Ex-smokers... How did you do it and how long ago?
 

I've got a mean-ass monkey on my back. :Oh crap How did you shake yours off?

try chewing gum all the time?

I quit smoking.....










about 6 minutes ago. Time for another one. lol. Actually, I want to quit too, but I don't have the willpower.

lots of gum - and no alcohol for a long long long time!~

gum, pot, and my wife and kids beggin me to stop ..5 years now

Tried to quit today, I went 5 hours without a smoke.. Other than sleeping that's the longest I've gone without in probably 5 years.

gf will leave me if i start smokin again!

cold turkey, 4 years ago. Haven't smoked even one since. I smoked about 1.5 packs a day.

Nicorette for about 4 months, then tons of normal gum.

5 years+ here.

Unluckily I must say that youll be needing a lil scare to quit cold turkey (the only real way to quit)...

13 years ago...I just stopped, no gum, no patches...just cold turkey. Never had one since because I know I'll start again, though I do still occasionally feel like one. Another odd thing is that I smoke in my dreams!
All the same...best of luck!

i did three weeks ago, started with the patch then i had to remove the patch because i had the urge to eat it after 3 days.

now not smoking but urging like a mofo and eating like a cow

I quit a little over a year ago. I used the Commit lozenges and (if you can get over the taste) they work great.

You'll make it. :thumbsup You're over the humps...

I did quit for six months once. Then I had one smoke at a party and BAM, 18 more years of smoking.

One day I felt like I was being owned. I couldn't allow that.

2hp

It's been two years since I had my last stick. I just told myself one day that it's over..

I hate smoking and i hate smokers but sometime when i am heavily drinked i smoke few cigarettes.

I went cold turkey two years ago and it took about three days of hellish withdrawals (major head rushes) and all is good now. I often regret using something that should be illegal to sell. Nicotine is a powerful drug!

About 20 years ago and did it cold turkey. It is, to me, the most powerful drug out there. There are still times I crave it.

I quit suddenly two years ago - I was in intensive care and not allowed to smoke for some reason :) Before that I was smoking a regular 30 a day.

I quit three years ago. I had a 6 month old son and decided I wanted to see him grow up and not take any chances with my health that I didn't have to. Personally it was difficult psychologically, rather than physically. I know that I could easily smoke again and often feel like one, but I know if I start I'll have to go through all the giving up thing again...

My husband and I both quit last New Years Eve, so almost a year ago, cold turkey. We had told each other for months, that when New Years Eve came we were quitting. Before we went to bed that night, we both put on a patch, woke up and didn't smoke...that was it and it honestly wasn't that bad. I only used one patch, I figured for me personally, just getting it over with and getting the nicotine out of my system was best...hubby used the patch for a couple of weeks.

Tips: I have read several articles that giving yourself a date to quit and to keep saying it, keep telling yourself you will do something on that date has a psychological benefit, ,and does help a great deal. Secondly, do not give yourself any options...don't say "I'm going to try" because that is defeatest...you have to tell yourself you WILL and that is IT, no if's ands or buts.

Lastly, remember that the actual craving does not last long at all. Have gum, pistachios, sesame seeds on hand to keep yourself busy when you feel that craving. Research has shown an actual "craving" only lasts about 20 seconds, so when you have one, get up, amuse yourself, walk up and down the stairs, open the front door, walk down the street, anything to prevent you from taking that cigarette.

start eating candies.... and i stop smoking for one year.... and one day i bought cigaretes and still smoking.... but i like to stop again...

hardest part for me is not smoking when drinking

If you're having a really hard time, give the patch a try.

I have 4 person who quited smoking after reading Allan Karrs' book. I even posted a thread about that.
Only one guy couldn't make it. He didn't smoke for half day. Guess hhe was not ready enough.
After this book you don't want to smoke the first cig - and you never smoke again.

I feel you Dagwolf. I am on Day 4 of no smoking. It hurts sometimes dude.

Sometimes I chew on straws or a toothpick. I am also using the patch. It really helps.

I drank last night and slipped up, with one drag, I feel bad but I won't let it deter me.

Maybe we can do this together.....If you feel the urge, hit me up on ICQ.

You can do it, just think about why you are quitting. Money? Health?

Just curious...are you coughing up shit yet? sore throat? or is it just me?

I really feel you dude!

cold turkey, one year and a half ago. It was tough until I stopped thinking at cigarettes and smoking.
After that, I even smoke sometimes, when I drink, especially cigars, but I don't have any cravings the next day. I just enjoy some fine cigars with drinks, once a month or so, then go back to my regular non-smoking life.

cold turkey 1 month ago, going ok sofar. I quit before for 2 years but started again after a rough vacation lol

I use to smoke almost 3 packs a day and I decided to quit 7 months ago... the first week was complete hell for me, I did the same as you and posted here asking how others did it http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showthread.php?t=610721

I get small cravings now but I can handle them, kills me to have a beer though LOL

And here is the post that helped me to stay quit:

When you start smoking, nicotine is deadly toxic, so the brain creates receptors to bind to the nicotine. Every time you smoke, more receptors are created, and once created, they're permanent... they never go away.

So what happens after a length of time smoking is the nicotine receptors start looking for nicotine, which is what creates the cravings. When you stop smoking the receptors are looking for something to bind to. The *physical* part of the addiction is generally gone after about 3-5 days, but the cravings generally take much longer. The receptors will never go away, but in time (over weeks or months, depending on how much you smoke and for how long), they become inactive. In time, there are no physical cravings at all, but there may still be psychological ones.

And the permanent presence of the receptors is why most people can't *ever* smoke even a single cigarette ever again... for most people, if they do smoke even one cigarette (or cigar, or anything with nicotine in it), it will essentially "wake up" all the nicotine receptors and restart the cravings, and within usually 2 or 3 cigarettes, you're right back where you started.

One thing that helps some people is there are real tobacco cigarettes that are 100% nicotine free. It's genetically engineered tobacco, and the cigarettes, called Quest, are sold only in the northeast and Arizona at the moment, but you can buy online (do a Google search). They are totally non-addictive. Several of my friends have used these and found them to be really helpful in getting over the desire to have something in your mouth, or to smoke with friends.

Quitting smoking was very easy for me because since I never started smoking, I never had to quit.

I've been on the patch, but my heart started doing some crazy bongo thing. :Oh crap Cardiac arrhythmia is scary...



Smoking while using the patch put my uncle's ex-wife in the hospital. Be careful with that. By the way, although I know someone who used nicotine gum and quit (he claims, but started again after 6 weeks) , success rates are better for people going cold turkey.

http://www.whyquit.com/ Here's a site with a lot of information from people who have successfully quit.

Welbutrin. Welbutrin. Welbutrin. It works great.
I tried gum, patches, TV-advertised gizmos, hypnosis, books, and some things i can't even remember, all with limited success. Welbutrin works like a charm. Give it a shot. EVEN if you don't have health insurance, and have to pay for the scripts, it's still going to be less expensive than smoking over the course of a month...particularly with the cost of a carton today.

i quit 7 years ago. though i don't think i was ever really addicted to it. i could go a day or so without smoking and it wouldn't bother me. i ended up smoking a lot more pot while quitting, and a friend quit at the same time and we hung out a lot so that kinda helped. quitting weed is much harder, i've gone a month without it but not much more. my girlfriend quit smoking in june, she says it only really bothers her when she drinks. i think its harder for her than me though because she smoked a lot more.

yeah i found myself eating a fuckload of food too

I know it's the wrong way to do it, but I find it helps. I used step 1 of the patch and cut them in half. In another few days, I will use 1/3 of a patch then 1/4 then nothing.

I find I still get cravings, but I can cope with them better.

That site is great btw.

Thanks

http://www.whyquit.com/whyquit/LinksJBlood.html

Check out the video 2/3 of the way down this page (What a 32-year old smoker's arteries look like)

:repuke

takes a lotta wherewithal