The Giving Up Smoking Thread!!

yellowmonkey

No problem

ym

Sue-UU

Mintoze wrote: »

This pink lung's doing fine thanks (after 18 days), Must get busy again. Still, I know I won't give in (how confident is that!) mainly 'cos I don't want to have to go through the giving up stage again. Do feel much better without the fags and have a great feeling of self-satisfaction.
Keep going everyone:j

18 days already Mintoze, you are doing wonderfully well. :T You're right about keeping busy as it can be a case of the novelty wearing off a bit - because you're achieving all the time and KNOW you won't stop now. How about coming onto the "Sealed Pot Challenge" (new one starting on Tuesday) here on DFW and paper macheing yourself a piggy bank? Just a thought! :rolleyes:

I'm so pleased you had a really good night's sleep Waspy, though trust you to have another of your dreams. Have a great weekend adding more days to your total of course! :rolleyes: You too for a great weekend TNG and keep coming 'home'!

Hi Amy83 and good for you! How long have you quit for? It would be good to hear. Good luck and many thanks for passing on the offer!

Welcome to the thread emma_jane1987 it's good that you came here to have a bit of a rant, that's what we encourage people to do as we all need to 'let go of it' to help us move on. You sound very positive though, you're right too in that if you can quit with all that going on, you're onto a winner. I'll pm you in a mo with a little help for difficult times, even the not so. Keep coming back and shouting and raving, or bragging at how well you're doing ...whatever it is and if it helps, come and do it!!!

I hope that herbal bath helped you bigsmoke! You enjoy that relaxing smoke-free weekend as you go in to your second week of freedom!!! :A

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, it'll be a cold one so keep warm and revel in your smoke-free zones! :j I'll be thinking of you and willing you on.

Sue

mumofcookers

Hi all,
Today is day 7 for me, as of 11.55pm tonight it will be a whole week for me, which I find quite hard to believe!

I am still finding it very very hard but hopefully something will change soon.

It's great that I have saved nearly £30 just from not smoking.
I hope everyone is doing well

~Chameleon~

Day 7 here too :j :j :j

Can hardly believe I've managed to get this far (apart from a minor blip during the week of course ) although it's been far from easy and I've been tempted several times.

The hardest time for me is around 5-6pm as this is when I usually pour a glass or two of wine and relax whilst dinner's cooking. I've had to give up the wine too otherwise there's no way I'd have stayed smoke-free! :shocked:

Testing time will be next weekend at a birthday bash, not quite sure how I'll cope with that one yet :think:

Well done to everyone one else and congrats on your first week too mumofcookers :beer:

Sue-UU

[quote=mumofcookers[/quote]Today is day 7 for me, as of 11.55pm tonight it will be a whole week for me, which I find quite hard to believe![/quote]

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Day 7 here too :j :j :j

Can hardly believe I've managed to get this far (apart from a minor blip during the week of course ) although it's been far from easy and I've been tempted several times.

Testing time will be next weekend at a birthday bash, not quite sure how I'll cope with that one yet :think:

Well done to everyone one else and congrats on your first week too mumofcookers :beer:

VERY many Congratulations to BOTH of you!!!! :T :T You've both done brilliantly to get to that first huge milestone as it's so often the hardest to achieve, and I can so well imagine the pride you're feeling at having got there!!!! :j I couldn't be more delighted for you and am beaming with joy here!

Blip or not Chameleon, you overcame a weak point, you even sorted out the need to give up on the wine at present, you did that all by yourself and THAT'S what counts, so let go of that other hiccup, it's gone - history!

Don't worry too much about next week, you have almost a week to get yourself even stronger and grow increasing will-power. Think of all the evils that smoking brings, focus on those bad things when you're at the bash as well as focusing on how far you'll have come - and that if you went back to it - just how terribly gutted you'd feel!!! Can you imagine starting all over again???? Course you can and it would be awful, so keep focused and keep taking deep breaths - of fresh air! :A

If anyone goes outside for one, let 'em go and shiver whilst you stay warm and cosy in your clean world that YOU'VE created for yourself!!!! :T Who knows, you may be setting a superb example for others to follow!!!!! :A Another thing to focus on - is all of us glowering at you :mad: I'm sure that'll help sway you from temptation!

mumofcookers - did I ever send you a PM of the tips to help you through? Ah, you're off-line so I'll send you one anyway. You may still find it a bit hard but keep that money in mind and think of the amount you'll have saved come next week!!! :j Keep strong, keep focused ....and keep QUIT!!!!! Both of you could keep a bunch of keys in your pocket to 'play' with, or something rubbery that's pliable to fiddle with. I could suggest other ways of taking your minds off of it, but I'd best leave them to your imagination!!! :rolleyes: :whistle:

Go on girls ....you CAN do it and I believe you WILL. Now YOU both believe too and give yourself the best Christmas gift, the gift of LIFE!!! :j

Sue :A One great thing you both have is each other to spur yourselves on!

bones61

OK so where is the screaming corner and punch bag, in case I need them in the morning.:D

After a "failed to stop" about 2 years ago I have had my last ciggy tonight.
Have smoked for 21 years and have crept up to 40 a day :eek: (cheapo Superking size)
Went through the Allen Carr smoking coach on the Nintendo DS today and have gone for the non-smoker badge.
Gave up booze 2 weeks ago, feeling smug and thought 'what the hell, lets do the double' .... and also the lack of alcohol swooshing round the mouth and down the neck means the smokers gunge gob has p1ssed me off and helped me go for it

Feeling really positive and ready for the fight.
Has anyone else tried the DS program (game?)

Sue-UU

Hiya bones and welcome to the thread. You mean to say you MISSED the screaming corner and punch bag on your way in??? Best keep a better look out for it next time you visit! It's always good to see another sensible person thinking of their health, their family's too. Mind you, thinking of your pocket is another great way to keep motivated! Excellent news that you gave up the booze 2 weeks ago, as the 2 are often linked together (have a drink & reach for a ciggie), in which case your hopes for (scuse the pun :rolleyes:) a double may well work brilliantly, I really hope so as quitting cigs will be the best thing you'll ever do! However, if you quit both ....what more can I say!

Funny you should mention the DS quit smoking coach as I have a DS and an e-mail of games comes every week from a chap in Dubai and I saw 2 'stop smoking' ones on his list this week. Please let us know how you get on with it. It may even come in very, very handy as a distraction to help you through quitting, especially if you have the Brain Challege, Scrabble etc.

When someone new comes on, I send them a PM of possible useful tips and things to expect, but as you don't have a PM facility enabled I'll post it here for you and hope it's of some use. Just flit passed all that doesn't apply to you. Maybe you can copy and paste all of it so you can go to it as and when.

Below is a little help if you reach sticky times, but in general, it does good to read through and see how to help yourself.

You may miss cigs at first, we've all been there I promise you; the trouble with cigs is that they become to be 'a friend' so to think of quitting is like saying goodbye to that friend, grieving if you like. However, it doesn't take long to know it was a BAD friend :mad: and you become so pleased you've left it! Keep reminding yourself about all that money you're saving and the restoration to good health too, that'll help you so very much!

It may be a little difficult for those first few days as you already know (see tips below), but then you'll find it's so much easier, that's when you start feeling ecstatic at your achievement. At first you'll quite possibly experience some sleep problems, it affects some of us, but not all. I had quite a time with it and always woke up terrified that I'd started again! I even had to feel my fingers to make sure there was no ciggie between them!!! It was always such a relief to find it was just a dream. IF you should have problems like it, stick with it and know that it'll soon pass.

As you already probably know, if you have a smoker's cough then trust me - you will lose that in just a few days - a fortnight at the most! You may develop a chesty cough, but don't worry about it as it's your body's way of getting rid of all the muck and rubbish. You possibly also know that all smokers lose the hairs of the respiratory tracts because of smoking, but as soon as they give up, the hairs start to grow back and bit by bit after we get rid of 'the muck' it will in time become as though you've never smoked. I gave it up without the nicorette patches or anything (though what suits one doesn't always suit another), though I did cut down to just a stupid 2 rollies and couldn't think why I didn't quit! My youngsters had always begged me to and they and my hubby were absolutely thrilled! I've not smoked since and that was 9 years ago Christmas Day 98!!! Everyone to what suits them best, but I found days 3 & 4 were the worse, from then on it's uphill.

Now for some tips with cravings.Whenever you get a craving drink plenty of water which will help flush you through and (surprisingly) quell the cravings! Drink plenty of water anyway as it's a greater ally than you'd imagine! Orange Juice (not squash) is great for cravings too, the vit C is marvellous for helping them. Whenever you get a craving, go for a brisk walk, or do indoor exercise - even climbing the stairs (or walking to the back/front of the house or another room) will help and certainly a good walk will. Also eating raw carrots is great, apples, celery or any fruit too.

Taking baths/showers as often as you wish will help enormously as a lot of the 'muck' from inside perspires through the skin so we get clean inside as well as out! Relaxation CDs or relaxing music will help whilst lying down on the sofa and imagining you're somewhere beautiful so you can actually see all the wonderful things you'd wish to whilst feeling the warm sun shining on you and perhaps a gentle breeze making the branches of trees move a little and leaves flutter. Then go through all the things of beauty i.e.Lambs playing, rabbits sitting up and cleaning themselves, the gentle mooing of cows, some deer unaware of you, birds singing. You know what I'm getting at a beautiful scene to enjoy. If you want more on relaxation or help with sleeping, just say as I have good things to put to practice.

A biro or any pen is a great finger entertainer and will help from not knowing what to do with your hands/fingers. Doing crosswords (even if you're not a fan) is great as it keeps the mind and hands busy. Doing jigsaws is great, diy as well; even a few keys on a ring - anything that can be played with! :rolleyes: The longer you give up for the quicker you 'forget' about the cravings and you'll soon find that when you do get them, they only last seconds! Later, you suddenly realise that the craving went without you even realising it!! If there's anything else I think of I'll PM you again, if you want any help or to ask me anything then PLEASE PM me, you're more than welcome! All the very best, I do hope for your sake, and the sake of your OH and children (if applicable) that you succeed. You're doing this mostly for YOU, so stick to it and let nothing or no one deter you. Keep strong and make a firm resolve to kick it! MANY best wishes, you CAN do it!

Keep coming here and talking to us, rant and rave as much as you like. If you think it'll help, then don't hesitate, just get your feelings out for us all to advise or help on. One thing's for sure, you'll get plenty of help and support from ex smokers and quitters in progress - like you've started to become now!

Sue.

American_Dreamer_2

Going in to day 14 now... phheeeeewwwww :j

Sue-UU

You are doing SO very, very well American Dreamer, very well done indeed!!! :T

mumofcookers

I have made it to 1 week:j

Which to be honest this time last week I didn't think I could get past day 1!

I just have to remember that it's not going to get any harder and hopefully it will get easier.

Hope you are all doing well.

Well Done American Dreamer:D

And thanks for the pm Sue-UU:T