How i quit smoking.

Funny I quit cold turkey 12 days ago and the first two days the cravings were killer. Since then the cravings have gotten easier, but the withdrawl symptoms have gotten worse. About day 9-11 (lol) it felt as if I had the flu; I was sweating like a madman, snot dripping from nose like a runny faucet, insomnia, headaches and dizziness. IT SUCKED.

But, I knew it was my body just hitting big red RESTART button. I've felt great since. I WANT to workout like I used to, I can breath and smell things I hadn't smelled in awhile (including my smoke stained clothes). I honestly feel better about myself like took control of myself and atleast one of my habits (there are many I will work on after I get over this bump in the road). Overall, I just feel healthier in just a matter of a 2 weeks.

I understand that no one is going to deal with the withdrawl the same, no one. So, I can't tell you what to expect. You may or may not have a standard "3 day hump" or you may have a few 3 day humps, I don't know because I was not the person who smoke the cigs for you previous to you quiting. I can though give pointers that correlate with my experience and you can take the suggestions as you want.

1) Here's the deal though, give yourself a REAL reason to quit. You have to give yourself a goal, simply saying I am going to quit did not work. I created a goal/reason that I worked on along with quiting cigs. My reason goal was clearing my mind and body of the artificial muck I have put in it for the past 4-5 years. I am a firm believer that reaching an equalibrium in body and mind will help me better understand my soul essence and the universe around me. And thus far I'm feeling a lot more optimistic about reaching that goal. Find one for yourself.

2) Next, you need to keep busy. This is an important step. You will find yourself with a lot of freetime where you used to smoke a cig and now your buggin wanting to keep your hands busy. Do pushups, draw, write, take a walk or run, find a new hobby it will be difficult, but I promise you reaching these small goals will make reaching the larger goal of quitting easier.

3) Remove yourself from situations that created the habit in the first place. If your friends smoke ask them not to light up in front of you or just step away for the five minutes they need to finish the cig. Don't make it a big deal, just do it. If they really are your friends they will support you and try to help in anyway that they can. If they suggest you smoke one knowing you are trying to quit, you may want to reasses your relationship with this friend. Talking to friends on a bad day also helps, even though it sounds korny.

Again, I want to point out these are things helped me in the first two weeks and may not work the same for you. As OP stated you really have to have the will power or want to change yourself before a change is possible. I hope these words and words of other posters have helped anyone here thinking of quiting or in the process. Good luck

cold turkey is the only way i ever quit that worked
but do not deceive yourself you are and always will be addicted
went 4 years without got drunk smoked one and boom back to 3 packs a day
worst drug on planet in my opinion and its legal
so congrats but beware of 1 smoke will put you back to where you were

The last time I quit was for about a day and a half. I was doing ok until I had a few drinks with friends. Fast forward to 3:30 in the morning and I was in my car going through all the ashtrays. Must of looked like some kind of rabid monkey crawling over seats to get a couple of drags off of week old ciggies

reply to post by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep


Congrats man.

I have been trying to quit for about a year now. Its very hard for me, all the males in my family who have smoked struggled very hard with nicotine addiction (took my Dad almost 20 years to quit and he still has a cigarette every week or so). Just yesterday I tried to go cold turkey for one day. I was fine throughout work, but right when I got off I saw a gas station and I heard those Camel filters calling to me.

I just put a big sign right next to my desk at work which says "Embrace Your Will". Hopefully this will remind me that I control my mind and actions, not a stick of plant matter.

S&F for you my friend.

Congratulations! I quit a 20 year habit 7 years ago and can't imagine going back.....stick to it!

Originally posted by TWILITE22

Originally posted by DBCooper71

Originally posted by djs37
reply to post by DBCooper71

 

Damn it - I have the rattle.
The mucus has lots of black bits in it? Are these bits of lung or tar?

Probably both

I might switch to camels, most doctors smoke them, don't you know

I can't believe they use too get away this, back in the day

edit on 29-7-2011 by DBCooper71 because: (no reason given)

ha ha,unfortunately I remember these ads everybody that was anybody smoked back then and no one gave it a thought,actually it more strange if you didn't smoke.I remember when you could smoke in the hospitals,and I did when I had my first child back in 1984,I would walk down to the nurses lounge to smoke with them,can you imagine?I believe it was not long after that that cigs were banned from hospitals.

That reminds me of when my wife got rushed to hospital on holiday in Spain.
In the hospital cafe, they actually served beer on tap.
Unfortunately she was discharged after a day.

Originally posted by black0h
one of my best friends was a serious smoker. we came up with a plan for him to quit.

we calculated the total cost of his smoking per week and then he went and took a 4 year loan with that value in repayments and bought an amazing new triumph motorbike. whenever he feels like a smoke he looks at it or goes for a ride. it will take him 4 years to pay it back but he hasn't gone anywhere near smokes since he picked it up. It has been 2 years now without a single smoke.

good inspiration to have something you can hold and say "its this or a smoke"

i know what i would chooose.

My mum, after 50 years of smoking, quit and then saved the money she would have spent on fags,
And went on her life long dream holiday to Egypt.
Since then she's travelled all over the world, all thanks to stopping smoking.

reply to post by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep


Thats how I quit too. No questions, no planning. Just did it and went cold turkey one fine day. No issues here or regrets

Great post. It is so true, that it is all in the mind. I am right there with you. I smoked my last cigarette about 14 days ago. I, too, went cold turkey. I smoked about a pack a day for 15 years. The habit, as you said, is the difficult thing to break. The best thing to do is just keep your mind off of it. It's not easy, but I think it is a lot easier than people usually believe. I really didn't want to quit, but the price is just getting unjustifiable.

I have to hand it to you OP, keeping cigarettes on you is a brave move. I have done really well at just forgetting about it most of the time, but if I had a pack on me, it would have been smoked at some point.

I think it's serendipitous that I saw this thread..

I just decided to quit smoking. It's been about 14 years. I currently smoke about 3/4 to a full pack a day.

I set my quit date for August 5th, 1 week from today. I have been smoking less every day, about 7-10 cigarettes.
I chose the 5th because I have a weird work schedule that sometimes goes a couple weeks without a day off. August 5th begins a long weekend for me, and I tend to smoke more at work than anywhere else.

I'm honestly a little scared and very nervous about the approaching date. I'm sure I'm going to be a huge jerk to people. Since I made this decision a few days ago I've randomly ended up in conversations about quitting with people who've succeeded, and people who've failed. I keep coming across this topic organically, without pushing it or bringing it up myself. I don't put too much stock in fate, destiny, the powers of the universe...But it seems to be something more than coincidence is keeping this fresh in my mind.

Congrats to you on your success. I'll be joining you shortly. =]

reply to post by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep

That is purely AWESOME that you've quit without the benefit of drugs/patches!!

I have no idea who you are but I'm proud of you

If I ever quit (I doubt it), it'll be the same way - from my very first cigarette I said almost exactly what you said below - except in a "in the future when I decide to quit" sense - I just won't want to anymore - that mindset makes it so much easier.

in the meantime.......... I'll be over here in the smoking section
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/afb2f22f6a8d.gif[/atsimg]

i just decided to quit. No particular reason really, i just did not want to smoke anymore. Of course there are alot of advantages to this, however that was not my motivation. I just wanted to quit, and set my mind to it.

You'll be back.....they always come back.

Waiting patiently,
Slim

Good for you op, I used Chantix took a pill day an night for a month straight, while smoking.

I had some crazy ass dreams every single night, most of them seem to last for the entire night. But I stuck with it and cigarettes started to taste like pure crap. So I eventually stopped smoking cause the cigarettes started making me sick.

So here I am 2years later, smoke free and cigarette smoke still makes me feel sick. great for me

Originally posted by Anoynymoose
Good for you op, I used Chantix took a pill day an night for a month straight, while smoking.

I had some crazy ass dreams every single night, most of them seem to last for the entire night. But I stuck with it and cigarettes started to taste like pure crap. So I eventually stopped smoking cause the cigarettes started making me sick.

So here I am 2years later, smoke free and cigarette smoke still makes me feel sick. great for me

How long did you take them for.?
I might give them ago.

I'm on day 5 of quitting after smoking since I was 13 (I'm now 32) and I want to kill someone. I was a pack and a half smoker per day. I'm using straws and gum but I'm loosing my mind.

How did you get past the overwhelming urge to punch people in the face??

reply to post by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep


bless your heart and best of luck to you. and i appreciate your OP; i've seen other ex-smokers on ATS make real a-holes of themselves because they suddenly feel way superior to those still lighting up, which is ridiculous. thats very cool of you to send good wishes to others, you know what i mean. good for you

i'm working on knocking the weight off first. years ago, i 'dieted' and quit smoking simultaneously. Wife said i ever do that again, i has to find somewhere else to live. my guess is i was a little grumpy.

VVV in a few months you'll be breathing so well, man i admire that. keep at it mate, bless your heart.

reply to post by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep


thanks I will try this.

this worked for me when I was 18 (im 33 now)

I did it cold and had my smokes with me and would put on in my mouth every now and then..

I started smoking again when I was 21 and hit up the bars (dumb I know)

Thanks for the advice and it is amazing you are doing the same thing I did and it does work.

Congratulations and keep it up. Smoking is stupid as hell (coming from a long time smoker)

reply to post by Backslider


Backslider don't you worry about offending people. Let the people in your life know now, tell them. It will reinforce it in your mind, and it will give them ample caution to stay the heck out of your way.

You can do it. I'm over here rooking for ya!

Originally posted by mudbeed
Smoking is stupid as hell (coming from a long time smoker)

hey Hey HEY! watchit
Smoking is all the benefits of suicide without the commitment