It's been over 4 hours since I had my last cigerette!

[jwhitesj]

This is really tough. I know 4 hours doesn't sound like a very long time, but I've been smoking a pack a day for more than 12 years. I'm using the patch, but I really want a cigerette. I'm on my way to a young democrats meeting, so that will help a bit. This is so hard, any advice.

[MiddleFingerMom]

1. I quit a 30-year habit that had grown to THREE packs a day by 1998.

.
.
.
Thirteen years ago. Cold turkey. No problems. No weight gain. No cravings. No grouchy,
nasty behavior. No nothin'.
.
.
Easy. But it took TWO FULL years of lying to myself that, "Any day now, I'm gonna quit."
.
.
My best advice to people for whom it's a horrendous experience?
.
.
You KNOW if you start again, you're going to want to quit again. Think a LITTLE bit about
the long term. You definitely do NOT want to put yourself through this misery again. You
do NOT want to put yourself through this much misery again.
.
.
The longer you're smoke-free, the easier it will get. You may deceive yourself about thst
(having an occasional bad day), but it's true. And the moment you have one cigarette, you're
almost certainly back to a pack-a-day in no time at all. And you will want to quit again...
and you almost certainly will -- and go through the SAME peak but slowly declining agony.
.
.
I've heard testimonials from many on this. I had quit cold turkey once before (2 packs a
day), was canvassing a neighborhood and got bored and stopped in a gas station and bought
a pack of cigarettes "just to have ONE".
.
.
THE NEXT DAY, I was back to 2 packs a day. BY THE NEXT DAY!!!!! It was somewhere in the
neighborhood of a DECADE before I was ready to quit sgain.
.
.
Right now, it may feel like your body is scratching its fingernails across the chalkboard
of your consciousness. It will get quieter and quieter and someday just be a distant bad
memory.
.
.
Promise yourself (every day ALL day if necessary at first) that you'll NEVER allow your
body to use those chalkboard fingernails again.
.
.
Good luck. You are CAPABLE of much more than you have ever imagined.
.
.
I guarantee that.
.
.
.

[applegrove]

2. Try the quitnet.com. Remember a crave only lasts for 2 or 3 minutes and then it is gone. Log onto

the quitnet and ask for help. Go for a walk. Eat a popsicle.

I quit after being a pack a day smoker for about 27 years. I used Chantix to do the initial quit. It separated the act of smoking from the pleasure centre of my brain. Then, a few months into my quit I started smoking herbal cigs when I had a bad crave. Those things are disgusting. Now whenever I think of smoking that yucky herbal cigarette sensation comes back to me and I don't have any real craves. I've been quit 3 years and I love it. My health is so much better. I feel so much better about the future.

Good luck. It is so worth it!!!

[rurallib]

3. think of the money you are saving!!!!!

what is a smoke these days? 30cents? adds up fast.

[murielm99]

7. It is more like $5.00 a pack where I live.

Some places are worse than that.

My husband still smokes.

I wish I could get him to quit.

[rurallib]

10. so, if you both smoke a pack a day, that's $10/day

so for a yer that is $3,650 that could buy some nice things.

[Xipe Totec]

4. Been there. Four hours is a miracle

I used to smoke two packs a day.

The first thing I did when I woke up was light up. The last thing I did before going to sleep was to put out my cigarette.

The first few hours were the longest hours in my life.

Then hours became days.

Days became weeks.

Weeks became months.

Months became years.

Years became decades.

And finally, decades became a way of life.

Hang in there.

It's all about your ego asserting control over your id.

[Lindsey]

6. Good for you! It's been a week and one day for me. Chantix

and the gum have really, really helped. In fact, it's time for another piece of gum now. :-)

[one_voice]

5. If going hour by hour gets you through 24 hrs...

then 48 and so on..then do it that way. I quit a year ago next month and the first 3 days were the hardest. I used pretzel rods, frozen grapes, straws and lollipops to help. My family was awesome in their support. DU was great too.

Take it one hour at a time. Each hour is a win.

Stay strong and good luck!!!

[pokerfan]

8. 6.5 months here

It gets better...

[Luciferous]

9. I don't have any advice, but I know how hard it is to quit. Hang in there!

:hug:

[rurallib]

11. Did you make it through the night & morning?

We are cheering for you!

[jwhitesj]

15. Unfortunately not

, I went' 10 hours without a cigerette, then I broke down and bought another pack. I gave the pack to my wife. I'm going to continue on my path of reducing number of cigerettes in a day for now. I went from a pack a day to half a pack and I'm handling that well. My wife is going to cut me back to 8 cigerettes today. So far I have only had 2, and it's 1:30 here.

[Xipe Totec]

30. Keep moving in that direction

:thumbsup:

[IBEWVET]

12. When the craving gets strong

Take a deep long inhale throuh your nose and then exhale through your mouth, do it twice. It worked with me, hope it helps. Good Luck

[Auggie]

13. I threw a tantrum at tobacco companies

:)

Honest -- the adrenalin worked wonders.

[jwhitesj]

16. I've tried this

It actually does help quite a bit. Thanks for the advice.

[lillypaddle]

14. I had better luck with the gum

it satisfied that oral fetish for me, and when I still got a craving, it gave me instant gratification like cigarettes did. Besides, I had such trippy dreams with the patch I had to stop them. All my dreams were like Broadway productions, in living color with music and dancing. Very weird, but I woke up exhausted every morning.

Good luck! You can do it.

[jwhitesj]

17. I've tried the lozenges

They work really wel but they give me a bad case of the hiccups.

[RebelOne]

20. I have a box of lozenges but have been reluctant to try them.

Did you have any side effects? That's what always worries me about trying something new. I smoke 2 packs a day and would love to get rid of these nasty cigarettes.

[lillypaddle]

21. That usually means

you are swallowing too much of the nicotine. Like the gum, the object is basically to "park" in in your cheek and let the nicotine be absorbed through the membranes of your cheek & mouth. Don't chew the gum as you would ordinarily do, couple of chews & then park it. I imagine it's the same with the lozenges.

[lillypaddle]

22. See my reply to jwhite

use them correctly and they will really help. Nothing completely replaces a cigarette, but these aids go quite a way toward helping kick the habit. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I quit for 5 years, and then, like a fool, started up again. Now have COPD (chronic bronchitis, thanks cigarettes) so I am using the gum once again. Everyone's different, of course, but I get the "original" flavor instead of mint or orange - I want to feel like I'm taking in nicotine. Oh, I'm a sick puppy, all right, but smoked since I was 17 and at least 2 packs a day. Good luck! Don't give up, and if you fall off the wagon, get back on and don't hate yourself.

[lillypaddle]

23. This reply was meant for RebelOne

Guess I'm talking to myself again! :)

[LNM]

18. 21 + hours now!

Keep up the good work. I used the gum and it worked for me 3 years ago. Keep in mind what MFM stated upthread.
NEVER say you can have just one. It just doesn't work.

[Ahpook]

19. Try the E-cigs

I started using one and haven't wanted anything else since. You still get the nicotine, but I can't even describe how much better I feel.

Like a new person :)

[rurallib]

24. my quitting story is: deep breaths whenever there's an urge.

it really worked. been @37 years now.
deep breaths are free and always available. About 10 should stop the craving.

[bigwillq]

25. I'm using the E-Cig

It works pretty well for me.
You can hold it, inhale smoke (water vapor) and exhale smoke (water vapor).


I started last Sunday. Was smoke free Mon, Tues, Wed, had a few cigs on Thursday, was smoke free Fri-Sat-Sun and had a few cigs yesterday (Monday).

I was a pack-a-day smoker, so I feel a few smokes every couple of days is some progress. I really want to quit for good and I think this might be it!! I WANT to QUIT this time. That is the difference from the previous times I tried.

Good luck! :hug:

[jwhitesj]

26. what brand are you using?

[bigwillq]

27. Nuvocig

Nuvocig.com for more info.

[Skittles]

28. stop saying I REALLY WANT A CIGARETTE

you DON'T really WANT one - you don't WANT to SMOKE AT ALL, or you wouldn't be TRYING TO QUIT. REPHRASE your craving to "MY ADDICTION WANTS ME TO FEED IT". Then FIGHT that addiction. Believe me, those cravings do not last NEARLY as long as you think - and you have fewer and fewer as time goes on. KEEP YOURSELF CONSTANTLY BUSY those first three days. LOOK UP the WHYQUIT web site and read some of their stuff for motivation. DO IT!!!

[pokerfan]

29. Craig Ferguson explains how to quit smoking

I used to smoke. I tried to quit many times. I tried everything. Hypnosis, aversion therapy, visualization. I finally realized the trick. This is trick. It will work every time: Stop putting cigarettes in my mouth and lighting them! (Applause) I know! That's what it is. You go, 'Oh, no, I really want cigarette.' That's what it feels like! And then when you really want the cigarette, you don't have it! 'You can't write a book about that.' Exactly!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgFtFU_VGVA

[Incitatus]

31. I haven't had one in a month.

I quit cold turkey. The cravings are almost gone and not as bad when I do get them. The first two weeks were hell, then it slowly got better.

[rurallib]

32. How goes the battle?

[zanana1]

33. Get some hard candy--quick!

I quit using the patch and sucking on hard candy. It helped to have something in my mouth.