To ask you to tell me what happened when you stopping smoking?

[Looobyloo]

I've smoked for 30 years but I'm coughing a lot more lately so have decided to try my best to give up on the 1st January. I'm also a runner (started 10years ago) so spend the end of my runs coughing and even cough mid run sometimes. Then I think what the hell am I doing! I'm keeping fit then breathing this filth into my lungs.

I'm pretty much an all or nothing person so think just going cold turkey will be the best option. What can I expect? Will I be grumpy? eat more? Anxious? Was it harder or easier than you thought?
Can you tell me your experiences of stopping please?

Gave up years ago, before nicotine replacement or vaping, I went cold turkey, it was hell for 3 weeks then ok and it's amazing how quickly you feel better (and smell better). Some tips from the book I had
1 throw away all your cigs, lighters etc, somewhere where you can't fish them out of the bin
2 if it takes you several tries to give up, that's fine, you will succeed eventually
3 don't tell people you have given up smoking, smokers will try hard to get you to smoke - tell them (and yourself) you are a non-smoker
4 just think about how disgusting ,dirty, smelly and expensive
smoking is
And one from me - avoid alcohol for a few weeks! You are likely to give in after a few drinks. But that doesn't mean you have to give up
Good luck

How long would people say the Allen Carr book is to read? I’m not a big reader!

I think it is scary that I think life won't be the same.
The first thing I do when I wake up is have a cig then a coffee and another cig. After a meal, after a run.
I enjoy smoking but I don't like what its doing to my lungs (I wheeze sometimes)
I am lucky that I love running and exercise so at least I can focus on that. I'm hoping to do a 50 mile ultra marathon in April so I can concentrate on that.
I think I'll try cold Turkey but have some gum, patches and my vape on hand.
Thanks all for the advice.

Bicarb and lemon juice will clean the yellow off your fingers ready for a fresh start :)
My biggest issue was mouth ulcers and nightmares but they passed in a week or two

I smoked from 14 til 37 years old and heavily from my early 20s.

Tried patches, gum, vaping etc over the years and never managed to quit more than a week tops and I was moody and irritable.

I listened to an audiobook of the Alan Carr easy way book over a few evenings on my phone in bed and just stopped.

The book changes you're whole mindset fand made quitting a piece of piss. I'm never tempted, no cravings and no withdrawls. It really was easy.

My mother also tried the book after seeing my success and she'd been smoking 50 years very heavily and she stopped cold turkey with no negative withdrawls/side effects etc.

Audible have the audiobook you could use the free trial offer for it even a copy of the book is pounds on eBay. If you're going to give it a go cold turkey I'd reccomend reading the book.

I also recommend the Allen Carr book.
No withdrawal symptoms and have barely ever thought about a cigarette since (5years ago)
Absolutely life changing!

Agree with Alan Carr book (not the comedian- The Easy way to give up smoking). It's an easy read and the main rule is that you have to smoke all the way through it. My OH used the audio book version as he's not a keen reader. I found it amazing and it really did make it easy.

I read the Allen Carr book in May 2011 and have never touched a cigarette since. Never had a craving or a moment of weakness. Didn't gain weight, it didn't affect my social life. It was easy.

The book had been sitting in a drawer for 3 years before I read it though

I will say though that addicts do find other ways and years down the line I've had food and alcohol "issues" so whilst I don't smoke, I'm still an addict.

I've ordered allan Carrs book. I've also decided I'm not telling certain people in case I struggle to give up (I won't use the word 'can't) I've also been looking at photos of smokers lungs.

I have 2500 cigarettes in a suitcase under my bed which I won't be selling as yet. I know if I'm determined enough I won't touch them.

@Katinski I got addicted to the gum for 8 years.

I’m now clean of gum for a year. I went out and got stupidly drunk, so much so the next day I couldn’t face a gum.

Then the next day, I reminded myself that I didn’t have one yesterday. And so on and so forth.

I read the Allan Carr book and I honestly found it so easy. I finished the book and never smoked again, was never tempted.

I've also decided I'm not telling certain people in case I struggle to give up (I won't use the word 'can't)

I've told my non smoking friends so they are not asking "Are you not going to smoke?" all the time😁 Plus they are a good support AND extra motivation because it would be embarrassing if I didn't do it.

@Crunchymum I've had issues with food and I drink way too much sometimes but I'm also doing dry January.
I'm not overly worried about weight gain as I exercise a lot.

Is it true thst Allan Carr has you chain smoking?

Allan Carr book didn't work for me (20yrs smoker). I understood the logic behind it but it just didn't work . I've also tried a vape but found I was using it more than I would actually smoke a fag I.e in the house where I don't smoke. I swear by just stopping if your ready without a substitute. My dads been chewing Nicorette for 14 years!

Opted for vaping. For starters switching from smoking low tar cigarettes to vaping was easier than I found switching from smoking high tar to low tar cigarettes. And I've stuck with vaping. I just buy ones that are easy to find in supermarkets, I hate those Heath Robinson type contraptions with plumes of smoke. I've found that I now have a couple of drags on my vape stick and that's all I need for hours. I no longer cough, I sleep like a log, my clothes don't smell and my concentration is better (as I'm not constantly wondering when I can nip off for a smoke). The difference in my bank balance is the icing on the cake. I aim to stop vaping at some point but I'm not in any hurry at the moment. Good luck!

Alan Carr & nicotine patches (be warned they are itchy!! Stick them somewhere different every day)
Stay away from alcohol
Stay away and avoid your smoking spots (eg. So if you come out of exit 6 at Oxford circus and light up every day either get off a stop earlier or get off at Oxford street and go out via exit 2....So it's a new route)

I had more money

Not trying to be a debbie downer but please think carefully about whether you're setting yourself up to fail in January. You're planning to quit smoking, quit drinking, you have some issues around food.. Obviously I can only speak for myself but I would find all of that quite overwhelming.

Is it true thst Allan Carr has you chain smoking?

No, you continue to smoke your usual amount until you finish the book. So maybe start reading it at Christmas.

Looobyloo also have an addictive personality. I quit cold turkey. No patches, no vape, nothing. Managed fine with mood, but ate so much food! I think I put on about 1.5 stone in a couple of months. I’m now getting this in check. I also miss smoking every day (been quit for 2 years).

But...I am so much healthy! I don’t get out of breath climbing the stairs, my thread veins are reduced, I’m rarely ill now whereas before I was ill all the time.

I tried the book a few years before and it did bollocks all.

Good luck!

What sushiroller says about avoiding your usual smoking spots. That is a really big thing. Breaking the habitual triggers is important.

Ate everything that crossed my path and got fat

You can smoke while reading the Alan Carr book btw, so you'd smoke as normal while reading it if that makes it seem less daunting for you.

Husband says he wants to quit but I don't thinks he's ready. He's got the book and is amazed at how easy my mother and I found it but he hasn't tried to read it himself yet.

I wouldn't set yourself a date, that's just gonna build stuff up in your head and feeds into telling yourself that it's gonna be hard, or that it's a negative thing coming up, if you've ordered the book if wait until that comes and just start reading at you're own space, don't rush through and let what you've read absorb.

@CatEyeliner The audiobook on audible is about five hours long. I’d say it would a bit longer than that to read, it did for my mum as she had to re read quite a bit, I listened to the audiobook on a night in bed. It took me a few weeks to get through it though because if I fell asleep I’d replay the whole of the the previous nights. It worked for me though. (The audiobook used to be on YouTube too)

I switched to vaping so didn't have any of the cravings or irritability.

You might find you cough more for a couple of weeks after you stop smoking. This is your lungs starting to work properly again and clearing all the clag.

Smoking masks gum disease by destroying your capillaries so as these start to grow back you might get bleeding gums.

You might get constipated. Strong coffee can help

Some people get anxious or depressed but this is usually short term.

There are basically two ways of quitting - with nicotine (gum, patches, vape etc.) or without (cold turkey, Allen Carr etc.) and for best results, do one or the other, rather than a mix.

If you are not using nicotine then don't use any at all. It won't take the edge off it will put you back at square one. You need to just plough through. You might feel a bit shit for a few days but the strong cravings go very quickly and each craving only lasts a few minutes.

If you are using nicotine then don't skimp on it. Lots of people try to use the minimum they think they can manage on, and try to cut down too quickly. All this does is put you into a prolonged state of misery and craving so you're much more likely to relapse. The trick is to use enough, and for long enough, that you forget to smoke. Then you can cut down. You can double up on methods, e.g. a patch for slow release with a vape or a spray for a quick blast when needed.

There's also Champix which is a prescription drug. I've heard it's very effective but can have unpleasant side effects and is not recommended for people with a history of mental health issues.

Whatever method you use, you're likely to do better if you have support, either from friends and family, a thread on here or local stop smoking services.

No single method works for everyone so if one thing doesn't work then try another.

Good luck!

Oh gosh, thinking about the habitual triggers. Waking up, straight after a run, I'll be 15 miles Into a long run and struggling but think, I can have a cig as a reward when I'm done! with a coffee, when I'm driving, the list goes on. Oh heck.

I really have no idea how this is going to affect me bit I'll give it a damn good go!

@ActualFemale I've always said you don't need to wait untill January 1st to change anything as it's too much pressure, so that's a good point about setting myself a date.
@AloeVeraLynn I'm not a huge drinker anyway but when I do drink, I drink!