quitsmokingonline.com That website was a tremendous help to me. It helped me so much with my courage & determineaton. Good luck!!!

It's SO worth it to be free of this addiction. There are many ways to quit -- whatever works! My neighbor kept relapsing until she was successful with a few sessions of hypnotherapy.

I smoked lightly (three or four cigarettes a day) for about ten years. I had no idea I was an *addict* until I quit 45 years ago. I'd probably be dead if I hadn't quit. I developed asthma seven years after quitting and require Advair twice a day.

When I was hospitalized for pneumonia two years ago I got a close look at what 'the end' looks like for people with respiratory disease -- most were smokers. When I was walking the hallways for exercise, these desperate people, their skin completely grey for lack of oxygen, were too weak to walk, tethered to oxygen tanks, unable to draw a breath. I was the only patient who walked out of that wing in four days. I witnessed others being wheeled into the ICU -- no discharges in their futures.

Good for you! My Dad smoked, but I never saw the appeal. My sister and I have never smoked. Keep up the good work.

Sue

Congratulations from a former smoker. I quit when I had my first baby with the help of a hypnotist. Best thing I ever did.

Yes, no experience but I want to say congratulations. Your mental dialogue is key. Think of yourself NOW as a non-smoker. If you get the thought that you "need" a cigarette, say (out loud if possible) "no, I do not need or want a cigarette!" and make that choice! Remind yourself of the foul stench that follows smokers everywhere (trust me, smokers, it does) and congratulate yourself that you don't smell like that.

I believe part of quitting the "addiction" is breaking the habit of doing something with your hands. One good way to combat this was to purchase a bag of stick pretzels and whenever the urge to smoke happened, I grabbed a pretzel-stick and ... presto ... my hands and mouth were busy, occupied and seems like my brain eventually led me to forget that I "needed" something in my hands and mouth. Worked for me - 30 years ago. Never looked back.

Kudos to you for persisting in getting rid of the addiction. Yea!!!!

Congratulations! I quit back in the early 80's...no patch then, I did it cold turkey, husband did too...we had tried before but believed it was too hard because that's what we were led to believe...once we realized it was doable we did it.

Congratulations! You can do this! I quit cold turkey in 1972. It was so hard; I ate so many sunflower seeds (the kind in the shell you have to suck on and then break open with your teeth) for a few days, that my whole mouth was sore from the salt and the activity. I found it kept my hands and mouth busy for a while.

The ONE critical thing I did that made the difference, I think, after I got over the trauma of the first day or two (which are the worst) is I pledged to myself I would NEVER take another puff. No tricking myself into "just one puff" "just this one time", etc. I KNEW I would be a smoker again if I ever let a cigarette touch my lips even once. So every time I was tempted, I remembered how hard it was to get through those first couple of days and I didn't want those to be for naught, so I just banished the thought of trying "just one" whenever that thought entered my mind.

You can do it!! And you will be so happy you did. And you'll feel better. And you'll feel rich with all that extra $$!

I used the patch for 2 or 3 weeks. Then I had four days off work and didn't put one on for the four days. I decided that I would try a day or two at work without one. At the time pharmacies could sell cigarettes and my brand was one of the top sellers (DuMaurier Light King Size). If I could sell them without buying a pack during my break, I figured I could do this. And I did! It's been about 20 years now smoke free! I never went back on the patch.

First of all "High Fives" for making the decision to quit. I want you to be successful!

The patch didn't work for me. I ended up cheating...smoked anyway. This caused an overdose of nicotine...and an ER visit.

Next I tried the pills...they made me sick...Dr took me off of them. Said I had an allergy to them.

Then I tried the vape. I was smoking light cigarettes so I started with a .6% nicotine solution. After awhile I reduced down to 0% nicotine. I am still addicted to the actual physical part of smoking. Holding it, puffing and exhaling. But now I am not harming myself. I have been off cigarettes 5 yrs!

I have a vape as well, zero nicotine, that I have used a few times when having a drink, it does help with the whole hand/mouth habit & I like that you have to "draw" on it.

Congratulations on quitting! No matter what works for anyone, the main thing is to get away from nicotine. I quit long before there was the patch or anything to use to help. I think maybe gum came out just after I quit but I was never a gum user, so that didn't even appeal to me.

Cold turkey was my method and it was definitely hard that first week, and then I realized how much I had already accomplished and just kept going. Work and other family distractions, including a supportive family (my now-ex DH at the time had already quit) helped quite a bit.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I loved smoking, so that made it harder to quit. I used the patch for about 10 days, then switched to the Nicotrol Inhaler. I loved the inhaler because I was going through the motions of smoking. I only used one cartridge of nicotine a day, rather than change it every couple of hours. After a couple of weeks, I stopped putting the nicotine cartridge in...so I was just sucking air. I guess it's safe to say that it worked...my last cigarette was 2/2/2005.

One thing that really, really helped me the first couple of weeks was drinking lots of water with lemon juice in it. There's something in the citrus that helps with the nicotine cravings. Good luck!! It's worth all the pain....

The citrus helps move nicotine out of the body, according to what I have read. I read A LOT!

Good for you kayjones! I know I can do it, I have to...this will be my 4th attempt as well, but only once did I make it for 5 months..

Good for you, remember one day at a time. I never smoked but had lung cancer. My husband quit cold turkey right after my surgery.

I'm a QUITTER and so happy I did it. The patch worked for me. I was a 3 pack a day smoker!

not easy, but never quit quitting!!!

I quit November 10th 1979 after nine years of smoking. I quit for my then boyfriend, now DH, because he absolutely hated it. You don't realize how nasty that smell is on your clothes and in your house until you quit. One of the best things I ever did. Good luck!

They say day 3 is the hardest...it was a breeze compared to today (day 5)....sigh

Keep it up. Hubby and I just celebrated 1 year smoke free. We did it cold turkey but we had each other to support us. Good luck and just try to change your habits and find something to do with your hands.

I ordered a fidget cube from Amazon this morning, I am a Prime member so I will have it by Saturday. I am so excited, hahaha!

If you can take a brisk walk, just a block or two even, when the craving hits, that can help. Finding anything else to do with your hands, too -- scrub the sink, sweep the floor, sort laundry, take up knitting?

Drop the vape if you can, that's not such a good habit either.

I have only used to vape when I felt desperate, been a few days now. Not habit forming, thankfully :(

Yeah - no vape!!! Those things are awful! Get twizzlers - you can bite both ends off and "smoke" them (they're hollow).

Celery sticks ... baby carrots ... even toothpicks ... to keep the hands and mouth busy.

Congrats on your QUIT, Lisa.

I smoked for about 6 mos., over 70 years ago, when Dad went to another part of the country for a summer ...

... but decided, after about 6 mos., that I liked neither the taste, not being frugal from 'way back, the cost.

Imagine - the cost of those cigarettes, over 70 years (even though they were a lot cheaper in the old days - but the income was tiny, as well). I'd be a lot closer to broke, currently!

If I'd survived this long, as our family has a tendency to weakness of lung function.

ole joyfuelled

*Never* put nicotine addiction in quotes. It's not just kinda, sorta an addiction. It is an addiction. It can be just as deadly as other addictions.

Lisa, keep it up. I like the Twizzler idea!

Congratulations!! I quit cold turkey 15 years ago, but it was a few years after I had my last cigarette that I admitted to myself that I quit. It was too difficult to think I could never smoke again, so I made my mantra "I won't smoke today". Made that promise to myself the moment I woke up in the morning.

It does get easier, but you have to remain vigilant. Don't think you have have just one. You can do it!!!

Day six, still going strong!!

Good for you. Like I said one day at a time.

Hooray for you. My ex husband died last week from smoking related causes. His life was a living hell for the last year. He never got to retire, although he was forced to stop working due to ill health. What an awful way to waste a life -- and a lot of money. Thank goodness I never started.

I feel very bad that even living with a smoker is almost as bad as being a smoker. I wonder how the tobacco companies get away with selling these "cancer sticks". I have to guess that money talks. So sad :(

Hope you're still on top of it, Lisa - good wishes for a successful weekend.

ole joyful

Did you fidget thing come today? Never quit quitting!

Stay with us. Keep us up-to-date. You have many supporters here.

Rooting for you, Lisa! You've got this!

Congrats for taking that giant step. If it takes more than one try, DON'T go back to smoking! I went cold turkey abut 2 and a half years ago. Woke up one morning to absolutely NO sight in left eye! Total blackness! All sorts of poking, prodding, scanning, monitoring and an overnight stay in the hospital. A retinal occlusion... blockage in retinal artery, kinda/sorta like a stroke but NOT a stroke. High BP and cholesterol were confirmed... wasn't surprised. Primary care doctor said... can "fix" the BP and cholesterol through diet and/or medication but smoking was right up there for probable cause.

Was initially told eye sight RARELY comes back after this! It has returned to the point where I don't have loss of depth perception. Though very blurry, peripheral vision is kinda there. Looking straight ahead... not much at all, like can't see the traffic light color at all unless I look at it a bit from the side.

If it wasn't so expensive or wasn't so BAD for me, I'd probably still smoke. I never had any really bad craving... probably because I knew I had not choice. If someone walks by smking... that's a pleasant aroma to me still. If someone walks in a room who smokes and that is just a horrible reeking odor now.

You can do this! Your lungs, heart and many other parts will thank you. Your friends and family will thank you. Your WALLET will thank you. Stick with it, it's really not that hard once you get past the first few days. Tell yourself you're not ALLOWED to smoke!

Been thinking of you, Lisa - wondering how it's going.

Let us know when it's convenient - we're rooting for you.

Good wishes and hopes for successful persistence.

ole joyful

Hey Lisa, even if you fall off the wagon, you can get right back on! It took me a full year to actually quit. Remember, never quit quitting!

my mother used her church..they offer guidance for just about everything...

dh tried patch, hypo, and gradual programs..finally he said no more standing in the bathroom (only place I allowed him with 4 kids) and he quit cold turkey.but he's very strong will and never touched one again...in fact he's as bad as I am even following a smoker in a car...that was 1978...best Christmas ever...

I quit smoking about 25 years ago. I didn't mess with the patches and stuff. Smoking is primarily a habit and you break a habit when you decide you WANT to. You'll never be talked into quitting until you're ready to quit and decide you want to for whatever reason motivates you. For me it was simply financial motivation. I knew I wouldn't have access to discounted smokes and was too cheap to pay full price of nearly $3/pack since I was going to be quitting my job and there was other priorities for me financially at the time. I did cut down a bit prior to quitting. I relaxed more at home and didn't feel like a cigarette so I simply quit smoking in the house. Then decided it was time to quit and I quit. That's how I did it. Really not a big thing all in all though working in the garage and traveling a while had the habit surfacing a little now and then. But again, I had the motivation and desire to quit so I did.

you break a habit when you decide you WANT to

Nail hit on head, there. In my conversations with patients, I often get the feeling that they really don't want to -- they nod their head when we advise them to quit, point out that they've been in the hospital 5 times in the past year for smoking caused problems, and say 'okay' but it is clear that the motivation just isn't there. Just on Monday, for example, had this conversation with someone who is on oxygen at home! and still smoking! And another person with advanced COPD who is smoking pot and thought that was harmless (perhaps the full respiratory arrest and 3 days on a ventilator has convinced her otherwise). Had another guy who had had thirteen -- THIRTEEN -- heart angioplasties and immediately launched into excuses why he couldn't quit when the cardiologist told him that no more could be done.

My theory is that "being a smoker" is so strongly associated with some self-image, one that led to picking up the habit in the first place (sophisticated, rebellious, one of the cool kids, grown-up like dad, etc) that the person maybe isn't even fully conscious of anymore but isn't going to let go of without a fight. Maybe that accounts for some of the extreme defensiveness that I sometimes see in smokers -- who deny that smoking is even harmful.

This is no more 'just a habit' than drug use or alcohol abuse is a habit. It's an *addiction* -- to nicotine in this case.

Chewing your nails is a habit. Swearing is a habit. Salting your food before you taste it is a habit.

Extreme defensiveness is proof of addiction. Who wants to admit he's an addict? Who wants to admit he's afraid he can't control himself?

kathyg_in_mi - no fidget cube yet :(

dedtired - I am so very sorry for your loss!

I am absolutely done with cigs forever. BUT, I am a nicotine addict & always will be, just as an alcoholic is forever. You all really have no idea how much your posts mean to me. Seems everyone around me has forgotten how proud they were of me, like it's no big deal anymore....everyday is a struggle still, not as much as the day before but still....coming here & reading your words of encouragement mean an awful lot to me...THANK YOU!!! p.s. I have been away for a few days dealing with some family issues, thats why I hadn't posted any replies until now :)

This is no more 'just a habit' than drug use or alcohol abuse is a habit. It's an *addiction* -- to nicotine in this case.

Chisue, this is true... I don't mean to say that it isn't. Addiction is a complex subject -- there are psychological as well as physical components to it. "Picking up the habit" is a common phrase for the start of the addiction. But, there is also a lot of habit in all the rituals and timing of smoking as well, and addressing those habits is vital to success in quitting. Smoking is one of the few addictions that has been linked to and actually promoted as a (falsely) positive image -- that is why I believe it may be a factor and an impediment. Any addict must make a conscious choice to stop, and take responsibility for the addiction.

I'm sorry you haven't gotten your cube yet. I had to look it up.

Never quit quitting!

We're all rooting for your success.