Support for those quitting smoking

DivX · 05-01-2005 1:29pm

Congratulations! and keep up the good work.

As for the book, well i can only speak from personal experience, after many unsuccessful quits i finally bought and read his book back in dec '03. Completely off them since that time.

The edition i bought had a cd included which you should listen to after reading the book, and i found that i listened to it occasionally for the first month of the quit which helped me a lot.

Lorcan26 · 05-01-2005 6:53pm

sorry i havent had time to read the whole thread but what exactly are in his books/cd's?

MojoMaker · 06-01-2005 3:38am

Pure evil...if you're a smoker.

Simple message hammered home on pretty much every page.

Spalk0 · 01-02-2005 9:48am

Buck_Naked wrote:

would it be of any benefit to read Allen Carr's book after giving up smoking??

I gave up on monday!

I doubt it!I just read the book and im currently off the smokes about 4 days and going well!One of the factors with his book is that it requires to to keep smoking until you have finished reading it!Now whether thats necessary or not i wouldnt be sure but id defineately recommend the book to anyone looking to give up!

Its defineately a different and refreshing approach to 'escaping' the evil weed!

Best of luck anyone giving up!

Spalk0 · 01-02-2005 9:52am

Lorcan26 wrote:

sorry i havent had time to read the whole thread but what exactly are in his books/cd's?

In his book Lorcan he explains that the actual 'Nicotene(sp?)' addiction is very easy to deal with but the difficult part is the Psycological addiction(Brainwashing) and what he sets out in doing through the book is undermiming and destroying that brainwashing we all have towards them which if is successfull, You will realise that you never even enjoyed smokes in the first place, you pity rather than envy smokers and that you gain nothing from smoking but A LOT from not smoking!Tis worth the read

NewFrockTuesday · 18-02-2005 5:53pm

in his new book he awknowledges that people may lapse and this is not to deter them from going at it again with a fresh heart. i was brokenhearted when i started back on them after 5 weeks (i know it doesnt sound long - but for me-thats a record) and i thought that was it. i read his most recent book and he has made a few ammendments o the charter without actually changing the theory. we are not failproof and going on feedback from frightened people who suceeded for a short or long peroid-whatever- has reversed on one or two things to that effect.

DangerZone · 08-03-2005 11:25pm

Hi all am new here today lots to read on here but I will get through most of them - first things first Non Smoker that wot I am now since Dec 1st 2004 I know its not along time but three months for me and that its excellent I never want a smoke again and I will never want one thanks to the person who told me about some Hypnotherapist in my local area, I really thought it wouldnt work for me I use to smoke two packs of backy a week and my will power was very weak but when I came out off there I havent had a smoke since and I am really chuffed to bits with myself into fighting this bad habit away.

Yoda · 18-03-2005 11:30pm

How does it work? It doesn't lie to you. You lie to you. The nicotine lies to you. Carr doesn't lie to you.

Gremlin · 21-03-2005 2:04am

Hmm I'm reading all your great success stories and wondering what the hell is wrong with me. I've tried to give up a gazillion times. I really hate that I smoke, I hate the smell, the social stigma, the health risks, the cost. After all that I'm obsessed with them. When I give up I spend all my time thinking about them. I've tried Allen Carr, patches, cold turkey etc and failed every time. I'm currently off them for 5 weeks I slipped twice but I'm determined no matter how much it hurts that I'm not going back on them full time. I remember when I was a kid before I smoked and how I never needed a cigarette, I want so much to go back to feeling like that. How can it be that I'm so utterly addicted to these stupid things. Thinking about it, lighting up dried weeds and inhaling the putrid smoke, how can that be so addictive? What makes it worse is that a couple of months ago I promised my dying mother on her death bed that I'd give them up (she always hated that I smoked). My uncle who is built a lot like me is dying of lung cancer from smoking. All of this and I still question my resolve.

I know in my heart of hearts that the only way I'll be free of this torment is to persevere and most of all not to give in to temptation anymore. The two times I slipped just made it harder for me because it undermined my self belief.

It really upsets me when I see young kids starting out on a smoking career. I just wish I knew then what I know now. Sometimes I'd like to go up to these kids and yell at them. Of course they think they'll never get caught in the trap. So did I!!

Sorry for rambling but what I'm really doing here is organising my though processes. Best wishes to those of us giving up, and thanks for sharing your experiences. I found it most encouraging.

Regards,

Dave.

dazberry · 21-03-2005 9:06pm

I went cold turkey last Monday - and still going strong

. Its been a couple of years since I last attempted (and obviously failed) but the difference this time is that mentally I am so determined. I'm not going to say it was easy, but it was easier than anytime I have tried before, and after a few days I knew that unlike before when I was 'giving up', this time I'd quit (if that makes any sense). I know its only a week and there are still 'triggers' that make me want a cigarette - but not near as many as I had thought and nothing that I can't deal with.

[ot]
(Right forum/wrong thread) - I guess I'm so determined because this is part of a bigger picture. Not out of anti-social smoking malaise, or ban, or health, its about taking my life back. This is now the 2nd of 3 resolutions I made this year - the third in June when they're told to stick their job (respectfully)

.

D.

ZENER · 22-03-2005 1:35am

How is everyone here managing ? For those just embarking on the smokeless life I think you need to treat quitting as a 2 stage process, stopping smoking and then stopping thinking about stopping.

The stopping part is straight forward enough I think, it's just a matter of making your mind up that this is what you want more than anything and then preparing yourself for the event in what ever way suits you. This could be committing to not going out to the pub for a week or avoiding places or situations where you could cave. We all know what is required here and in most cases we can figure out what to do.

The difficult bit is after a few weeks or even months when all the hype and extra attention and encouragement you recieved from those near to you dies down and you're left on your own to think about it, several posters here caved after a few weeks. At this stage you may feel even more like a social leper because you DONT smoke.

The smoking ban helps here but when your friends all disappear every half hour outside for a fag and you're left alone you can weaken and feel like smoking again because they all seem to be having more crack than you !!

Another thing is becoming too complacent with your success and thinking - ah sure a cigar won't hurt - or - just one to prove to myself I free. these are things I went through and fear of creeping up on me again. I planned ahead this time and made quitting part of a new beginning and a lifestyle change because my old lifestyle was based around being a smoker. Think about it, how many of your activities or interests or routines are based around being able to smoke.

This is why it's important to plan for life without cigs, after you've managed to kick them and have gone through the torture - and let's be frank it was torture !! For me it was losing weight the healthy way, part of the reason I started smoking again after 2 years off on previous attempts was to lose weight !! It worked the first time not the second, smoking made me so unfit I couldn't excercise and lost motivation to do anything. Now I've changed my lifestyle to one of healthy living, diet and improvement all based around a life without fags. Nothing I do now leaves time opportunity to think about smoking.

Sorry for rattling on here but you sound really serious about giving up smoking and I thought some of you may benefit from my experiences and ultimately succeed first time ar learn where you may have failed the first time.

Good luck to all of you !!

ZEN

DonkeyStyle \o/ · 11-04-2005 9:11am

[align=center]My waffle about smoking and me, a thinking-out-loud post.[/align]

I've been trying to psyche myself up for quitting for a while now (after some failed attempts), and I've noticed something funny about the way I'm thinking.
I look at a box of ciggies and think... "I'll just finish this pack, then that's it.".
Even though they're disgusting and they're damaging my health, I still look at them as having monitary value and that I couldn't possibly waste them by breaking them into pieces like you see people doing on TV.
And if I'm quitting, then why not stop smoking half way through the pack? Why wait until I've finished the pack?! This whole mentality of "I've paid for them, so I'm ruddy well going to smoke them by gumbo!" ... it strikes me as really bizarre, like a clash of logic.
I think since reading the Allen Carr book I find myself trying to mentaly deconstruct my own smoking obesssion.... some of our 'smokers thinking' really is mind boggling isn't it?

Aaaaanyway, I find my major stumbling block to be the initial physical withdrawl... this restless dizzy-headed numb depressive confusion, I find it hard to think, hard to do anything... it's so frustrating... this frustration is further aggravated by the usual bad mood of the cold turkey quitter, until I just make the decision to go out and buy more smokes... just to feel normal again, just to function.

The longest I've been off ciggs since I started smoking was one week and that time was spent on patches and veging out infront of (as a poster suggested earlier in the thread) an immersive video game... it really helped to have something not too demanding to spend my time doing.
I'm questioning whether the patches just prolong this withdrawl in a lessened state, and whether it'd be better to just cold-turkey it and get it over with sooner.
Having said that, I still feel dizzy and confused even when on the patches, just probably not as cranky or thinking as much about smoking.
I was all excited reading the Allen Carr book when he said I wouldn't experience withdrawl, but about 6 hours after extinguishing my 'final ciggarette' I was crawling up the walls and lost faith in the whole thing... I still think the book was helpfull, and if it's helped people quit at all (and it has) then I suppose it can't be faulted.

Really what I'd find helpfull is knowing ahead of time the different stages of withdrawl and how to cope with them without losing my mind in the process... I think someone mentioned a "three day wall" or a smokers diary or something earlier? Any links to these?

Also, I hear time and time again, that you've got to really want to quit... well a lot of the time, I ask myself honestly if I do want to quit, and I'm sorry to say a part of me doesn't want to quit at all, that part of me is afraid of what life will be like without them... crazy I know... I just have to keep reminding myself of the 16 years I spent not smoking, when I didn't feel I had to smoke.
Yep, 8 years smoking... every time I think of how many ciggarettes I must have smoked by now I feel disgusted by it... in fact I feel disgusted by it right now, and I've got a lit cigg in my hand!
It feels like such a losing battle when you've tried to quit and failed, then have doubts as to if you really want to quit at all... and on top of that, not wanting to face the withdrawl. :eek:

Any ideas?

ZENER · 11-04-2005 10:46am

I think you've articulated the whole thing pretty well, your only ommission is what to do AFTER you have quit. Most of your energy seems to be applied to just quitting. Unfortunately giving up smoking is a process that has a beginning a middle and an end but most people only address the beginning and neglect the other 2 and ultimatly fail after a short period of time.

The feelings of "Do I really want to quit? " are normal after all you are about to make a life changing alteration to your life - it's just like quitting a job that you are comfortable in but know won't get you anywhere - you will be aprehensive no questions.

Another thing is it can take several years to become a "non-smoker" and even then there may be moments of weakness, you have to be prepared for this i.e. the end part. The middle is just after you have quit. The days, weeks or months after the final drag until you feel the benefits of your decision. I gather from your words that you have quit before - do you remember WHY you failed ? As someone who has smoked since 15 years old and who has quit about 6 times up until the smoking ban last March (at 40 years of age) I know what I did wrong. I tried to continue my life as normal just like it was when I smoked - thats where I went wrong.

This time though I made the decision to change my life in more ways than simply quitting smoking. Having become extremely unhealthy and unfit I decided that the quitting would be part of a bigger change. I year on and I've lost 2.5 stones and am the healthiest I've been in my whole life and my daughter appreciates all the extra time I spend with her going for walks, swimming and cycling.

The health advantages of quitting are huge and very welcome, and by combining the need to fill the time now available to you with a chance to improve your health should go hand in hand. Try this approach if you like and see if it helps.

Good luck

ZEN

Blub2k4 · 14-04-2005 12:55pm

I gave up smoking nicotine on the 26th January 2004.
I used the nicorette inhaler very successfully, if you are someone who very much associates nicotine with the "hit" then the inhaler is the way to go as it is akin to smoking but slowly breaking the habit.
I found it helped in that it allowed me to break the habits and then actually stop the nicotine addiction later.
I used the inhaler for three weeks before stopping with it.
For anyone who misses a spliff there are any amounts of pure pipes that you can buy that dont need baccy.
I still get urges and that wont change I feel, they get less as time goes on.
Well done to all that have stayed off them and good luck to anyone who has yet to try.

DonkeyStyle \o/ · 15-04-2005 8:26am

ZENER wrote:

I gather from your words that you have quit before - do you remember WHY you failed ?

Yup, all of my attempts have been foiled one way or the other by the nicotine cravings and initial withdrawl... I've never managed to go longer than a week, so I don't know what it's like to feel 'normal' while off ciggs.
This is what I see as my major stumbling block, and it's why I focus on it more than any other aspect of quitting.
I have to say I didn't find the other aspects as challenging, I was fine with accepting that I couldn't smoke after a meal or with a drink or in the morning etc etc.... fine around other smokers.... at least in the 7 day period I was off them :rolleyes:
None of that bothered me as much as the feelings I described earlier, this mentaly debilitating "head-fog" (this is the only way I can describe it really) that stops me funcitoning normally.
I've been reading lately about how nicotine effects the neural receptors in the brain, it's all fascinating stuff which really hammers home the point that we're drug addicts.

Kwaka · 15-04-2005 8:54am

Delighted to say that I gave up smoking during December of 2003. Never even think of smoking these days but can smell a cigarette a mile off, that’s probably because of my sense of smell returning.

All I can say to anyone disillusioned over going back smoking is not to be too hard on yourself and to try again when you feel mentally ready, eventually the quit may stick for good and it will be worth all the effort put into packing in the habit.

Imposter · 15-04-2005 11:41am

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

I've been reading lately about how nicotine effects the neural receptors in the brain, it's all fascinating stuff which really hammers home the point that we're drug addicts.

That's because you keep thinking about them. Try taking up an exercise or a new activity. It'll take your mind off them and give you something to do. After exercise you'll also feel better and you'll likely not want ot smoke then. Also try avoiding places where you smoked a lot for a few weeks.

ritlin_lad_05 · 27-05-2005 12:59pm

i know how it is to quit..i tried to CUT DOWN before i quit and i got this extremely unbearable depression that was extremely hard to cope with..that was when i was still smoking but a lot less..i started smoking when i was 11..first fag..then regular at 14(1 a day) at 16 went to 10 a day now up to 20.. a lot less in work which helps a lot..im inhaling less deep now and i can feel circulation improving a little..hopefully i'm slowly depriving myself of more nicotine every down to when i'm back to the same level as when i started..i hate smoking coz i seen people die in my family of it..chronic broncitus and emphysema with lung cancer..it scares me but you should focus on positive reasons for quitting like feeling ur cirulations getting better and lungs being able to keep up with anything

that helps ALL things that you like lol..especially ur sex life coz smoking makes it less pleasurable less blood flowing etc..cutting down u will notice a difference trust me...and you will feel a kinda complete self like you are more of a non smoker which is kinda like a rebirth..that's great feeling..you feel positive and that..remove reasons why you like smoking..for me it was someone who i though was great i even mimicked how they smoked and i got hooked..i dont smoke like them anymore i smoke my own natural way and it stings my eyes...i forget why i though it was cool..when you quit you like cigs more than before you quit..tha's deception you need to ignore...your mind going back about 10 years(aswell as your health)..
One last thing.....when you're off them DONT GO BACK! i'm not quit yet but i hope to god i can quit..i find it impossible coz i get extremely depressed without nicotine where i dont want to live anymore...cut caffeine down by three quarters aswell coz it makes your really angry on withdrawal and stops you sleepin coz caffeine acts harder on the body when givin up fags...i drink tons of coffee and tea(DISASTEROUS). there's circulatory disease in my family and i have high cholesterol aswell..smoking shoots it up so every time i light up i think of a stroke.. horrible thought.. good luck you can quit if you really really really want to..but us smokers dont have that dislike for smoking, it's replaced by this person we respected that made us want to smoke...when u forget about them and any other reasons you like smoking you're on the right track!

good luck

deisedevil · 27-05-2005 1:26pm

Don't know where you gettin a sex life problem cause of the fags, i've been smokin with years and i'm still smokin underneath the sheets! no circulation problems with the big fella,lol

ritlin_lad_05 · 27-05-2005 1:43pm

yeah i do understand what u mean.. but i believe it affects every1 different...i know someone who smoked the same amount of cigarettes and another smoker yet they got gangrene coz of smoking and lost their fingers as a result...smoking affect my circulation quite a lot coz bad circulation runs in my family and smoking makes it worse so that's just me individually...other than that i have no probs...i wish i were u then!

WhiteWashMan · 27-05-2005 2:16pm

the only thing i can really add it to never stop trying to quit.

personally ive never had a problem giving up, it was always that i started again an hour later!
the biggest killer for me was other people smoking. i never got narky or angsty when i quit, i just stopped, but if i saw people smoking or my friends were having a fag, then all the cravings just came crashing back.

i ocassionally smoke on a night out. i'll bum a few smokes. in the morning, i will feel ill from it, i will feel awful with myself, and thats enough to keep me off the smokes for another 6 months.
smoking twice a year is acceptable in my book

but i think the biggest thing if you want to give up smoking, then you need to want to. you actually need to want to not smoke. there really isnt any will power needed. its simply a case of not smoking. it sounds hard to so many people, but its true. its actually pretty easy to not smoke.
but if you dont want to stop, you never will, and no amount of will power will save you. believe me, 6 months of feeling crap every day because you want a smoke is hell.

but the rewards when you do give up are amazing. and you want to tell everyone how great you feel, how you dont cough up black flem balls in the morning anymore, your clothes dont stink after an nours wear, your breath doesnt stink, hey, you all know the good stuff. but its so true. its a fabulous feeling not being a smoker. and i dont have to defend my non smoking either, and i dont get defensive about it either

Fionn · 30-05-2005 11:35pm

This month two years ago, midnight on the 11th of May 2003 to be exact, was the last time i smoked a cigarette
dunno if it was a conscious decision to give them up, more a decision to NOT SMOKE!
how did i do it? i can't really say, i do know that i had had enough of them. i hated all the negative aspects as have been mentioned already and after been a smoker for over 27 years or so i wanted to stop.

I remember going through the craving pangs and that for about a week I suppose the closest i could describe it is being hungry except in a different way!

I had never tried to not smoke before, so this was totally new territory for me. Having observed a person in work make an attempt and followed their progress and thought if they can do it so can I. Even when they failed this spurred me to maybe do better, it was a challenge!
After the initial week had gone by and i was still reasonably sane I started to let people know that i wasn't smoking and i did get a lot of encouragement and support which i think was a benefit, getting positive feedback reinforces the decision. I also used a hypnosis CD which i listened to every night for maybe a forthnight. I'm sure this also had positive infulences and reinforced my no smoking campaign.

Why i have been successful so far i can't really put down to any one thing, only that as has been previously stated....when your absolutely convinced your ready and WANT more than anything to NOT SMOKE you may find success.

Do I miss smoking? nope!! i'm not bitter about it, i stopped for me no one else!! so I only miss the negative stuff like you'd miss a sore thumb

I occasionally still get the odd second of craving usually swiftly extinguished by five seconds of deep deep breathing, and remember us smokers can and do breathe deeper than the rest of the population so our lung capacity is actually a bit larger deep breathing is great!!!

I have been scared a few times having dreamed i was smoking, but hey i dream other things too!!

Do i enjoy the benefits of NOT SMOKING? you bet!
every morning i get into a clean car my clothes are clean, take in fresh air, don't stink of smoke, I never realised i smelled like a walking ashtray at one stage! don't seem to cough as often these days etc.

Might I smoke again? It's always possible!! but i haven't got that vision for myself and I think a lot of this is visualisation i visualise myself as a person who doesn't smoke, this has helped me to succeed so far and i believe will continue to. I've never looked back since!

Sorry for going on so much, this is my story so far. If even one person gets any inspiration from it or any of the others in the thread that'll be great!!

the very best of luck to anyone setting out on trying ---You Can Do It!!!

LegacyUser · 09-09-2005 3:37pm

deisedevil wrote:

Don't know where you gettin a sex life problem cause of the fags, i've been smokin with years and i'm still smokin underneath the sheets! no circulation problems with the big fella,lol

You're very cocksure, sorry for the pun.
My own father has only recently come off Viagra and the reason he was given for his impotence was his smoking, he gave up the cigarettes and gave up the Viagra.
In case you were wondering the only reason that I know this is that I found one on the sofa one day and knowing they are expensive, took my mother aside and gave her the pill on the quiet, she then told me what it was for although I would rather have stuck my fingers in my ears and gone lalalalala

In any case you are ok now, think into the future.

lazylad · 19-09-2005 2:41am

I have quit too. Feel great but really really really depressed. Quit cold turkey. I had an asthma attack 2 weeks ago and had to get check xray done. was getting out of breath climbing over a wall!!!

I was in town tonight and went into pub for first time in 2 months. Just for a laugh. got my mind off fags

Enilorac · 19-10-2005 10:55pm

I gave up three weeks or so ago...

And its an odd one alright...I was a heavy smoker, and had smoked heavily (40+ a day) for over 10 years or so, smoking in total for over 20 years. I had always smoked relatively strong brands too, referring to Silk Cut as Air Sticks, and preferring Benson & Hedges or Raffles.

I read Allen Carr once, but it didn't work. I have no idea why, a lot of what he said in the book still goes through my mind, but it wasn't sufficient to make me stop.
Knowing that the book had worked so well for so many, includng many friends and family etc, I gave it a second go approx a year later...with the same result, it did absolutely nothing for me...I guess I was one of those rare people who weren't influenced enough by the book, and being a tight-ar5e I was never going to cough-up for a visit to a seminar...so I left it at that, and convinced mysef I was obviously not destined to give up.

Then a few weeks ago I was embarrassed at not being able to hold a conversation with someone...I was so short of breath I'd be gasping in the middle of words, what on earth is that all about!:eek:
Enough was enough, I told myself to finish that packet and that was it. I finished that packet and bought another one...
I duscussed it with my OH (he smoked rollies) and we decided one sharing one packet of Golden Virginia and calling it a day, and maybe smoking the GV for a day or so would help me?

Well...straight talking to myself seems to have worked. The bad caravings went away after a few days...I coped with them by mentally telling myself what was happening and reminding myself that I didn't have a cigarette anywhere even if I wanted one, that my craving would only last a minute or so and would be gone again...and talking myself through a craving seemed to work well for me.

My first long journey in the car was going to be a test for me, and after a week or so I found myself heading off to Dublin (a good two hour journey). I made sure I had a packet of hard-boiled sweets to hand, and set off. I had some good CDs to sing a long to (the louder the better

) and I remarked to my OH that evening that the funniest thing I found was that I didn't actually crave a cigarette at anytime during the journey...in a nicoteen craving type of thing...but I craved it in an 'i'm bored and need something to do' kind of way...a murray mint soon got rid of this sensation, and I didn't need to open my window to suck a mint either!

Now the oddest thing I'm finding is that despite being a very heavy smoker, and stopping dead, cold turkey, over night les than a month ago....I don't even feel like an ex-smoker, I feel like I've never smoked at all...I don't remember how it was to even smoke a single cigarette, let alone be dependant on 40 of the little suckers just to get me through the day. gfiving up smoking for me has been such a small deal I don't even remember what date we gave up...and neither does my OH...we think it was about the thrid week in Sept but we can pin th day down, and neither of us thought to mark it on the calendar...almost as if we didn't want to make it significant and therefore something to think about and be remined of I guess???

I love the fact that I can go somewhere and not have to hang around outside in the cold. I love being able to enjoy a whole evening in the pub with my (mainly) non-smoking friends, without twitching during conversation thinking when I can get away to have a 'smoke' outside...

I laugh out loud at the fact that on the whole I have truly *forgotten* I was ever a smoker....and it only by seeing something like this thread, or being around other smokers that this fact is triggered in my memory...but I don't even think of myself as an *ex*-smoker....I truly feel like a *non* smoker...and yet less than a month ago my life would end if I didn't have at least two *spare* packets in my handbag...

I always said I would never be one of those smug ex-smokers...the kind who are really anti-smoking and who have forgotten what it was like...but I fear I *have* forgotten what it was like, and whilst I don't pity smokers or look down my nose at them... I am bl**dy glad I'm no longer one of them! So, aloow me a little smugness, just for tonight anyway!:cool:

J.R.HARTLEY · 18-11-2005 12:43am

fair play to every one who has quit, and to those that didn't succeed better look next time, you gave it your best shot,
if it was easy to quit there be next to nobody left smoking.
my da smoked himself into heart trouble back in the early 80's he quit for about 3 years but was back on them again before he died in 87, i know how tough it can be for you, just hang in there if you can.

Blondie86Star · 04-12-2005 3:53pm

I haven't smoked in 8 days now. Mainly due to the fact that I have been sick. But I'm feelin better now, and really want a cigarette! how do i stop myself!!!help im craving so bad!

Chucky the tree · 05-12-2005 8:50pm

i found lollypops helped. Although i am back smoking again so.....eh......

LegacyUser · 05-12-2005 11:36pm

I'm going to an Allen Carr session on Saturday. I've been there before. I gave up effortlessly and was off them for 14 months. I stupidly accepted a cigarette off someone last January and here I am again .. smoking like a twit!

I'm looking forward to Saturday and to being smoke free again. I know a lot of people say .. why pay for that .. read the book etc. I read the book and I still felt like I was depriving myself each time I got a craving .. I was cranky etc.

When I went to Allen Carr before I saw it all objectively. I wasn't born with a smoke in my mouth .. so I don't need one now.

Roll on Saturday .. can't wait.

Airblazer · 03-01-2006 1:34am

Definitely recommend hpynosis for those serious about giving up smoking..I smoked 60 a day and about a 100 at the weekends. I started smoking fully when I was 15 and smoked till I was 29. I tried everything to give them up and I always lasted for maybe a week but then caved in..in the end I saw this advert for an advanced hpynosis class by Derry O'Mally in Limerick which gave a lifetime guarantee..It was expensive (€400) but this I made back within 3 1/2 weeks...Now it's over 3 years later and I've no urges whatsoever to go back on them..if anyone needs to know more pm me anytime:D

Blondie86Star · 03-01-2006 1:57am

After smoking up to 20 a day, I have finally made the decision to quit. I had my lat cigarette at 10.30 on new years eve. im craving one really badly now. Is cold turkey gonna work, it hasnt before especially since most of my friends and my boyfriend smoke. Whats the best replacement? Patches, gum, inhalers?

LegacyUser · 03-01-2006 9:42am

Blondie86Star wrote:

After smoking up to 20 a day, I have finally made the decision to quit. I had my lat cigarette at 10.30 on new years eve. im craving one really badly now. Is cold turkey gonna work, it hasnt before especially since most of my friends and my boyfriend smoke. Whats the best replacement? Patches, gum, inhalers?

No cold turkey will not work. After 3 days there should be no physical withdrawal. The rest is all in your head. If you keep telling yourself "I want a ciggy, I want one .. BUT YOU CAN'T .. I want one ... NO .. I wa... NO NO NO"

Then you feel like you are depriving yourself of something?? If that is how you feel then it is not going to work. You are not giving up anything - you just don't smoke anymore .. it is ridiculous for you to have a "craving" .. you don't smoke!! If you get a thought like "I want a ciggy" .. brush it off as "ridiculous .. I don't do that anymore".

If you go with will power you will fail ... just like kids ... who don't get chocolate.

I stayed off 16 days with your method.
BTW - I stayed off for 14 months with the Allen Carr method (above), smoked one and went back (stupid eeeeejet). I am now smoke free since December 10th .. and apart from the cold I feel grand.

Blondie86Star · 04-01-2006 7:00pm

I got the gum yesterday, and it completely put my mind off smoking. Its kinda making me feel sick when i take one. I think im doing well, went for a few drinks last night, with my friends, i went outside with them and althoug i was kinda drunk i didnt cave. I was standing beside a smoker in the atm queue today and the smell made me feel sick. So good so far? when does it start getting better? a week, 2, a month?

Blub2k4 · 09-01-2006 3:02pm

Blondie86Star wrote:

So good so far? when does it start getting better? a week, 2, a month?

I dunno I am off them 2 years on the 26th of this month and what I find best is the freedom. I no longer measure my time in terms of "until" the next smoke, I also dont have to plan it so that I get my fix before I go somewhere. The freedom is great.

It will take up to a year until you rarely get urges, you still do, I still do...but then I remember how bad they smell and how sick they make me and then that's the urge gone.

good luck.

kwinabeeste · 16-01-2006 5:40pm

Decided last nite to give them up for real this time! I was bored over the weekend and smoked 50 on sat and sun combined. I wouldn't normally do that as max would be bout 10 a day, but wen i went to bed I found myself out of breath and counted how many packs I bought, 2 20's and 1 10 pack.

I have the lozenges at the moment from my futile attempt at the start of the year. They are working at the moment i think as I don't crave a smoke and reading the other posts has made me more determined. I found a lighter in my jacket at lunch and was so tempted to buy a packet but I didn't so hopefully I won't. I threw away the lighter as well!

I can give up smoking!!!

LegacyUser · 16-01-2006 5:45pm

Don't think of it as "giving it up" .. or you will forever think you are depriving yourself of something! If you think you are depriving yourself - you'll be back smoking in no time!!!

If you made the decision lastnight - then brilliant!! Well done!!

But think of it as starting a new life. Leave all thoughts of smoking (ant that is what a craving is - its just a thought) behind you and get on with your life.
When you do get a craving - its a good thing - its just your body getting rid of nico.

B

smoke free since dec. 10th

kittenz · 16-01-2006 10:36pm

off the cigarettes 2 weeks today and it is really really hard... am thinking about them a lot over the last few days, but seriously want to kick the habit... fingers crossed i will.....

ZENER · 16-01-2006 10:46pm

Aside from quitting the fags have you made any arrangements to utilise the time you will save ? Unless you keep occupied with something that you couldn't otherwise do while smoking - i.e. gym ?? it will become more difficult to stay off them.

Don't see it as quitting - that's a negative term, see it as reclaiming your mind and health. Make use of this opportunity you have created for yourself because if you fail now it'll take a long time before you feel ready again.

Make a plan to utilise the benefits not smoking offer you - do it now.

I'm ZEN, I'm a smoker, but I haven't had a cigarette since March 2004.

Good luck !!

LegacyUser · 16-01-2006 11:02pm

kittenz wrote:

off the cigarettes 2 weeks today and it is really really hard... am thinking about them a lot over the last few days, but seriously want to kick the habit... fingers crossed i will.....

kittenz, why are you thinking about them? Why do you find it hard?? You shouldn't - you should be absolutely delighted with yourself!! 2 weeks is brilliant! Its not kicking a habit! If you are kicking a habit, then you are giving something up .. therefore you feel as if you are depriving yourself.
But your not missing out on anything - becuase you mustn't enjoy them very much if you "seriously want to" stop smoking.

As the last poster siad, get thee to a gym, walking etc.
You must have too much time on you hands if your thinking about them after 2 weeks. It should just be a thought floating in and out of your head .. not alot of thought at all. At 2 weeks it is psychological - nothing to do with nicotine.

Well done for deciding to stop .. and stick with it. It is well worth it!

LegacyUser · 16-01-2006 11:03pm

ZENER wrote:

I'm ZEN, I'm a smoker, but I haven't had a cigarette since March 2004.

Good luck !!

Wrong!! Your a non smoker from the time you put out your last cigarette.
Otherwise for the rest of your life you'll be having a mind battle.

ZENER · 16-01-2006 11:20pm

It depends on your perspective. In reality anyone who gives up the dreaded weed is only one drag away from taking it up again. It's ones will power, determination and faith in ones ability to handle the temptation that should be encouragement enough to stay free of them.

I feel better saying it that way than proclaim that I'm not a smoker anymore.

Smoking is a horrible sickening and disgusting habit that we all wonder why the hell we started in the first place. That said anyone who has the desire and determination to stop and stay stopped deserves praise and applause and above all respect.

To everyone here trying, well done -

I stopped on the day smoking in the workplace was banned - three months later I joined a gym, changed my diet went from 23% body fat (16st 9lb) to 12% (13st 8lb)- went from puffing and panting going up 10 steps to now regularly running 10Km or cycling 30Km. - I'm 42 and was smoking between 15 and 60 per day from the age of 16 or 17 until I stopped 2 years ago. I looked away in shame when those adds depicting the damage smoke did to arteries and brain came on the box - not any more.

If I was to start again I would lose all of those positives - that's why it's important to do something you couldn't do as a smoker.

ZEN

cuckoo · 29-01-2006 3:15am

I'm almost a month without nicotine, and in that time have guzzled gallons of water, a few sips really seems to distract me from a momentary wanting of a cigarette, and have been churning out knitted hats and scarves.

I took up my dormant knitting needles with a vengence this month - they're keeping my hands busy and helping keep my thoughts off cigarettes.

snorlax · 29-01-2006 12:12pm

tcd run a knitting group in the arts block Cuckoo if your we're interested in joining them. (wednesday 7-9 i think):)

StupidLikeAFox · 01-02-2006 5:43pm

Allen Carr is a legend

Blue Peter · 03-02-2006 1:07pm

Reading the depressingly familiar patterns here have given me hope - I smoked full-on from the age of 17 until about 27, and for the last 6 years have been in an on-again off-again cycle with the blasted fags. I hate the smell of cigs on my clothes, I too turn away in shame from the health warning adverts, I don't like anything about myself as a smoker but I keep drifting back into smoking. Anyway, as of today, 3 February 2006 its bye-bye cigs for good.

Blub2k4 · 13-02-2006 3:43pm

Over two years now and it feels good, the freedom rocks.

Miss Fluff · 14-02-2006 10:08am

Hey, as a committed and dedicated smoker I now haven't smoked in 5 days and I'm really pleased with myself. This thread is wicked btw and is really inspirational so well done to everyone who has managed to quit.

I'm using the Niquitin CQ Step 1 Programme and it certainly seems to be helping. I had thought I may be up for violent disorder at this stage but the patches seem to take that demonic edge of the cravings (not to say I don't want a smoke, I'd love one!!)

Quick query for everyone, the main side-effect for me is really bad insomnia, the last four nights I have averaged at about 2 hours sleep and I now alas closely resemble an extra from Shaun of the Dead :eek: Have tried valarian, camomile tea and lavendar and nothing is helping, I'm lying in bed high as a kite (looked at the clock this morning and saw that it was 3.50am and STILL hadn't managed to nod off!!!) Any help appreciated

LegacyUser · 14-02-2006 11:56am

Miss Fluff wrote:

Quick query for everyone, the main side-effect for me is really bad insomnia, the last four nights I have averaged at about 2 hours sleep and I now alas closely resemble an extra from Shaun of the Dead :eek: Have tried valarian, camomile tea and lavendar and nothing is helping, I'm lying in bed high as a kite (looked at the clock this morning and saw that it was 3.50am and STILL hadn't managed to nod off!!!) Any help appreciated

Wooo Hooo!! Another one bites the dust! I love hearing about more people kicking the habit. Well done

I haven't tried the gums or patches, I went cold turkey completely and it was fine - becuase I really really wanted to just be off them.

The first few times I 'tried' to give up I had major trouble with sleeping. I think now that I have been to Allen Carr that it 'may' have been becuase I was over anxious about the whole 'giving up ciggys' thing.
The main difference in feeling for me between trying to give them up on my own and doing it the Allen Carr way was tremendous. When doing it on my own I got all tense and panicy etc .. whereas that makes no sense.

I'm not too sure about the patches, and how it goes, but you would still have some form of Nicotine in your body at this point - and possibly too much.
If you really really want to give them up, I would drop the patches .. and run .. never look back. Get the nicotine out of your system as quick as possible (only takes 5 days), with patches, you are prolonging it.
The habit is actually easy to enough to break .. if you stay positive.
Keep in touch on this thread ..

B

Miss Fluff · 14-02-2006 12:19pm

Thanks Bubby, thing is, the patches ARE making it easier than I thought and I feel if I get over the actual habitual aspect of smoking I can reduce the patch dose and take it from there so I'm reluctant to stop using them if they are making the whole experience more bearable than I had anticipated. It's just the side-effects are really horrible, YAWWWWWWWN.....so, so tired....Miss Fluff rubs eyes for 100th time today

Blub2k4 · 17-02-2006 9:44pm

Miss Fluff wrote:

Thanks Bubby, thing is, the patches ARE making it easier than I thought and I feel if I get over the actual habitual aspect of smoking I can reduce the patch dose and take it from there so I'm reluctant to stop using them if they are making the whole experience more bearable than I had anticipated. It's just the side-effects are really horrible, YAWWWWWWWN.....so, so tired....Miss Fluff rubs eyes for 100th time today

are you wearing the patches at night?The nicotine is keeping you awake I woulda thought. You dont smoke in the night so why keep the nicotine up? There are patches that you can get that you dont wear at night, try those ones, or alternatively get the inhaler which I have used successfully twice to kick the habit, the first time I was off for nearly two years then went back on 18 months later I tried again and am still off them.
The main advantage of the inhaler is that you only draw on it when you feel like you need a cigarette and thus can break the habit easier I found.
Good luck.

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