Multitool.org Forum
Non Tool Forum => The Break Room => Topic started by: tattoosteve99 on May 06, 2013, 02:26:59 AM
-
So my son asked me the other "when are you going to quit smoking?" I replied with the usual :(. After thinking on this more and more, I've decided it's time to try again. I've got my patches to help with some of the withdrawals, so tomorrow morning I'm putting one on and heading off to work. I really need to quit as I've spent countless $$$ on smokes and lost my breath to much. So I'm 41 and I've been smoking since I was 16. Time to stop. With the money I save I can put this toward my kids and myself getting better. My tools and EDC are all complete minus a few of my own so at least I won't be tooling lol. Wish me luck!
-
You have my support! I really hope you quit! Your family and wallet will appreciate it.
-
Good Luck Man :tu:
I quit 9 years ago using patches...it's one of the hardest thing I've ever done but I'm glad I did it, mainly for the health benefits but also for the money saved ;) smokes are mega expensive in the UK :o
-
I found that the Nicotine Gum is good too, it gives you "something to do" when you feel like a smoke, which is half the craving.
edit: Good luck and may the force be with you.
-
:drink:
Il support you being a quitter if you promise to spend the money you save on booze and lose women ;)
seriously good luck bro you can do it. :tu:
-
Best of luck man! It's been about a year for me since I had me a cigar, I found chewing on a plastic straw a little relaxing, and to get you mind off of it, hey there free at fast food joints! JR
-
Best of luck Steve!! :tu: Some people that my wife works with swear by those electric cigs and were able to quit using just those.
-
good luck man, it was the hardest thing i ever did but sooo worth it :tu:
if I can do it you can !!!
i've been smoke free for 5 years :o still can't believe i did it. I had a 20/30 a day habit, and never managed a whole day without smoking for 25 years. used some tablets my Doctor gave me 'Champix' ? i know a few people who used them and all but one (a woman who didn't really have her heart in it) gave up !
-
Go for it.
Electronic cig is what I use. It is more a substitution (maintenance treatment) and less a detox. I saved money and my lungs from tar but I still get nicotine in my blood.
Champix should be monitored by a physician. You need mental stability before starting, it might be stressful. Zyban is another option.
-
I quit 3 years ago because I have chronic asthma and I was 22 then and thought no way am I gonna wear oxygen or continue to wake up coughing yellow junk everyday. I had smoked since I was 8. Yes, I said 8. Momma wore her hand out on me........ I quit cold turkey. It was super hard but I did it. Good luck Steve and think about the boys and your health when you wanna smoke.
Ash's mobile on the move.
-
Go for it.
Electronic cig is what I use. It is more a substitution (maintenance treatment) and less a detox. I saved money and my lungs from tar but I still get nicotine in my blood.
Champix should be monitored by a physician. You need mental stability before starting, it might be stressful. Zyban is another option.
and they gave it to ME ! lol
-
My wife and I both quit in February of '12 in preparation for trying to have a baby. We did it cold turkey initially, but I broke down and got the electric cig. As kkokkolis said, it's more a substitution, but it doesn't feel like a cig in your hand and mouth. I still enjoyed it, but eventually just stopped it and been smoke free ever since. Well no, there was one moment of weakness that we each had one when visiting her sister in New York last summer. I will say it was nasty and reminded me of why I don't want to pick it back up.
It was definitely hard, and I won't lie about the fact that I still have a mental :pok: occasionally reminding me of how I enjoyed smoking, but as long as I take my mind off of those urges, they go away fairly quickly and I move on. I've also noticed that it creates such a powerful, almost repellent, smell. One really does not notice how strongly it smells until one quits. I have family that still smoke, and it's hard to be around them at times if we're inside their home. I hate thinking of how badly I must have smelled to any non-smokers, which is the majority of my coworkers, as well as pretty much everyone in my wife's immediate family.
The biggest differences I've noticed since quitting are the smell, the money saved, and the fact that I rarely have to clear my throat or cough, which is something I was having to do frequently before quitting. It is definitely worth doing, but it can be a long and difficult process. You just have to have your heart and mind set on it. Think of it like this: If you can go hour by hour without a cig, and then go the full day, there's really no reason you can't continue that way. That mentality helped me quite a bit. You truly do re-learn how to live each day in a new routine, and that's really the hard part.
Good luck man, I know you can do it :salute:. Please keep us posted and don't hesitate to look for support here as I'm sure we'd all offer any support we can.
-
And never- never- never ever visit Grumpy's pipe smoking thread.
-
Good luck. It might be difficult, but it will be worth it in the long run :salute: :tu:
-
Well it was a good day. I faulted only once :(. Had one cig but it took me 4 hours to smoke it. Tomorrow will be better. From a pack and a half to one, I think that's ok :). Thanks for all the tips. It really does help.
-
Well it was a good day. I faulted only once :(. Had one cig but it took me 4 hours to smoke it. Tomorrow will be better. From a pack and a half to one, I think that's ok :). Thanks for all the tips. It really does help.
That's good to hear. One is definitely much better than a 30 :tu: All one can do is take it a day at a time. Good luck with tomorrow :salute:.
-
Good day then.
Be careful you don't start eating when you want a smoke. Pushups are better for you. And do as I say, not as I do on that one. :-[ This is going to be tough, you just need to be tougher and meaner than a dried up plant.
Fair warning- when I stopped smoking, I started buying multitools....
-
Good luck, Steve!!! I'm pulling for you!
Keep in mind, that habits are hard to break because they're so ingrained in our behavior. They can't just be turned off; they have to be replaced with different, healthier habits. Anything you can do to change the habits you've built up will help. For example, do you also drink coffee? If so, do you typically have a cigarette with a cup of coffee? If that's the case, change the setting and events involving your coffee drinking to help you break the associated smoking habit. I won't tell you to also stop drinking coffee... I'm trying to help you, not make you into a mortal enemy! :D The point is, you need to change the behavioral associations.
Just a few healthy suggestions off the top of my head, every time you find yourself wanting a smoke, do a slow jog around the block, taking about the same time it would be to smoke a cig. That way, you're replacing the smoking habit, with a newer, and proactive response to those mental and emotional urges. It'll also add some baby-steps toward improving health as well.
In short, nicotine is the most addictive substance known to man, because its primary locus of effect in the brain is in the amydgala, a 'pleasure center' for lack of a better word, that also plays a role in strengthening/conditioning behaviors by creating a physiological pleasureable reward. You need to short circuit that reward system, like say between smokes and coffee, and stick something else in there in place of smokes, like endorphins from jogging. It'll also help you lose weight, which will help burn off all that nicotar that's accumulated in your body over the years.
Also, get a support group you can rely on. Find a Smoker's Anonymous meeting near where you live and start going; meet people and listen to their stories of how they got sober off of cigarettes, and see if you can find inspiration from that. If nothing else, you'll probably end up developing some meaningful fellowship with your participation in the program, and that's what helps one understand their higher power's will for them. You can even get a sponsor, who you can call when you're feeling the craving for a smoke, and s/he can 'talk you down' so to speak, and help keep another death stick out of your mouth.
I guess what I'm trying to say here, in short, is you will do best with a multifaceted approach; change habits, replace associated habits that make you want to smoke with healthier habits that reinforce your not smoking by making you feel good about yourself psychologically, and the healthier habits (such as my little 'run around the block' suggestion) will change those nicotine-amygdala associations of pleasure and reward away from being about having a smoke, to whatever new productive, healthful, and positive behavior you're using to quit the nicotine.
Just my $.02, take it for what you feel it's worth. At the very least see a doctor about it, or a dietician or a personal trainer who can help you develop new habits to help you effectively break the smoking one.
Thousands of people do it every day, and you can be one of them! Now get out there and show us what your made of!!! :salute: :tu:
Edit: Oh, and by all means, make use of supplements and vitamins as much as you can. A regular daily regimen of vitamins and other similar substances, as well as eating healthy, and setting a consistent schedule for sleeping (make sure you get enough) at consistent times will help stabilize your psychological state, and put you in a better place to deal with the struggles you'll face.
Lastly, and most importantly, don't be hard on yourself for failures and set-backs. They're all part of the process; sometimes you'll take a step back, but as long as you take two forward afterward, you will make progress!
And I close my motivational speech with a few words from the might Greatful Dead...
The wheel is turning and you can't slow down,
You can't let go and you can't hold on,
You can't go back and you can't stand still,
If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will.
Small wheel turn by the fire and rod,
Big wheel turn by the grace of god,
Every time that wheel turn round,
Bound to cover just a little more ground.
-
Good luck mate. I started the substitute route of the e-cig on Friday. So far so good. The idea is to step down the nicotine over time.
-
Very good advice Heinz :salute: I wish I had taken your type of habit redirection approach when I quit, instead of the typical "replace smoking with eating" approach that results in weight gain :doh: I don't even know how much I've gained, but I know it's way more than I expected. The sad thing is that I walk fairly regularly, but that's offset by the snacking. I'd hate to see how much I would have gained if I didn't walk :o
-
So does that advice work on multis and saks too :D. Nah really. Today was err not good :(. I had no patch, but still didn't do that bad. I've told people at work not to give me smokes so that helps. Tomorrow will be better. I just feel it.
-
Try having something in your mouth to chew on, like a straw or toothpick, it kinda screws with your head thinking that you have something and don't need to put a smoke in, kinda works the same when chewing gum and not needing to put food in too. JR
-
it sounds a bit harsh to say, BUT you have to NOT smoke ! going without for long periods and then allowing yourself 'just a puff or two' is NOT giving up ! it's just torture :ahhh my Doctor said this to me and it was a defining moment in my quest to stop. smoke your last one then you have to get it in your head somehow that ~ YOU ARE A NON-SMOKER (not someone who hasn't had a ciggy for x amount of time !)
it's very hard , good luck sir :salute:
-
it sounds a bit harsh to say, BUT you have to NOT smoke ! going without for long periods and then allowing yourself 'just a puff or two' is NOT giving up ! it's just torture :ahhh my Doctor said this to me and it was a defining moment in my quest to stop. smoke your last one then you have to get it in your head somehow that ~ YOU ARE A NON-SMOKER (not someone who hasn't had a ciggy for x amount of time !)
it's very hard , good luck sir :salute:
This I totally agree with. I threw a whole pack of smokes away the morning I woke to quit! No here and there as you will just want another here or there. Good luck Steve. Text me if you need. I still have urges I just know I'm stronger then them!
Ash's mobile on the move.
-
it sounds a bit harsh to say, BUT you have to NOT smoke ! going without for long periods and then allowing yourself 'just a puff or two' is NOT giving up ! it's just torture :ahhh my Doctor said this to me and it was a defining moment in my quest to stop. smoke your last one then you have to get it in your head somehow that ~ YOU ARE A NON-SMOKER (not someone who hasn't had a ciggy for x amount of time !)
it's very hard , good luck sir :salute:
This I totally agree with. I threw a whole pack of smokes away the morning I woke to quit! No here and there as you will just want another here or there. Good luck Steve. Text me if you need. I still have urges I just know I'm stronger then them!
Ash's mobile on the move.
That's one of the key things you have to keep in mind. I've found that in the year and three months since I quit, I still occasionally have the urge. If I'm being honest, I think about it almost daily, but it's all around me due to family and just seeing people out in public smoking. Luckily the smell of it is repulsive now, and that's a big help. You just have to try to think about something else or do something to distract you and the urge usually goes away pretty quickly. As long as you can do this, you will eventually have an easier time of it. I won't deny that there are still moments where the urges are stronger than other times, but it usually doesn't take much to distract yourself until it goes away. Plus, when you think about it, by the time you could get to a store and buy a pack, the urge should technically already have gone away.
-
Yep I can't stand the smell of it now BUT I still crave them. I also can't stand to be in a vehicle with a smoker. So nasty! Or people to stand around and smoke close to me. Yuck! I get a killer headache when I smell it also. Time makes all better!
Edit: Another thing I've found is gas stations or anywhere to buy smokes easy avoid! I use to only go to a gas station to get gas and wouldn't dare walk in as it made me what smokes more.
Just little things I found to help me. Make sure everyone knows your quitting and tell them to NOT smoke around you.
Ash's mobile on the move.
-
Yep I can't stand the smell of it now BUT I still crave them. I also can't stand to be in a vehicle with a smoker. So nasty! Or people to stand around and smoke close to me. Yuck! I get a killer headache when I smell it also. Time makes all better!
Edit: Another thing I've found is gas stations or anywhere to buy smokes easy avoid! I use to only go to a gas station to get gas and wouldn't dare walk in as it made me what smokes more.
Just little things I found to help me. Make sure everyone knows your quitting and tell them to NOT smoke around you.
Ash's mobile on the move.
Yeah, it's funny how that works. Regardless of how nasty it smells and how many positives and benefits there are to quitting, the cravings still come on occasion. Fortunately my mother quit the same time my wife and I did, so that's one less family smoker around. However, there are still others, but we just try to avoid being in their general area when they smoke. My father and stepmother are the biggest offenders as they hang out in their basement much of the time so they can smoke. They don't smoke in the upstairs at all, and in the colder months they pretty much stay in the basement whenever they don't have to be in the upstairs areas. It's hard to go down there as it's just nonstop smoking for the most part. Now however, we won't be going down there any time we are there with our baby. Unfortunately, none of us were as considerate with my older daughter (now almost 13) and she would frequently have colds and issues of that nature. I didn't sit and smoke with her right there, and we'd smoke in a certain area away from her, but the smoke is unavoidable as it goes everywhere. Since we quit, she's hardly ever sick like that and doesn't have many issues related to regular exposure, which made me decide that my new baby wasn't going to be subjected to smoke. Right now it's getting onto the warmer months, so they are outside most of the time. It's bad stuff for sure, but the habitual act is what I miss the most, regardless of all the negatives. We all just gotta keep strong :viking:
-
Well it was a good day. I faulted only once :(. Had one cig but it took me 4 hours to smoke it. Tomorrow will be better. From a pack and a half to one, I think that's ok :). Thanks for all the tips. It really does help.
How bloody big was this cig? :P :D :D :D
Good luck Steve :tu: I have kind of made a half-arsed decision to break free of the chains too.
I have just ordered another 50g of hand rolling tobacco this morning, but then ordered 20 SkyCig (e-cig) refills shortly after. I've not up for having any extra earth shattering personal challenges at the moment, but want to try and break the behavioural patterns first (by the time that 50g has gone). I have made a good dent in my cig smoking already with the SkyCig, snuff (nasal), and occasional pipe but over the last week it started creeping up again because I had lost the charging cable for my SkyCig :ahhh :ahhh I only found it again last night.
It's weird, I didn't notice feeling that much better when I cut down to 1/3 of what I was smoking before, but felt really crap when it started creeping back to 2/3 :-\ I'm finding the nasal snuff quite enjoyable, the pipe quite challenging (but getting the hang of it now), and the electronic cig does serve as a good alternative :)
Even though I haven't had a cig free day for many years, my advice would be to seek out what works for you. If it's not working, change it, and keep changing it or trying combinations till you find something that works best. I've been smoking about the same time as you mate (just a year or two behind you) so I know what you're facing. Everyone stops different ways, and I have found the patches, gum and mints didn't suit me - but the e-cig works much better for me, especially when coupled with the snuff
Remember: If you want to succeed - you will!
-
"never give up...... giving up !"
-
"never give up...... giving up !"
" Keep on keeping on " :salute:
-
Good luck!
If you want somebody to yell at you for smoking then look no further :P
Sent from my mother smurfing phone using Trashatalk II