This is quite difficult for me to talk about. I've been smoking for three years, the last two of those about half a pack a day. After having pneumonia nine months ago, I quit smoking for about two months. However, after those two months, I suddenly had a huge urge to have a cigarette again. To my shame, I bought a pack, thinking: one cigarette, how bad can it be? The results of this are pretty predictable.
A few months later I had another issue (allergies related), which made me decide that this time, I should do it properly. I used nicotine patches and, though with some issues, I quit smoking. Three months later I again had a relapse. I've been smoking again for a couple of weeks now. I haven't had the heart to tell friends and family about it thus far.
I want to quit smoking, I really do. At the moment, I hate myself whenever I light one up. However, after a few weeks of non-smoking, the urge gets to me again and I start thinking to myself: why did I quit again?
I was hoping some of you have similar experiences and have some advice on how to deal with this.
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We have laboured long to build a heaven, only to find it populated with horrors.
I smoked about a pack to 1.5 packs a day for about 10 years, Marlboro reds. 3/1/12, my wife and I decided it was time to quit smoking, so she went on the gum. I tried the gum, I tried the patch, did not try chantix. In the end, a combination of the patch and focusing myself in other ways is what worked. I carried around flavored toothpicks with me, and every time I got the craving, I'd put a toothpick in the corner of my mouth instead. Sometimes it got really bad, I'd drive by a 7-11 or whatever, and just think "hey, I could stop in, buy a pack, or even just a mini-cigar or whatever, just this once" and each time, I'd just punch it and drive right past.
It really is challenging, but it helps to have a reason why you're quitting. Could be how much money you're saving, it was around 5.50 a pack when I quit, figure 5.50 * 1.5 * 7= 57.75 a week, over 52 weeks, that's just about three grand. For me, it was the fact we wanted to start our family and improve our health.
Relapses happen, it's human nature, I relapsed twice. But when they happen, instead of focusing on the fact it happened, focus on staying off the cigarettes. If you can identify your triggers, avoid them. For me, it was coffee and driving. Any time I had a cup of coffee, I'd want a butt to go with it, and driving was even worse, I used to chain smoke. I started using 5 hour energy instead of coffee, and driving I would chew on gum. As long as you know your triggers, and can avoid them or prepare for them, that will go quite a ways to stopping smoking.
In the end, the best way to quit smoking is to not smoke, as my father advised me. Good luck with it though, it's tough, but just be persistent and you can do it.
One of the main things to remember is that every time you quit it's a step in the right direction; don't kick yourself too much if you relapse, it happens to most people
I quit smoking cold turkey because, for one night, I thought I had cancer (it wasn't) and it scared the hell out of me: if you're thinking of buying some smokes think of your health and the money you're saving; it won't make the urge go away but it should help you focus on what's important and that's your health.
You aren't physically addicted to smoking, but to the nicotine. So don't quit nicotine, just quit cigarettes. I have an electronic vaporizer in which I vaporize fluid which is comprised of Propylene Glycol, Vegetable Glycerin and Nicotine. There is nothing carcinogenic about it, and you still get your nicotine. They have various different nicotine levels also, so you can choose how strong or weak you want to go. I use the fluid with 12mg nicotine per ML of fluid which roughly equates to 1 pack per day if I vaporize a whole tank of fluid in a day. While I used to smoke roughly a pack a day, I have found that I smoke quite a bit less of the vapor, about 25-30% of what I used to smoke in cigarettes. It is much, much cheaper and you don't have to walk around reeking like an ashtray. The cost difference is pretty huge... In the 6 months I haven't smoked, the vaporizer has cost me a total of 150 as compared to 150 per month when I smoked cigs...
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Quote from Garland Greene aka the Marietta Mangler »
"Now you're talking semantics. What if I told you insane was working 50 hours a week in some office for 50 years, at the end of which they tell you to piss off... Ending up in some retirement village, hoping to die before suffering the indignity of trying to make it to the toilet on time. Wouldn't you consider that to be insane?"
"Define Irony: Bunch of idiots dancing on a plane to a song made famous by a band that died in a plane crash"
My friends that have quit were successful by carrying something else around that they like to do so that it is handy when they want to smoke. Works best if it is a positive thing. My writer friends carried a notepad and pen, artists a sketchpad, guitarists a ukelele, drummers a drum pad, etc.. When they felt the urge to smoke, they grabbed their replacement object. So what if the first week you are just writing, drawing or singing, 'GOSH DARN IT I WANT TO SMOKE!'? Eventually you will get over it and be in the habit of something new regularly. It is very similar to how we give replacement behaviors to kids in special education who have inappropriate behaviors.
You aren't physically addicted to smoking, but to the nicotine.
Nicotine is addictive, and its dependence is certainly a large component of being unable to cease cigarette smoking.
That having been said, smoking addiction has other components. For instance, there are in fact emotional and psychological connections between smoking or actions associated with smoking, such as lighting up, that reinforce the behaviour, making it so difficult to cease.
So don't quit nicotine, just quit cigarettes. I have an electronic vaporizer in which I vaporize fluid which is comprised of Propylene Glycol, Vegetable Glycerin and Nicotine.
Electronic vaporisers do, in some regards, have their advantages, at least over cigarettes. However, it is irresponsible to advocate any view strongly, especially without presenting a more rounded picture. In any case, you're not an M.D. licensed to practise via the Web. Issues of accountability and liability are unclear, but what is clear is that no one should offer any specific advice, as anecdotes or experience can provide false hope and may even harm. Perhaps you can appreciate that we're all different in subtle, nuanced ways, and that a lot of management of the human body is determined on a case-by-case basis; what may work for one may not work for another.
Further, simply substituting a cigarette, with heaven knows what is precisely in one, with nicotine, whether via inhalation or p.o., does not address potential other side-effects associated with withdrawal or cessation.
Ed. knows what he's talking about, my brother is using them and an Electronic Cigarette will help immensely.
Plus you can smoke it anywhere and slowly dial down your nicotine.***
***BUT WE ARE NOT MEDICAL DOCTORS, CONSULT YOUR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN FIRST!
Well, some mightn't be.
I don't mean to be rude but ignore the other users' posts, except for those suggesting and even advocating seeing a medico. There are billions of ways to potentially treat things, but they mightn't work for you and these are from (non-professional?) people who are not, by law, obliged to have your best interests at heart. Smoking is something that takes time to overcome, and you probably don't really want to mess around and play Russian roulette with your health.
I was addicted to my prescription pain pills for a brief spell after getting my wisdom teeth out when I was 16. I realized it was a problem and I quit cold turkey. The easiest way to defeat temptation is to remove it. Maybe it's a force of will thing - but I never relapsed.
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I was addicted to my prescription pain pills for a brief spell after getting my wisdom teeth out when I was 16. I realized it was a problem and I quit cold turkey. The easiest way to defeat temptation is to remove it. Maybe it's a force of will thing - but I never relapsed.
Good to hear that that worked for you. However, while I know we posted at more or less the same time, did you genuinely think that was an entirely prudent post?
Unassisted cessation requires an unbelievable amount of commitment and perseverance, especially when there may be withdrawal symptoms that can be life-threatening or lead to relapse. Mind over matter is great and all, but a substantial proportion of individuals who do it alone, without any mitigation of symptoms, fail to kick the habit and only hit the **** [edit: British for 'cigarettes'] harder than before. It's very optimistic and naive to think that this would be good for the OP.
Of course, I don't know precisely how dependent the OP or how dependent you became on whatever analgesics you were on. I'll concede that, a limitation, as I should.
Once more with feeling,
I don't mean to be rude but ignore the other users' posts, except for those suggesting and even advocating seeing a medico. There are billions of ways to potentially treat things, but they mightn't work for you and these are from (non-professional?) people who are not, by law, obliged to have your best interests at heart. Smoking is something that takes time to overcome, and you probably don't really want to mess around and play Russian roulette with your health.
In any case, you're not an M.D. licensed to practise via the Web.
Do you know this for fact or are you just making assumptions?
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Quote from Garland Greene aka the Marietta Mangler »
"Now you're talking semantics. What if I told you insane was working 50 hours a week in some office for 50 years, at the end of which they tell you to piss off... Ending up in some retirement village, hoping to die before suffering the indignity of trying to make it to the toilet on time. Wouldn't you consider that to be insane?"
"Define Irony: Bunch of idiots dancing on a plane to a song made famous by a band that died in a plane crash"
Thanks all for replying. Most of the advice given is taken to heart. As for " go see a doctor" for my last attempt, I have been to my family doctor, who indeed supplied me the patches.
You aren't physically addicted to smoking, but to the nicotine. So don't quit nicotine, just quit cigarettes.
No. I don't mind using nicotine replacements (gum, patches etc) as an in-between, but I do not want to end up kicking the habit while still being addicted.
Also: there has been some research showing the nicotine inhibits apoptotic pathways, which makes it at the very least a carcinoaccellerative substance.
I was addicted to my prescription pain pills for a brief spell after getting my wisdom teeth out when I was 16. I realized it was a problem and I quit cold turkey. The easiest way to defeat temptation is to remove it. Maybe it's a force of will thing - but I never relapsed.
While I do congratulate you on your quitting pain pills, this post can to be me roughly translated as "I don't understand why you have so much trouble quitting. I did it without issues, so I guess you must be weak."
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We have laboured long to build a heaven, only to find it populated with horrors.
Relapses happen. You just always have to remember why you are doing what your doing. When my uncle tried to quit smoking he had a lot of trouble and nothing was seeming to work for him. One day my mother bought him a plastic cigarette and told him to smoke this. It actually helped and made him quit. He used to smoke the plastic cigarette every time he had an urge to smoke. For example we would be sitting in our living room and he would be puffing away on that plastic cigarette.
The key is to find something that works for you and always remember why you are doing what you are doing.
Don't know if this will work for you, but it worked for my father who was a pack-a-day smoker.
Choose a time in the evening, about 8pm works best. At 8pm, do not smoke until 7pm the next day. Then, you have to smoke for the entire hour until 8pm. Repeat for 5 days.
At your first 7pm, you will love it. By the third 7pm, you will hate it. Smoke the entire hour anyway. At your fifth 7pm, smoke one cigarette. If you want to continue, do so, but by then, your body should be hating the nicotine.
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Guns don't kill people. Bullets kill people. Guns just make them move really, really fast.
I smoked for 13 years and the easiest way I found to quit wasnt a patch or gum. It was replacing the addiction with something. So, whenever I felt like I really needed a cigarette, I would go run a mile or go lift some weights. Worked like a charm.
This is quite difficult for me to talk about. I've been smoking for three years, the last two of those about half a pack a day. After having pneumonia nine months ago, I quit smoking for about two months. However, after those two months, I suddenly had a huge urge to have a cigarette again. To my shame, I bought a pack, thinking: one cigarette, how bad can it be? The results of this are pretty predictable.
A few months later I had another issue (allergies related), which made me decide that this time, I should do it properly. I used nicotine patches and, though with some issues, I quit smoking. Three months later I again had a relapse. I've been smoking again for a couple of weeks now. I haven't had the heart to tell friends and family about it thus far.
I want to quit smoking, I really do. At the moment, I hate myself whenever I light one up. However, after a few weeks of non-smoking, the urge gets to me again and I start thinking to myself: why did I quit again?
I was hoping some of you have similar experiences and have some advice on how to deal with this.
CHANTIX. If you have medical insurance it will cost you about 40$ a month.
There are some side effects, but the experience I had was like this:
I kept smoking when I started taking it. After not more than about 7-10 days smoking will be repugnant. You won't be able to keep smoking. Took me 7 days, took another friend 10. It works.
I got weird dreams, upset stomach now and again, and a degradation of the sense of taste. But it was worth it!
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Our belief is not a belief. Our principles are not a faith. We do not rely solely upon science and reason, because these are necessary rather than sufficient factors, but we distrust anything that contradicts science or outrages reason. We may differ on many things, but what we respect is free inquiry, openmindedness, and the pursuit of ideas for their own sake.
― Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great
Don't hate yourself for lighting up. It's a really difficult habit to break. I only know one person who's been able to quit cold-turkey, and it was only because his doctor informed him that he'd likely die within a few years if he wasn't able to (due to health issues that were exacerbated by excessive smoking).
Regarding quitting, the key element for me has been my mindset and mental preparedness. In your OP, you briefly mention wondering "why did I quit again?" and "how bad can [one cigarette] be?" when the desire to have a cigarette becomes unbearable. I think it's important to understand that this will happen every time you go without cigarettes for any extended period of time, and to be prepared to deal with this mental state when it does (inevitably) occur. When I get the urge to buy a pack (or start to forget why I quit in the first place), I've generally resorted to chewing a piece of nicotine gum and striking up a conversation with a close friend. It's usually enough of a fix and a distraction to keep me from following my impulse. I also have an old truck that I've been fixing up in my free time, and repairs therein generally require enough mental focus that I'll forget about the cigarette I wanted (again, with the aid of nicotine gum). You might need to try something entirely different, though - I'd recommend experimenting with a few different options just in case one specific "replacement fix" isn't available to you for whatever reason.
I think it's also important to realize that it's okay to want a cigarette, and actively recognize when you do want one. Vocalizing this to other people has helped lessen the urge to smoke in my case. Assessing the situation internally also helps me make the decision to avoid smoking. My internal monologue on the subject is often something like this: "Okay, I really want a cigarette. That's what's happening here, and that's okay. But I'm not going to have one." It sounds a bit stupid, but it's been really important for me to realize that I don't have to deal with a month or a year sans cigarettes all at once - I can do it one minute at a time.
Good luck! You're not the only one struggling with this!
This is quite difficult for me to talk about. I've been smoking for three years, the last two of those about half a pack a day. After having pneumonia nine months ago, I quit smoking for about two months. However, after those two months, I suddenly had a huge urge to have a cigarette again. To my shame, I bought a pack, thinking: one cigarette, how bad can it be? The results of this are pretty predictable.
A few months later I had another issue (allergies related), which made me decide that this time, I should do it properly. I used nicotine patches and, though with some issues, I quit smoking. Three months later I again had a relapse. I've been smoking again for a couple of weeks now. I haven't had the heart to tell friends and family about it thus far.
I want to quit smoking, I really do. At the moment, I hate myself whenever I light one up. However, after a few weeks of non-smoking, the urge gets to me again and I start thinking to myself: why did I quit again?
I was hoping some of you have similar experiences and have some advice on how to deal with this.
It really is challenging, but it helps to have a reason why you're quitting. Could be how much money you're saving, it was around 5.50 a pack when I quit, figure 5.50 * 1.5 * 7= 57.75 a week, over 52 weeks, that's just about three grand. For me, it was the fact we wanted to start our family and improve our health.
Relapses happen, it's human nature, I relapsed twice. But when they happen, instead of focusing on the fact it happened, focus on staying off the cigarettes. If you can identify your triggers, avoid them. For me, it was coffee and driving. Any time I had a cup of coffee, I'd want a butt to go with it, and driving was even worse, I used to chain smoke. I started using 5 hour energy instead of coffee, and driving I would chew on gum. As long as you know your triggers, and can avoid them or prepare for them, that will go quite a ways to stopping smoking.
In the end, the best way to quit smoking is to not smoke, as my father advised me. Good luck with it though, it's tough, but just be persistent and you can do it.
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The fact is cigarettes are addictive and most individuals cannot stop, in whatever manner, smoking them without professional help.
I quit smoking cold turkey because, for one night, I thought I had cancer (it wasn't) and it scared the hell out of me: if you're thinking of buying some smokes think of your health and the money you're saving; it won't make the urge go away but it should help you focus on what's important and that's your health.
Plus you can smoke it anywhere and slowly dial down your nicotine.***
***BUT WE ARE NOT MEDICAL DOCTORS, CONSULT YOUR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN FIRST!
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That having been said, smoking addiction has other components. For instance, there are in fact emotional and psychological connections between smoking or actions associated with smoking, such as lighting up, that reinforce the behaviour, making it so difficult to cease.
Electronic vaporisers do, in some regards, have their advantages, at least over cigarettes. However, it is irresponsible to advocate any view strongly, especially without presenting a more rounded picture. In any case, you're not an M.D. licensed to practise via the Web. Issues of accountability and liability are unclear, but what is clear is that no one should offer any specific advice, as anecdotes or experience can provide false hope and may even harm. Perhaps you can appreciate that we're all different in subtle, nuanced ways, and that a lot of management of the human body is determined on a case-by-case basis; what may work for one may not work for another.
Further, simply substituting a cigarette, with heaven knows what is precisely in one, with nicotine, whether via inhalation or p.o., does not address potential other side-effects associated with withdrawal or cessation.
Well, some mightn't be.
I don't mean to be rude but ignore the other users' posts, except for those suggesting and even advocating seeing a medico. There are billions of ways to potentially treat things, but they mightn't work for you and these are from (non-professional?) people who are not, by law, obliged to have your best interests at heart. Smoking is something that takes time to overcome, and you probably don't really want to mess around and play Russian roulette with your health.
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Unassisted cessation requires an unbelievable amount of commitment and perseverance, especially when there may be withdrawal symptoms that can be life-threatening or lead to relapse. Mind over matter is great and all, but a substantial proportion of individuals who do it alone, without any mitigation of symptoms, fail to kick the habit and only hit the **** [edit: British for 'cigarettes'] harder than before. It's very optimistic and naive to think that this would be good for the OP.
Of course, I don't know precisely how dependent the OP or how dependent you became on whatever analgesics you were on. I'll concede that, a limitation, as I should.
Once more with feeling,
Do you know this for fact or are you just making assumptions?
No. I don't mind using nicotine replacements (gum, patches etc) as an in-between, but I do not want to end up kicking the habit while still being addicted.
Also: there has been some research showing the nicotine inhibits apoptotic pathways, which makes it at the very least a carcinoaccellerative substance.
While I do congratulate you on your quitting pain pills, this post can to be me roughly translated as "I don't understand why you have so much trouble quitting. I did it without issues, so I guess you must be weak."
The key is to find something that works for you and always remember why you are doing what you are doing.
I wish you the best of luck.
Choose a time in the evening, about 8pm works best. At 8pm, do not smoke until 7pm the next day. Then, you have to smoke for the entire hour until 8pm. Repeat for 5 days.
At your first 7pm, you will love it. By the third 7pm, you will hate it. Smoke the entire hour anyway. At your fifth 7pm, smoke one cigarette. If you want to continue, do so, but by then, your body should be hating the nicotine.
CHANTIX. If you have medical insurance it will cost you about 40$ a month.
There are some side effects, but the experience I had was like this:
I kept smoking when I started taking it. After not more than about 7-10 days smoking will be repugnant. You won't be able to keep smoking. Took me 7 days, took another friend 10. It works.
I got weird dreams, upset stomach now and again, and a degradation of the sense of taste. But it was worth it!
― Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great
Regarding quitting, the key element for me has been my mindset and mental preparedness. In your OP, you briefly mention wondering "why did I quit again?" and "how bad can [one cigarette] be?" when the desire to have a cigarette becomes unbearable. I think it's important to understand that this will happen every time you go without cigarettes for any extended period of time, and to be prepared to deal with this mental state when it does (inevitably) occur. When I get the urge to buy a pack (or start to forget why I quit in the first place), I've generally resorted to chewing a piece of nicotine gum and striking up a conversation with a close friend. It's usually enough of a fix and a distraction to keep me from following my impulse. I also have an old truck that I've been fixing up in my free time, and repairs therein generally require enough mental focus that I'll forget about the cigarette I wanted (again, with the aid of nicotine gum). You might need to try something entirely different, though - I'd recommend experimenting with a few different options just in case one specific "replacement fix" isn't available to you for whatever reason.
I think it's also important to realize that it's okay to want a cigarette, and actively recognize when you do want one. Vocalizing this to other people has helped lessen the urge to smoke in my case. Assessing the situation internally also helps me make the decision to avoid smoking. My internal monologue on the subject is often something like this: "Okay, I really want a cigarette. That's what's happening here, and that's okay. But I'm not going to have one." It sounds a bit stupid, but it's been really important for me to realize that I don't have to deal with a month or a year sans cigarettes all at once - I can do it one minute at a time.
Good luck! You're not the only one struggling with this!