A Thread For Quitters

[karmicdebt]

Yeah for you!

[Sunnyfla]

Congradulations Raf ,

I quit smoking in 1996. I too did most of the heaviest smoking while being in twi, and drinking as well

I've been a Respiratory Therapist for the past 14 yrs. I've seen MANY people die from smoking. Not a good scene

Your lungs and heart will thank you

Frances

[Raf]

So, looks like I tried to quit in 2005. For the record, I failed. Big time. Got much worse for a while there.

Now I'm trying again. I have a wife and two stepdaughters to worry about (among other things). I've got a sister dying of an incurable disease and a best friend facing the end of his life due to esophagal cancer. He's in his 30s!

I only started smoking about 5 years ago. Bad, I know. But supposedly that will make it easier to quit.

Visited a doctor for a routine physical the other day, and he read me the anti-smoking riot act. Name it, he said it. "You stink." "You have ashtray breath." And much worse.

He prescribed Chantix. I had my last cigarette at 11 a.m. Friday. I took my first pill at 11:05. I have not wanted one since.

Still, I'm reading some things about this product that worry me. And my doc claims to have a 100% success rate, which I think is horseradish. I don't see any dispute about how it works: Nicotine attaches itself to receptors in your brain that release a small amount of dopamine. Chantix blocks those receptors, thus breaking the physical nicotine addiction. Behavioral addiction, on the other hand, needs to be addressed by the patient.

And it looks like there are some danged troublesome side effects in a tiny minority of users. "Stop using if you have thoughts of suicide." WHAT?!?!?!

So I'm being real careful and alerting my wife of things to look out for. If my behavior changes, the drug goes.

I tried cold turkey. I failed. I tried gum. I failed. I tried the patch. I failed. I don't blame the methods. I lacked the will power.

So here we go again: Round 500 in the I'm-going-to-quit-and-I-mean-it-this-time marathon. Will it work? Well, three days without so much as a craving is a good sign. If it's the drug, great - for now. If it's psychological, even BETTER!

I still taste the tobacco residue in my mouth, even after three days. Here's hoping that goes away soon.

DMiller, did you have more success than I did?

Edited July 14, 2008 by Raf

[Shellon]

Good luck Raf! Will love updates from time to time if you want to give them.

[waysider]

One day at a time, Raf.

That's how I did it 25 years ago and broke a 2 pack a day habit.

You're not quitting forever, you're only quitting for today.

You can even break that down further into 1/2 or 1/4 days.

The other side of the coin is if you "fall off the wagon", you have missed your goal for that day but not forever.

Tomorrow is a whole new chance.

[oldiesman]

Hi Raffy. My favorite cigar is Don Pepin Garcia Blue Label

One of these a day, don't inhale, you can't go wrong.

Not nearly as bad as smoking cigarettes and you still have the pleasure of smoking.

Don Pepin Garcia lives in Miami:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepin_Garcia

[oldiesman]

I have one cigar per day, no tobacco taste in my mouth lingers from day to day. No more phlegm in the morning. Its great.

I am taking a blood test soon as gonna ask what the nicotine level is in my blood, and I will let you know.

Cigar shops also are a great place for men to hang out and talk. Miami must be full of them.

[Tom Strange]

Raf... from what I've heard I wouldn't take the chance with chantix. Locally a well known guy here started taking it and ended up dead...

You know that I used hipnosis (or is it hypnosis?)... well, it worked and it wasn't the devil spirit filled thing that I was always taught... just a little 'thought reinforcement'...

now, you know that I enjoy the dominican cigars (memories of the flying saucer right now)... and that could be a suggestion, but unless your lovely lady partakes with you as well you're probably going to hear "you smell like a cigar" or "you taste like a cigar" when she kisses you... (but there's always the chance that she likes the smell and taste of cigars!)

good luck my brother... it's a hard habit to kick...

[pond]

my boss took that

kept smoking on it, got so confused she could NOT do her job was very depressed and confused, then she got very very sick and ended up with more pills to clear her lungs.. so the dr. took her off it I do not Raf that drug was on the news here as a dangerous drug says a warning to me.

[cake]

Raf,

Good for you, and good luck.

I tried over and over for years, tossing my cigs, freaking and going to get new ones... I finally realised what it was that was preventing me from quitting: it was giving myself no options and pushing myself into a corner. So, I decided to keep my cigarettes around, telling myself that I could smoke absolutely any time I wanted to. The only catch was that I had to wait for 5 minutes if I got a craving.

I've been waiting for 4.5 years now... I still miss cigs sometimes, of course. I'll always be addicted to them, but I'm no longer dependent on them. I'll get hit with cravings still, but they're more philosophical feeling now... like a dreamy sort of sure-would-be-nice, instead of a horrible Bruce-Banner-transforming-into-the-Hulk kind of MUST-SMOKE-NOW-RAWRRR kind of thing.

Whatever works for you is the thing to do. Trial and error. But you can do it.

Edited July 14, 2008 by cake

[ciythog]

On November 13, 2006 at @ 1 PM I smoked my last cigarette... for $75.00 I received 5 treatments of acupuncture from a local MD in the town I live in... within 24 hours I went in for my second treatment and then went weekly for 4 more weeks... I've only had 1 week that I've almost killed for a cigarette... but I didn't give in... I can be around people that smoke and it doesn't bother me.... I know that he did raise his price shortly after I went... and I know of 3 other people that have had the exact same treatment with the exact same results... if you want more details.. PM me.... I truly believe that it works....

CIYTHOG

[mstar1]

Good Luck Raf

I wont jump on the anti-chantix bandwagon right away although it did affect me badly. I know that it has worked for other people hopefully it will for you as well.

Keep us updated

[Raf]

I do wonder if my lack of desire to smoke these last few days is real (a physical change due to taking Chantix) or psychological (my will power kicked in, just as it always COULD have whether or not I was taking a drug).

I don't know for sure. I do know that I have not wanted a cigarette since Friday morning. Yesterday, for the first time in ages, I worked a full day without taking a puff. I think that's the key that's missing. The last time I was successful at quitting for a short time was about a year ago, when the family went to Georgia for a week's vacation. It was hard, and I craved, but I managed about 10 days. Then I got back to work, and puff! It's (relatively) easy to quit when I deviate from my routine. I need to quit when I'm IN my routine.

Cigars, in the meantime, are a guilty pleasure I enjoy about once a year, if that.

[rascal]

Raf, is there any way that you could go to a remote location for a few days or week? That was what I had to do. Get away from everybody and everything that would give me access to cigarettes.

I stayed at an old cabin with no car keys, the nearest store being 30 miles away.

It has been 21 years, and sometimes in my dreams, I am still a smoker.

Good luck!

Edited July 15, 2008 by rascal

[Raf]

As I said, I don't think I need to break the habit while I'm OUT of my routine. I've shown that I can do that. Unless I can break the habit IN my routine, I won't succeed. I need to stop smoking while I drive. I need to stop take smoke breaks during work hours. I need to stop smoking outside my front door in the morning (mission accomplished there because I get up too early to get to work anyway).

The thought of a cigarette right now digusts me, and that's new. If this drug works as advertized, I'm definitely feeling it. If it doesn't, then my mind has convinced me it does. Same effect. Right now, I don't WANT to smoke. And that's progress.

[Raf]

Day 5. Actually thinking less about it, except that the pill does cause a tiny bit of nausea (I'm supposed to take it on a full stomach and I never do) and the quitting causes... well, you don't need to hear that. Let's just say I have extra reading time and leave it at that.

I'm still "tasting" that residue in my mouth. Looking forward to being rid of that.

No actual cravings, although I do get "habit cravings," the desire to smoke as something to do: the absence of a desire for an actual cigarette negates this craving rather effectively.

[Belle]

Raf, I quit with Chantix without any side effects - the habit aspect was the hardest. That being said, it is a good thing to have others watching your mental and emotional state as well as monitoring your self-talk and what's going on in your head just in case.

Sitting in traffic thinking: "What the heck to non-smokers do while they're driving?!?!"

I still HATE being in the truck stuck in traffic with nothing to puff on. And I don't like it when people light up on the movie screen - that's actually harder for me than sitting around a bunch of smokers.

Good on ya!

[Sudo]

Raf,

Chantix seems to work wonders for a lot of people. Are you having any Chantix dreams? There are a lot of odd known side effects in a substantial number of users. One thing about the tobacco habit though is the high rate of recidivism. People can have it completely out of their system and then start smoking 6 months or so later. My father-in-law had quit for 5 years when he decided to stop by a convenience store and buy a pack of cigarettes. He then smoked up until he died in his early 70's.

sudo

[cheranne]

Makes me want a cigarette now!

When I was 5yrs old i was sitting on a bar stool next to my dad who was smoking(back in the day)

when I started taking pfal class mom kicked me out of the house so I would meet my dad at the

bar and have a drink and a smoke!

Somethings never change like Popeye said "I am who I am"(he smoked too!)

Grandma died at 98yrs old (she smoke unfiltered pall mall,looked like a joint when she smoked it!)

I always had to run to the store and buy them for her maybe I was 7 yrs old then,but back in

they "day" you could do that.

I am going to go smoke now.

[Raf]

$5 a pack: 5 packs a week... 52 weeks a year... $1,300.

A year.

That's a mortgage payment.

(No, they're not up to $5 a pack, but some weeks are more than 5 packs, so it balances out).

[cheranne]

$5 a pack: 5 packs a week... 52 weeks a year... $1,300.

A year.

That's a mortgage payment.

(No, they're not up to $5 a pack, but some weeks are more than 5 packs, so it balances out).

I don't smoke that much!!!!!

Which reminds me of a joke................Do you smoke after sex?

I don't know? I never looked???????????????!!!! hahahahahahah

Happy Hump day Ya'll

[mstar1]

still HATE being in the truck stuck in traffic with nothing to puff on.

Try a harmonica-- -- --I bought one of those BobDylan harmonica racks when I was trying to drive and quit---I still smoke but the harmonica playing has improved and it makes for an interesting drive

Edited July 16, 2008 by mstar1

[JustSayNO]

Hey Raf,

Good Luck!!

I'm going on 5 years myself. I tried for years to quit without success. Then a family member went into the hospital for surgery and came out of it requiring to be on a breather. They were told to quit. So I decided to quit with her. Either all my family smoked or had never smoked; so either they couldn't relate or would be hypocites when it came to support. I went to CVS and bought 3 boxes of the patches and 1 pack of cigs. I went home and enjoyed them for the next 24 hrs and then decided it was time to quit.

I was still in TWI but highly aggitated with them. I will credit them with teaching me how to make a decision and stick to it.(this and leaving them were the 2 best decisions I ever made while still in TWI) So I didnt remove any old packs of cigs from the house or throw my lighters out, I just put them away and said that my decision was final, I was quitting. Now I had a few days off from work and that helped get over the quick hump. on the 3rd day I got called into work for an emergency. I went and got some Starburst to chew on and had a big ole paperclip to play with to keep me distracted. I tell you, that was the most God awful 3hrs of my life. Every piece I chewed and every twist and twiddle of that paperclip only reminded me of how much I wanted one. I had done better the first 3 days than I was doing right then. So I made a decision to just "make the decision"(if that makes sense) that I hadn't quit, I just didn't want anymore cigarettes. If I had one it wasnt a failure, I would just move and not have anymore. Not that I did have any, but it took the stress off.

I never put the patch on at night because it made me twitchy all night, so the next day I forgot to put the patch on before work. It was a bit rough but by the time I got home it was too late to put one on or I would be up all nght. Well I overslept and ran out of the house the next morning, forgeting again. Well, same thing again, no patch cause i got off late. the next morning I took the patch with me to work but (LOL) forgot again. So that night I was like, why bother anymore. I had only used 3 patches of 1 box and had 2 full ones left, So I took them to work and gave em to a coworker and havent looked back since.

Speed forward 6 months, I get a phone call from a friend who was really having a hard time in life and they lived 8hrs from me. It was apparent from the time I picked up the phone that they were drunk. Well this person was contemplating suicide quite vocally. I was getting stressed out and found my old pack of cigs and lit one up while listening. I took 2 puffs off of it and said to myself silently "Hunny, I luv ya and would do anything for ya, except this" and threw it in the toilet. Needess to say it was a false alarm and nothing came of it. And to this day I've yet to have another lit one in my mouth.

Oh, and that relative never did stop smoking <_< Oh well, ya me!!

So, you can do it, just keep distracting yourself. Remember if you dont make a decision, its quite possible that when you stop taking that stuff that you might start up again by using it as an excuse for why you didnt have one. It's Willpower, willpower willpower!

Good luck

Edited July 17, 2008 by JustSayNO

[Seth R.]

Byproduct of the karaoke bar scene.

LOL!!

I don't know why but I just don't seem to have a nicotine addiction, I can smoke or not smoke. I have 2 packs of Djarum flavored clove cigarettes one is cherry the other vanilla. They have been sitting on my computer desk for a couple months, I smoke maybe one every couple days, sometimes 1 a week if I'm really stressed I'll smoke 2 cigs a day.

People say I should quit, I say why, I like the buzz every now and then, and this has been for decades that I've been like this, the most I smoked was when I first quit drinking about 7 years ago even then I had to think about when I wanted a cig. I never liked cigarettes and coffee together, a Cohiba and India Pale Ale is a different story.

I'm a freak of nature I know. Don't worry I'm not going to go try crack to see if I'll get addicted to that, or heroin either. (I'm allergic to opiates anyway) Although a little doob always sounds good, but it's not in the cards right now.

Seth

[Raf]

Ok, trying to figure out how to count the days here. Yesterday I said it was Day 5, but it was actually five days since, which would make it day six. I'm saying this because, on the pills, it says I'm on day 7. So, I'll go by the pill box....

Day 7. This is either one amazing pill (for me) or one amazing placebo. Either way, I feel really good about not smoking and not wanting to smoke. Yesterday would ordinarily have been a tough day to get through (Mondays and Wednesdays are my longest workdays), but it was pretty much a breeze.

The last thing I need to see if I can handle is a night out. It's the only thing I have not really done since this started (we went out Saturday, but it wasn't our usual time or place, and there was no temptation). Will I be able to go out singing and NOT smoke? That is the question.

And if I can't, will I give up going out singing?

Yikes. Who'll do this?

Edited July 17, 2008 by Raf