smoked my last cig - I hope

[dalderman]

I'm getting married in 6 weeks and told my GF that I would quit smoking before the wedding. Well last night I decided that I smoked my last cig. Other than getting a prescription, because I'm too lazy to go to a doctor, what have others found successful? Gum, patch, etc...?
I really don't smoke much, maybe 2-3 a night, so it shouldn't be that hard. But I have been smoking consistently for about 8 years.
Any words of advise would be much appreciated.

[PKwakeboard]

Anyone you hang out with smoke? I smoked for about 6 years, then quit cold turkey. No meds, no patches, nothing. If nobody is around the bum you a smoke then it is just up to you not to buy any. Good luck.

[key]

QUIT!!! to me that is one of the most descustion thing we humans ever invented!!!

try cuting down to smoking only half of one before you just try cold turkey. and before a wedding probably isnt good either. with the added stress AND you not smoking= a loaded gun

with you only smoking a few a day,....try just pulling on it to get the taste without lighting it. worked for some....

[eeven73]

I will only wish you luck. Don't smoke myself but, have witnessed first hand some of the difficulty.

[ontrider]

Same... my buddy 'quit' earlier this year. He did great for about 4 months and is now lighting up again. All I can do is shake my head. I blame his wife for driving him nuts though.

[Okie Boarder]

I smoked for somewhere near 20 years and was at about a pack a day or sometimes a little more. I quit using Chantix and it worked really good. I haven't smoked for over 3 years now. Since you smoke so little, it may be a bit easier just with the cold turkey and maybe a little assistance with gum. I never had much luck with the nicotine replacements because it still kept me hooked on the nicotine all the way through the process.

The key is that you have to really want to not smoke again, ever! The rest is just about getting past the addiction and the habit. A lot of times you just need to figure out what works for you. If being around other smokers is tempting to you for bumming one or whatever, keep yourself away from that situation until you know you're strong enough to say no forever. Maybe you just need to disassociate whatever activity you connected with smoking to get used to doing the activity without the cig.

Good luck and hang in there. It isn't easy, even with as little as you smoke.

[Nor*Cal]

Snus or chew?

[JeffreyCH]

I'm with Okie, the gums and patches are BS. I've quit several times over the years, cold turkey, gums, patches, and all. I'm in the process of quitting again. I have to, my blood pressure is crazy. I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago, and ended up in the hospital with a BP of 238/137.

The main thing is to identify when and what you are doing when smoking. I'm down to 1/2 pack a day from 2+. I used to carry my smokes with me at work, and would chain smoke, now I leave my smokes in the truck. I used to drink beer everyday after work, now I jump on my mountain bike and go for a ride. As little as you smoke I don't know if stepping down will work. I try to keep my hands busy as much as possible also.

Just set your mind to it, keep telling yourself over and over "I don't smoke". Best of luck to you.

[Okie Boarder]

JeffreyCH, have you talked to anyone about the Chantix?

[goofyboy]

I'm great at quiting. I have done it 100's of times.

[STPHNSN23]

my dad quit a year ago. he got addicted to pop sicles there for a while... like a couple boxes a week. now, he's put on some weight.

good luck man. once you decide to do it because YOU want to, you've made a big step.

[JeffreyCH]

Okie Boarder, No I haven't, I have a Dr.'s appointment in a week. I'll ask him about it then. You have to have a script for it don't you? I'm kind of surprised he didn't say anything about when I was there. Maybe it has some interaction with the BP meds?

[Okie Boarder]

Yeah, as far as I know it is script only. It was when I got it. I'm surprised too. Definitely ask, it works very well. You will continue smoking for the first 2-3 weeks as it builds up in your system. You'll start to notice you don't really enjoy the cigs anymore or feel like you gotta have 'em. Then you stop smoking and go through the process of letting yourself adjust to no nicotine and no cigarettes. None of the other stuff worked for me...always seemed to go back. The Chantix worked.

I still would "like" to have a cig a lot of times, but I never feel like I have to. At this point I'm just in maintenance mode. I just tell myself no matter what that I cannot smoke. Not even one.

[ridininmd]

I've quit a ton of times, some of them were more successful than others. The commit lozenges worked well for me. I never tried the patches and the gum irritated my throat.

I'm planning on giving Chantix a shot the new time I try and quit. I just need to get on my friends to start giving me crap for smoking again. I'm pretty much the only smoker left, and they've given me enough crap in the past to get me motivated to quit. But since I've started back up they've pretty much left me alone about it. Out of all my attempts I would say the thing that the most successful attempts had in common was a good support group around me.

[Zach M]

Not to thread hijack, but what was all of your paths to getting addicted to cigarettes? I'll have a cigarette or two every once in a while when drinking, but never have the desire to smoke any other time. I never have felt like I need one, but it might just be because I never smoke a significant amount within a short period of time?

Good luck with quitting!

[Okie Boarder]

I started screwing around with smoking as a teenager. It just kind of developed starting off like you are saying, one or two here and there, until I found myself smoking more and more and pretty soon it was a routine. By the time I was 18-19 I was smoking pretty regular...somewhere close to a pack a day. I believe that there are people more prone to the addiction than others which is probably why you can smoke here and there and never really go much further.

[_bruky]

Smoke a water pipe. It'll become so much trouble you won't even want to bother.

Zach M, word, same here. I don't see why it can't be an occasional thing. I've never had more than one or two in a month. Never bought a pack in my life.

My older brothers used to smoke in college. Once they got into the real world they just didn't want to smell up their suits. They both quit about a week after university and haven't bothered picking it back up.

It's just not a big deal. If you smoke too much it'll kill you. Just don't make a point of it and you won't have your mind fixated on quiting, it'll just happen.

I don't really have any solid advice, but if I were you I would simply think of it like eating; nobody really looks forward to it...you just do it when your stomach growls. Wait until you really, really need a smoke, then just blow it off until later. You'll go from a pack a day, to a few a day, then phase out from there.

[dalderman]

36 hours without a cig and not really craving it. The next two days are going to be the real test though.

[key]

weekends ARE tough. hang in there. you will thank yourself later,.........but you already know that....

[vette74]

Good luck I know it is a biitch. I quit about 5-6 years ago you just have to tell yourself you don't want something controlling your life. It will get worse before it gets better. Go to www.whyquit.org and read some of the stories of people dieing young. My secretary is trying to quit and I make her read a story on the site everyday before she starts working.

[_bruky]

[ridininmd]

[_bruky]

That's disgusting. I guess if that's motivation... I've never really thought of fear tactics as motivational.

I've seen so many people I've known just pop-off on a jog or in their sleep, or develop some weird form of cancer in their 30's or 40's that were non-smokers. More than I can count on two hands as a matter of fact. I've never in my life known someone that age die from tobacco...early 70's at best. All of my smoking-joe grandparents are all still kicking at 90-102. They've just never gone through a pack a day.

I'm with the few on here. I don't have a problem smoking a cigarette every few weeks while at an accepting social gathering, or taking a dip while I'm on a long drive. A little bit of tobacco and nicotine once every so often is only a fraction as bad as breathing Los Angeles smog. The thought of using tobacco repetitively or routinely just doesn't seem attractive. It's like ice cream, you just don't need to eat it all day, every day. It's an addictive personality, not an addictive substance, IMO

[--cresko--]

Ok, here is what I did, and believe me I was addicted. My job is all outdoors, from 5am to 3pm and really goes slow most days. I could smoke all day outdoors, whenever my body called for one. I have been a full on smoked for 3 years. It seems short, but I was over a pack a day at my peak until I began to have heart pain, and realized I went from an athlete to a bag of shiaat. I started by bringing a certain amout with me to work and leaving my pack at home. This forces you to ignore your minor itches. I kept bringing one less each day. It worked well, so I decided to step it up by leaving my lighter in my car, which is only accessed when I get to work, lunch, and leave. Doing this for a month led to smoking one a day which I then kicked by replacement, whatever you choose that helps, for example I chew spitz. It seems odd, but worked well for me. You will fail many times, but don't give up. Cigs are bad news.