That's it, I made up my mind....

[DarkThinker]

Yesterday was a normal day, I woke up, showered, got dressed had my usual cup of tea then it was time to go. A normal morning I have to say, so I went to my room to grab my keys and my cigarettes, I put the keys in my pocket, then proceeded to grab my cigarette pack to put it in my pocket... I just couldn't!! I grabbed that cigarette pack and down the trash, and just went to work.

Now it has been two days since I last smoked, and I just feel so much better!
I had been smoking for the past 5 years, but it wasn't until last month that the health consequences of that started catching up with me! Last month I checked myself in to the emergency care at a nearby hospital, I was suffering from shortness of breath. After X-rays to my chest and others tests the Dr concluded that I am suffering from Acute Bronchial Spasm and advised me to quit ASAP as so far no irreversible damage had taken place to my body.

Still even after I did that, I still didn't drop it, I just cut down my smoking by half which wasn't enough I guess.
Still my breathing problems were still there, I couldn't play soccer anymore, I couldn't play any sports with my friends anymore...it was just too much for my lungs.

I couldn't take it, I was giving up so much of life (couldn't play sports, unhealthy lungs, going out in the cold to smoke, girls that didn't want to be with me anymore because of smoking, cost of smoking and so much more) for so little (smoking just that!), it just wasn't worth it.

I made the mistake of smoking when I was at a young age and maybe I didn't have a good picture of the future at that time and that is the only reason why I was still doing it, it was just addiction nothing more nor less.

I just hope I have the will power to go like this for the rest of my life, as I don't want to go back to that, it was awful to not be able to let go even when all the signs were saying so!

I would appreciate advice from any fellow ATers that were smokers at some point in time, especially when it comes to controlling cravings through treatment or medication or whatever it takes.

Thanks
DarkThinker

 

[nakedfrog]

Congrats, it's been about five and a half weeks for me. I used nicotine gum, lots of it at first, and now just when the craving is overbearing... I think maybe five pieces of it in the last week.

 

[leftyman]

Put them down. Do not pick them back up. Thats what I did. It works.

 

[interchange]

Unfortunately, addicts tend to replace one addictive behavior with another. Good luck to you and try finding a healthier habit.

 

[DarkThinker]

I was wondering how those nicotine gum fair in the fight against cravings, I will pickup some after work from the local drugstore and see how well they work. Any brand recommendations?

 

[Deleted member 4644]

Good luck. In 40 years your grandkids will thank you.

 

[child of wonder]

Congrats!! It's going to be tough but stick with it! Your body and checkbook will thank you!

 

[moshquerade]

Do you have medical insurance? It might cover a prescription med, Chantix, that is really helpful in quitting for good.

 

[DarkThinker]

Thanks to all for the input, it wasn't easy of a decesion, but with advice and some medication I am sure I can do it!

BTW moshquerade, do you know anyone that used Chantix?

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: DarkThinker
Thanks to all for the input, it wasn't easy of a decesion, but with advice and some medication I am sure I can do it!

BTW moshquerade, do you know anyone that used Chantix?

sure do.
one of my best girlfriend's sister and her Aunt are both taking it with excellent results. they are both long time smokers and have tried everything imaginable to quit. this is the first method that has actually worked. also, Chantix seems to have dulled their appetite a bit so that the weight gain that is feared when someone quits smoking isn't happening.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Is a nicotine craving similar to a Mt. Dew craving, just stronger? Having never succumbed to an addiction, I can only try to relate it to the only thing I actually crave, which is Mt. Dew.

 

[LordMaul]

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
Is a nicotine craving similar to a Mt. Dew craving, just stronger? Having never succumbed to an addiction, I can only try to relate it to the only thing I actually crave, which is Mt. Dew.

No, it's nothing like that...

Imagine being shaky, uncomfortable, restless and completely unable to concentrate on much of anything other than, "just one cig and I'm good to go..." no matter how hard you try to distract yourself.

Mt. Dew cravings are little more than maybe a caffeine headache or a sugar craving.

 

[judasmachine]

congrat's man, keep it up. i recently quit after fifteen years.

 

[judasmachine]

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
Is a nicotine craving similar to a Mt. Dew craving, just stronger? Having never succumbed to an addiction, I can only try to relate it to the only thing I actually crave, which is Mt. Dew.

It's more like food cravings after a week of not having anything to eat. There's anger in there too, in addition to everything Lord Maul said.

 

[jupiter57]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: DarkThinker
Thanks to all for the input, it wasn't easy of a decesion, but with advice and some medication I am sure I can do it!

BTW moshquerade, do you know anyone that used Chantix?

sure do.
one of my best girlfriend's sister and her Aunt are both taking it with excellent results. they are both long time smokers and have tried everything imaginable to quit. this is the first method that has actually worked. also, Chantix seems to have dulled their appetite a bit so that the weight gain that is feared when someone quits smoking isn't happening.

I too used it last month, it really helps.
My only problem was that I do not eat during the day, no breakfast, no lunch, and the Chantix made me very sick.
I just couldn't get in the habit of eating in the morning, but I'm working on that also.
(I still smoke, although I've cut down to 1/2 of my usual & I'm still working on quitting this 34 year habit!)

I haven't tried the gum yet, the nicotine patches work best for me, but my skin won't tolerate them!

Don't give up! I've eaten quite healthily all my life, but I've also smoked. I now suffer from Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema, and Congestive Heart Failure, and smoking is the cause of all of that.
Imagine your Bronchial spasms and multiply by 10. That's me every day!!
Though I'm not suicidal or anything, I find myself wishing for death most days. It seems the only relief I can count on.

 

[DarkThinker]

If you want a description of nicotine cravings here comes from my pov:

-your blood is boiling
-it's rising from your feet to your brains
-And by the time it reaches your brains, you want to punch somebody's nose in but you don't know who...

 

[DarkThinker]

Originally posted by: jupiter57

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: DarkThinker
Thanks to all for the input, it wasn't easy of a decesion, but with advice and some medication I am sure I can do it!

BTW moshquerade, do you know anyone that used Chantix?

sure do.
one of my best girlfriend's sister and her Aunt are both taking it with excellent results. they are both long time smokers and have tried everything imaginable to quit. this is the first method that has actually worked. also, Chantix seems to have dulled their appetite a bit so that the weight gain that is feared when someone quits smoking isn't happening.

I too used it last month, it really helps.
My only problem was that I do not eat during the day, no breakfast, no lunch, and the Chantix made me very sick.
I just couldn't get in the habit of eating in the morning, but I'm working on that also.
(I still smoke, although I've cut down to 1/2 of my usual & I'm still working on quitting this 34 year habit!)

I haven't tried the gum yet, the nicotine patches work best for me, but my skin won't tolerate them!

Don't give up! I've eaten quite healthily all my life, but I've also smoked. I now suffer from Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema, and Congestive Heart Failure, and smoking is the cause of all of that.
Imagine your Bronchial spasms and multiply by 10. That's me every day!!
Though I'm not suicidal or anything, I find myself wishing for death most days. It seems the only relief I can count on.

I am saddened to hear about your circumstances, and boy I thought I was in deep sht when i figured i had bronchial spasm, I hope you find the will to quit at some point

 

[irishScott]

Lol I was addicted to the computer once. It got so bad that I would literally will my hand to stop typing, but they wouldn't stop. And I'd be sitting there for hours with this little part of my brain fighting the rest of it until the need for sleep and food overtook the need to do computer sh!t. Think my record was 20 hours non-stop. Completely killed my life academically and socially. Took some serious will-power, but I ended up locking myself out of my own account (changed the password with my eyes close while my sister wrote it down) and broke my Windows Install disk to prevent me from reformatting.

I went without the computer for an entire summer. No IMing, no facebook, no Anadtech lurking, no games. The only thing I did was e-mail which was required for my job, and that was done under a time-limit lock-out on the family computer. I even went through some withdrawal symptoms that were strikingly similar to those of quitting smokers.

I can now nef and quit with ease

If it was anything like that, good luck, keep it up, and don't look back.

 

[DarkThinker]

Originally posted by: irishScott
Lol I was addicted to the computer once. It got so bad that I would literally will my hand to stop typing, but they wouldn't stop. And I'd be sitting there for hours with this little part of my brain fighting the rest of it until the need for sleep and food overtook the need to do computer sh!t. Think my record was 20 hours non-stop. Completely killed my life academically and socially. Took some serious will-power, but I ended up locking myself out of my own account (changed the password with my eyes close while my sister wrote it down) and broke my Windows Install disk to prevent me from reformatting.

I went without the computer for an entire summer. No IMing, no facebook, no Anadtech lurking, no games. The only thing I did was e-mail which was required for my job, and that was done under a time-limit lock-out on the family computer. I even went through some withdrawal symptoms that were strikingly similar to those of quitting smokers.

I can now nef and quit with ease

If it was anything like that, good luck, keep it up, and don't look back.

Thanks for the motivational words, I guess each person has his / her own addictions, and maybe not all of them are visible as smoking for example

 

[DarkThinker]

OK I just got off work and boy was it a long day today, I headed immediately to the pharmacy nearby my place, I was confused on how to start the "treatment", my options were:

Nicotine Inhaler (but I soon discovered that needs an RX which makes sense)
A patch (which reminds of estrogen patches for women hehe so no way!)
Nicotine gum. I think Nicotine gum made most sense to me, as it can satisfy the craving addiction more than the patch, as you can actually feel the stuff working in a different way and it gives (theoretically) almost instant relief.

I picked up a 100 piece Nicorette box for 55.99 MAN!!! Thank God I had a coupon a friend gave me a long time ago for $ 10 off any size pack so the total is $ 44.99 (And I have like 4 coupons so I am sure covered to quit in time before the price drives me to smoking LOL) , anyways I got home and I read the instructions, I am supposed to take 1 gum / hour.

Thats all swell, I had a nice big sirloin stake for dinner, and boy did I get a craving for a cig afterwards! I thought I am going to fail in my test, but I remembered I through away all my cigarettes in the trash bin outside the building so there was no way in hell I am getting my hands on cigarettes without a little driving to the nearest gas station which is not going to happen as I just came back from work and I am dead tired, so at least I know I am safe at home, so I said it's time to test those Nicotine gums.

I have to say, the taste is very good, but the effect is not what I expected, I didn't get the instant relief that I expected and no Nicotine buzz either, I was thinking to myself what a ripoff! but I read the instructions again and it says if the craving was too strong for one gum to fix, I may take on some occasions a second one within an hour! Since this was one of those occasions I did, and it did the job (almost killed %90 of the craving).

So I am a bit optimistic that I might be able to go through this with Nicotine gums after all.
Wish Me Luck!!

DarkThinker

 

[angminas]

Remember, the best way to drive out a bad habit is to replace it with a good one. BIG GRATZ on quitting, and don't disappoint us.

 

[RbSX]

Remember dude, ultimately you'll have to ween yourself off of the gum too, so don't pop them like candy.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Coming up on 4 months for me.

 

[iamaelephant]

Originally posted by: irishScott
Lol I was addicted to the computer once. It got so bad that I would literally will my hand to stop typing, but they wouldn't stop. And I'd be sitting there for hours with this little part of my brain fighting the rest of it until the need for sleep and food overtook the need to do computer sh!t. Think my record was 20 hours non-stop. Completely killed my life academically and socially. Took some serious will-power, but I ended up locking myself out of my own account (changed the password with my eyes close while my sister wrote it down) and broke my Windows Install disk to prevent me from reformatting.

I went without the computer for an entire summer. No IMing, no facebook, no Anadtech lurking, no games. The only thing I did was e-mail which was required for my job, and that was done under a time-limit lock-out on the family computer. I even went through some withdrawal symptoms that were strikingly similar to those of quitting smokers.

I can now nef and quit with ease

If it was anything like that, good luck, keep it up, and don't look back.

However bad you think your withdrawal was, it was nothing compared to breaking a genuine physical addiction.

<-- Former smoker.

 

[DarkKnight69]

Grandfather passed away last summer from lung cancer. Was hard, especially since it is avoidable...