The Giving Up Smoking Thread!!

CHEAP_AS_CHIPS_4

Hi all,

i came over to this board a few weeks ago intending to give up, i am sorry to say i didn't,

i am crying as i write this as i so, so want to stop, but as soon as i try to, i just can't!!!

my husband is off work this week and i really wanted to stop then so that he is around to help out with the kids and things and to help take my mind off it.

i am going to set my date for tommorow as i really want to be a non smoker, any advice would be greatly appriciated.

well done everyone who has managed to do this, i think you are all superstars

mumzy - sending you huge hugs xx

TNG

CHEAP_AS_CHIPS wrote: »

Hi all,

i came over to this board a few weeks ago intending to give up, i am sorry to say i didn't,

i am crying as i write this as i so, so want to stop, but as soon as i try to, i just can't!!!

my husband is off work this week and i really wanted to stop then so that he is around to help out with the kids and things and to help take my mind off it.

i am going to set my date for tommorow as i really want to be a non smoker, any advice would be greatly appriciated.

well done everyone who has managed to do this, i think you are all superstars

mumzy - sending you huge hugs xx

Advice? Firstly, don't get upset about it!!!!! You'll be in the wrong frame of mind to start stopping.


look at some of the links in post #1. Failing that, read all of JoeHel's posts....



How are you going to do it? Cold Turkey? We have done most methods between us on here, so someone can give you the benefit of their experiences

tattycath

CHEAP_AS_CHIPS wrote: »

Hi all,

i came over to this board a few weeks ago intending to give up, i am sorry to say i didn't,

i am crying as i write this as i so, so want to stop, but as soon as i try to, i just can't!!!

my husband is off work this week and i really wanted to stop then so that he is around to help out with the kids and things and to help take my mind off it.

i am going to set my date for tommorow as i really want to be a non smoker, any advice would be greatly appriciated.

well done everyone who has managed to do this, i think you are all superstars

mumzy - sending you huge hugs xx

Hi Cheap as Chips. First of all as TNG says don't get upset about it. I gave up smoking in february and didn't smoke for 6 months-then I stupidly started again. I stopped smoking again at beginning of December. I feel so much better for it. I went cold turkey, no patches, no gum, sheer willpower and the tremendous support I have received from everybody on this thread-they are all fantastic and so supportive. I think you have to be of the mindset to really want to stop-no good being half hearted about it, and if you have a lapse, don't worry, pick yourself up and come on here for support-we will all support you as much as we can. I am now at the stage where I think cigarettes absolutely stink and that's a good sign!! So please don't cry and I'm sure someone else will be along soon to give you other hints on other ways of stopping. Good luck-and don't forget we are here!!!

Lou3000

:AWell, if it'll help, here's a link to a review I wrote for Ciao on the Niquitin patches I used 2 years ago to stop the fags - plus, of course, the some general 'how I did it' tips!

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Niquitin_CQ_Step_3_Patches__Review_5526038

CHEAP_AS_CHIPS_4

Lou3000 wrote: »

:AWell, if it'll help, here's a link to a review I wrote for Ciao on the Niquitin patches I used 2 years ago to stop the fags - plus, of course, the some general 'how I did it' tips!

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Niquitin_CQ_Step_3_Patches__Review_5526038

thanks lou, that was really inspiring.

i really really want to do it, i dont want to be a slave to these things anymore.
i know i have all the reasons in the world to stop and no reason at all to carry on.

JoeHel

Cheap as Chips - I felt similar to you 2 months ago and I'd just had enough. I was so fed up of feeling ill, skint, smelly and like a leper every time I went to a pub!!! I've tried patches and gum before and they didn't work for me. They didn't help get my head in the right place so I just ended up switching between patches and fags and taking in more nicotine than ever! This time I read the Allen Carr book "How To Quit Smoking Permanently" plus I logged on to WhyQuit.com and found so much stuff to inspire me I literally had no good reason not to give it a go.

The main message from the book and the site is very simple. You smoke because you are a DRUG ADDICT. That's it. No other reason. They don't smell nice, taste good, support you, wake you, relieve your boredom, calm you down or whatever other excuse you can come up with to continue! You are addicted to nicotine, FULL STOP! Once you break that addiction (72 hours) you have no need to smoke again. You only light up to relieve the withdrawal pang left by the previous ciggie. As soon as I got my head around that, I honestly found it so easy. Yes, you do think about smoking but when you get those thoughts you turn them into something positive and think "FANTASTIC - I don't need those drugs any more!"

Personally I favour the cold turkey method because I can see how I previously failed, by just replacing ciggies with another form of nicotine! Plus

(a) It's loads easier than you think it'll be
(b) It's cheap
(c) It's QUICK!
(d) You feel the changes in your body physically happening, and that spurs you to carry on.

It takes 3 days to rid your body of the drug nicotine. Yes, it puts up a fight now and again but you just think "PAH! I don't need YOU any more!" Drinking fruit juice helps speed up the elimination of nicotine from your blood and regulate your blood sugar. A lot of the "jittery" feeling is actually dropping blood sugar, NOT nicotine pangs!

Best of luck to you and to anyone wanting to try. There's a lot of support on this thread and usually someone around willing to offer hints and tips :T

Hiya to TNG and the usual suspects

mumzy, thinking of you chick and hope you're alright. [I wanted to put a *hug* icon here but I can't find it and the "grouphug" icon looks WELL rude and not quite what I had in mind at all!!! :shocked: ]

DebtfreeBY40_2

I quite agree. I have now been a non-smoker since 10th August 2007. My friend and I decided to give up at the same time. She went to a hypnotist and went onto patches. I gave up. I went cold turkey and struggled for about 3-4 days with the actual need for nicotine and for a few weeks with the habit. By the time I had stopped thinking about cigarettes she was still on patches and is now back full time smoking again. Because she was still thinking about cigarettes, she was still thinking about how she was trying to give up smoking. Martin tells us to see consumerism for what it is. Maybe patches are another way of making money out of us? I totally agree with horses for courses and not everyone can do everything the same and nor would they want to. And its not easy. But it gets easier. I promise. The CARR book was a god send. It is by far the best book I have ever read. I've started smoking again before so this isn't all plain sailing but I have the book ready this time. I'm not starting again, ever.

Good luck to you. I know its difficult but its entirely achieveable. I believe it.

JoeHel

DebtfreeBY40 wrote: »

I quite agree. I have now been a non-smoker since 10th August 2007. My friend and I decided to give up at the same time. She went to a hypnotist and went onto patches. I gave up. I went cold turkey and struggled for about 3-4 days with the actual need for nicotine and for a few weeks with the habit. By the time I had stopped thinking about cigarettes she was still on patches and is now back full time smoking again. Because she was still thinking about cigarettes, she was still thinking about how she was trying to give up smoking. Martin tells us to see consumerism for what it is. Maybe patches are another way of making money out of us? I totally agree with horses for courses and not everyone can do everything the same and nor would they want to. And its not easy. But it gets easier. I promise. The CARR book was a god send. It is by far the best book I have ever read. I've started smoking again before so this isn't all plain sailing but I have the book ready this time. I'm not starting again, ever.

Good luck to you. I know its difficult but its entirely achieveable. I believe it.

Brilliant post - absolutely spot on with how I feel too. Like Allen says, all you really need to do to become a non-smoker is, err, not smoke!

I've said before I don't think those NRT adverts on telly should be allowed as they are blatantly lying! All those scary pictures of the demon nicotine monsters! Complete rubbish! Yes, there are occasional withdrawal pangs when you are quitting (which last no longer than 3 minutes a time, by the way) but it's no worse than the normal pangs every smoker goes through every day - when you're at work and can't smoke, in the cinema, in a pub, etc, etc...

With cold turkey you only need to deal with 3 days of occasional pangs, then they are gone forever. One of the most memorable days of my last 22 years was the feeling I had waking up on day 4. I was so calm it was absolute heaven!! I forgot what my "normal" state was like. And I know 100% I will NEVER want to go back to that state of semi-panic every time I'm not allowed to smoke! The only thing you need to remember for the rest of your life is Never Take Another Puff! Even a single drag will take you back to that 72 hour nicotine detox. Don't underestimate nicotine ever!

I have been quit for 1 Month, 1 Week, 6 Days, 23 hours, 4 minutes and 27 seconds (43 days). I have saved £320.03 by not smoking 1,230 cigarettes. I have saved 4 Days, 6 hours and 30 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 04/11/2007 23:00

yellowmonkey

Hi

Allen Carr for me as well. Totally agree that it is the frame of mind that helps. Even my OH has said that I am not miserable this time. If I find the thought of a fag pops in my mind i just think why get down about it. I have given up and do i want to spend the rest of my life being down about it. No of course not so i say to myself "Just get on with it " take a deep breath and smell my clean clothes and rejoice. Sorry to sound all happy,clappy at the end but I am finding it Ok at the moment with very little problems.
3 weeks tomorrow for me. Good luck to everyone

ym

TNG

JoeHel wrote: »

Cheap as Chips - I felt similar to you 2 months ago and I'd just had enough. I was so fed up of feeling ill, skint, smelly and like a leper every time I went to a pub!!! I've tried patches and gum before and they didn't work for me. They didn't help get my head in the right place so I just ended up switching between patches and fags and taking in more nicotine than ever! This time I read the Allen Carr book "How To Quit Smoking Permanently" plus I logged on to WhyQuit.com and found so much stuff to inspire me I literally had no good reason not to give it a go.

The main message from the book and the site is very simple. You smoke because you are a DRUG ADDICT. That's it. No other reason. They don't smell nice, taste good, support you, wake you, relieve your boredom, calm you down or whatever other excuse you can come up with to continue! You are addicted to nicotine, FULL STOP! Once you break that addiction (72 hours) you have no need to smoke again. You only light up to relieve the withdrawal pang left by the previous ciggie. As soon as I got my head around that, I honestly found it so easy. Yes, you do think about smoking but when you get those thoughts you turn them into something positive and think "FANTASTIC - I don't need those drugs any more!"

Personally I favour the cold turkey method because I can see how I previously failed, by just replacing ciggies with another form of nicotine! Plus

(a) It's loads easier than you think it'll be
(b) It's cheap
(c) It's QUICK!
(d) You feel the changes in your body physically happening, and that spurs you to carry on.

It takes 3 days to rid your body of the drug nicotine. Yes, it puts up a fight now and again but you just think "PAH! I don't need YOU any more!" Drinking fruit juice helps speed up the elimination of nicotine from your blood and regulate your blood sugar. A lot of the "jittery" feeling is actually dropping blood sugar, NOT nicotine pangs!

Best of luck to you and to anyone wanting to try. There's a lot of support on this thread and usually someone around willing to offer hints and tips :T

Hiya to TNG and the usual suspects

mumzy, thinking of you chick and hope you're alright. [I wanted to put a *hug* icon here but I can't find it and the "grouphug" icon looks WELL rude and not quite what I had in mind at all!!! :shocked: ]

JoeHel wrote:

Like Allen says, all you really need to do to become a non-smoker is, err, not smoke!

I've said before I don't think those NRT adverts on telly should be allowed as they are blatantly lying! All those scary pictures of the demon nicotine monsters! Complete rubbish! Yes, there are occasional withdrawal pangs when you are quitting (which last no longer than 3 minutes a time, by the way) but it's no worse than the normal pangs every smoker goes through every day - when you're at work and can't smoke, in the cinema, in a pub, etc, etc...

With cold turkey you only need to deal with 3 days of occasional pangs, then they are gone forever. One of the most memorable days of my last 22 years was the feeling I had waking up on day 4. I was so calm it was absolute heaven!! I forgot what my "normal" state was like. And I know 100% I will NEVER want to go back to that state of semi-panic every time I'm not allowed to smoke! The only thing you need to remember for the rest of your life is Never Take Another Puff! Even a single drag will take you back to that 72 hour nicotine detox. Don't underestimate nicotine ever!

See, CheapAsChips!! What did I tell ya :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Morning all