I want to quit smoking......

[StinkerbelleRock]

I, with utter desperation, want to quit smoking. I have quit 3 times before and here is how it went....

#1- Someone double-dog dared me to quit for a month. Saying that I couldn't do it. I vowed to quit for two. I succeeded without mood swings, weight gain, or any shitty side effects. I promptly picked up a pack the day that the dare was conquered.

#2- I was super sick and couldn't bear the thought of a ciggarette for about a month. I promptly picked up a pack when I was better.

#3- I actually wanted to quit smoking. Mainly because of money. I picked up some patches and bought some straws. I changed my eating habits to only oatmeal for breakfast and a big pile of steamed veggies for lunch. I always had a glass or bottle of water next to me with a straw in it for the whole hand to mouth thing. I started going to the gym before work every morning and doing pilates in the afternoon. It was the hardest thing I had ever done. My internal organs were freaking out and doing very strange things, I had WILD mood swings and gained thirty-one pounds. I promptly picked up a pack when none of my clothes fit me anymore and I felt digusting. I lost all of the weight and have been smoking ever since.

Here is what I'm asking all of you.....

#1-Has anyone here quit with full success?? How??

#2-How did you avoid the weight gain? (I'm embarassed to say that I am far more concerned about this than anything else)

#3-How did you deal with all of the emotions? (I would cry watching Maury)

#4-How long did it take before all of these terrible withdraw symptoms subsided?

I really want this but don't know if I can deal with all of these things that I went through before. Help ladies!! You always seem to have the answers!

[Craft Forums]

[Marina-Trilobyte]

#1-Has anyone here quit with full success?? How??

#2-How did you avoid the weight gain? (I'm embarassed to say that I am far more concerned about this than anything else)

#3-How did you deal with all of the emotions? (I would cry watching Maury)

#4-How long did it take before all of these terrible withdraw symptoms subsided?

1. Yes, when I was nineteen after smoking steadily from sixteen on. I was being severely nagged by my Significant Other and at any rate, it was time to quit. I used a program where you whittled down your cigarette consumption every day for (two weeks?), wrote down what your triggers were and quit at the end of two weeks.

2. I was young and walked everywhere. Other than lifestyle or luck, I don't think there's any way around it. Edited because I hadn't read your post closely enough before. 31 pounds while regularly exercising? I have no idea what's going on, I understand 8 or ten pounds is more typical. Are you in the position where you could discuss this with a doctor?

FYI, if you're on the patch, the nicotine is still getting in your system and your metabolism should still be revved up and there should not be the kind of weight gain you'd get if you quit everything cold turkey.

3. I was lucky, I didn't get a lot of emotional stuff with it.

4. It was more of a craving in the food sense. The most important thing I learned is that cravings go away. I found that I'd intensely desire a smoke for a day or so and then it would go away. And then it would pop up six weeks later. Gradually, that fades away. I still crave a cigarette about once a year, but I now find them very disgusting in actuality.

Good luck!

[Schmatta]

Wish I had some answers. Instead I have a very similar history. Except that I never worked out and did Pilates every day.
I shall watch this thread along with you, Stinkerbelle, and consider me in solidarity.

[StinkerbelleRock]

Thanks Marina..... I am in no position (financially) to even look at a doctor. Grrr..... I did gain the weight after I went off of the patch. Maybe I will wean myself a little slower this time.

Schmatta..... maybe we should help eachother somehow. Moral support... I've noticed another thing that sucks.... especially if you are poor like me.... The patch is $50 and a pack of smokes is $4.... ugh....

[Marina-Trilobyte]

Thanks Marina..... I am in no position (financially) to even look at a doctor. Grrr..... I did gain the weight after I went off of the patch.

I know sometimes states have free programs or materials for people who want to quit. I did a quick search for Ohio programs and noticed there's a telephone number at this link. http://www.ohiolung.org/quityes.htm

Try giving them a call. Worst case scenario, they can't offer any practical help and you're no worse than you were before. Also, try googling your local county human services, they may have something.

[stella]

i quit a couple of years ago, after smoking on and off (mostly on, with an 8 month or so area where i didnt) for about 7 years.

#1-Has anyone here quit with full success?? How??
Honestly, i was just so broke i couldn't afford cigarettes. i felt like too much of a sleazebag borrowing money from my little sister and/or parents for cigarettes, and there's only so many times a day you can bum cigarettes from your friends. i don't know how much cigarettes cost where you live, but it helped me a lot to figure out how much money i spent on smoking a month and think about all the things i could do with that money. a pack costs about $4 (for Camels) here, and at a pack a day, i was spending $120 a month! i also thought about how crappy it felt to step out of a great aikido class and light up a cigarette, and how good it would be to have stronger lungs when i was training. i think the strongest motivator for me (this is embarrassing) was how gross old people who smoke are. like wrinkled-up old ladies with yellow fingers who tote around a bottle of oxygen, but still smoke. it's just not a pretty sight. picture yourself looking like that.

#2-How did you avoid the weight gain? (I'm embarassed to say that I am far more concerned about this than anything else)
I gained some weight. it's just part of the deal for most people.

#3-How did you deal with all of the emotions? (I would cry watching Maury)
I didn't have a problem with that. i would get super angry and homicidal when i wanted a cigarette, but i would take a nap or something instead.

#4-How long did it take before all of these terrible withdraw symptoms subsided?
I'd say a couple of weeks or a month for the headaches and cravings to let up, but the psychological stuff lasts a long time. i still want a cigarette now and then, but since i don't smoke anymore, they make me sick. i've smoked a few cigarettes since i quit, but i just don't BUY them, or make them a part of my daily routine.

[keeeen]

I'm also starting to think about quitting...not looking forward to it, been putting it off for YEARS...I've been smoking for 12 YEARS and still in my 20's...how scary is that...maybe we should start up some sort of a support group for each other, give daily HONEST updates, chat support etc...might work!

[StinkerbelleRock]

Keeeen.... I think this is a fabulous idea! How should we go about this??

[acebeader]

I quit over 2 years ago. Stopped eating out for lunch, only have eaten Lean Cuisines since, trying to be proactive.....and have the dreaded 25 lb weight gain. It does stink, but I think it's just part of it. I have just been taking that part 1 day at a time. (I never had to diet before....ugh)

It feels great most of the time, but I have a hard time out at bars still. My fiance (he was my bf then) REALLY hated it, and that's why I quit. Now I am grateful to him for it.

Please yell if you need anything, including moral support. I know you all can do it!

[baltica]

#1-Has anyone here quit with full success?? How??

Yes, almost five years ago. I smoked for 10 years, from age 15 to 25. I was never a huge smoker to start with, I have to admit. I switched to progressively grodier brands and finally got to the point where I loathed the single cig I'd allow myself each day. Then I took a step back and realized I didn't need the silly things at all. Also removed myself from bars, concert venues, etc where people tend to smoke, for a little while.

It also helped to have a boyfriend who was on my back constantly to quit (although annoying as hell).

Oh yeah, I also retaught myself how to knit. That gave my nervous self something to keep my hands busy.

#2-How did you avoid the weight gain? (I'm embarassed to say that I am far more concerned about this than anything else)

I lived in downtown philly when I quit, so I was constantly walking around everywhere. No weight gain.

#3-How did you deal with all of the emotions? (I would cry watching Maury)

The only emotion I had was my silly dependence on having something to do with myself in social situations. That pointed to a deeper issue, for me, social phobia. I've always been super shy. I saw a therapist a few times for this. I'm still not Miss Social Butterfly, but I have very few problems in social situations anymore.

#4-How long did it take before all of these terrible withdraw symptoms subsided?

They weren't that terrible! You're going to go through some amount of time where it just seems so weird not to smoke, but that will pass. I can't imagine smoking at all, anymore.

Good luck!