Aa
how to quit?
I really need to quit, i have mvp and im down to half a pk from 2 pks a day but... i cant seem to stop alltogether.How do some people quit cold turkey and how do they get through that first day and how long before it gets easier?
In addition to all of those distractions, which are good things : ) make sure you read the articles and call family & friends for their support.
We are also here for you so don't forget to post, especially when you need to.
Kathy Jo
We are also here for you so don't forget to post, especially when you need to.
Kathy Jo
Hi, and i know your right i have to do this myself.The reasons i want to quit and need to quit are so many to even count but somehow im going to find the strenght to do it.I bought a sewing machine as something to keep me busy and i dont even know how to sew but my sister is going to teach me and i use to do some water painting so im also going to get back into that.Also i collect antique books mainly cookbooks,childrens books,song books and so on.Im going to try to keep really busy with things i love to do so i wont have time to smoke and also to take my mind off the cravings i know ill have.Iv joined the quit smoking site and am going to go there to so that i hope will also help.I learned to smoke many years ago now im going to have to learn how to not smoke or thats the way i see it.Anyways im not giving up and i will quit i just wish i could get to that point sooner than later and i wish it would be easier but also know to gain anything good in life you have to work hard for it.Thanks Kathyjo for your support.
It's not so much the age, but the quality of life. That's what you need to concentrate on.
You know what needs to be done and only you can make it happen, so you have to gather up your strength and get it done.
You will always have my support but I can't quit for you. You need to dig down deep and find your personal reason(s) for wanting to live. Whether family or pet, friends, job. Place your emphasis on that (them) and just get through the initial 3 days. It does get easier but you need to weather the storm before you see the rainbow.
Hang in there.
You know what needs to be done and only you can make it happen, so you have to gather up your strength and get it done.
You will always have my support but I can't quit for you. You need to dig down deep and find your personal reason(s) for wanting to live. Whether family or pet, friends, job. Place your emphasis on that (them) and just get through the initial 3 days. It does get easier but you need to weather the storm before you see the rainbow.
Hang in there.
I understand what your saying about my parents and how that should be enough to make me quit and i think about that every day. my dad was 80 but my mom only 69 and i think alot how both might have lived many more years had they not been smokers most their lives.I dont know why its not enough to make me quit but i agree it should be enough because i dont want to die like they did before my time.The only answer i know to that is im just so compleatly hooked on the nicotine its like i hate each time i smoke maybe the same as a person wanting to quit drugs or drinking but then they do it anyways because their system is craving it so badly they feel they might fall apart if they dont do it so they give in not really wanting to.Be as blunt as you like thats what i need Kathyjo i dont need niceness thats not going to make me quit.I need support mostly just to know theres someone pushing me to the point i need to be to quit will help get me there i hope in time and thanks for being blunt and i know its because you care and i understand your trying to help me.
With the family history you have, then you know what you have to do. Can't sugar coat it.
Please, please read the articles and please look through the "motivation."
I can't help but think, and forgive me for my bluntness, but watching your parents' die in the manner that they did, why isn't that enough to make you stop? You really need to think about that.
I'll be here.....find the desire within you and bring it to the fight. You are going to need all the ammo you can muster. Kick those butts!
Please, please read the articles and please look through the "motivation."
I can't help but think, and forgive me for my bluntness, but watching your parents' die in the manner that they did, why isn't that enough to make you stop? You really need to think about that.
I'll be here.....find the desire within you and bring it to the fight. You are going to need all the ammo you can muster. Kick those butts!
Hi Kathy im not going to give up and i only had 1 cig in my pk this morning but waited 3 hours before going to the store to pick up my friend my> worse enemy.I smoked 1 it made my throat burn and is giving me a headache and somehow i have to quit.I will call my doc and ask about welbutrin but not sure i can take it with my bp med cartizem.I wish i could lock myself in the dang shed somehow without cigs lol but i guess i would use the axe and chop up the door when i got that urge bad enough.Kidding aside i really do want to quit its just after a few hours i feel the urge so bad i give in but then i feel worse for giving in to something so deadly as these cigs.My dad died in 03 from emphysema and i know my friend/enemy will pass that on to me or the lung cancer my mom died from in 05.I have soooo many reasons to quit and only 1 reason to smoke so im doing my best to keep thinking on that so somehow in time i can convince myself that i can do it and just refuse to smoke no matter how much my friend/enemy begs me to just smoke a few.I now know i cant just smoke a few because a few leads to a few more and thats not really getting me anywhere.Anyways thanks Kathyjo and at least for now im resisting as much as i can and not smoking alot and guess thats better for now than 2 pk,s a day.I cant say when or how but i do know i will quit and all you wrote above is so true every word.
Ask your doctor about Welbutrin or something along those lines. Before Chantix, people were prescribed the Welbutrin with some success. Chantix is what I took and it worked for me. There seems to be a few side effects but anything that you may chose to take is a heck of a lot better then smoking so I doubt your doctor will have a problem with it. You need to ask.
Don't beat yourself up either. That only works against you. It gives you that reason to smoke more and more.
What you need to do is to prepare yourself for your quit. You really need to read those articles and know what you will be up against. Quitting isn't easy, but you can do it. You really just need to say no and don't give in to the temptation. You need to remind yourself about why you are quitting.
What it boils down to is this. Who are you going to let win. Will you let this thing control your life? This is the perfect article:
"How do you feel about a friend who has to go everywhere with you? Not only does he tag along all the time, but since he is so offensive and vulgar, you become unwelcome when with him. He has a peculiar odor that sticks to you wherever you go. Others think both of you stink.
He controls you totally. When he says jump, you jump. Sometimes in the middle of a blizzard or storm, he wants you to come to the store and pick him up. You would give your spouse hell if he or she did that to you all the time, but you can't argue with your friend. Sometimes, when you are out at a movie or play he says he wants you to go stand in the lobby with him and miss important scenes. Since he calls all the shots in your life, you go. Your friend doesn't like your choice of clothing either. Instead of politely telling you that you have lousy taste, he burns little holes in these items so you will want to throw them out. Sometimes, he tires of the furniture and gets rid of it too. Occasionally, he gets really nasty and decides the whole house must go.
He gets pretty expensive to support. Not only is his knack of property destruction costly, but you must pay to keep him with you. In fact, he will cost you thousands of dollars over your lifetime. And you can count on one thing, he will never pay you a penny in return.
Often at picnics you watch others playing vigorous activities and having lots of fun doing them. But your friend won't let you. He doesn't believe in physical activity. In his opinion, you are too old to have that kind of fun. So he kind of sits on your chest and makes it difficult for you to breathe. Now you don't want to go off and play with other people when you can't breathe, do you?
Your friend does not believe in being healthy. He is really repulsed by the thought of you living a long and productive life. So every chance he gets he makes you sick. He helps you catch colds and flu. Not just by running out in the middle of the lousy weather to pick him up at the store. He is more creative than that. He carries thousands of poisons with him which he constantly blows in your face. When you inhale some of them, they wipe out cilia in your lungs which would have helped you prevent these diseases.
But colds and flu are just his form of child's play. He especially likes diseases that slowly cripple you—like emphysema. He considers this disease great. Once he gets you to have this, you will give up all your other friends, family, career goals, activities—everything. You will just sit home and caress him, telling him what a great friend he is while you desperately gasp for air.
But eventually your friend tires of you. He decides he no longer wishes to have your company. Instead of letting you go your separate ways, he decides to kill you. He has a wonderful arsenal of weapons behind him. In fact, he has been plotting your death since the day you met him. He picked all the top killers in society and did everything in his power to ensure you would get one of them. He overworked your heart and lungs. He clogged up the arteries to your heart, brain, and every other part of your body. In case you were too strong to succumb to this, he constantly exposed you to cancer causing agents. He knew he would get you sooner or later.
Well, this is the story of your "friend," your cigarette. No real friend would do all this to you. Cigarettes are the worst possible enemies you ever had. They are expensive, addictive, socially unacceptable, and deadly. Consider all this and NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF! Joel"
In retrospect, I can't believe that I allowed myself to be bullied by those urges for 38+ years! Had I known that my life could be lived without feeling the constant cravings and looking for places to light up, feeling so dirty and smelling that way too, anticipating my next one, and the next, and the next.........
I would have chosen to quit a lot sooner. I would have chosen to live my life without an inhaler and I could have made my family so much happier, without having exposed them to secondhand poison. I would have done things a lot differently, and even though I waited, I now have a chance to rectify some of those mistakes and heal myself. You are now faced with that very same decision. You just have to take that leap and stick by it.
We are here to help you stay strong but you need to take the first step.
Kathy Jo
Don't beat yourself up either. That only works against you. It gives you that reason to smoke more and more.
What you need to do is to prepare yourself for your quit. You really need to read those articles and know what you will be up against. Quitting isn't easy, but you can do it. You really just need to say no and don't give in to the temptation. You need to remind yourself about why you are quitting.
What it boils down to is this. Who are you going to let win. Will you let this thing control your life? This is the perfect article:
"How do you feel about a friend who has to go everywhere with you? Not only does he tag along all the time, but since he is so offensive and vulgar, you become unwelcome when with him. He has a peculiar odor that sticks to you wherever you go. Others think both of you stink.
He controls you totally. When he says jump, you jump. Sometimes in the middle of a blizzard or storm, he wants you to come to the store and pick him up. You would give your spouse hell if he or she did that to you all the time, but you can't argue with your friend. Sometimes, when you are out at a movie or play he says he wants you to go stand in the lobby with him and miss important scenes. Since he calls all the shots in your life, you go. Your friend doesn't like your choice of clothing either. Instead of politely telling you that you have lousy taste, he burns little holes in these items so you will want to throw them out. Sometimes, he tires of the furniture and gets rid of it too. Occasionally, he gets really nasty and decides the whole house must go.
He gets pretty expensive to support. Not only is his knack of property destruction costly, but you must pay to keep him with you. In fact, he will cost you thousands of dollars over your lifetime. And you can count on one thing, he will never pay you a penny in return.
Often at picnics you watch others playing vigorous activities and having lots of fun doing them. But your friend won't let you. He doesn't believe in physical activity. In his opinion, you are too old to have that kind of fun. So he kind of sits on your chest and makes it difficult for you to breathe. Now you don't want to go off and play with other people when you can't breathe, do you?
Your friend does not believe in being healthy. He is really repulsed by the thought of you living a long and productive life. So every chance he gets he makes you sick. He helps you catch colds and flu. Not just by running out in the middle of the lousy weather to pick him up at the store. He is more creative than that. He carries thousands of poisons with him which he constantly blows in your face. When you inhale some of them, they wipe out cilia in your lungs which would have helped you prevent these diseases.
But colds and flu are just his form of child's play. He especially likes diseases that slowly cripple you—like emphysema. He considers this disease great. Once he gets you to have this, you will give up all your other friends, family, career goals, activities—everything. You will just sit home and caress him, telling him what a great friend he is while you desperately gasp for air.
But eventually your friend tires of you. He decides he no longer wishes to have your company. Instead of letting you go your separate ways, he decides to kill you. He has a wonderful arsenal of weapons behind him. In fact, he has been plotting your death since the day you met him. He picked all the top killers in society and did everything in his power to ensure you would get one of them. He overworked your heart and lungs. He clogged up the arteries to your heart, brain, and every other part of your body. In case you were too strong to succumb to this, he constantly exposed you to cancer causing agents. He knew he would get you sooner or later.
Well, this is the story of your "friend," your cigarette. No real friend would do all this to you. Cigarettes are the worst possible enemies you ever had. They are expensive, addictive, socially unacceptable, and deadly. Consider all this and NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF! Joel"
In retrospect, I can't believe that I allowed myself to be bullied by those urges for 38+ years! Had I known that my life could be lived without feeling the constant cravings and looking for places to light up, feeling so dirty and smelling that way too, anticipating my next one, and the next, and the next.........
I would have chosen to quit a lot sooner. I would have chosen to live my life without an inhaler and I could have made my family so much happier, without having exposed them to secondhand poison. I would have done things a lot differently, and even though I waited, I now have a chance to rectify some of those mistakes and heal myself. You are now faced with that very same decision. You just have to take that leap and stick by it.
We are here to help you stay strong but you need to take the first step.
Kathy Jo
Well my plan to hide my cigs in the shed has bombed out and i was so sure it would work. Im ashamed to admit it but its the truth, im back to smoking the half pk and today even went a few over that.I would ask my doc for something to help me quit but with mvp im not sure it would be a good thing and iv had a very high hr that sent me to the er just this past oct.Now im depressed and i guess i belong in the depression forum as much as here.If i could just get through a few days without 1 cig i think i could quit cold turkey but i dont know how to get through even the first day.Any Advise on how to do that? Is it because i dont want to quit bad enough or am i just to weak?I know i hate cigs now more than ever.
Anticipation will cause stress, like a first date, a big test..........always worrying how it will turn out : )
You might want to ask your doctor for something to help you with your quit, maybe just for a few months, it also might help you take the edge off the withdrawals too.
In the end, it is your quit and you have to do it whatever way works for you.
Remember that we are here to support you : )
Kathy Jo
You might want to ask your doctor for something to help you with your quit, maybe just for a few months, it also might help you take the edge off the withdrawals too.
In the end, it is your quit and you have to do it whatever way works for you.
Remember that we are here to support you : )
Kathy Jo
Ok, if i try this for the few days and it dosent work then im quiting cold turkey, i even took the ashtray out of the car.I understand what you are saying but i think this could work for me but im not all the way sure as its been 3 hours and i want a cig but im not going to the shed im only going late this evening to get only 1 before bedtime.This is very stressfull but i dident expect it to be easy either.Anyways thank you so much for being here and no i dident get a chance to read at whyquit but i will and thanks kathyjo and i wish i could just stop wanting a cig, but im going to clean the house again today to keep busy.
I hope it works for you......everyone has their own way of quitting.
I wonder if you have been reading those articles at whyquit, and if you have, did you see this one?
"Quitting by the gradual withdrawal method. I discuss this method quite extensively in my seminars. I always tell how if there is anyone attending who knows a smoker who they really despise they should actively encourage them to follow the gradual withdrawal "cut down" approach. They should call them up every day and tell them to just get rid of one cigarette. Meaning, if they usually smoke 40 a day, just smoke 39 on the first day of the attempt to quit. The next day they should be encouraged to smoke only 38 then 37 the next day and so on. Then the seminar participant should call these people every day to congratulate them and encourage them to continue. I must reemphasize, this should only be done to a smoker you really despise.
You see, most smokers will agree to this approach. It sounds so easy to just smoke one less each day. Thirty-nine cigarettes to a two pack a day smoker seems like nothing. The trick is to convince the person that you are only trying to help them. For the first week or two the one downside is you have to pretend to like the person and you have to talk to them every day. They won’t whine too bad either. When they are down to 30 from 40, they may start to complain a little. You really won’t be having fun yet. When the payoff comes is about three weeks into the scam. Now you've got them to less than half their normal amount. They are in moderate withdrawal all the time.
A month into the approach you’ve got them into pretty major withdrawal. But be persistent. Call them and tell them how great they are doing and how proud you are of them. When they are in their 35th to 39th day, you have pulled off a major coup. This poor person is in peak withdrawal, suffering miserably and having absolutely nothing to show for it. They are no closer to ending withdrawal than the day you started the process. They are in chronic withdrawal, not treating him or herself to one or two a day, but actually depriving him or herself of 35 to 40 per day.
If you want to go in for the kill, when you have them down to zero, tell them don’t worry if things get tough, just take a puff every once in a while. If you can get them to fall for this, taking one puff every third day, they will remain in withdrawal forever. Did I mention you really should despise this person to do this to them? It is probably the cruelest practical joke that you could ever pull on anyone. You will undercut their chance to quit, make them suffer immeasurably and likely they will at some point throw in the towel, return to smoking, have such fear of quitting because of what they went through cutting down, that they will continue to smoke until it kills them. Like I said, you better really despise this person.
Hopefully there is no one you despise that much to do this to them. I hope nobody despises themselves enough to do this to themselves. Quitting cold turkey may be hard but quitting by this withdrawal technique is virtually impossible. If you have a choice between hard and impossible, go for hard. You will have something to show at the end of a hard process, but nothing but misery at the end of an impossible approach. Quit cold and in 72 hours it eases up. Cut down and it will basically get progressively worse for weeks, months, or years if you let it.
I should mention, this is not a new technique. It has been around for decades. Talk to every long-term ex-smoker you know. Try to find one person who successfully used the cut down approach, gradually reducing to eventual zero over weeks or months. You will be hard pressed to find even one person who fits this bill. One other perspective that should help you see the flaw in the approach. Look at people here who had once quit for months or years and then relapsed. One day, after such a long time period, they take a drag and are smoking again. If one puff can do this after years or decades, guess what it will do after days or hours of being smoke free. It puts the smoker back to square one. All that any ex-smoker has to do to avoid relapse or chronic withdrawal is to - NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF!"
Please read the article "My cigarette, my best friend."
Instead of scheduling your "allowed" cigs, read these articles and don't go back to the shed. Forget the shed and remember the unhealthy heart that is beating inside you and the realization that if you want the heart to get healthy, you need to stop, period.
Keep posting, especially when you get an urge. Hang in there! You can do it!!!
Kathy Jo
I wonder if you have been reading those articles at whyquit, and if you have, did you see this one?
"Quitting by the gradual withdrawal method. I discuss this method quite extensively in my seminars. I always tell how if there is anyone attending who knows a smoker who they really despise they should actively encourage them to follow the gradual withdrawal "cut down" approach. They should call them up every day and tell them to just get rid of one cigarette. Meaning, if they usually smoke 40 a day, just smoke 39 on the first day of the attempt to quit. The next day they should be encouraged to smoke only 38 then 37 the next day and so on. Then the seminar participant should call these people every day to congratulate them and encourage them to continue. I must reemphasize, this should only be done to a smoker you really despise.
You see, most smokers will agree to this approach. It sounds so easy to just smoke one less each day. Thirty-nine cigarettes to a two pack a day smoker seems like nothing. The trick is to convince the person that you are only trying to help them. For the first week or two the one downside is you have to pretend to like the person and you have to talk to them every day. They won’t whine too bad either. When they are down to 30 from 40, they may start to complain a little. You really won’t be having fun yet. When the payoff comes is about three weeks into the scam. Now you've got them to less than half their normal amount. They are in moderate withdrawal all the time.
A month into the approach you’ve got them into pretty major withdrawal. But be persistent. Call them and tell them how great they are doing and how proud you are of them. When they are in their 35th to 39th day, you have pulled off a major coup. This poor person is in peak withdrawal, suffering miserably and having absolutely nothing to show for it. They are no closer to ending withdrawal than the day you started the process. They are in chronic withdrawal, not treating him or herself to one or two a day, but actually depriving him or herself of 35 to 40 per day.
If you want to go in for the kill, when you have them down to zero, tell them don’t worry if things get tough, just take a puff every once in a while. If you can get them to fall for this, taking one puff every third day, they will remain in withdrawal forever. Did I mention you really should despise this person to do this to them? It is probably the cruelest practical joke that you could ever pull on anyone. You will undercut their chance to quit, make them suffer immeasurably and likely they will at some point throw in the towel, return to smoking, have such fear of quitting because of what they went through cutting down, that they will continue to smoke until it kills them. Like I said, you better really despise this person.
Hopefully there is no one you despise that much to do this to them. I hope nobody despises themselves enough to do this to themselves. Quitting cold turkey may be hard but quitting by this withdrawal technique is virtually impossible. If you have a choice between hard and impossible, go for hard. You will have something to show at the end of a hard process, but nothing but misery at the end of an impossible approach. Quit cold and in 72 hours it eases up. Cut down and it will basically get progressively worse for weeks, months, or years if you let it.
I should mention, this is not a new technique. It has been around for decades. Talk to every long-term ex-smoker you know. Try to find one person who successfully used the cut down approach, gradually reducing to eventual zero over weeks or months. You will be hard pressed to find even one person who fits this bill. One other perspective that should help you see the flaw in the approach. Look at people here who had once quit for months or years and then relapsed. One day, after such a long time period, they take a drag and are smoking again. If one puff can do this after years or decades, guess what it will do after days or hours of being smoke free. It puts the smoker back to square one. All that any ex-smoker has to do to avoid relapse or chronic withdrawal is to - NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF!"
Please read the article "My cigarette, my best friend."
Instead of scheduling your "allowed" cigs, read these articles and don't go back to the shed. Forget the shed and remember the unhealthy heart that is beating inside you and the realization that if you want the heart to get healthy, you need to stop, period.
Keep posting, especially when you get an urge. Hang in there! You can do it!!!
Kathy Jo
Hi Kathyjo, yesterday i made up my mind and decided i would have that 1 morning cig and then take all pks of cigs and ashtrays out to the shed and lock them in there so thats what i have done, but also decided i would if the craving is really bad late this evening go and only bring in 1 cig so i will only be smoking 2 today and if i can do this for a few days like 3 or 4 then im going to quit cold turkey.Im really so sick of them and feeling chained to them.This has to work.I dont know how i will feel hours from now with the withdrawals but i know i have to quit as i have high bp,mvp and i dont want either to get worse also im walking each day possible but i want to increase the walking but cant walk alot smoking because i cant breathe well enough.
Keep your hands busy and keep your mind busier. It really is do-able, I swear it's so : )
When you get a thought, a craving, an urge, just read an article at whyquitdotcom or better still, look at the motivation column and that should curb any thoughts you might have.
Here is a little food for thought.......I smoked about 22 cigs a day and I haven't smoked for 1 year, 2 months, 2 weeks and 5 days. In about a week, I will reach 10,000 cigarettes that I haven't smoked!!!! What really blows my mind is the amount that I did smoke in those 38+ years! How gross is that! In that same amount of time I have saved about $2400.
You can download your own meter on whyquit.
Kathy Jo
---
1y 2m 2w 5d 12:47 smoke-free, 9,819 cigs not smoked, $2,356.56 saved, 1m 4d 2:15 life saved
When you get a thought, a craving, an urge, just read an article at whyquitdotcom or better still, look at the motivation column and that should curb any thoughts you might have.
Here is a little food for thought.......I smoked about 22 cigs a day and I haven't smoked for 1 year, 2 months, 2 weeks and 5 days. In about a week, I will reach 10,000 cigarettes that I haven't smoked!!!! What really blows my mind is the amount that I did smoke in those 38+ years! How gross is that! In that same amount of time I have saved about $2400.
You can download your own meter on whyquit.
Kathy Jo
---
1y 2m 2w 5d 12:47 smoke-free, 9,819 cigs not smoked, $2,356.56 saved, 1m 4d 2:15 life saved
Thank you so much,Iv been cleaning everything in sight today to keep from smoking and its working for now but i know its not the answer, it just helps for now to keep busy and you are so right that morning cig begs me to smoke it.I know i have to fight the urge to give in though and thank you for your support, i do really really need it and i will be here often.Wow 38+ yrs.Im hopeing i wont become a basket case for you to have to deal with but i am going to quit and i know i can do it.I just have to fight back as hard as i can at that urge to light up.
The morning smoke, or the first one, are what feeds the addiction. If you deny them, then it will gradually become easier. You have to fight the urge and when and if you need our help, we are here. You don't need to quit to write here, so if you are in need of support, we are here : )
Kathy Jo
I smoked 38+ years
Kathy Jo
I smoked 38+ years
Thanks Kathyjo,Its allways that morning cig that gets me right after waking up,Through the day its much easier to resist them.Im walking some each day trying to get healthier because a few months ago found out i have mvp but because i still am smoking some i cant hold out to walk as much as i know i could if i would kick the habit.I spend more time thinking about quitting now than i do smoking how crazy is that?I use to be a chain smoker now just the half a pk but still i feel im chained to even the half a pk.I know i can quit and need to stop cold turkey and you are right its an addiction.Im eating healthy now,walking and it dosent make sense to smoke any at all but it seems like somewhere in my heads the little ugly thought that a few a day wont hurt me but i know they will and not only that im worried ill start back to smoking more again and i know i cant let that happen.I will go to whyquitdotcom and i hope to come back here sometime very soon saying iv quit cold turkey but ill need alot of support iv smoked for 30 yrs.I need to quit more than i want to but im getting there fast.Thanks again.
Your "want to" has got to catch up to your "need to" and then you will have a good shot at quitting.
In order for it to be successful, you must truly want it......like anything in life : )
Prepare yourself by reading the articles at whyquitdotcom. Joel's library has wonderful articles that really address any and all issues you might have. In addition, they support a "cold turkey" quit.
In those articles, and I quote:
"To many, cold turkey conjures up visions of torturous pain, suffering and general drudgery. In fact, it is easier to stop smoking using the cold turkey method than by using any other technique. Cold turkey induces less suffering and creates a shorter period of withdrawal. Most important, cold turkey is the approach by which the smoker has the best chance of success.
Smokers must recognize that they are drug addicts. Nicotine is a powerfully addictive drug. Once the smoker has smoked for a fairly long time, the body requires maintenance of a certain level of nicotine in the bloodstream. If this level is not maintained, the smoker will experience varying degrees of drug withdrawal. The lower the level, the greater the intensity. As long as any nicotine remains in the bloodstream the body will keep craving its full complement. Once the smoker quits, the nicotine level will eventually drop to zero and all physical withdrawal will cease. Cravings for an occasional cigarette may continue, but this is due to past psychological conditioning and not to a physical dependence.
Cutting down on cigarettes or use of nicotine replacement strategies throws the smoker into a chronic state of drug withdrawal. As soon as the smoker fails to reach the minimum requirement of nicotine, the body starts demanding it. As long as there is any nicotine in the bloodstream, the body will demand its old requirement. Smoking just one or two a day or wearing a patch which is gradually reducing the amount of nicotine being delivered will result in the smoker not achieving the minimum required level, creating a chronic state of peak drug withdrawal.
This state will continue throughout the rest of the smoker's life unless one of two steps is taken to rectify it. First, the smoker can stop delivering nicotine altogether. Nicotine will be metabolized or totally excreted from the body and the withdrawal will stop forever. Or, the smoker can return to the old level of consumptions accomplishing nothing.
Therefore, cold turkey is the method of choice. Once the smoker stops, withdrawal will end within two weeks. If you smoke, we can help you over this crucial period of time. Once it is past, you can rest assured that you will never need to smoke again. Then, to stay off you will simply need to remember to Never Take Another Puff!"
There is no way that anyone of us can answer you questions, but we can tell you, individually, how our quit went.
I am 53 and I quit a year and 2 months ago. The first 4 months were pretty bad for me. Not so much with the withdrawals as they only lasted a few days, but it was the chronic cold that didn't want to leave me : ) It wasn't a deterrent for me though as I really wanted to kick the butts : ) Most others didn't get what I got, so every quit is different.
Today, with a year under my belt, I find that I can excercise, even jog without coughing up a lung. I have a lot more energy and my stress and anxiety are a distant nightmare. It really is such a awesome feeling, smoke free and in charge of my life again.
All that you really need to do is to want it.......it really is that easy and that hard, but it's the best thing you will ever do for yourself and your loved ones.
We are here for you, so when you need us, just write.
Good luck : )
Kathy Jo
In order for it to be successful, you must truly want it......like anything in life : )
Prepare yourself by reading the articles at whyquitdotcom. Joel's library has wonderful articles that really address any and all issues you might have. In addition, they support a "cold turkey" quit.
In those articles, and I quote:
"To many, cold turkey conjures up visions of torturous pain, suffering and general drudgery. In fact, it is easier to stop smoking using the cold turkey method than by using any other technique. Cold turkey induces less suffering and creates a shorter period of withdrawal. Most important, cold turkey is the approach by which the smoker has the best chance of success.
Smokers must recognize that they are drug addicts. Nicotine is a powerfully addictive drug. Once the smoker has smoked for a fairly long time, the body requires maintenance of a certain level of nicotine in the bloodstream. If this level is not maintained, the smoker will experience varying degrees of drug withdrawal. The lower the level, the greater the intensity. As long as any nicotine remains in the bloodstream the body will keep craving its full complement. Once the smoker quits, the nicotine level will eventually drop to zero and all physical withdrawal will cease. Cravings for an occasional cigarette may continue, but this is due to past psychological conditioning and not to a physical dependence.
Cutting down on cigarettes or use of nicotine replacement strategies throws the smoker into a chronic state of drug withdrawal. As soon as the smoker fails to reach the minimum requirement of nicotine, the body starts demanding it. As long as there is any nicotine in the bloodstream, the body will demand its old requirement. Smoking just one or two a day or wearing a patch which is gradually reducing the amount of nicotine being delivered will result in the smoker not achieving the minimum required level, creating a chronic state of peak drug withdrawal.
This state will continue throughout the rest of the smoker's life unless one of two steps is taken to rectify it. First, the smoker can stop delivering nicotine altogether. Nicotine will be metabolized or totally excreted from the body and the withdrawal will stop forever. Or, the smoker can return to the old level of consumptions accomplishing nothing.
Therefore, cold turkey is the method of choice. Once the smoker stops, withdrawal will end within two weeks. If you smoke, we can help you over this crucial period of time. Once it is past, you can rest assured that you will never need to smoke again. Then, to stay off you will simply need to remember to Never Take Another Puff!"
There is no way that anyone of us can answer you questions, but we can tell you, individually, how our quit went.
I am 53 and I quit a year and 2 months ago. The first 4 months were pretty bad for me. Not so much with the withdrawals as they only lasted a few days, but it was the chronic cold that didn't want to leave me : ) It wasn't a deterrent for me though as I really wanted to kick the butts : ) Most others didn't get what I got, so every quit is different.
Today, with a year under my belt, I find that I can excercise, even jog without coughing up a lung. I have a lot more energy and my stress and anxiety are a distant nightmare. It really is such a awesome feeling, smoke free and in charge of my life again.
All that you really need to do is to want it.......it really is that easy and that hard, but it's the best thing you will ever do for yourself and your loved ones.
We are here for you, so when you need us, just write.
Good luck : )
Kathy Jo
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