Quitting smoking

sandmanporto

Does anybody have any tips on how to cut down or quit completely? I find I get very anxious and angry when trying to cut down on cigarettes. I hate smoking it hurts my throat and gives me horrible side effects but if I don't smoke I become a monster. I have tried gum and I get withdrawal while on the gum. Please any help or advise I will appreciate.

nadel302008

E cigarettes done the Trick for my hubby he is now 3month without a real fag.And he never had the cravings again too. You will find plenty of information for it here on boards.

Cardex

I can relate to the anxious and angry comment. I get very tetchy and irritable when I quit. Niquitin Patches help this a great deal. Puts me back on an even keel and cuts out the cravings. Eventually you get to a point where you just forget to put a patch on in the morning. You realise this some time in the evening and then notice that you haven't craved a cigarette all day.

The only time I get the temptation to smoke now is when I'm out for a few drinks. Sometimes I'll capitulate and have a few cigarettes on a night out. Next day I stick on a patch and it's back to normal. I suppose I haven't really quit in that I smoke oaccasionally and I always have a box of patches to hand but the way I look at it, every day without a cigarette is a real bonus and I go through long spells now where I don't smoke at all (albeit that I use a patch for some or all of those spells).

MMUldoon5

I would love to quit the dreaded weed but my last attempt lasted just 3 months and I gained 2 stone. This weight gain is still there 2 years later so how do I quit and lose weight at the same time??

BunShopVoyeur

Taking up some kind of exercise really did it for me. I started cycling to work every day and ended up losing weight, no serious effort involved.

Hope you give it another go. It's worth it.

katyp93

It's all down to you really. It comes down to a variety of things. Willpower, diet, exercise. You have to really want to give up. If you research it, you'll find loads of really great foods that actually speed up the excretion of tar and toxins from your body, thus helping with cravings, because the less toxins that are in your body, the less your body feels the need for a hit. Lastly, believe you can do it. Best of luck. And I'd love to know how you get on. Gave up today myself. Best of luck!

ShinyHappy

I havent smoked since the 21st February this year and I feel absolutely fantastic. I had had a couple of unsuccessful attempts previously but in hindsight, I wasnt really ready and you have to really want to quit to be successful. I read the Allen Carr book before quitting. Its no magic fix, but I found it really helped me stay resolute during those first few awful days. Allen Carr recommends not using any nicotine replacement, but i used nicorette patches for about a week. The withdrawal made me really angry (borderline psychotic) on previous attempts and the patches really helped with that. Like another poster said, after about a week I just forgot to put one on and only remembered that night. Its not easy, theres no point saying it is, but when is anything worth doing simple?

jaspertheghost

im on day 2 of quitting,have tried and failed before but this time i am really ready to quit,have accepted the fact that i can never smoke anything ever again,my wife quit over a year ago now and if she can do it then so can i, its hard but im more determind than ever to do it,if i get irritable,which i do, i just go and do some work in the garden or play my guitar until it passes,also im gonna really enjoy the extra money in my pocket

ShinyHappy

jaspertheghost wrote: »

also im gonna really enjoy the extra money in my pocket

Not a bad idea to get a jar or something and throw the price of your smokes in every day - if u feel yourself wavering after a couple of weeks counting out ur riches is a great motivation!

NegativeCreep

I haven't had a smoke since Saturday and I'm pretty sure I'm going mental. No matter how much I try and distract myself it's all I can think about. It's difficult for me because I really love to smoke. I love the feeling, the taste and everything about it (except the price)
I'm going out in Wednesday night so I will almost definitely have a smoke (or twenty) when I'm out I can safely say that this is the most difficult and infuriating thing I've even done. I've been snapping and getting mad at people all day. The only thing that has made me happy is my dog (I can't get mad at her no matter how hard she tries to annoy me) :pac: writing this out has actually helped a lot

ShinyHappy

NegativeCreep wrote: »

It's difficult for me because I really love to smoke. I love the feeling, the taste and everything about it (except the price)

That sounds exactly like my attitude on previous attempts. Read Allen Carr, completely changes the way you'll look at smoking!

NegativeCreep

ShinyHappy wrote: »

That sounds exactly like my attitude on previous attempts. Read Allen Carr, completely changes the way you'll look at smoking!

I've heard about that but I really don't think anything will work for me except cold turkey I'm afraid.

Vizzy

If it's any help I was the exact same as you when I went cold turkey six months ago.
I simply loved the taste,smell,the feeling of having one in my hand.(still do,except the taste)
Haven't touched one since and probably never will(hopefully) but I actively seek out smokers when I am out for a drink just to smell the smoke.
FWIW if you gave them up on Saturday you are currently at the worst possible point in the "giving up process" i.e about 50 or 60 hours without a smoke.
If you can last till Wednesday and not smoke you will be on the road to having beaten the weed,believe me.
Just did a quick sum there a minute ago and going on current prices I have saved myself €1900 and not smoked 4200 cigs.
Thats what keeps me goin !!

NegativeCreep

Vizzy wrote: »

If it's any help I was the exact same as you when I went cold turkey six months ago.
I simply loved the taste,smell,the feeling of having one in my hand.(still do,except the taste)
Haven't touched one since and probably never will(hopefully) but I actively seek out smokers when I am out for a drink just to smell the smoke.
FWIW if you gave them up on Saturday you are currently at the worst possible point in the "giving up process" i.e about 50 or 60 hours without a smoke.
If you can last till Wednesday and not smoke you will be on the road to having beaten the weed,believe me.
Just did a quick sum there a minute ago and going on current prices I have saved myself €1900 and not smoked 4200 cigs.
Thats what keeps me goin !!

Yeah I've tried before and the third day was the worst so the fact I've made it through is a good sign It's just a particularly horrible process. I get bad heartburn, headaches and bad spasms and night terrors when I try and quit That's a brilliant saving :eek: Keep that up

username123

NegativeCreep wrote: »

Yeah I've tried before and the third day was the worst so the fact I've made it through is a good sign It's just a particularly horrible process. I get bad heartburn, headaches and bad spasms and night terrors when I try and quit That's a brilliant saving :eek: Keep that up

So - youre through the absolute worst of it - hope youre feeling good, it gets better from here. I had nasty heartburn etc as well, its all just the toxins leaving your body.

NegativeCreep

Ah I gave in slightly disappointed but sweet baby jesus did that smoke go down well

username123

NegativeCreep wrote: »

Ah I gave in slightly disappointed but sweet baby jesus did that smoke go down well

Sorry to hear, just wasnt the right time for you. When you really want to, you will.

IHateMondays

sandmanporto wrote: »

Does anybody have any tips on how to cut down or quit completely? I find I get very anxious and angry when trying to cut down on cigarettes. I hate smoking it hurts my throat and gives me horrible side effects but if I don't smoke I become a monster. I have tried gum and I get withdrawal while on the gum. Please any help or advise I will appreciate.

Try the e cigs, these could help you help cut down and give up. .. I smoked non stop for 20 years, LOVED them, (Still do..). Take it one minute at a time and give the e cigs a go.. Everyone is different. I am a strong person and couldnt' let the cigs beat me. you can do it.. Weight gain happened for me, took me a year to loose it, but feel so much better. Healthy skin, hair..Best thing I did. Keep us posted here.. Best of luck.

Chuck Stone

I stopped smoking several years ago. Before I stopped smoking I was such an addict it kinda got to the point where I hated myself for it. I was asthmatic on top of it all and smoking so heavily that breathing was difficult after a session on the drink. I'd be practically chain smoking at the weekends.

Eventually after numerous unsuccessful attempts at quitting I started to change the way I thought about cigs. Rather than giving me relief I managed to perceive the smokes as my master and I was the slave. The cigs would make do things I didn't want to do like standing out in the rain smoking, going to the shop to buy them, waking up at night needing a smoke etc.

Whenever I managed to really accept the 'master-and-slave' or 'puppet-and-puppeteer' perception of my involuntary relationship with cigs I actually managed to develop a true hatred for them and attempted my 'escape'. Escape sounds dramatic but it is an accurate description of how it felt. The longer I stayed off the smokes the further away I got from the slave master and the less control it had over me.

Having tried numerous times without success I managed to not allow myself to be fooled by the 'sure I know I can give them up I can have just the odd one' trap. Nope, this time I had enough experience not to fall into my own thought fallacies.

I'm a free man now.

goz83

In my experience, patches, books and pills don't last very long for the majority of people. Weight is also a massive issue and this is because most people don't know that there is sugar pumped into cigarettes. Do a quick search and you'll find it. Sugar makes the cigarette taste better. It keeps it alight, even when left idle (cigars don't do this, as they don't have added sugar). The sugar is then craved when the person tries to quit and so sweets and chocolates become the new addiction. I work in this area, but I don't care to advertise what I do, I just want to let people know why people put on weight so easily when they stop smoking.

chud1234

first day trying to give up the smokes :eek: my head is a mess .

BeatlesFan1992

I started smoking when I was 14 (I am now 21) I manage to quit smoking for 4 months straight with the help of a quit.now app that I downloaded for Andriod. Worked well up until I was due to sit exams and the pressure of studying got to me and those 5 minutes smoking time was heaven because I could have time to think on my own. That was in January and it's now June and I still haven't shifted them. No sorry, I went off them for a week last week and myself and my boyfriend decided to go to a pub and like i said those 5 minutes on my own cropped up and before I knew it, I was buying smokes. I have never craved a smoke in my life, ever. I usually just smoke either out of boredom, pass time or just to be on my own or waiting on a bus before and after work. I treasure the time I smoke when waiting on a bus. I don't work in a stressful environment so it's not like I NEED a smoke after work. Lord only knows why. Those 4 months that I gave up was a bliss. No sore chest, no heaviness. I felt fresh waking up. I was able to walk up the stairs and run for 20 minutes (that's a record for me) Now the taught of running frightens me because I know I will only embarrass myself if I can't run for long. I gave my last packet of smokes (had 15 left) to a homeless man on my way home and I just taught "it's not worth the hassle anymore". The minute payday comes, I buy smokes before anything else and I am puffing away. Smoking away hard earned money.

chud1234

I found a site called quitsmokingmessageboard.com it really helped me in the beginning there a lot of really supportive people there give it a go you have nothing to loose .