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I stop Smoking

Solafaa

Solafaa

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 15, 2004
667
0
Daddy said not to talk to strangers
I started smoking 3 years ago, i did not really think about it but i found myself very tired most of the day and i could not do as much in the gym as i used to. I decided to stop, it was very hard and i could not stop. I tryed many many times but i still could not. One day after a long party i wokeup and had a smoke i felt so bad so i decided to stop smoking then and there. It has been 2 months now and i have'nt had a single smoke, a lot of my friends smoke and i have no problems sitting with them while they smoke i have total control over it and i am so happey.

I Have tryed to cut down on smoking and slowly stop but i could not the best solution was for me to stop at once.

Please share your experiances with how you stoped or if you want to.
 
I've never tried smoking and never will. My friend Dan quit cold turkey after 40 years, and my sister used the nicotine patch and family intervention to stop at age 17. She'd been doing it since 13, and my parents were in denial.

Good for you on quitting. You'll be amazed how much $$ you save. Just remember that no matter how hard it gets when the cravings return (and they always will return) that feeling isn't half as bad as you'll feel after you smoke one.
 
I've been trying to stop smoking for about 1 1/2 years now. Been succesfull for months at a time. For me it's the partying that makes me begin smoking again. But congrats.

I think the best solution for me is to stop smoking and begin working out again. Makes me more aware about my temple ;)
 
Good for you. I have a similar experiance:
I smoked about 2/3 of a pack per day for about 4 years. One day I just realized that smoking isn't healthy and that it was costing me more money than I could afford. So I quit. I was sick for about a week. I threw up black stuff and gained a little weight. But that was it--end of story. Never smoked another cigarette. I do smoke the occasional cigar (maybe twice a year or so). I do it as more of a social thing.

I think the step programs, the gum, the patch, etc. are all BS. If you really want to quit, you just quit cold turkey and be strong about it.
 
grapes911 said:
Good for you. I have a similar experiance:
I smoked about 2/3 of a pack per day for about 4 years. One day I just realized that smoking isn't healthy and that it was costing me more money than I could afford. So I quit. I was sick for about a week. I threw up black stuff and gained a little weight. But that was it--end of story. Never smoked another cigarette. I do smoke the occasional cigar (maybe twice a year or so). I do it as more of a social thing.

I think the step programs, the gum, the patch, etc. are all BS. If you really want to quit, you just quit cold turkey and be strong about it.
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That is exactly how I stopped.

I smoked almost incessantly my first two years in college, but then when I started noticing its effects on my running and workouts (coughing up gobs of phlegm after runs helped too), I decided enough was enough. I decided to stop, and although I'll admit moments of weakness where I had a smoke or two at a party, the fact that my quitting smoking had noticeable effects on my health only encouraged me more. Haven't had a single smoke in over 6 years now.

I'm not going to say that all those programs, patches, etc. are BS... because I think everyone is different. For me, and what seems for you, the only way to quit was to just do it... for others, it's not necessarily that simple.
 
My congrats to all who have stopped. I was very active in high school and college, competive on a high level in both cross country and track. I'm a musician, which really conflicted with that. Around 21, I started smoking socially. By 22 it had become a casual thing. By 23 I was trying to stop but not ready. At 24 I was smoking a pack a day and feeling awful. I was no longer in good shape and always tired not to mention feeling guilty for smoking. In July, I read "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" by Dr. Alan Carr. The book has no health scare tactics and tells you to keep on smoking while you are reading. I had nothing to lose since I didn't want to quit. After reading the book, I stopped cold turkey. It was a great feeling and I no longer mentally craved a smoke. Occasionally I would get a physical craving, but it was nothing uncomfortable like everyone thinks. I actually enjoyed quitting. It has been three months and I feel great!
 
I'm 28 years old, been smoking on and off since I was 13. I recently quit for almost a year. Due to some nerve-wracking recent events I picked it up again. Unfortunately, those of us who smoke for emotional reasons have a tough time sticking to abstinence. And basically if you dont want to quit with every fiber of your being you wont. Not even with all the non-smoking aids that are out there. Congratulations on quitting! It's a nasty money-sucking habit that will eventually harm you.
 
jadekitty24 said:
I'm 28 years old, been smoking on and off since I was 13. I recently quit for almost a year. Due to some nerve-wracking recent events I picked it up again. Unfortunately, those of us who smoke for emotional reasons have a tough time sticking to abstinence. And basically if you dont want to quit with every fiber of your being you wont. Not even with all the non-smoking aids that are out there. Congratulations on quitting! It's a nasty money-sucking habit that will eventually harm you.
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I too, used to smoke during hard times to cope. I also smoked when I partied too. It seemed like I''d find an excuse to smoke in good times and in bad. When I was having a bad day or going through something seriously awful, smoking made me feel better. I realized in a sense that it was making me feel better, but not how I thought. I would be irritated in many ways on bad days, and smoking relieved the irritation that not having nicotine created. It was like an alarm was ringing in my head when I didn't have nicotine, and only a cigarette would put it out. It's kind of like if you're trying to fall asleep and some noise, like a car alarm outside, is keeping you up. When the noise stops, you feel a sense or relief and can relax. However, you were irritated in the first place. Smoking to relax is kind of like wearing tight pants so that you can relax when you take them off. I thought about that and how heroin addicts need heroin, but normal people don't. The same goes for nicotine... it creates a void as opposed to filling one. But this is just what worked for me and my thoughts. Not trying to preach!
 
2A Batterie said:
I too, used to smoke during hard times to cope. I also smoked when I partied too. It seemed like I''d find an excuse to smoke in good times and in bad. When I was having a bad day or going through something seriously awful, smoking made me feel better. I realized in a sense that it was making me feel better, but not how I thought. I would be irritated in many ways on bad days, and smoking relieved the irritation that not having nicotine created. It was like an alarm was ringing in my head when I didn't have nicotine, and only a cigarette would put it out. It's kind of like if you're trying to fall asleep and some noise, like a car alarm outside, is keeping you up. When the noise stops, you feel a sense or relief and can relax. However, you were irritated in the first place. Smoking to relax is kind of like wearing tight pants so that you can relax when you take them off. I thought about that and how heroin addicts need heroin, but normal people don't. The same goes for nicotine... it creates a void as opposed to filling one. But this is just what worked for me and my thoughts. Not trying to preach!
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You are completely right...and the tight pants thing is a good analogy. For the most part I try to deal with my stress in healthier ways, but sometimes I'm a little weak. I feel the addiction was more of a mental thing than physical. For me, anyway. It doesn't get rid of the original problem...in all actuality it adds to it. One thing I do a lot is chew on toothpicks, to sort of replace it. But thats not exactly smart, esspecially if your a clumsy moose such as myself, who trips a lot :D And replacing something with something else doesn't get rid of the psychological need...what if I run out of toothpicks??? Just kidding. Congratulations to all who have successfully quit. It's hard. I really wish more than anything that I never started in the first place. What a crappy habit to get rid of.
 
Congrats! It's great that you were able to quit, I'm sure you'll feel better.

I have yet to smoke a cigarette, hopefully I never will.

_Emerson
 
Congrats on taking the first step! I quit cold turkey about 7 months ago, and haven't looked back. I feel so much better. You will not believe the change in just a matter of weeks. The first 4 days is going to be the hardest, but once you get past that, you can get past the rest of your life.

Cold turkey was what was right for me. If it isn't right for you, don't do it. But if it is right, then go for it. I tried slowing down, I almost tried the patch, but decided this was what was best.

About the only bad thing is that for the last few months I have been incredibly phlemmy, coughing up huge wads of phlem daily. This was probably more from the smoking than the quitting though.

Once again, congrats and good luck!
 
Yeah, every time I quit I had a few weeks of nasty phlem. Think about it like this...ever been in a heavy smokers house and seen those nasty nicotine drips on the walls? It's sort of the same in your body. Theres a lot of build up that your body is used to accrueing. When you quit your body just naturally gets rid of it. Yuck.
 
Solafaa said:
I started smoking 3 years ago, i did not really think about it but i found myself very tired most of the day and i could not do as much in the gym as i used to. I decided to stop, it was very hard and i could not stop. I tryed many many times but i still could not. One day after a long party i wokeup and had a smoke i felt so bad so i decided to stop smoking then and there. It has been 2 months now and i have'nt had a single smoke, a lot of my friends smoke and i have no problems sitting with them while they smoke i have total control over it and i am so happey.
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Your lungs thank you for quitting smoking. The lungs have the ability to repair the damage from smoking. It is good for you overall heart and lung function. Congratulations on your success story. I've never smoked. Being a nurse I have taken care of a lot of chronic smokers.
 
I have never smoked cigarettes in my life. I went straight to pot. :p

just kidding. only tried it twice but thankfully, never inhaled. (pot, that is) I'm allergic to cigarette smoke.
 
Lacero said:
I have never smoked cigarettes in my life. I went straight to pot. :p

just kidding. only tried it twice but thankfully, never inhaled. (pot, that is) I'm allergic to cigarette smoke.
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I have never understood why people would smoke pot but not inhale. Kind of like climbing to the top of the high dive at the pool and then not jumping off.
 
I smoked about 1-2 packs a day for about 10 years of my life. This January will be 2 years that I haven't taken a puff.

I quit with the patch and I'd reccomend it too. The first week was hard, I snuck a few ciggarettes while using patch, but it got easier every week after. Like quitting anything addictive, the main thing is to have faith in yourself. If you end up using the patch, it comes with a dvd which offers "advice and support" which should thrown away immediately.

Also, I swear by this, if I started to have a craving I'd drink a glass of lemonade. The sour taste would help for some reason. I was obsessed with lemonade for those 3 months trying to quit. ;)
 
Once again, I have to recommend reading Dr. Alan Carr's "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking". It worked for me and 10 other of my friends, hard-partying friends at that. It seriously wasn't a struggle to quit after reading the book.. after all, I wasn't losing anything but instead gaining a whole lot. I know it sounds like an advert, or just a pile of hooey, but that book has worked like a magic switch for me and my friends.
 
I quit smoking a few years back, cold turkey. Since then, I've had a few puffs at parties, but those are rare. I'll admit that I still get the desire to have a smoke, but only when I'm having drinks and people are smoking all around me.

What made it easy for me, was that I was in speech class at that time, and decided to give a speech about quiting smoking like a week after I did. I figured that the thought of being a total hypocrite if I ever picked up the habit again was good motivation. :D

My dad quit like 15+ years ago, and he says he still occaisonally wants to smoke too. Too bad my mom & sister can't do the same.
 
I smoked for about 4 years and tried to quit for the last 6 months of that and then I got an ultimatum (prob spelled that wrong) from my gf, so i put my priorities in order and quit cold turkey. I have to admit I have smoked a few since then but it has been over a year since i quit and I may have had about less than a pack since then, but that is at parties and the bar when I am drinking...but you really do save lots of cash its great...now to kick my other habit :rolleyes:
 
wrxguy said:
I smoked for about 4 years and tried to quit for the last 6 months of that and then I got an ultimatum (prob spelled that wrong) from my gf, so i put my priorities in order and quit cold turkey. I have to admit I have smoked a few since then but it has been over a year since i quit and I may have had about less than a pack since then, but that is at parties and the bar when I am drinking...but you really do save lots of cash its great...now to kick my other habit :rolleyes:
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I'm happy to hear that you quit. Hopefully the occasional cigarette will become more rare also. A girlfriend and money are certainly good incentives, but you health is the most important. Care to share about your other habit? ;)
 
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