On October 1, I will quit smoking. Welcoming advice from all DUers...

[Maddy McCall]

who have successfully quit. I selected my quit date last week. I need some advice on how to stick with it, though. What will I do when I hit those stressful times like finals week?

I have also lost weight in the past month and don't want to put it back on. How can I avoid gaining weight?


And most importantly, what will I do with my left hand when I have a beer bottle in my right??? ;-)

[CO Liberal]

1. Drink Lots of Water

It will help you body flush out the toxins.

Good luck. I've been smoke-free for over 11 years now.

[Braden]

2. excersize

you have set a quit date, Good. Excersize tomorrow and smoke afterwards. Hopefully you will correctly figure out which one you should give up, and which one you should do until the day you die.

5 years and about 20 days smoke free.

[DocSavage]

3. Just Do It

You will quit if you want to. I tried a few time and went back. Then I decieded that I wanted to. Took a half smoked pack, threw them in the trash, got a bag of life savers, and never looked back.

Crutches like patches and gum may work, but why spend the money. Just do it.

[Maddy McCall]

6. I don't want to do patches...

Actually, my "smoke friend" in the department had surgery a couple of weeks ago and had to be in the hospital for two weeks. She quit, and didn't use patches in the hospital, even though the nurses and her doc offered them several times.

This is what got me started on my quest for smokelessness. She will be back at work in several weeks, and I want to be smokefree when she comes back.

I really want to quit. I want to see my son's children born, grow up, graduate from college, and I feel that this won't happen unless I quit.

[Braden]

14. sounds like you are on your way

heres my little secret.

when going upstairs and you get winded, remind yourself that its smoking related.

when you cough for no F******* reason, remind yourself that its smoke related.

When you wake up the morning after youve had a couple of drinks and you feel like there is a coal burning power plant in your chest, remind yourself that its smoke related.

when someone offers you a sip, or taste of something spectacular and you taste nothing and only feel the temperature, remind yourself its smoke related.

I Quit and restarted several times, until I nagged myself into submission. Its easy to blame a cough on a coldspell or being winded on not going to the gym but you know the real reasons deep down, Good luck.


and was that the biggest run on sentence ever?

[shirlden]

4. Do it your way.

I tried several times to quit using all kinds of methods advised by Docs and others. Finally, I set up my own program, after analyzing my own problems. My biggest problem was that every time I smoked that "last cigarette" I would begin to panic. It would not be long before I was running to the store to get another pack and I would be off again.
I finally figured out that I could stop the panic attack by having a pack in the house......but not opened. That was four years ago....haven't had a smoke since and that unopened, last pack is still on a shelf in my kitchen.

"Free at last, free at last" Oh what a wonderful feeling.

Will hold good thoughts for you. Good luck.

[Clovis Sangrail]

5. Once you quit

start using a substitute fix.

I used sunflower seeds. Lots and lots of sunflower seeds.
I made sure that I ALWAYS had seeds in my pocket, and I almost always had a few in my mouth.

I was like a messy frickin' parrot for a couple of months.

Now I can't stand sunflower seeds, but I don't smoke anymore.
(3 years quit)

[GOPisEvil]

42. My dad did the same thing with chewing gum.

He chopmed like crazy there for a while, but he's been smoke free for well over 5 years, and he looks and feels healthier!

[Another Bill C.]

7. 13 years without a smoke

I set a date but ran out of cigarets two days early so I quit then. I kept telling myself, "I used to do that but I don't any more." It was difficult but I haven't had one since. I still get a slight urge once in a while but I don't have any trouble overcoming it.

Exercise is a really good suggestion. Your body will want to put on weight so you have to counteract that by exercise. Don't try to satisfy your urge with candy. Use popcorn, pretzels, or something low-fat if you have to.

By walking and not smoking, you're going to start remembering how nice it was before you started. Next spring you'll smell flowers, grass, and rain like it was when you were a kid.

[HEyHEY]

8. Keep smokin

Hey maaan....fuck it

[Maddy McCall]

9. Thanks so much, everyone...

I am already drinking lots of water, and exercise is a part of my lifestyle, so I will add some sunflower seeds to my daily routine (do they come salt-free?)

Driving is another time that I light up. I have an 80 mile commute to work, and that is when I find the urge irresistable. I just want to be able to wake up in the morning and breathe freely again. I will report back to DU this weekend...

THANKS!

[this_side_up]

10. et tu, Jchild?

Me, too. I also picked Oct 1.

For me, I *know* I have to dump coffee at the same time
because, for me, they go hand-in-hand.

I plan on drinkiing lots of water, use the ski machine
and bicycle and reading books.

I will be using raw veggies as a substitute - radish,
celery, rutabaga, in other words crunchy stuff.

[Maddy McCall]

12. Sounds GREAT!

Let's stay in touch through PM to offer each other support! Ok?

[this_side_up]

27. OK!

Going to try and send you one now. (sigh) One of these
days maybe I should read all of the DU how to do this
and that.

Going veggie shopping Tues. a.m. and I am having
hot green tea instead of coffee tomorrow.

[Skip Intro]

11. Ride out the cravings!

They WILL pass.

When it hits you - just ride it out. A few minutes and it will pass. And they will become gradually less severe, and less frequent. Don't give into the cravings, they are always waning.

And remember that no amount of food or drink will give you that tobacco high. You just have to ride it out. Each day will be less trying than the next.

If you can get past the first couple of weeks, you should have it made.

Also, I think it is a good idea to write down five or so good strong reasons why you want to quit. And read that list every time you want to smoke. Actually write this and keep it and refer to it. I read this somewhere and I think it will help.

You CAN do it, if you WANT to do it.

[AmandaRuth]

13. IMHO...

body cravings will leave in a week, than it is a battle of the mind

after 6 months the mind cravings drop dramatically.

I have quit twice, the first time lasted about 6 months and I avoided all situations where I might have a beer bottle in my right hand. The 2nd time (and hopefully last) time I quit (ie now), I decided to go head on into every situation where I and others may be drinking and the others may be smoking and just get through it. And I am talking live music, live nfl, weddings parties, all that stuff. Sometimes I would simply have to leave the venue and get fresh air. Sometimes i would shove my hands under my shirt and just clasp them together. Sometime I would chew gum. Everytime it does get a little bit easier. IT is a real sense of acomplishment to say Hey I saw Blue Oyter Cult last night AND I DID NOT SMOKE (ciggies).

A big think about beer in the right hand situations, drinking is so SO much more fun without smoking, no really bad nasty hangovers. The morning after is not even like a morning after anymore.


Another thing is to think of the most oldest freepersih person you know who smokes, and remind yourself that is what you will look like if you keep it up. Especially if this person hacks alot.

Good luck, I was the most dedicated smoker you would ever want to meet and if I did it, you can.

[JitterbugPerfume]

15. If you yield to temptation

do not call yourself a failure

just start over with even more determination

Good luck

your efforts will be rewarded

[LynneSin]

16. No advise, just a hug for good luck

:hug:

First day of my diet (Atkins) and even survived through the house party (although I did eat plenty of cheese, deviled eggs and a few nuts which was more than what I needed but kept me off some great pastries available at the table.

:hug:

[SharonAnn]

17. Good decision! I quit 16 years ago after many years of smoking

and I've managed to stay "clean".

I had to see a pulmonologist before some major surgery 10 years ago and after the lung function test he was pleased with the results and said "Boy you sure can tell when someone's not a smoker!" I told him I'd quit only about 6 years ago and he said that was great, people should quit as soon as they can and realize that it won't be a snap but that it's the first few weeks that are the hardest.

And during the first few weeks I wasn't constantly thinking about smoking. Just occasionally, and then I'd have to do something to distract myself.

I changed my routines for a while so that I could avoid the "triggers". Didn't sit and have coffee after dinner, didn't stop for a drink after work, didn't talk on the phone (at home) from my usual chair. It really helped to just be in a different place or doing different things so that I was exposed to triggers much less frequently.

Good luck, you can do it!

[izzie]

18. Maybe I will do that. I have to buy them in NH. Me cost is just to high.

I love to smoke.

[no_hypocrisy]

19. Congratulations.

Please get regular lung scans to either make sure you don't have a diagnosis of cancer or to treat it before it becomes a threat.

I know what I'm talking about. My mother just died from lung cancer two months ago. The lung scan gave her extra time.

[WINEWOMAN7]

20. You have to want to quit smoking

If you make up your mind, you can quit. I quit 4 years ago after 30 years (quit once for 2 years) My husband was dying from emphyzema and I begged him to quit. We went to a stop smoking seminar 4 years ago, I have never picked up a cigarette since, he died 2 years ago from the effects of emphyzema. I'll never smoke again because of my life experience. You can quit only if you have the desire.

[BurtWorm]

21. I picked Oct. 2.

My daughter's 8th birthday. I'm :scared: .

[Maddy McCall]

22. My b'day is next week...

and my quitting is actually a gift to my son as well as to myself...he has begged me and I love him enough to do it for him.

So, Burt, let's stay in touch and help each other out!

:loveya:

[BurtWorm]

23. Happy birthday!

Okay, let's do it. :scared:

[DemBones DemBones]

25. Another tip: figure out how much $$$ you spend on cigarettes

every month and what you'll be able to do with all that extra money!!! That's how my husband and I quit years ago -- we figured out that we could afford to buy a brand new car if we added in our cigarette money with the other funds we had available! We had each other for support, too, and I think that's important. I think having people at DU who are quitting with you will help.

Good luck! :hi:

[Swede]

24. Stay away from booze for awhile

Smokin' and drinkin' go together like.....well,smokin' and drinkin'.

[VOX]

29. Excellent advice. Coffin nails and coffin varnish...

That first drink usually brings out the "Gimme a cigarette" devils.

[Hogarth]

26. In your left hand ...

... you could hold your other beer.

[VOX]

28. No magic way to avoid weight gain. It's simple math...

If you eat more than you burn off, you'll put on pounds. Watching what you eat and exercise is the only Rx for this, bitter as it is.

If you can stay off the coffin nails for enough time, they will probably lose their appeal. You may even wonder what it was in the first place -- they make your hair and fingers smell like burnt toast, they make your house reek, they kill your taste buds, stain your teeth, then there's that cancer thing...

A doc I went to suggested playing with rubber bands with my fingers when I craved a cigarette in the hand. Sounds silly, but it worked for me.

Hang in there, you can do it.

[evilgrin]

30. The crawlspace under your house

Can be excavated for a handy place to store the bodies of all the people you kill in your nicotine-deprived rage.

:evilgrin:

[Barad Simith]

31. I quit 5 years ago (after 21 years of smoking). Here's how I did it:

I quit 5 years ago, after 21 years of smoking. What you need to do is customize a plan that takes into account your own successes and failures. I wrote this after I had been cigarette-free for two years:

http://smithbrad.nventure.com/quit.htm

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

32. Smoke-Free for twenty years

I started walking (a lot) when I quit smoking. Just sitting around the house with nothing to do with my hands always made the urge flare up, so I just hit the street. Then I started running.

It worked and it's healthy.

[BiggJawn]

33. You picked a "QUIT Day"...That's great!

And you told us all, so we can bust your chops if you fail...

Just kidding. It's hard, you might not do it the first time, but you still have my admiration.
Just think of all the ill-gotten $$$$ you're screwing RJR out of!

Exercise! Drink lots of water, stay out of bars, take the $$$ you didn't blow on smoke and buy yourself healthy rewards (exercise clothes, new tyres for your bike, etc.)

Are you using anything to help? I used Zyban. IMO, it was a godsend! no cravings, no "backsliding" no nothing.

Welcome to the Pink Lung Posse!

[arwalden]

34. Regarding The Beers... Avoid "Smoking" Situations

I didn't go into a bar for a YEAR after I quit smoking. I drink a LOT less coffee now as well (because coffee and cigarettes went hand-in-hand as far as I was concerned.)

Weight gain? Expect it... don't sweat it. You can lose it later. --- I gained 30 pounds in 6 months and then lost 35 the following six months. --- Why? Because I snacked too much. The solution. QUIT SNACKING!

Use a nicotine patch. It helps with the withdrawal.

If you go patchless and gumless, then you'll be experiencing PHYSICAL withdrawals for about 2 or 3 days. --- After that, you're CLEAN. After that, any other (so-called) withdrawal symptoms are merely psychological. Your BRAIN wants a smoke, not your body.

Other helpful things:

Clean your monitor... look at that filmy crap!
Clean your car... look at that filmy crap!
Clean the windows in your house...
Clean the mirrors and photo-frame glass...

Repaint. --- Look behind some artwork that's been hanging in the same place for a long time. See that big WHITE spot on the wall? See the yellow stains around it?

Reward yourself with the savings. Do it right away!!! You don't have to do it forever... it's just nice to be able to have TANGIBLE PROOF that you're now saving money and that you have the OPTION to spend it on yourself, even if you end up saving it... or even if you end up letting it quietly go back into the general-fund.

GOOD LUCK!

-- Allen

[emad]

35. Day at a time worked for me...

Re: left hand problem: simple, just hold another beer!

[Crewleader]

36. jchild making up your mind to quit is the determination

to stop smoking. Burt and you have children that asked you to quit and I know in your hearts you know you don't want them to start and what example are you if you continue to smoke. Besides the second hand smoke is not good for them even when you make efforts not to smoke around them, it's still on you.

Ex-smokers can be the worse they say... but I'm being honest since I was a very long time smoker for 24 years and will be coming up on my 12th anniversary quitting smoking on January 13th. Why do I remember, I made it on my Dad's birthday because he was always after me to quit, he did after his first heart attack and didn't want me to suffer the same. My Dad died before I quit but in my heart it is a comfort to me that I did it on his birthday in his honor for the support he had for me to quit. Yes my son, I didn't want him to smoke and he asked me to quit too. Growing up I really never liked smoke in the first place...second hand was the worse can you remember as children when you were young and stuck in the car with both parents smoking in winter with windows closed and all you did was choke and cough...I hated it. But as a teenager joined my friends and everyone in the family smoked, there seemed to be no escape in those days but TODAY you have more support then ever.

I love it in Florida there is no longer any smoking inside but only outside so when you are eating your meal you don't get any smoke any longer and those smoking sections were never far away enough for me.
jchild and others trying to quit smoking will understand as soon as they are free of it. Just think the money you are going to save and the time you spent trying to light up that next one will be gone, they don't own you anymore, that addiction is GONE.You will live longer, quality of life will improve, your skin,your hair and even your voice with no more coughing and those spit ups no longer!

The biggest battle is making up your mind and determination will follow through but you've got to really want this and then it will all come together for you and you will be free of smoking forever!
No one will be more prouder then you then your son, let him take credit, mine certainly does and I am thankful for that!
My best to you and others, YOU CAN DO IT!!! :-)

[jenm]

37. You can do it!

Take deep breaths when cravings come and they peak, and then pass away. You will be so much healthier and you will feel so much better. Good luck.

[MissMillie]

38. Good website

www.quitnet.com

You'll find lots of information and support there, as well as a message board for people who are concerned about gaining weight when they quit smoking.

Good luck.

[denverbill]

40. I'll ditto quitnet.

It really helps to be able to talk to someone who knows exactly what you're going through and can truly commisserate. No matter how helpful non-smokers are, they don't really understand it.

You're doing the right thing by picking a date in the future to quit. It gives you time to mentally prepare yourself. Be sure prior to quitting, preferably on the day before your quit to
1) empty and wash all ashtrays, or throw them out. Same with lighters.
2) flush or crush any unused cigarettes
3) check the pockets of all coats, under car seats, and anywhere else you may stumble upon unused cigarettes. Get rid of them if you find any.
4) Stock up on mints, veggies, or whatever. Worry about quitting smoking first. Even if you gain a few pounds at first, it's still better than smoking.
5) Make a list of all the reasons you want to quit. During your quit, refer back to the list for encouragement.

Good luck. I'm 5 months as of tomorrow!

[Aristus]

39. I've been a non-smoker all my life, having lost two grandparents

to lung cancer and emphysema. So all I can offer you is my moral support and best wishes for your success. Go to it, jchild. You can beat this thing. I'm wit' chew! :thumbsup:!

[LanternWaste]

41. Use the patch and save yourself $17,000!

I've been off smokes for 7 days now. The ONLY thing that has made this easier than having teeth pulled out through my fingernails has been the nicotine patch.

Seems the smoking I've been doing since the summer of '84 has been a mental addiction, too. The patch is absolutely countering the physical cravings I have, but the habit of having the cigg in my hand, or smelling the fumes during morning coffee or while watching a movie are a wee bit more engrained in my head than I had ever thought. I'm still finding myself reaching for a cigg whenever I'm not concentrating on not smoking.

Nevertheless, the patch has been great! Zero physical cravings! O-kay, so my concentration has been reduced to that of a twelve year old and I'm so jumpy that I'm creepin' out my dog, but at least I'm going to save myself some money.

Did a mental calculator job a few days before I quit and realized that my pack-a-day habit has cost me (averaging the price of smokes over the years) to app. $17,000! Damn!

[chadm]

43. Even if you relapse...just keep trying

I quit chewing tobacco several years ago. It must have taken 5 or 6 serious attempts before it finally worked...but my point is that once I made up my mind to do so it was never fun and it was only a matter of time.

Same thing with a diet...if you fall off the horse...cool...just get back on the next day.