AIBU to ask for successful quitting stories?

[Caenea]

I've smoked since I was 18, and I'm now 25.

I was a "social smoker" between 18 and 21, just when I was out drinking mostly. It became a fixture when I got my first job at 21, because it got me out of the office (hellish job, horrible co-workers) for five minutes every couple of hours.

I quit completely while I was pregnant with my DD, and kept it up until she was about three months old, when we had a whole heap of issues with her weight gain. Stress, desperation and general knackered-ness had me picking them back up and now I probably smoke between 10 and 15 roll-ups a day (mostly before she wakes up/is napping/in bed in the evening).

I'm not even bloody enjoying it anymore. I know I must stink of it, I hate smoking knowing she's getting to an age where she's going to be picking up on everything I do. I just can't stop. I like rolling them, the whole routine of shredding up the tobacco, faffing with the filters and the papers and rolling away. But it's making me feel crap and I cough like mad some mornings.

But... I can't stop. I've tried fiddling with fidget spinners, straws, a gameboy, just to keep my hands occupied, but I always find myself reaching for them. Has anyone stopped and stayed stopped? How did you do it? Is it worth doing the NHS stop smoking programmes? Do I need to make a GP's appointment for a referral or anything?

Help.

I smoked 50-60 a day.

I gave up 5 years ago.

You can get two free prescriptions a week, for 12 weeks. I chose patches and sunder tongue dissolving tablets. I'd stopped within 9 weeks, never gone back to it, never wanted to. I think the important thing was to break the hand-to-mouth connection. Those vapes are pure poison and whilst they save you money, they give you popcorn lung and leave you with the addiction.

Smoked from age 13 to age 30. Tried EVERYTHING to quit. Went to my gp and signed up with the stop smoking service and was ultimately prescribed a tablet. The tablet made me feel a bit bleurgh and made food taste dull but after 4 weeks I stopped smoking completely and 4 years on havent smoked since, nor do I have any desire to

I smoked for 38 years, decided I was going to stop and just stopped dead.

I finished a packet one Sunday night, went to bed, git up Monday morning and have not smoked since.

That was seven years ago.

When you’re ready to stop, you’ll stop.

I have 'stopped' several times and relapsed. Vaping has been the easiest method I've tried. One year this month and vaping 0% nicotine now for months with no desire to smoke whatsoever, despite severe family stress.

I smoked 10-20 a day for 20 years, luckily stopped before I started looking like a crocodile handbag.
After a particularly nasty chest infection I went cold turkey and never smoked again.
I tried all the patches etc they just prolong the agony. better to take a week off and go cold turkey in my opinion, more agony but much faster than all the other methods.
Smoking destroys all the small blood vessels in your gums, your teeth will fall out one by one, not to mention the big black circles under eyes, sallow skin, smell, the other reason I gace up was vanity as I was starting to look like crap.

Might be worth toddling down to the GP then.

I hate vapes with a passion. I did try them before, but it felt like it was "catching" in my throat and made me cough - ironically far more than cigarettes do. Plus the billowing clouds of sickly-sweet smoke makes me murderous.

I can't do cold turkey.

I couldn't even manage that when I found out I was pregnant. I cut down gradually (took about a fortnight) but I've tried that and without the motivation of being pregnant, I can't do it.

I want to quit. I know how bad it is for me. I know what it could do to me. And I just - can't.

I quit with Nicorette gum and developed an addiction to that then I relapsed and then quit with gum - same cycle over 5 years, then I finally quit the gum (much easier than quitting the cigs) and that was that. My nicotine addiction gone! I smoked 15 a day, recently had a chest X-ray and the doctor said my lungs were in an amazing condition and I must be happy I’d never smoked!! He was well surprised when I told him I used to be a smoker for about 12 years.

I smoked for 16 years, 15-20 a day on roll ups. As awful as it is i couldn't fully quit when pregnant either, was still having maybe 1 or 2 a day. When ds1 was 8 months old i signed up with stop smoking wales and had smoking cessation sessions. They prescribed me champix tablets, after 4 days i had to stop taking them as i found out i was pregnant with ds2. I managed to quit with just the counselling sessions, my biggest motivation was not wanting my children growing up seeing me smoke and seeing the numbers come down on the carbon monoxide meter each week. That was 3 years ago, i don't miss it one little bit. Good luck op

I quit for a year then started again, was smoking 30 a day in no time. I managed to give up again with the help of the doctors. I am now smoke free for around 13 years and know I could never gp back to smoking. You can do it, it may take a couple of attempts but don't give up giving up.

Definately a vote for NHS programme here... smoked 25 a day (rollies) for 14 years. And I LOVED smoking, never never wanted to give up.
Gave up 4 years ago with everything I could- patches (can't recommend them enough), inhalator, losenges, gum, spray- everything!
I did it through my local pharmacy who ran the NHS programme and it was great- not easy but not impossible.
After the first month I was MUCH better and by about 4 months in I was no longer craving.
I could honestly now not tell you the last time I craved a cigarette- years probably!

I got the gum ( made me feel weird. Like a little tipsy?) and went on holiday so was out of routine. Within the week I'd stopped craving and didn't use the gum at all. Took maybe a year to get over the feeling I should have a smoke after a big meal or in a stressful situation though. Not the cheapest method.... but cheaper than keeping smoking!

Heavy smoker for many years. Used the Alan Carr book - worked for me. Recommended to friends and we agreed that you will find a chapter that resonates with you and that you should read again (and again!) when you're weakening.

Good luck with whatever you try - I had a few failed attempts before I found something that worked for me and there is more than one way to quit.

I quit with zyban. Amazing thing, gradually stopped without realising it myself.

I'd had a few failed attempts and concluded it was because I was doing it for my mum and dh not for me. When I finally decided that I wanted to do it I did it.

Can't stand the smell now. Been clean about ten years.
Good luck! [Flowers]

Smoked upto 40 a day for 29 years, with a few breaks (longest I managed was a year).
I quit with nicotine patches, which I paid for myself, because at the time you had to join a quit smoking group to get a prescription, and I'm not into that kind of thing.
I quit over 12 years ago, and have not smoked a single fag since then.
Feels great.

I smoked for 20 years and smoked approximately 20 a day.

I tried everything to quit smoking but I failed everytime. I absolutely loved smoking.

Then one day in 2009 I decided enough was enough. I lived in New Zealand where cigarettes were even more expensive than here and I just couldn't live with myself any longer for spending that much money on smoking. So I ended up getting a prescription for Champix (I had already tried patches and gum etc and there was/is no such thing as vaping in NZ) and I never looked back. To date I haven't touched another cigarette.

It was the hardest but most rewarding thing I have ever done for myself.

Some advice:-

Join a quit forum for online support. ( this was invaluable to me) Get a quit meter on your laptop which gives you running totals of how many cigarettes you haven't smoked, how much money you have saved and how many days you have added to your lifespan

Take Vitamin B tablets

Sugar free lollipops are your friend

Accept the fact you will probably put on a few pounds. Ignore any weight gain. Do not do what my friend did and start smoking again to lose weight (so her starting point was lower) in order to quit again.

Accept that there will be days that are harder than others

Remind yourself of the positives of quitting. Give yourself some self counselling and tell yourself how proud you are of yourself.

Good luck

I quit when I had my DD. Friend has been off cigs for over a year now after hypnosis, really worked for her.

It can be done, and you can do it. I smoked 20 odd a day for years, I tried to quit and managed it a couple of times - a year was the longest. But my mum suddenly quit once she was prescribed Champix - and that was a stunner, I honestly thought my mum would never stop smoking. And then my sister stopped, also using Champix. So I tried it. To my amazement, it worked. I didn't even finish the course, I only used them for just over a week. At the same time, I started doing the 5:2 fasting thing, so I was concentrating on fasting for two days a week and trying to stay within the recommended daily calories for a person of my age/height weight etc on the other days (my tdee); I had never ever counted calories before, ever. So this gave me something to think about instead of smoking! I succeeded at both things - losing weight by fasting, and also quitting smoking. I can honestly say I feel that I am a different person. I don't wish to smoke again, ever, even when having a drink.

DH has stopped too. He went cold turkey, I have no idea how! He now vapes, whereas I have no inclination even to try that. But it works for him so I've no problem with him doing it.

Good luck - you will do it, it is so much easier nowadays. Smoking is so expensive and far fewer people are doing it. Allan Carr's book was good, hypnosis was good for my aunt (but not me, sadly!) There are lots of ways and you will find the one for you

I did the pre quit patches which I hugely recommend. Basically you wear a patch for two weeks without giving up. You try to cut down a bit but don’t push it. You soon find that you don’t get the same rush and it just makes you feel a bit sick as you have loads of nicotine in your system. After two weeks it breaks the Pavlovian pleasure response cycle you get when you smoke and made cravings much easier.

I diligently wore the patches and allowed myself to vape a bit when I was drunk and then just slowly weaned myself off. After 6 months I didn’t want to vape anymore either.

I have had a couple of minor lapses at Glastonbury when I was smashed but it didn’t make me start again and I don’t want too.

I do think you just have to be ready though.