done ....ho..ho...ho

keep up the stirling work everyone whatever stage of quit you are at , together we can beat this and will have richer pockets , and richer lives :T:T:T

xx