This ain't gonna be easy....

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jeannieballerini

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Feb 17, 2006
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Toronto
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Ontario
Hi all !
Here's to a new year...new starts and all that jazz........
I have decided to quit smoking !!!! AAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!:icon15

Have been a smoker for well over 25 years and have GOT to get this stupid addiction over and done with.........
I've bought the gum...and have alot of support but am wondering if any of you have done this and may have ANY tips / tricks for me....I'd really rather not lose my mind during the whole process :purpletea

Yikes! any wise wisdom is greatly GREATLY appreciated!!!!

Thanks in advance!
jeannie..........bad ciggy's-bad-bad-bad!
 
No tips, just a HIP HIP HOORAY!!! for you!

My best friend quit smoking recently, for the umpteenth time - she drinks lots of this yummmy Roobios Chai tea from teavana as an alternate "addiction".

Good luck Jeannie - tally up that $$ and sock it away for a real treat for yourself after a month or so.

Good luck, I'm rooting for you!!
tracy

My mom passed at 56 from an asthma attack brought on by her 40+ years of smoking - asthma, emphysema and COPD and begun around 50, and her body just couldn't take it anymore. She grew up in an age where there was no public knowledge of the damages smoking can cause......now we know a little better I hope.
 
Jeannie...PM me anytime you want....I TOO am having a little battle myself, after quitting some time back....

And I too am trying again.... like they say...QUIT and NEVER QUIT QUITTING!

Good choice for you...and me!!! :yourock:
 
Good choice for both of you. I quit seven years ago and I haven't looked back. As a matter of fact, the smell of the stale smoke on people literally turns my stomach. I hate it. That's how I know I'll never go back (it was my third and final attempt by the way).

I did try the patch, but the weird dreams were too much to handle so I just quit... period. If you need an ear or encouragement... PM me... I'll be happy to be your cheer leader, privately or publicly. :)

I drank lots of water, walked alot, read, wrote, kept my hands and mind busy.... incessantly. ;)

Again, good for you both!

V
 
Good luck to you! I quit a 2-pack a day habit, but it was many years ago. When I quit the first time, I craved a cigarette constantly, but when I quit the second time, it wasn't as bad. Still occasionally think about having one....... Advice? When you need support, don't be afraid to ask for it. You already have Victoria and Boss offering help. When them in your corner, you're already a team.
 
Jeannie....just think of it THIS way.....with YOUR sweet voice, disposition, and stubborness, just the fact that you've decided to tackle this awful addiction, means you CAN DUMP IT!!
You can "add sweet breath and longer life" to your itinerary, and we'll ALL be better for it!!
IF you WON'T do it for yourself...do it for US, all your friends, who want you to be around for a LONGGGG time!!
Mikey (gave it up 30 years ago!!:ssmoke)
 
jeannieballerini said:
Hi all !
Here's to a new year...new starts and all that jazz........
I have decided to quit smoking !!!! AAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!:icon15

Have been a smoker for well over 25 years and have GOT to get this stupid addiction over and done with.........
I've bought the gum...and have alot of support but am wondering if any of you have done this and may have ANY tips / tricks for me....I'd really rather not lose my mind during the whole process :purpletea

Yikes! any wise wisdom is greatly GREATLY appreciated!!!!

Thanks in advance!
jeannie..........bad ciggy's-bad-bad-bad!
Click to expand...

Quit 22 years ago...the following help me a lot
1.get a large rubber band, place it on your wrist and everytime you want a cigarette, pull that sucker out and snap the inside of your wrist. Do it enough...and no wimpy snaps girl...full blown ones...it will retrain your brain to associate pain with wanting a cig. And it soes not take long to do that.
2. Drink a sip of water, tea or anything non caffeined anytime you want one. Helps flush out the nicotine.
3. change your routine...I use to wake up, cigs by the bed and light up, hack myself around until I was ready for work. Change that by removing the cigs, get out of bed and go to the back door and breath really deeply...anything to change your brain routine.
4. Sitiing in a car and seeing someone smoke made me want to steal their cigarettes...instead..whistle..yep whistle..it again changes what your two year brain is telling you and knocks it off course.
5. I took a mild tanquilzer..was able to function but it saved the lives of those around me...took it 2 times a day and it kept the nastyness edge down...try it when you see your family removing themselves from your presence. lol Your Doc should be able to provide you with a month of them without having to go through a psychological exam.
6. Eat well, breathe deeply, stay away from too much caffeine and drink lots of water or light liquids...too much regular soda will jazz you up..
Good luck..smell the inside of an ashtray every once in awhile...or after you have quit, kiss someone that smokes..if you are married tell your husband you are just performing a scientific test...again..you can do it, you will do it you are doing it.
Sher
 
We Can Do This!!!!!!!

Dear Friends -
I have smoked for about 32 years (up to two packs a day). I quit for good New Year's Day and it hasn't been that bad. But I have two new weapons that are working very well for me.

First - READ THIS BOOK - "The Little Book of Quitting" by Allen Carr. Allen smoked for over 30 years and had a 5 pack a day habbit. He developed a technique for quitting called "the easy way to stop smoking". The book is an easy read and you can get it at Amazon.com There is also a longer book called "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking". It is still an easy read and approaches "quitting" differently than I have ever seen it before. The way this book is written caused me to really want to quit - and not just rely on "will power" and feeling deprived.

Second - SEE YOUR DOCTOR - and ask him for CHANTIX. Chantix is a prescription drug - which dulls the brain's receptors to nicotine. It really works - in fact you are likely to forget to smoke. There are two side effects common with the Chantix....one is stomach problems .. I had that the first few days. The other is strange dreams... I have been having the greatest dreams lately....two nights ago I dreamt I walked into a bar with a guy on shoulder and said to all of my friends who were there " I'm sure you remember my old friend Ringo Starr!" Ringo and I had a fun nite at the pub. Chantix works and I have tried gum, cold turkey, hypnosis, and even electric shock!!! They say people using Chantix have about a 75% better chance of quitting.

I recommend against the gum. Why? - because we are nicotine addicts more than anything else...the gum just gives us a different way to support our habbit.

I highly recommend / encourage you to try this approach - if it can work for me - it could work for anybody.

I wish you the best of luck!!!!
 
Take the gum, cut each piece into two pieces.

Use the small pieces of nicotine gum to deliver a low dose of nicotine to you during the day instead of using the larger pieces.

Put the small piece in your mouth an hour before the times you would normally smoke, if you can. Sort of like using a pain medication and staying ahead of the pain.

I quit 19 years ago, you can do it.

You have to wean yourself off the nicotine, the low dose of nicotine gum in my mind will help you. Use it to stay ahead of the cravings, instead of trying to put them out after they have started.

The use of Will Power is paramount to help your Sub Conscious Mind establish the new Sub Conscious Mind Law of not smoking. You have to avoid the habits that involved smoking.

Hope this makes sense.

I send to you thoughts of strength, support and fortitude, health and harmony.

Doug
 
Managed 33 days before Christmas after 25 years of Marlboro.
Busted 4 ribs, got really busy, stresssssssssssed out, and started again.
Planned to requit 01-02, but coughing with the ribs ain't cuttin it.
So right after VDAY I'll give it a whirl again.

I have no advice for quitting.......just make it happen !

Good luck !
 
I was forced to quit in 2003 after a light heart attack (left no heart damage, thank goodness). I had been a smoker for at least 39 years and although they made me deathly ill constantly with the coughing and chronic bronchitis, I was still over 2 packs a day and I never believed I could quit nor did I really want to.

Two things got me through it. First my son would call every day, sometimes more than once and ask "Mom have you smoked today?" and I would answer "well not yet", because I truly was just making it from one minute to the next. I knew how truly disappointed he would be if I didn't quit since he had begged me for years to give them up.

The second thing was. I kept my cigarettes, in fact still have a piece of the last pack I ever bought on my computer desk right now. Whenever I was stressed or just couldn't do without a cigarette I would pick one up and just puff on it, I just didn't light it. I found a big part of my addiction was the breathing rhythm when I inhaled and exhaled, not the actual nicotine or smoke or whatever else, but the breathing. In fact it will be 5 years in April and about 2 weeks ago I took several puffs off 1. It doesn't take as much will power as you may think not to light it.

Good luck and for sure try whatever may work for you. I hear great things about the new medications. Let us know how it goes.
 
Thankyou..thankyou..THANKYOU for all your support....am gonna flag this thread and read it ALOT!!! (and yes, may need to do some pm'ing too)
It means so much to just be able to share stuff, ya know?
With heartfelt thanks....you guys rock! :)
jeannie
 
Jeannie, when I quit the FTD board was still up and running... and I reported almost daily on my progress. The support there was wonderful, so it's great to be able to pay it forward as it were.

So, my friend, who will not stink anymore (can't believe I smelled like that), report every day. We will be here.

V
 
Actually the pictures don't mean a da mn thing. They have all manner of gross pics on our cigarette packs here. They aren't that much of a deterent for those who continue to smoke.

V
 
How goes the not smoking? My husband quit the same time you did and he's a bit cranky and edgy. Hope it's going well for you.
 
If you fall off the wagon today, crawl back up on it tomorrow. Don't stop until you stop falling!

V :)
 
OY!!!!!!
I have never....and I do mean NEVER had to do something so effing FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Had some pals over fora nice sunday dinner....had some vino.....well, lets just say I have alot of bruises from "falling off the wagon!".............Keeping at it tho.....(she types with gritted teeth)....
I guess I just want it all to happen rightthisminute!...........I keep having the most bizarre conversations with myself!.....
okay...here's to another day! me and my wagon! :)
now, where the heck is some gum!
Thanks for checking in.....
jeannie...the somewhat cranky,but oh so almost non-smoking florist!
THis really is gonna take a bit of time (sigh)
 
Yes Jeannie, it will take time, but it's time well spent... one nano second at a time.

Do your "pals" smoke? Do they smoke in your home? Have you included them in your goal to quit smoking?

V
 
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