We're Two Years Smoke-Free Today

[arwalden]

And between the two of us, that's $9360.00 that we would have spent on cigarettes... but instead, used a little more than half of it to buy a pop-up camper instead. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=1236463

Mike was hesitant... but agreed to go along. Up until the day that cigarettes reached $45.00 a carton (for Benson and Hedges Deluxe Ultra Lights Menthol 100's) I really had no intention or motivation to quit. I didn't care. I liked smoking and felt that my addiction to the pleasure nicotine gave me was worth any risk.

It was only the motivation of PRICE that made me reconsider my stubborn position. In any case... I'll never go back. It was tough... but the benefits FAR outweigh the pleasure I got from smoking.

We "cheated" and used the nicotine patch as a crutch. It was supposed to be an 8-week step-down program... but after 6 weeks, I eventually reached the point where I was forgetting to put on a new patch first thing in the morning. --- When I realized that, I just quit using the patch without going the entire 8 weeks.

-- Allen

[flamingyouth]

1. Wow, I am so proud of you!

That is awesome news! Not to mention all the $ you saved!! Congrats!!! :D

[Massacure]

2. Congradulations!

I remember back when I was 6 or 7 our teachers always told us smoking was bad for us. So I decided to throw all my grandpas cigs in the toilet. He quit when I was 8, and I thought I convinced him. I didn't - he died less than a year later. :(

[Catshrink]

3. Congratulations, Allen & Mike!

That is quite an accomplishment. I'm so proud of you. That's a ton of money you saved, too.

:yourock:

[Liberal Veteran]

4. 2 years 6 months 14 days 8 hours, 43 seconds for me...

Not that I am keeping track or anything.

[Droopy]

5. Good deal

Qutting is hard enough, but you did it in the summer which would be even harder for me. I like to drink beer in the summer and you know how well those ciggies go with that. Congratulations and I'm glad it's working out for you. Do you still get the urge sometimes? My mom has quit for thirty years, but she says sometimes she still gets a craving for one.

[arwalden]

15. I Still Think About It... But It's Not A Physical Craving.

The (literal) physical cravings cease after about a week. It's the psychological craving... or the rememberance of how relaxing that first drag was. Sometimes when I'm stressed I'll remember how a cigarette would make me feel and I'll think for a minute how "nice" it would be to have one.

But I know that one would turn into two, etc etc.

Sometimes I'll see an actor on TV or in a movie light up a cigarette... and I'll want one just because of all the visual reminders.

Anyway, the urges pass quickly enough that I'm never SERIOUSLY tempted to cheat.

-- Allen

Congrats to your mom!

[Zomby Woof]

6. Let's hear it for KONA

A better addiction anyway. :-)

[arwalden]

13. Mike Returns From Hawaii On Saturday With A Suitcase Full

Yippee!!!

-- Allen

[DebJ]

7. Benson and Hedges Deluxe Ultra Lights Menthol 100's....just

lit one up AGAIN!
I envy you. Congratulations.
Hey, did you ever joke with the person behind the counter, when you were asking for this brand, that one could die of lung cancer before one is able to completely state the brand name?
And every time I ask, I say, Benson and Hedges Ultra Light Menthol.
The response is usually, 100's?? Deluxe???

I tried the patches, but got hives (I also used them for double the time limit for each patch). I also ended up having an odd growth removed in a spot where I often put the patch...not cancer, and not enough of a scare for me I guess to quit yet.
I get serious, serious, Attention Deficit Disorder after 5 hours without a cigarette (smoke 1.5 packs a day). I tried quitting once cold turkey but after crossing the double yellow line twice in that week without realizing it, suddenly cancer seemed better....at least farther off. Can't use anything for ADD either (like ritalin, etc) as BP runs in my family and such drugs could trigger me if I turn out to have such a trigger.

[arwalden]

8. I Had Similar Skin Reactions To The Patch...

And often they wouldn't stick for the full 24 hours. Eventually I discovered that they WOULD stay stuck if I wore them on my lower leg and held them in place with my socks. (After realizing that they pulled hair, I shaved my lower legs too.)

Anyway, I rotated between three positions on each leg/angle (front left, front right, rear) so that no patch of skin was revisited for 6 days. --- And no matter how much I sweated, the extra pressure of my socks helped to hold them in place.

This wasn't my first time trying to quit either. I had been a smoker for about 26 years and had tried off and on many, many times with mixed results. Eventually I'd pick it up again thinking I could quit "anytime"... but I never wanted to.

I hope you find your motivation again. Good luck to ya if you ever try... and let me know how you're doing so that I can cheer you on!

Regards,
Allen

[DebJ]

9. 26 years! That's good encouragement for me, at 22 years here.

[DustMolecule]

21. lol@your diligence with getting those patches to stick!

I had 'similar' experiences until I figured out that a roll of medical tape was the answer. I would just tape the patch thing on with medical tape.

on edit: Sorry, I forgot to say, "Congratulations!!!" :-)

[prolesunited]

17. Umm...

If high BP runs in the family, you probably should quit now. If you get it, you certainly can't continue smoking and it does permanent damage to the blood vessels. My mom, who had high BP and diabetes, had quit 10 or 12 years prior and the vascular surgeon could tell right away.

If the patches are a problem, try the gum or the anxiety pill that is supposed to help. If you get that nervous, maybe that would be the route to go.

I never thought I could quit either, but you can.

[Bluebear]

10. Congrats. I passed one year in May.

And they said it couldn't be done. Thank you, Commit lozenges!

[arwalden]

16. At First I Feared I'd Be Swapping One Addiction For Another...

and that I'd be "addicted" to nicotine patches. --- But if you read through the program literature (and listen to the CD) you learn that the crutch of the patch/gum/losenge allows the smoker get out of the MENTAL habit of smoking... and it allows the smoker to break free from the action:reward (light-up:gratification) aspect of smoking too.

Have you put a calculator to your savings yet?

-- Allen

[sam sarrha]

11. I used meditation to stop smoking and drinking.... Quick and easy

[JohnLocke]

12. Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!

[supernova]

14. What a great accomplishment!

Woo Hoo! :toast:

It does my heart good to know you two will be around a lot longer than you otherwise would be. :bounce:

[prolesunited]

18. Yeah, looks you've made it!

:toast:
You should be quite proud of yourself and what a great reward!

There were several of us who quit about the same time. I hoped they've all made it as well.

I said to my sister that DU had changed my life. This is just one of the ways. I'm not sure if I would have had the encouragement or support I needed without DU.

Can't wait to hear the details of your first smoke-free trip.

[arwalden]

20. Funny Thing About The "Savings"

Technically... we DID INDEED "save" over $9000 because we didn't spend it on cigarettes. --- But we also weren't shoving $10 a day into a piggy bank that we could break open and have our reward.

Instead the money found its way back into the general funds and was spend on other things.

When it came time to buy the camper, we didn't have a "reward" reserve of cash just waiting for us. We had to budget it in with everything else.

BUT STILL!!! Just knowing that mathematically we didn't spend (and therefore "saved") that much money is quite amazing.

-- Allen

How much have you saved?

Also... in 10 years (assuming cigarettes cost the same) we would have wasted over $45,000 in cigarettes between the two of us. Aaaaa! What a waste!

[galadrium]

19. Congrats... look forward to many cancer free years!

[Scottie72]

22. Congrats!!!!!

Way to go!!!

I am up to (damn my calculator is on the computer in my cubicle I am stuck in the control room computers) 3 year 5 months and 16 days. (I quit jan 1 2001. )


I know how tough it is to quit. To this day there are times when I just want to have a cigarette. I have moved into a new apartment since I quit so the visuals from the old place are not there, but I know have a nice porch area. There are two chairs and a table... it looks like the perfect place to go out and have that morning cigarette.

Luckily the cravings are not all that often.


Once again Congrats!!

[TheWizardOfMudd]

23. It is now time to have a goddam cigarette

Are you kidding me?

[Book Lover]

24. Very good for you both

I have no commiserating story for you all as I have only smoked maybe a dozen cigarettes in my life, but I do understand the nature of cravings and addictions. Good for you :-)

[traco]

25. 2 years 7 months for me

I dream that I found a cigarette and took a drag. When I wake up I am craving a smoke so bad!! But I refuse to go back.

[arwalden]

26. I've Had Just A Few Dreams In Which I Was Smoking A Cigarette...

... when I woke up, I wasn't craving or wanting a cigarette, though. Instead, during the dream I felt "guilty" and defeated because I had given in. I remember being disappointed in myself that I now had to reset my "smoke-free-since" calendar, and that I'd lose all those bragging rights.

I'll probably always think about cigarettes every now and then. But it's not on my mine all day long... not even every day. (Maybe ever OTHER day or longer.) Fortunately those types of thoughts are brief, fleeting, and not very strong at all.

Congrats on your success too! How long were you a smoker? 26 years for me.

-- Allen

[traco]

29. I had been

smoking for 27 years. I had tried to quit by using the patch, the smokeless tobacco. Finally I made a promise to God that I would quit and just put them down! I was so proud of myself!

[matcom]

27. thanks Allen

am working on the start of week 2. down to about 5 cigs a day (from over a pack last week).

course the Zyban makes me feel like shit right now but it constantly feels like i just HAD a cig so i don't want to light one up

thanks for the encouragement

[arwalden]

28. Keep In Mind That You're Fighting TWO Addictions...

the physical withdrawal along with the psychological addiction.

The folks who have the strength to quit cold turkey (bless them) are usually out of the physical withdrawal feelings within 3-5 days. The rest is just learning to be a non-smoker (thinking like a non-smoker, believing you're a non-smoker, and behaving like a non-smoker).

I didn't have the courage (nor the inclination) to punish myself by going cold-turkey. Even the patch was difficult at first because even though I wasn't giving up nicotine, I was giving up the routine and the security of the feel and smell of a fresh pack of cigarettes. I didn't have the action of lighting-up followed by the "reward" of that first drag. (ALL PSYCHOLOGICAL addictions.)

Matcom... continue to brag on your milestones and get support from everyone you know. I found family and friends' support to be a great motivator (I also eventually realized that I didn't want to disappoint THEM either by failing... another motivation.)

In a different message (this thread) I explained where the "savings" went (or didn't go)... but for the first few weeks, I'd make an effort to spend the $90 a week on something extravagant and frivolous just to reward ourselves for not smoking that week. (You don't have to 'waste' your savings forever, just long enough to reinforce the idea that by NOT smoking you're NOT wasting money that could be spent on other things. And hell... our 'savings' added up to be a camper!)

Hang in there, bud!

-- Allen

P.S. If you're like me, you might add about 15 pounds. Oh well. It happens and you can diet it off or exercise it off. You're more in control of the 15 pounds than the smoking. The extra weight isn't NEARLY as bad for you as smoking was. (Besides, you're too skinny anyway.)