To ask if anyone woke up gasping for a cigarette this morning?

[PopGoesTheFuckingWeasel]

So...I've done it. Nicotine will no longer have a hold on me.

DH and my best friend have quit too...plenty of support, so no excuse.

I woke up hungover and gasping for a ciggie- but not as much as I thought I would!

Does it get easier?

[WellWhoKnew]

Day 12 for me. The periods between cravings are lengthening. Still skulking around trying to find random smokers so I can have a good sniff - which knocks my cravings on the head. Dreading going back to work where no one smokes!

[hollinhurst84]

I quit 6 months ago with vaping

[Mamabear14]

I found mint imperials really helpful when I stopped cold turkey 5yrs ago now. Every time I wanted one I made myself have one and if I was angry I could give it a good crunch. Otherwise I would make myself suck on it til it basically disintergrated. I did smoke menthol though so it may have been different.
Well done on the stopping! I honestly hate the smell of smoke now and wonder why on earth I ever did it.

[Ineedmorepatience]

9 yrs for me! Keep going and remind yourselves you are not giving up cigarettes you are gaining a healthier and wealthier life

[TiredMumToTwo]

I am 8 weeks smoke free and so proud of myself. I go the NHS app and signed up for their text service which were both great. I used patches and have been slowly reducing the strength so will be completely patch free in 2 weeks. Have def put on a bit weight due to overindulging on chocolate and treats but in the long run that doesn't really matter. I smoked for 23 years and loved it so if I can do it so can you, go for it!

[PopGoesTheFuckingWeasel]

Mint imperials are a brilliant idea- I smoke menthol cigarettes as a "treat", as I usually roll my own.

Did any of you start smoking really early? I was 7!!!

[hollinhurst84]

I was 11

[MsHooliesCardigan]

Coming up to 12 years here and I used to smoke 30+ a day. I gave up by going to an NHS support group and using a combination of nicotine gum and nasal spray- the nasal spray is amazing for really bad cravings, it makes your eyes water but it just knocks cravings on the head. I must have tried about 50 times on my own and never managed a week and genuinely thought I would never be able to do it but the group support helped so much. Stick with it, it's the single best thing you can do for your health. Good luck

[cardibach]

7!!!! Bloody hell!
Also bloody well done on stopping. I think if your head is in the right place, as yours sounds, you can achieve most things. I've never been a smoker but I have weight issues so understand about cravings and self-denial. Focus on the benefits, not what you are missing.

[PopGoesTheFuckingWeasel]

cardibach I figure that a few weeks of feeling like shit is nothing compared to a few more years of my life!

Paranoid about weight gain though. Do you think I've been an idiot to also vow to lose half a stone a month until I get to my goal weight?

Does anyone know what causes the weight gain? If it's a chemical thing then I'll just have to suck it up- but if it's a case of replacing fags with candy etc, I'll be fine.

[KingJoffreysRestingCuntface]

I don't smoke but I'm trying to give up caffeine and sugar and feel like you guys might be sympathetic.

Hi!!

[RortyCrankle]

Well done - 2 years for me after a 2 month stay in hospital. I still get the occasional urge and still have an unopened packet at home. So far, knowing I have them means I don't need them.

7 is really young, Back in the late 1950's I used to buy a single Woodbine on the way to school when I was about 13 or 14. Can you imagine a shop doing that now?

Mamabear14 interesting to read about you and Mint Imperials, I'm addicted to Polo Mints

I wish you success and the very best of luck.

[TiredMumToTwo]

For me it's replacing cigarettes with food or distracting myself from cravings with eating. Also feel the need to treat myself with chocolate for doing well - all can be avoided really but I'll work on the weight once I'm done with the cravings - nearly there!

[PopGoesTheFuckingWeasel]

KJRC hi! 😁

DMM that makes mw feel better. I have so many crochet orders at the moment, I'll be able to distract myself and keep my hands busy.

It is on like Donkey Kong!

[MsHooliesCardigan]

Pop I actually lost weight when I stopped. Generally, people put on weight because they eat more. I found that, by using the gum, I didn't eat more because I had something in my mouth. Also, I figured that the only way I would succeed was to completely change my lifestyle so I took up running and did a Marathon a year to the day after I quit. I think the average weight gain is around half a stone - if you can stop smoking, you can easily lose a few pounds.

[PopGoesTheFuckingWeasel]

MHC half a stone? I was imagining about 5!

Ps, hope no one minds mw initializing (is that even a word?) their names when I'm replying. I'm on my phone, and it's annoying having to keep scrolling up to check spellings etc.

[bakingcupcakes]

I'm on day 1 again. I stopped 20th November for 28 days cold turkey and then decided to have Christmas off. Really stupid with hindsite because the cravings were really lessening and the habit wasn't there so much. I've wanted one all morning. Have a very clean kitchen as a result but can't believe it feels like starting again. Such an idiot!

Are you using NRT or going cold turkey?

[Honeybee79]

Yes, it gets easier. I quit 7 years ago (was smoking about 20 a day at that point). First couple of weeks were tough but I did it. Sweets helped! And I didn't drink alcohol for a while as booze and cigs were so entwined for me.

Good luck! You can get there.

[PopGoesTheFuckingWeasel]

Right...fuck it...I'm signing up to next years Potters 'Arf in about 18 months time.

[FindoGask]

Well done Pop! I gave up by degrees over a few years - stopped smoking 'full time' a long time ago, but was still a social smoker - cigarettes and alcohol went hand in hand for me for a long time. Obviously stopped for both my pregnancies, and after the second pregnancy I never started again. I still sometimes have dreams when I'm smoking, and I wake up all upset!

Keep going, you're doing great. Starting 2017 as you mean to go on.

[bakingcupcakes]

I didn't gain anything the 28 days I did without. That bothered me too. I did go the loo a lot more thanks to all the evening tea drinking.

I've taken up cross stitch aswell - that was to keep my hands busy. Haven't looked at it since before Christmas though.

[PopGoesTheFuckingWeasel]

Honeybee good point about the booze. I can get through 12.5 grams of tobacco when I'm wankered 😁. Ironically, I've spent my first "soberish" Christmas in about a decade, as I had a horrendous migraine that lasted forndays. and I felt too sick! So cutting out the lambrini wine for a bit won't be hard

[PopGoesTheFuckingWeasel]

I'm going to get flamed for this, but I didn't even fully give up when I was pregnant with my 2 DCs.

[apostropheuse]

I stopped 15 years ago today - I had smoked for about 20 years. It's not easy, but so worth it. I detest it now and would never go back to it.

I had originally stopped for six months two years previously, but accepted "only the one" when out with friends for dinner. Totally stupid of course! On that occasuon I used a nicorette inhalater with good success. However, when I finally stopped fifteen years ago I went cold turkey and it was sheer determination. What I found did help was to remove the inside of a pen and suck on the empty tube - going as far as to hold it like a cigarette! Thicker straws do the same job. I think I was addicted to the action of smoking as well as the chemicals.

Good luck - and just keep telling yourself that you're just as capable of stopping as the millions of others who have done it!

[MsHooliesCardigan]

Pop Neither did I with the first two. I managed complete abstinence for about half of each pregnancy and smoked 1-3 a day for the rest. I'm not proud of it but, considering I was smoking 30-40 a day pre pregnancy and was horribly depressed, I just figure that I did the best I could.