OT I quit smoking. Now I post cranky stuff.

[Rockhouse]

Please disregard most of my posts from the past few days. I see a lot of threads as venues to complain about things that, in some cases, happened many years ago.

 

And what about the derails I've been pulling off!

 

So. Today was day 4. I have an Ecig for dire emergencies.

 

What can I expect in the days/weeks to come? How long have you quit for? Does it get managable?

 

When?

 

 

[Dave Bryce]

Nicotine patch rules.

 

Been 14 years since I quit.

 

Stick with it, man.

 

dB

[Michael Wright]

Please disregard most of my posts from the past few days. I see a lot of threads as venues to complain about things that, in some cases, happened many years ago.

 

And what about the derails I've been pulling off!

 

So. Today was day 4. I have an Ecig for dire emergencies.

 

What can I expect in the days/weeks to come? How long have you quit for? Does it get managable?

 

When?

 

Cycles of 3. 3 days weeks months years. Keep at it. It's my next project. I just have to prevent my self from committing homicide during my first three months. I patch it. And get some exercise.

[midinut]

Last time I quit I made it 32 days. I've tried the patches, Wellbutrin, Chantix, and ecigs. It's the hardest thing I have ever tried to do. Good luck and I totally relate to the homicide thing. It's hard for me to figure out, comprehend, or understand why I can go for months and years between drinks, but smoking kicks my ass.

[Michael Wright]

It's hard for me to figure out, comprehend, or understand why I can go for months and years between drinks, but smoking kicks my ass.

It's because we are addicted to nicotine not alcohol. Not trying to be cute, but analytical.

[kanker.]

I quit cold turkey just over 7 years ago. I was a 2 and a half pack a day smoker. All I can say is you just have to do it. I'm not a fan of crutches to quit smoking. It's a decision of will. It's amazing how quickly you're over the nicotine addiction anyway. It's the psychological part that is the real hang. The challenge is figuring out something to do with your hands and/or your mouth at those real hardcore cigarette times, like first thing in the morning and after meals.

[Michael Wright]

In all sincerity, this could be our smoking cessation support thread.

[zephonic]

I quit cold turkey just over 7 years ago. I was a 2 and a half pack a day smoker. All I can say is you just have to do it. I'm not a fan of crutches to quit smoking. It's a decision of will. It's amazing how quickly you're over the nicotine addiction anyway. It's the psychological part that is the real hang.

 

+1

 

Although it didn't take any will power for me. I just got sick with the flu, stayed in bed for a few days, not smoking. It seemed pointless to start again after that.

 

I never miss it, in fact I can't imagine having smoked. I know I did, but it's like it never really happened. :idk

 

 

[Bridog6996]

Good luck to you, man. I quit once for about 3 months. The first week was a bitch, but after that I didn't have much of a problem unless I had a few drinks. I don't know why drinking and smoking go so well together, but they do.

 

Then I moved from New England down south, where cigarettes cost about $2 a pack at the time compared to the $4-5 I was used to (they've since gone up everywhere, of course). I was all like "at these prices, I can't afford not to smoke." I was never a heavy smoker, though, only about a 1/2 pack per day. Obviously, any amount of smoke is bad for you, but this is how I justify it to myself. One day I'll quit again when I have the proper motivation, but for whatever reason, I don't really want to at the moment.

 

 

[ITGITC]

 

My best friend was diagnosed with lung cancer a few weeks ago.

 

Stage IV.

 

He has smoked since high school.

 

Recently, to save money, he bought loose tobacco and papers with filters to roll his own.

 

He lives alone.

 

So far he has had two chemotherapy treatments.

 

I can't begin to tell you how much this troubles me.

 

 

[Bill H.]

I quit cold turkey just over 7 years ago. I was a 2 and a half pack a day smoker. All I can say is you just have to do it.

+2, and cold turkey too. The main reason I quit was because I was losing my voice. I was singing six nights a week back then. The band had a two week break, and my wife at the time basically put me on house arrest - locking me in the apartment and taking away my keys so I couldn't go anywhere and grab a pack.

 

Probably the best thing she ever did for me.

 

I went back to work two weeks later, and it was really tough going at first. I'd say that for me it took 6 weeks before I started getting really comfortable without cigarettes.

 

Although that was over 30 years ago, there are times when I still want a cigarette. That stuff is really addicting.

 

Don't give in Rockhouse. I doubt if I would still be alive if I had continued smoking.

[zapper]

What can I expect in the days/weeks to come? How long have you quit for? Does it get managable?

 

In rare cases you can expect delirium tremens with pink elephants flying in your room. Is it manageable? not really...

Many great guys didn't make it and quit. Anyway good luck.

 

 

 

[Outkaster]

If you need advice I have been in smoking cessation for a long time and work for one of the top cessation centers in the state. I used to counsel so let me know if you need any tips.

[Dana.]

It's because we are addicted to nicotine not alcohol. Not trying to be cute, but analytical.

Wanna tell that to Jason Molina's wife, family, and friends?

 

 

[Joe Muscara]

It's because we are addicted to nicotine not alcohol. Not trying to be cute, but analytical.

Wanna tell that to Jason Molina's wife, family, and friends?

 

I think what he means are the people in this thread, not in general. I don't think he's saying people don't get addicted to alcohol.

[Outkaster]

Please disregard most of my posts from the past few days. I see a lot of threads as venues to complain about things that, in some cases, happened many years ago.

 

And what about the derails I've been pulling off!

 

So. Today was day 4. I have an Ecig for dire emergencies.

 

What can I expect in the days/weeks to come? How long have you quit for? Does it get managable?

 

When?

 

 

 

See when you quit you have it in your mind that it will be easy. Everyone did. Quitting is easy, its staying quit that everyone has problems with. See the cigarette companies studied what made things addictive in the 40s and 50s. Your cigarette relaxes, calms your down and helps you focus. Its engineered that way. There is no other drug that does that. Your brain gets nictoine to the brain within 7 seconds from the first drag. Reinventing yourself into becoming an ex-smoker is how you have to think about it. Imagine if you learned the C Major scale wrong and had to learn it right and perform it all the time after 35 years of doing it wrong. The phsychology of the imprinting on your brain and physical muscle memory you have gets in the way. Nicotine attaches to the brain and you mind always associates it with different parts of your life.

 

It will get a little easier but your never going to forget about it completely. There is a mobile mart that I go by all the time on the way home. After 15 years my mind still associates it with buying cigarettes because that was how it was paired in my mind. The more you get involved in other things the better it will become. To start drink a shitload of water to starve of cravings, get a full feeling. Its free and can do a lot of good. You have to become a student of the process of becoming an ex smoker.

 

[Dana.]

I think what he means are the people in this thread, not in general. I don't think he's saying people don't get addicted to alcohol.

Ah. Misread. Carry on.

[Craig MacDonald]

Rockhouse,

 

I quit twice.. first when I was 23 (after 10 years of smoking)and I quit for 9 years, and most recently about 12 years ago now.. the mistake I made after quitting the first time was to think that, after 9 years of not smoking, I could have one now and then.. So I did and within about 2 weeks of that I bought a pack of smokes and was fully addicted again!

 

The first time I quit cold turkey (it was before the patches were available).. and the second time I quit I used the patches to take the "edge off" for 3 days and then tossed the patches.. So the way I looked at it was I used the patches to help me kick the "habit" of smoking.. buying/lighting/inhaling etc.. and then once I had 3 days without doing that, I decided to deal with the real nicotine addition and got rid of the patches.. That worked for me.

 

My advice is to start thinking of yourself as a "non-smoker".. if you have that thought firmly implanted in your brain, you'll likely be more successful than if you take the "I'm trying my best" approach. Remember that if you have even a single cigarette after quitting for a while, it makes all the suffering you've gone through a complete waste of time.. So don't give in to an urge even once!

 

What I found is that as time progresses the urges become less frequent, but sometimes they seem stronger!! When you get a strong urge just push through it and recognize that the urges will disappear over time. When you first quit smoking, having a cigarette is all you can think about, but as the days go by, you'll find yourself going for periods of time without thinking about it.. The first time I got through an afternoon without thinking about it, I know that I could do it.

 

Good luck with it.. You really can do it, if you set your mind to it!!

[MoodyBluesKeys]

@Rockhouse,

 

I do feel for you. I started smoking at 15, got up to several packs a day. I stopped a couple of times for a month, once for a year. Then at age 33, I stopped and have not smoked again. I'm 71 now. Starting in my late 50's, I had pneumonia a couple of times, and I was diagnosed with COPD about 4 years ago. I'm fortunate in that Spireva, although expensive, does control my COPD, but it will never heal.

 

It is worth it to stop! Three months after the last time I stopped, I just plain felt so much better. I'll tread lightly on this next part so as not to get into religion - but I would not have made it through without prayer. There well may be other ways, but that helped me in my fight.

 

The good news is that the worst of it is the first couple of weeks.

 

Nicotine is much more addictive than most give it credit for. But it can be conquered.

 

[Franz Schiller]

Hey, lets dispense with the macho tough-guy, real-men-quit-cold-turkey-bit, ok? Clearly, everybody has to find their personal best way to quit. Some cold turkey, some pills, some patch.

 

I tred to quit tons of times, and didn't have any success until I used the patch. And even then I fell off the wagon for a few months. And you know what I did? I used the patch again.

 

Now, I've been quit for 5 years.

 

There are two great things about the patch, IMHO.

 

First, if you smoke while you're on it, you risk having a heart attack. That sense of fear is motivating to not smoke.

 

Second, you need to follow the program, which can take about three months. That's three months of having to rotate patch sites everyday, three months of irritated skin, and peeling the adhesive crud off your arm or whatever, three months of discipline. THAT MEANS that if you stay quit, you have really INVESTED, and every time you are tempted to have a smoke again, you think back to months and months of having to quit again.

 

Patches really do help get your head out of that cranky, tunnel-vision frame of mind.

 

Another technique is to tell all your friends you're quitting, so if you fail, you'll feel like an idiot, and they'll make fun of you.

 

Finally, my personal motivations were quitting were actually pretty mundane. I hated not being able to sit through a movie at the theater without having a nic-fit....or for that matter, being on a plane, being in a long meeting at work, visiting relatives, etc. It just sucked that smoking would occupy so much of my thoughts and thinking.

 

AND SMOKING MAKES YOU SMELL REALLY DISGUSTING.

[Outkaster]

I have counted 10 people that went cold turkey, it's very rare and I have counseled thousands of people.

[Dave Ferris]

Embrace a new alternate lifestyle. One of fitness. Set yourself a goal of walking or running a 5K. Seriously. It's worked for quite a few people (who now call themselves runners) that I know. There are many "running/walking clubs" in most major cities to hook up with. They can act almost as an informal support group. The more you hang around people with a healthy lifestyle and a mutual goal of completing an event, the less time you'll think about smoking in general. Once you get somewhat fit or "into it ", it becomes easier to quit and not have relapses. I'm convinced smoking , drinking and drugs are totally a lifestyle choice first, an addiction second.

 

Playing or hanging out in bars/clubs for musicians are the worst breeding ground for smoking. It's part of the lifestyle and so accepted. If you are in that situation, try your best to distance yourself from it on that level.

 

I smoked in my teens until I was 23 and finally quit. But it took many times. I know it's MUCH harder the older you get. Luckily moving to California out of the Midwest, where there's a more healthy/outdoor lifestyle mentality, helped immensely. Smoking is still accepted more in other parts of the country then here.

 

My mother died from lung cancer/emphysema. She somehow made it to 76 after smoking for 60 years. It wasn't pretty. Every year we'd go back to St. Louis to visit, it looked like she aged another 10 years. At 75/76 she looked 95 or older ! I run and bike with people in their early 70s that don't even resemble anything of what she became.

 

It's a very sore subject with me. After seeing what it did to my mom..I'm very down on smoking and the whole F...ING culture that goes with it. EVIL !!

 

I can't tell you about all the people I've met through the years that have turned their addicted lifestyle (booze, smoking, drugs) around by getting into an activity such has running, biking or even hiking, where you sweat, get the heart pumping and endorphins flowing. It washes away all the troubles from your world...try it. It can be intimidating but with a group of people, it's much easier. Misery loves company or we're all in this together goes along way when starting out.

 

After you reach a certain level of fitness, you'll look back and think-- smoking, WTF ? I actually did that at one time ?!

 

There's an OT running thread floating around here somewhere that details my running exploits and history along with a few other forumites and their experiences. I'm right at 30 years running, 23 Marathons completed and close to 65,000 miles total run. I'm crosstraining more on the bike these days as well.

 

Good luck with it.

[zapper]

I never smoked tobacco and have never understood addiction but if I did smoke and thought for a one second about how tobacco companies are getting richer and richer thanks to me smoking and what kinda chemicals they put into cigarettes (or into my lungs) I would quit instantly. My sister is smoking and I have showed her once calculation that after 10 months money she spent on cigarettes would buy her a week long vacation on Bahamas all inclusive...

 

[Synthoid]

I have counted 10 people that went cold turkey, it's very rare and I have counseled thousands of people.

 

I was very fortunate... smoked in college (cigarettes and the occasional pipe) but a couple of years later, I walked away from the habit. Once in awhile I would light up with a friend after we had lunch, (bummed one or two) but that pretty much was it.

 

A few years later I was standing outside of work with a friend when she lit up. I asked for a cigarette and joined her, but nothing since then (almost 20 years now).

[Craig MacDonald]

Hey, lets dispense with the macho tough-guy, real-men-quit-cold-turkey-bit, ok? Clearly, everybody has to find their personal best way to quit. Some cold turkey, some pills, some patch.

 

Franz, if you read my post you'll see that the first time I quit cold turkey because there were no pills or patches available at the time. There's nothing "macho" about that! Back in 1978 you really had no choice but to quit cold turkey or ween yourself off them (which definately would not work for me..!) If you read on you'll see that the second time I quit, I used the patch for 3 days to take the edge off. To each his own, what works for me won't necessarily work for you, and vice versia, but there's no need for your silly comment directed at me..

 

 

[Michael Wright]

It's because we are addicted to nicotine not alcohol. Not trying to be cute, but analytical.

Wanna tell that to Jason Molina's wife, family, and friends?

 

I think what he means are the people in this thread, not in general. I don't think he's saying people don't get addicted to alcohol.

Yes I was referring to myself and midinut. I can take or leave the booze.

[Rockhouse]

Wow. Just thanks to you guys for the support and advice. I want to try to become the "non-smoker" I always secretly disliked.

 

I'm on day 5 now. Still no smoking, though I still own cigarettes in my house and my car. Today, they are getting thrown out, and I'm getting my car cleaned in and out. Driving is still a real trigger for me. I think a clean car and a fresh scent may distract me.

 

I bought my Ecig on day3. It saved my butt. I'm trying not to use it at all, and especially at my trigger times like after meals.

 

I'm also going to start yardwork today.

 

Thanks for the words of hope!

[Synthoid]

I still own cigarettes in my house and my car. Today, they are getting thrown out, and I'm getting my car cleaned in and out. Driving is still a real trigger for me. I think a clean car and a fresh scent may distract me.

 

The scent of tobacco is indeed a trigger. Starting with a clean slate (and clean car) should be a big help.

[Bill H.]

I'm on day 5 now. Still no smoking, though I still own cigarettes in my house and my car. Today, they are getting thrown out, and I'm getting my car cleaned in and out.

Clean out all the ashtrays. If you're at all like me, you'll get so desperate that you'll want to smoke the butts.

 

Don't just put them in a garbage bag where you can dig them out either. Permanently dispose of them.

 

Yeah it can get that bad.

[Ekewaka]

You could save a lot of money stopping smoking => new gear!