Yep Linda, the craving eventually does go away. As to how long it will take...eveyone will respond differently. I don't remember exactly, but I think it was about a year for me. Drink a lot of water and when you get a craving, try to realize that it will pass if you just get busy and do something else for a minute or two.
I have a date set in february to try quitting again. I know what you mean about it being illogical. As a smoker, I still can't stand the smell of it, my clothes, anything. I hate what it is doing to me. I have tried quitting so many times, it's not funny. The best I have gone is a couple of months, but if you knew me, you would know that was a major triumph. The worse thing I ever did was allow myself one puff. One was all it took to get me hooked again.
I do know I will not do the patch again this time. It just prolonged the agony of wanting a cig. It prolonged the agony of withdrawal and the funny thing was I felt it more on the second day of stepping down to a lesser patch then the first. Those damn patches must stay in your system for 24 hours.
There was a time where I thought I would never get over thinking of having a cig. Like when getting on the phone, I would want to reach for them or when I got out of work I would think it was time to have one, only I quit. I thought those thoughts would never go away but eventually they did.
I am going cold turkey this time. Three to seven days of hell. But it is better than months of prolonging it. I will cling to the fact that eventually I won't think about grabbing them out of habit. I just hope I can survive the wanting/craving them when things get rough. It is how I relieved stress, or think I do. A friend suggested that I try deep breath exercises when the cravings are too bad or I am so stressed.
Second holiday season smoke less for this former very heavy smoker. The first six months were hell and my mouth had to be filled with something every waking moment. All ready a fat man, I ballooned out even worse. I would wake with cravings and almost cold sweats in the middle of the night, I would wake reaching for the pack no longer there.
But after the six month mark the cravings just seemed to very gradually drop off and the raids of weakness are now farther apart. I live with the reality that I can quit and am full aware one single lousy puff can put me back to my 2 pack plus a day junkie habit.
Live with the occasional cravings or live with the knowledge a long life will mean the ever tagging along oxygen bottle? But even last night I dreamed ( no joke) of enjoying a full flavored filtered cigarette as I walked with a carton down a deserted street. Waking craving as I started to search for a pack, I came to myself and was once again thankful I am now one of the worse attitude none smokers in the world. Hey put that thing out this is a no smoking area! I truly enjoy my turn at being that obnoxious former smoker watching guests exiled to the cold outer limits to partake!
I have become that which I always hated the worst, who knew it could be so much fun?
Though I can't share any experience I had in cutting off a nicotine addiction (I never was a smoker, except trying it when I was a pre-adolescent), I can say I'm incredibly thankful my mother quit.
It's been a long time for her, but I know she no longer craves a smoke... I just don't know how long it took. And since she shares a home with my first ex-sister-in-law who does smoke (outdoors, not in their home), I'm certain that she no longer has even the emotional urge... and at age 73, I'm also certain she wouldn't still be using those lungs of hers if she had NOT quit...
This may be the one most difficult and important accomplishment (outside of raising children) my mother has done as an adult. And I'm proud of her for it.
So, LindaZ, I'm proud of you too for making it six months so far!
First of all, (((((Linda))))), congratulations for making the decision!
I was two-plus packs a day when I quit, and I was just tired of smoking that much.
I was tired of hocking up all that green, phlegmy crap every morning.
My wife was a non-smoker, and I hated polluting her airspace, yet didn't want to be exiled to "the void" (outside) when I wanted to light up (which was often).
My work was slowly but certainly set to become a "non-smoking area".
I guess, in short, I was ready to quit.
Ironically, it was the night I first heard about (some of) the crap going on with the Way that I decided to quit for good, rather than keep on smoking to help with the stress and anxiety. Maybe God was working within me to help. I'm not discounting that possibility.
It's been 20 years this past September since I quit. Yeah, I still think about lighting up occasionally, but, like you, I can no longer stand the smell of cigarette smoke, especially when there are a lot of people smoking, especially in a bar. That ususally "cures" me pretty quick.
Also, what helps me is saying to myself, "You're a non-smoker." And not even in the sense of saying it over and over, like a mantra or like "renewing your mind", but saying it because it's who you are. It is now part of your identity; part of what makes you, you. "Light up? Why would I do that? I don't smoke - I'm a non-smoker."
I don't mean to go on and on about this, because if there's anything worse than a Wierwille apologist, it's a "born-again" non-smoker. :) Just wanted to share, and hope that there's something useful you can use.
LindaZ. It DOES go away. I quit cold turkey in 92 after 23 years of smoking, determined to never take one puff of any tobacco product ever again. I had done this many times in the past, always cold turkey, many times for as long as six and eight months. But the thing that always got me started again was taking one drag of a cigarette, a cigar, or when somebody nearby would roll a "home roll" cigarette, and I'd offer to show off my "marijuana days one paper joint/cig", which I'd end up smoking, and be on the road again to smoking Camels at a pack a day.
But the desire goes away, and my dear girl, I personally believe that it is 100 percent mental. I am far more physically addicted to coffee than I ever was to tobacco. I have never experienced tobacco withdrawals like I have when I have stopped coffee cold turkey. One time when I stopped drinking coffee (I drank at least 8 cups a day at that time), by the second day, I had major headaches, and a lethargy that was just unbelieveable! Fortunately, on the fourth day, I was like new again, and all "flushed out" I guess.
I don't preach at people to stop smoking, but if anyone does ask my advice, one of the things that I tell them that helped me most is that
A.) It has to be cold turkey. Forget the patches, et al, for it is purely a decision kept by your will and resolve.
B.) When you think that you want to smoke, just tell your mind to shut up, for; "I am a non smoker! Why would a non smoker ever want a cigarette! A non smoker wouldn't want a cigarette, and I am a non smoker! And man, am I proud of the fact that I did in fact kick the habit! I am no longer a slave to something that makes me stink and hurts my lungs and could harm my family deeply if I died from it! Yahoo! I did it!" A personal pep talk you see...
That's what worked for me. And now, the thought of starting in again is simply preposterous. It will never happen, for, I don't smoke.
Hey, way to go LindaZ, six months is a long time. You are way over the hump. And I DO know that there is a hump to get over. For me, it was always the first few weeks of mentally just "wanting one". Anyway, the best to you, and may you arrive at the point where not wanting a cig "ends....."
And Kevlar, I didn't even read your post until after I posted my post. Yeah; "I'm a non smoker, why would I want to smoke?" Right on...
It will be 10 weeks on Monday since I quit smoking :)
When I decided I wanted to quit, I knew that I didn't want to use the patch, gum, or mints... I didn't want to be hypnotized... I heard through the grapevine that a local Dr. did acupuncture... the price was reasonable ($75 for 5 sessions)... so I went... there has only been 1 day that I could have done just about anything for a cigarette... didn't give in though (I was stressing out of something that I couldn't do anything about) ... in fact I have have a 1/2 of cigarette sitting in the ashtray right next to my computer... Dr. said that the theory has something to do with the addictive part of your brain...
Cahntix is the way to go. If you're serious about quitting call your Dr and get this stuff. You take it as directed for about a week and THEN you quit.
This "magic molecule" binds to the nicotine receptors in the brain and hold onto them so there is no place for the nicotine to go - - so when you smoke you never get the "kick". But you don't miss it, because it's like the holes are all plugged up. I am 100% serious. It is expensive but worth every penny. This IS my last quit and you don't want to know how many times I've quit over the past 5 years.
By the way - there is no "try to quit smoking". You either do, or you don't. It's important to watch your thoughts....if you tell yourself I'm going to try to quit smoking, you give yourself an easy out. But if you say I'm quitting on Feb 1....that's different.
Let me add my congrats to all you quitters, especially those who went cold turkey. Last time I tried that I thought I was gonna flip. I have a lot of respect for anyone who can do it.
I used the patch. I've used it before, but this time I just accepted the fact that it would take time. I know it's not for everyone. Some friends at work did it cold turkey, others have used the gum (which I tried and didn't like). There's some new laser thing advertised on the radio now, but I don't know anyone who's done it. They claim you walk out feeling as if you never smoked.
Pond, I don't want to give the wrong impression, that I'm wracked with horrendous cravings all the time. It's not like that at all. I just have these fleeting urges. I have absolutely no desire to give in to them. I decided when I quit that it was for good and that I wouldn't let my mind trick me into "just one." I was just wondering when these silly urges might go away. I do what Tonto said--I just get busy and I forget about them. Or I give myself a little talk.
Krys is right. An attitude of "I'm trying to quit" is a recipe for failure. You've gotta be tough.
One thing that helped me is, before actually quitting completely, I started purposely not having a cigarette at key times, like after meals, while driving, while talking on the phone, while on the computer. Those were activities that ALWAYS meant the smoking lamp was lit. That made it a little easier when I gave up tobacco completely.
Good luck to everyone who's still wrestling with this. And don't be discouraged if you've tried before and failed. You can make the next time the last time if I could, that's for sure.
Here is some advise that people gave me that helped:
1. decide on a " quit date" that coincides with a time when you are exposed to lower levels of stress and the freedom to partake of other activities. In other words, don't try to quit Monday morning at the start of the week when stress is high and you can't take a walk outside if you need to.
2. Don't tell yourself you are quitting FOREVER. In your mind, it will seem like an impossible task. Instead, just quit for one day. Not only is it easier to achieve a one day goal than a lifetime goal, but in the event you should not succeed, you have only missed the mark for one day. Tomorrow is a whole new ball game and a chance to give it a fresh try.
3. If one day seems too long, vow to yourself you will not have one before lunch. If you make it that far, vow that you won't have one until evening, and so on. If you fail to meet that goal there is always tomorrow. DON'T condemn yourself. You only failed to meet one small goal.
The really extreme physical craving only lasted about 5 days for me and after that it seemed to be more of a mental craving. The mental cravings subside pretty quickly compared to the physical. I had mental cravings for about 5 years off and on but it becomes easier and easier to resist them. Nowadays it never even crosses my mind to have a cigarette and even discussions like this don't evoke any sort of desire to have one.
Kudos, Linda. It does get easier. It just takes time.
Linda I experience the same thing. Every day I still crave a cig. Although now if I'm with someone that did smoke the smell is horrendous. Did I really smell that way myself?
I feel that its a moment to moment decision that I have to make. I also have to remind myself how much money I'm saving and how good I smell....lol
Spot in brain may control smoking urge By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical WriterThu Jan 25, 5:44 PM ET
Damage to a silver dollar-sized spot deep in the brain seems to wipe out the urge to smoke, a surprising discovery that may shed important new light on addiction. The research was inspired by a stroke survivor who claimed he simply forgot his two-pack-a-day addiction _ no cravings, no nicotine patches, not even a conscious desire to quit.
"The quitting is like a light switch that went off," said Dr. Antoine Bechara of the University of Southern California, who scanned the brains of 69 smokers and ex-smokers to pinpoint the region involved. "This is very striking."
Clearly brain damage isn't a treatment option for people struggling to kick the habit.
But the finding, reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science, does point scientists toward new ways to develop anti-smoking aids by targeting this little-known brain region called the insula. And it sparked excitement among addiction specialists who expect the insula to play a key role in other addictions, too.
"It's a fantastic paper, it's a fantastic finding," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and a longtime investigator of the brain's addiction pathways.
"What this study shows unequivocally is the insula is a key structure in the brain for perceiving the urges to take the drug," urges that are "the backbone of the addiction," Volkow added.
Why? The insula appears to be where the brain turns physical reactions into feelings, such as feeling anxious when your heart speeds up. When those reactions are caused by a particular substance, the insula may act like sort of a headquarters for cravings.
Some 44 million Americans smoke, and the government says more than 400,000 a year die of smoking-related illnesses. Declines in smoking have slowed in recent years, making it unlikely that the nation will reach a public health goal of reducing the rate to 12 percent by 2010.
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known, and it's common for smokers to suffer repeated relapses when they try to quit.
So imagine Bechara's surprise at hearing a patient he code-named "Nathan" note nonchalantly that "my body forgot the urge to smoke" right after his stroke.
At the time, Bechara was at the University of Iowa studying the effects of certain types of brain damage after strokes or other injury. While Nathan was hospitalized, stroke specialists sent his information to that brain registry. He was 38, had smoked since 14, said he enjoyed it and had had no intention to quit. But his last puff was the night before his stroke. His surprised wife said he never even asked for a smoke while in the hospital.
It's not unusual for a health scare to prompt an attempt at quitting. "That's the quitting that's not as interesting," Bechara said.
Instead, Nathan experienced what Bechara calls a "disruption of smoking addiction," and he wanted to know why.
Bechara and colleagues culled their brain-damage registry for 69 patients who had smoked regularly before their injuries. Nineteen, including Nathan, had damage to the insula. Thirteen of the insula-damaged patients had quit smoking, 12 of them super-easily: They quit within a day of the brain injury, and reported neither smoking nor even feeling the urge since then.
Of the remaining 50 patients with damage in other brain regions, 19 quit smoking but only four met the broken-addiction criteria.
If Bechara's findings are validated, they suggest that developing drugs that target the insula might help smokers quit. There are nicotine receptors in the insula, meaning it should be possible to create a nicotine-specific drug, Bechara said _ albeit years from now.
More immediately, NIDA's Volkow wants to try a different experiment: Scientists can temporarily alter function of certain brain regions with pulses of magnetic energy, called "transcranial magnetic stimulation." She wants to see if it's possible to focus such magnetic pulses on the insula, and thus verify its role.
Other neurologic functions are known to be involved with addiction, too, such as the brain's "reward" or pleasure pathways. The insula discovery doesn't contradict that work, but adds another layer to how addiction grips the brain, Bechara said.
March 8 will be one year since I had my last cig. Do the cravings ever stop? Yes and no. The really BAD cravings do stop. But every once in a while, one will hit you totally out of the blue. When that happens, I've become really good at getting my mind off of it. Usually only lasts a minute or less...just long enough for me to refocus my thinking.
I smoked for 30 years and at the end was up to a minimum of 2 packs a day. Sometimes 3 or more on a bad day. Krys is right on about the trying thing. If you are going to TRY to quit, chances are, you won't. It's a mind set. You have to tell yourself that your done. No more smoking forever.
I quit one time for about 3 months. Used the patch that time, for 2 weeks anyway. Then I made the mistake of thinking I could just have one smoke. Wrong. In less than a week, I was back up to 2 packs a day. This time I had some kind of bad skin reaction to the patch after about 3 days, and had to stop using it. So I guess I did cold turkey.
I won't lie and say it was easy. It wasn't. But it was easier than I THOUGHT it would be. The world didn't end. I didn't die from my cravings. Funny thing though...my friends who smoke were some of the most supportive people I know. From day one, they would make it a point to not smoke around me. Of course I would tell them, no, go for it. It doesn't bother me, light up! Just let me sit right beside you and take real deep breaths.
Anyway, keep up the good work Linda!(and all the other quitters.) Don't things smell and taste so much better now? :)
Spot in brain may control smoking urge By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical WriterThu Jan 25, 5:44 PM ET
Damage to a silver dollar-sized spot deep in the brain seems to wipe out the urge to smoke, a surprising discovery that may shed important new light on addiction. The research was inspired by a stroke survivor who claimed he simply forgot his two-pack-a-day addiction _ no cravings, no nicotine patches, not even a conscious desire to quit.
"The quitting is like a light switch that went off," said Dr. Antoine Bechara of the University of Southern California, who scanned the brains of 69 smokers and ex-smokers to pinpoint the region involved. "This is very striking."
Clearly brain damage isn't a treatment option for people struggling to kick the habit.
IT'S A DEBBIL SPIRIT!
I don't care what anyone says about the cravings going away - there's times when you will want it MORE than other times. A very stressful situation will make me crave a cancer stick - then I could go months without touching it. There will be triggers to the cravings - you just learn how to push yourself past them. It can be the most frustrating thing and rewarding thing all at once.
I quit cold turkey, but it probably doesn't count. I was 17 and had smoked for only 2 years. But it was a Friday night, I was in a car with some of the guys, I had a pack with 19 cigs in it, and I thought to myself, wow, I wonder if I could quit. So I kept the pack in my pocket without smoking any for 3 more days just to make sure I really wanted to quit. On Sunday morning while delivering newspapers I pulled the pack out of my pocket and had a cigarrette barely out of the pack before even realizing what I'd done. Back in the pack it went. On Monday night I decided I really did want to quit so I told my friends and gave the cigarrettes to one of them.
The 5th day was the closest I came to smoking again; I was so close to smoking again, but I was able to resist and never really looked back. On the 84th day I took a drag off a cigarrette. Didn't make me want to start again. I don't even remember the last time I longed for one.
My wife smoked from ages 15 - 38. Her situation is closer to many of yours'. She had a pack and a half per day habit and she reduced the number of cigarrettes she smoked per day by 2 every day until the total was zero. Today, 11 yrs later, she says she occasionally likes being down wind from someone who's smoking, but has no desire to start again, and recently 2 of our acquaintences died 12 days apart from smoking related stuff and my wife told me how glad she was that she had quit.
Congratulations...now is always a good time not to smoke. Congratulations.
Funny, that I am around smokers every single day...outside in the Tiki Bar...very pervasive, interesting.
1977 was when I quit, cold turkey. Went thru two packs daily...smoked one, for sure...the other mostly burned up in the ashtray before I got back to it...lol...called them "rehearsal fags."
What prompted me to actually stop smoking came one day when 5 in the afternoon rolled around and I realized, for some reason (like I was so busy doing something), I hadn't had a smoke. Hmmmm.
But the thought of quitting was scary. The thought of stopping, wasn't.
I never told me I quit. Ssshhhhh. I just told me I could have one, but in 5 minutes.
Usually after a few minutes the crazy craving subsided enuf to get thru the next span of time.
I drank a lot of water. I chewed a lot of gum. I kept my hands busy with a piece of art that took 3 months to finish...it is lovely, framed, and still on my wall. I did not gain weight.
I did dream that I smoked every night for a year...lol...I wonder if that was cancer-inducing, cuz in the morning I really had to wake up before I realized I really didn't smoke.
Interestingly, Several times over the last (gasp) 30 years, I have smoked on stage, as dictated by a character. Loved it. Such drama. Cigarettes are the ultimate hand prop...and I was very BettyDaveesque in my sucking that hot poison into my soft tissues...lol. But I never craved finishing the cigarette after the scene or anything. It was a done deal, just a prop.
I have heard me say outloud on occasion, that "you know, if I still smoked, I'd be having one now."
Oh yes...money... that did factor into it. It made sense to quit just for the monetary savings...after all, a pack o'twenty cost almost a dollar in the city....lol.
Congratulations, zees :)
If I get time, I'll repost the Tobacco Road story...a little self-indulgence is good sometimes:)
It took me a little a little more than a year, but its been 13 years now. I kept buying myself things that would equal the cost of cigs that I couldn't get before because I was spending it on smokes.
The first yea or 2 when around 1 particular friend, I would have maybe .5 an inch of a cigartette, but did not start up becaue of it...I don't reccomend that for everyone,but it helped me get through it when I was around her. She still smokes (she gave up coffee for green tea, but still smokes - go figure)
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pond
i have heard this before this still missing wanting to smoke , the desire.
my mom 7 years after quitting would sniff when i smoked in her house and sniff with a purpose.
she said she still missed it..
if this is the case I cant do it I cant quite.
the only reason I smoke is because im addicted to it. and to think the craving doesnt go away um NO Im not strong enough at all.
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tonto
Yep Linda, the craving eventually does go away. As to how long it will take...eveyone will respond differently. I don't remember exactly, but I think it was about a year for me. Drink a lot of water and when you get a craving, try to realize that it will pass if you just get busy and do something else for a minute or two.
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FullCircle
I have a date set in february to try quitting again. I know what you mean about it being illogical. As a smoker, I still can't stand the smell of it, my clothes, anything. I hate what it is doing to me. I have tried quitting so many times, it's not funny. The best I have gone is a couple of months, but if you knew me, you would know that was a major triumph. The worse thing I ever did was allow myself one puff. One was all it took to get me hooked again.
I do know I will not do the patch again this time. It just prolonged the agony of wanting a cig. It prolonged the agony of withdrawal and the funny thing was I felt it more on the second day of stepping down to a lesser patch then the first. Those damn patches must stay in your system for 24 hours.
There was a time where I thought I would never get over thinking of having a cig. Like when getting on the phone, I would want to reach for them or when I got out of work I would think it was time to have one, only I quit. I thought those thoughts would never go away but eventually they did.
I am going cold turkey this time. Three to seven days of hell. But it is better than months of prolonging it. I will cling to the fact that eventually I won't think about grabbing them out of habit. I just hope I can survive the wanting/craving them when things get rough. It is how I relieved stress, or think I do. A friend suggested that I try deep breath exercises when the cravings are too bad or I am so stressed.
I hope this thread gets filled up with ideas.
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Ductape
Second holiday season smoke less for this former very heavy smoker. The first six months were hell and my mouth had to be filled with something every waking moment. All ready a fat man, I ballooned out even worse. I would wake with cravings and almost cold sweats in the middle of the night, I would wake reaching for the pack no longer there.
But after the six month mark the cravings just seemed to very gradually drop off and the raids of weakness are now farther apart. I live with the reality that I can quit and am full aware one single lousy puff can put me back to my 2 pack plus a day junkie habit.
Live with the occasional cravings or live with the knowledge a long life will mean the ever tagging along oxygen bottle? But even last night I dreamed ( no joke) of enjoying a full flavored filtered cigarette as I walked with a carton down a deserted street. Waking craving as I started to search for a pack, I came to myself and was once again thankful I am now one of the worse attitude none smokers in the world. Hey put that thing out this is a no smoking area! I truly enjoy my turn at being that obnoxious former smoker watching guests exiled to the cold outer limits to partake!
I have become that which I always hated the worst, who knew it could be so much fun?
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Rocky
Though I can't share any experience I had in cutting off a nicotine addiction (I never was a smoker, except trying it when I was a pre-adolescent), I can say I'm incredibly thankful my mother quit.
It's been a long time for her, but I know she no longer craves a smoke... I just don't know how long it took. And since she shares a home with my first ex-sister-in-law who does smoke (outdoors, not in their home), I'm certain that she no longer has even the emotional urge... and at age 73, I'm also certain she wouldn't still be using those lungs of hers if she had NOT quit...
This may be the one most difficult and important accomplishment (outside of raising children) my mother has done as an adult. And I'm proud of her for it.
So, LindaZ, I'm proud of you too for making it six months so far!
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Ductape
BTW, my friend's 85 year old Daddy says that after every meal he wants to light up and he quit over 30 years ago.
He says he just wants to be a none smoker worse than a smoker.
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Kevlar2000
First of all, (((((Linda))))), congratulations for making the decision!
I was two-plus packs a day when I quit, and I was just tired of smoking that much.
I was tired of hocking up all that green, phlegmy crap every morning.
My wife was a non-smoker, and I hated polluting her airspace, yet didn't want to be exiled to "the void" (outside) when I wanted to light up (which was often).
My work was slowly but certainly set to become a "non-smoking area".
I guess, in short, I was ready to quit.
Ironically, it was the night I first heard about (some of) the crap going on with the Way that I decided to quit for good, rather than keep on smoking to help with the stress and anxiety. Maybe God was working within me to help. I'm not discounting that possibility.
It's been 20 years this past September since I quit. Yeah, I still think about lighting up occasionally, but, like you, I can no longer stand the smell of cigarette smoke, especially when there are a lot of people smoking, especially in a bar. That ususally "cures" me pretty quick.
Also, what helps me is saying to myself, "You're a non-smoker." And not even in the sense of saying it over and over, like a mantra or like "renewing your mind", but saying it because it's who you are. It is now part of your identity; part of what makes you, you. "Light up? Why would I do that? I don't smoke - I'm a non-smoker."
I don't mean to go on and on about this, because if there's anything worse than a Wierwille apologist, it's a "born-again" non-smoker. :) Just wanted to share, and hope that there's something useful you can use.
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J0nny Ling0
LindaZ. It DOES go away. I quit cold turkey in 92 after 23 years of smoking, determined to never take one puff of any tobacco product ever again. I had done this many times in the past, always cold turkey, many times for as long as six and eight months. But the thing that always got me started again was taking one drag of a cigarette, a cigar, or when somebody nearby would roll a "home roll" cigarette, and I'd offer to show off my "marijuana days one paper joint/cig", which I'd end up smoking, and be on the road again to smoking Camels at a pack a day.
But the desire goes away, and my dear girl, I personally believe that it is 100 percent mental. I am far more physically addicted to coffee than I ever was to tobacco. I have never experienced tobacco withdrawals like I have when I have stopped coffee cold turkey. One time when I stopped drinking coffee (I drank at least 8 cups a day at that time), by the second day, I had major headaches, and a lethargy that was just unbelieveable! Fortunately, on the fourth day, I was like new again, and all "flushed out" I guess.
I don't preach at people to stop smoking, but if anyone does ask my advice, one of the things that I tell them that helped me most is that
A.) It has to be cold turkey. Forget the patches, et al, for it is purely a decision kept by your will and resolve.
B.) When you think that you want to smoke, just tell your mind to shut up, for; "I am a non smoker! Why would a non smoker ever want a cigarette! A non smoker wouldn't want a cigarette, and I am a non smoker! And man, am I proud of the fact that I did in fact kick the habit! I am no longer a slave to something that makes me stink and hurts my lungs and could harm my family deeply if I died from it! Yahoo! I did it!" A personal pep talk you see...
That's what worked for me. And now, the thought of starting in again is simply preposterous. It will never happen, for, I don't smoke.
Hey, way to go LindaZ, six months is a long time. You are way over the hump. And I DO know that there is a hump to get over. For me, it was always the first few weeks of mentally just "wanting one". Anyway, the best to you, and may you arrive at the point where not wanting a cig "ends....."
And Kevlar, I didn't even read your post until after I posted my post. Yeah; "I'm a non smoker, why would I want to smoke?" Right on...
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ciythog
It will be 10 weeks on Monday since I quit smoking :)
When I decided I wanted to quit, I knew that I didn't want to use the patch, gum, or mints... I didn't want to be hypnotized... I heard through the grapevine that a local Dr. did acupuncture... the price was reasonable ($75 for 5 sessions)... so I went... there has only been 1 day that I could have done just about anything for a cigarette... didn't give in though (I was stressing out of something that I couldn't do anything about) ... in fact I have have a 1/2 of cigarette sitting in the ashtray right next to my computer... Dr. said that the theory has something to do with the addictive part of your brain...
And Atomic Fireballs did help
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krys
Cahntix is the way to go. If you're serious about quitting call your Dr and get this stuff. You take it as directed for about a week and THEN you quit.
This "magic molecule" binds to the nicotine receptors in the brain and hold onto them so there is no place for the nicotine to go - - so when you smoke you never get the "kick". But you don't miss it, because it's like the holes are all plugged up. I am 100% serious. It is expensive but worth every penny. This IS my last quit and you don't want to know how many times I've quit over the past 5 years.
By the way - there is no "try to quit smoking". You either do, or you don't. It's important to watch your thoughts....if you tell yourself I'm going to try to quit smoking, you give yourself an easy out. But if you say I'm quitting on Feb 1....that's different.
Good luck.
edited for spelling
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Kevlar2000
You all are a bunch of quitters!
I'm so proud of you...
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Linda Z
Let me add my congrats to all you quitters, especially those who went cold turkey. Last time I tried that I thought I was gonna flip. I have a lot of respect for anyone who can do it.
I used the patch. I've used it before, but this time I just accepted the fact that it would take time. I know it's not for everyone. Some friends at work did it cold turkey, others have used the gum (which I tried and didn't like). There's some new laser thing advertised on the radio now, but I don't know anyone who's done it. They claim you walk out feeling as if you never smoked.
Pond, I don't want to give the wrong impression, that I'm wracked with horrendous cravings all the time. It's not like that at all. I just have these fleeting urges. I have absolutely no desire to give in to them. I decided when I quit that it was for good and that I wouldn't let my mind trick me into "just one." I was just wondering when these silly urges might go away. I do what Tonto said--I just get busy and I forget about them. Or I give myself a little talk.
Krys is right. An attitude of "I'm trying to quit" is a recipe for failure. You've gotta be tough.
One thing that helped me is, before actually quitting completely, I started purposely not having a cigarette at key times, like after meals, while driving, while talking on the phone, while on the computer. Those were activities that ALWAYS meant the smoking lamp was lit. That made it a little easier when I gave up tobacco completely.
Good luck to everyone who's still wrestling with this. And don't be discouraged if you've tried before and failed. You can make the next time the last time if I could, that's for sure.
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waysider
I quit a 2 pack per day habit 23 years ago.
Here is some advise that people gave me that helped:
1. decide on a " quit date" that coincides with a time when you are exposed to lower levels of stress and the freedom to partake of other activities. In other words, don't try to quit Monday morning at the start of the week when stress is high and you can't take a walk outside if you need to.
2. Don't tell yourself you are quitting FOREVER. In your mind, it will seem like an impossible task. Instead, just quit for one day. Not only is it easier to achieve a one day goal than a lifetime goal, but in the event you should not succeed, you have only missed the mark for one day. Tomorrow is a whole new ball game and a chance to give it a fresh try.
3. If one day seems too long, vow to yourself you will not have one before lunch. If you make it that far, vow that you won't have one until evening, and so on. If you fail to meet that goal there is always tomorrow. DON'T condemn yourself. You only failed to meet one small goal.
The really extreme physical craving only lasted about 5 days for me and after that it seemed to be more of a mental craving. The mental cravings subside pretty quickly compared to the physical. I had mental cravings for about 5 years off and on but it becomes easier and easier to resist them. Nowadays it never even crosses my mind to have a cigarette and even discussions like this don't evoke any sort of desire to have one.
Kudos, Linda. It does get easier. It just takes time.
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vickles
Linda I experience the same thing. Every day I still crave a cig. Although now if I'm with someone that did smoke the smell is horrendous. Did I really smell that way myself?
I feel that its a moment to moment decision that I have to make. I also have to remind myself how much money I'm saving and how good I smell....lol
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Rocky
Anyone see this news item on something related to nicotine addiction?
Could this lead to "outside the box" thinking of new ways to help smokers quit?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070125/ap_on_..._brain_damage_4
Spot in brain may control smoking urge By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical WriterThu Jan 25, 5:44 PM ET
Damage to a silver dollar-sized spot deep in the brain seems to wipe out the urge to smoke, a surprising discovery that may shed important new light on addiction. The research was inspired by a stroke survivor who claimed he simply forgot his two-pack-a-day addiction _ no cravings, no nicotine patches, not even a conscious desire to quit.
"The quitting is like a light switch that went off," said Dr. Antoine Bechara of the University of Southern California, who scanned the brains of 69 smokers and ex-smokers to pinpoint the region involved. "This is very striking."
Clearly brain damage isn't a treatment option for people struggling to kick the habit.
But the finding, reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science, does point scientists toward new ways to develop anti-smoking aids by targeting this little-known brain region called the insula. And it sparked excitement among addiction specialists who expect the insula to play a key role in other addictions, too.
"It's a fantastic paper, it's a fantastic finding," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and a longtime investigator of the brain's addiction pathways.
"What this study shows unequivocally is the insula is a key structure in the brain for perceiving the urges to take the drug," urges that are "the backbone of the addiction," Volkow added.
Why? The insula appears to be where the brain turns physical reactions into feelings, such as feeling anxious when your heart speeds up. When those reactions are caused by a particular substance, the insula may act like sort of a headquarters for cravings.
Some 44 million Americans smoke, and the government says more than 400,000 a year die of smoking-related illnesses. Declines in smoking have slowed in recent years, making it unlikely that the nation will reach a public health goal of reducing the rate to 12 percent by 2010.
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known, and it's common for smokers to suffer repeated relapses when they try to quit.
So imagine Bechara's surprise at hearing a patient he code-named "Nathan" note nonchalantly that "my body forgot the urge to smoke" right after his stroke.
At the time, Bechara was at the University of Iowa studying the effects of certain types of brain damage after strokes or other injury. While Nathan was hospitalized, stroke specialists sent his information to that brain registry. He was 38, had smoked since 14, said he enjoyed it and had had no intention to quit. But his last puff was the night before his stroke. His surprised wife said he never even asked for a smoke while in the hospital.
It's not unusual for a health scare to prompt an attempt at quitting. "That's the quitting that's not as interesting," Bechara said.
Instead, Nathan experienced what Bechara calls a "disruption of smoking addiction," and he wanted to know why.
Bechara and colleagues culled their brain-damage registry for 69 patients who had smoked regularly before their injuries. Nineteen, including Nathan, had damage to the insula. Thirteen of the insula-damaged patients had quit smoking, 12 of them super-easily: They quit within a day of the brain injury, and reported neither smoking nor even feeling the urge since then.
Of the remaining 50 patients with damage in other brain regions, 19 quit smoking but only four met the broken-addiction criteria.
If Bechara's findings are validated, they suggest that developing drugs that target the insula might help smokers quit. There are nicotine receptors in the insula, meaning it should be possible to create a nicotine-specific drug, Bechara said _ albeit years from now.
More immediately, NIDA's Volkow wants to try a different experiment: Scientists can temporarily alter function of certain brain regions with pulses of magnetic energy, called "transcranial magnetic stimulation." She wants to see if it's possible to focus such magnetic pulses on the insula, and thus verify its role.
Other neurologic functions are known to be involved with addiction, too, such as the brain's "reward" or pleasure pathways. The insula discovery doesn't contradict that work, but adds another layer to how addiction grips the brain, Bechara said.
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Bluzeman
March 8 will be one year since I had my last cig. Do the cravings ever stop? Yes and no. The really BAD cravings do stop. But every once in a while, one will hit you totally out of the blue. When that happens, I've become really good at getting my mind off of it. Usually only lasts a minute or less...just long enough for me to refocus my thinking.
I smoked for 30 years and at the end was up to a minimum of 2 packs a day. Sometimes 3 or more on a bad day. Krys is right on about the trying thing. If you are going to TRY to quit, chances are, you won't. It's a mind set. You have to tell yourself that your done. No more smoking forever.
I quit one time for about 3 months. Used the patch that time, for 2 weeks anyway. Then I made the mistake of thinking I could just have one smoke. Wrong. In less than a week, I was back up to 2 packs a day. This time I had some kind of bad skin reaction to the patch after about 3 days, and had to stop using it. So I guess I did cold turkey.
I won't lie and say it was easy. It wasn't. But it was easier than I THOUGHT it would be. The world didn't end. I didn't die from my cravings. Funny thing though...my friends who smoke were some of the most supportive people I know. From day one, they would make it a point to not smoke around me. Of course I would tell them, no, go for it. It doesn't bother me, light up! Just let me sit right beside you and take real deep breaths.
Anyway, keep up the good work Linda!(and all the other quitters.) Don't things smell and taste so much better now? :)
Rick
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ChasUFarley
IT'S A DEBBIL SPIRIT!
I don't care what anyone says about the cravings going away - there's times when you will want it MORE than other times. A very stressful situation will make me crave a cancer stick - then I could go months without touching it. There will be triggers to the cravings - you just learn how to push yourself past them. It can be the most frustrating thing and rewarding thing all at once.
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johniam
I quit cold turkey, but it probably doesn't count. I was 17 and had smoked for only 2 years. But it was a Friday night, I was in a car with some of the guys, I had a pack with 19 cigs in it, and I thought to myself, wow, I wonder if I could quit. So I kept the pack in my pocket without smoking any for 3 more days just to make sure I really wanted to quit. On Sunday morning while delivering newspapers I pulled the pack out of my pocket and had a cigarrette barely out of the pack before even realizing what I'd done. Back in the pack it went. On Monday night I decided I really did want to quit so I told my friends and gave the cigarrettes to one of them.
The 5th day was the closest I came to smoking again; I was so close to smoking again, but I was able to resist and never really looked back. On the 84th day I took a drag off a cigarrette. Didn't make me want to start again. I don't even remember the last time I longed for one.
My wife smoked from ages 15 - 38. Her situation is closer to many of yours'. She had a pack and a half per day habit and she reduced the number of cigarrettes she smoked per day by 2 every day until the total was zero. Today, 11 yrs later, she says she occasionally likes being down wind from someone who's smoking, but has no desire to start again, and recently 2 of our acquaintences died 12 days apart from smoking related stuff and my wife told me how glad she was that she had quit.
Congratulations, Linda.
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NotMatilda
(((Z babe)))
Congratulations...now is always a good time not to smoke. Congratulations.
Funny, that I am around smokers every single day...outside in the Tiki Bar...very pervasive, interesting.
1977 was when I quit, cold turkey. Went thru two packs daily...smoked one, for sure...the other mostly burned up in the ashtray before I got back to it...lol...called them "rehearsal fags."
What prompted me to actually stop smoking came one day when 5 in the afternoon rolled around and I realized, for some reason (like I was so busy doing something), I hadn't had a smoke. Hmmmm.
But the thought of quitting was scary. The thought of stopping, wasn't.
I never told me I quit. Ssshhhhh. I just told me I could have one, but in 5 minutes.
Usually after a few minutes the crazy craving subsided enuf to get thru the next span of time.
I drank a lot of water. I chewed a lot of gum. I kept my hands busy with a piece of art that took 3 months to finish...it is lovely, framed, and still on my wall. I did not gain weight.
I did dream that I smoked every night for a year...lol...I wonder if that was cancer-inducing, cuz in the morning I really had to wake up before I realized I really didn't smoke.
Interestingly, Several times over the last (gasp) 30 years, I have smoked on stage, as dictated by a character. Loved it. Such drama. Cigarettes are the ultimate hand prop...and I was very BettyDaveesque in my sucking that hot poison into my soft tissues...lol. But I never craved finishing the cigarette after the scene or anything. It was a done deal, just a prop.
I have heard me say outloud on occasion, that "you know, if I still smoked, I'd be having one now."
Oh yes...money... that did factor into it. It made sense to quit just for the monetary savings...after all, a pack o'twenty cost almost a dollar in the city....lol.
Congratulations, zees :)
If I get time, I'll repost the Tobacco Road story...a little self-indulgence is good sometimes:)
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washingtonweather
It took me a little a little more than a year, but its been 13 years now. I kept buying myself things that would equal the cost of cigs that I couldn't get before because I was spending it on smokes.
The first yea or 2 when around 1 particular friend, I would have maybe .5 an inch of a cigartette, but did not start up becaue of it...I don't reccomend that for everyone,but it helped me get through it when I was around her. She still smokes (she gave up coffee for green tea, but still smokes - go figure)
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Bluzeman
Just brought this back up to say that as of today, I have been smoke-free for 1 year!. :)
Rick
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ChasUFarley
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johniam
I've seen this clapping guy all the time. I JUST now realized it was somebody clapping. Before I thought it was somebody foaming at the mouth.
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Kevlar2000
Now that would be a useful emoticon!
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