Anyone Here Ever Try And Quit Smoking?

[Jordanlee_81 0]

It's like a catch 22, really. I go too long without I get really anxious and depressed, I go back smoking, it makes my axiety skyrocket.

The longest I can go is about 2 weeks, by then I'm such an emotional wreak I give in. And the thing is I'm not even a big smoker, like 1 or 2 a day.

So has anyone had any success in quiting? How long did it take you to get over the withdrawl?

And, even if you haven't, I'd still like to hear your $0.02 on the issue.

Thanks.

Edited March 13, 2009 by Jordanlee_81

[faerie 1]

Hey

I quit smoking about 5 years ago, best thing i ever did but ive got to be honest with you right now all the internal pressure im feeling as well as the anxiety is making me want to smoke real bad! It is a catch 22, if i was smoking now i think id have a real problem quitting HOWEVER i know that smoking makes my anxiety worse as well as increasing my chances of having a shorter less healthy life.

I managed on my 3rd time of trying, decided one day that i was going to try, smoked my last pack and stuck on the patches. I had kids toffee lollipops to hand to give my fingers something to do and made me feel better when i was desperate for a smoke.

If you have access to a smoking cessation group give them a whirl, they are really helpful.

good luck

[SinkingD 0]

Hey

I quit smoking about 5 years ago, best thing i ever did but ive got to be honest with you right now all the internal pressure im feeling as well as the anxiety is making me want to smoke real bad! It is a catch 22, if i was smoking now i think id have a real problem quitting HOWEVER i know that smoking makes my anxiety worse as well as increasing my chances of having a shorter less healthy life.

I managed on my 3rd time of trying, decided one day that i was going to try, smoked my last pack and stuck on the patches. I had kids toffee lollipops to hand to give my fingers something to do and made me feel better when i was desperate for a smoke.

If you have access to a smoking cessation group give them a whirl, they are really helpful.

good luck

I just recently quit. The patches really worked for me.

[arboria 550]

Hey there,

Yup, I quit about 3.5 years ago.

It is incredibly difficult, but worth the reward when you make it to the other side. It took about 6 months before I didn't feel the physical effects much. I used to read those pamphlets from the doctor's office that give tips on quitting and thought "yeah, whatever." But looking back, I ended up using them and they truly did help.

I think that when people are successful, the big difference is that they really want to quit more than they want to continue smoking. Nicotine is seductive and creeps into every aspect of one's life. It can become a friend, the closest friend. And that isn't easy to give up.

I tapered off at first. Went to five a day for one week, then four, then three. When I got down to two, I realized I was only prolonging the withdrawal phase, and I stopped there. I had my hubby, who didn't smoke, dole out my smokes for me.

Two things that helped me the most:

I kept my mind on the day that it wouldn't bother me any longer.

I took deep breaths all the time.

[Manny 0]

Up until 6yrs ago I smoked a packet a day which was about 30 cigarettes. I gave up cold turkey .... didn't find it overly difficult

[SavannahFaith 1]

I smoked for 19 years. For the last five of those, I quit every other month or so.

Finally, I read Allen Carr's book Easy Way to Quit Smoking. Read it and never wanted another cigarette. Quit, stayed quit, had no cravings. That was nearly 5 years ago. I also joined an online community at "Please PM member for Link -- might be something to look into?

But it sounds to me like you have two problems going on: the first is an addiction to cigarettes, the second is a behavioral habit that when you feel anxious your smoke.

To quit smoking then, you have to find a healthy way to deal with your anxiety (taking a walk, deep breathing, meditation, etc)

Good luck to you. Don't quit quitting!

Savannah

[16GBblack 0]

Hey i started smoking when I was 17 and finally quit right before my 19th birthday.

Talk to your doctor about Chantix.

It is a medication specifically for quitting smoking. it may cost a bundle but in the long run you would save money.

the way it works (or the way my doctor explained it to me) is that it blocks all of the nicotene receptors in your brain. When I started it my cravings became less and less and then non-existent within a week. even if you do decide to have a cigarette you wont even get a buzz

stuff is a life-saver, literally. I am by no means a doctor or any health care provider for that matter. just dropping some knowledge from when I quit

-B

[ellie5683 0]

I think the most important part of quiting smoking is really wanting and being ready to quit. You can't quit for anyone but yourself. Chantix might help but just be careful if you look into that because it can have some really extreme side effects. I know two people who were on it who had to quit because it made then suicidal so just be careful. I hope it goes well for you

[Klimt 0]

I quit nearly 5 yrs ago. I was ready to stop by then and had been on and off them for a couple of years prior to that, but the habit was really hard to break. I changed my routine; stopped buying a newspaper and coffee in the morning which made me do something else other than sit down and have a smoke. I also made myself "feel" the overwhelming need for a cigarette when the obssessive thought came and I questioned myself of the need for one: "Do I really want this cigarette?" I would tell myself to wait for 5 minutes before having one but find that half and hour would go by before I would have the feeling of wanting one again. I did this over and over, each day for weeks. I also visualized the dirty smoke I was inhaling going into my lungs and turning them black and dry. Slowly the need lessoned and the time between cigarettes became longer and longer until I completely stopped.

More importantly though, my step-father was diagnosed with tongue cancer during the time I was giving up. He had half his tongue removed, couldn't talk and eat properly. He smoked as much as 60 a day and he never gave up, but did reduce his intake to 20 a day. He then went on to develop throat cancer which stopped him eating altogether and had to be fed with a tube directly into his stomach. But he still smoked. Eventually, he had to have a tracheotomy and a machine to suck out the vile secretions he could no longer cough up. This is the time he eventually stopped smoking, but only because he couldn't - believe me he still tried! The cancer spread to his liver and he died last September aged 50yrs.

Watching him suffer the way he did, and watching him still crave nicotine will make me absolutley determined never to smoke cigarettes again.

I also think if you do use patches/gum/drugs to help, you still need to have the willpower to stop.

[Mya47 0]

I quit 5yrs ago cold turkey after 20yrs of smoking. I'm a nicotine addict, it calmed my nerves like no other med/drug can. I'm just now feeling better but my moods were horrendous. I quit because i was extremely sick with Menieres, vertigo so i cold turkeyed everything/booze/caffeine/sugar. I'm much better thanks to it all physcially. My dad too had 1/2 a lung taken out 2yrs ago and spread to liver, he's been cancer free but sick again. I will never touch another cigarette after seeing my father on a ventilator fighting for his life, i wish that on no one. Please keep trying to quit, go through the withdrawals, exercise. My goal was to LOSE the 15 pds they claim you gain and i DID! Good luck.

Mya

[asecretchord 0]

I took Chantix 3 times and quit for awhile each time until I quit taking it. I probably quit taking it too early. Be careful with Chantix though because it made me very depressed the second time.

[Guest leguy]

I am watching my father-in-law struggle after anuerysm surgery. The anuerysm is due to smoking, and the very difficult recovery process is also due to smoking. My mother died at a relatively young age due to heart disease from smoking. I can't say that I know what you are going through, but I know what I don't want you to go through. If the desire to stop is there, you will do it.

[ChrystalR 65]

I smoked to get through my exams, but before that I took that tobacco crap that you stuff under your lip (have no idea what english people call it). Did that for a year. But it was not that difficult for me to quit. Keeping off it is more difficult. Everytime I see a box or pack I will feel the need. I guess it`s just learning to live with it. Sure, I`ll want it for the rest of my life, but I am not getting it. So, I stear my mind over to something else and divert my attention. For example, if my mother leave her ashtray right in front of my face, I clean it up and go away. Oh, and I bite my nails.. Will be quitting that at some later point!

[POPI 0]

I quit smoking 28 years ago after 9 or 10 tries that were unsuccessful. I quit cold turkey and yes it was hard. Nothing that has such hold on you is easy to quit. That being said I kept my mind on the day when I would be "smokeless' and breathing freer. It was definently worth it. The first thing I noticed after about a month, was that my food tasted better. From that point on it just got better and better. I believe that when you quit smoking you have to have a reason that you can grab onto. It doesn't matter how silly the reason may be, as long as it is personal to you and can keep you going when you want to light up again. For me, it was looking at my new born daughter and promisisng her that I would dance with her at her wedding. I did. And, she recently gave birth to her first child. I never told anyone when I quit. If people noticed me not smoking and asked about it, I would just say I didn't feel like it at the moment. It is a hard thing to do but, well worth sticking it out. I wish you luck and health.........POPI