[bahamaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikemonkeys /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does it ever get easy? seriously?

After three years not smoking (and three years still chewing Nicorette), I can tell you that it only gets a little easier over time. But I won't go back to smoking. My family deserves at least as much.

Congratulations, and welcome to the fight!

 

[cosmopragma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jules650 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well done. Now you can spend that money on headphones.

I've quit smoking more than 6 months ago and cigarettes are quite expensive here especially when you are smoking two packs a day.
I've got a near mint Omega II and a Denon D2000 for what I've saved in the meantime.

I've chosen the cold turkey way this time since in my opinion for some guys (and certainly for me) the nicotine plaster way might be harder in the end since the process is prolonged.

In my case the first three days were incredibly unpleasant accompanied by nearly uncontrollable agression.Fortunately I had taken a few days off and I simply avoided contact with humans as much as possible.A german shepherd dog nearly payed with its life for biting me and I'm glad the human owner did intuitionally realize it's wiser to stay away from the fight or he would have probably ended with broken bones and knocked out, too.For the first time I had experienced what they mean by the phrase "to see red".It's meant literally, the whole view is tinted in red when you explode in anger.

The next ten days were still uncomfortable and most of my thoughts were about cigarettes but the urge was controllable, similar to hunger during a weight loss diet, and nobody got hurt.

After six weeks it was over.I still want a cigarette from time to time and this will probably never end, but it's quite easy to withstand and rare anyway.

This is not the first time I've quit smoking.The lesson I've learned is that nicotinism is similar to alcoholism.Former smokers should stay totally away from tobacco.The mind is playing tricks and even a few cigarettes drunken at a party might get you hooked again.

 

[Wid]

Most definitely congrats are in order. I had to quite a bit over a year ago due to a rather serious heart attack damn thing about killed me. Do yourself a favor and stick with it. This might very well be the most important thing you will ever do for yourself.

 

[luckybaer]

good luck.

 

[Hoppergrass]

good luck on your journey. i think this is definitely a habit worth losing. i lost two very cool uncles to smoke-related diseases - one to cancer and the other one basically drowned from all of the fluid in his lungs from emphysema. hang in there and you'll thank yourself years down the road.

 

[luckybaer]

You have got guts, my man.

If I had ever made the foolish mistake of falling for cigarettes and the lovingly addicting nicotine, I know I'd never have the strength to quit. I'd try, but I'd just fall back into old habits. I'd even try to scare myself by watching videos of lung cancer victims and by looking at black lungs and stuff - just like they forced me to do in elementary school - but it wouldn't work. My spirit is so weak and would probably crack after a day or two.

I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

[ilikemonkeys]

Still haven't cheated, but damn....I don't envy the people who have to be around me right now!

Short fuse to say the least!

 

[Lazarus Short]

Hang in there, Bill!

Your gear will thank you.

Your cat(s) will thank you.

Your lungs will thank you.

If you never light up again, you are likely to live several years longer, thinking about smokes all the while...there goes my sense of humor again...

Laz

 

[mtkversion]

Smoked for 4 years and gave it up fairly easily after having an epiphany while under the influence of another smokable substance. Don't see the point in them anymore.

 

[DocHamm]

Good for you! Hang in there! It really does get easier. The worst times are the first month, the third, the sixth and the year. It really depends on how long and how much you smoked and it definitly gets harder the longer you wait to quit.

I smoked for too many years and quit cold turkey and have been a non-smoker now for over two decades. I thought they were too much money when they hit $1 let alone the price today. My final prompting was when they pried my father's chest apart to remove a third of his lungs. I had enough. My father smoked most of his life and it eventually caught up to him. I'm not squeamish, I just know how tough it is on the bones and ligaments when you stretch them apart. My father's chest hurt a long time.

You just keep at it. You'll succeed. Whenever it gets rough, just yell in here and we'll all yank you back from temptation.

 

[MD1032]

As one who goes to school in an area where a lot of people smoke (at least compared to up here in NJ) I can tell you that smoking can only be bad for your health. The people I see that smoke are outside smoking in the frigid cold and blowing rain to get their fix while I am inside, toasty and warm, and doing my work. People I know that smoke are constantly on edge and tied to their addiction, which, mind you, is pretty gross and tends to repel non-smokers.

Heck, down in Virginia I've tried basically every form of smoking tobacco there is out there, they're absolutely crazy about it, and trust me, none of them are worth a major part of your time, and cigarettes are the absolute least/worst form of smoking. In fact, I can't think of a more unhealthy way to smoke than simply inhaling it directly. At least with pipes and cigars you only take it into your mouth and actually try to avoid your breathing passageways. The first and only time I tried a cigarette, the guy handed it to me, and I puffed some smoke into my mouth and it only got about halfway down before I felt like needles had been stabbed into my lungs and I coughed something horrible and felt worse for hours after that. So yeah, I can't imagine what the stuff does to people who actually smoke it on a daily basis.

Good choice. And don't worry, I can see why you're struggling. Nicotine is one of the, if not the most addicting drug out there from what I hear. Why else would I spot my formerly healthy hallmate outside smoking one day and telling me "it's just something I started and do now" (for no reason).

 

[porschemad911]

It took a few times for me to quit. But stay strong, it's way worth it!

The health and fitness bonuses are nice, but being able to taste things properly again was (is?) wonderful!

 

[Flasken]

I quit about a year ago. My best advice for you is to buy a pack of nicotine gum, and have them as a sort of "last resort", don't use them as the package states or you risk getting addicted, but having a way out of the purely physical aspect of the smoke addiction is very nice. It also shows how much of the addiction is in your head, because even as you feel the physical craving subside, you still want a cigarette. Realising that I wasn't just a slave to the drug and that it was something in my head that I could control really helped me control it.

Good luck, it becomes alot easier in a few months, partly because the pain you have invested will serve as leverage against smoking - I smoked 1 cigarette at a party a month after I quit and the following week felt like I was back at square one.

Also, you should try to imagine how you would try to convince yourself to smoke, what kind of rationales you construct in your head. Recognizing these weird excuses later will make it easier to deny them as you will automatically assosciate them with self-destructiveness.

 

[DocHamm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD1032 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... Nicotine is one of the, if not the most addicting drug out there from what I hear. Why else would I spot my formerly healthy hallmate outside smoking one day and telling me "it's just something I started and do now" (for no reason).

Nicotine is addictive, but smoking is also very psychological. People get used to the act, having it at certain times of the day, with a cup of coffee, etc. So you are literally trying to break multiple habits.

As for hallmates... peer pressure and "looking cool". I will never understand the mentality of thinking someone looks "cool" when they smoke. There is nothing cool about a habit that makes you smell, makes things taste bad and eats you from the inside out. Cool is saving that $5 a pack and buying a "cool" car.

 

[SysteX]

Congrats man. And don't worry about your mood. It's far better to quit smoking and be irritable for a couple months, than to die prematurely of lung cancer.