at least a pack a day smoker, quit 3 weeks ago today. Cold turkey is the way to do it, the first 72 hours suck but after that it gets easier. Get Allen Carrs easy way to quit book. Its good. Also, check out whyquit.com. Just have to be committed and not give in. Nicotine is evil.
I have a friend who's done the accupuncture, and apparently it does really help the cravings. It didn't work for her though. I don't think she really wants to quit. I'm lucky, in a way. I have pretty bad allergies that affects my lungs. If I smoke more than a few cigs a day, I get sick with a cough for a week. So, I've never been more than a pack a week smoker at best, which doesn't seem enough to get addicted to on a physical level. I still got cravings if I missed my afternoon smoke breaks though. Now that I don't work with a bunch of smokers, I only smoke when I'm super-stressed out.
Stop Smoking Recovery Timetable http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Benefits_Time_Table.html Your body's ability to mend is beauty to behold! Within ... # 20 minutes Your blood pressure, pulse rate, and the temperature of your hands and feet will all return to normal. # 8 hours Your blood oxygen level will have increased to normal and carbon monoxide levels will have dropped to normal. # 24 hours Your risk of a heart attack will have decreased by 50%. # 48 hours Damaged nerve endings have started to regrow and your sense of smell and taste are beginning to return to normal. # 72 hours Your entire body will test 100% nicotine-free and over 90% of all nicotine metabolites will now have passed from your body via your urine. You can also expect the symptoms of chemical withdrawal to have peaked in intensity. Your bronchial tubes are beginning to relax thus making it easier to breathe. Your lung capacity has also started to increase. # 10 days to 2 weeks Your brain and body have now physically adjusted to again functioning without nicotine and the more than 3,500 chemical particles and 500 gases present in each and every puff. # 3 weeks to 3 months Your circulation has substantially improved. Walking has become easier. Your chronic cough, if any, has likely disappeared. Your overall lung function has improved up to thirty percent. # 1 to 9 months Any sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath have decreased. Cilia have regrown in your lungs thereby increasing their ability to handle mucus, keep your lungs clean, and reduce infections. Your body's overall energy has increased. # 1 year Your excess risk of coronary heart disease has dropped to less than half that of a smoker. # 5 to 15 years Your risk of stroke has declined to that of a non-smoker. # 10 years Your risk of death from lung cancer has declined by almost half if you were an average smoker (one pack per day). Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus is now half that of a smoker's. # 15 years Your risk of coronary heart disease is now that of a person who has never smoked. Your risk of lung cancer has decreased by 80 to 90%. Your overall risk of death has returned to near that of a person who has never smoked.
Seriously the patch is the greatest thing in the world. Try it along with some hard candy to suck on to keep your oral smoking fixation satisfied. Nicoderm has some set schedule where you are supposed to quit in like three months, but I ended up taking probably close to a year. It seems really expensive but when you add up all the money you are saving from not buying cigarettes it isn't too bad.
They're not for everyone. I started smoking when I was 12 years old. Once you get hooked on em', it's not easy to quit. It sounds as though you were your own person during your teens and didn't give in to peer pressure. I started smoking while smoking was cool. It isn't cool anymore.
Avoiding bars and other places where there are a lot of other smokers helped my cousin finally kick the habit for good. He tried to quit off and on for years, but would end up going to a bar, and drink, and bum a cigarette, then buy a pack on his way home. The next day he was back smoking regularly. He said the day he quit going to bars (matured and had kids) was the day he was able to quit.
I used to wonder what the hell made people want to start smoking. If I'd go to a bar/restaraunt and be anywhere near someone that smoked I would absolutely hate it. I still don't like going to places and being around smokers...but I can understand why people initially start smoking. About a year or two ago I decided to smoke a cigarrete (granted, it was like an ultra light or some horse****...) and I *really* enjoyed it. I don't know why, but I love the feeling that I get from smoking a cigarrette. I might smoke one every 6 months or so if I go out with a smoker. If cigarrettes weren't so expensive, horrible for your (and others)health, and revolting to the non smoker...I'd consider it. Of course, I'm sure it takes more and more to get the same feeling when you get used to smoking a lot, thus leading to people that smoke a pack (or more) a day...
i was thinking about the patch and of course the price scared me away, but i didn't take into account that my brand is 4.25 a pack and i'm no less than a pack a day. looking at it that way could help a bit. i may go this route. yeah... after you stop for a few months and start back, you get that woozy-dizzy feeling the first cigarette back. waaaaay past that point now. the longest i've gone w/o a cig was a several years ago when i went four months. i kept a pack pinned to my cubicle by my monitor. knowing that they were right in my face, but couldn't have them helped out a lot for those four months. anyway, someone ended up pissing me off at work and... there ya go. i figured why walk around mad and be pissy towards people (quitting makes you that way for a while), when you can be happy smoking and more relaxed. but now... the smoker's cough is starting to develop a little bit.
speaking of the filter... i hate it when i take one out the pack, flip twirl it around your fingers a few times, light it, and realize that you lit the wrong end. tastes like complete utter schat. you know you're really addicted if you cut off the burnt part of the filter with scissors to salvage the cig.
updawg's post is worth reading again...repeatedly. After 72 hours you have essentially kicked the addiction. Cold turkey. I've done it lots of times... Good luck. Temperatures rising Fever is high Cant see no future Cant see no sky My feet are so heavy So is my head I wish I was a baby I wish I was dead Cold turkey has got me on the run My body is aching Goose-pimple bone Cant see no body Leave me alone My eyes are wide open Cant get to sleep One thing Im sure of Im in at the deep freeze Cold turkey has got me on the run Cold turkey has got me on the run Thirty-six hours Rolling in pain Praying to someone Free me again Oh Ill be a good boy Please make me well I promise you anything Get me out of this hell Cold turkey has got me on the run Oh, oh, oh, oh
August 21st 2006 will be one year without cigs. I was a pack/pack and a half a day smoker for 23 years. Quit cold turkey one Sunday morning. It was the best thing I ever did! Don't miss it one bit! I can't explain it, but I just stopped! I had just bought two packs of cigs the Saturday night before and never opened them. I guess I just got tired of the morning cough and just not ever feeling "right." And so far, updawg's list is 100% accurate!
Quit 25 years ago. I got a cold for about a week, couldn't really smoke beacuse of it, cough up some scary looking ****, and quit cold turkey. Since then I might have smoked a pack, mainly when I went to bars and bummed a few.
Man, it is addictive and wish you the best...Went to the Body World 3 exhibit and it's clear to what it does to your lungs...
I quit 16 years ago. I still miss it, sometimes. Wonderful pleasure. Nevertheless, it's very unhealthy. I felt much better a few months after. I quit by throwing my cigarettes in the trash, then staying in for the weekend, refusing to go out, because I knew I'd buy more. I don't recommend that. I was digging the butts out of the garbage late that night, lighting them in my mouth with coffee grinds all over them. Disgusting addiction. Had a good look at myself in the mirror. After the weekend, I was much better, but it took about two weeks to break the habits cycle. I think it would have been better to be active, in some sport or something, surrounded by supportive friends. If you have some supportive friends, do something active. Sitting around trying to read or watch a movie and feeling that need gnaw at you is no fun at all. Just keep moving. Go jogging in the park, something.
I quit 2 yrs ago cold turkey when my best friend funeral.. And quit drinking alcohol over 2 yrs now as well I had high liver enzymes due to lamisil...
