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Well, let me give you some inspiration...spouse decided to quit a unfiltered Pall Mall reds, 3-pack-a-day, 26-year habit when he nearly blacked out on a hike with our daughter...she was just a little kid & I had a cast on my leg. We waited for him at the summit for 15 minutes, then had to go find him. He was wheezing & pale & needed help getting back down the hill. (I remember arguing with him when I went grocery shopping that a carton of smokes were NOT groceries.)
This was when only the N---rette gum was available, no patches & it was rx only, so we went down to Mexico & bought it, no rx needed there. However, he did it mostly cold turkey, & was such a nasty a------ that I wanted to shove his cigarettes there, and actually left for a weekend, he was so foul-tempered.
However, he stuck with it, and after the first month, he was easier to get along with.
Now, the good part. He hasn't smoked in 24 years. He says he can't even stand the smell of it. His Dr. said his lungs & lung capacity are normal. But he said that quitting smoking was one of the hardest things he ever did.
I was never a smoker, & I felt close to murder during his process of quitting, so I can't imagine how hard it must be for both of you to be doing this at the same time...don't give up!
One last thing...my sister was a smoker & tried so many times to quit but never was able to. She died of small cell lung cancer nearly 12 years ago. She was my best friend, a great person, and losing her left a huge hole in my life...I miss her every day. I'm not bringing this up as a "warning", but as an illustration of what a powerful addiction it is. She was one strong lady but those cigarettes had such a grip on her. I just wish she could have quit. I miss her so much.
Best of luck to you...if my chain-smoking spouse could do it, so can you!
Last edited by MarciaMarshaMarcia; 01-09-2017 at 04:44 AM..
Just one little cig will definitely help take the edge off, you deserve it .
Not a good idea.
When giving up smoking ultimately you have to smoke your last cigarette, the op has now done that,you have now given up smoking,congratulations ,its going to be a rough ride for a few weeks while you shake the addiction and habit of smoking, if you are ever to be successful you will have to ride out what you are going through now,fail and you remain a smoker till the next time you try and quit.
Day 3 without a cig and I want to tear my own arm off and destroy everything in sight with it. Grrr. I'm using the patch but stuck inside due to icy weather and I am not a happy camper. I keep telling myself it will get better, the cravings will go away, I'm doing something good for myself, blah, blah, blah, but it doesn't stop the self amputation or smoking urge. It sure doesn't help that my wife and I stopped at the same time and she is just as grouchy because she isn't using her nicotine substitute consistently (she doesn't like the taste of the nicotine lozenges and can't use the patches), so we're alternating biting each other's heads off and avoiding each other. Whoever said couples quitting at the same time to support each other must have been divorced I've stopped long term successfully twice before, but this time seems so much harder. End rant.
I'm sorry to hear you're having such a rough time of it. Stopping smoking is never easy but if you are determined and committed enough it helps. The difference between this time and the other times I've tried to quit are those two things. It's been 18 days now, for me, and each day gets easier. I admit that the FIRST thing I think of when I wake up is a cigarette and coffee. I get the coffee but not the cigarette and it's okay. I tried the lozenges last time and they are NASTY. I still have nearly the whole bottle left. I'm using the patch this time and it has really helped. I'm on box three and after the next one I can cut down to step 2. The young lady staying with me smokes but as long as she keeps it in her room, or outside, it doesn't bother me. And she smokes menthols so I'm never tempted to bum one either. lol
The only time I get "grouchy" at all is, maybe, the last two hours at work. But I chalk that up more to just being tired and wanting to go home and NOT deal with anymore people and heaping baskets of 'stuff' coming at me. I never go outside to the break area and I miss my buddies but I'm at the point where I can't deal with the smell! I notice when a customer comes to my register, and I can smell the cig smoke, I back up! lol I have a clear plastic makeup bag that I carry my work 'essentials' in and I have to get a new one. A new wallet too. They both smell like cigs. I'm going to get my car detailed and 'freshen' it up too. I'm glad it's affecting me this way because it makes me more thankful I've quit.
Do NOT wait till the doc tells you that you have COPD. I did and I regret that but I knew all along that the possibility was there. More likely the probability and that still didn't make me stop. Now it feels like "do or die" so I have to "do". I guess I'm grateful that it isn't cancer.
There are so many good side affects it amazes me every day. After two weeks I have a lot more energy, I am sleeping MUCH better, no more cough or wheezing and just generally feel better all over. I bet if I did those breathing tests again I would do better at this point. I'm not deluding myself that COPD will ever really go away but I can sure make it better.
I wish you all the luck in the world with quitting. Since you've done it before I have faith in you. I've slipped and slid a lot in the past but just made up my mind that THIS IS IT and you really really REALLY have to want to quit.
I quit for good 15 months ago. The worst time for me was after dinner so I changed my after dinner routine so I wouldn't associate dinner with smoking. Now I immediately get up after dinner and start doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. I haven't had even a puff since October of 2015 and I don't miss it. Yes the first few weeks were difficult but so was not being able to breathe when I had an attack from my vocal cord dysfunction. That made it easier.
Just think about how nice you, your clothing and everything else will smell in a couple of weeks. Let the cold air in and get the smell of cigarettes out of your house. It IS hard but then most everything worthwhile is. YOU CAN DO IT! Think of all the other obstacles you have already overcome.
If I can do it, anyone can. Just don't use grouchiness as an excuse to fall off the wagon. You and your wife need to keep your sense of humor. "Boy, you were really a ***** last night, and so was I. It's a good thing I'm usually so lovable."
It helped me to acknowledge that I wanted a cigarette. Imagine lighting it and smoking it, but do not do it. I would say to myself, "If I were a smoker, I would really like a cigarette right now, but I am not a smoker."
Reward yourselves for success. Go get a massage, or eat in a nice restaurant with the money you are saving.
My husband was a heavier smoker than I was, but even he was finally successful. You know what really helped him? One day, he realized how much anxiety he used to have about where he would be able to have his next cigarette. Like, in an airport, what if he couldn't get outside to a smoking area, for example. When that anxiety was gone, it became the bonus that helped him more than anything.
Marsha,
Whether you're telling us this as warning or not, it needs to be said. Over and over and over again.
Smokers tend to think about it and brush it off and 'pretend' it won't happen to them' and of course they'll be quitting soon anyway.
The fact is, it does happen and can and will happen. If it's not lung cancer, it will be COPD.
Look at Leonard Nimoy, thirty years after he quit.
I'm sorry about your friend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarciaMarshaMarcia
Well, let me give you some inspiration...spouse decided to quit a unfiltered Pall Mall reds, 3-pack-a-day, 26-year habit when he nearly blacked out on a hike with our daughter...she was just a little kid & I had a cast on my leg. We waited for him at the summit for 15 minutes, then had to go find him. He was wheezing & pale & needed help getting back down the hill. (I remember arguing with him when I went grocery shopping that a carton of smokes were NOT groceries.)
This was when only the N---rette gum was available, no patches & it was rx only, so we went down to Mexico & bought it, no rx needed there. However, he did it mostly cold turkey, & was such a nasty a------ that I wanted to shove his cigarettes there, and actually left for a weekend, he was so foul-tempered.
However, he stuck with it, and after the first month, he was easier to get along with.
Now, the good part. He hasn't smoked in 24 years. He says he can't even stand the smell of it. His Dr. said his lungs & lung capacity are normal. But he said that quitting smoking was one of the hardest things he ever did.
I was never a smoker, & I felt close to murder during his process of quitting, so I can't imagine how hard it must be for both of you to be doing this at the same time...don't give up!
One last thing...my sister was a smoker & tried so many times to quit but never was able to. She died of small cell lung cancer nearly 12 years ago. She was my best friend, a great person, and losing her left a huge hole in my life...I miss her every day. I'm not bringing this up as a "warning", but as an illustration of what a powerful addiction it is. She was one strong lady but those cigarettes had such a grip on her. I just wish she could have quit. I miss her so much.
Best of luck to you...if my chain-smoking spouse could do it, so can you!
I've heard about the vaping, but the last two times I've quit, the patches worked very well for me, so I decided to try them again. When I got together with my wife a few years ago, she smoked a little, and one night when we were out drinking, I thought "What the hell," and back on the hamster wheel I went for another two years. I just got off the treadmill after walking a mile and feel a lot better. The natural endorphins really do help things. And the other natural endorphins assist too
I've also been nibbling on leftover Christmas candy to take the edge off. Unlike most people, when I stop smoking, my appetite decreases and I end up losing weight instead of gaining it, which is another incentive for kicking the butt habit. So I'm not worried about the temporary candy fix.
vaping seems counter productive to me. I too lost a 6 year quit when I would have puffs here and there. in short order I was smoking again. I too had to use the patch as withdrawal is very difficult for me. my relapse taught me to not take my quit for granted, by thinking I can have a puff, or I deserve a cig because I haven't smoked in a week type of thinking.
two years is the average time a smoker who relapsed continues to smoke till they quit again. I was true to form but when I got back with it. that quit way by far so much harder than the first one. the difficulty I had detoxing mind and body is reminder enough that I never want to have another puff ever,
hang tight, look forward and don't smoke. you are right the cravings will go away. they have a beginning a middle and an end, much like a labor pain. you have your past quit in your background will help inspire you to know that you can and have quit before. I have been smoke free now for probably 15 years or more now.
I quit cold turkey few years ago with no patch , and I was sick for three month , and then still had urges for three years but ignored these as I became non interested in smoking
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I've stopped long term successfully twice before, but this time seems so much harder. End rant.
