20 years?? Wow!!

[Blinky24]

I'm 31 years old and have been smoking for about 20 years. I've finally decided to give it up. For once I'm doing something for me. I have 3 cigarettes left and that's it.....I'm done. I'm tired of depending on them, having to take them where ever I go, not to mention the wasted money. I guess I picked a really bad time to quit because I am also quitting my anti-depressants which includes Effexor, a drug that's very hard to get out of your system and has alot of bad withdrawal symptoms. I am doing it without a dr's care because I recently lost my insurance. I'm starting a new stage in my life and it's not going to be easy. I'm terrified of not smoking, I fear the cravings and I'm afraid I'll just want to eat all the time.Does anyone know of anything that will help discourage the cravings besides meds? That's my only question, I guess I'm really just posting on here for support. Thanks

[teko]

It is so good to hear you are doing good! Awesome! Keep up the fight!

[Blinky24]

Thank you for all of the suggestions. The cravings aren't as bad anymore...or maybe it's that I can handle them better. My fiance is my inspiration, he was a chain smoker who suddenly quit cold turkey a couple of years ago...I never seen that coming. It's a very strange thing to stop doing something you love so much. And as for quitting my meds, that's going good too, I'm doing it very slowly. I wish all of you the best of luck getting rid of this addiction that we love/hate so much. :)

[teko]

When a crave hits, ride it out as it only lasts a short time and will go away whether you smoke or dont smoke. Time it and see! Deep breaths or go walk till it fades. Usually the third day is the worst as it takes 72 hrs for the body to be free of nicotine. Hang in there

[teko]

Wow, quitting anti depressants and smokes at the same time? I dont know that that is a real good idea but that is not what you wanted to know. I hope you can achieve this but it will def be hard to do.  Jolly Ranchers are bits of flavorable hard candy and my sister actually quit using these alone. A half of a straw or even a cinamon stick helps to some degree. Drink lots of water and fruit juice in the first few days and take vitamin c. Go to the web site whyquit.com and read for lots of other ideas from people who have gone that way as well. Then come back here and we will help support you as you go. Lots of this is a mind set and if you have that it will be much easier to do. I quit cold turkey over 4 months ago but only after years of trying and failing. It is hard but can be done. Congratulations and let us know how its going k?

[sudie58]

hi  and welcome, i know how you feel ! this is my 6th day without smoking, i was diagnosed with c.o.p.d and i was too frightened to stop smoking, how mad is that! but i think it was a fear of how i would manage without them, and also a fear of failing!
it has been hard ,but i found sipping fruit juice helped, also i made some ice lolly pops and sucked one if a craving came, if you put some healthy stuff to nibble on , its not too bad on the weight.i did eat quite a few grapes the first couple of days, lol, but anything that helps us stop is a good thing,we will do this!!!! please stop now, dont wait till you get s lung disease like i did!  good luck! god bless.

[GroupTrack_MHmod]

Hi and WELCOME!!!

Tasha224 is asking if anybody know of anything that will help discourage the cravings besides meds?

Let's get together and post our thougths/ideas for her!