Today I stop smoking (2 year update)

[Vic]

Originally posted by: superHARD
Tell us how much $$$ you have saved by not smoking for 2 years please!

If you were an ex-smoker, you'd understand that the money has very little to do with it. In fact, I would argue that those who try to quit simply for monetary reasons have a much lower likelihood for being successful.
It's so so so much more than the money. Smoking is like being a slave. It's the real monkey on your back. Long-time smokers grow to love it and hate it at the same time. You enjoy smoking but you know you're ruining your health and killing yourself at the same time. It's a real mind-fsck. Successfully quitting is one of the most liberating things a person can do.

 

[KoolDrew]

:thumbsup:

Congrats! Keep it up!

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
Congrats man. I know full well what it takes to get to where you are and I don't have it yet. I've made it 6 months smoke free twice before getting back on board and puffing away again.

I quit again 9 days ago. It is only 9 days but for anyone who smoked a significant amount you know that 9 days is a big deal.

That's a very big deal. One day at a time, man. It only gets easier with each passing day.

Congrats to all the quitters! :thumbsup:

 

[moshquerade]

Keep on. Livestrong. :thumbsup:

 

[superHARD]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: superHARD
Tell us how much $$$ you have saved by not smoking for 2 years please!

If you were an ex-smoker, you'd understand that the money has very little to do with it. In fact, I would argue that those who try to quit simply for monetary reasons have a much lower likelihood for being successful.
It's so so so much more than the money. Smoking is like being a slave. It's the real monkey on your back. Long-time smokers grow to love it and hate it at the same time. You enjoy smoking but you know you're ruining your health and killing yourself at the same time. It's a real mind-fsck. Successfully quitting is one of the most liberating things a person can do.

I know...I was just wondering how much it saved him over a 2 year time span...

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: superHARD
I know...I was just wondering how much it saved him over a 2 year time span...

Figure at least $1k/yr.

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: stars
Did you guys change your daily routines after qutting smoking? While I only smoke outdoors, sitting behind a computer for long periods makes the craving for a cigarette worse.

No, I intentionally didn't.
I figured that if I changed my routine, I may be fine untill I get back into the old routine and hangouts. Then I would start again. So I hung out with my smoking buddies outside and did not smoke. I went out to a bar and didnt smoke. I kept doing the same things I did before. I think that helped me too.

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: ThePresence
When I stopped I found an additional motivation was telling everyone I knew, especially my smoking buddies that I stopped.
So if I would light up I would look like another loser who couldn't stop.
It's not much, but it certainly helped me.

I think you are being way to harsh categorizing a person as a looser for TRYING to quit and not being successful?? A loser is someone who smokes and don't give a damn about quitting or what it does to other people's health.


Ausm

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: superHARD
Tell us how much $$$ you have saved by not smoking for 2 years please!

If you were an ex-smoker, you'd understand that the money has very little to do with it. In fact, I would argue that those who try to quit simply for monetary reasons have a much lower likelihood for being successful.
It's so so so much more than the money. Smoking is like being a slave. It's the real monkey on your back. Long-time smokers grow to love it and hate it at the same time. You enjoy smoking but you know you're ruining your health and killing yourself at the same time. It's a real mind-fsck. Successfully quitting is one of the most liberating things a person can do.

Amen Brotha....


Ausm

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: Ausm

Originally posted by: ThePresence
When I stopped I found an additional motivation was telling everyone I knew, especially my smoking buddies that I stopped.
So if I would light up I would look like another loser who couldn't stop.
It's not much, but it certainly helped me.

I think you are being way to harsh categorizing a person as a looser for TRYING to quit and not being successful?? A loser is someone who smokes and don't give a damn about quitting or what it does to other people's health.

Ausm

Yeah, you're probably right. I shouldn't call them losers.
But I feel that anyone can stop if they really set their mind to it.

 

[randal]

I broke 1 year on Nov 4th, yay!

 

[marleymarl]

11/7 i hit 5 years - woot

 

[chambersc]

Congrats to all those who have quit smoking.

 

[TeeJay1952]

I got all the cigarettes I wanted. I would not dream to tell some one else that they have to quit. It is a personal decision.

ps Try Firefox 2 for inline spell check!

 

[musicman64]

I'm about to try quitting again, actually I quit about this time last year but had some odd side effects.

The second day after I quit, I ended up having to go to the hospital having heart palpitations, basically scared me stupid. Ended up doing the EKG/Holter/some other test where they look at the shape of your heart, the whole nine. Everything checked out fine and they eventually went away completely after a month or two.

Docs said they thought it was the amount of caffeine I had been consuming (an insane amount), supposedly some sort of interaction between the nicotine (or lack thereof) and caffeine.

I've since gone almost completely caffeine free, oddly enough I feel a lot better simply due to that - sleep is more regular, deeper. Not as crabby in the mornings either =)

Anyone else experience anything similar when quitting?

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: musicman64
I'm about to try quitting again, actually I quit about this time last year but had some odd side effects.

The second day after I quit, I ended up having to go to the hospital having heart palpitations, basically scared me stupid. Ended up doing the EKG/Holter/some other test where they look at the shape of your heart, the whole nine. Everything checked out fine and they eventually went away completely after a month or two.

Docs said they thought it was the amount of caffeine I had been consuming (an insane amount), supposedly some sort of interaction between the nicotine (or lack thereof) and caffeine.

I've since gone almost completely caffeine free, oddly enough I feel a lot better simply due to that - sleep is more regular, deeper. Not as crabby in the mornings either =)

Anyone else experience anything similar when quitting?

I was drinking 12~15 cups of 1/2 decaf and 1/2 home ground Trader Joe's House Blend aday along with 1.5 packs of Marlboro Lights. I quit cold turkey 5/10/06. It took two full weeks for my 59yo body to settle down. Caffeine headaches were killer. Coffee for me goes hand in hand with smoking. I HAD to quit both.

Best of luck :thumbsup:

 

[Vic]

Quitting smoking can cause anxiety attacks. And nicotine doubles the rate at which the body metabolizes caffeine. So yeah, if you drink an insane amount of coffee, quitting smoking could cause some odd side effects initially.

 

[musicman64]

Aye Vic, truth be told, I was extremely anxious about it when it happened, they gave me small valium that night and a two week supply of 1mg benzo's for the anxiety. The anxiety probably only made it worse, bleh, just hoping this time goes much smoother =)

Edit:

Galv, I also quit cold turkey, oddly enough that you mention that - doc's also suggested a tiered approach to my quitting smoking, I've cut back on my cigs and almost completely eliminated caffeine. Thanks for the support =)

 

[TheITguy]

Your Quit Date is: 4/20/2006 8:00:00 AM
Time Smoke-Free: 210 days
Cigarettes NOT smoked: 4207
Lifetime Saved: 1 month, 2 days, 3 hours
Money Saved: $1,050.00

This is a website I signed up for when I quit. i like the above feature that shows how much money I have saved.

www.quitnet.com

 

[Jawo]

Congrats! Now why can't more people quit?

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: Jawo
Congrats! Now why can't more people quit?

Because smoking is like a friend...it's there during both low times and high times. I personally had a hard time quitting out of fear. Yeah that's right,fear of the nasty withdrawals which usually come with quitting smoking. I am glad I am smoke free now and I will NEVER light up again.

Ausm

 

[jman19]

Congrats to all of the quitters :thumbsup:

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: Ausm

Originally posted by: Jawo
Congrats! Now why can't more people quit?

Because smoking is like a friend...it's there during both low times and high times. I personally had a hard time quitting out of fear. Yeah that's right,fear of the nasty withdrawals which usually come with quitting smoking. I am glad I am smoke free now and I will NEVER light up again.

Ausm

Yea, aside from the health risks, cigarettes were great for social gatherings. 1 cigarette could easily turn into a pack of cigarettes over good conversation. And I loved smoking when I was drinking.

 

[child of wonder]

Awesome job to everyone who quit! This December is my 3 year anniversary.

To anyone wanting to quit here's how I did it. First, I started cutting back how much I smoked very gradually. I would eliminate 1 cigarette a day each week. Soon I was down to 2 or 3. Then I would start puffing a bit of those cigarettes like a cigar. Take 2 drags, one puff. After a week, I'd alternate -- drag, puff, drag, puff. I'd keep increasing how much I puffed until I was to the point when I would virtually puff the entire cigarette. Soon the cigarette just started tasting disgusting (they aren't for puffing like a cigar) and I threw away the last few cigs and never looked back.

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: Vic
Quitting smoking can cause anxiety attacks. And nicotine doubles the rate at which the body metabolizes caffeine. So yeah, if you drink an insane amount of coffee, quitting smoking could cause some odd side effects initially.

Smoking was the toughest habit I ever broke, bar none.

edit: not only because of the side-effects, but because I really enjoyed puffing and inhaling smoke into my lungs. I had also highly romanticized the action by seeing it in countless movies. some movies used to be next to IMPOSSIBLE to watch without having a smoke.