I stopped smoking this way

talktojesus

Hi all,

I am 24 and I am now 5 days smoke free
I feel good over-all, however, I do still get the mental urge to have a fag but I just say to myself, no and fight the mental feeling, and a minute or two later its gone and I can continue with my day as normal.

I have quit cold turkey as they say. I smoked 20 a day for 3.5 years and all I can say now is, Why didnt I quit long before now!!!
I kept 1 fag, I take it out of the drawer once a day just to remind myself that I control it and it does not control me.

I do miss them, which is odd considering I understand now how bad they are for my health and all the money I wasted on them.

I will keep you updated...Just wish me luck.
Thanks.
Owen

p.s Its not easy, but its worth the pain!

nowayjosie

Well done,
But the only way to succeed is to look on it like you have not given up anything! You have made a very intelligent decision to stop choking yourself with toxic fumes - never view it as giving up smoking - that kind of helps us to suffer withdrawls even longer - so when you get a longing do as youve been doing look at the cigarette and know your in control and not them anymore. Keep up the good work:D:D:D

talktojesus

Guys
Its been over a week now :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D Day 8 in fact and I feel GREEEEEAT. The cravings seem to be almost all gone now

Seriously, if I can do it, anyone can!!
Cold Turkey all the way

Jagle

good man well done, hope to stop myself sometime after christmas

nowayjosie

Jagle wrote: »

good man well done, hope to stop myself sometime after christmas

Best of luck, thats what I done in Jan 2010 and i went cold turkey i felt determined and i looked on it like i was not giving up anything other than a very dangerous drug that was choking me. I never looked back, its a great sense of achievement too and you'll feel great in no time. :D;)

GrizzlyMan

Quit cold Turkey myself and off them now 19days:) have been smoking 17years, 20 a day. actually find it quite easy once i just ignore the cravings, but do have my bad days.

Please Kill Me

God, if only it was that easy! I've been smoking nearly 30 years, and I'm down to 5 a day. I wish I could just stop completely, and I'm hoping that will be the end result. I think to get down to 5 a day from 20 a day for 30 years is pretty good going. Or am I kidding myself?

celticcrash

Went from over 20 a day to 1 a day for a week, Gone cold turkey 24 hours now, seriously bad headache, my head feels fryed. Bed time now, so I hope to wake up feeling a bit better.
Detox hear I come, I have been hear before a dozen times before, love the fight of the detox, its afterwards when the cravings are gone, nothing to fight, than the real fight starts for me.

talktojesus

@celticcrash

What I did, was kept 1 fag and when ever I go crazy, I take it out of the drawer and suck on it for a min (as if it was a lit cig) and then im grand again. Its all in the mind. It helps me anyways. Im getting near the 2 weeks smoke free mark now
For the first 48-72 hours, My head felt foggy and I had strange dreams when I slept I remember lol

psychward

I've given up smoking for 4 weeks now. I was a complete chain smoker but I decided enough was enough as the number of cigarettes I was smoking seemed to increase and increase without end and I have a steady supply of duty free cigs too so not so many money worries about it either. And while I am still in good shape I want to stay that way. The problem is I like them and if they weren't so harmful I'd be right back on them. My next challenge will be when I go drinking. It's how I started smoking, as a compliment to a beer.

wiger toods

talktojesus wrote: »

Hi all,

I am 24 and I am now 5 days smoke free
I feel good over-all, however, I do still get the mental urge to have a fag but I just say to myself, no and fight the mental feeling, and a minute or two later its gone and I can continue with my day as normal.

I have quit cold turkey as they say. I smoked 20 a day for 3.5 years and all I can say now is, Why didnt I quit long before now!!!
I kept 1 fag, I take it out of the drawer once a day just to remind myself that I control it and it does not control me.

I do miss them, which is odd considering I understand now how bad they are for my health and all the money I wasted on them.

I will keep you updated...Just wish me luck.
Thanks.
Owen

p.s Its not easy, but its worth the pain!

well done to you talktojesus, fair play man.:) I hope i can be as strong as you come january. Il be using the patches though. I find they help if the real commitment is there.

celticcrash

talktojesus wrote: »

@celticcrash

What I did, was kept 1 fag and when ever I go crazy, I take it out of the drawer and suck on it for a min (as if it was a lit cig) and then im grand again. Its all in the mind. It helps me anyways. Im getting near the 2 weeks smoke free mark now
For the first 48-72 hours, My head felt foggy and I had strange dreams when I slept I remember lol

Last night I kept on waking up. When I finally got out of bed this morning I felt wrecked. Strange crazy dreams. I smoked half a cig at 4 o clock and half a cig at 10 o clock. Tomorrow is a another day, hopefully I get a good nights sleep and be fresh in the morning so that I am prepared for a full day without a cig.

Night_Prowler

well done all- i gave up about 2 months ago but have not had a good week (1 ciggie everynight this week:() back to the niquitin tomorrow ...

readyletsgo

I'm a disaster on giving up/stopping smoking! I have tried 3 times this year already and keep breaking in work.
I used Allen Carrs book last year it worked wonders, was off them for 4 months then again 3 months but at xmas last year I broke...

So since the summer just gone I decided to listen to his audio tape instead, it worked but I broke again, so every time I try to listen to the tape now I know it word for word and it just does not work at all!

I did buy a pack this morning and I am thinking again to just go cold turkey in the morning. But when I try to go cold turkey, I find that when I am in the shower (for some reason) in the morning of giving up I get a flash that today is not the day to give up and panic, dont know what thats all about!

I know they are bad for me, I know I spend €70 a week on smokes that I just simply can not afford at all! I know I am better off without them, I know I am as bad as a heroin addict!

I just cant seem to get past this block to give up!

I have posted on here so many times that I have stopped or I am on the road to giving up but I feel like a chump coming back when I break.

Ah...

GrizzlyMan

psychward wrote: »

I've given up smoking for 4 weeks now. I was a complete chain smoker but I decided enough was enough as the number of cigarettes I was smoking seemed to increase and increase without end and I have a steady supply of duty free cigs too so not so many money worries about it either. And while I am still in good shape I want to stay that way. The problem is I like them and if they weren't so harmful I'd be right back on them. My next challenge will be when I go drinking. It's how I started smoking, as a compliment to a beer.

in the same boat, this week ill be a month of them and i havent drank yet, but the way im thinking now i really dont think ill end up having one. One positive is my other half doesnt smoke so that will help when im having a drink. ill find out this weekend:(

surprisingly im still getting dizzy spells but i have never been this commited, I do really think cold turkey is the only way, i have tried for years, i always kept telling myself that i enjoyed smoking, in reality I havent enjoyed a cig in months (apart from when i was drinking) so with that mentality i havent once thought I really would like a smoke! the complete opposite. i have already saved €169.64 according to my app on my phone:) (its a free app called "quit now" i find it helps)

SlimCi

Ok here goes.....if you have tried to give them up cold turkey a number of times and have fallen off the wagon, why don't you try it with some assistance like patches etc. I tried three or four times within the space of a year before I finally tried with the patches. I was smoking for 30 years and had gotten to 30 a day. My mother died of smoking related lung cancer but it still took me two years to manage to do it. I am now off them two years, my asthma and allergies have improved and I feel great. I did put on a lot of weight, but have now lost it. Actually I'm skinnier now lol. Nobody said you have to do it cold turkey, use whatever help you need to get you through - the main thing is not to smoke!!

Angelmangle

I have to second the above regarding taking whatever help is available. I read the Alan Carr book and while it definately helps to change your mindset I don't entirely agree with his view on NRT.

I tried several times this year (and many other years) to stop cold turkey and failed each time. I'm using patches at the moment and find them great, have had NO cravings at all and knowing that I have the patch on and it is helping me to remain "painfree" plus the additional knowledge that I can't smoke with the patch on anyway (or I risk nicotine overdose and making myself very sick) is just an added deterent which is a bonus.

When I tried cold turkey before I'd manage some of my cravings but it was just too easy after a bad day to say I'll only just have the one and before you know it you are back on the slippery slope to smoking full time again. Now I'm not getting the cravings and if I were to I'd know that I'd have to withstand them as I'd be sick if I smoked with the patch on. It is a win, win situation in my opinion

I wish I had tried the patches years ago and not gone cold turkey and always cracked because of the cravings, but as I'm not getting any I'm coping much better this time. I know everyone is different but this is the method which is working for me.

readyletsgo

Yeah Day 1 here again.

Using patches, but for the past 3/4 days I have been putting post'its on my mirror in my bedroom saying 'You dont need to smoke', 'You have and x amount extra a week in your wallet', 'You dont smell anymore' etc, kinda gives me a boost in the morning time. No harm to try it really.

SlimCi

Use whatever you need. You're waging war on this addiction and your body will try to trick you every which way. I found that the physical addiction was gone long before the mental one waned. Keep it up, I feel a million dollars and walk 5 - 10 kms a day now and no wheezing or coughing. It is worth it for yourself and your family......;)

readyletsgo

Day 7 here, patches helping a lot!

One thing though, my chest is just not clearing up, last times I 'gave up for good' my chest would clear really fast, this time its not.
So I am wondering should I get some cough medicine to help clear my chest? Or just wait it all out?