Has anyone stopped smoking recently? Need help? I do!

[Knipper]

I packed in smoking on 1/1/08 after 40 years of puffing away and, without wishing to sound superior or anything, I've found it remarkably easy - most of the time. I've tried loads of times before, but this time seems different somehow. HOWEVER, there are still a lot of times when I teeter on the brink, climb the walls etc, and I'm sure it's the same for others. I know it helps a lot of people if they have some sort of support group but due to my work, I can't commit to regular meetings (not that I'm that sort of person anyway). I travel a lot, sometimes at short notice so it struck me that an informal on-line group might be the answer. I thought about trying it here as one of my really strong triggers is when I'm subsimming in the evening (and yes very late at night/early hours). I wasn't thinking of anything organised, structured or judgemental, just somewhere to swap notes make comments and hopefully stay focussed. Anyone interested?

[antikristuseke]

Im still trying to give it up, right now strugling with insomnia because of it.

[Knipper]

Im still trying to give it up, right now strugling with insomnia because of it.
Yep, got that. When I go get to sleep, for the last few nights I've dreamt I started again. I woke up yestereday and felt so disappointed that I'd finally given in, then realised it was only a dream. Very mixed emotions, I have to say.

[Letum]

I belive Peneolope (I know I have your name wrong, sorry!) recently stopped smokeing.

[joea]

Well I never started but I wish good luck to both of you. It's an expensive habit besides all the health reasons to quit. :up:

[Skybird]

I have stopped several people from smoking over the years :D

[Knipper]

I have stopped several people from smoking over the years :D
Don't tell me - you threw a bucket of water over them :rotfl:

[Knipper]

Well I never started but I wish good luck to both of you. It's an expensive habit besides all the health reasons to quit. :up:
Best way Joea, best way. Thanks for the best wishes.

[STEED]

Visit a Heart & Lung ward or Hospital that should do the trick.

[Doc Savage]

I quit about a year and a bit back (10/28/2006, sometime around midnight) after smoking for ten years. Toughest thing I've done in my life but well worth the effort. The first two weeks are horrible but it gets easier from then on.

I'd suggest enrolling in a gym or taking up jogging or something. It helped me a TON.

Word of advice - don't use a patch. It only prolongs the suffering.

Anyway... best of luck, hope you succeed.:up:

[kiwi_2005]

I stopped about 4 months ago, i climbed the walls for about 2 weeks:nope: I still crave a ciggarette now and then especially when im drinking coffee as i was so use to having a coffee in one hand and smoke in the other.

Just the other day i get a (what i call a temptation from the devil himself) an email from a old mate who is living in Japan working for the NZ navy station there. He tells me he can ship over tobbacco (Drum tobacco) that will cost me $10 a packet for a 50gram and if im interested let him know. Here in NZ a 50gram cost $27 dollars! Buggar! :damn: I gave up smoking cause of the costs nothing else. But i was quick to reply back telling him long time no see, and sorry mate i gave up. So i passed on the info to some mates of mine who still smoke.:)

What i did was eat alot of lollies :lol: gum, sweets anything to replace the ciggarette. Its such a bad habit that every part of my body ached for about 8 days, i would get cramps, aches, nauseated, feel sorry for myself, have happy bouts then angry bouts :) Its was like if i was some crack smoker going cold turkey. Then one morning i woke up and just knew the hard part was over.

Just dont give in, find something to do with your hands, your know what i mean they feel lost without that smoke to hold onto. Good luck! :up:

[SUBMAN1]

It's pretty easy if you take up cigar smoking. Get to where you only smoke the cigar in the evening (and don't buy crappy cigars - buy only good cigars!). It will fill you with the equivelent of 50 cigs in one sitting. Your body will eventually ween itself to only expect nicotine in the evening, and then sooner or later, the cigars lose their appeal and you have pretty much kicked the cig habit.

I smoke a cigar once every 6 months or so now, regardless that I have a monster humidore. I can easily fit 100 to 150 cigars into my humidore.

I haven't smoked a cig in maybe 10 years????

-S

[kiwi_2005]

@ Subman. Silly question but whats a humidore:hmm:

Edit: nvm googled it. Stores cigars...

[Jimbuna]

I have stopped several people from smoking over the years :D

I have caused a few to start smoking over the years ;)

'Snout' is a form of currency in certain establishments http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/wolfcop.gif



http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/whistle.gif

[SUBMAN1]

@ Subman. Silly question but whats a humidore:hmm:

Edit: nvm googled it. Stores cigars...It might have helped you more if I spelled it right - brain block! :D

[joea]

Yes, another thing guys, start an exercise programme if you haven't already. Great stuff, no matter how sore you get. :D

[Kapitan_Phillips]

My dad gave up a few years ago after about 30 years with it. He just decided one day "Thats enough" and gave it up. Didnt need patches or anything like that. Just strength of will.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, believe you can, and you will. Doubt you could and you wont ever.

[Stealth Hunter]

I've always found it strange that some people can struggle with stoping smoking and others can quit without much hassle at all.

[August]

My last cigarette was the 25th of August last year after 36 years of smoking 1 to 2 packs a day, and i'm finally getting to the point i don't think about having one all the time. I'd be happy to help ya in any way i can.

[Knipper]

I've always found it strange that some people can struggle with stoping smoking and others can quit without much hassle at all.
I've struggled with it for a long time and I can't explain why, but this time around, it has just happened. I think maybe this time I'm worried about my health like I've never worried about it before. Who knows? Just as long as I stay off the bloody things, I don't care.

[Knipper]

My last cigarette was the 25th of August last year after 36 years of smoking 1 to 2 packs a day, and i'm finally getting to the point i don't think about having one all the time. I'd be happy to help ya in any way i can.
Your a good 'un August, thanks. I don't know how to play this thread, I'm not a medic or psychologist or anything, but I figured just collecting people's experience and advice might help. Just hearing from someone who still hasn't smoked 6 months down the line is a real boost. I've found the biggest problem is to believe that giving it up is possible. the more people that say that, the easier it is to believe it. Power to you (and me :D )

[Reece]

Hi, I was a smoker for over 40 years & developed quite a harsh cough, I went to the docs & he said I was in the early stages of emphysema, he carried on to say that if I didn't quit soon (within 2 years), I would die a slow death gasping for air!:oops:
He said I had 2 choices:
1) Give up smoking and gain some of the damaged cells.
2) Die a slow death.
I chose the first option!:lol:
That was about 12 years ago & I suppose the shock was the best thing that made it easy for me to give up, it takes about 6 months for the cravings to subside and after a couple of years the thought of smoke is repulsive, never go back, and certainly feel great now, and no more coughing or wheezing, I could easily say that that doctor saved my life!:yep:

[bookworm_020]

Good luck with giving up, I watched my gandmother suffer due to smoking. She would run out of puff without doing anything stressful. That was a good reason for me to keep clear!

Here in Australia there is a help line you can ring, and they'll even ring you to see how your going. Is there anything similar in the UK that you could use?:hmm:

[Mikey_Wolf]

The trouble with stopping smoking is not just stopping per se, its having the discipline to stick to it while your body clears itself out.

I personally would never go back to it, if you put a gun to my head and said "here smoke" I would say "just pull the trigger because your gun will kill me quicker and with less pain than them cigarettes will" its a very dirty habit. Its also a LOT easier to start smoking than I think I gave credit to.

I can full well understand the addictiveness of it, and how some people literally struggle like hell to stop, or can't be fussed to go through the process for whatever reason.

Anyway I'm glad I got it behind me. It could have stunted my growth. It still can stunt a mans growth if you carry on.;)

[antikristuseke]

The trouble with stopping smoking is not just stopping per se, its having the discipline to stick to it while your body clears itself out.

I personally would never go back to it, if you put a gun to my head and said "here smoke" I would say "just pull the trigger because your gun will kill me quicker and with less pain than them cigarettes will" its a very dirty habit. Its also a LOT easier to start smoking than I think I gave credit to.

I can full well understand the addictiveness of it, and how some people literally struggle like hell to stop, or can't be fussed to go through the process for whatever reason.

Anyway I'm glad I got it behind me. It could have stunted my growth. It still can stunt a mans growth if you carry on.;)

If smoking did stunt my growth, im glad it did, im 191cm (6'3")tall as it is and i started smoking at 10.

[Knipper]

Here in Australia there is a help line you can ring, and they'll even ring you to see how your going. Is there anything similar in the UK that you could use?:hmm:
There are all sorts of help in the UK for poeople wanting to pack it in, but as I've discovered, you have to really want to do it, deep inside. No amount of health warnings, graphic pictures etc have ever made want to give up, however, feeling progressively less healthy, as I have over the last couple of years, has done the trick, I think. Don't want to go back there again.

[Dmitry Markov]

I have stopped smoking cigarettes about two years ago. I have been smoking for 12 years at that moment about half a pack per day. I didn't smoke at home - only at work. I didn't smoke right at the working place - every time I had to go out. So one cold november day I have caught a flu. I took some "Coldrex" and went to work. Sitting in the office I mechanically wanted to have a cigarette but then a sudden thought came to my mind: " Hey man! What the hell are you doing? - you are ill and a cigarette won't help you to become well". And I decided to postpone my cigarette for a time when I would be quite well. Couple of days since then I have quite recovered but strangely I haven't found any desire to smoke a cigarette. I do not have it since then... I also didn't have any need in chewing something instead of smoking or in permanent holding a pen in hands instead of a cigarette :) One thing I still allow myself about tobacco is smoking my nice Dunhill pipe once a two or three months (and practically never during winter).

Best Regards!

[Knipper]

Isn't it amazing how everyone has a different experience when they decide to stop smoking. Different reasons, different circumstances.
Cheers Dmitry,
Ha здоровье:up:

[AVGWarhawk]

I'm attempting to quit. It is very hard. Started smoking when I was 14 and I'm now 42. I do not know how many knocks on the head I need to stop....I have had three collapsed lungs. But, as of the first of the year I have been wheening myself off of them. I buy crappy cigarettes that taste bad....therefore, the thought of one is not as appealing as the brand I liked smoking. So, I'm down to 8-10 a day as opposed an entire pack of 20. It is without a doubt one of the hardest thing to kick. Ease of purchase and nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs out there. With the tide turning on smoking to be unacceptable out in public and the taxes per pack raising every other day....not a wonder I did not quit sooner.

[CCIP]

Im still trying to give it up, right now strugling with insomnia because of it. Yep, got that. When I go get to sleep, for the last few nights I've dreamt I started again. I woke up yestereday and felt so disappointed that I'd finally given in, then realised it was only a dream. Very mixed emotions, I have to say.
How strange - I am not a smoker and never have been, but I've had similar dreams. I often smoke in my dreams - and wake up feeling like a total traitor about it. Strangely enough, this makes no sense since in my waking life I've never been in any way tempted to start smoking at all and I can't so much as stand the smell of it. :dead:

Good luck to you! I wish I could offer some advice, but I guess it's far too late for me to say "just don't start". Hope you make it! :)

[Penelope_Grey]

The thing about quitting your smoking habits, is that its an investment in life.

Doesn't cost you a thing, in fact, it saves you money!! Straight away! how many investments give you a cash benefit up front!? Not many.

Quitting smoking is an investment in life, and a potentially healthier one, lots of people assume that once they quit smoking they will magically become healthier, lol that would be like a non-smoker saying, if I stop eating crisps I will become thinner.

Quitting smoking is only step one. Like all things worth doing, it takes work and commitment.

Also, from a female point of view, not smoking is better for your skin and teeth. Who wants to look like an old hag when they are 30? Not me!

[Fish]

Visit a Heart & Lung ward or Hospital that should do the trick.

I did that in 1964, my brother was there with a small lungproblem but there where several others who are almost dead of lungcancer.
Me and my dad stopped immediately .
1964...getting old.;)

[Knipper]

I just want to say thanks to everyone who's put something into this thread, it has helped me a lot. :up: Thing is though, I didn't envisage it as a Knipper Support Group, I was rather hoping that other people who have given up smoking very recently would have contributed. However, it is here I guess, if anyone needs it (eats 150 millionth jelly bean since Jan 1).

@Penelope: I take your point about how it affects your appearance PG. Check my bio pic. You would so not think I'm only 23 right? :rotfl: