Maddad's Journey: Nicotine Free.....

Congrats Maddad! Keep fighting!

Are you using the patch or are you doing it cold turkey? Some people swear by the step down method using the patch as it weans you off the nicotine slowly.

I can say that the biggest addiction is NOT the nicotine! It's true. It's the psychological addiction. It's the "it's time to have a ciggie" or whatever because you are used to doing it after a meal, or with coffee or whatever your particular pattern has been. That pattern is deeply entrenched and it's rough.

Nicotine withdrawal only lasts about a week to ten days. After that it's mainly all a battle with the psychological pattern addiction. It's often best to beat an old habit by replacing it with a new one. It takes a little time to retrain the brain but find a new (and healthier) habit to do instead. For some people, they substitute a piece of sugarless candy to suck on when they would normally be sucking on a cig, etc.

I'm praying for you! Don't give up!

Maddad... (((((hugs)))))

I have been there! Hang in there... and oh my god, I remember the first week being homicidal. Not suicidal, but homicidal....

Stay strong and don't give up!!!

I quit almost 6 years ago.... you can do it!!!

E

Hang in there buddy!

Believe me on this one, if I can quit, I KNOW you can! I had even stopped at one point for about nine years, and picked it up again! Talk about dumb!

Just get past the first full day. Trust me, you'll still feel like hunting small and/or large creatures with a chainsaw, but day one is the key. Make it thru day one and you'll know what I mean.

Pullin' for ya

(*pinkgrins*!)

(((Mark))) I know it's hard but you will be healthier for stopping. I quit for good last year (I have smoked off and on since I was 16). The taste of a cigarette still sounds good but I know that it isn't worth it.

My hubby smoking about three years ago and quit chewing about a year ago. The first week was the hardest but he stuck to it. I know you can do it too :)

You know what you should do with that money you saved today you should go out and buy more tobacco. If you've been doing this long why stop. Honestly life's short your suppose to enjoy it not suffer pain. Go right back in there and start doing what you've been doing.

The first week was the hardest but he stuck to it. I know you can do it too :)

Personally from what I've heard it is always the second week that is the hardest and that goes with all addictions, and once you've survived six weeks your good to go. Your life is free from that addiction.

One of the toughest challenges to take on especially if you have been using Tobacco for 30 years...I started smoking when I was 21 and kept puffing for 18 years until one day the Elephant landed on my chest and said ...If you don't quit..I'm just gonna lie here..so I made a deal with him..I'd quit Cigarettes if he'd quit peanuts..He never did, but he isn't sitting on my chest anymore..I went back to it off and on but never like before and then one day I just gave them up all together...Now, I wouldn't smoke only because the government is getting rich on my pain...F**k em..best of luck MD..we'll be here if you need us...

I'm with you Maddad... I'm on Day 3 and no bodies to bury yet. :) Though I will admit to walking by the smoking area outside at work and breathing deeply... lol

Good luck to you! Good luck to me! :)

Maddad

First, I think it is important that you psychologically move to consider yourself a non-smoker. To be 'there' you need to actually be embarrassed to be seen smoking - the very idea that some inanimate object that you actually bought and, in so doing, contributed to the continued addition of society by keeping the pushers in business.

No, that is not you anymore. You are a non-smoker.

The other key factor is to find another vice (or several). Hey, there are many things that are far worse than smoking. Ideally you pick something that you can enjoy for a while (chewing gum - Big Red is a good one for this, Tootsie Roll pops, expensive Smoothies, etc.)

If you have a craving centered in your mouth then have a mouthwash handy to clear things out.

But more than anything the key is your own personal disgust with being a smoker. Let yourself go and truly hate the Maddad smoker but admire the Maddad non-smoker.

One more thing - smoking kills us - in a very bad way.

Maddad: Congrats and good luck (from a smoker of almost 30 yrs and an ex smoker of almost 10yrs). The first yr is the most difficult. Find ways to distract from smokin'. Try not to rely on patches or gum. Those rarely work and in some cases u can't take 'em cuz of meds u might be on. Be patient w urself.

maddad, I was never a heavy smoker, started as a social smoker, but evolved into more, quitting for me started by not smoking a whole cig. then putting the half-smoked cig back in the back, with plans to finish it before lighting a new one, after all I wouldn't toss dimes into the trash, and at over $4 a pack in cali... that's what half a cig is. anyway, when I craved a cig, and opened the pack and smelled that nasty half smoked cig.. It was easy to not smoke it. I still think fresh tobacco smells good... anyway I carried that nasty cig for about 2 weeks when I realized I didn't need it anymore... that was jan 09... I relapsed in may 09 at mother's day week. 1 pack... it was the busy time at work (flower shop) and was stressful... since then, not a desire to smoke a cig. I still smoke pot. so I really can't say I quit smoking, but anyways.

GOOD LUCK!!!

So here are a few reasons to help continue the quit...

1. your children, your grandchild...

2. your children, your grandchild...

3. your children, your grandchild.

That was my mantra... I am doing this to see my kids longer... Hang in there maddad!

Congratulations!! You can do it!! (I wish I could!!....) But you have inspired me to think about it. :) Good luck.

My wife and I decided to quit. she put them down and that was it. For me, it took almost a years.

We have both smoked for over 30 years.

I smoked off and on for that year. I had cut down to about 90%. Since January I have not touched one at all. I have been smoke free since January 1 2010.

On one hand, I still think about it every day, and I still want to smoke. On the other hand, I can breathe so much better, I don't have a cough any more. I don't get sick as easy or stay sick as long.

On another hand I am kind of an A_ss-hole now. I really don't have much patient any more, I do not tolerate drivers who can't follow the laws on the road. Simple things like people not using their turn signals really ticks me off. People who litter out of their car will get honks and dirty looks from me. Yes there is an upside and down side of stop smoking. It is an on going battle every day

Good luck, Maddad. It is very difficult. I wish I could tell you exactly what works. I am working on quitting too and not everyday is a good one. Just do your best!

Good luck, Maddad.

I'll be taking the plunge myself in a little while. I've got a lot going on at work right now so trying to quit now would just be asking for trouble. In fact, a number of my team and co-workers have begged me to hold off quitting until this latest project is over. For their sake, I'm holding off quitting but I'm serious about it this time. I'm not looking forward to it but I know it will help improve the quality of life.

Here's hoping we both succeed with as little grief as possible. On another note, 3.50? I only wish they were that cheap for me. I'm spending nearly six bucks a pack and, if health reasons weren't enough, saving around six dollars a day is attractive on its own.

Good luck, Maddad,

I'm on my 3rd month and it isn't easy. What has really helped me is the nicotine gum. It's not cheap, but for those times when your body is really craving the nicotine, the gum really helps. As far as the physical part of it, I've been using straws and lolipops.

There are great benefits to quitting. I've been getting my sens of smell and taste back which is pretty neat and my car and my clothes don't stink of smoke anymore. Also, I haven't burned a hole in anything by dropping an ash on it. :-)

maddad...Here is a good reason to quit! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQibBgF4LNw

Keep going. After two weeks it got a lot better for me, but everyone is different. Going on Six months now. It is worth it.

You will also notice more money in your bank account!

Never started and every time I see or hear of someone struggling to stop, I am so so glad!

Hang tough and don't give up! Put the $3.50 a day in to a jar and watch it grow. Set a goal then do something really cool with it when you reach it!

Hopefully this is a successful Day Three! I smoked 26yrs, and quit 5 weeks before I turned 40. Every major event in my life, I'd had a lit cigarette in my hand. I still don't go to movie theatres -- when the suspense turns up, that old antsy feeling returns of being trapped and can't smoke. And oh yeah, on July 30, I'll have 20yrs nicotine-free.

One thing that helped at first (we're all different) is a physical craving along the path that the smoke traveled. I packed crushed ice in a tea glass, poured limeade (no sugar), and drank it down with one drink. I did this about once an hour. It hurt a little, but would freeze the back of my throat and esophygus, where the little nerve endings were triggering me. The important thing about not using soda pop is to avoid a *sugar rush* replacement. If you do that, you just prolong breaking the habit. Something worked, because I loved smoking, and the craving went away. And I haven't thought about checking the price of cigs at a 7-11 for YEARS! Breathe deep -- you'll get there.

Maddad be sure to drink alot of water to help flush your system out. Wow cigs r cheap there, here about 6.00 a pack before sales tax. Mista quit about 2 years ago and he had been smoking since he was a kid. He said quitting was the hardest thing to do, because they are so ready available. I am very proud of you for doing this.