Quit Smoking

Vargas · #1 05-06-2009, 05:39 PM

I did it. Well, sort of.

It has been over 3 days without a cigarette and I'm doing it without the patch. I am taking Chantix but honestly, I don't know if that is helping me at all.

This is the longest I've been without nicotene since I was about 18 years old (I'm 31 now). I've never made it this long and despite really wanting a cigarette, I have no intention of doing so. Hopefully, I can make it.

To those of you that were smart enough to have never smoked in the first place, I doubt you know how hard it is to quit. Here is a sample:

The first day, for every single waking moment of the entire day, you hear a voice in your head saying "smoke, smoke, smoke, smoke." And the more you ignore it, the louder it gets, sreaming in your head, "SMOKE, SMOKE, SMOKE, SMOKE, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO." So you manage to ignore it and then just when you can't take it anymore, it goes away for about 10 minutes but comes back with a vengance and really starts f'ing with you. This goes on for HOURS by the way, not minutes. You start to convince yourself that you're miserable and that a cigarette will make you feel better. You start lying to yourself and saying that you'll just have one and throw the rest of the pack away. All the while the voice is just yelling at you. Then, just when it can't possbily get worse, it starts scratching at you, literally and you can't focus. Everything is blurry and it is like you're living in a fog. Plus, you're dizzy, you can't concentrate on anything and all you want to do is light one up. The voice is still there with it's chanting "SMOKE, SMOKE, SMOKE." You convince yourself that you won't even be the same person and the rest of the world can go to hell and that you're gonna smoke because cigarettes are your friends, your only little vice. "Smoke, smoke, smoke." Then, if you're lucky enough to make it through the entire day (which I was) you go to bed and wake up feeling better than you've felt in years---for about an hour and then the voice returns but it isn't quite as loud and the constant craving isn't quite as bad and you start to actually think that you've got it beat. The voice is there all day but it isn't as loud and it starts to fade. Day 3 is even better yet --the voice actually comes and goes and you don't think about it all day, there are actually times when you FORGET about NOT smoking.

Day 4? Well, I don't know. I've never made it that far.

But I'll find out tomorrow.

So if you know somebody that is quitting smoking and you don't smoke, just know that it is really hard to do and it really, really sucks.

**Aaron** · #2 05-06-2009, 05:51 PM

That's a pretty good explanation of the quitting process, for those of us who never smoked.

Imagine the money you'll save!

What's a pack cost lately? ... or a carton?

limegrass69 · #3 05-06-2009, 05:53 PM

Wow...good luck quitting. You'll probably never be over it completely, but you'll thank yourself for doing it. Just have to get over that hill...

Vargas · #4 05-06-2009, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron

That's a pretty good explanation of the quitting process, for those of us who never smoked.

Imagine the money you'll save!

What's a pack cost lately? ... or a carton?

Never bought by the carton because I would have felt horrible to spend that much AT ONE TIME on smokes. I think they're around $55 here in PA. A pack just went up to about $5.60-$5.85 depending on where you bought them. It went up April 1st. Despite smoking about a pack a day, I only ever bought one pack at a time.

By the way, I know my logic of not buying a cartons is stupid so nobody needs to tell me.

goreds2 · #5 05-06-2009, 06:01 PM

I am lucky enough to not have started smoking. I have had friends who have tried to quit and some were successful. I wish you luck.

TheScionicMan · #6 05-06-2009, 07:22 PM

Depending on where you are, the costs of smoking can get extreme:

Prison Economy Spirals As Price Of Pack Of Cigarettes Exceeds Two Hand Jobs | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

blyons200 · #7 05-06-2009, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vargas

I did it. Well, sort of.

It has been over 3 days without a cigarette and I'm doing it without the patch. I am taking Chantix but honestly, I don't know if that is helping me at all.

This is the longest I've been without nicotene since I was about 18 years old (I'm 31 now). I've never made it this long and despite really wanting a cigarette, I have no intention of doing so. Hopefully, I can make it.

To those of you that were smart enough to have never smoked in the first place, I doubt you know how hard it is to quit. Here is a sample:

The first day, for every single waking moment of the entire day, you hear a voice in your head saying "smoke, smoke, smoke, smoke." And the more you ignore it, the louder it gets, sreaming in your head, "SMOKE, SMOKE, SMOKE, SMOKE, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO." So you manage to ignore it and then just when you can't take it anymore, it goes away for about 10 minutes but comes back with a vengance and really starts f'ing with you. This goes on for HOURS by the way, not minutes. You start to convince yourself that you're miserable and that a cigarette will make you feel better. You start lying to yourself and saying that you'll just have one and throw the rest of the pack away. All the while the voice is just yelling at you. Then, just when it can't possbily get worse, it starts scratching at you, literally and you can't focus. Everything is blurry and it is like you're living in a fog. Plus, you're dizzy, you can't concentrate on anything and all you want to do is light one up. The voice is still there with it's chanting "SMOKE, SMOKE, SMOKE." You convince yourself that you won't even be the same person and the rest of the world can go to hell and that you're gonna smoke because cigarettes are your friends, your only little vice. "Smoke, smoke, smoke." Then, if you're lucky enough to make it through the entire day (which I was) you go to bed and wake up feeling better than you've felt in years---for about an hour and then the voice returns but it isn't quite as loud and the constant craving isn't quite as bad and you start to actually think that you've got it beat. The voice is there all day but it isn't as loud and it starts to fade. Day 3 is even better yet --the voice actually comes and goes and you don't think about it all day, there are actually times when you FORGET about NOT smoking.

Day 4? Well, I don't know. I've never made it that far.

But I'll find out tomorrow.

So if you know somebody that is quitting smoking and you don't smoke, just know that it is really hard to do and it really, really sucks.

I know the pain of which you speak of. I've quit twice, once for a year. I really , really need to try again.

**HecticArt** · #8 05-06-2009, 08:03 PM

Best of luck to you! I've got a couple of friends that were able to stop. One quit 6 or 7 years ago, the other quit about 5 months ago after trying 2 or 3 times. They are both crazy glad they gave it up, both said it was probably the hardest thing they had ever done. So keep the faith. You can do it. Lean on your friends a bit, and hang in there.

MadisonRadio1 · #9 05-07-2009, 01:51 AM

Yes, good luck. This sounds very important to you and I hope you are able to quit.

Calypso7777 · #10 05-07-2009, 05:49 AM

Goodluck with this...

My hubby and I have tried plenty on times with the help of Zyban and it worked but something always seemed to come up to get us smoking again...

My Hubby and I just started Champix this morning, so I do hope it works well and better than Zyban....