Smoking not allowed!

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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 12:40 am

I've tried quitting about 3 times, I don't smoke longer and longer each time I quit. I've heard it takes an average of 7 times to actually quit for good. It's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. It's my only regret. I wish I never would have inhaled my first drag.

Anyway, I started taking Chantix...works pretty good (it's expensive, but not in the long run). Once it gets into your system, you have a smoke and you don't get the peak in nicotine, basically the nicotine doesn't effect you so it's pointless to smoke. I went to vegas for three days, hammered the whole time, and didn't even have a drag.

I would recommend it to anyone having a hard time. Good luck!

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 12:59 am

Try this:

1. Resolve to smoke only hard-to-find brands, not readily available. Picayunes come to mind.

2. Resolve to smoke only ciggies that smell like a dozen dead skunks when allowed to molder in the ashtray.

Benson & Hedges and Tareyton satisfy both of the above.

3. Smoke only the most expensive, foul-tasting cigarettes you can find such as Gitanes Brunes.

4. Resolve to buy cigarettes at the farthest convenience store, and only at 3 AM.
This will make you get up, dress, and use $4/gallon gasoline to get to the 7-11 twelve miles away.

5. Of course, first you'll have to convince the 7-11 manager to stock your brand.

6. After you get disgusted with paying $9 a pack and quit buying them,
the 7-11 employees will come to your house and beat the snot out of you.

7. They don't allow smoking in hospitals. Voila! You are cured!

"It's easy to give up smoking. I've done it a thousand times."
Mark Twain

Master Baiter Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 130

3digitty wrote:

Anyway, I started taking Chantix...

I take it to, be aware of the side effects. I have horrible nightmares every night from it. But figure they are better than the alternative of smoking. It is very effective for me in not smoking.

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 3:23 am

I don't really have nightmares...very vivid dreams though. And it makes my stomach hurt for a bit after I take it, even when I eat first. But like you said, better than smoking.

Master Baiter Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 130

I get the stomach thing too, but not bad enough to slow me down.. Just a slight discomfit. I have tried on an empty stomach, take then eat, eat then take, full glasses of water. It never seemed to matter. But like I said, minor and short lived.

As a side note, I drink less too. Not intentional, just don't feel like that beer after work.

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 6:25 am

I never would quit for more than a week by using gums, and patches, and pils. When I quit cold turkey I stayed that way for over a year until I changed jobs and ALL my new co-workers sat around and smoked all day. Was too hard to resist. Now I still smoke but its about 5 - 10 cigs per day. Which is way better than I used to be but I still want to quit for good. I remember noticing a huge difference in the way I felt healthwise after quitting for awhile.

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 9:39 am

Today is my 11th Quit anniversary. Giving up the ciggies was just about the most difficult task I ever undertook but definitely am very happy I did so. I don't want to put a dampner on anyone else's comittments to give up smoking but I still have "smoking' dreams even now and the very rare urge to light up.

It's still very definitely worth it!

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 12:38 pm

I just made 3 weeks smoke-free. You (or better yet I) would think this would be getting easier and easier by now. Sunday, I woke up wanting a cigarette, badly. Usually it will go away for me in about 5-10 minutes. Not this time. It grew worse and worse. I think the reason it got worse was the fact I kept thinking about it. I went out and cut the grass. That helped for a while, but the craving kicked back in. I drove to the gas station to get some beer, and there THEY were, in all their glory, behind the attendant. 100's of brands. Shiny packages. I asked for a pack of my favorites, Marlboro Lights. He put them on the counter next to the beer and rang them up. As I opened my wallet to get the money out, I came to my senses and told him to put the cigarettes back. Whew! I damn near blew it. This is much harder than I gave it credit for during the first two weeks. But, on the plus side, I did not smoke. I really need this to end.......soon.

Now to the good stuff.........525 cigs NOT smoked, and an extra $105.00 in my wallet. Very Happy

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 2:05 pm

Harry, this should help:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28975

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 10:01 pm

Edit to add ^^^That's hilarious and stupid all at once. Laughing

I have quit for up to 6 months before. One thing to watch out for when you get further along is thinking that you can just have one here and there. After being smoke free for 6 months I said to myself "Oh, maybe I'll just have one or two when I'm drinking." Next thing I know I'm back to a pack a day and have to start all over again. It's the she shittiest thing in the world, that a little stick I light on fire has so much control over me.

** SUSPENDED ** Joined: 26 Mar 2005 Posts: 1267

Tonight, my grandma / my mom's mother died.

I did smoke basically all day, but tomorrow I'm going to put it in my grandmothers name that I'm going to quit. since she never smoked, and was a very good person. The funeral will be hard on me, but I'll cope with it..

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 5:12 am

^^ I'm sorry to hear that Radden.

As I've not been posting here for a while I want to leave a little update.
I've been steadily decreasing the number of cigarettes each day and will shorty be dropping them completely.

And then let's see if I'll make it through.

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 10:54 am

Sorry about your grandmother Radden. Sad

Hope you can kick it.

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 10:24 pm

My sympathies, Radden.

Harry: Well done, you ugly red fella. Stick at it. You should notice a slow but sure upturn in your overall physical condition once the withdrawal symptoms start wearing off. I noticed that most nights I'd sleep better as well.

on the subject, I tried nicotine patches for a while. They gave me hilariously vivid dreams. it was GREAT. best side effect EVER. nobody on earth makes films that wierd, i loved it. i felt knackered the next day though, i wasn't sleeping well.

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 12:44 am

@Harry, et al. Congratulations!

I'm quitting too. Everyday I quit all over again. Last smoke was in January sometime. My inspiration was my boys. Realized that if I don't quit, I'll never live to see my grandkids and might not make it to college graduation.

I've "quit" a bunch of times over the last 26 years. My advice - don't smoke anything, ever. Not even one. It's a VERY slippery slope. You'll smoke 1. Then a few weeks later, 1. Then you'll decide you've got it beat. Then a few weeks later, 2. Then you'll buy that pack and it's all-she-wrote.

Staying quit is a lot easier than starting quit. Hang in there.
- vdj

EDIT: Estimates say each cig not smoked = 11 minutes to life expectancy.