Four weeks ago Tuesday, I quit smoking.

[JackBeck]

The urge to finally admit that it was over totally took me by surprise and was completely unplanned. Not even the least bit on my radar. Sure, I had been cutting down, but continued to enjoy on average 5 cigarettes each evening, none during working hours, for the past two years.

And yeah, if you do the math, I quit the day of Obama's Inauguration. Complete coincidence. Or maybe change I thought I could believe in.

The morning of the Inauguration I woke up with this nasty flu that has been going around recently and as the day progressed, after smoking a few while I was getting even sicker, I realized this was no longer for me.

Do I still miss it after a month? Absolutely. I've had at least two dreams where I've dreamed about almost smoking, but resisted at the last minute. It continues to be a struggle. But now that the first month is almost over, I feel I can finally talk about this mini milestone.

What ultimately worked for you or someone that you know or love?

[KitchenWitch]

1. I quit almost 19 years ago

I still have dreams where I have smoked. :crazy:

I had self hypnosis tapes, and I did not know it at the time, but I was 3 weeks pregnant.

Congratulations.

I am happy that neither of my children have ever seen me smoke.

[JackBeck]

5. I hope they stop soon.

Waking up at 5 am the past month is starting to wear on me.

And my dad, while he was still around, tried everything. Even getting something implanted in his earlobe that he was supposed to squeeze every time he got the urge.

Your last statement, though, is where we are at as we work to achieve that particular goal.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. My dear JackBeck!

I've never really smoked (dabbled with it in college) so I have no story for you...

I just want to say good for you!

I've heard that folks who've quit continue to have dreams for many years...But those are just images in your mind...

Resist them!

I'm very proud that you've taken this huge step towards your own health, sweetie...

:hug:

[JackBeck]

12. Good morning, Peggy.

Thank you for the words of encouragement.

Now if I could only convince myself to get back on the treadmill...

[flvegan]

3. Congrats to you!

I never smoked, but my mom and dad did. Matter of fact, my dad did Camel ads in the Navy. My dad never quit, but my mom did somewhere around 27 years ago via...acupuncture.

[JackBeck]

18. Thanks, buddy.

My dad tried everything, yet nothing took. He smoked unfiltered Camels one after another, blowing through a few cartons a week.

When I was bartending, and before the smoking ban in NYC, I was up to about a pack a day, sometimes a pack and a half, depending on whether or not I was giving more away than I was actually smoking.


:pals:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

4. Smoiking quit me

I was a heavy smoker, two packs a day, although a lot of them burned down in the ashtray while I worked. (Remember smoking in your office?)

I was in trial preparation, practically working around the clock for this HUGH trial coming up, and I ran out of cigarettes. I had no one to go out and get them for me - it was night - and I was too busy to go myself, so I went without.

Then I forgot about smoking. I was so preoccupied with work, smoking never entered my mind.

By the time I realized I hadn't smoked, it was many weeks later, and, except for one dream where I almost smoked, but didn't, I've never given it a second thought.

I think you quit when your head is ready. That's why so many folks can't do it; deep down, even though they know how bad it is for them, they just don't want to.

There's also that addiction gene. I seem to be lacking that, which makes me very, very, very fortunate.

Congratulations on a major accomplishment!!!

:toast:

[JackBeck]

19. I think I'm too young to remember smoking in the office.

But I do remember when you could still smoke on an airplane. The one and only time I ever did that was when I graduated college in '95 and flew to Mexico with my then boyfriend to celebrate. You could sit in the last two rows during the flight and smoke. It seemed so decadent.

Then there are those nasty smoking areas inside airports. I smoked in one of those during a layover in London, while flying to Sweden. There should be a sign before you enter saying: "Warning. You will get cancer in here."

You're right, though, I think in my head I was ready. Thanks.

[ogneopasno]

6. 11 years after quitting, the urges are gone, but I miss it every day, if that makes sense...

congratulations on your month! I would say the worst is over for you, which is something to be happy about.

[JackBeck]

23. The first week was sort of a breeze.

Weeks two and three, though, were a lot tougher. And yes, it does make sense to still miss it. My husband, who quit years ago, jokingly said it's OK to hate someone you see smoking.

[Heidi]

7. Congratulations!

I hope it gets easier and easier for you! :hug:

:yourock:

[JackBeck]

24. Dankë.

One of the reasons for the OP was because it has gotten easier. Didn't want to post prematurely and jinx myself. :)

:loveya:

[ThomCat]

8. Congratulations!

That's wonderful news. :)

I hope you can keep this going. Cigarettes are too damned expensive. And I hear that food tastes better when you stop smoking.

After a while You will taste better. :9

Rack all those benefits of being a non-smoker. :)

[JackBeck]

25. Stuck without a pack in Brooklyn a few months back, I paid nearly $10.00

I noticed a change when I had some BBQ potato chips the other day. I though, "Hmm...these taste different..."

Thanks, ThomCat. :pals:

[zanne]

9. You're a champ.

Not everybody can do it. Give yourself a big pat on the back and be very good to yourself. CONGRATULATIONS!

[JackBeck]

26. I didn't think I'd ever be able to do it, either.

My FIL quit a few months ago out of the blue and he's 70. We think there could have been a health scare that he didn't share.

Thanks, zanne. :fistbump:

[WV_Biker]

10. I smoked for 25 years....

...3 packs a day. Quitting was hard as hell. But I did it!!! If I can quit anybody can. Congratulations!!!! Give yourself a big ole pat on the back.


Jeff

[JackBeck]

27. Wow. That's about how much I remember my dad smoking a day.

I smoked for 15 years, at varying degrees of consumption through out the duration.

While I was walking to the train last night, I tried to remember when it actually became a habit and I couldn't place the memory.

I do remember the first day I smoked, though. And I'll definitely remember the last!

:hi:

[jonnyblitz]

11. I have no idea how i was able to successfully quit. I told myself

one day that when I ran out I wouldn't buy another pack and I didn't and it will be 10 years this September. I think, for me, I got tired of spending the money plus always forever being someplace where i couldn't smoke and going nuts until i could get to someplace where i could have one. I pretty much quit drinking alcohol when i quit cigarettes, too,so i am sure that was helpful since alcohol tends to kill self discipline. To do this day I still think about how firing up a Marlboro might be nice but i let the thought pass. For me, whenever the urge for a cigarette would hit me I would just let the thought pass and move on to other thoughts. I used no other "quit smoking" gimmicks. I started smoking Marlboros around 13 years old and smoked for quite some time.

Good luck with it. :hug: :hi:

[JackBeck]

29. I still have a pack with three left in the freezer.

I just couldn't throw them away and kept the Camel Lights box in plain view for about a week until it didn't mean anything to me anymore. Years ago when I first moved to Brooklyn, I was working at Starbucks and one of the regulars shared with me that the day he quit, he went and purchased one last pack of smokes, never opened it, and placed in his sock drawer. That has stayed with me for whatever reason since he told me and I figured I'd eventually do something similar.

The only gimmick I've used so far is when I first would get the urge, I'd suck on a frozen popsicle.

I still drink a few glasses of wine when I get home from work, which I thought would be a trigger but it really hasn't been.

Of course, Jonathan has had to bear the brunt of my random emotional outbursts, so I should probably treat him to something special to thank him.

:hug: :pals:

[rurallib]

13. I still have that stupid dream 35 years later - not as frequently

I have had it so often over the years I can tell you in detail what it is. I no longer wake up in a sweat like I used to though.

[JackBeck]

30. The first time I had it, I woke up disappointed because I thought I had actually smoked.

The next night, I dreamed about it again, but this time, when a group of people were going outside to smoke, once I found my pack after frantically searching for it, I told them to go ahead without me, that I wasn't smoking anymore.

And now that I'm typing this I'll probably have another one tonight.

:hi:

[gblady]

14. I quit 23 years ago....

after smoking 18 years...
was extremely difficult to quit...
and it's the best gift I've ever given myself!

Congratulations...take one day,
or one minute at a time if need be.
Breathe deeply, concentrate on the positive
things that result from quitting.

[JackBeck]

32. Concentrating on the positive definitely gets me through the dwindling urges.

I do need to remember, though, to breathe deeply right before I snap at my buddy for just asking about my day. Poor guy. Hopefully, I'm on the other end of that now, as well.

:fistbump:

[kwassa]

15. Gradually cutting down worked for me, and counting the cigarettes I didn't smoke

I had a two and a half pack habit of Marlboros each day. About 60 cigarettes.

I decided to cut back to as few as possible as long as I could remain comfortable. That immediately brought me down to about 8 cigarettes, which meant that there were 52 cigarettes each day that I successfully didn't smoke! It also showed how much was just pure habit.

I kept counting those cigarettes I didn't smoke, which added up to a very positive feeling of achievement. I gradually cut down to one, smoked one a day for a couple of months, then finally quit.
I kept a fresh pack in the kitchen drawer if I ever really wanted one. I never opened it, threw it away six months later.

I had no withdrawal symptoms, and forgot I was ever a smoker within two weeks. No cravings, after smoking that much for 14 years. I also had no anxiety anywhere during the process, because I always gave myself permission to have one if I really wanted one.

[JackBeck]

33. I've been almost Rain Man like in my counting the past few years.

Funny you should bring that up.

My only fear is that if I gave myself permission there wouldn't be any turning back. But my friend Dave did it that way, and he admits to one or two here or there, mostly when we've gone out drinking and I was the supplier.

:toast:

[jobycom]

16. I quit after my first cigarette. Cokes, now, that's been hard. I quit them almost three weeks ago.

And I wake up and go to bed wanting one. Doctors have told me I'm as addicted to them as a smoker is to cigarettes. I've watched smokers try to quit, so I don't believe that, but it's a stronger addiction than I'd expect, anyway. I've given them up before, only to start drinking again weeks or months later. In one case, long ago, a year later.

But I feel better without them, and so far every time I've wound up with a coke in my hand I've felt as much revulsion as attraction.

Yeah, it's not as important or noteworthy as what you're going through, but the part about the dream made me laugh, because I had that dream again last night. Coke in hand, afraid to drink it. I had a dream after the first week where I did drink it, and it tasted like failure and sin, and I woke up depressed like I'd ruined my life. Took half the morning to shake that feeling.

Anyway, congo-rats, and thanks for listening. :)

[JackBeck]

34. We had a Diet Coke addiction for a few years. Now? Not so much.

At least we can relate, though, with sharing a dream where we had to give up something we previously enjoyed.

:hi:

[WV_Biker]

37. I still have the dream...

...every now and then. I'm so relieved when I wake up and realize it was just a dream. I have a Diet Pepsi addiction now. :-) I guess I'll work on it sometime.


Jeff

[BurtWorm]

17. I quit on February 14, 2004, so I just passed my 5th anniversary of smoke-free living.

I still dream about smoking. I wake up feeling astonished and relieved that it was just a dream. What keeps me from going back is the cost of a pack of cigarettes. Not to mention how good it feels to be free from my former slavery. But if they could figure out a way to make smoking cheaper and not dangerous to health, I'd go back in a minute.

I quit cold turkey. I carried around a straw, cut to the length of a cigarette, that I puffed on whenever the urge overcame me. Also, when possible, sitting still with eyes closed listening to white noise--CDs of rain showers and waves breaking--kept me calm during moments that would ordinarily have made me reaching for a cigarette.

Good luck! The worst is over. Enjoy the aromas and flavors and deep breaths you've been missing!

[Tikki]

20. My son and I quit about the same....

YAY for you....Four weeks is more than a start...it is a victory..

..time of year that you did....but, we quit 5 years ago.
I remember thinking that our decision to quit that time of the year
might have just been one of those never-to-be New year's resolutions...
But, you know what?!! We stuck to it and we are both so thankful
we are nonsmokers.

My son, in his mid-thirties at the time, used the patch to help and I
did it cold turkey.

Most of all: we saved money, our health improved and my little
grandson (my son's, son) will never remember seeing any of us smoke.

Tikki & son

[applegrove]

21. Champix/Chantix worked for me. Even when I cheated during my quit

the niccoteen couldn't get to my brain so it didn't ruin my quit (I physiologically didn't have to start from square one again). I also used the quitnet.com. Now I have been quit 8 1/2 months and feel great about it.

[Strong Atheist]

22. Congratulations!

:toast:

[seaker]

28. Thank you. I appreciate it

You are saving your life and thousands of our tax dollars.

[Left Is Write]

31. Congratulations!

I quit for good, cold turkey,on July 1st, 1998. It was time to be done. The night before, my husband and I were out with my sister and BIL, and I turned to my sister over a Rolling Rock and said, "I'm not going to smoke after tonight." She thought it was the Rolling Rock talking, but I never smoked again after that night. I carried an unopened pack of cigarettes in my glove box for six months after - just knowing that I could have a cigarette if I wanted to made it easier to say "no."

[UrbScotty]

35. Congratulations!

Continued wishes for good luck!

[Skip Intro]

36. It hasn't worked. Today was day 12 of me not smoking. There was a poker game at my house.

I smoked 3 or 4.

Wanting more.

Isidious addiction.

But I have quit.

I learned something tonight.

I have to prepare for these things.

I'm bothered by my behavior tonight, but determined still.

Crazy thing is, I quit for like six years before I started back two years ago.

WTF was I thinking?