Help I need encouragement!

I just quit smoking four days ago! I've been a smoker for 14 yrs! I'm on the "patch" which helps with the physical withdraw but mentally I'm going crazzzy!:disturbed aranoid3

I have a routine that is hard to break and everytime I come to one of those moments, I think about smoking. (after I eat, when I get up, when I'm driving, when someone comes in to reload in the office I work in,in the morning, before interviews)So far I've been O.K. untill I get home after work. I snuck one yesterday in the basement. (My boyfriend is also trying to quit) Please remind me why smoking is so nasty and give a little advise or support. I would realllly appreciate it!

Good Luck!!!!

(handing you some gum!)

Be strong! I hate cigarrette smoke - do you know it contains more than 5000 different kinds of chemicals, most of them poisonous

And it's also really really bad for your cats!

Good luck - I was also a smoker and I have been smoke free for 8 years now. I had 2 relatives die within 1 year of each other related to smoking. Both were in their mid forties. 1 had cancer, the other heart disease. They both left spouse and fairly young children behind. I have had other people close to me also die. I quit when both of those 40 year olds passed on. It was the best thing I ever did, but i still occasionally get the craving for a smoke.

Think of all of the benefits:
1) You'll be healthier
2) You'll save money
3) Your teeth will be whiter
4) You won't constantly smell like smoke
5) You don't have to worry about irritating other with your second hand smoke.

There are many more benefits, but you have to find what you think are the benefits and list them to yourself everyday. I also listed everyday, when I got the urge to smoke, the names of the loved ones I lost to smoking. I brought their face and the face of their children up in my mind. It sounds drastic - but it worked for me!

My aunt has used hypnosis to get rid of her cravings and she has now been smoke free for 7 months.

They always say the hardest step is the first one. You've already done that now it's just continuing with the motion.

When I was young my mother smoked. We banned her from smoking anywhere near us and she use to have to go outside to smoke. Then winter came and she kept freezing herself everytime she went on the balcony to smoke.

What helped her to quit (besides our constant naggin! ) was to brush her teeth everytime she wanted a smoke. Then she would take one puff and it tasted so bad she didn't want the rest of it.

Don't know if this would help but it worked for her. It's not easy, but take it as each minute comes.

I quit three times before it stuck. HANG IN THERE! It is SO WORTH IT. Although you may feel like a b*%^# now, you will live through it.

The reason we failed the first few times was because we got so mean to each other. But the last time we HAD to quit because Gary had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and that was enough! It took a couple of weeks to start to feel normal.

Your body is going through tremendous upheaval right now. It took me about a month before I felt "like myself" again - although much better than I did before. IT IS NOTICEABLE - but it takes a while to get there.

I will warn you, I gained 20 pounds (and I weighed 115 to start). The smoking in and of itself burns up to 400 calories a day, depending upon how much you smoked. I highly recommend sugarless candy to help you deal with that need to do something with your mouth. The extra munching I did put the weight on faster. If there's any way you can throw a walk or something into your day, it will help you maintain your "smoking" weight.

GO FOR IT! It is really rough getting there, but it is worth it!!!!!!!!

Laurie

...and please feel free to PM me if you need to. I can listen to all complaints and help when it comes to this subject!

I quit 7 years ago! It's worth it to quit. Here is another reason to break the habit. Kitties of smokers have a higher rate of cancer! They believe the smoke clings to their fur and they injest it when they clean themselves. I read it in the November Readers Digest. Hang in there you will make it. We are all behind you 100%!

Brian quit over a year ago and has never looked back. The first time he quit he used the patch which helped a lot. He had quit for 3 or 4 months but his biggest problem was that he was constantly around other people who smoked. He'd wind up breaking down and bumming ciggs off his friends and he started back up again.

The second time we were in a big fight and that day he decided to quit. He had one pack left that he was going to finish and that would be it. Well we were in the car arguing with each other and I reached over and grabbed his last pack and I threw it out the window(I know littering is bad and I swear I never do it normally). We both got silent and that was the end of the fight and that was the last he smoked.

He didn't use anything this time but willpower and found he did well if he wasn't around people smoking so he made a rule that NO ONE is allowed to smoke in our house. It doesn't matter who it is or how cold it is outside but if you want one you have to go stand on the back porch. That helped him a lot and plus he went out and dropped a grand on a new mountain bike as part of his inspiration.

Good luck with quitting, I hope it'll work for ya!

If I can quit, anyone can. I was up to 3 packs a day when I quit. It has been 13 years since I quit, and now I can't believe I ever had such a disgusting habit. You can do it!!!!

Nenners,

Hang in there - YOU CAN DO IT!!! I quit smoking 10 years ago and we also used the patch. I found the most difficult thing was hanging around with all our friends (who of course, smoked). It got quite a bit easier for us after 6 months or so. After a year - it was really easy. Actually, what I did to keep my fingers busy, was to do a 1000 piece puzzle (of cats, naturally). As long as you keep yourself busy and try to distract yourself from thinking about it - anything you enjoy will help.

I KNOW you can do it!!! We didn't even end up using all the patches. It will also help you to talk with others who've been through the quitting ordeal. I will tell you - it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but it's well worth it in the long run. You will feel healthier and I never believed it when people said your sense of smell gets much better and even your sense of taste is changed. It was true - food tasted better and my sense of smell increased greatly (which I guess can be good or bad depending on how you look at it ).

Again, CONGRATS! And remember...YOU CAN DO THIS!

~Sandi

Nenners! I quit smoking almost the same time ( last Friday) you did! Maybe we can work together on encouragement? I haven't cheated yet, although I'm very tempted tonight, as I just lost my job. Maybe just a clove cigarette? Grrr. But we should get our heads together and figure something out!

I have to commend you on trying to quit! I still smoke some (although I do NOT smoke around my baby!!) and I need to quit altogether...but my willpower isn't very high right now...I get so stressed out from work, my marriage, and taking care of a baby, that I just feel the "need" to go outside and have a cigarette every so often. I do want to quit someday soon, though...it is a nasty habit!!!! More power to you for quiting! Let us know how it goes!!!!

All the best to you!! I don't really have any good advice as I have never smoked, but my husbadns Uncle recently quit and he found that lollipops helped him best!! Every time he wanted a cigerette, he'd have a lollipop, as its a very similar action, you still have something in your hand, and you're still putting something in your mouth.... just a suggestion

No, I'm sorry. I'm no use here either. I gave up for 5 years but am smoking again, although Bill doesn't know (don't smoke when he's home) and son doesn't know (would not be allowed near gorgeous grandbaby if he knew). Good luck. It is very difficult. I gave up with acupuncture and it deals with the withdrawals. Patches are also good. A committed smoker friend of Bill's gave up with them. We could not believe it. So hang in there.
Diann in Australia