Smoke free...Day two.

I purchased Commit Lozenges a couple of days ago and have been smoke free so far. I've tried to go cold turkey numerous times before this and have quit that way for a good six days once on my annual trip to the high peaks in the adirondacks backpacking. Problem was my friend who went with me decided to buy a pack of smoke when we stopped for food on the way home and the rest is old history. Has anyone used these lozenges and quit permantly? I'm fed up with these cigs as I enjoy mountain biking, backpacking, climbing and winter sports and smoking puts one hell of a burden on these things if you can imagine.

I must say that the urge is still there to smoke but the lozenges makes it much easier resist. I just wanted to know that when I'm done with the lozenges if the urge to smoke will reappear.

I don't know about these lozenges, but in my opinion, the only way to stop smoking is to actually want to. It sounds like you want to.

If you want to quit smoking, relish the fact that you have gone two whole days! Tomorrow it will be three! Soon, it will be a whole week, and you will feel good about reaching a week. Then it's two weeks. Can you see where I'm going with this? Gain satisfaction from the smug feeling that you get when you are not smoking.

I quit just over 6 months ago, after smoking for 23 years. I had it easy though, I had double pneumonia, a kidney infection, collapsed from dehydration, and spent a week in intensive care, followed by another two weeks in hospital, and two months off work. The doctor told me that not giving up smoking would kill me pretty quickly. That was all the incentive I needed.

I still miss smoking, and sometimes when I'm drunk, I come close, but I've managed the first six months, and boy do I feel smug.

To sum up my long-winded speech (I may be slightly tipsy) You have to enjoy not smoking, and the hapiness from reaching milestones is what gave me goals to enjoy reaching.

The urge gradualy lessens, and you go for longer and longer between rembering that you used to smoke.

Good luck.


[Edited on 14-5-2004 by Zzub]

I've never smoked, but I think KayEm will have something to say about the lozenges. In the meantime you can read her blog here. The first entry is about how she gave up smoking.

Congrats on quitting. Personally, I dont see why people start smoking in the first place- it does harm to your body and takes away your money. But I hope you can quit smoking for good.

Congratulations on the commitment! My advice... just don't smoke. If it's hard, punch yourself in the face instead.

So far it hasn't been too bad but I know it will be hard. I'm more than determined to stop and will not let it win me over this time. It interferes with everthing I love to do and I've noticed that it harder to do those things. It's actually quite amazing that I can still do these things to the extreme.

I started when I was 17 and I'm 32 now. It was a very cold night on a stalled chairlift when my buddy's older brother offered us a smoke and we obliged. That was all it took and the rest is history.

[Edited on 14-5-2004 by I See You]

Smoke free since 1/23/04. I used Zyban - it really helped because it's not a nicotine substitute. It causes the brain to sense the chemicals that cause the sense of well being produced by nicotine - but without the nicotine. The nicotine withdrawal is over after about four days and Zyban really does make that easy. The cravings continue on an off for oh - just about ever. I've quit a few times - once for seven years. Two potential drawbacks to Zyban, at least for me, insomnia and extreme shakiness. I was only on it for five weeks because of that. But I'm pushing 4 months without so much as a single drag!


BTW, I went with Zyban to break the nicotine addiction tight from the start. Gum, lozenges or patches are nic subs which mean you're still addicted but satisfying it through a different (safer) means.

GOOD LUCK AND KEEP TRYING!


[Edited on 5/14/2004 by CommonSense]

Thats great you have quit. They say that lung cancer is the most preventable type of cancer, specifically by not smoking. Take a good friend of mine, we called him Marlboro Joe for years. But not since he got diagnosed. I quit a little more than a year and a half ago. It was hard, but really, Zzub did give you good advice. Everybody did, but looking forward and reaching little milestones really helped me. I used the patch.

I had alot of nightmares when I quit, I wrote them down. They are pretty interesting now actually....

Originally posted by CommonSense
Gum, lozenges or patches are nic subs which mean you're still addicted but satisfying it through a different (safer) means.

Exactly. And not only THAT...consider that you are giving your body considerably less nicotine then it is used to. Therefore, until you are off the NRT (Nicotine replacement 'therapy') your body will continue to scream for "More !!!!!!!!!".

A couple of links that may help. This site was my lifesaver by the way. My quit is almost 2 months old now.

Quit Patience

Journey beyond comfort

Nicodemons Lies

The truth about Nicotine Replacement Therapy

Hope this information helps.

Take care and best of luck to you, I See You.

KayEm

Used the patch and quit for a month and a half. Then worked the night shift, very boring, with 2 other smokers. My point is avoid places where you will be tempted. Coffee, booze, whatever you did while smoking, try to avoid. Good luck.

With all due advice, Trep this is bad advice. I know you mean well, but what you said could be detrimental and even cause relapse. I mean no offense. This is a common misconception.

You see, it is extremely important for the ex-smoker to realize that whatever he/she did as a smoker, they can also do as a non-smoker.

To think in this mindset ensures that the deprivation mentality doesn't set in and hence, cause relapse. The smoker may start to think "I can't do this, I did it when I smoked" and now he thinks he has to do without.

Not so. Life goes on without smoking and the only rule is no nicotine today. That's it.

In fact, it's important to go out of your way to DO the things you did as a smoker in order to permanantly kill those smoking triggers.

I agree. I always got up and drank a cup of coffee with my smokes. But when I quit I still drank my coffee, I still have a cup when I wake up. Its not a trigger for me, in fact I think it helped me get through the really hard parts of the addiction when I first quit. I really looked forward to having that cup of coffee.

Well, I will try this the next time I quit. I was not successful the last time so you are probably right. Thanks for the advice.

I See You~~
Congrats on qutting smoking. Whatever works for you and makes it easier, go for it. Unless, of course, you have to punch yourself in the face too often--see Delta Chaos' post

Everyone is different. My husband quit more than a pack a day-20 year habit. No lozenges, pills or gum. No withdrawal or headaches. Not that some don't experience these trauma, but we began to wonder if some of this is hype to sell quit-smoking-stuff?????
I imagine it also makes a difference how strong your smoke was.

Again, ISU, congrats and good luck!!

Congradulation for quitting man!

I quited cold turkey style a year and 4 months ago, and it was one of the wisest choice I ever made. It cost so much money, and it is simply so useless, don't even really taste good (everyone, admit it), and it contains so many chemicalt crap, it's really not good for health. I've worked out a lot and become way more athletic over the last year, and I'm darn sure I wouldn't be at the same level if I had continued to smoke cigarettes.

My cousin and I had try several time to stop smoking, without much success. But one day, he called me and told me that he started using nicotine patch, and that he hadn't smoked in a week and that it had never been so easy to stop. We're real close friends, almost likes brothers, so we're always "kinda" competing, and challenging our selves, so it kinda motivated me and made me really decide to quit for good. That was a day before the last time I decided to quit.

I sincerly wish you good luck, and may the force (willpower) be with you.

Originally posted by KayEm
Therefore, until you are off the NRT (Nicotine replacement 'therapy') your body will continue to scream for "More !!!!!!!!!".

Congrats KayEm! I was wondering, is your avatar a self portait from the first couple days of quitting?


BTW, I've quit 4 times now 1 - 4yrs, 2 - 4.5 yrs, 3 - 7 yrs. The first time I quit I think smokes were 45 cents a pack. It was a lot easier this time at $5 a pack.




[Edited on 5/14/2004 by CommonSense]

Originally posted by CommonSense
Congrats KayEm! I was wondering, is your avatar a self portait from the first couple days of quitting?

[Edited on 5/14/2004 by CommonSense]

Thanks, Common.

And the answer to your question is no Although, I must admit, it DOES look like it lol.

The truth is, this quit was the easiest I've ever experienced because of the education on nicotine addiction I recieved from this online cold turkey cessation group I belong to.

It really is true. Going into something well-armed (IE educated in this case lol) is far better then going in blindfolded. I could never have made it this far if it wasn't for Freedom. All my thanks go to this amazing site.

Thank you all for your advice and support. It's day 3 and it's going well. I still have the urges but they pass quickly.

I still have my coffee in the morning just like always and continue on normally with no change in my lifestyle except for the cigs. I find it much easier to quit this time because I hate them so much and have never wanted to quit so badly.

Now I must start training harder in the gym and in my outdoor activities to prove to myself the differences between smoking and not. I will prevail

like zzub said, you have to want to quit.

all these products just put nicotine into your system...the idea is to not use anything, be free of the monkey on your back (no pun intended)

i quit two years ago cold turkey. i realized a long time ago that smoking isnt as much physical as it is mental although a lot of people would like you to think otherwise. for a while before i actually quit, i told myself every time i lit one up how awful it smelled, with each drag i told myself how disgusting it tasted. it worked so well i was ready to vomit at the mere smell of a cigarette, even unlit! so i simply stopped. i wanted to quit and i wanted to find a sure fire method to help me. i didnt spend a penny on patches or pills or self help books or any of that crap people are trying to make us feel we need when we dont.

i KNOW a person can stop smoking if they want to. the problem is they claim they want to but rarely mean it. it takes determination and actually going through the mental preparation to quit that i feel most people fail at. i dont think of them as weak by any means, i feel they just underestimate the situation.

now since then i've not wanted a cigarette. my health has improved dramatically and i feel like a different person.

i started smoking when i was 16 and stopped right after my 28th b-day. i knew i could do it, i knew i could convince myself that quitting was the best thing for me. and it worked! to this day i cant smell cigarette smoke without getting somewhat nauseous from it. i hated then and i hate it now. you couldnt get me to smoke on a bet.

i'm also convinced that these companies that claim they are trying to help you quit are lying to us.

lets see "dont smoke for the nicotine, use our patch and get the nicotine that way!"...uh huh! isnt the point of quitting is to stop using nicotine?


but this is for another thread i think...

you CAN do it, i know you can. anyone can!