Help from you lovely x-smokers

acatalina

acatalina

Cathlete
Alright.
I have been 4 days cold turkey.(1st 1/2 day patch)
I am the biggest B**ch on the planet......
I could literaly beat someones face in...........

STRESS

Someone help.
I have been afraid to post for the I hate smoker fear and have a buddy on this network with me...........private e-mail

I have had chest pains since surhgery and am scared....
My dear husband told me to buy a pack today////////

I almost hit him. I told him I quit this time or never again. All or nothing..........
Want me ddd go down the road, buy a pack and cancel my life ins.

I know you ladies hate smokers, and unless U have smoked you don't undstand how it is ...
Take heiroin (so I have heard ). It is about the same ...
Addiction.....

Tell me this will go away soon...........

Im am going to knock out a window or punch a tree.....
I think i need some zanex..
Not kiddin.
I am havin a break down.
I want to run a marathon.........
Be healthy.....
Be like the 91 yr. old guy on fit tv the gym..............


MYQUITTIN buddy I need help!!!!

Tell me this will go away.
My DH is not helping , so i need you guys......

How about a hyptnotist?????
HELP!!!!
All suggestions needed.
Fellow Cathies....

Send good calming vibes to us please..........


VALIUM!!!!

Certified sociopath at the moment
Anne










http://www.picturetrail.com/acatalina
 
Oh Anne,

I'm not a smoker or x-smoker but I don't believe anyone here HATES smokers. I am so sorry this is so difficult, but please keep the goal in mind and how much better you will feel -- eventually -- and what a wonderful, positive step you have taken for your health, your life extension, etc.

I did witness firsthand what smoking did to my father...it wasn't pretty. Hang in there - do this.

Here's some relaxation <<<<<vibes>>>>> and {{{{HUGS}}}} and well wishes, and just a good ol' YOU CAN DO IT GAL!!!!!
 
The worst is over! I PROMISE!

It takes four days to get the nicotine out of your system!

You are through the physical withdrawl the rest is mental. It is downhill from here.

Go buy some breath spray and use it whenever you want a ciggy, it works like a charm! It worked great for me!

BTW I had acupuncture and swear by it so if you regress find a good acupuncturist. I had NO physical withdrawal - just had to deal with the mental part. My assistant who had been around me before when I tried to quit could not believe the difference. I sat around laughing instead of being a biatch! I swear by the method!

Good Luck and hang in!

:)
 
It's really OK to have a "crutch" to help you quit - would you consider nicotine gum or something to help you? When I used patches, I honestly was not crabby at all.

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Mark Twain ;-)
 
Ex Smoker here...

Do WHATEVER you have to do to not smoke...WHATEVER! If that means buying nicotine gum...buy it! If you gain 10 pounds...so what! Lose it later, it's easier than quitting smoking!

Punch your DH in the head...for me! Then again for yourself! Don't smoke! It's not worth it! Go brush your teeth. Then brush them again. Pack cinnamin gum in your gums...the burn resembles the nicotine burn. Do something you that requires you to not smoke, I swam a lot. Chug water.

Oh, this is my favorite!!!! Take the deepest breathe you can and hold it...now bring more air in and keep holding it for 10 solid seconds. Exhale for a full 10 count breathing it all out. Repeat as much as you want! The head rush is so awesome, it should be illegal!

Watching t.v.? Do ab work.

The cravings are going to come whether you smoke or not. However, if you stay away, the cravings go away and get less intense and you learn how to deal with them so it all gets easier. If you smoke, it was all for nothing and you become a slave again...to the cravings that hit every few hours if not more!

Now, go punch your DH in the head!
 
I have been there Anne. I was a pack a day (or more) smoker for almost 15 years and was VERY addicted!!! I couldn't get through a meal at a restaurant w/o smoking so if I was in a no-smoking section I would leave and go to the bar or outside when I needed one. I would go out in any weather to smoke at work. It didn't matter.

What helped me was to avoid all activities that are triggers if possible. Eating is one for most so that won't work...LOL...but for me...I actually gave up almost all of my coffee habit, my computer habit and talking on the phone. I used the smoke away system which really helped take that unbearable edge off. I sucked on pretzel sticks. I bought fake cigarettes in the grocery store and puffed on them when I was having a nic fit. I cried. I screamed. I even threw a few things at the wall one night when I was home alone and it was really bad. I don't remember exactly when it became bearable but it will. I did it and if I could do it, you can do it! I had tried many times before and hadn't made it past the 2 week mark! Now it has been over 2 years since my last smoke! It's wonderful!!! It's soooo worth it! Heck, just for the $ you save alone!

Sorry if I am rambling...but please try to stick it out if you can!

PM me if you want to talk. I'll do what I can to help you.
 
I just passed my one year of no smoking. I quit cold turkey too. It was so hard I still can't believe I did it. The only thing that worked for me was distracting myself. I would workout a lot and I changed situations that I knew would be hard for me. Its really tough and all you can do is conquer each situation as it comes. You need to calm yourself down and tell yourself that you can do this!! Good luck!! I am sending calming vibes your way!!:D
 
You can sooooooo do this. You are stronger than any substance.

Keep your hands busy. Learn knitting, do a crossword, do some gardening.

don't drink!! That was a huge trigger for me, hanging out with friends at a bar. I simply did not do it.

You can beat this and you will.
 
Anne -
I'm not a smoker, but I definitely do NOT hate them. I have several good friends who either are or were smokers. I have witnessed some of these people kick the habit, and I admire them beyond belief for overcoming such a great hurdle. I admire you for doing it as well, and for coming here for help. Everyone here is interested in health in some way or another, and I know we'll all do whatever we can to help you achieve your goals.
 
Not a smoker or xsmoker, but you can do this. Take advantage of what you are feeling now and put it all to good use. It is not necessarily a bad thing to hit something...GO HIT IT NOW!!!!!! Think of where you want to be in the future? We are just talking a few more days here....you could extend YEARS to your life by quitting smoking. Your tough...you have come this far, you gonna quit now????? THINK STRONG and YOU WILL BE!!!!! OVERCOME!!!!!

Charlotte~~
 
The best thing I did when I quit smoking was to take up mountain biking. Okay, so maybe don't go that extreme, but like Charlotte says - go out there and do something. Go to a local gym, put on some boxing gloves and beat the heck out of a heavy bag. (Oh, yeah, and give your DH a smack upside the head for me as well for suggesting you buy a pack!) You want to run a marathon, get out there and start running. It gives you a reason for not smoking and it is a great stress reliever. When you start to gasp after a while, it reminds you why you're not smoking. Each day will get better, and before you know it you'll be out there running smoothly, with hardly a hitch in your breath.

Everyone's correct - you're over the hump. It will only get easier from now. Not easy - I still sometimes crave a cigarette even 10 years later, but I can shrug that off pretty easily now.

And we would never hate someone who is trying to improve the quality of her life! Isn't that what we're all trying to do? We're behind you 1000% so please feel free to post and let us know how it's going!

{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}
 
An X-er here to say YOU CAN DO IT. I agree with Sara, punch your DH in the head. Please, please, please do not smoke.
 
I gave up cold turkey 3 1/2 years ago and I found that the thing that helped me the most was whenever I had a craving, I would drink a hot cup of tea...it seemed to help me overcome needing to do something with my hands and mouth...I wish you all the best. I am sure you can do it. You have come so far already.
 
Morning Anne (I won't use the word "good" at this point:) )

You can do this thing. Suggestion--when that urge to light up is soooo strong punch DH in the head.

Keep posting.
 
Big time ex-smoker here. I smoked three packs a day for nearly twenty years. I quit cold turkey about seven years ago. Trust me, the first four days are the worst. It gets easier every day. Not easy, but easier. Nowadays, I think about wanting a ciggie maybe twice a year, and even then it isn't a real urge, just a thought. And my throat and chest rebel at even the thought.

My biggest hurdles were depression and the need to do something with my hands/mouth. I was already taking an antidepressant, though, and I think it really helped. Not so much of the "Poor me, I can't do anything to make life worth living, I can't eat, I can't smoke, I can't drink, I have to exercise, etc." Ridiculous, I know, but at the time . . . . Sounds like you're the type, like my husband, who gets irritable rather than depressed, though. Still, you might talk to your doctor about it.

The other thing that helped a lot was eating in-the-shell sunflower seeds. This was only a temporary solution, and not appropriate in social situations, of course, but it helped. I didn't gain an ounce from quitting (and I gain weight just from walking through the kitchen). It's really not possible to eat enough seeds to make you gain weight, I don't think. Your tongue will get too sore from the salt. (I was never able to find the unsalted kind in my small town.) I would look forward to those sunflower seeds just like I looked forward to a smoke. Desperately, sometimes. It was actually a little hard to quit the seeds, too, but nothing like smoking. My husband, who also quit a couple of years later, is still hooked on the seeds.

Oh, and one more thing. This is a little dangerous, for some people, but it helped me. I carried an unlit cigarette with me at all times. I held it in my hands. Tapped it in the ashtray. Talked with it. Evern put it between my lips. Smelled it. Stroked it, even. I carried one around for a couple of years, and even bummed a fresh one once in a while, but I was never, ever tempted to light it. I just needed to feel it.

Oh, and I had the chest pains, too. I also coughed up black gunk for weeks afterward. I think it's your body healing, rather than the opposite.

Last word of advice. Do not ever take even one puff of a smoke. Don't even light a cigarette for someone else. That is the end of it, if you do. I fell into that trap twice before I finally quit for good the third time.

Shari
 
Anne you know we are all so PROUD of you for undertaking this herculean task - you CAN do it. I started talking to my kids about smoking when they were very young (they're now 7, 4 and 2) and I love it when we're in the grocery store check out behind someone buying cigarettes. They point, and in kid loud voices say "Awwww Mommy - he's gonna' die from his unhealthy lungs! Ewww and he's stinky too! Yah - and his teeth and hands are all yellow. YUCK! EWWWWWW! (insert kids laughter, scrunched up faces, pinched noses and pointing fingers here.)"

This of course ususally embarasses the heck out of me, but not nearly so much as the smoker who has just had 3 kids announce to everyone around that he's dirty, stinky and gonna' die. Anne - I promise - you don't want to be that person in front of us at the grocery store! :) Keep it up!

Love and (((((HUGS)))))

Lorrie
 
Hi Ann,

In order for me to quit my 3 pack a day habit, was cold turkey, and a supporter. I found this out by quitting a million times, before I finely got it right. It was the most hardest thing for me to do, but I did it. I had to want to though for myself, and I needed to stay away from people and events that have cigs for at least 1 year, before the smell of smoke left me nauseous. After two years, I can say for sure that I was out of the woods. It's called determination.

My drive was marrying a man that I loved and he did not smoke. He didn't want me to put my health at risk, so he was my supporter. He was my Angel Joe. He bought an angel figurine (to me it represented how I felt about him, an angel) He would give me little mints everyday at work on my desk and place them by the angel.

I relapsed sometimes, and I know when he kissed me, he could smell those horrid things on my breath. But he didn't say a word about it. Sometimes when he would come over to my house, after I slipt, and again, he said nothing.

When the big day came to be married, I was so determined by then that I finally stopped my habit, and never looked back.

I had gained weight when I guit smoking and again he was there for me. He has always supported me in my fittness goals and health to this day. I know the secret in cutting out a bad habit, you have to want it yourself, determination and a great supporter.

Hope my little story helped, It's been 15 years now without a cig.

Janie
 
I'm VERY opinionated about this, and I firmly believe that smoking is not your fault. Nicotine is a very effective anti-depressant, and, IMHO, most people who are still smoking are self-medicating for depression of some sort. It doesn't have to be a major depression, and you may not be aware of it, but more likely than not, it is there. Why suffer? An antidepressant can make it SOOOO much easier to quit. That's how I did. It will be 10 years in December! I didn't suffer, I wasn't irritable, I didn't gain any weight, and it wasn't even difficult. I'm still angry that my doctor didn't tell me sooner.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000953.htm

-Nancy
 
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