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?

As with diet and everything. I found out that doing "Well, I will start on x (monday/1st/etc)" just doesn't work! i can only give myself a final deadline. Not a start date.
I have to say, that's it. It's now or never. I just one day decided I will stop smoking. That was it. I am lowering ciggies in combination with the gum (yuck) and will be ciggy free in less than 2 weeks and then in further max 2 weeks even completely gum free.
Sadly I got hit by literally every side effect of withdrawal, but ploughing through. Tired and slightly nauseous, but since the headaches stopped, it's bearable.
Good luck!

But! There is a positive in all that tiredness! I smoked only 3 on a drinking night compared to 20+! I could breathe in a morning!😱

I'm not a huge drinker anyway but when I do drink, I drink!

Ah I get you. I am similar!

How long would people say the Allen Carr book is to read? I’m not a big reader!
Me either.
I enjoyed the audio book though I kept losing focus and rewinding it was good.
You can bookmark the points which made you nod in agreement.

Another good point he makes if cigarettes kept you slim it would say it on the packet.
You keep fit inspite of your smoking.
There are plenty of obese smokers it is not cigarettes keeping you slim.

I was a heavy smoker and needed to quit for my health.
I went cold turkey, booked time off work annual leave as work was my weakness for giving in. I read Alan Carr twice to help.
I kept a sealed pack of 10 on my bag, it was a psychological thing for me to know I was in full control.
I've been cigarette free for 6 years this January

I’ve been stopped for 17 days , breaking habits has been difficult but not as bad as I thought - I am vaping though so finding that a help. Going to vape for another couple of weeks then cut that out too. I’ve had my car valeted this weekend as that felt symbolic as now I am a no smoker !

@mrsbyers my car stinks of smoke. I am often around ex smokers and they always ask me to blow smoke their way as they love the smell.

@NotAClue101 I think I'd be the same, just to have a pack nearby. Was thinking about taking time off work but I'd be bored and skint.
Years ago I traveled round NZ and we arrived in a tiny town In the deep south (invacargill I think) that didn't sell cigs I was stuck there for days and didn't actually miss cigs at all. Maybe I should go back as from what I've ward they're trying to be a completely non smoking country so cigs are about £20 a pack?

I went cold turkey, January will be 14 years. Haven't smoked since then. No issues.

I found the nicorette quick spray really helpful when I stopped smoking. It works very quickly on cravings. I also stopped drinking, because I was drinking too much.

I lost weight and saved money. In fact, I was saving around £70 a week. So I put all the money on one side, and bought myself a horse 🐴

Id been having riding lessons for a while, and one of the riding school horses came up for sale, so I bought him!

Good Luck OP. If I can do it, so can you, as I had the willpower of a marshmallow 🤔

Here is my lovely alcohol free, smoke free horse ...

Nicorette Quickmist spray - it's brilliant.

I quit cold turkey, it was actually so, so much easier than I expected; I decided I was a non smoker and that was that.

I saved so much money I went on a USA roadtrip, I lost weight, skin improved, my running improved dramatically and my confidence improved so much because I wasn't worried about stinking of gross smoke or being worried about where/when to have my next fag.

Best decision ever! Don't wait, just do it.

Apocalyptichorsewoman Is that a Haflinger?

I did the group seminar in Rayners Park and I’ve never looked back since.

The most interesting thing? My alcohol consumption went through the floor. And the relief from the stress of trying to get time/space to have a was immense.

Sure I miss it sometimes and I’ve been tempted to go back but it’s not worth it. It’s just not.

I had the most horrific nightmares after quitting smoking. So bad, that I needed counselling!

I stopped cold turkey, have been off them for about 6 weeks. The main difference right now is that when I encounter a smoker I can't get over how disgusting the smell is and how I must have smelled to people who don't smoke. It really does make you nose blind.

Oh and normally, I go back, have done on previous occasions as it has become my de facto reaction to feeling anxious. If there is anyone who smoked for anxiety, when you quit, what did you replace it with?

I don’t think of myself as strong willed, but I did have something similar to what you describe OP in that I just thought ‘I’m done’. I quit cold turkey, although I had not been smoking as long as you.

I found visual triggers were a thing for me - seeing someone smoke was hard for the first week. My housemate didn’t smoke in front of me and that was really helpful and thoughtful. A lot easier now places are non smoking! I also needed stuff for my hands to do - I actually found that a pencil or pen was fine. Or straws, or whatever.

The other thing I found helpful was that I read somewhere that the physical addiction response only lasts a couple of minutes at most. I have no idea if this is actually true, but I latched on to that idea. All I needed to do was to last 2 mins, and I could do that. Quite soon the spaces between the minutes got longer and longer, until the cravings finally dissipated completely.

I also learnt from previous attempt and did not go out drinking in the first week or so. The drunkest I have ever been was going out shortly after quitting! Needed something to do with my hands, so I kept drinking....

If, then planning and having clarity about your ‘why’ is helpful. The most resonant for me, apart from I just decided I was done, was that I am vain and I didn’t like the idea of the aging effects on my skin. Never mind the health, it was all about the vanity!

Avoid doing it on 1 Jan if you can. It's much easier to change something like smoking when you're really busy, whilst just after Christmas and new year, many people have a bit of a dreary dark boring period and on average, there are fewer successful quit attempts . Taking up a new hobby tends to work, but quitting something may be easier if you just do it straight away.

I did it cold turkey. I'd read the Allan Carr book and it made sense but I wasn't ready to stop at that point. Cold turkey worked for me. I'd record how much money I'd saved and reward myself every so often. It was easier than I thought it would be after 15 years of proper full on smoking

2 stones plus BUT it's worth it. I had an awful chest infection, could hardly breath yet I still craved a cigarette. However my cough was so bad that I also felt that if I tried to smoke a cigarette I'd drop dead right there with the first drag. Didn't see the Grim Reaper with scythe but certainly felt his presence hanging around. Life won. Now, when I see actors smoking on tv or film, it makes me feel nauseous, I have to look away. Haven't smoked a cigarette since, 12 years, thank God.

Don't go cold turkey. It drove me straight back to the cigs every time I tried that.

I tried everything but Nicotine gum was my saviour as it was something I was doing with my mouth which helped kick the actual habit as well as the addiction. I gradually replaced the nicotine gum with normal chewing gum to wean myself off the nicotine.

That was 7 years ago on January 1st!

Good luck!!!

inebriati Yes! Well- he's part haffy apparently - hair like Boris 🙄 He's full of personality! ( Horse - not Boris)

If you need some inspiration OP.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3731016-giving-up-smoking-is-it-really-that-important