Replies to This Discussion

ModPermalink Reply by SaFire* on December 10, 2009 at 1:17am

I still smoke casually... I'm a little embarrassed about it. It's so unhealthy but I just can't help myself sometimes.

I got this article from about.com:


Nicotine is a powerful addiction. If you have tried to quit, you know how hard it can be. People who are trying to quit smoking go through both physical and psychological withdrawal. Here are some tips for quitting.

Cravings

Drink a lot of liquids, especially water. Try herbal teas or fruit juices. Limit coffee, soft drinks, and alcohol - they can increase your urge to smoke.

Avoid sugar and fatty food. Try low-calorie foods for snacking - carrots and other vegetables, sugarless gum, air-popped popcorn, or low-fat cottage cheese. Don't skip meals.

Exercise regularly and moderately. Regular exercise helps. Joining an exercise group provides a healthy activity and a new routine.

Get more sleep. Try to go to sleep earlier and get more rest.

Take deep breaths. Distract yourself. When cravings hit, do something else immediately, such as talking to someone, getting busy with a task, or taking deep breaths.

Change your habits. Use a different route to work, eat breakfast in a different place, or get up from the table right away after eating.

Do something to reduce your stress. Take a hot shower, read a book, or exercise.

Psychological Needs
Remind yourself every day why you are quitting.
Avoid places you connect with smoking.
Develop a plan for relieving stress.
Listen to relaxing music.
Watch a funny movie.
Take your mind off a problem and come back to it later.
Rely on your friends, family, and support group for help.
Avoid alcohol. It lowers your chances for success.


Tips for the First Week, You Can Quit Smoking.March 2001. United States Public Health Service - Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention.

StudentPermalink Reply by Kinetic Kristen* on December 10, 2009 at 7:02am

I have a stressful job (internal customer service for a wireless company) and I'm amazed I managed to quit last January. I haven't had one since, surprisingly. The hardest part was not asking someone for one when I would be having a few drinks with friends.

I quit so that I could breathe better since my allergies were getting so bad and it has helped my hooping sooo much.

The only advice I can give is you will completely quit when you are ready, have lots of sugar free, low calorie gum and suckers (helps with the fixation of having something in your mouth) near by when you get cravings and keep telling yourself, I will be able to go harder/faster/longer/stronger with the hoop when the urge strikes. But don't beat yourself up if you slip and have an occasional smoke! It's hard.

StudentPermalink Reply by Tiffany on December 10, 2009 at 7:21am

i quit in May 2008. since then i have had 3 cigarettes, none in the past 8 months so i believe i am done with it. i have had the opportunity several times and turned it down :)

have you tried any of the medications? i used Chantix and it took longer than they said it would, but it did work for me. along with chewing through like a box of Altoids daily (i still do that sometimes!) and just resting. i found that when the craving got really strong, i would lay down and hopefully take a nap and then i would feel better.

what is the longest you have gone?

Permalink Reply by Ginger on December 10, 2009 at 10:30am

I took chantix- I don't regret it at all. If you are emotionally unstable what-so-ever, I would NOT take this pill. It was rough while on it but, I can breathe better and food definitely tastes a whole hell of a lot better. I will admit that I do have a few puffs of a square when I have a few cocktails but I could leave them behind.

It's an expensive script if you don't have insurance, but well worth the cash if you can dish it out. I had some crazy cool vivid dreams while on it. That was the best part =)

If you are against medicated quitting or just can't afford to, you could always Ear acupuncture- it's a staple in the inner cartilage area of the ear that triggers not only smoking but weight loss.

Here's a quick link that will describe it to you in detail- http://www.txacupuncture.com/EarAcupuncture.html


I hope these help- Keep those lungs pretty =)

StudentPermalink Reply by Tiffany on December 10, 2009 at 11:06am

i also tried the acupuncture did it 3 times, and it just didn't work for me :(

i also had extremely vivid dreams on Chantix, but i have those anyways so i was used to it, but they were a step up. i am also suffer from insomnia most nights so my doctor upped my sleeping pill Rx at that time and then i was fine with the dreams. seems like a lot of hassle to quit smoking, i know, but it really was worth it!!!

StudentPermalink Reply by Chaosphera on December 10, 2009 at 5:49pm

I've been wanting to quit too...I actually quit for 2 years and then got cheated on and immediately bought a pack of cigarettes! Then, I said I'd quit when I turned 30...that was last April. I haven't really tried too hard since but I really need to quit soon. Lemme know if you'd like to be quit buddies, haha. I think I'd like to try for New Year's. Good luck!

Permalink Reply by Belle on December 10, 2009 at 8:22pm

I gave up smoking successfully about 6 years ago after a few unsuccessful attempts. The things that worked for me were:
Starting exercise at the same time. I started swimming and when I think back to how unfit I was at the beginning I want to cry! But I soon got very fit and started feeling so fine that I didn't want to start smoking again (and jepordise my new found fitness).

The other thing was to start taking Vitamin C - apparently smokers have 30% less Vit C in their bloodstream then non-smokers. And good vitamin c levels helps you deal with stress and cigarettes and Vitamin C act against each other. Vitamin C makes you not want to smoke. And if you think about it - have you ever had a yummy glass of fresh squeezed OJ in one hand and a cigarette in the other? yukky!

But I think what helped the most was that I really really didn't want to smoke anymore. You don't have to wait to 2010 if you want to give up... Good luck to you - you can do it!! XoX (apologies for the long post)

Permalink Reply by Megan on December 15, 2009 at 2:57pm

i want to do this with you!

i've quit before as well.. i think 3 or 4 months was my longest. i lived in ny and couldnt afford to buy cigarettes, so i just didnt. i would have the occasional smoke, but never bought packs myself. as soon as i came back home though, cigarettes were so cheap and i boght a pack and have been back on the habit ever since. i always think of what a silly reason it is and how much i regret it!!

lately i have cut back a ton though, which makes me think that i don't need them. i usually only smoke 3-4 a day, and some days i dont smoke at all. its only when im drinking and out that i really smoke more. the hardest part for me is that my boyfriend smokes like a pack a day as well as his mom who we live with, so i am constantly around them.

it's been 2.5 days since i had a cigarette (but i am sick so i dont want one anyways) so i think im going to try and just do it now. my only problem is that when i think of quitting as a long term thing, i get extremely panicky. anyone else have that problem? and i think about how much i do enjoy a cigarette after a long night at work.. mmm.

what i think im going to do is start out saying i can have 1 a week IF I WANT.. then cut pack to 1 every 10 days.. then 1 every 2 weeks, etc. does this sound like it could work? or would people recommend more going cold turkey? im hoping that after a few weeks, i just wont want any anymore. i do have some commit lozenges which im thinking about trying. also going to take advice to get sugar free candies or gums or something to try and help the cravings.

wish me luck :)

StudentPermalink Reply by Brittney Smart on December 18, 2009 at 9:35am

i took wellbutrin to quit over the summer, it was really working, i didn't want to smoke and i would kinda just forget to smoke on my breaks at work and stuff. it was pretty amazing but it made me depressed, i was going out of town for my mom's birthday and i didn't want to be feeling so bad so i quit taking the pills. I'm ready to try it again, gonna start taking them again with my boyfriend. I think that support is really important, so I'm looking forward to quiting with him. I wish you luck, hopefully all of us who want to quit can be successful and healthier!!! Happy holidays and good luck!!

Permalink Reply by Jodi Maunster on December 19, 2009 at 9:42pm

Wow, thanks for the advice and support, finals are fnally over so i figured now would be as good time as any to quit...so far ive gone 2 days and kinda want to rip my hair out,but my best friend agreed to quit smoking with me, and since i chill with him at least 2ce a week if were both quitting we can both be grumpy together! I'll keep you posted on how this works out for me :)


and thanks again!

StudentPermalink Reply by Farren Square on December 22, 2009 at 11:23am

That is how I tried to quit before, too. Honestly, quitting takes time, and attempt after attempt in my opinion.

I would tell myself "in two days at 12:00, you can have one cigarette" and then "in four days at 12:00, you can have one cigarette" making it longer and longer each time. BUT the key is that if you miss the day and time you promised yourself a cigarette - as in, if you weren't stressing over it, looking forward to it, and suddenly it is 1:00 and you missed the marker - you have to wait until the next "doubling" to have the next one. This is the method that my mom used to quit over 20 years ago!

I also strongly recommend the book "The Easy Way to Quit" it will change your perspective on smoking. It makes you feel like a slave with every puff!

StudentPermalink Reply by Farren Square on December 22, 2009 at 11:15am

Jodi! Did I meet you at one of Dimitri's shows? I was hooping for the Burning Sands? No?

I'm an on again off again smoker. I recently got a bad respiratory infection and quit FOR GOOD because I had been sneaking cigarettes now and then before that. It is an everyday battle. I remind myself everyday that if I smoked another cigarettes, it resets the quitting and makes it even HARDER the next time. Just one cigarette sends me back to the starting point and I've already worked so hard to get here.

I read this super awesome book called "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking" by Allen CArr and it actually REALLY helped change my perspective. He has one part where he goes - Say you have a sore on your face, and everyone can see it and smell it and it is kind of embarrassing, and your friend says to you that you can rid of that sore by rubbing some cream on it! Well, you rub the cream on it and sure enough it disappears. But the next day - the sore is back twice as big. So you rub some cream on it and it disappears! Well, four hours later, the sore is back and now it has doubled again. So you rub some cream on it. Pretty soon the sore is only disappearing for a half hour at a time and you are spending a lot of money on this cream that is actually making the sore bigger and bigger - covering your whole face.

You go to the doctor and the doctor says - to get rid of the sore all you have to do is stop using the cream but it will take three weeks of suffering. otherwise, you will have a sore for the rest of your life. Would you suffer the three weeks and stop using the cream? Well, addiction is the sore and smoking is the cream in this story. Allan Carr claims 3 weeks is the amount of time to get rid of the physical addiction of smoking, and so far I do feel a lot better after three weeks. There are still horrible desperate times when I see other people smoking and get jealous. But then I think about how much pressure they feel to quit, and I don't have to feel that anymore and it gives me strength.

hope that SOME of this huge long msg helped! haha <3

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