My neighbour gave up yesterday and says that a patch has helped take the edge off the cravings. She says that she would so like to have a cigarette with a cup of tea but doesn't want to waste 2 days of no smoking. She is getting through her ironing pile and doing loads of odd jobs too, just to keep herself occupied.

How about you? How are you going to give up the last 4 without increasing again? Gulp!

I've just had 3 lots of duty frees bought for me by friends and family so it's just too hard to give up at the moment! I am soo not strong willed about this!

Robin

Hi Robin
If I could stay on 4 or 5 a day that would be good, but like you say it creeps back up n b4 you know it ur back on what u were b4. I was hoping that by doing it this way I could gradually go without any...BUT ive eaten soooo much in these past two days that in 3 months time my health will be at risk from obesity....

Jo
x

thats awesome that you cut down, my hb tried that way but he did eventually go back up to his normal 12 a day.

The wieght gain, yeah its tough I put on a stone and a half in 12 weeks, BUT....... I used the money from not buying cigs to join the gym adn my personal trainer says that as a non smoker your metabolism goes UP not DOWN as most ppl think, Ive lost 8lb in 2 weeks, if i keep us this rate il be back to where i started in a months time.
Besides you can chew gum instead of eating, I know thats hard and I didnt acomplish it, but my advise, use the patches so much easier, I was a hardcore smoker and the first day i put one on at 10am, I didnt even think about a cigarette until 6pm and that was just a fleeting thing like "oh i could do with a cigarette, oh wait i dont smoke oh well"

Also what Robin said is true you get soooo much done LOL, my house is and still is spotless!!!

Good luck you can do it!!

I am so with you on this one Robin, I know it's a disgusting, filthy habit that is wrecking my life, but the will power just ain't there!!

Really thinking about attempt number 4 but keep coming up with excuses, one of them being this weekend!

At least we can slope off together away from the ever increasing crowd of never have or ex smokers, and smoke our stupid heads off!

One day I'll be an ex smoker, promise......
Charlie

Heres an article I wrote for a quitting website, hope it helps anyone on the borders of quitting:

I had been a smoker for 10 years since I was 16; a boyfriend that I had at the time smoked and I just thought it was the coolest thing ever!
10 years later and I didn’t think it was so cool, I hated the way that nicotine had a hold on me, and that I couldn’t live without this demon drug that was slowly killing me!

But when I thought about quitting I thought about the weight gain and the fact that the times before I had been so crabby that I could have taken someone’s head off!!!

The longest I had quit before was 5 days and by that time my husband and I were arguing so badly that we were either going to grab a cigarette or a knife and kill one another.

Close to the end of 2006 my husband said out of the blue “I think I want to quit smoking” I was stunned as it had always been me to be nagging us about quitting. It started me thinking that it was an idea and if we both did it together it wouldn’t be so hard.

We were going to England to visit family for Christmas and we bought 200 duty free smokes, we both decided on the plane that, that was it and once they were gone they were gone. Our holiday came and went and were still smoking and then my father in law who had been an avid smoker his whole life got cancer and it spread quickly, he died within a month of his diagnosis he weighed 70lb soaking wet the day that he died his eyes were all sunken in, and he was bright yellow as the cancer had spread into his liver.

My husband said that he couldn’t quit with the stress of his Dad dying, but subconsciously it changes something in me. I had never watched someone die like that and from a disease that I was welcoming into my body every time I took a drag of a cigarette.

I still continued to smoke all through January, Every time I would speak to my Mum on the phone in England she would ask me, “When are you going to quit smoking?” it got kind of annoying and boring, but she wasn’t giving up. This one particular Saturday we were having our usual natters and I was chuffing away on my smokes when she started with the quitting crap again. “When are you going to quit?” she said. “I don’t know Mum, when I am ready!” “But they will kill you, please for me go to the pharmacy and see what your options are….please. You don’t have to do anything or buy anything just go and see…. for me?” so I agreed, I could have chosen not to go into that pharmacy that day, but I wanted to keep my word, and I would get some literature and walk out. I had my best friend with me and as we waited for me to finish my smoke outside of the pharmacy my friend said he would love to see me quit as well.

So we walked in and we were chatting with the pharmacist. She told me all about them, and how they worked, how much they were etc. I said to her well I just literally put a cigarette out, how soon can I put one on?” “Right now.” She said.

Suddenly I had this epiphany, a revelation, if you can imagine what holy people get when they get a sign from god, like rays of light coming from the sky. This is what happened to me. But I didn’t see god, I saw a life without Cancer sticks, without being dependent, without stinking, or being short of breathe of feeling free.

“Ok, ill do it!” I said, as my friend looked on at me in amazement. “But I have to stick that thing on me right now, otherwise il never do it!!” so I did right there in the store I took of my coat and sweater and my friend slammed that patch onto my arm.

As we walked out a homeless guy was begging on the street, I asked him if he smoked and when he said yes I gave him my whole pack of smokes id smoked 1 out of it! I also gave him a lighter and threw whatever smoking paraphernalia away.

I had a busy day that day, I went shopping to Wal-Mart with my friend and then for lunch by the time I got home it was 7pm, and then it dawned on me, I hadn’t even thought about having a cigarette!! I threw away all the smoking stuff in the house away like ashtrays etc.

My husband stunned by my sudden urge to quit has said he would do it with me and as soon as he got home I shoved a patch on his arm.

Suddenly we were both non-smokers, and it was weird.

The next day I cleaned the whole house top to bottom, I took a rag and cleaned EVERYWHERE, I cleaned all my linens, all my clothes, curtains you name it, it had a cloth with cleaner over it!!

It was amazing how yellow the windows where and how much nicotine came off of everything. I imagined that, that’s what my lungs looked like.

With the patches you don’t have that immense craving which makes you irritable and a general pain to be around, but it doesn’t take the habit away. What I mean is when you would normally have a smoke say after eating a meal, you fancy a smoke but you don’t WANT one.

I started chewing gum, lots and lots of gum; I tried to replace my habits with chewing. The first three weeks I would say where the hardest, but they say that it takes 21 days to break a habit and I have to agree, after those 21 days it got easier. And after you haven’t smoked for 8 days 9 days 10 days you are so proud of yourself that you want to carry on, its like you challenge yourself every day to carry on.

My Husband quit quitting after about 3 days, he still gives himself a hard time now, But after a while of him saying “But I really want to quit” I said to him, “Look if you really want to quit you will, so either do it or shut up!”

It was tough at first to see him smoking on the balcony and sometimes id get a whiff of it and it smelt lovely!! But as soon as he put it out and came back in, my god did he stinks!!

I didn’t realize that as a smoker you smell awful all the time, you smell old and stale all the time and your breath absolutely stinks!! My closet smells of fabric softener my husband’s smells like stale old cigarettes, and eh smokes outside so I can only imagine what we smelt like when we both were smoking an inside too!!!

My friends and I noticed as well that my skin took on a new shine, and it was soft to the touch and a brighter pinky color after only a couple of weeks. Friends commented that I did not have that gray smokers look about me anymore. I found that my breathing was better and my heart rate lower after just a week, I also used to get quite a bit of trapped gas and now I don’t get that anymore.

There are two downsides to using the patches, the good sides far out way the bad, but I would not be fair if I didn’t point out the downsides:

1. Don’t wear them when you are sleeping, they give you the weirdest dreams!! One night I dreamt I was changing my cat/babies diaper and dressing it in jeans…yeah exactly weird and out there, and you don’t sleep at all well. It has taken me nearly a month to get back to sleeping normally, but I understand that, that is a side effect of quitting smoking not just the patches. What I used to do was take it off when I was just about to fall asleep (hence the leaving it on sometimes by accident) and then because the patches take about an hour to kick in, in the morning which was my worst time for wanting a cigarette, I would have the next days next to my bed, I would set my alarm for an hour earlier than I had to get up, literally lean over put on the patch and go back to sleep for the hour. That way the patch was working by the time I had to get up and start getting ready.

2. Non smokers and Doctors will tell you, you will only put on ¾ lbs, that’s absolute Rubbish, I put on 3 – 4 lbs in my first week, and totaled 30lb by the time I had quit properly after 3 months!! But here’s the deal, research shows that you would have to gain 100lb to have the same bad health effect that smoking does on your heart, and what I should have done was joined the gym sooner, and nipped it in the bud. I wasn’t small to begin with and being a desk-laden pen pusher in my job I should have been more aware of the weight situation. But…I took the $100 a month I was saving on smokes and bought a gym membership to a very exclusive gym and some personal training sessions. My personal trainer told me that contrary to myths, smoking actually slows your metabolism down, and non smokers see greater results at losing weight than smokers as there metabolism is higher, ive lost a 3rd of the weight I gained already and its only been 2 ½ weeks. So in a month’s time I should be back to where I started.

When you are a smoker you think it’s going to be the hardest thing you will ever do, but really it’s not that hard, I keep telling smokers that, its not that hard! Actually with a little medical help i.e. patches it was easy!! I find eating healthy and not obsessing over chocolate cake harder!!

Good luck to anyone thinking about it, it will be the best thing you ever do. Being smoke free is an amazing feeling.

I won't feel so guilty with you around! BTW, my neighbour has spent 4 days in tears and has started smoking again today!

Well Raine and anyone else that quit??? how are you all doing?

Hi Robin,
Sorrying for bringing this thread back to the spotlight again -hopefully all you quitters have still quit. Personally I say quitting going through the inmmigration process couldnt be a more stressful time -so you have all done brill. I dont smoke but my OH used to and he actually is at his seventh year anniversary yesterday. Well done him. He thought at the start he could never do it either and he has. He used the Nicorette inhaler which is quite like the shape of a ciggy and helped to replace the feeling of holding something in your hand. He also decided to quit on the day we went on holiday to Turkey -everyone in Turkey smoked, even the tellers in the banks It was very hard for him but he stuck at it. Last night I asked him does he still get cravings and he said just the odd time, so it does pass.
Just think of those xrays for your medical and all the best.

Hey

I did the stupid thing and tried to give up smoking just as Phil headed out on his WP - lasted a couple of days and couldnt agree more that this is the worst time to try and quit - maybe this New year when I am out there would be a good time to do something about it.

Gaynor

x

Hi GAY,
Long time no see on the boards. are you back in England again and if so how did things go - we have all missed you. You may not have noticed but this is good old Alison Annett from Northern Ireland with a new name and avatar!! I was bored one day!!
lol
alison x

Wondered why you seemed to know me

Gay
x

Time to resurrect this thread again with the news that I am now at the end of day 4 of ‘choosing not to smoke’, as Arris puts it.

Although I said that I wouldn't use Zyban, I have, in fact, gone for this option after recently seeing a friend who was a fairly heavy smoker, and who recommended it. He was on his 3rd week of not smoking.

So, off I went to my local pharmacy, where I discovered that you only get Zyban on prescription. Within a few days I had an appointment with my doctor, who prescribed me 3 weeks worth, but made me promise to go to this certain pharmacy and join a government run scheme for people quitting. I had to have a session with one of the pharmacists who made me breathe into a tube to show how heavy a smoker I was by my carbonmonoxide levels. I had a week of reducing the number of cigarettes I smoked, whilst taking one tablet each morning. I found that I didn't think about having a cigarette as much as without the Zyban, and that I didn't need the next fix as quickly.
I changed routines too, like not having a coffee first thing, keeping really busy, not coming on the computer much, cos that would be a time when I’d want a cigarette, and going up to bed early, where I wouldn’t smoke anyway.
I also started going to the gym and swimming on alternate days too.

By the time ‘quit’ day came along I was ready to stop and with the additional support of a second Zyban tablet taken during the afternoon, and a second session with the pharmacist and another puff into her machine, which showed that I hadn't smoked that day, I have not smoked since. I will continue to take Zyban twice a day for a total of 7 weeks but can't see that anything will make me want to smoke again. I have had a couple of stressful situations that would normally make me reach instantly for a cigarette and I haven't, so there we go!

The most difficult part has been trying to figure out what to do with my hands now. Sounds strange to a non-smoker I bet, but it is weird to have empty hands. I still find that odd, that I am not going to occupy my hands, or rather one of them, again by holding a cigarette.

Oh, and I’ve not suffered any hallucinations, just difficulty staying asleep, meaning for the last two nights I’ve been waking up at 4-5 am needing a wee, and then not been able to get back to sleep again. I’ve also had a slightly dry mouth. That’s it for my side affects.

I have been chewing sugar free gum and carrying Polos around too.

Raine66 - I wonder whether you have stopped for good or whether you have relapses….

Britishvixen21 – youke free for 5 months now I expect.

Swoops – Wonder how long it’s been for you now, bet you still know!

Mad city fan – 10 months for you now then….

Blueeyes2002 – Sandra – you’ve had your 1st anniversary now, thanks to Zyban as well. Just noticed that you suffered from broken sleep too…and you reckon it’s more to do with loss of nicotine. Yeah, you’re right, the broken sleep has only been since I stopped.

Jo Andy +2 – If you haven’t succeeded yet then……try Zyban!

To anyone else that has contributed to this thread, a big thank you, because it’s been useful and encouraging to read back through this now that I am in the early days of not smoking.
To anyone thinking about giving up………hope you find this thread helpful

Robin - congratulations. I know, although just from observing what my OH went through and from being on the receiving ends of his bad moods, how hard this is for you. Just take it a day at a time and keep up the good work. Lots of people tell you to save the money up and by the end of the first month you will be really shocked at how much you have been wasting on ciggies. Unfortunately my OH did not do this or we would be rolling in it by now!!

Anyway all the best.
Alison.

Yeh-hey! Robin's kickin' some ass!

Way to go Robin congratulations and keep it up