The Giving Up Smoking Thread - Part 3

RainbowDreamer

Evening well day 13 is almost over. Haven't used the spray at all today, just 3 pieces of gum.
Had 2 pints in the pub and a bottle of red wine at home, but strangely haven't craved much.

Went shopping with the money I'd saved from not smoking and treated myself to perfume and jeans. At least now I can smell it, lol.

Food is suddenly tasting so much nicer and my sense of smell has gotten so much better.

Well done to all you non-smokers. Hope you are having a lovely weekend.

linen53

Farzackerly wrote: »

Well, I believe him and I can assure you I have a finely crafted nose for spammers. Some people will experience the cravings many months or years down the line - I did, 20 years ago, and that was the worst mistake I made, giving in to them for just one fag/packet/whatever. For months I only smoked in the pub (can't do that now, ironically) but eventually I was smoking full-time again.
Nicorette (tm)

Thank you Farzackerly. My purpose in posting is to give an account for so many who find it very difficult to quit. It can be discouraging for those like me who hear nothing but "Hey, it only took a couple of weeks and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," over and over. These people will never post here past a few weeks. They will go where they can find continued support.

Farzackerly

linen53 wrote: »

Thank you Farzackerly. My purpose in posting is to give an account for so many who find it very difficult to quit. It can be discouraging for those like me who hear nothing but "Hey, it only took a couple of weeks and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," over and over. These people will never post here past a few weeks. They will go where they can find continued support.

Indeed; I want to point out to people that positive thinking is great - it does work, but cravings are part and parcel of this addiction and can strike at any time, long after the quitting process.
The way I see it is - I will never be a non-smoker; much like the alcoholic I will always be (assuming I successfully kick it) an ex-smoker. An alcoholic hasn't magically reset their body systems to zero; the dependency is still there and every day is a challenge (for some, more than others). It's exactly the same with this; this horrible poison that's been punted and fed to us for years, to enrich the evil people in charge of the tobacco industry, has a real hook in our systems and some of us will find it difficult to overcome it.
My previous attempts at giving up were done cold turkey, but I was much less addicted to it than I've become in recent years and my method for conquering it this time is different. If patches were available decades ago I might have tried sticking one on when the cravings struck - it might have saved me from another couple of decades of addiction, smells, and penury. When I think of all the money I've wasted burning weedy stuff, I also think of what else I could have done with it.
I've always been of the opinion that if tobacco were discovered now, it would be controlled and limited (and for sure, there would be an underground tobacco-smoking movement) but most people wouldn't enjoy it and wouldn't have anything to do with it. They'd stand aghast at the thought of polluting themselves with such a nasty substance and actually inhaling burning leaves - what a bizarre idea.

Sue-UU

Hi there tintingirland a very warm welcome! It's always good to see people on who, no matter what, keep on trying again rather than just carry on smoking because they THINK they can't or won't succeed.!

As fags have been a huge part of your life, as good as Champix is, you'll still need a good supply of willpower for a while too! Even then, we all need to go through an entire year of normal life before we can consider ourselves as having quit. Carry on again tintingirl and this time if you get to a stage of thoughts such as "ooh if only I could have just one puff or just one cig" ignore them completely knowing you have the strength and willpower to know you can win! Also remember what you've written above

"SO, for good this time. I hate smoking and I cannot afford it. Let's see how I get on.....I've smoked for 24 years!" :eek: Then think about your lungs and what they look like...the rest of your insides affected by smoking too. I truly do wish you well and a smoke-free life!

Sue x

Very well done indeed, Little bit dizzy!!! :T That first week, as you know, is a mammoth occasion, but you got there a day at a time, now keep right on in the same way. All the very best with week 2 dizzy, stay strong and focused!!!

Sue x

Well, all being well, RainbowDreamer, Day 13 is long gone now and another day further away from that nasty habit!!! :T You've made some positive moves by treating yourself, especially with perfume which lingers for hours...just like fag smoke, but now you have the scent of the perfume let it keep you reminded of how very far you've come! :grinheart

Keep on going RD!!!!!!

Sue x

To Farzackerly and anyone else who believes that perhaps I paint a rosy glow of quitting - that is NOT right, I can only give my own opinion and try and help others with how they are being affected, pure and simple!

I would be the first to say that for me, for the first 2 - 3 years I still had occasional "thoughts" such as "there's something missing..something I need" which once I'd thought hard about it was my mind still remembering for a few mini seconds that I used to smoke and that's the way it used to be. Once you catch on to why it happens it's then far easier to toss the thoughts aside; thoughts which, as time progresses get lesser in amount and far less powerful!!!

We're all wise to know we can never allow ourselves to become complacent, but there are many, many people who, through their own willpower and help via these threads, have quit smoking and still come back to tell us how happy they are to be free from fags 3 years down the line!

Sue x PS, Farzackerly, it should always be remembered that alcoholism is an illness - smoking is not!

linen53

Farzackerly I too must always watch myself and never let my guard down. Though I am 7 years smoke-free I once went 12 years smoke-free and then started again. It's a lesson well learned.

Sue, you do a wonderful job encouraging people trying to quit smoking. You've been here day after day helping and encouraging. Though you've attacked me on several occasions I hold no grudge.

And who says smoking isn't an illness? It took the "specialists" years to figure out alcoholism was a disease. There are so many who have tried to quit smoking countless times with no success.

I found this section of an article interesting:

Is Addiction a Disease?

Addiction is like most major diseases. Consider heart disease, the leading cause of death in the developed world. It's partly due to genes and partly due to poor life style choices such as bad diet, lack of exercise, and smoking. The same is true for other common diseases like adult-onset diabetes. Many forms of cancers are due to a combination of genes and life style. But if your doctor said that you had diabetes or heart disease, you wouldn't think you were bad person. You would think, "What can I do to overcome this disease?" That is how you should approach addiction.

Addiction is not a weakness. The fact that addiction crosses all socio-economic boundaries confirms that addiction is a disease. People who don't know about addiction will tell you that you just need to be stronger to control your use. But if that was true then only unsuccessful people or unmotivated people would have an addiction, and yet 10% of high-functioning executives have an addiction.

If you think of addiction as a weakness, you'll paint yourself into a corner that you can't get out of. You'll focus on being stronger and trying to control your use, instead of treating addiction like a disease and focusing on stopping your use.

Addiction is due 50 percent to genetic predisposition and 50 percent to poor coping skills. This has been confirmed by numerous studies. One study looked at 861 identical twin pairs and 653 fraternal (non-identical) twin pairs. When one identical twin was addicted to alcohol, the other twin had a high probability of being addicted. But when one non-identical twin was addicted to alcohol, the other twin did not necessarily have an addiction. Based on the differences between the identical and non-identical twins, the study showed 50-60% of addiction is due to genetic factors. Those numbers have been confirmed by other studies.

Again, I can't leave a link to the full article because I'm a newbie but I found it @ Addiction and Recovery dot Org-the title of the article is: The Genetics of Addiction by Steven M. Melemis Ph.D, MD.

Forgot to add: Alcohol and nicotine are both proven to be drugs.

k66yla

tintingirl wrote: »

Hi, can I join you?

I'm on day 5 of Champix so not far off going onto the full strength ones and quitting. I have done this before, go through the 12 weeks on the tablets and all the side effects, and then started again, soon on 20 a day. I was so annoyed with myself :mad:

SO, for good this time. I hate smoking and I cannot afford it. Let's see how I get on.....

I've smoked for 24 years! :eek:

I'm on day 5 of Champix as well. I gave up last Feb(after 20+ years) and managed to go for 9 months without a puff . Then I went on a residential course for a week and every break time people were outside in the sun smoking. By day 4 I asked someone for a fag. Had a couple more before the end of the course then nothing for a couple of weeks. Then got back to work and things started getting a bit stressful and it was an excuse to get outside for 5 mins break.
So last week decided to go back to the nurse and start the Champix all over again. Hoping to stop by Wednesday at the latest.

The nurse did say my failure was down to not finishing the previous course. I could'nt get an appointment for the last 2 weeks of tablets. Will make sure I get them this time!

Giraffeseeker

k66yla wrote: »

I'm on day 5 of Champix as well. I gave up last Feb(after 20+ years) and managed to go for 9 months without a puff . Then I went on a residential course for a week and every break time people were outside in the sun smoking. By day 4 I asked someone for a fag. Had a couple more before the end of the course then nothing for a couple of weeks. Then got back to work and things started getting a bit stressful and it was an excuse to get outside for 5 mins break.
So last week decided to go back to the nurse and start the Champix all over again. Hoping to stop by Wednesday at the latest.

The nurse did say my failure was down to not finishing the previous course. I could'nt get an appointment for the last 2 weeks of tablets. Will make sure I get them this time!

We'll be in it together then! I thought Tuesday, although, as I have 3 free lessons at school on Tuesdays (I'm a teacher) weds might be better as I teach all day and have less temptation to pop outside!

To make sure I finish the course I have paid for a 3 month NHS excemption certificate. This will only save me money if I use it for the next 5 prescriptions. I thought I'd be more inclined to finish the course if I paid in advance! Like you, I missed the last 2 weeks last time I tried and I am sure that didn't help - in fact I actually got the prescription from the nurse and didn't take it to the chemist as I thought I was ok! The nurse this time said I can carry on beyond the 12 weeks if I think there is a danger of going back to smoking - you can actually have the tablets for 24 weeks if they are helping.

Good luck!

xanti

Well done everyone!!

Day 5 here, it hasn't been easy over the weekend but I have developed a strategy that seems to help. When I get desperate I tell myself if I still want one in an hour, I'll go into town and buy some..that makes me relax straight away and when the hour is up I forget I even wanted one

I'll post back in a few days with how things are going..oh, I also don't feel knackered an hour (and 3 cigs) after I get up anymore..who have thunk it

SteffieLou

Hi all

I'm a newbie to this site so thought I'd pop in and say 'Hi' :hello:

Well, I'm 3 days smoke-free so far and hating every minute of it!! I have decided to go cold turkey although I have some patches and nicotine gum upstairs if things get really bad but I've managed without them so far but I don't know how much longer I can stave off tempation for! I took this decision purely in a n attempt to save as much money as I can and not necessarily because I decided the time was right so to speak. Every time I come close to getting in the car to pop down the shops and buy a pack, I just think about the money I've saved so far. I estimate I can save around £1200 by 31st December if I can stay smoke free!! I intend to still take the money out of my account and move it into some sort of savings account so I can actually see my money grow and know that it's worthwhile (apart from all the obvious health benefits etc).

Keep up the good work all

SteffieLou

Farzackerly

Sue-UU wrote: »

Sue x PS, Farzackerly, it should always be remembered that alcoholism is an illness - smoking is not!

That's just your opinion. Don't presume to tell me what I'm suffering from, that's entirely my knowledge and not yours.
Go easy on the bold type, too. It makes you look strident.