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Grim Reefer

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Finally got myself to do it.. Quit the habbit I have had for over 15 years now.. Smoking cigarettes.. Gotta be one of the toughest things that a smoker can do.. So here's the skinny..

Havent bought a pack in over a week! However, I have "bummed" quite a few smokes from people at work but only smoked at work all last week, didnt smoke after work..
Last official cigarette was Friday the 13th, just after work.. Havent looked back since.. And dont really plan to.. I havent succeeded at much in my life thus far, but this will definately be a winning battle..

No more cigarettes = approx. $2000 spending money per year.. Thats a freakin vacation all in its own!

I can't wait to see the effects that quitting will have on my lungs! Time to get my health back, I hope.. Not all effects are 100% reversible.. Right now my chest feels tight, like I need to hack up all those years of tar...
 
#2 ·
Congrats, man! That's awesome!

As a respiratory tech (in school to be a resp therapist), i deal with people that have complications from smoking, all the time.

i think if more people were to see a COPD'er struggling to breath, unable to get air into their body and about ready to climb the walls (literally), they might never start. if you want to know what it's like to have COPD, try plugging your nose and try breathing through a pair of rolled-up socks, being sure to just get enough air in to stay conscious. that'll just show you the anxiety they go through. symptoms are much more than that.
 
#4 ·
Congrats and good luck just quit myself christmas eve so I know how it is. Its tough the running thing is great took about a week and I noticed a huge difference. Being a paramedic the choice wasnt that hard to make but its just like any other addiction
 
#5 ·
I started smoking about 35 years ago and have quit 3 different times but always picked them back up but been thinking about it again. I still think its the hardest habit to quit and the people that say well just quit about drive me crazy. I hope you make it thru the first couple weeks then it should get easier for you.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
First few days is when the nicotine fights you the most.. After that, its pretty much mental.. Gotta beat the hand to mouth addiction as well as the physical addiction.. I sure have been eating alot more, perhaps I will gain some much needed weight..
 
#9 ·
I have not smoked for 8.5 years, I can't stand the smell anymore. I have to admit quitting smoking was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I quit cold Turkey the day my daughter was born, and have not looked back.

Good luck, If i remember correctly it was a bad first couple of months and slowly got easier after that.
 
#10 ·
i quit for a few months, but fell back into it.

I strongly recommend the gum, it really takes the edge off, and will keep you from cheating. Its nice even to just have in your pocket, makes you feel a whole lot better, knowing if you need nicotine its there, and sometimes thats enough to not need it at all.

Best of luck, its a tough one.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Jr, Now I understand what your screen name means. J/K bud, Good thing I never got into that habit - I never smoked a cigarette in my life and I'm 42.

BTW - that little Alien Eye chalice you gave me, has doubled in size - You are a good man.

Smokin Reefs said:
i quit for a few months, but fell back into it.

I strongly recommend the gum, it really takes the edge off, and will keep you from cheating. Its nice even to just have in your pocket, makes you feel a whole lot better, knowing if you need nicotine its there, and sometimes thats enough to not need it at all.

Best of luck, its a tough one.
Click to expand...
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
I threw the patch kit I have from my work up on craigslist.. Its got all 3 steps and a total of 56 patches (28 - 21mg, 14 - 14mg, & 14 - 7mg)... It just dont make sense to me to keep putting the nicotine in your body when it needs so badly to get out.. Once its out, thats it, you begin the full fight.. Works different for different people tho.. It is nice that my work covers the stop smoking kits (patches or gum) but I sure would rather have them do like my brother's work does... They give you like $1000 or something crazy like that! But they only offer that once, and I'm not sure how they can prove that you quit or not..
 
#13 ·
I quit after 14 years of a pack and a half a day. I was hacking up very large balls of black "stuff", and decided I couldn't do it anymore. I didn't sleep for about two weeks, after that it was cake. To break the habit, I used toothpicks, worked great because it's the same motion. And you will gain some weight, especially if you want to, it's because you're trying to find something to do, your mind goes crazy for a while.
 
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Discussion starter · #14 ·
Yea, that seems to be the biggest thing is to keep your brain busy.. At work thats easy, move box, turn around, move another box, turn around, move another box, etc.. Even when I am not busy at work I stay busy at work helping out others whether they want me to or not.. Personally I dont care if they dont want my help, I'm keeping occupied!
 
#15 ·
The gum helped because it lets you beat it one step of a time. I have tried about a dozen different times, and it was the only one that got past a few days.

Even from the beginning, i was only chewing maybe 5 pieces a day, somedays 1 or 2...not the 12+ they suggest...

kept me from cheating when i would have that nic fit, and cured the oral fixation thing too.

Just something to think about if you find yourself struggling.

Never quit quitting.
 
#16 ·
So far so good

so far he has been good no fights with my dogs lol. do to the economy Grim has been staying at my house. so far no fights with dogs etc actually hasn't seemed to hard for him. though easier for me a non smoker. but so far great job Grim
 
#17 ·
i quit and then started up again twice in 2008. both times were my fault for thinking i was ready to go cold turkey. i took chantix and let me tell you once you are on the drug for a week at full dose you don't even think of a cigarette. but you are supposed to stay on for a while and i always stopped to soon. time to start up again and finally be done. i have seen the people on the patch and gum and nothing is anything like those little pills, they really do work. try them if you need something to help, it is worth it.
 
#18 ·
Chantix is an angel and a devil. I am currently a success story for chantix. I have quit smoking now for about 3 weeks with no cheating. I quit a week before it and "cheated" twice. To be honest I do not remember when my last smoke was. You NEED to go 21 days to break the addiction. Using gum or patches keeps you addicted. I know people who every so often chew gum or use a patch YEARS after they quit and that is evidence that you have to physically break the addiction to REALLY be free. I have 9-1000 dreams a night. One in 20 are nightmares / night terrors. I remember them all. It SOUNDS cool at first, but dreaming that much is physically exhausting to a degree.

Good luck Grim. If it weren't for advanced psychotherapy anti psychotic type drugs I would be a a complete maniac.
 
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