Quit Smoking

I quit with the help of Chantix. I have been smoke free since January 17. I was on Chantix for a total of 2 months. My sister also quit using the Chantix and took it for 3 months. My dad also used Chantix but he was taking it for 6 months before he felt comfortable to quit.

I applaud you for trying to quit smoking! It is not easy. When I quit, I tried to avoid all places where people where smoking, which is easier now, since now day people can only smoke outside.
I chewed lots and lots of gum (sugar free), drank lots of water and tried to keep myself as busy as possible.

Good luck!! I have been smoke free since 8/1991.

I tried to quit a couple times before I successfully quit a couple years ago. I used to smoke a pack a day. Cold turkey and nicotine gum/patches never worked for me because I was so addicted to the oral aspect of smoking. Here's what I did:

Week 1 - 20 cigarettes per day
Week 2 - 18
Week 3 - 16
Week 4 - 14
Week 5 - 12
Week 6 - 10...

You get the point. I just kept cutting back until I was smoking 1-2 per day for a whole week and then I quit completely after that. I found it much easier to gradually get used to the idea of not smoking and wean myself off of the nicotine at the same time. Sure, it took a couple months, but it worked! Good luck to you! It's so hard, but after "hell week," it gets SO much easier every day.

I went to quitnet.com and believe it or not by filling out the questions and they set a date it helped dramatically. Reading how others quit and got through it helped alot. I worried about being really crabby with my son but it wasnt to bad and after 3 weeks to 30 days I was past it. I would do that online because the support is so important.

Hi M.
I am at the same point in my life too. I have quit three times over the last 10 years and want to for good. I haven't made an appoinment with the doctor yet, but I spoke to my childs pediatrician who counsels smoking parents. He said he has seen the best results from Wellbutrin, which is an anti-depression pill. This pill makes you feel better throughout the process. He also says to put straws in your cigarette pack. Start weaning yourself by pulling out a straw and going through the motions.

Hope this helps!

Quitting is THE hardest thing to do. I smoked for years. NOT while I was pregnant...but after I had my son (now 20) I started again...then I had my daughter (now 13) I just decided to not start again. VERY difficult, but you HAVE to decide to do it. It is SO disgusting, VERY unhealthy for you and more so for your children. Isen't that the first thing you get asked when you go to the doctor, "are you exposed to 2nd hand smoke?" That is what they do at our clinic...so it is a major thing. Another reason is....how can you afford it???? Only working really part time outside the house can hardly keep you in smokes!! I chewed sunflower seeds to help me quit! GOOD LUCK.....you have quite a job ahead of you.

I know you have gotten a lot of responses but I too smoked a pack a day for 10 years and this is how I quit:

1. I got a prescription for the nicotine patch
2. I set a date and time. I smoked all I could that day and at the end of the day, I crushed and dumped all the cigarettes into the garbage. I held a ceremony with my husband.
3. i made a list of all the reasons I want to remain a non-smoker and kept that list with me.
4. I bought sunflower seeds, flavored toothpicks, and Mike& Ike's candy. I had one of these in my mouth at all time.
5. I discovered knitting. It kept my hands busy while watching tv. You can't knit and smoke at the same time so that worked well.
6. Seek support.
7. You have to quit for you and no one else.

It is truely the best thing you can do for yourself and your family. I have been smoke free for almost 5 years. I wish you the best.

Congrats on the decision to quit. I just did 4 mo ago so I know how hard it is. I used the patch just so I had a little help while I got over the initial behaviors. I chewed a lot of gum, ate a lot of suckers and drank a lot of water. It helped my husband was quitting too (he used chantix), so we would support each other. But I also took more mommy time outs during the first few weeks and would go out on the deck by myself or in the bathroom and hide, once I regrouped I could come back and be nice. I just had to remind myself that the craving would pass and me not smoking means I am doing something healthy for my son and myself. My son is my little cheerleader when I get stressed and I say I want one he says 'but mom it's not good for you or me' and that makes me think twice.
As long as I think I don't have to smoke for this day or in the beginning for this 5 min and in 5 min I say I won't smoke for this 5 min over and over I do good.
Good luck with quitting :)
A.

I have never smoked but I work with ladies that do and they have tried Chantix and they said that it works wonders for them. By the 3rd day they don't want to smoke again, that the smoke just tastes horrible. Thought that this might help.

M.
mom to Ryan 9 (DS, autistic like tendencies, Bipolar, insensitiviy to pain)
Abbey and Alexa 3

I have quit smoking twice and done so two ways. It is very dificult and I found the hardest part is stopping the "routine" smoking. For example, if you smoke first thing when you wake up or right after eating. Try slowly removing that smoking time. Both times I quit I was prescribed medication from the doctor. Honestly quitting cold turkey for me didn't work or even weaning myself off. But a combination of the medication and reducing the times you smoke really helps. My hardest obsticle was avoiding people who smoked or even enjoying a glass of whine or beer and saying no to smoking. Good luck and I hope you find what works for you!

I worked with a girl who had us help her make a list of reasons why she should stop smoking then she wrote the list down, made multiple copies, then taped it on her computer at work, around her house, etc. so she would always be reminded of why she wanted to quit. She also used a patch for the first week or so. The hardest part for her was breaking the habit (not so much the addiction to nicotine). She was so used to smoking in social settings or taking multiple smoke breaks at work. She kept herself away from smokers (her husband was no longer allowed to smoke in her presence) and she found new hobbies to occupy her time like reading, etc.

My dad quite cold turkey and that worked for him. He smoked for 25 years and now he's been a non-smoker for 3 years.

Hope this helps.

there are so many methods. first of all, you need support from friends who will either agree not to smoke in front of you, or who dont smoke. the more you can avoid being in situations and places where people are smoking, the easier it will be for you to move on.

another REALLY good bit to help you stop smoking: cost. figure out how much you spend on smoking in a week, a month, a year.... then figure out something else you could do with that money. the best thing you could do with it is pay off or pay down debt. or you could buy yourself or your family something new.

the other way to quit smoking is God. He is the only one who can give you the victory you seek. He is the only one who can give us the strength to overcome temptation. smoking is a useful device the devil uses to get people distracted and lead them away from a healthy life... the devil knows it hurts us, and he likes it that way. every hour, day, week, month you dont smoke, thank God for the victory.

i had a friend who had tried EVERYTHING to quit smoking. she attended an amazing facts seminar in the local church and she found the key she needed to give her struggle to God and she quit smoking and never looked back.
www.amazingfacts.com is the site - there are free onine Bible studies (or school) that you can look through and find your victory!
God bless!

I tried hypnosis,the patch,prescription medication,herbal pills and the only thing that ever worked was quitting "cold turkey". I smoked for 15 years and quit 3 1/2 years ago. I was having surgery and needed to quit before hand. I had 3 days to do it in. The key is to change your routine of when you smoke. So, I would get up in the morning and go outside to smoke. I started saying to myself, "get up and take a shower first". Then after my shower I would say,"put on your make-up first". Then after make-up I would say,"eat a little something first". Don't get me wrong. I "caved" but, it was all about changing my routine that included smoking. Once, I adopted a new routine for me and my family that didn't include smoking, next thing I knew...............I was a Non-Smoker! It feels great now. However, just like with any addiction, it will always be there. You will think about it often but, after you get through the first couple of weeks, it isn't apart of you anymore. It takes time to see the financial effects as well. You can pencil out all of the benefits but, your brain is running on nicotine not common sense. You slowly start to realize you are not coughing all of the time or you have a little extra money in your pocket now. I unfortunately developed Asthma after I quit but, it was that or Emphazima. Good luck!

K.

Hey M., I quit smoking 7 years ago and haven't looked back. Although I miss it dearly I think you always do. I decided that when I was going to quit it was going to be for good so I used zyban, my doctor asked me why I wanted to go straight to that instead of trying other ways first, I said I want to try what I know will work for me. It was very helpful. If you are discouraged by taking medication to quit I don't blame you but I can't imagine you have been smoking for that long so you wont have to be on it for very long. I was on it for 2 months and didn't refill the prescription. Hope this helps

What I found to be the most help for me was QuitNet.Com. You can enter all your info including how much you currently smoke. Then you can check back and find out how much money you have saved and how much of your lifespan you saved. It was really great to be able to see those numbers go up everyday. It was a good reminder that I really am accomplishing something and it made it all worth it. I also used the patch for a few weeks because I'm so scared of getting sick if I smoke with the patch. For me it was all psychological. You can also make sure you have plenty of gum and hard candy on hand for when you are having cravings. Good luck to you. It's not easy but it is really worth it.

K.

Hi M., What a great gift you are giving your family and yourself! I am not a smoker but my husband was and he quit in Feb. as a "gift" to our baby. He smoked for 10yrs and tried a couple different things before finally kicking it. The thing that worked for him was the medication Chantix. It is designed for quiting smoking and I know several people that is has worked wonders for. From what I understand it takes away the physical craving and makes you somewhat sick when you do smoke. The only down side- he had some weird dreams/nightmares (only real side effecT)and if insurance doesn't cover it (ours didn't) then it's expensive and they recommend using it for 3 months. However if you calculate the amount spent on smoking in a year and compare it to the meds, it's well worth it! He also rewarded himself w/something he really wanted at the 6mo mark (for him it was a small fishing boat he found on craig's list) w/the promise that I can sell it if he ever smokes again! He also did some journaling, he wrote down all the times he had a cigarette or really wanted one- like when driving to work or working out in the garage or just bored, and realized those were hard/triggering times for him and he would need to replace the smoke w/something like candy, gum, a phone call, exercise, etc. He also wrote a "good-bye letter" to smoking detaling all the ways it was negative in his life and why it was time to be done with it. He also came to the realization that he is not one of those people that can have a smoke here or there, if he smokes 1 he's back to smoking just like he never quit (kind of like the alcoholic who can not just have 1 drink or he's back to drinking all day and night). I think really evaluating what his reality was and realizing that he had to create a new set or rules around smoking, helped him.

He got these ideas from a stop smoking support organization. It was from a commerical on TV that he called and they sent him a packet. So it might be worth it to look into local or national support groups and see what they can offer you.

IN the past he tried welbutrin which worked ok but I think he had to many other stresses and wasn't ready to commit. He has also tried nicorette gum but that didn't help him.
GOOD LUCK!

There are free addiction recovery support group classes at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints off of Old Sawk in Madison, WI. (701 Bear Claw Way ... I think it's on Tuesdays at 7:00pm) It's for anything from severe addictions to food eating habits ... whatever your addiction may be.

Even if you can’t attend one of these meetings, you may benefit from the program study guide. In the guide, the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous have been adapted into a framework of the doctrines, principles, and beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/).

A Guide to Addiction Recovery and Healing (PDF 804 KB) will help you learn how to apply these key principles that can change your life.

I've attached the PDF link. Go ahead and give it a glance.

http://www.providentliving.org/familyservices/AddicitonRe...

Good luck and God speed.

I quit smoking, but did it cold turkey. My ex-sister-in-law was dying from cancer and after visiting with her and seeing her still smoking, I decided to do it. She was a year younger than I and had had a really good life; beauty pagents, airline hostess, money, all of it and then to die so young and such a tragic ending. My daughter tried stopping and went on a new medication. All I can say is, I am so very grateful she got off the medication. She was having horrible depression; crying all the time, just about going crazy and with two little ones; 4 years and 11 months. Just be very careful what you take. I still say determination and cold turkey are the best way. Good luck.

quiting is very hard! i did it before i got pregnant because i didnt want to go thru withdrawls while being pregnant. i didnt use any patches and i didnt go cold turkey. it took a good 6 months to quit completly, but i did it gradually and it worked great for me. i started out figuring out how much i smoked a day and cut that number down. once i got used to less i kept decreasing and before i knew it i was down to only smoking a couple when i went out. i still craved them during the day but not that bad and it usually went away after a few minutes. once i got pregant and didnt go out anymore it was no big thing to not have one. now i can go out and do what ever and rarley crave them and it has been over 2 years. i like the fact that my kids hopefully will never have to see me go thru cancer or emphasima, etc. you have to figure out what methed you can hadle to quit with and you will never be able to unless your really truley ready to give them up for you. i wish you the best of luck.

I've never been a smoker but I've heard cinnamon and cigarets is a horrible taste combination. Stock-up on cinnamon chewing gum and breath savors -sugarfree if you can find them.

Hi M.,

I was a pack a day smoker from age 15-34. I was pregnant knowing I should quit smoking. I cut down to 6 per day...only smoking half of a cig each time....so I "smoked" 12 times per day but only a total of 6 cigs. I could not get below that 6. My step dad is a hypnotist. I knew I was going to have to try using his help. The day he was supposed to hypnotize me...I was sad. I did not really want to quit smoking but I just knew that I had to. I smoked 3 right in a row then was hypnotized. I have never smoked since!!! It has been a little over 2 years. I don't even really want one. It is a crazy feeling. I remember the first week was realy tough...my step dad told me to eat sunflower seeds which helped a little. He says it is the first 72 hours that are critical. Here is his website if you are interested. www.calviclinic.com

He has a 88% success rate!

Good luck....it is VERY freeing when you quit....I no longer have to carry around lotion, spray, and gum everywhere to make sure I cover up the smell.

L.:)

I'll just add, if you could arrange for the kids to stay somewhere else for a weekend, quit on a Saturday a.m. Have someone stay with you for the entire first 48 hours (longer if possible). Make them promise not to let you out of their sight, cook for you if you need them to. I spent the first two days on the couch, flipping between crying, laughing and being very ornery. Use the gum or patch if need/want to. Give yourself permission to "melt down". For some people, the physical withdrawl is very difficult. It was for me.
Good luck

Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking! Youmight want to check with your doctor about using the drug Chantix to heop you quit. If your insurance doesn't cover it, call the American Lung Association. They have lots of good information to help you quit. They can give you ideas to help you cope and point your toward support. I wish you good luck in quitting. Your children will thank you for doing so. Liz

Hey M., great decision! :) I hate to admit that I smoked, but because I did, now I can give advice from a been-there, done-that perspective.

My thought process went a little like this: "Since I'm doing something so horrible for my lungs, I'd better do something to get them back in shape again." I started jogging. I had never been a runner before, but I forced myself to do it. Smoking was also part of an oral fixation so I had plenty of extra pounds to lug around while jogging. I started in winter and I would only run at night (for fear that people would see me). Let me tell you, winter running is tough on the lungs! It's supposed to get them into great shape though. Since it was winter, I ate lots of oranges (with my coffee even) and since smoking in the car was still such a big habit, I think I remember brewing tea with honey and taking that with me on car rides. I would still have a smoke now and then, but I was very mindful of how many I had and I tried to reduce the number. Eventually, I just didn't buy any more, so I was done. Plus, I had lost 30 pounds from all the jogging and I was in great shape! I should also note that I had the mentality from the get-go that I was going to "punish" myself in a "good way" by jogging since I was already punishing myself in a bad way by smoking. I had to pretty much get mad at myself and hate the habit. A little anger helped me out when it came to running because if I hadn't been angry at myself, I probably would have given up.

Good luck! You CAN DO IT!!!