to stop smoking

[springydaffs]

No-brainer of course

I'm about 5 hours in and... struggling.

I've got some of those plastic fag things that look like a tampon applicator and I'm puffing away on that not quite the same though

I want to feel HEALTHY and not worry about my lungs/health and not always be looking for somewhere to have a fag like a true addict.

worried about getting fat though

YOU CAN DO IT!
YOU CAN DO IT!

Keep it up.

The first few (four) days are shit; depending on how addicted you are.

But you will notice the difference within a week.

Well done !

think of your kids....they don't want a parent dying young or giving them asthma or setting a bad example...or at least this is what i tell my husband

Good luck...you can do it!

I used the E cigarette...that was way better than the plastic ciggy thing.

I think it's important to realise it's not the same because it's not really supposed to be. Think of it as a 'hit of medicine' if you will...for when you're really desperate.

And don't worry about getting fat...just eat healthily and think about the snacks you're going to buy (that's if you need any snacks at all)

Drinking plenty of ice cold water can help and it's good for you.

good luck and keep at it. i will be fag-free for 4 weeks tomorrow. i was totally against nicotine replacement but that has never really worked for me before. this time however, i used gum and that weird spray thing and they both really helped. i've had no nicotine for about 2 weeks now. it has felt fairly easy to stop. also helps that DH has stopped with me. to be honest, i didn't really even want to stop but he persuaded me to. stay strong!

Hey I'm 10 days in using e cigarette. I was a 20 a day smoker at least.

Come on, you can do it. Each craving only lasts 3 minutes or so so count them down and see it through.

Come on!!!

Bring on the healthy and the increase in cash!

You are bigger than it.
You can do this.You may fancy one even after quite a while - acknowledge that you do,but also know you aren't going to have one despite that.
It's my anniversary of giving up tomorrow.I will never go back to smoking.
Open your eyes and look around at people you know who are suffering from a smoking related condition and know why you are doing this.You don't want to wake up one day and realise you've left it too late and you're going to spend the rest of your life in poor health because of it.
Tell yourself it's easy.Go on.You can do this!

Springy,you are a star.Keep it up,and if necessary resort to any crutch.I did cold turkey 4 years ago after 40 years of chugging 20 a day.I've now saved the equivalent of the price of our house as was in 1975.Anyway if the money thing isn't relevant,just think of how much nicer you will smell(I know I did).And you won't have to lie to the doctor about your smoking habbit,nor will you have to stand outside the pub with the smokers especially as the winter's coming on.Best of luck. Mx.

Take vitamin C too, you don't absorb vitamin C when smoking so this replenishes your "stock" of it in your body - helps make you feel better quicker.

You can do it! As someone else has said you are bigger than it! You are the only one putting at least 4,000 chemicals into your body with every puff, you can choose not to! Go for it!

Keep going springydaffs. It is 2 weeks and 3 days since I last had a cigarette (but who's counting ?!). Fuck me, its hard but I am determined to do it this time.

Google "smokers lungs" and know that your body started to repair itself the minute you stopped smoking that last cigarette.

nicotine patches are really good

mutters quietly to self as everyone is sick of hearing it.. died on floor... kids very upset....operations....heart attack...only 41.... STOP BLOODY SMOKING WOMAN! you can do it - it's hard, it's bloody well the hardest thing you will ever do, but you can, and the cravings will ease and you will be alive and not dead and that is a good thing! sidles quietly out again...

You can do it. Find a big motivator and reflect on it whenever you're tempted.

It might help you to change routine, too, just to break the habits that make you fancy one.

Allen Carr

Reading this helped me wake up the day I was stopping smoking with a bloody great smile on my face...and it's still there - it's a great sense of achievement

Six weeks in- here's my thread with some really helpful advice and stories on it.

WE CAN DO THIS.

You can do it! The first couple of days are the worst, remember that each individual "craving" only lasts a couple of minutes so find good distractions eg stock up on loads of posh teas, have a couple of showers a day if that helps, walk up and down the stairs a few times, suck a mint without crunching, five mins on facebook - anything to distract you! Gradually the cravings get further apart.

I was a heavy smoker for years and then a really feeble "only two / three ten fags a day" for a long time after that, but I finally managed to give up. It is ace. I still have the odd moment of wanting one but then I sniff my DS's neck and think "I wouldn't be able to smell that if I were still smoking..." and that usually puts me right.

Don't be afraid to try cheesy motivational techniques (notes in your purse etc) and enlist the support of your friends / family. Plan regular treats - a week of fag money on something lovely for you, a month of fag money on a meal out for the family etc.

You CAN do it!!!

aw thanks

feeling very sleepy which often happens when I don't have a fag for a while.

I'm interested in the e cigarette - any recommendations/links to a good one? this tampon applicator is making my mouth sting.

very good tips above - thanks no-one has mentioned the weight though

I smokeD roll-ups so I guess didn't spend that much so it's not really the £, I've just become increasingly more addicted, smoking more and more. I've had real problems getting the nicotine stain off my fingers (i mean, how gross) and then thought about the 'nicotine stain' to my lungs - which is far far worse (particularly as I smokeD roll-ups - such high tar) - and just got tired of worrying about it.

tethersend I'll look at your thread tomorrow after I've had a good kip - it'll galvanise me in the morning

Great thread tethersend! I read it this morning, first thing, as this is the time I usually.......

I really hate the stuff. It is vile and smelly and disgusting, makes me wheeze, makes me miserable, gives me nothing good at all; makes my family wring their hands with worry.

As nobody is mentioning the fat element then I will: I recently stopped and put on half a stone in a week, which frightened me. This time I've already put on half a stone (so that's a stone in all bleurgh) because of a stressful life situation and tbh I think I'm already overweight I may as well be even more overweight. My hope is that it will balance out in the long run (though I'm not at an age where weight comes off easily tbh)

Well done everybody who is stopping. We are amazing, non?

oh my gosh pom, your story

I stopped smoking a little over a year ago and have lost more than 2 stone (30.5lbs to be exact!). When things settle after the first few weeks you will find that you can really taste food and for me, this meant I ate less. Exercising becomes much easier as your lungs clear up.
Don't worry about any initial weight gain - you should lose it as you get more active.

I'm overweight too, a LOT, and one of the heart nurses at the hospital actually said to me, "if you are craving a ciggy and a biscuit, eat the whole packet of biscuits but don't light up. Overweight is bad, but smoking will kill you faster. Lose weight later on, do one at a time and get past the worst of giving up smoking first." I find that now my chest is better, (and I have more energy from my heart being better and the meds working) I can do more exercise anyway. I am still way way too fat, but can lose weight slow and steady because I will be here to do it :)

I'm overweight too - not massively so, but could do without putting any more on. I am drinking a LOT of water. When I have a craving, instead of reaching for biscuits/choc, I am having a glass of cold water. I'd be lying if I said it was the same but at least it just occupies my hands/mouth/mind for a few minutes until the craving passes.

The only issue I'm having is after eating. The water trick doesn't work then and I really feel as though I need something else to "finish" off my meal iyswim. I would have normally had a cigarette and I've been trying to find something that works but isn't too calorific. It has to be something sweet though (I don't normally have a sweet tooth at all but its just weird atm). I have been nicking the dc's drumstick lollipops and it seems to be helping. It takes ages to eat one so gives time for the craving to pass and, whilst I know its not the healthiest thing in the world, I figured it would be better than eating loads of chocolate

Congrats!!!! :)
You can do it. I'm smoke free 8 yrs now ( although was addicted to the nicorette chewing gum for 5!!)
It's hard but so so worth it.

Good luck and stay strong xxxxxxx

When I stopped I also joined slimming world which allows lots of free treats and snacks and not only have I not smoked in seven months I have LOST two stone! I started smoking after the last time I quit because of the weight gain so this time I was determined not too. You just need to remember that smoking ups your metabolic rate by 200 calories a day, so to not gain weight you need to make that up - a half hour brisk walk will burn more then that! The chemical changes in your body also make you crave sugar so get some sugar free boiled sweets in and have a small glass of orange juice to keep your blood sugar steady - YOU CAN DO IT!!

.At the risk of outing myself on the AIBU board (foolish!) I also already have a significant problem with sugar - I'm trying to address them both at the same time, reasoning that it's all addictions, all for the same reason to blot out my life. The last one to go will be MN...

So I'm a bit horrified that chemical changes could make me crave sugar --as I already do-

anyway, onward and upward. I think these plastic tampon things are out of date and I'm not sure I'm getting much nicotine tbh as I'm feeling very lethargic - extremely sleepy. I'm off to a few appts now and I'll be cycling.

Planned to visit a friend up north next week but think I'll have to put that on hold as she is a smoker.

I actually stopped because the packet ran out and I was just so sick of trying to stop and doing all the planning that I just grabbed the chance. That may sound doomed to fail but I have tried every possible means - patches, acupuncture, hypnotherapy - and I am so sick of still doing this revolting thing and feeling worried for my health.

I did stop some years ago, went 6 months, totally fine, really felt I'd done it for good. Then I got a job in an office where they smoked at their desks!! I lasted about 3 months, "gissa drag" being the moment I fell off the wagon. I was a blinking 10/12 then too