Need to quit

bossymoo

I was going to suggest the e-cig too. Don't know if they are a good replacement, or the health side of things, but worth exploring with your midwife or gp? Good luck.

I quit about a decade ago. My mum moved house, and the previous owners were smokers. I helped on moving day. House was a bit dirty and I ended up cleaning the bathroom. I got all the hot taps running to get it all steamy, and the condensation running down the tiles was yellow from the nicotine stains. My mum said "that's your lungs, that is" and I just stopped, there and then. Ugh.

Good luck.

kloana

I've never been pregnant, but have quit smoking. I tried complete cold turkey loads of times, but it never worked.

Then I decided that I'd permit myself just one cigarette a day. To make sure I stuck to just one smoke, I had my partner ration my supply, i.e. I wouldn't go out and buy 10/20 fags myself (as I would've caved in and smoked the lot), but I was given one ciggy after work each day, as a 'treat'.

I found that after a very short period of time, I wasn't craving cigarettes at all, but was actually looking forward to my treat. I knew my 'fix' would be available to me at an appointed time, and this kept me going.

This went on for a few months, til I just stopped completely one day, and never smoked again. This will sound disgusting, but if I come across anyone smoking in public nowadays, I'll actually gravitate towards them, just to get a good therapeutic whiff!

ETA, during an earlier, unsuccessful attempt to quit/cut down, my tactic was to make it through the working day without a smoke. It always worked, and to be honest, I could go 8+ hours without even thinking of cigs. However, as soon as I left work, I'd gravitate towards the nearest shop, out of sheer force of habit, and binge smoke 10 within the space of 2-3 hours. Not very productive, probably even less healthy than smoking 10 over an 18 hour period, and a complete waste of my otherwise smoke-free day!

j.e.j.

tattycath wrote: »

OP is asking for help to stop smoking-your comments are unwarranted and unhelpful

as are most of their pugnacious little postings on this site..

Triangle

good_vibes wrote: »

If you really want to quit you could by the patches yourself. NHS don't give them out. It cost just under £10 for a 7 day course of patches, where a 20 of cigs cost you just over £6 pounds.

Just to say, you get patches through the NHS by using their smoking cessation sessions. Patches can be given on prescription which even if you have to pay for prescriptions can work out a lot cheaper as they can give two weeks worth. The sessions can be a great source of support too - you can talk through various different methods (safe to use in pregnancy) and meet with someone regularly (once a week or so) for extra support.

Edit - just re-read the OP and seen that they won't offer you patches. Have you asked why this is?

duchy

Don't suppose they'll be around for long -The report button is your friend

On to more practical things ....grapefruit juice helps as it makes the ciggies taste vile

GFN123

Depending on your preference, buy a book or DVD The book is around £6 or the DVD £12.99 on Amazon - didn't check other sites.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Allen-Carrs-Easy-Stop-Smoking/dp/B000IOF6B6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1351799913&sr=8-6

No connection, but an ex heavy smoker who quit with no fuss or pain using the Allen Carr method (the book for me, no DVD back then!). It's not horror stories or shock tactics, just a simple explanation of the whys and wherefores of addiction and some very simple 'reverse psychology' type stuff (for want of a better explanation!) that makes it really easy to stop. It sounds odd, but it actually makes it enjoyable.

One thing I took from the book was the fact cutting down can be detrimental, as you look forward even more to your 'treat' of a cigarette which reinforces how much you want to smoke them (as one poster verified, although did say they managed to quit in the end).

The other was patches etc simply keep on feeding the physical addiction, when actually it's the mental addiction that needs to be overcome.

Yes I am a convert and apologies if it reads like an ad, hopefully I've been here long enough and my post history will show I've no axe to grind about it

Different things do work for different people, but this worked so well without any horrible cravings or upset afterwards that I hoped it was worth sharing. Lots of reviews on the method all over the internet.

System

Triangle wrote: »

Just to say, you get patches through the NHS by using their smoking cessation sessions. Patches can be given on prescription which even if you have to pay for prescriptions can work out a lot cheaper as they can give two weeks worth. The sessions can be a great source of support too - you can talk through various different methods (safe to use in pregnancy) and meet with someone regularly (once a week or so) for extra support.

Edit - just re-read the OP and seen that they won't offer you patches. Have you asked why this is?

Nicotine replacement therapy is a category C medication. This category is defined as drugs which, owing to their pharmacological effects, have caused or may be suspected of causing, harmful effects on the human foetus or neonate without causing malformations.

So its not recommended, but they will prescribe when you weight up the risks between nicotine and carbon monoxide

Nicotine replacement therapy and pregnancy

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding and you want to quit smoking, it's best to stop completely and immediately without any treatment.
However, if you feel you cannot stop smoking without help, your GP may recommend NRT to control your cravings.
Nicotine is not good for your baby, but the greatest risk from smoking is posed by carbon monoxide, which can cause foetal hypoxia (a severe lack of oxygen). So although using NRT is not ideal for your baby, the risks of nicotine are far outweighed by the risks of continuing to smoke.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/smoking-(quitting)/Pages/Treatment.aspx

alsoinhd

Why dont we go and get the op a few cans of lager aswell while were at it?
If I get banned then so be it - if being banned is the price of caring about this baby more that its mother that bring it on.

Triangle

Thanks for the info MessedUp.

OP, I would still strongly recommend you have a one-to-one appointment with a smoking cessation advisor. They will be able to discuss methods best suited to you and, as per the info MessedUp provided, may decide the benefits of NRT outweigh the risks in your particular case.

Triangle

Also OP, have a look at the stop smoking thread on the DFW section of this forum (I *think* its still going).