How did you quit smoking
- Thread starter Ozark
- Start date
smoking
Both the wife and I quit. O' bout 20 or so years ago. We decided that we needed to and quit. We were both 2 pack a day smokers. But we just quit.
No patch, no hypnotist, no group therapy crap. JUST QUIT
It ain't easy but, you can do it.
Each time you feel you want one, just say NO.
It ani't easy but, YOU CAN DO IT
Instead of a smoke do 10 sit ups. Take out the trash. Scrub the tub.
Just DO SOMETHING.
Tempers will get short. Live with it.
Want a smoke? DO SOMETHING ELSE. Just quit.It is all in your head.
Wash everything and I mean EVERYTHING. Clean everything. In a week, you can smell a smoker 50 yards away.
$3.00 a pack X30 = $90.00 a month. What can you do with $90.00 a month of free money?
AND thats assuming you only smoke one pack a day.
JUST QUIT
Both the wife and I quit. O' bout 20 or so years ago. We decided that we needed to and quit. We were both 2 pack a day smokers. But we just quit.
No patch, no hypnotist, no group therapy crap. JUST QUIT
It ain't easy but, you can do it.
Each time you feel you want one, just say NO.
It ani't easy but, YOU CAN DO IT
Instead of a smoke do 10 sit ups. Take out the trash. Scrub the tub.
Just DO SOMETHING.
Tempers will get short. Live with it.
Want a smoke? DO SOMETHING ELSE. Just quit.It is all in your head.
Wash everything and I mean EVERYTHING. Clean everything. In a week, you can smell a smoker 50 yards away.
$3.00 a pack X30 = $90.00 a month. What can you do with $90.00 a month of free money?
AND thats assuming you only smoke one pack a day.
JUST QUIT
Friend Oz,
Baldy didnt tell ya it wuz eazy.....nicotine iz near bout the hardest danged habit ta shake. He tole ya straight out. Crutches dont seem ta work. There iz a light down the tunnel after bout 3-4 weeks.....bout the same time it takes ta dry out a drunk. After that ya aint tryin' ta whup a physical habit no more....jest a psychologikle one.
I spent some of that saved money on a gift fer myownself ever now 'n then.
When ya git ready ta root hog with it, let us know. We will help ya. :wink:
regards
bearridge
The intelligent man finds almost everything ridiculous, the sensible man hardly anything. Goethe
Baldy didnt tell ya it wuz eazy.....nicotine iz near bout the hardest danged habit ta shake. He tole ya straight out. Crutches dont seem ta work. There iz a light down the tunnel after bout 3-4 weeks.....bout the same time it takes ta dry out a drunk. After that ya aint tryin' ta whup a physical habit no more....jest a psychologikle one.
I spent some of that saved money on a gift fer myownself ever now 'n then.
When ya git ready ta root hog with it, let us know. We will help ya. :wink:
regards
bearridge
The intelligent man finds almost everything ridiculous, the sensible man hardly anything. Goethe
Ozark,
When I was only a tad younger than you, I started running. At that time, I carried a pipe and pouch all the time, smoked a pipe 3-5 times a day.
One day, as I was changing my clothes to go running, I emptied my pockets out on the dresser. I looked at my pouch and pipe and realized that I hadn't smoked in a while. Couldn't remember when, just a while. Didn't pick it back up.
I couldn't do even a quarter mile non-stop the first few times. Took a week to get up to that. Progress was faster after that, though. In about a month I cold run 2 1/2 miles 5 times a week. You'll find your notch there. Only three times a week puts you in the top 98% of the population.
I lost weight, quit smoking, ate all I wanted, and increased sexual proclivity several notches.
Br'r Bear has a good point. Take some of that money and buy yourself some gifts. Good hiking sox, a good water purifier assembly, Hennessy Hammock, Chota mukluks, a shit hot carbon fiber paddle. Only a few months of not spending on cigarettes will yield those goodies for you at no extra cost.
Paul, I wish you good skill and determination. Luck, has nothing to do with it. You'll be making your own luck, friend. Keep us posted, we're with you.
Hey! When you get it licked - go teach Sparkus Nauticus how to read a damned tide table just for relaxation.
When I was only a tad younger than you, I started running. At that time, I carried a pipe and pouch all the time, smoked a pipe 3-5 times a day.
One day, as I was changing my clothes to go running, I emptied my pockets out on the dresser. I looked at my pouch and pipe and realized that I hadn't smoked in a while. Couldn't remember when, just a while. Didn't pick it back up.
I couldn't do even a quarter mile non-stop the first few times. Took a week to get up to that. Progress was faster after that, though. In about a month I cold run 2 1/2 miles 5 times a week. You'll find your notch there. Only three times a week puts you in the top 98% of the population.
I lost weight, quit smoking, ate all I wanted, and increased sexual proclivity several notches.
Br'r Bear has a good point. Take some of that money and buy yourself some gifts. Good hiking sox, a good water purifier assembly, Hennessy Hammock, Chota mukluks, a shit hot carbon fiber paddle. Only a few months of not spending on cigarettes will yield those goodies for you at no extra cost.
Paul, I wish you good skill and determination. Luck, has nothing to do with it. You'll be making your own luck, friend. Keep us posted, we're with you.
Hey! When you get it licked - go teach Sparkus Nauticus how to read a damned tide table just for relaxation.
The money is good incentive I figger 300 a month, but so is the health factor. The population is going non smoking here anyway no smoking in any resteraunt in Springfield city limits and about every where else makes you feel like a criminal.
Somebody would have to teach me how to read the tide table first. The tide only rises here so you can notice is after a big rain.
Somebody would have to teach me how to read the tide table first. The tide only rises here so you can notice is after a big rain.
WOW! $300 / month raise! Achievable, and handy ad all get out for the Holidays. I think you're on to something here. That translates into a gift or three for a special gal in your life, and you too.
Chuck can't read them anyway, so you could tell him anything and he'd have to believe it. sigh
Chuck can't read them anyway, so you could tell him anything and he'd have to believe it. sigh
I went to the Dr. and told her I had decided to quit. She prescribed Zyban and told me to follow the directions exactly. It took about two weeks to quit after smoking after 32 years. That was eight years ago. Breathing much better now.
Ozark, I fear that "cutting back" is a bad start. It will prolong the tough times, give too much opportunity for excuses, and won't get the job done in the first place. Step up to that line and pull the trigger.
I never really smoked, maybe an occasional seegar......Now that damned Jack has me up to maybe 2-3 seegars a month with a brandy out on the front porch. I don't buy 'em though, I just tell Jack how wonderful they are and bum them off a him! :wink:
Speaking of which....I can't believe it! I'm on the front porch with a seegar and brandy tonight in a t-shirt here in SW PA. It's 66 degrees! Bottom falls out tomorrow, into the 30's with snow flurries.
Paul...YOU CAN DO IT!!! Because you want too....were pull'n for ya...were all in this together!
Speaking of which....I can't believe it! I'm on the front porch with a seegar and brandy tonight in a t-shirt here in SW PA. It's 66 degrees! Bottom falls out tomorrow, into the 30's with snow flurries.
Paul...YOU CAN DO IT!!! Because you want too....were pull'n for ya...were all in this together!
Twain said that it was easy tow quit smoking. He'd done it hundreds of times!
You, good friend, will have to do it only once.
You, good friend, will have to do it only once.
The Zyban program is a gradual weening method.Ozark said:
It works fine if:
1. You must want to quit.
2. Follow the program exactly.
That is the most important part!
Just knowing that you should quit is not enough. Smoking is a two part problem. It is both a chemical addiction and a psychological addiction. One complication of kicking the habit is that for some, the psychological part is stronger than the chemical one.
You'll have to work out some sort of "program" or "method" to deal with the psychological component yourself. What may help is to start noticing your "automatic" triggers. By that, I mean those times when you always light up, such as finishing a meal, sitting down to watch TV, even when driving, you may notice that when you pass certain points, you always light one.
At these "trigger points," you will find you light a cigarette, even though you just finished one and don't really feel the need. Identify those points, realize you are lighting up just because you always do at that point, and decide NOT to. You'd be amazed at how much you can cut back, by asking yourself if you really feel the need, or if you are just reacting to a trigger. If you like something like those sugar-free, mint hard candies, start carrying some around with you. When you hit one of those trigger points, pop one of those in your mouth instead of a cigarette.
Now, the problem with many of the "chemical" helpers that are supposed to help with the chemical addiction is that they provide the same "pulse" to the system that a cigarette does.
Your body will have a certain amount of nicotine in it, all the time when you are a smoker. When this serum level drops below a certain point, you feel the "craving." All of the products that tell you to use them when you feel that craving are likely to fail to quit.
The transdermal patch that you wear should be a very good method of dealing with the chemical addiction, but following the package instructions is one reason it often fails.
According to a doctor I worked with in the ER, the step-down process using the transdermal patch can work, but not by using it as the package directs.
First off, realize that it can take about 4 hours for the nicotine to move from the patch and through the skin, to get into your system. So, you should NOT change locations every time you change the patch. Doing this defeats the purpose of keeping a constant serum level of nicotine in your system, in order to avoid the physical craving. Changing the location of the patch allows the serum level to drop, which causes the craving, and then provides the "pulse" of nicotine that your body is used to, when the new patch finally delivers the nicotine.
The only reason to change the location of the patch is if the skin shows marked signs of irritation. Otherwise, use the same spot, every time.
Also, most transdermal products advise taking the patch off when you sleep. Again, this works against the gradual, step-down method. That nicotine craving is often strongest when you wake up after a night's sleep. This is because your body has not been getting it's periodic "doses" all night long. That first cigg in the morning has a powerful effect as it provides the first "nicotine bolus" of the day, bringing your serum level back up to it's "normal level." ("Normal" for an addict, a "zero" level should be considered "normal.")
So, once again the package instructions work against the process! Leave the patch on, 24 hours a day. You may notice your dreams getting a little weird, well, weirder than normal. This won't last, just lay back and enjoy the show. You will adapt to the nicotine level not dropping over night and you'll avoid that "wake-up" craving that very often leads to failure to kick the habit.
The chemical addiction is relatively easy to beat using the step-down process. What needs to be done is to establish a constant serum level, maintain it at that level for 2 weeks, then drop it by one third, and hold it there for two weeks. Your body will easily adjust to that one third reduction and accept it as the "new normal." At the end of that two week period, you will have adjusted to this new level and you can then cut it again.
This is why most transdermal products are packaged in three different dose levels of 21 milligrams, 14 milligrams, and 7 milligrams. When you have used the largest dose for two weeks, followed by the 14 milligram patch for two more weeks, your on the last leg of the journey. When you are on the 7 milligram patch, you may find yourself forgetting to change the patch. That is because the new "normal" serum level of nicotine is very low.
So low in fact, that it will hardly be missed. But don't jump the gun. give that low-dose patch it's full, two weeks. After that, you will notice very little, if any, of the old physical cravings. Living without the daily infusions of nicotine will be very easy to do. In fact, you will have beaten the chemical addiction of smoking. If you can find a way to deal with the psychological addiction, such as noting and avoiding those "triggers," you'll be a non-smoker.
Two final notes, if you should "fall off the wagon" and light one up, do NOT interpret this a "failure." Recognize it for what it is! You just slipped off, jump right back up on that wagon and keep going. Do NOT fall into the trap of thinking, "I blew it." and give up. That's just the physical addiction at work.
The other thing is that yes, I am saying that the directions that come with the transdermal patch will work against you. I was lucky enough to be talking with a doctor who knew me well enough to risk advising to use the product contrary to the manufacturer's instructions. His method was based on a good, medical understanding of chemical addiction, and not powered by the usual fear of a lawyer's interference with things well outside their training.
The above method did work for me. I went through the process for 6 weeks, carrying around a pocket full of Starlight peppermints. At the end of that time, I was no longer addicted. I was a non-smoker, with none of the residual cravings for two full years.
Sadly, after that period, other things in life, namely a deep, dark depression, made it all too easy for me to revert back to my "old habits." I suppose it had something to do with the notion that "smoking is the only socially acceptable form of suicide left." And that is flawed thinking at it's best! Even that method of killing one's self is no longer "socially acceptable."
The described process does work! I was "clean & sober" for more than two years. The fact that I am once again smoking has nothing to do with the method. I simply came down with a sever case of the "stupids" and went back to my old habit as a matter of CHOICE. A bad one, but a personal choice, none the less.
Doctor Elvis has left the building!
Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL
Well said or explained Mike. I have helped a lot of folks stop smoking with hypnotic suggestions (Yes, I am licensed and Certified in the use and instruction of hypnosis since June 3. 1988 , even had my own business , part time , when I wasn't , on duty, at the Sheriffs Office ).
No I have not used it for myself to stop smoking simply because I don't want to quit , have thought about it , slowed down on the smoking but have not quit.
Thinking , questioning , pondering , procrastinating , and anything else about not smoking will not work ... You have to WANT to stop to make it work.
When someone asks me to help them , I pay real close attention to how they say it ( express there desires about stopping smoking ) before I will spend my time helping them. I don't like to waste my time helping someone who really does not want the help , only thinks they do.
The real cure is what the person and only that person wants to do.
Chuck.
No I have not used it for myself to stop smoking simply because I don't want to quit , have thought about it , slowed down on the smoking but have not quit.
Thinking , questioning , pondering , procrastinating , and anything else about not smoking will not work ... You have to WANT to stop to make it work.
When someone asks me to help them , I pay real close attention to how they say it ( express there desires about stopping smoking ) before I will spend my time helping them. I don't like to waste my time helping someone who really does not want the help , only thinks they do.
The real cure is what the person and only that person wants to do.
Chuck.