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Stop Smoking, easier said than done!


maker4ever

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At 3 P.M. yesterday I told my mother I would stop smoking as part as her mothers day present (I got her something else too). A little more than 24 hours later I am thinking, "What was I thinking!" I feel edgy, jittery, every second is so long and I keep thinking I am seeing something out of the corner of my eye! Oh my, this is hard but I so much want to do this! Please tell me it gets easier!

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Go, you! It won't be easy at first, but once it's out of your system, that will help some. You will probably need to find a "substitute" (some chew gum, some chew toothpicks, some use e-cigs) to help keep you from going back.

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I stopped in 1997 with my husband after his first heart attack and although he started again the same day, I was stubborn enough to tell myself that I wasn't going to waste the day I'd already gained. I told myself this every day and the further on I got the more I'd be losing if I started smoking again. Well done on you for getting rid of this awful addiction and, keep going. You will not regret it!

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Good luck Maker. That's a thoughtful and unusual way to mark that special day. I have quit cold turkey and stayed off them for months before somehow starting up again. Now I am using an e-cig, which I really recommend.

Silva, I am surprised your hubby took it up again so soon. Well done to you for your staying power.

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Val, I always say that we women have better will power (sorry guys) and my hubby did eventually stop after his third heart attack. That's why I know maker4ever will succeed, she is female. (I think!) It helps to keep busy I have to say. :D

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I've never had to quit, but I have watched my parents struggle for a long time.  I agree that keeping busy should help and I wish you the best of luck!

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I was admitted to the hospital in January of 2009.  They thought I'd had a stroke.  I didn't know who I was, I didn't even know who my daughter was.  It later was determined that I hadn't had a stroke, but I was dehydrated and physically exhausted.

I guess the one good thing that came out of that was that I never regained the urge for a cigarette.  I tried smoking again about a month later.  I took two draws and put it out.  I haven't smoked again.

I've always thought of smoking as more of a physical habit than a chemical, or nicotine, habit.  I could light a smoke while I was at the computer, take a draw and put it in the ashtray and most of the time, it would completely burn out before I even noticed.  Or I could eat sunflower seeds and go without a smoke for hours and hours.  As long as I was eating sunflower seeds, I didn't even think about smoking.

When I'd tried to quit before, I couldn't just throw away my pack of smokes.  I had to keep a pack on me.  Otherwise, I'd go nuts and it was the only thing I thought about.  As long as I had a pack on me, I was fine and could go hours without a smoke.  I guess as long as I had a pack on me, it was like a security blanket or something.

My advice?  Don't try to quit all at once.  Keep an unopened pack with you at all times, otherwise smoking is the only thing you'll think about.  Keep something in your mouth, whether it be carrot sticks, sunflower seeds, raisins or whatever.  Keep something in your hands...your keyboard, a pencil, a bottle of water.  When your hands get empty, is when you want to pick up a smoke.  And make it a habit that you cannot smoke inside the house.  If it's really hot or really cold or really wet outside, you may decide you don't need that smoke right now.  And each day, try to smoke one or two less than you did the day before.

And best of luck, my friend.  I know quitting smoking is one of the hardest things to do.

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I've never had to quit, but I have watched my parents struggle for a long time.  I agree that keeping busy should help and I wish you the best of luck!

SL, my mom smoked non filter, full flavor cigs from the time she was 13 until she was in her 60's, and about 3 packs per day.  I've seen her cough so bad, it would take a good 30 seconds before she could get her breath back.  She also had COPD and had multiple bouts with bronchitis.

I think for me personally, the cost of cigarettes these days is enough to keep me from going back.  I couldn't afford to smoke if I wanted to. 

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Thanks for all of the suggestions, support and stories. I read that every persons cell receptors are different so some people do not get as physically addicted as others. I think I might be one of these lucky ones. Yesterday was awful but now, on day three, I am feeling OK. I feel a little slow but not jittery. I do not know if those feelings will cycle in and out or not but it is so nice to have so many people cheering me on. Thanks!

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I'm so happy to hear you are doing better today!  Of course we will cheer you on, you deserve some cheers for doing so well. :)

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I highly suggest you invest in a nicotine patch. Many states now also provide free ones via mail to people who quit smoking. Nicotine patches are extremely good at helping you quit. I hate to say it, but cold turkey quitting almost never works. The nicotine patches work by giving you the same dosage as a cigarette for a few weeks, then slowly cutting you down until you lose the physiologically addiction.

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I am still smoke free! I am now using the patch. I found that the large one was too much for me. It gave he horrible side effects like burning and a fast heart beat. Now I am on the 14 mg patch and feeling pretty good about this!

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Well done! I have heard great things about the electronic cigarette which wasn't around when I was getting rid of this addiction but "the daily vape" will tell you all about that.

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I tried the electronic cigarette, "The Daily Vape" is so right about how great they are.  The problem with that is that my boyfriend kept "borrowing" them and losing them. After I bought 4 in a 3 month period of time I just gave up. He smokes too, and my quiting does seem to make him feel bad because he doesn't want to quit. It's not that I think he was losing them on purpose as much as being careless with them because he just didn't want to have to stop smoking himself. I never told him to quit, but he is oddly competitive like that. I liked the e-cigarette so much that I do wish I could buy another, but I am worried he would just lose it again. I have tried a lot of things and out of the patch, gum, doctors meds and e cigarette, the e-cigarette is the best by far. By the way, still smoke free! :)

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