The Giving Up Smoking Thread!!

Puzzledbubbles

Evening all,

Well today was day 4 and really hard, i think its lucky that im in the house now and that im not going out or i know i would cave in.

I keep talking to my friend who has also given up (she hasnt smoked since January 1st) and she has said she has not smoked but has had 5 slip ups. Which compared to the 20 fags a day she would have had is amazing!!!

I think this is a fab way of looking at it, for me its like being on a diet, if i say i am never going to eat chocolate again then i know thats unrealistic, but if i say im not going to eat chocolate 5 - 10 times a day it makes it ok if i have one every now and again.

As long as i understand that one slip up doesnt mean failure and that if i eat that one chocolate bar it wont kill me but eating 60 of them in one week might then its ok.

Ok, so ive just read that through and i think it makes sense so not changing it, BUT is it just me or does anyone else want chocolate?

melbury

basilcat7 wrote: »

hi all,

well I've done it again- am such a failure... sorry all.
If I have the odd one does that make me a smoker again?? I'm fine most of the time but when I have a few drinks I can't help but want one, then I can go another week again without being bothered. Well I've owned up and I'm sorry.

*ducks down and expects barrage of abuse*

Basilcat, you are VERY naughty and I am soooooooooo jealous.

I keep thinking about what a cig would taste like now after 8 weeks, but just know that if I had one it would be the end of being a non-smoker.:eek:

Do they taste nice, even though you have them so rarely?

melbury

basilcat7 wrote: »

hi all,

well I've done it again- am such a failure... sorry all.
If I have the odd one does that make me a smoker again?? I'm fine most of the time but when I have a few drinks I can't help but want one, then I can go another week again without being bothered. Well I've owned up and I'm sorry.

*ducks down and expects barrage of abuse*

Basilcat, you are VERY naughty and I am soooooooooo jealous.

I keep thinking about what a cig would taste like now after 8 weeks, but just know that if I had one it would be the end of being a non-smoker.:eek:

Do they taste nice, even though you have them so rarely?

jo1972

galantvr4 wrote: »

Anni well done your doing great, I'm on day 3 and I have been shattered/shaky/hungry is this normal? I don't want a cig tho, no cravings as such, just that something missing feeling.
Good luck everyone

You are all doing so great, just wanted to mention to galantvr4, when quitting the fags it's not only necessarily the shattered/shaky/hungriness (sp? ) you'll feel....you might also experience vivid dreams and a 'different' digestive system for a week or so. This is ALL completely normal and means your body is healing itself

I promised to pop back and say hello to everyone but seems I've been running some sort of cab service today dropping DH and the kids off at various places, now I gotta cook dinner so I'll be back shortly :wave:

basilcat7

melbury wrote: »

Basilcat, you are VERY naughty and I am soooooooooo jealous.

I keep thinking about what a cig would taste like now after 8 weeks, but just know that if I had one it would be the end of being a non-smoker.:eek:

Do they taste nice, even though you have them so rarely?

Hi Melbury- Please don't be jealous- I am jealous of you- wish I could put 8 weeks !! In fact going to remove sig as its not true now.

Do you know what- no its not nice- one thing it does is relieves cravings. THAT'S IT. I need to start all over again now and that's rubbish.

Morning all. Lurks- didn't read the book as I went out instead.

I am a big fat (Ok, no, I'm not fat) LOSER !!!!

tattycath

Hi everyone. basilcat got you are not a loser. You have had a smoke, you feel bad, you're determined not to do it again ...end of today is a whole new day, new beginnings, new outlook, new basilcat!!!!! We're not here to punish you, you have punished yourself. We're just here for support (((hugs))) to basilcat, who, by renewing your conviction to be a non smoker is actually a winner!!!!!
Hope this helps, hope you have a good day!!!!!

kyh

Please may I join in advance - I have set a quit date fro 01 March 08 and have booked in to the Smoking Cessation clinic at my health centre. I have worked out that I will save £1621.80 from then until the end of the year!!! My DH also smokes ( a lot more than I do) and he has said he is willing to cut down a well! I suspect he will stop eventually but I need to make the first step!

Wish me luck!

skintbutsmiling01

welcome kyh you will get lots of support & ammunition for your quit date on here!
Last night I was sooooooo desparate for a smoke, I don't know what was up with me, I was a horrible nark all night, just kept thinking about it liek it would immediately set my mood to rights.

tattycath

Welcome kyh, hi skintbutsmiling, hi to anyone lurking or who I may have missed.
Well done skint for not giving in. there must have been something in the air last night coz i was mardy and narky all evening!!!
kyh you are in good company on here we will give you as much support as we can-well done on taking the first step to quitting!!!

silverbullit

Hi all, just a quick word of encouragement to all existing and new quitters....keep at it! I know that when i first started on the path to giving up, i found the people on this thread enormously helpful and encouraging.

I would say to you all that quitting is really worth all the effort and anxiety that you will inevitably experience in the first few weeks, but i can assure you that it becomes much much easier as each day passes. Keep focusing on all the reasons why you are trying to give up and, every time a craving approaches, take pre-emptive action (go for a walk, take some deep breaths, have a shower or a snack (but be careful about that last one!)).

I would never have thought this time last year that my breathing would be so much easier (without feeling pain in my lungs if i tried to take a deep breath), that my taste buds and sense of smell would have improved so much, that i would be able to jog for 30mins non-stop (i used to get clapped out after more than a minute before!), that my clothes and house would smell so much fresher (this has been one of the things that i have noticed most; smokers really do not appreciate how awful is the stale smell that gets into the fabrics of one's clothes and furnishings!), that i would have saved enough money to have an extra holiday!

I think smoking was rather an oral fixation for me (fnar, fnar!), so i found it really helpful to use some of the nicotine gums for a while when the cravings were the strongest in the early days, and so i would highly recommend some sort of substitute at least for a couple of weeks; i found that it made things much easier.

My father died painfully at the age of 56 after a lifetime of smoking and i was determined that history would not repeat itself with me. I think it helps to have some sort of focus and motivation as to why you are trying to stop smoking (to improve your health, to save money for a treat, to not set a bad example for your kids/family members (i can say with honesty that my father's smoking did have some influence on me becoming a smoker, since i would often nick one from his packet on the odd occasion before i had 'graduated' to buying my own!).

I can honestly say that the renewed sense of freedom over my own body -ie not being a slave to the cravings for cigarettes that used to regulate every hour of my life before and around which my daily routines would be structured - that i now have makes life much more enjoyable. To be finally free- after 16yrs of smoking! - of the killer weed is one of the greatest achievements of my life, and i say that without any exaggeration whatsoever.

I can only say to you all that the stress and anxiety that you are feeling in trying to quit is only temporary and i believe that everybody has the strenght of will within them to beat those pesky cravings...after all, the goal is certanly worthwhile!

Good luck all, stay strong and DON'T give up!

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Seven months, two weeks, five days, 17 hours, 40 minutes and 48 seconds. 3521 cigarettes not smoked, saving £780.05. Life saved: 1 week, 5 days, 5 hours, 25 minutes.

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