I want to quit smoking but I'm afraid of being bitchy

[Raineyrocks]

I'm down to my last pack and I'm getting nervous.  I order my cigs from the net for $13.50 a carton and I'm so tempted to order one more carton so I can cut down and quit that way instead of cold turkey from 1 pack a day.

I got these dumb herbal patches and I've tried them all week, they suck!  They are suppose to make you want to smoke less the very first day you wear one, yeah right, they didn't work at all.

I have Allen Carr's quit smoking book, hypnotic cds and nothing has helped, any advice?

[yonder]

I smoked a pipe for years.  Like a chimney.  I can't measure it in packs per day.  More like an ounce a week.  Sometimes more.  This translates into hours of smoking per day.

I quit cold turkey back in the August of 2007 timeframe.  Not forever, but just for now.  No special gums, or patches, or hypnosis, or any of that crap.  Just put the pipes in a storage box in my closet and forgot about them.

Yes, I craved it.  Especially working with a bunch of smokers, especially knowing that we did our best work when we got outside and collaborated while smoking.  Tension levels would rise, and I just needed a good smoke.  But it's an urge, nothing more.  And it's an urge that is easy to resist if you don't carry smoking paraphernalia with you, or go outside where the smokers congregate.

Try quitting drinking cola sometime.  That is 10x worse than quitting tobacco.

Every now and then I still really feel like I can use a smoke but it's nowhere near as bad as the things a married man, father of three, has to go without for long stretches.   

[alohamonkey]

Rainey,

Good luck!  I haven't had a cigarette in 2008 (18 days!)  I was up to almost two packs a day last year.  It's tough but the Nicoderm patch helps . . . ALOT!  I've had to quit doing things that reminded me of cigarettes.  Alcohol, caffeine, etc.  I'm not quitting drinking for good but just until I get over how I associate it with cigarettes.  Having a bag of Wint-o-green lifesavers nearby and a bunch of toothpicks has helped with the oral fixation. 

[yonder]

Yeah I quit all alcohol a couple of weeks before tobacco.  I didn't have an alcohol habit so that was no biggy at all.  But it might have been a contributing factor to my smoking.  So quitting the alcohol probably helped to quit the smoking.

[Beth221]

you wont be bitchy,  and if you are, we will tell you!

I quit 2 weeks ago, cheated a few times, but never purchased a pakc, just snagged puffs here and there.  Like tonight, 3 drags, and it made me say "Eww, this taste NASTY"

keep your mind busy, i am finding that going to the gym and working out has helped a TUN. 

good luck!

[kola]

A big prob for many folks who quit the evil weed is that  they gain weight.

they just trade one addiction for another..eating.

I quit those nasty cigs 30 years ago. ( 2 packs a day smoker). Quit cold turkey. it took several attempts.

About a year ago I started smoking a pipe (I do not inhale, real "pipers" do not inhale)). Some days I smoke 2-3 bowls and other times I go 2-3 days without any. It is more of a hobby for me, quite relaxing and I do not feel like a junkie like I did when I smoked those nasty stinky rotten expensive ciggies.

I smoke aromatic tobaccos, cherry, vanilla, brandy flavored etc and many non smokers actually enjoy the smell.

If you really want to quit just do it. ..just be prepared for a weight gain if you pacifiy the urge to smoke with food.

Kola

[KBCraig]

Food isn't just a replacement addiction. For long-term smokers who quit, food suddenly tastes like food again, and they can't get enough of it!

I speak as one who has never smoked a cigarette, but I watched my father fight that addiction from the time I was small, until smoking finally killed him in 1998, 14 years after his last smoke (two weeks in ICU on a ventilator is an effective means of breaking the addiction, apparently).

And Mary, my beloved, is addicted to cigarettes. We both hate it, but she hasn't had the motivation to break free yet. She's tried many times, and has cut down considerably several times, but always goes back to pack-a-day+. (The frustrating part for me is that she doesn't smoke cigarettes nearly as much as she burns them. Her burning smokes spend much more time between her fingers, or in the ashtray, than between her lips. One or two quick puffs per cigarette, quite often. Meanwhile, the rest of the cigarette smokes up the house.)

So, with only second-hand experience, I'll suggest that exercise, especially outdoor exercise, is a good way to either avoid food as a substitute, or to burn off its effects.

[kola]

Some folks have a harder time than others.

theres no magic bullets.

smoking a pipe gives me pleasure without the addiction.

Kola

[Lloyd Danforth]

Quitting is one of the best things you can do for yourself Rainey.  Good Luck!

[alohamonkey]

A big prob for many folks who quit the evil weed is that  they gain weight.

they just trade one addiction for another..eating.

Good point.  Better to replace a bad habit with a good habit than going from one bad habit to another.  Rainey, I was definitely grumpy after I quit but only for the first week or so.  It's been three weeks and I'm normal now. . . I don't even crave them much.  I'm still using the patch though . . . we'll see how it goes when i get off of that. 

Kb . . . you're right.  I forgot what food tastes like.  It's amazing how cigs destroy your taste buds.  You don't even realize it until you quit for a while. 

[mappchik]

Don't forget to start a rewards system for yourself. The long term health benefits are the biggest reward, I know - but a pedicure or night at the movies can give you the boost at the end of a tough week.

Good luck to you... and to Beth.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Joy, I forgot all about your hubby  maybe coming to Liberty Forum.  Did he make it?

[Kat Kanning]

Fasting is supposed to make breaking addictions easier.

[mappchik]

Joy, I forgot all about your hubby  maybe coming to Liberty Forum.  Did he make it?

He was there.  Said he saw you, but it was one of those times of crowded milling about, so all he had a chance to say was hi.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Darn!  When you said he was coming some time ago, I wondered then if I would recognize him outside of your presence    Tell him if I acted like I was meeting him for the first time, I apologize.