anyone stopped smoking lately?

[charliecat]

Hi, i stopped smoking nearly 2 weeks ago after a good few months of trying but failing...i think im gonna beat it this time and was just wondering if anyone else is in the same boat?

I do not smoke charliecat, but know plenty of people who have tried, some suceeding, Just wanted to say well done, I think if you have got this far then the worst is probably over.

hi charliecat - well done. I am planning to give up very soon (probably at the end of this packet).

There is another thread somewhere called "help needed to give up smoking" - type that into the search box and you should find lots of people in the same boat!

Hi Charliecat. Yes, I'm in exactly the same boat and so are several others I know of on the site. There's a thread here detailing everyone's successes and woes! I was just about to add to it again as I have found this last week (no 3 of new non-smoking me) very difficult, having been surprised at how easy, on the whole, the first couple of weeks were. Have felt a bit low and have been longing for a fag all week but don't know if lowness stems from longing or longing from lowness, if you get my drift. I have nothing particularly to feel low about but am abnormally touchy, irritable and melancholy. Was wondering if others have made a positive start and then found it harder and, if so, when it is likely to get better?

p.s. Have not actually cracked yet but on one occasion this was only because I didn't have enough money on me, so I feel as if, morally at least, I am on dodgy ground!

scummy - last time I gave up (and I gave up for 2 years), I also found the third (or could have been second) week the hardest. I think it's to do with the fact that the last bits of nicotine are only just leaving your system or something. I also developed a cough at this point, which annoyed me a lot and almost made it seem a bit pointless.

But it does get better and you will start to feel better soon. I found eating a lot of fruit helps as giving up smoking can affect your blood-sugar levels. Also I hope you are buying lots of little treats for yourself with the money you would have spent on fags!

I do remember having my first "blimey, I didn't think about fags at all today" day at about 5 weeks - that's when you know you're really getting there.

hang in there!

Well done charliecat, keep it up. I do think Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking is a good book. If you've done 2 weeks then a lot of the nicotine is out of your system so keep it up. You too Scummy, well done!

Sorry, Charliecat, have just thought that my last message was self absorbed and hardly inspiring! Wanted to add a big well done to you and all best wishes for continued success.

Thanks for your support, Lucy123. Good to know that others have found this stage hard and got through it. I'm using patches, so am presumably pretty nicotined up despite not smoking. I'm using them mostly for psychological reasons as my previous attempts to give up (cold turkey) have faltered at this 3-6 week mark when I started thinking I was getting somewhere and so, lulled into a false sense of security, had "just one". Hoping that if I follow the patch programme to the letter I will be able to resist this trap because I'll be reminded that it's an ongoing process. Will go out and get some tasty fruit now!

Thank you everyone, its nice to know it can be done and that there are other people out there going through it too. I am using patches too, and ive just had to fork out 10.99 for this weeks supply...better than 15.99 though.....so im not seeing any cash benefits yet. I can walk up hills without stopping for a breather now but still.....the cigarettes are always in my head..i will focus on the 5 week mark and hope at least an hour goes by without it drifting into my every thought! Keep this thread going so we can support each other through the pain!

Oh have to add that i watched the allen carr video and it stopped me in my tracks.....recommended..big time!

I gave up smoking about 8 years ago and although it was pretty difficult, healthwise I've not looked back. It takes a long time to get that urge out of your system and I found doing exercise like swimming really helped as you can really notice a difference in your breathing. Gook luck - if you really want to do it you can even if you have to chew gum all day- it's really worth it!

Is everyone still fag free? I picked one up this morning lit it.....but before the smoke had time to hit my throat i ran to the loo and threw it away.......far to close for my liking but even unlit it smelt foul!

Much better this week. (Only been thinking about fags 50% or so of the time!) Thanks for the encouragement last week- kept me on track and it's a month now so feel quite pleased with myself. Good tip about the fruit, Lucy123. Water fruit and constant defiant-style gum chewing seem to be doing the trick most of the time. How's everyone else going? Was impressed at your last minute retraction, Charliecat!

Well, I know I've got it easy-ish in that I'm pregnant so have decided I have to give up but I really have stopped craving them now, 2 weeks after stopping. Charliecat, how come you had them in the house? Does your dh smoke? Agree with scummy, very impressed with your last minute change of mind.

Charliecat, excellent willpower ! The first time () I stopped, dp stopped too but I didn't realise cos he still carried the same packet of 20 Marlboro around with him; to this day the packet is in the loft with its stale fags in it - he found that if he hadn't got any it would be harder to stop whereas I was the complete opposite.

Scummy you are so right, 3-6 weeks on, your brain just plays really nasty tricks... it whispers 'you've done really well now, you've proved you can do it so it's ok just to have one, it'll be fine'

NO IT BL**DY WELL WON'T

4 years on and I'm still vulnerable, esp when drinking - didn't dare sit with you guys at meet-ups because 1 is so easy and for me becomes 20+ in no time.
Stick with your patches, I used to carry a biro tube to wave around and suck on to help with the habitual stuff.

You are stronger than it, truly, it is an awful thing to fight but you will do it - don't let the voices win !!!!

Hi all you NON SMOKERS!!! Really it is true!....Glad everyones doing fine, i think what has stopped me is the thought of having to go back to day 1 and start the stopping all over again!
Yes my dp does smoke, but even so thats no excuse for my near miss with the fag...ive had no more of those episodes thank goodness, although i did feel left out when my dp offered my best friend a cigarette and totally bypassed me......then i realised thats part of the smoking thing...they can all smoke and look silly together!
Im now on day 20, thats with patches, im down to the 10mg now,what about you ScrummyMummy?
Lucy123...where are you? thought you were giving up at the end of that packet?!
Twink i do sympathise i think ill be one of those folks that 4, or 40 years on will be saying "I remember when...." and recalling that time in my life when i smoked, its sad but true. Everyone keep up the good work and think of the shame of saying youve given up giving up...that should keep you going x

I am really impressed Charliecat, and well done that you have got this far. You have proved you are stronger than it and have not given in the the urge to have one. Just think of the healthy lungs and you won't get so many wrinkles when you are older. All I can say is that you are an insperation to us all!!!!

Never smoked myself but a good friend has just given up after reading a book by Allen Carr, you can find it if you put him in as a search on amazon. She was so impressed with it, found it by mistake and read the reviews and its worked for her.

Well done charliecat. Dh and I stopped in January and so far so good. I wasnt a heavy smoker so it has been much easier for me but he has managed OK with patches. We should have saved some money but havent noticed any difference yet. Is there any chance of yr dh stopping? I did find it difficult not to smoke when I tried to give up previously, as they were in the house.

Soyabean, my dp has become a big I Love Smoking idiot since ive successfully given up. Anyone else find that thier dp/dh did that? I couldnt care less about the "oh arent fags lovely" comments, but i wish he'd stop for his healths sake. As for the saving money thing, you should really put whatever you would have spent in a jar daily. If you smoked 20, £4.50 or however much they were, then you will see what you are saving. Good Luck everyone still.

Soyabean, my dp has become a big I Love Smoking idiot since ive successfully given up. Anyone else find that thier dp/dh did that? I couldnt care less about the "oh arent fags lovely" comments, but i wish he'd stop for his healths sake. As for the saving money thing, you should really put whatever you would have spent in a jar daily. If you smoked 20, £4.50 or however much they were, then you will see what you are saving. Good Luck everyone still.

oops!

Charliecat, yes it was the health thing that bothered me, for myself but esp for dh. I never smoked a lot (i know it was still bad for me). But dh had been smoking heavily since his teens and by forty I dread to think what his lungs are like...Anyway, better late than never. Maybe if you manage to stay off them yr dh will reconsider? Good luck anyway!

Well done to you, charliecat! I think I'd be a wreck if my partner was smoking while I tried to give up! Brilliant work from the soyabean family too, methinks. Still going well myself- this is week 6 and I forgot to wear the patch yesterday and felt fine so didn't wear one today either. Must, must, must keep reminding myself I'm not there yet though as will lose psychological advantage of having the patch to do that for me. But I can't quite bring myself to pay £16 a week just for a psychological crutch... Maybe I'll just buy some cheap stickers!

Has anyone else found that this non-smoking lark seems to play havoc with their skin? I seem to have spots AND eczema at the same time which is a definite unfair no-no.

How's everyone else doing?

I have had major greasy skin and lots of extra spots, my cousin who stopped about 2 years ago who used to se stunning looking, not only has put on weight, her skin has gone to pot too. Erm... but stopping smoking is good for our INSIDES and our children!!!!!

Scummy, so happy that you're doing so well. Just posting to say that I remember getting those kinds of effects when I stopped. I also got a hacking cough for a few months which I never had when actually smoking. I thought of it as getting rid of toxins.

six weeks scummy - well done!