Really need your Best Wishes, Saturday begins stage 3 of my Great Smoke Out...

[JeffreyWilliamson]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4864973

For anyone who remembers that thread, I gave up smoking for the Inauguration back on the 20th, (but technically I called it quits half way through the 19th). It's been 18 days. The first week I used the 4mg lozenges, and this week I used the 14mg patches. The switchover was a pain, but it worked itself out. This is in line with my evil master plan of stepping down to cold-turkey, and mirrors the best luck I've had with quitting in the past. From that thread:

The best run I've had was two years ago. I used the gum, but the bills got tight so I had to go cold turkey. I had a few patches left over from the year before, so I used them for a few days to help ease the transition. After those patches ran out, and after a very difficult weekend, I made it to the other side. That time it almost stuck--9 months.

The re-do of that difficult weekend is ahead. Saturday I will use the last patch, and Sunday I will be nicotine free. The first three days, from what I remember, will be a living hell of sorts, but after that, it will become easier. I have friends coming down for Mardi Gras the weekend of the 21st and hope to impress them. I'm confident by then I will have come out of most of the withdrawal symptoms. It is my hope that, as with the last time, cutting my nicotine intake in half each week for two weeks will help cut the withdrawal pains...

For anyone who's addicted to smoking, I advise you to try and quit. Over the years I've explained my habit away as something I can't quit, "because things are too stressful now", or rationalized the habit as "something that I really enjoy doing". Every time friends and family have begrudgingly accepted those excuses as I coughed away in front of them. Each time I felt embarrassed and knew it needed to stop.

I stopped coughing every 10 minutes about a week ago. And just so that's clear for my fellow smokers--I don't cough until that phlegm that's stuck in my lungs comes up anymore, and that's after a 15 year habit. After about 20-days, I wake up without grabbing that paper box and lighter before I do anything else, (although that cup of coffee has moved from second priority to first). There are tough moments, but it's worth it, and I advise anyone out there thinking about quitting to do so before it's too late.

(Mods - I was originally planning on posting something similar to this in the Lounge in another week, but after the tobacco tax threads here today, thought it might be worth posting in GD.)

[defendandprotect]

1. Licorice worked for me -- smoked 30 years . . .

get off as fast as possible -- stay away from other people who smoke ---

Very damaging to your health -- and any kids around you?

[JeffreyWilliamson]

3. No kids but a partner and pets...

About 3 days ago my sinuses cleared and I started to smell it coming out of the walls, carpets, and drapes. The house will need a serious deep cleaning before those friends come down in a couple of weeks.

God only knows what I've forced the partner and pets to inhale on the other end of the filter...

[defendandprotect]

4. Everything will be cleaner --- clothing, walls, etc. ---

You'll hate the smell of tobacco on other people ---

Good luck --

:)

[JeffreyWilliamson]

6. I already hate the smell...

My next door neighbor came up to me when I got home from the grocery store last night. He had a cigarette in his hand, and it smelled awful to me--I took that as a sign of success.

After talking to him I went inside the house, and was hit with that same stale, smoke smell. That's when I knew my lungs and sinuses were really clearing themselves of the stuff.

It's going to be quite a chore getting that smell out of everything, but I suppose it's what I deserve after exposing everyone I care about to it. I'll clean it out willingly, reminding myself of what I've subjected others to all the way...

[ipfilter]

32. I quit 12 years ago.

My in-laws chain smoke with no windows open. I can't stay in their house for more than five minutes. If they even step foot in my house I can smell them for hours after they leave. I think an ex-smoker becomes hyper sensitive to that smell. Perhaps that's our bodies way of keeping us from putting those toxins back into our bodies.

[roguevalley]

41. how about taste and smell? great isn't it. :)

[Betsy Ross]

2. Hang in there, you're doing so good. n/t

[JeffreyWilliamson]

8. Thank you, and love the screen name...

[corruptmewithpower]

5. I woke up in the hospital ICU four days after passing out in the ER

from dehydration after two weeks of the squirts. It didn't take long to realize there was no place to grab a smoke and I wasn't smoking, but I had no urge for a cigarette. My doctor had the forsight to prescribe the patch while I was unconsious. I never smoked again, though every once in a while I have the urge. I ignore that urge for I know one pack could never be enough.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

7. When I was 18 I had pneumonia and missed my high school graduation...

Or so the doctor thought it was pneumonia. I had just come back from a trip visiting burial grounds out west, and think that I may have picked up the Haunta Virus--this was in Spring 1993, during the outbreak in the Western US. I was in the ICU, being forced fluids through an IV, and the doctor admitted that his only guess was that it was pneumonia, and so my prior activities and his lack of positive test results, and my spectrum of symptoms, are what has left me with the Haunta Virus suspicion--I was exactly at the right place at the right time, and demonstrated the major symptoms. But, that's another story...

I had a very bad infection a few years later and went to another doctor. He ordered X-Rays, and showed me the scar tissue in my lungs left over from the previous infection. He warned me then that if I didn't quit smoking that I would further damage my lungs, and that I was opening myself up to a future infection that I wouldn't be able to beat. I should have listened then.

Anyway, back when I was in the hospital during the "pneumonia" crisis in 1993, I couldn't smoke. This was right after I had first started. As soon as I had gotten out and felt well enough, I picked up a pack and started again. If I had only let it go then--it was so early into the habit that my time in the ICU had effectively broken the habit...

[corruptmewithpower]

38. My lungs are not so good either. Smoked cigarettes over thirty years and

meth for ten. Then I had a stroke and that REALLY took my breath away. Still I smoked, though i did quit smoking meth. I could hardly breath at all but I smoked cigarettes until that hospital stay. Once you have two weeks of smoking cessation under your belt, you should be able to stay off tobacco, but resist your urges. You will occasionally have them for a very long time, so don't buy any smokes, don't bum a smoke, don't be around them. Just quit for good.

[bigtree]

9. quit in '83

I had smoked for 11 years.

It can happen. Best of luck :toast:

[JeffreyWilliamson]

17. You quit 10 years before I started, and Kudos to you for it!

I hope to follow you down that road. I've tried several times, and always failed within one year. This time, I plan on building upon my successes past and getting it right.

I would be curious about one thing--do you ever have any cravings at all, even in the present? Is it possible to quit for so long that in the end it's as if you had never started, or are you tempted at all?

The most I have stopped for is about 9 months, and I have to admit that while the temptations were very rare by month 9, it only took one strong urge at that point to ruin it for me. I would really love to hear that after a certain point one can truly be nicotine-addicted-free.

[gratefultobelib]

31. Yes--you can truly be nicotine-addicted-free. I speak from experience. It's

been many years since I quit. For a long time I would dream I was smoking and it was terrific--such a lovely feeling! Then I would wake up and be flooded with relief that it was just a dream! You can do this!

[ipfilter]

33. I was addicted to Copenhagan before I started smoking.

I still have dreams that I'm trying to dig out a big plug of snuff from my lips. In my dream, I'm always gagging trying to get the stuff out of my mouth. It's always a relief to wake up from those.

[bigtree]

42. my hands

The cravings can always be replaced by foods and mild meds. But the habit is the thing to crack. I found that I needed to keep my hands occupied. I constantly fiddle with stuff. It's really all about self-gratification and finding a substitute which will keep your attention and, hopefully, trigger that anticipatory rush of adrenaline which used to precede a light-up. Your choice, though. Try not to be too hard on yourself. This doesn't have to be about punishing yourself. Just find another less harmful distraction. Best of luck! :hi:

[LoZoccolo]

10. My advice to you is keep busy with fun.

It's good that you are doing this on a Saturday. I noticed that for me the nic-fits would seemingly enhance whatever I was feeling. So if I was stressed, I'd get anxious and irritated. But if I was having fun, it would turn into this giddiness which wasn't really all that bad. It's like I got this raw stimulation from the withdrawal that seemed to follow my natural feelings.

I had a little help quitting though: I had been diagnosed with a mild cardiomyopathy after I woke up with atrial fibrillation one day. All that stuff may or may not have been related, but smoking wasn't going to make it better, so I figured I really better quit this before things get really bad (I was only twenty-seven at the time). Like if I smoked now I'd end up thinking about how scary it was having my heart go all crazy that one morning and get too worried to continue. Plus you just get used to not having all that smoke around and like it that way.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

12. I know that one thing I plan on doing is cleaning...

Not so sure that will be fun, but it will help. I commented upthread that the smell has gotten into my house, and that I will have to really do a serious deep cleaning to get rid of it.

Starting Saturday, with friends coming in a couple of weeks, I know that I plan on using cleaning activities to help fight the urges as I come down off the last of the nicotine.

Saturday, feel the initial urges - Time to clean out all the closets...
Sunday, really need a crutch - Pine-Sol the walls...
Monday, can't bear it anymore - Wash the rugs and curtains by hand and hang them out to dry...

This is how I beat it last time--by keeping a list of what had to be done, and not just doing those things, but rather waiting until the urges hit to do them in order to keep my mind distracted.

The big thing to me has always been finding myself in that odd situation later. I can always seem to kick the habit initially, but it's when I, say, go out with friends to a club, that really sends me for a loop. I have to stop doing that if I want this to stick.

That may be the final obstacle that I face, as it usually is. This time, I may face that temptation by posting here, and having all of you remind me how far I've come, and how stupid giving in and going out may be...

[ipfilter]

34. Once a smoker, always a smoker.

One drag and you will fall off the wagon.

[underseasurveyor]

11. 1 to 2 pack a day smoker for over 30 years

Year and a half smoke free and I don't miss it at all.

I'm FREE:bounce:

And my goodness I can breathe so much easier and it's only getting better. I can do a 5 mile jog on the elliptical no prob:-) Hell in high school I couldn't run a quarter mile.

GREAT GOING :fistbump:

[JeffreyWilliamson]

19. You are my model then...

I hope to be exactly where you are in 1 1/2 years. As for me, I have a bike that I have used only rarely. I am hoping that it will provide a welcome distraction in the coming months, and that like with your jog, it won't bother me any more to ride a few miles. I've wanted to find a job where I can commute to work on that bike.

Have you ever tried to ride a bike while smoking a cigarette, or when after going one block you have to stop to cough? It's not fun. I am hoping that my quitting will be permanent for me this time, and that it will open new doors for me health-wise and green-living-wise.

[underseasurveyor]

22. Don't say things like

"I am hoping that my quitting will be permanent or me this time"

Refer to yourself NOW as a non-smoker and that you are D-U-N done! Not as someone who is in the process of quitting because you HAVE quit and you are tobacco free.

You are now JeffreyWilliamson the NON-smoker:fistbump:

You know it's funny to me in a way because, now, it feels like I've never smoked. I truly feel like I've been a non-smoker all my life.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

23. Very, very good...

I am Jeffrey Williamson the non-smoker. Very good advice.

[UpInArms]

29. really a great way to put it -

You know it's funny to me in a way because, now, it feels like I've never smoked. I truly feel like I've been a non-smoker all my life.

I smoked for 35 years - 4 packs a day at my worst - and now ...

You know it's funny to me in a way because, now, it feels like I've never smoked. I truly feel like I've been a non-smoker all my life.

[pop goes the weasel]

13. tobacco on the walls

Many years ago, when I was young and dinosaurs ruled the earth, I had a summer job with a maid service. One job we were sent to was an annual cleaning at the enormous home of two chain smokers. We were to wipe down everything. Upon entry, I noticed that they had decorated in an antiqued Spanish mission style. My first task was to wipe down the smoked-glass of the china cabinet. Strike that--the glass was supposed to be clear. I found that out as I changed bucket after bucket of water, removing a year's worth of tobacco stain from that piece of furniture, each bucket going from clear to brown in a matter of moments. I quickly ran out of clean cloths to wipe things down. The process was repeated throughout the house. Furniture, walls, knick-knacks--all required buckets of soapy water and several man-hours of elbow grease to be even partially restored to their original color and luster. It was truly vile.

[JeffreyWilliamson]

15. It's completely vile...

And if I could nominate a single post, this would be it...

Smokers, (like myself), have a habit of fooling ourselves that our addiction isn't that bad--we rationalize it, we defend it, we attempt to justify it. Buckets of soapy water. Serious work to clean it all off. The tar we inhale and exhale can stain all the things around us, and ruin them. Many things can be cleaned, but many have to be thrown out. I've thrown out many sets of curtains after I've tried to quit...

The walls are the most disgusting thing to me. Last time I quit for about 9 months, and no matter what I cleaned, or how much I cleaned it, the stink was still there. I finally realized the smell was coming from the walls themselves. After much cleaning I finally discovered that only scrubbing the walls with Pine-Sol could fix the probem.

If it takes Pine-Sol to remove the products of your habit, then you know your habit's unhealthy...

[Starry Messenger]

14. Hang in there!

I quit in April. I thought I'd never be able to quit. The "quitter's flu" was nasty and the sense of doom lingered for quite a while. It's tempting to start again sometimes when things get stressful, but it was so damn hard to quit, I vowed never to put myself through it again. I relied on an internet "quit meter" my first few months to keep me sane. Good luck on your journey. I also found blogging about quitting was helpful, too. :hug:

[JeffreyWilliamson]

20. I know that one thing that has helped me in the past...

And that I will use again, are websites that explain the symptoms of withdrawal versus duration of withdrawal symptoms. I am a very rational person, and sites outlining the withdrawl process in a scientific manner have helped to keep me calm while the process has moved forward. I have several bookmarked for reading very soon.

Last time when I rapidly tapered off, followed by going cold-turkey, one of the things that helped me most was reading up on the process of nicotine withdrawal and how long those symptoms last. Turns out, nicotine takes about 72 hours to leave a person's system, and that coincides with the peak of withdrawal symptoms. After those first days, the withdrawal symptoms diminish, and it becomes easier as time goes one.

My point is, it's easier to keep yourself off the drug when you can read material explaining that there is a set number of hours that you will feel the withdrawal symptoms, after which things will gradually return to normal. Reading those sites has helped me cope before, and I hope they will help me cope again, by reminding me that if I can make it through a few hours, I will be home-free for the most part...

[Trajan]

16. I am at 36 days without cigarettes ...

It's a 39 year record .... (started smoking @ age 13)

I am now chewing 4mg gum (Target - Box of 170 @ $39.99) ...

Now I need to start reducing the number of gums used per day, and some 6 weeks into this, switch to 2mg gum ....

At least: That is what the 'regular' usage of gum is supposed to look like ....

I have been chewing gum for a few years now, and I need to get off that addiction as well ...

Your absolutely correct about the increased breathing capacity and reduced 'crud' development .... My lungs are clear, and it didnt take very long either .... Within 2 weeks, I was breathing deep ....

Yeah ... It's hard, but not impossible, and it's worth it ...

Congrats ....

[JeffreyWilliamson]

18. Congrats to you...

And I just added you to my Buddy List--which is a first.

Those 170 pieces of gum are sure cheaper than $45.00 per carton of cigarettes, and lung cancer risk, aren't they?

It's kind of cool not having that crud coming up all the time, isn't it? And I've noticed that every time I've tried to quit, my lung capacity recovered within that 2 week period. And as for your comment of "breathing deep", I definitely couldn't do that a few weeks ago without coughing--but I'm proud to say that I can now.

As for yourself, what do you do to pass the time when you feel an urge? I am planning on cleaning up around here for company that is coming in about 2 weeks. One time when I tried to quit I used a weight machine and exercised when I felt an urge. My rule was, "Work out until the burn overcomes the other burn".

Is this the first time you have tried to quit, and if not how long have you gone for in the past? What methods do you use to distract yourself from any cravings?

[underseasurveyor]

24. Bravo for you

Personally I still use the lozenges after a year and a half and I don't feel the need to wean myself off anytime soon either. Someday I will but after smoking for 30+ years I don't think sucking on a few lozenges a day for a couple years after quitting is going to hurt. I figure no need to rush it..

Anyway congrats to you too:fistbump:

[readmoreoften]

21. 2 packs of unfiltered camels a day by age 19. Quit before nicotine replacement was available.

I'd been smoking regularly since 12. What got me through was this:

"Whether you choose to go back to smoking and ruin your health
or whether you choose to hold out and stay smoke free...
Either way, the craving you feel will pass."

Keeping that in mind, I figured, I might as well go for another ten minutes, another hour, and those hours became days. By a week, it was all mental. By a month, I was over it except that I smoked every night in my dreams for about a year.

Been off the cigarettes for almost 20 years now. You can do it. Chew tea-tree oil toothpicks. Breath deep. Stay away from coffee or any other drink that you coupled with your smokes.

[ezgoingrl]

25. You can do it!

My parents smoked for years, with my dad smoking for a little over 50. Both of them have been non-smokers for going on 4 years now. I'm not saying it was easy, but if my Dad can stop anyone can. He smoked over a pack a day! They did just like you are used a combination of lozenges and patches! Something that helped them was getting some anti-anxiety medication from our family dr, helped take the edge off.

[marions ghost]

26. you can do it

we used to call my Dad "the chimney"--it was awful being around him because he was literally a chain smoker (since age 20). When he was 60 he decided he wanted to live to 80, so he quit cold turkey. He didn't use patches, although I know they can help a lot. Well Dad just passed his 80th birthday (and now his goal is 100). He says he feels sorry for smokers now. If my dad could quit I really think anyone can if they make up their mind to, but it is a tough addiction--just as addictive as heroin. Keep fighting.

On the down side, my 17 year old nephew has taken it up for some stupid reason. :cry:

[UpInArms]

27. hang in there!

I 2 1/2 years smoke free - and wow!

it's so worth the struggle

to not give my hard earned dollars to corporations whose entire goal is to kill me slowly

[canichelouis]

28. Hypnosis

It really really works----for a highly motivated individual.

Can't imagine why it's not touted more.

Find a reputable person in your town.

Best thing I ever did.

[ima_sinnic]

30. 15 years smoke-free after a 30-year habit. Some tips:

-- somewhere I read that an urge will pass in 60 seconds if not rewarded. Try it. Make yourself postpone giving into an urge to smoke. Drink some water. Do some deep breathing. Do a couple of jumping jacks, or walk briskly for a couple of minutes (heh, especially if you're at work and jumping jacks would look kinda weird). Someone said upthread that he or she did postpone giving into urges for longer and longer periods and it worked. It's true--the only reason smoking becomes an ingrained habit is because that urge is continually rewarded.
-- I don't remember how long it took, but I have not had an urge to smoke for a long time. At some point, not even that long after smoking my last cigarette, I objectively and dispassionately watched a guy smoking at the laundromat. I saw how completely stupid it was. He was actually sucking SMOKE into his LUNGS--sheesh! I could see that tobacco was controlling him, rather than the other way around. In your mind, when seeing other people smoke, put yourself in the picture and see how other people would see you: doing damage to yourself, being controlled, wasting money to kill yourself, doing something so weird as to purposely suck smoke, aging yourself, etc.
-- pamper yourself. give into other cravings, for example, for candy (sucking on hard candy is excellent for substituting for smoking, by the way). don't worry too much about gaining weight, because the urge to eat and overindulge in other ways will pass, and with your new energy you can work out more, walk more, and be more active, and your weight will get back to "your" correct weight. Be sensible with the candy thing, that's all. Admittedly, candy can be bad for your teeth as well as your weight, so consider carrot and celery sticks, then. Stock up on all kinds of reasonably healthy snacks, because you will want to eat more for a while.
-- recognize that you might be moody, or grouchy. know when to avoid people for that reason. your body is going through changes, but it will adjust to its new self.
-- eat lots of broccoli. I can't remember the reason, exactly, but broccoli has compounds (probably cruciferens, also in cabbage, kale, and cauliflower) that help with withdrawal.
-- take a lot of showers. It's impossible to smoke in the shower, and it helps to maintain that clean feeling.
-- take a lot of naps. I remember feeling sleepy a lot when I was quitting. Again, you can't smoke when you're sleeping, and your body is "processing" things while you sleep.
-- chew lots of minty gum. That was another thing that helped me, though gum-chewing is not acceptable everywhere, of course. The minty taste is so much better than the taste of nicotine.
-- get some pictures somewhere of cancer-ridden lungs and other maladies caused by smoking. this was one of the biggest motivators for me. whip them out when you feel an urge to smoke, or even post them around your house as reminders.
-- do consider yourself a nonsmoker. you're not "trying to quit," you simply don't smoke. period.
-- avoid bars for a while.
-- take up a hobby like knitting that uses both hands rather intensively. If you're male--men knit! (at least one man keeps a blog about knitting; I'll find you the link if you want)

Your idea of cleaning a lot is great. A couple of years ago, after moving to a new place, I unpacked some old curtains that I'd always liked but had not used for at least 20 years. They were all yellowed! But a run through the washer restored them. A few years ago I also took a close look at a lot of the books I'd been carting around for years, paring down the junk I'd been compulsively carrying around, and realized just how yellowed they were, also. So traces of your nicotine-filled past might still turn up years later.

As a nonsmoker, you will smell tobacco on people. Just grin to yourself and feel glad that you no longer smell that way. Your hair will no longer get stringy and smelly after only one day, your teeth will no longer get brown and dingy, and your body will not constantly be going into alarm mode as it struggles to deal with yet another onslaught of nicotine and particulates.

Hang in there, the patch worked for me, finally, after many "false quits" over the years.

[ferrous wheel]

35. Hang in there. I have no magic solution but I know quitting is possible.

I smoked 2+ packs a day for 49 years...quit in August 2007. I ran out one day and was about to jump in the car to go buy more and I thought "how fucking stupid is this?"...so I just stopped. For years I heard how horrifically difficult it would be and I was
amazed that it wasn't hard at all. Best of luck!

[burythehatchet]

36. Stopped on the day after Thanksgiving. SO I guess about 40 days now.

No gum, no patch, nothing except two weeks on Chantix. Last few days have been difficult.

[DevonRex]

37. Remember after this that just ONE cigarette or cigar is all it takes to start again.

Just like an alcoholic with booze: It's the FIRST drink that's too much. For a smoker who quits, it's the FIRST cigarette that hooks you again.

Some folks think that because they were successful in quitting one time, that they could be successful quitting again. My experience is that it was harder to quit each time. So, take this blessing you have been given, being able to quit, and run with it and NEVER look back no matter what.

[applegrove]

39. Best wishes on your quit. This is a very important thing you are doing. And a few weeks into it..

you'll be so proud of your quit. I know. I quit this past June and by July I was over it.

[a kennedy]

40. Hang in there......you'll make it....

here are my stats:

My Quit Date: 5/2/2005
Smoke-Free Days: 1376
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 27,532
Amount Saved: $6880
Life Gained:
Days: 194 Hrs: 1 Mins: 29 Seconds: 20

go on this website, it really helped me get through some tough times.....

http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/

good luck..... :hug: :grouphug: :fistbump:

[jazzjunkysue]

43. Stay with it!!! Drop the master from your life! Do anything except smoke.