The Stoptober 2014 Challenge - How much will you save?

cydney65

Day 2 for me and the irritability has kicked in. I'm a very placid person but some sellotape went flying across the kitchen this morning while I was trying to wrap a parcel! I've been grouchy all day...ho hum.

It's nice not to smell of smoke and I'm not having to wash my hands all the time or use mouthwash, which is good but I miss it, the smoking I mean. I'm sure it gets easier as you go on but I miss the few minutes of peace on my own out in the garden. I'm eating more too.

geminilady

Day 4 for me,been a smoker for 40 years and the longest I have ever stopped is 3 months.Having to stop for financial reasons its so bad it will be either eating or smoking.I am using a mixture of nicotine gum and e cig but because I have been a smoker for so long it is such a hard habit to break,miss the one or three when I get up with coffee the one after meals.So tempted to nip to the shop and just have the one but we all know it never does stop at one.Would like to hear from other very long term smokers trying to stop

youth_leader

Hello geminilady I've been smoking for 40 years too and spent all of our savings on fags - Marlboro at £8.75, sometimes £9.75 if late night garage - when I lost my job. I've just been to the bank and I'm at the limit of my overdraft on our current account and have nothing until 21st October, so thank god I've stopped too.

i've got an e cig and patches at full strength - they are on buy one get one half price, it works out at £6.50 a pack. E cig kit was half price too and I still have lots of fluid after 12 days. I use it all the time and know they aren't tested but it's about 300 less chemicals than a fag.

I'm struggling too but am doing it firstly for my health - and my teeth, my lower front teeth are 'gravestones' now as my gums have receded. So ugly and ageing, I'm 57 and look a lot older because of it. My husband has COPD (and a damaged heart) after 45 years of smoking, and the leaflet is very clear that you spend the end of your life in a hospice on breathing equipment. Our children are so upset.

Secondly, the money - who can afford £70 a week to smoke? It's madness. Keep going, if you do nip to the shop and buy some, as soon as you light that first one you will be full of regret. Steel yourself, come on here and write whenever you want to, everyone is suffering, but the worst is nearly over.

I'm not overeating - much, haha! Have huge feast ready for Downton Abbey and great book for bed. See you tomorrow!

GlynD

Hi Geminilady. I was a smoker for 40 years too. Been off them for five months now with the help of e-cigs. It's not been a struggle for me at all.

geminilady

youth leader You sound very like me I am 57 too and look older mostly due to the wrinkles I think although my teeth do not look so bad one fell out a few months ago and i have another one loose down to gum disease I suppose. I also lost my job but don't have a partner just a son at home.I know I will regret it if I give in so just taking one day at a time

geminilady

Hi GlynD .I also have an ecig,bought from home bargains but i seem to have to really suck to get anything out? not sure if it is faulty.I am on th 18mg liquid maybe I should have got the highest one

GlynD

geminilady wrote: »

Hi GlynD .I also have an ecig,bought from home bargains but i seem to have to really suck to get anything out? not sure if it is faulty.I am on th 18mg liquid maybe I should have got the highest one

I'd take it down to a proper e-cig shop or somebody who's been using one for a while. It could be a number of things.

padington

merzal wrote: »

I only had two roll ups yday (me and OH have been sharing them instead of having one each!) and this morning I woke up without even a slight craving…that is until I went to the back door to let the dog out and then I really wanted one, so I'm def having problems with the habit breaking aspect! Won't be having a roll up though, I'm being motivated by all your posts-thank you!!

You need to read the book. If you have even have a few milligrams of nicotine in your system your body will crave more and every day you keep just a few milligrams circulating around in your blood, you will suffer withdrawl, unless you smoke about ten cigs, you will be miserable.

One cig is enough for your metaphorical nicotine shoes to start shrinking and your feat to start hurting and only about ten fags a day will keep the shoes from shrinking too much. Each fag makes the shoes go back to the original size for about an hour but triggers the shoes to start shrinking after that hour.

Another way to think about is that you only need invite the vampire In to your house once a day for things to go wrong. If you invite him in ten times a day he'll be nicer to you but he'll just kill you faster. Invite him in just once, he'll be in a bad mood and make your day hell albeit kill you more slowly.

The trick is every day to not invite the vampire in even once and eventually he goes knocking on someone else's door.

I wouldnt start on the E cigs either , my sister started on the gum 20 years ago and is still addicted. The ecig still invites the vampire in and makes you an unpleasant person unless you accept that you have to suck on a nicotine dummy for your whole life just to not be bullied by the most addictive drug there is, weight for weight.

The only way is garlic on the door, door locked, for two weeks or so and one day you'll notice he's no longer knocking.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Allen-Carrs-Easy-Stop-Smoking/dp/0718194551

Once you've kicked the addiction, the only thing you need to watch out for are underlying child hood problems like thinking you always deserve to have what every else can or a failure to be your own person and make your own decisions or a drinking problem that puts you in such a bad space you make terrible decisions.

All of which if you think through and address you will be happier person and probably even a more successful and enlightened person generally.

Once you have the nicotine out of your system you will be a lot nicer to be around, more patient, more fun and much more relaxed.

It's all worth it.

Oh and have a pint of green smoothie every morning with oats and ginger and apples and loads of green veg, it's an amazing detox breakfast and keeps the weight off. You need loads of green veg to lose weight and the oats will keep you going until lunch.

jayjay21

How did the weekend go for everyone?

I went fishing with a friend of mine on Saturday who uses a vape so took mine as my resistance to temptation is still pretty weak, but as it rained, it hardly left my pocket.

I spent the evening at a few pubs with a different friend, but again, managed to resist tobacco and again, had the vape.

I haven't been using the vape through the week, just the odd evening or saturday, but I binned it this evening as I think it is causing me more trouble than it is worth, I'm pushing my addiction away and then letting it back in with the vape.

Best of luck for this week coming guys.

geminilady

[QUOTE

The only way is garlic on the door, door locked, for two weeks or so and one day you'll notice he's no longer knocking.



All of which if you think through and address you will be happier person and probably even a more successful and enlightened person generally.

Once you have the nicotine out of your system you will be a lot nicer to be around, more patient, more fun and much more relaxed.

[/QUOTE]

Not very good at quoting so deleted some of your post.I once stopped for 3 months,no nicotine and I still craved a cig every single day