OT....but I quit smoking

March 12, 2003

It's been three days since I had any cigarettes at all. A week of the patch and a few cigarettes a day. Dang, it ain't easy but I am going to do it. I try not to rely on the patch but sometimes I just have to for the sake of my wife and six year old son. I can get a bit irritable lately. I went a day and a half with no patch and had to put one on early last night just to regain my sanity. I still have the same one on and don't really feel the need for another right now so I know that I am getting there. Sorry to put this here but if anybody can send some encouraging words this way, I would appreciate it.

Geocaching content> I'll be able to go seeking more caches with my son without getting so tired along the way, what with having him on my shoulders for half the time.

March 12, 2003

Stay strong -- once you kick it, you'll feel worlds better. It's not an easy thing to do by any means.

Besides yourself, your son will thank you in the future.

Good luck!

1k · March 12, 2003

I have had a box of patches sitting on my desk staring me in the face for the last month or more. I have not set a date yet, but it is very near. Please hang in there, you may have to support me soon!!

Good Luck!! Kar

TEAM SHIBBY!!!!

Krs, Kar & Na

March 12, 2003

You can do it. Here is a bit of encouragement from a non smoker who appreciates the effort that ex-smokers have had to put in to quit. I appreciate it.

Do it for yourself. Do it for your family.

1.1k · March 12, 2003

Two years without a cigarrete. I can't even stand by 'em anymore. I forgoed any patches and just made a decision *not* to put one in my mouth and light it up. It was tough but I'm a cheapo kind of guy.

Great for lowering your insurance costs. I highly recommend it.

Good luck!

Jeremy Irish

Groundspeak - The Language of Location

March 12, 2003

I quit 10 years ago next month. I had smoked for 18 years and would have never been able to without the patch.

I tried to quit several times, but without success. Have you ever seen one of those "emergency" cigarettes in a glass tube? Well, one time while quitting, I had one of those and I needed a smoke so bad that I snuck out on the patio, broke it open and smoked a cigarette that was probably 5 years old. Pretty pathetic huh?

I don't know why you would be reluctant to use the patch, just don't smoke while using it. It will work better if you go on it 100% for the duration.

I used the step down one (forget the name but it had 3 levels). I was on each level for one month and was amazed at how easy it was. The key is that you really have to WANT to be a non-smoker, you have to be tired of smoking. Doing it because you feel you have to or should will make it more difficult.

I still occasionally want one, but the craving isn't bad and goes away quickly.

You will feel better and so will your family.

Good Luck!

Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza. - Dave Barry

March 12, 2003

Just hang in there. It eventually will get better.

If you find the patch, gum etc., not working for you, don't give up, see your doctor about Zyban. It helped a friend of mine to quit smoking after 20 years. Also some employers will offer smoking cessation classes to their employees.

"Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us" - Thomas Paine

1.1k · March 12, 2003

Best of luck in your quit Cabernet. I quit 1 year, 11 months, 1 week and 1 day ago! After trying to quit previously using smoking cessation aids, I just decided to do it cold turkey this time.

You have done the hardest part (according to the "experts") by getting the nicotine out of your system, which takes 72 hours.

Get yourself a quit meter..they are great to watch as your quit date gets further and further back! I use SilkQuit.

There are also some awesome smoking support groups online. Freedom From Smoking is what I used. They advocate quitting without any nicotine replacements.

Stay tough..you can do it!

Jaimee

"What a fine thing it is to have an intellect, and room enough in the seat of your breeches to hold it."

5.3k · March 12, 2003

Good luck!

I know 2 people who used hypnosis to quit...both of them had no problems at all. One of them was on my bowling team at the time. Imagine how hard it would be to resist smoking in a smokey bowling alley while drinking...but he was able to do it.

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand."

3.9k · March 12, 2003

Your sucess will help other people like myself that keep trying to quit and can never seem to get there.

El Diablo

Everything you do in life...will impact someone,for better or for worse.

March 12, 2003

Good Luck Cabernet. I know its hard. I quit 15 years ago. I did it like Jeremy. I put them down and walked away. It was really, really hard, but it was sure worth it. Things smell and taste so much better.

Here's wishing you the best of luck!

______________

Live Long and Geocache!

March 12, 2003

quote:
I quit 1 year, 11 months, 1 week and 1 day ago!

To all of you, congrats on quitting!

March 12, 2003

It's been 13+ years now for me. See, I don't even count days and months anymore, lol.

The first week was tough. It got steadily easier as the days went by after that first week. I quit through hypnosis. I HIGHLY recommend that for any kind of self discipline, especially smoking and weight control.

It likely will be one of the very best decisions that you will make in your lifetime.

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there"

-George Harrison

March 12, 2003

New gps's you can buy now, I'd average you will be able to afford a new one every......THREE months..........if you smoked as many packs as I did. Its been 3 years + 3 Days, and all it took for me was the simple fact that after 18 years and all that wasted money, I WANTED TO QUIT. One patch and determanation. IT not that hard and YOU can do it too. And decide now what gps you want to get first..............

March 12, 2003

Keep up the good work Cabernet!!

If I may rain on your sunshine, I have quit drinking, as the doc ordered.....As for today it's been one month one week and five days...No craving, either!!!

And I'm not mean anymore on the forums!!!! Really, I wasn't mean, just obviously critical.

March 12, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy (Admin):
Two years without a cigarrete. I can't even stand by 'em anymore. I forgoed any patches and just made a decision *not* to put one in my mouth and light it up. It was tough but I'm a cheapo kind of guy.

Great for lowering your insurance costs. I highly recommend it.

This is what I did too. What helped me quit was the smoking-related medical condition I'd developed, thus being turned down by EVERY health insurance company I applied for. Without insurance, it was important to stay as healthy as possible to avoid financial ruin. SO, instead of smoking, I got on the treadmill and made running my new hobby. Find a hobby that keeps you busy...or two or three hobbies if that's what it takes.

Prepare for the times when you'll want to smoke by knowing your solution in advance. You're more likely to stick to it.

Let your friends know you're quitting, and it's likely they will support you and refrain from smoking while you're around. Mine did....one of them even ended up quitting!

I found it helpful to stop socializing with my smoking neighbors for a while until I knew I could handle it. Now I just can't stand to be around it. When there's smoke in the air, I can't breathe. That's when you develop a close relationship with your lungs. You picture them holding their breath refusing to let you contaminate them...kind of like the animations in the anti-smoking films they show you in middle school. lol

All you have to do is believe it's possible. Just start thinking of yourself as a non-smoker and one day you'll wake up and realize that's what you are!

4.5k · March 12, 2003

After smoking for 35 years trying everything to stop a thousand times including the patch, LUng and Cancer Society, hypnosis, Nicorette gum, cold turkey, reduction methods, you name it, etc, I finally went to Nicotine Anonymous for support. That was nine years ago. I haven't smoked since then or even think about smoking. What a blessing! NicA is a 12 Step fellowship like AA. There are no fees or dues for membership and you don't have had to stop smoking (or chewing, etc) before joining.

www.nicotine-anonymous.org

Good luck.

Alan

March 13, 2003

I smoked my last cigarette over 13 years ago and I have two things to say (based only on my own experience):

1.) The cigarette you need to worry about is the first one. Simply put, you can't have it. If you smoke one, you're probably done. If you don't smoke the first one you'll make it.

2.) You never really quit. You just don't smoke. I stopped smoking 13 years ago and almost never think about smoking. I no longer reach to my shirt pocket instinctively. Still, recently I had some workmen in my house. One of them left an empty Marlboro Lights hard pack (my brand) sitting on a counter. When I came through at night after they left and saw that pack sitting there I sensed a thought sneeking through that said: "There might be a cigarette in there. You could smoke it." Now, I wouldn't have smoked it had there been a cigarette (there wasn't) but I marveled that the thought was still there and still had some life or allure to it.

Powerful stuff that tobbacco Jones. But the good news is you CAN beat it. Just don't have the first one.

Hang in there.

March 13, 2003

Hang in there! Tell your family to hang in there too! My husband just quit the first of the year. It took him 8 weeks before his mood started getting better. He was complaining about anything and everything. We all finally just started saying "Whatever Mr. Grouchy!" he he he! DONT use your family as an excuse to start up again. IE: "These kids make me so mad I need a cigarette!" Just remember that you're looking for an excuse........so try to recognize when you're making them.........

Don't forget to reward yourself. After all, you are saving a ton of money! My husband did the math, and after one month, he had saved enough to go out and by himself a new Specialized mountain bike.........So he did just that.

Best of luck to you!!

Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every effort to teach them good manners.

March 13, 2003

Use the patches like the directions say and you'll stop smoking. I used them at first just like you have (only when I thought I needed them) that never did work. After following the directions I did stoped and I've haven't smoked for 19 months. (I have been smoking 2 packs a day for 40 years.) Today I geocache and run 2 Miles everyday.

Good Luck and if you need support e-mail me.

Mike

March 13, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Cabernet:
...I can get a bit irritable lately.

I never have smoked. I wonder if the patch will keep me from getting irritable.

My wife quit smoking before we got married. She just had the amazing will power to ween herself off. 5 a day for a month, 4 a day for a month etc until she just hated being around it.

Good luck Cabernet!

---------------

Go! And don't be afraid to get a little wet!

March 13, 2003

i smoked two packs a day for 7 years. thats almost $300/month just on cigarettes. I smoked at every chance i got, and i quit about a dozen times.. always returning.

then nicorette found me, and i it. there is NO shame in using an aid to quit. maybe some people can just quit, but others need help. we are all the same in the end... nonsmokers.

i quit august 15th, 2002 and its great. oh, i still miss it.. and i still think about smoking but i dont. The best thing i ever heard was from my coworker who smoked for 30 years and quit ten years ago. she said that she still wants a cigarette everyday. now that is good news because i used to quit quitting, becuase three months later i still wanted a smoke and i figured that it wasnt the right time. but ten years and she still wants a smoke? that just means that i will always want a smoke.. and quitting as soon as possible is the best.

good luck in all your endevours.

nugunslinger

4.8k · March 13, 2003

You can do it! Don't ive up!

March 13, 2003

Lots of good ideas there. I'm making it through day four without too much problem. It's wierd, I don't feel like *smoking* a cigarette, but I feel like having one sometimes. (ex smokers will probably understand that) I think that means that I am rid of the need for smoke filled lungs, even at 4 days, it doesn't really appeal to me. Still tapping the shirt pocket out of habit as somebody said. I think I'm gonna make it......nope, I know I'm gonna make it. thanks again. John

March 13, 2003

I quit smoking over 3 years ago. I can't stand the smell of smoke any more. But i still have cravings every day. I don't know if they will ever go away. But i can get out of bed in the mornings and not cough untill i get sick any more. that alone makes me thankful for having quit.

Eeyore

I'm one sat short of triangulation.

March 13, 2003

and that's to make procrastination your friend. "I want a cigarette!" "Okay, you can have one in an hour." If you still want one an hour from now, tell yourself, "tomorrow morning." If it's always off somewhere in the future you don't have to worry about it *now*.

I find that tends to help with dieting, too.

Good luck and keep at it. You're giving yourself a wonderful gift. I wish my sister would.

X is for X, and X marks the spot, On the rug in the parlor, The sand in the lot, Where once you were standing, And now you are not.

March 13, 2003

and haven't looked back. Stick with it, you'll thank yourself later! Evertime I go out caching it gets just a little bit easier and I can go just a little bit faster and further.

It's totally worth it!

1.8k · March 13, 2003

I quit the hard way, too. I just stopped. No patches or anything. That was eleven years ago. Six years ago I started again, and I'm still smoking. But one day soon - I'm thinking about it...

Someone else in this thread said something about the first one being the one you have to worry about. When I started again, it was because of a change of circumstances that meant I was in the company of smokers much more often. I decided that one or two in the evening wouldn't hurt. But it's a slippery slope...

Stick at it, and good luck!

Bill

March 13, 2003

I quit over 20 years ago. One of the best things I could have done for myself. No inclination to smoke what so ever. That was cured 3 weeks after I quit. I kissed a lady that had just put one out and I came real close to barfing. I just couldn't stand the thought of anybody reacting to me they I reacted to her. I never did thank her either.

Byron

March 13, 2003

I mean, seriously. What are you going to do while waiting for the bus? Or when you first wake up in the morning? Or after a meal or during a beer?

If it weren't for us smokers, the social security system would collapse in weeks. Roads would crumble and schools would close. Entire communities in Virginia would be forced to either work at Taco Bell or legalize gambling.

What will happen to your sence of scornfulness when you're forced to go outside during parties for 10 minutes at a time at regular intervals?

By quitting smoking, you're falling in with the herd, conforming to the homogenous. Say goodbye to any individuality you may have held dear.

But most importantly, how are you going to reward yourself after a strenuous, rewarding hike in the wilderness for a geocache?

Nobody likes a quitter!

March 14, 2003

quote:
But most importantly, how are you going to reward yourself after a strenuous, rewarding hike in the wilderness for a geocache?

Yeah, what he said . . . hack, hack . . . cough, cough . . . nothing like a lung full of smoke when you're coughing up green flim . . .

March 14, 2003

Getting better all the time.

Falling in with the herd huh? I don't see the herd doing shots of Tullamore Dew with Jameson and soda chasers. I gotta keep some vices. Stop in Zupkos tonite, I'm the old guy with the ponytail playing pinball.

March 14, 2003

I've tried to quit smoking several times over the past couple of years, but I've never been able to make it.....I'm going to use this thread as new inspiration to give it another go. This thread my have been off Geocaching topic, but thanks for posting it!

Mr. 0

"Remember that nature and the elements are neither your friend or your enemy - they are actually disinterested."

Department of the Army Field Manual FM 21-76 "Survival" Oct. 1970

OT....but I quit smoking

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