gonna try to quit again....

[sourland]

With any addiction, there is no "cut back". It's either all or none. I've been there. Find a support group. You need someone to lean on who has been through this successfully. I made all the excuses in the world about my drinking and chewing tobacco addictions. Excuses are not legitimate. I surrounded myself with people who had been there or really wanted me to succeed. I owe a lot to them especially my wife. It can be done. Do not give up.

 

[sacrifice]

I smoked to 15 or so years - 2 packs a day on weekdays, and sometimes as many as 3 - 4 packs on weekends. All non-filters such as Camels and Pall Mall's. Loved smoking. However, I needed to quit. So, I picked a day that was about a month away and set that as my quit date. With every cigarette I had after I decided to quit, I told myself; "30 days until I quit smoking", changing the number of days as the quit date neared. On the quit day, I had one last cigarette telling myself it was my last, and then quit. 20 years later I have not had a cigarette.

The only time I miss a good smoke is at dawn, on my boat in the middle of the ocean, watching the sun rise with a cup of Baileys and coffee

. But I can now hike 20+ miles a day and go for 100 on my bike.

Anyway, I didn't and still do not buy into the patch/gum thing. I think you are just changing one habit for another. I personally think you can do it on your own if you prepare yourself for the change - and I wish you luck in quitting.

 

[bucket04]

(((hugs))) I know it's difficult. The first time I quit for any significant amount of time was when I was trying to get pregnant with my second child. I decided I was done, and my husband and I tried quitting together. I am a 'talker' and he is a 'loner'....it didn't work out very well. I wanted to be around him and talk about anything/everything to keep my mind off of smoking, and he wanted to be alone to to feel sorry for himself that he quit before he was ready. He would leave the room, (I would follow)... or leave the house (I would follow) or go back into the house (I would follow).... you get the idea. Finally we had a fight because he was in a terrible mood (which is why he wanted/needed to be alone.) And I told him I was going to buy a pack. He said, "Don't you dare try to blame me for you smoking again!" I said, "They aren't for me, they are for YOU, because your heart isn't in it, and you're being a jerk." So he started smoking again, and I quit with the use of tic-tacs and toothpicks. I sucked on a tic-tac to get the temp/flavor change in my mouth, and for the hand/mouth connection, I sat with a box of toothpicks and a bowl (got rid of all the ash trays) and chewed on toothpicks and broke them into teeny tiny pieces every time I had a craving. It worked, I got pregnant less than 3 months later and had quit cigarettes for 2 years.

I got stressed out, my neighbor was constantly smoking around me, (I thought I could handle it) and I asked her for a smoke one day. I was hooked instantly. I smoked for 5 more years. One day I decided to quit again. This time for my own health and reasons, and my heart and head were not in the same place they were the first time. My husband said he was ready and would quit with me. So, we made a big production of smoking the last two together... and that was that.

I felt HORRIBLE!!! I tried tic-tacs and toothpicks. It didn't help. I tried regular gum... I hate gum.... I tried a ton of things. And I felt like sh!t. I told myself, "If you feel this bad tomorrow, you can buy a pack of cigarettes." The next day wasn't any better. I told myself, "Get through today, and if you feel this bad tomorrow, you can buy a pack of cigarettes." The next day was still terrible. So I told myself again, "Get through today. If you feel this bad tomorrow, you can buy a pack of cigarettes." Now, we lived in Japan at the time, and the nearest cigarette machine was directly across the street. 24 hour access, 200 yen. Easy peasy to get my hands on some.

But I didn't. Several days passed of me telling myself that I could get some tomorrow. I still felt terrible. One day I told myself, "Get though to the one week mark, if you STILL feel terrible, you can get a pack." When the one week mark rolled in, I was still feeling terrible. I tried one more week to see if I could get through 'the worst of it'. The second week came to an end, and I still felt terrible. So I picked up my yen and lighter, and headed across the street. I got my pack, opened it up, started walking home while lighting my first cigarette in two weeks. I took one hit.... it felt so good..... I took a second hit, and thought, "What in the hell am I DOING?! I just went through hell, do I really want to go through THAT again??" So, I put out the cigarette, threw each cigarette on the ground, stomped and rolled it with my shoe until it was dust, went into my house and threw away the packaging. That was July 19th, 1999.

As an ex-smoker, I do not 'cough cough' when I walk by people smoking... sometimes I smell it and think 'aaaaahhhhhh.......' and I remind myself that it only takes one to get hooked again. Sometimes I smell it and feel sick to my stomach. Sometimes it's so thick that I do cough because it hurts my lungs. I have even had dreams that I started smoking again.... it doesn't really ever leave you, but you have to have a mindset that you DON'T smoke... I never tell myself "I can't." If I tell myself "I can't" instead of "I don't" it gives the impression to myself that I am keeping myself from something I want to do. "I don't" tells me that it was MY choice, and I did what I wanted to do for my own reasons.

Oh, and when my husband 'quit' that last time with me..... I found out 3 months later that he hadn't. He was still smoking every day. He eventually moved to dip and did that for many years. I tried to get him to quit because it was gross, but he wouldn't. One day, he decided to quit on his own, for his own reasons, and he's never looked back.

 

[domino7]

I also quit using the patch, and highly reccomend it. Even though it seems expensive, it's cheaper than smoking. I was a 30+ year heavy smoker, who nobody thought could ever quit.

Good luck, it's the best gift I ever gave myself!

 

[ams4776]

Thanks y'all the quiting stories help and i know cutting back dont work. I am still very active and can keep up with my kids. But i wanna quit before it becomes a prob. Plus i know id save more quiting then anything else i do here to save money. Stay at home mom dont pay lol. Just one day at a time. Plus im super nervouse first batch of eggs to ever hatch go on sat. Ill keep trying and just learn to count to 10 when the kida act up

 

[WriterofWords]

One big thing, you said you slipped up, don't beat yourself up over it, just say ok, I screwed up I'm going to do better. It's hard not to be too hard on ourselves. I'm an example of that; I don't allow myself to have habits. The closest thing to a habit I have is my hot tea, every single day. I don't allow myself a lot of things and that isn't healthy either, but that's me.

 

[kstaven]

"Once a smoker always a smoker. It is just deciding to not have one today in the end." Words from a person who used to be five pack a day smoker I once knew.

Maybe one day I will decide not to have one TODAY.

 

[sheaviance1]

Quote:
I have tried that, and it was working for me, until I flipped the package over and seen that the ones I chose were made in China. My immediate thought was, they put antifreeze in toothpaste, what did they put in here. I am going to try again, but i want something made in the USA. I know, I know, anyone who SMOKES really isn't worried about what is in what they put in their body. However, I don't want to inhale some vaporized gas that will kill me IMMEDIATELY.

My Mom died in 2009 from lung cancer. BRUTAL. I ask myself everyday why I still smoke. AGONIZING DEATH. That is what is in my future if I don't quit and do it soon. She was 63. If I go anything like she did, I have approximately 25 years left. That's not a lot. Yet, even knowing or convincing myself of things like that, I light up another one. I DESPISE my habit, or should I say addiction. I wish you the best of luck and success at quitting. It's your quit. You'll do it "your way".

 

[dkvart1]

Ams, I'll be happy to be your quit buddy... I quit smoking about 3 weeks ago...went on the patch, was doing great and then our beloved dog unexpectedly passed away and ... yup, smoking again since last Friday when poor Stanley left us! Going back on the patch on Saturday, when I can tough out my first day free of having to go anywhere, deal with anyone!

I quit once years ago and went 2 years without a smoke... went cold turkey that time... now I'm just too horrible without the patch, which really does take the "uglys" out of the process. My DH smokes too, which doesn't help, but the last time he offered to put on a patch and quit with me if it got to hard for me to take, bless him. He knows I'm going back on the patch and when he returns home from his business trip he's going to quit as well.

Wishing you the best of luck. PM me if you need a buddy for support (this goes for anyone who is trying to quit and wants some extra support)!

Oh and my doctor said the lozenges work very well to from what his patients have told him... I'm using the strongest patches when those run out I'll go to the lozenges for those times when the really bad urges hit. I figure the price was worth it, since smokes are now 6.10 a pack here.. whew... think of the money we could save to .... buy CHICKENS!!!

 

[MetalSmitten]

hey sorry to perhaps be beating a dead horse here, but my roommate just came back from buying her next set of patches and found out that CVS carries a generic brand which was about $15 cheaper. just thought i'd pass that info along in case anyone here has a CVS locally and is trying to quit.