civilservant

Day 3..... going ok thus far. Who said cold turkey can't be done?

Rete

Not me! My husband did it that way after being a 3 pack a day man for over 30 years. Just up and quit one morning the first six months of our marriage and never went back and it's been nearly 20 years now.

Congratulations on your journey so far. It's a tough road but I feel that you will do it quite successfully.

Nutmegger

Nor me! Pack a day when I quit, thirty years ago. However, for a while I did have trouble when I had a glass of wine -- that really made me want a smoke! So I laid off the wine for a while, too. In the vein of "the converted are always the worst," nowadays I find the smell of cigarette smoke incredibly difficult to be around and can pick up the smell in clothing, etc., in a trice.

civilservant

Ive just tired of it now, costs too much, the extra premium on health insurance, smells bad. Time for it to end. I am working on the wife to quit too, lead by example and all that!

Rete

Jim has been after me to quit since he quit 20 years ago. It only annoys me and makes me want a cig more. I will do it when I'm ready and urging me isn't going to do it. I've done it before but went back and will do it again in my own time and in my own way. The only concession I will give him is that I don't smoke in the house. Even I don't like the smell in my home and I don't hug people because I smell like an ashtray to those that don't smoke.

PootleK

I quit cold turkey nearly 16 years ago after reading Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking. Definitely the best way for me. I did have to buy some cross stitch to keep my hands busy for the first week. It actually made me angry at myself for not having done it before as it was so easy.

Rete

So glad it was so easy for you. Actually the withdrawal is very difficult to deal with especially if you aren't using something to help you over the initial symptoms, i.e. the patch. And it is the habit of reaching for a smoke while you are doing certain things that makes you start smoking again. You are one of the lucky ones that were symptom free and relatively free of smoking habits. Congratulations.

Have belonged to several boards for 'quit smoking' and one was from Chantix and it is a difficult addiction to overcome especially without aids and a strong mind.

civilservant

That's my main concern -work. Not sure what I'm going to replace the 'smoke break' with yet. Maybe a walk around the grounds.

caretaker

I quit cold turkey after smoking for about 30 years. I've seen peoples' personalities change when taking champix and many who the patch didn't work for so decided to just stop smoking. Imo the replacement drugs are just something else to come down from. The first 10 days are the hardest, and most people start again within 3 months. I had a bar bet on 30 days so that was my initial goal, then 3 months. Eventually everyone has to come to terms with their own withdrawl, and I've had heroin addicts tell me it's harder to quit than heroin.

Nutmegger

KK85

Good for you, civilservant! Good luck! I did it cold turkey, too, in 2012. I smoked 20-30 per day for seven years - I tried quitting a handful of times with patches, but always went back - and then I had a tonsillectomy. Under doctor's orders, I wasn't to smoke for two weeks, so I grasped the opportunity and decided to quit for good (frankly the recovery was so painful that any cravings were overpowered anyway! I credit the tonsillectomy to my finding the withdrawal far easier than some people suggest, and wonder how well I'd have done without it).

In the early days, I would treat myself to fresh flowers so that my house would always smell nice, and I bought myself a new perfume with a fraction of the money I was saving. Having everything smell nice, including myself, was my motivator when/if ever I had a craving, and I've never looked back. Still buy myself fresh flowers and nice perfumes. And a good ol' cup of tea was a good go-to for me if I ever felt the need to distract myself from a craving.

petitefrancaise

After 20+ years of saying she would quit, my mum went cold turkey and didn't smoke again for the rest of her life. Which was another 2 weeks. Lung cancer. Smoking is a mugs game.

Guindalf

Congrats to anyone who achieved quitting. It's not easy!

For me, I had been smoking for the best part of 45 years (started at the age of 12,just to be 'cool' and hang out behind the bike sheds at school).

I had promised my wife that I would quit when I came over here, but when I was buying Marlboro for $12.99 a carton instead of the $5 a pack back home at the time, I never did,

My nurse practitioner asked me if I'd ever tried Chantix, and, of course, I hadn't, so he wrote me a prescription. I went to the pharmacy and they told me it would costr $278 for a month's supply, so of course I said no. However, I was carrying two insurances due to the fact that I could get my insulin for $5 per month instead of $200, so I asked the pharmacist to try the other one. Lo and behold, the co-pay was zero!

I didn't really want to quit but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I was warned of the potential side effects, so I made sure the people around me knew to let me know if my mood changed or there were any concerns, but there weren't. I don't usually dream (or if I do, I don't often remember them), so off I went, trying to quit, but not expecting much. I started on a Wednesday and followed the instructions. A week and five days later, on June 15th 2015, I had only smoked three cigarettes all day and, during the third one at 6:45pm, I wondered why I was smoking it and put it out!

It's 40 months plus now and I still don't smoke. I've bought myself a few gifts with the money I've saved, the first being an Apple Watch at six months. I've also been through some rough times with the loss of my Dad in January and Mum last month, all while dealing with a sister who will not even communicate with me and the loss of a job, but still, I haven't reached for a smoke! I even still have half a pack in the door of my car, that's been there since I quit and have not had the urge to light up at all.

On another note, anyone want to buy a Zippo lighter, several flints and a couple of cans of lighter fluid???

materialcontroller

I smoked for 20 years and did it cold turkey back in 2010. I was motivated to do so (and stick to it) because my girlfriend at the time hated smoking, so I did it for her as much as for myself. I also wanted to stop before I hit 40 years old.

Other than some really strange, vivid dreams in the first month and a few lapses where I'd have an odd ciggy while drinking during the first year or two, it all went really well.

petitefrancaise

good for you!