I'm trying to quit smoking

[mwmorph]

Well I used to be a social smoker, 1 cigarette a day or less, maybe a cigar now and then, so it took me about a month to go through a pack of cigarettes. Well in the last few weeks, due to stress and whatnot, it's stepped up, first to 2, then 3 a day and for the last few days it's been 6 and yesterday it was a full half a pack.

So yeah, screw that, I'm semi-athletic, not good enough to get on the DI-A college team but overall I'm better than most and I'm not going to let my body go down that path.

Yesterday night I told my roommate to hid the cigarettes from me and now I've got a hell of a headache and coughing. Has anyone else quit? What's it like? How long does it last? Do more symptoms show up? Do the symptoms get worse as time goes on? If I smoke socially after quitting(hookah or a cigarette occasionally) will I have these problems again?

TIA

 

[TeeJay1952]

I smoked through Aqua Filters and tried Low Tar smokes and never had any success. Ran in to a buddy and noticed he wasn't smoking. Asked him his secret and it was "Quit lighting them up!" I was shocked and amazed at his simple idea but I applied it and after a couple of days it was all no big deal. You just have to do it and stick to it. Seems simple but everything else is sort of like thinking that you are only going to scratch a mosquito bite "just this once."

 

[Auggie]

Exactly the same way I started. First pack I had so long I eventually destroyed the cigarettes just from wear and tear. Now I'm up to a third- or half-pack a day.

It's expensive and it makes you feel bad. I also bike 20 miles roundtrip to/from work... so the cigs just are NOT helping.

I think the thing about quitting is simply that you have to REALLY want it. Until you REALLY want to quit, even smoking aids won't help you. I know for me, smoking is just a "habit" - something I do when I have 5 free minutes here in the lab and it's sunny outside. Which is to say that it's super easy to just have a smoke kinda by default, once you start. Kicking the habit involves dedicating yourself to finding other things to plug up the hole where you used to smoke. My friend said that chugging a diet soda or chewing a fat wad of gum can sometimes substitute for the smoking... personally I'm not sure if just a soda would placate my cravings.

But, good luck, fellow smoker. Good luck.

 

[StageLeft]

Many quit cold turkey. You've not been doing this long. Comparitively it will be easy, but what you have working against you is a good mindset because I question anybody who's your age (I presume you are not 16) and who started smoking and so quickly let themselves fall apart like this. You really ought to know better. I would urge you to foment a feeling of much-deserved self-hatred and disgust and use it to maintain resolve.

 

[dainthomas]

Find something else to put in your mouth.

 

[FoBoT]

Any tips?

don't come within 10 feet of cigarettes
you can't smoke them if you don't have any/there are none available

good luck!!

 

[XJustMeX21]

i quit after smoking a pack a day for 8 years. Really the only tips i can give you are stay busy for the first 2 or 3 days. Also find some healthy snacks i used green peppers and carrots but whatever works for you is best. One thing that helped me is when a craving would hit me i would do a 15 minute excercise routine and most times by the time i was done with that it had passed.

Good Luck.

 

[m1ldslide1]

Only a few days? Get out of here. I don't want to hear your bitching. Just get pissed off, exercise more, eat better, buy a couple of packs of gum, and stop buying them.

 

[CraKaJaX]

My mom quit smoking when she was in the hospital for a week with something unrelated to smoking. They didn't allow her outside to smoke, so she went without them for a week. When she came out of the hospital she never touched another cig. It's been about 2 years for her. It's a hell of an extreme to go to, but I'm happy she's done with that garbage.

 

[wheresmybacon]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
Well I used to be a social smoker, 1 cigarette a day or less, maybe a cigar now and then, so it took me about a month to go through a pack of cigarettes. Well in the last few weeks, due to stress and whatnot, it's stepped up, first to 2, then 3 a day and for the last few days it's been 6 and yesterday it was a full half a pack.

So yeah, screw that, I'm semi-athletic, not good enough to get on the DI-A college team but overall I'm better than most and I'm not going to let my body go down that path.

Yesterday night I told my roommate to hid the cigarettes from me and now I've got a hell of a headache and coughing. Has anyone else quit? What's it like? How long does it last? Do more symptoms show up? Do the symptoms get worse as time goes on? If I smoke socially after quitting(hookah or a cigarette occasionally) will I have these problems again?

TIA

this sounds really weird, but get a cold. seriously. i was up to a pack a day when i was working graveyards in a NOC a few years back, but I got a really bad cold and just stopped and never started again. you feel like shit anyway so it sorta disguises the withdrawal.

 

[captains]

next time you buy a pack of cigs by a pack that you wouldnt want to be caught dead with or one that you totaly hate the taste of. That way when you get the urge you wont enjoy it as much.

also stop smoking in the house and car if you do. this will force you to wait until your not driving or make you go outside. this way you'll get sick of getting up frequently and then you'll start to plan on the next time you go out and eventually you wont got out as much. works even better in the winter time cuz who wants to stand in the cold

 

[RiverDog]

I smoked for over 30 years and sometimes up to three PACKS a day. The only thing that worked for me was the pach. The bad cold thing does work BTW but only for a shor thime for me. My last cig was on 11/30/1996. Every now and then I still get a strong craving for a cigarette, doesn't last long but still hits a odd times. Good Luck!

 

[NetGuySC]

I've heard that Chantix works very well, whatever effect a cig has on the brain , it blocks that effect. Was told that it will make you nauseated if you smoke while on the medication (excellent negative reinforcement)

 

[m1ldslide1]

Oh come on everybody! He's saying that he's been smoking for a few days! Does he really need the patch? Or any cessation method besides just freakin' stopping????

 

[MaverickBP]

Originally posted by: m1ldslide1
Oh come on everybody! He's saying that he's been smoking for a few days! Does he really need the patch? Or any cessation method besides just freakin' stopping????

He's been smoking for over a few weeks...reread the OP.

 

[Mr Incognito]

You always have the power to say no.

 

[mwmorph]

Thanks everyone for the advice, i'm feeling like I have a bad hangover and a cough but i think i'll be able to tough it out for a week. As for not smoking anymore, yeah I'm definitely not doing that. My roommate has my smokes now and I'm going to make a conscious effort to stop for my health.

As for drugs and patches, I'm not a big fan, I don't really trust drugs and I don't even like to take painkillers or anything nonprescription unless I have to.

Originally posted by: m1ldslide1
Oh come on everybody! He's saying that he's been smoking for a few days! Does he really need the patch? Or any cessation method besides just freakin' stopping????

It's probably around 2 months of regular smoking by which i mean 2 or more cigarettes a day plus a cigar a week plus 2 hookah sessions a week(around 90 minutes each, i guess)