Quitting smoking tonight!

[Amanda0922]

Hi, I haven't actually read any of the posts here just yet. I spend a lot of time on medhelp on other forums and it just occurred to me to jump on the computer to see if there was a forum here for smoking cessation... and here you all are :)

Well I am 24 and I have been smoking for 11 years. I quit when I was 17 using the nicotine patches but started smoking again 6 months later. I will be using the patches again, as they really helped me a few years ago. I have also bought a carton of Ecstacy herbal cigarettes. The only harmful thing they contain is tar. No nicotine. Truth be told, they taste rather awful lol but I thought they might help out in the morning, after meals, while I'm driving to work etc.

I'm relieved in a sense to be quitting but I'm also really super nervous. I'm not sure how I am going to handle tomorrow. But then I keep thinking "Well jeez I quit when I was 17, I must be able to do it again!"

Anyways, just wanted to say hi :) I know quitting smoking is really tough and I admire anyone who is able to do it. Let's do this! :)

[kathyjo]

Keep up the great work! It sure sounds as if you have prepared yourself, know why you want/need to quit and what you will do if you should feel the urge to smoke. All of these things are so important and vital to maintain your quit.
Experiences firsthand the devastation resulting from smoking is difficult but when you use it in a positive way, then at least something good can come out of it.

Hang in there and remember that you always have us for support : )  Most of us have been!
Kathy Jo

[Amanda0922]

Thank you both for taking the time to reply to my post :) I have been DYING to get on here and post, but have been busy. I have not smoked for 3 days, 9 hours, 23 minutes, and 52 seconds. Day 1 was filled with surprise for me! It went GREAT! I found it to be the easiest time I had ever quit (This is my fourth time quitting). When I awoke in the morning, I found I was actually excited that I had quit. All the other times quitting, I'd awake feeling quite disappointed, "Oh right, I quit. That *****." But not this time! I was quite hyper for the majority of the day, talking fast, jumpy, figity, but definitely in a good mood.

Day 2 was a little bit of a different story. Everything was fine until I got to work. Btw, I'm a cashier hired for the busy season and I just started... LAST WEEK. Haha. Basically what it means is that I deal with a lot of impatient customers (sometimes very rude as well) and I also don't know my job very well. Most transactions I can complete on my own but there are things I simply don't know how to do just yet. It is called on the job training I guess. But anyways, if I'm presented with a situation I haven't dealt with before, I have to grab another cashier or track down a manager. As luck would have it, my first four or five customers were like that on day 2. I kept saying "You gotta be KIDDING me!" I honestly really wanted to smoke, just to calm down and RELAX. But I didn't.

There are a few things I keep thinking to reason with myself when I feel an urge to smoke, hopefully it will help someone else as well :)

1. I'm going to have an urge to smoke whether I smoke or not. Yes, if I smoke, it will take that urge away, but the urge will only return hours later. I want to break this unhealthy cycle.  I keep thinking the only way to truly take the urge away is actually to quit. It's difficult no doubt, but it will get easier with time. I keep telling myself "This will pass."

2. In the past, when I'd quit and have the urge to smoke, I'd feel sorry for myself, and maybe I'd "let" myself smoke to make myself "feel better." This time, when I have the urge, I tell myself it's a good thing. No, a GREAT thing even! :) Having the urge to smoke means I'm not smoking, which is exactly what I want.

3. Quitting won't be any easier tomorrow than it will be today. If I quit tomorrow, then tomorrow is likely to become the next day, and the next day, and the next until it is years later and I find I am still saying "I'll quit... one of these days." So why not today?

4. My grandmother smoked for many years and finally quit at the age of 68, when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She went in for surgery to have the cancer removed.   Shortly after she awoke from the operation, a nurse came into her room and told her they had removed all of her cancer. Turns out the nurse had my grandmother's chart mixed up with that of another patient. They hadn't operated on her at all. They took one look inside, and sewed her back up. The cancer had spread. I was surprised by the cancer's rapid progression. In no time, my grandmother was confined to a hospital bed in the living room. Shortly after, she began to lose weight, appearing bony and fragile. It was strange to see my tough-as-nails grandma in such a weak state. Shortly after that, her mind slipped. She wasn't herself anymore. She seemed to have the mind of a child anymore. Shortly after that, she went unconscious. A week or so later, she had passed.  

After she was diagnosed, I promised my grandma I would quit smoking. And after she died, I did quit smoking. For 6 months. That was 8 years ago. That time, quitting wasn't for me, it was for her. This time, it's for me. I want to have a life left to live and enjoy as a non-smoker. So I tell myself "let's do this!!" because my health now and future happiness by extension depend on my quitting smoking. I need this very much. So I tell myself "Hey, ya just gotta suck it up. Be strong because with time, this will pass."

[skypeople]

were you able to quit?  My last day of smoking is planned for Friday.  I have enough to last me through tomorrow.  I have been wearing the magnets that go on the left ear, and it does cause me to not smoke as much.  Also plan to use a little nicotine gum (not much) to help tide me over if I need it.  

[kathyjo]

I am heading out the door, for the gym, but wanted to tell you that you have made the right decision.
Please do read the other posts and please, please read the articles at whyquitdotcom.
Support is key so make sure you surround yourself with positive people, and stay away from smokers for a while.
It is tough, the emotional addiction much harder to kick then the physical..........but know that stress will be with you, with or without a smoke.
Post when you feel an urge. We are here for you.
Good luck
Kathy Jo

[Amanda0922]

I've just had my last cigarette. I took my last puff at 12:30 am Nov 3rd. I felt like posting here so that I could look back at it tomorrow when I am beginning to have trouble with quitting. I have to say I feel great about this! Most of my fears have subsided and have turned to excitement at the prospect of being a "nonsmoker." I smoked so much today (I knew I would, and allowed myself this). I have a headache and physically, I feel awful! I smoked so much that during my last cigarette, I had to stop myself from putting it out twice. I didn't want to smoke anymore! I was tired, my mouth was dry, and I have been terribly thirsty all day. But I told myself to finish that cigarette all the way down, because I knew that tomorrow, I would be thinking about that last cigarette and wishing I had savored it. So I finished it. And then I put it out, with a feeling of relief coming over me. Then, I found a half in the ashtray, and I stomped on it and squished it under my shoe, just because it made me feel good :) Then I went inside and brushed my teeth for a good long time. I didn't want my mouth to taste like a cigarette in the morning. The truth is... I have loved to smoke all these years. For years, smoking has been the beginning of my day along with a good cup of coffee. Smoking has been there for me through good times and bad. Smoking has accompanied my laughter and my tears. Smoking has always been there for me when I was stressed. But smoking is NO LONGER the answer to the problem. It is the problem and must be remedied! I have to say all day I questioned if I was really ready to quit and felt nervous that I may not be ready. But when I put out that cigarette I FELT ready. I feel like I am TAKING CONTROL! I can do this! :)