I Quit Smoking Cold Turkey. I Tried EVERYTHING else.

[TexasLady]

It was my cough that got me to put them down. It was all I did- nasty relentess coughing. I would get headaches from coughing so hard. I would wake up every hour to cough.

I have slept better the last few weeks than I have in ages. I dont miss them. And It wasnt even that hard, at least for me. I think it really truly is all about making the decision and making it stick. There are no doubts in my mind anymore that I will never smoke again. I hate them that much now.

I have probably made at LEAST 30 attempts in the last two years.
I tried:
The patch. That landed me in the hospital with an atrial Fib. quitting smoking that time almost killed me!
Gum. Tastes terrible, and not friendly to dental work.
Lozenge. Made me ill if I swallowed the 'juice' it made in my mouth. also foul tasting.
Chantix. I know lots of people that quit on it, but it just made me looney-crazy, and gave me wayy too much gas too.



I hope other folks share their quittin' stories. I feel soo confident this time around. I scared myself straight I guess.

[Forkboy]

1. Yeah, I hate cold turkey too.

Hard to roll.

:hide:


Best of luck to you!!!!! I really hope it works for you. I worry all the time about my smoking friends. :(

[TexasLady]

2. lol

thanks forkboy. Think I'll try heating it up some.

:P

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. My dear TexasLady!

Oh, good for you!

This is such an important thing to do...

And also remember: You are no longer supporting those nasty companies, many of whom are run by Republicans!:scared:

Biggo congrats!

:yourock:

:hug:

[Auggie]

4. After quitting I surpressed any sudden urges by getting REALLY ANGRY

at tobacco companies. Yelling, screaming... it helped a lot!

Do not do this in public.

[pink-o]

5. I quit 27 years ago when I was 26...

I did it cold turkey and never looked back! By (many, many years of) hindsight, what made me successful was that I never really thought of myself as a smoker--even though I was up to a pack and 1/2 a day, I still ran and danced maniacally in clubs, was already a vegetarian, so psychologically, I considered myself a health nut :wtf: . Okay, if you're a pack-a-day smoker, you're the farthest thing from being a health-nut, but that self-perception was a huge lift over the hurdle--correct or not!

So if you think of yourself as healthy, really really believe it down to your soul, you'll never light up again, regardless of temptation.

[Iggo]

6. Congratulations TexasLady!!!!!!!!

And as you requested, here's my story:

I quit cold turkey.

I never tried any other way, so I don't have an opinion on any of the quit-smoking aids like the gum or the patch other than, "If it works for you, it works."

When I quit, it was about four years after I quit a whole bunch of other things cold turkey all in one day. Meth, coke, weed, alcohol...and those were just the ones I did regularly. What I'm saying is I was no stranger to withdrawals. Still, quitting cigs was harder for me than all the others combined. There was an emptiness and a kicked-in-the-gut feeling that I just couldn't shake for probably 4 or 5 months. Almost like when I got dumped in junior high...heheheh. But there was a cool sense of inevitability, too. I knew that my last cigarette was my last cigarette. I wasn't "quitting" or "trying to quit." I quit, and that's it.

My message to people who want to quit is this: Stop and don't start again. The only way to stop smoking is to stop smoking. Yes, it may suck a lttle or a lot, and that suckage may last for a little while or a little bit longer than a little while. But it won't last forever.

Congrats again, TexasLady.

Iggo.

[TexasLady]

9. i know what you mean about the emptiness thing

the good thing about that feeling, is that I recognize it, acknowledge it, and move my mind somewhere else. You know I cant exactly say what day I quit either, which is weird. It was a weekday, early in Feb. that's what I know. I guess when looking back I'll just say, I was in my forties..coughing, and I just quit.

I wish I had trusted myself sooner that I could do this.

[Iggo]

24. Yeah, that's weird about the date.

I can figure out, to within an hour or two, the exact moment of the exact day that I quit dope. (I was in jail at the time, so no clocks.) But not the cigs. I guess it wasn't as momentous an occasion. Just taking care of unfinished business, so to speak. Weird.

[Haole Girl]

7. I've read that quiting cold turkey has the highest success rate

Every time you think about "cheating" - even just a little - remember that cough.

Way to go!!

:bounce:

[SeattleGirl]

8. Congratulations!

And continued success to you! :toast:

[IntravenousDemilo]

10. I plan on quitting tomorrow. I like to use my own personal new year rather than January 1.

Because I'm doing something that involves myself and my body, I'm using my birthday as a starting point, rather than some arbitrary date like New Year's Day.

Wish me luck! The patch worked for me for a while, but I backslid for reasons I won't go into.

I hope you make it.

[TexasLady]

14. I do wish you luck!

I loved the patch! until it made my heart go nuts. :(
and happy bday! what an awesome gift to give yourself!

[IntravenousDemilo]

16. Thank you.

I swear, you Texas ladies are all so classy and sweet. Your mamas must have raised you right.

I also plan to stop not going to the gym. After all, I am paying for it every month.

[malta blue]

21. Happy Birthday a little early...

mine is on tuesday - imagine that.

:toast:

[IntravenousDemilo]

22. Thanks. I should change my birthday, in that case...

...and then together we can "march fourth" to victory over the forces of unenlightenment (I think we're probably also going to have an election up here soon).

Cheers! Oh, and of course, many happy returns of the day on Tuesday!

[Roon]

11. Three years ago I quit using the patch

and going to group once a week. I got the patches for free from the local county hospital.

The first thing I noticed when I quit was the extra buck in my pocket.

[THUNDER HANDS]

12. what lozenges were you using?

I'm on the Commit lozenges and they work great. The mint flavored ones are really good. The cherry, not so much.

Been without a smoke for over a month now.

[RebelOne]

26. I have seriously been considering trying the Commit lozenges,

but was not sure whether they would work.

[auntAgonist]

13. I quit 25.5 years ago when I found out I was pregnant

with my son. It was the only motivation I needed! Cold turkey.

Congratulations on quitting and here's to a lifetime of better health because of it.


aA
kesha

[lost-in-nj]

15. CONGRATS!!!!

Feb 15th was a year for me.... I used Wellbutrin.
I quit for a few reasons. Started working out, was the only one in the house that smoked and I want to get some dental work done the dentist said he wouldn't do if I smoked.....
keep it up!!!!!

I also believe that you REALLY REALLY want to quit..
or its not going to work



lost

:toast: :applause: :applause:

[pengillian101]

17. Good luck to all us 'quitters'

I will be smoke free for one year mid-March. I smoked for 40 years and tried quitting for at least 20 years using every possible quit idea, therapy and product. Even aversion therapy and hypnosis.

Know what scared me enough? Hospital stay with a minor stroke. That was the end of my smoking.

I live with a smoker and thought it might be hard to be around. Not so. Once my mind was really made up to quit - that was it for me. I occasionally have a slight twinge of a craving, but it's gone in seconds.

:grouphug:

[NewWaveChick1981]

18. First, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

:hug: :hi: My sister started smoking at age 16, and she was smoking a pack a day by the time she was 18. By age 21, she would develop terrible bronchitis every time she got a cold, and once it progressed into pneumonia. But still she smoked, and she developed a terrible hacking cough. Nothing motivated her to quit until a snowstorm in early 1988. She and I lived in the same town but in separate apartments about eight miles from each other. She called me because she was freaking out, unable to get to the store to buy cigarettes because of the snow. No, not food, but cigarettes. :( I asked her if she was OK, and she said no, but she would be. Coincidentally, the next day was the Great American Smokeout, and I chuckled and told her instead of her Great American Cigarette Freakout, she might consider the Great American Smokeout. She laughed a little and said that she just might. Well, I saw her at lunch the next day (we worked at the same university at the time), and she had been to a campus meeting for the Smokeout. I gave her a big hug and told her I'd be right there to help her get through it. :) The two friends we usually ate lunch with were there too, and they both encouraged her to keep at it. She got through one day, then two, then three....and she did it cold turkey too. :D She was a basket case (her words) for about two weeks, but she made it, and she never went back. That was March 1988, and she was 23 years old. She's 43 and a mother of two now, and she still tells me she cannot believe she ever smoked like that.

It is possible to quit cold turkey and never go back. :D Keep up the good work! :thumbsup:

[Adams Wulff]

19. I quit last Sunday.

It was Ms. Wulffs birthday.

I'm on the Chantix, and seems to be working. What's weird is how I see other people who are smoking, like "What are you doing?" It looks so foreign to me now, and I was doing the exact thing just a week ago.

Well, I find it strange.

Congrats Texas Lady!

[underpants]

25. Congrats! I quit two and a half years ago after 22 years of smoking

I used the patch and a lot of Orbit gum (mix the citrus with the lime YUM!). That was in August of 2005. In November of 2007 I ran a marathon!!

I do have about 20-30 extra pounds on me and for all the running I still eat to replace the smoking (I think) but hey it is okay. I can't imagine smoking again.

[malta blue]

20. In two days, I will be smoke free for one year....

and I did it cold turkey too! :toast:

I had smoked since I was 13 and I quit on my 38th birthday.

[applegrove]

23. Way to go Texas Lady. Sounds like you have a beautiful quit on your hands. And

I think gas is normal when one quits. Whether they are on a pill or not. Just part of the adjustment of quitting. Also known as "quitulence".

[CreekDog]

27. Congratulations!

i guess now you're lungs are decontaminating themselves. :hi:

[mtnester]

28. 200 days for me so far

cold turkey

That said, yesterday it was nice outside, and I was cleaning house like mad, and that is my DANGEROUS time...when I have this flurry of activity, and take a quick break...that is SO when I want a cigarette. Completely dangerous for me at that time. I thought about smoking a lot yesterday, recognized it for what it was, and still thought about it some more anyway.

My father, who quit 18 years ago, said there is not a single day that goes by that he does not think about having a cigarette, and he could, in 8 puffs, be a smoker again.

So could I.

On edit - yesterday was so dangerous, that I nearly called the hotline...seriously...to talk me down. I was able to do that myself, but damn I thought I was past that

[argyl]

29. Cold turkey's kept me smoke free for 24 years. It was the only serious effort I made to quit.

As hard as it was for me I never wanted to go through it twice. There were no patches or gums back then so the main alternative to cold turkey was "tapering off," which has a success rate of approximately zero.

Never thought I had the strength to quit the nasty things right up until the day I actually did.When I hear it called a bad habit I say bullshit. Biting your nails is a bad habit; nicotine is a full blown physiological and psychological addiction.

And the tobacco companies are responsible for the death and misery their products cause. They purposely target their marketing to the young,making cigarettes appear to be glamorous,sexy,and a mature,adult way of life.

So,all too often the first "adult" decision a kid makes is the worst decision they'll make in their lives. I started when I was sixteen,which is fairly old for a beginning smoker. Almost no one starts smoking in their thirties.

Quitting smoking improved my health and also my self image. And I need the money I save by not smoking a damn sight more than Phillip Morris does.When I quit a carton(smoke 2 to 2 1/2 packs a day and that's how you buy them)of smokes was under ten dollars.Now a carton of a premium brand cigarettes is getting close to $50.That's flat ass obscene.

[LNM]

30. Feb. 14, 2008 for me.

I'm using Nicorette but not a lot of it. I'm trying not to get hooked on that. I know other people that used the gum to quit and ended up chewing it for years. I quit because of a cancer scare.