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Rogue
9/5/2006, 03:05 PM
...is teh succ. Nicotine is a mean addiction for sure. I went from a pack a day for 15 years to less than 10/day over the weekend. Trying not to gain a ton in the process. Obstacles include my poor motivation, laziness, and a neurotic personality that has me making crazy *** deals with myself like "if I can go 3 hours between cigarettes, that's progress." Well, hopefully in a month or so I'll have it beat.

Bad side effects of quitting, or even drastically cutting back I'm finding out, for me have always been canker sores, zits, foul black moodiness, and a huge appetite surge. All of those don't outweigh the nasty side effects of smoking I know.

So, for those of you who've beat it, congratulations.

Still huffin', but less...-Rogue
Mjcpr
9/5/2006, 03:07 PM
I quit in January cold turkey and it was way easier than I ever thought it'd be.

Hope that helps.

:D
BlondeSoonerGirl
9/5/2006, 03:07 PM
Good luck, dude.
colleyvillesooner
9/5/2006, 03:11 PM
...is teh succ. Nicotine is a mean addiction for sure. I went from a pack a day for 15 years to less than 10/day over the weekend. Trying not to gain a ton in the process. Obstacles include my poor motivation, laziness, and a neurotic personality that has me making crazy *** deals with myself like "if I can go 3 hours between cigarettes, that's progress." Well, hopefully in a month or so I'll have it beat.

Bad side effects of quitting, or even drastically cutting back I'm finding out, for me have always been canker sores, zits, foul black moodiness, and a huge appetite surge. All of those don't outweigh the nasty side effects of smoking I know.

So, for those of you who've beat it, congratulations.

Still huffin', but less...-Rogue

Man, that sucks. Sounds like you need a smoke.

Ahh crap...
Beef
9/5/2006, 03:12 PM
Good luck. Been smoke free since April and have lost over 30 pounds in the process. It can be done.
C&CDean
9/5/2006, 03:16 PM
If you're thinking about them, you're gonna smoke them. The whole cutting down, hypnosis, patch, gum, etc. doesn't work. You've just gotta lay them down one day and never pick them up. If your mind wanders to "it's been 3 hours since my last smoke" you must immediately start doing something to get your mind off them or you'll be out in the gutter picking up a butt.

I used sunflower seeds a lot when I quit - but I was also giving up Skoal, Red Man, Beechnut, Day's Work, cocaine, marijuana, acid, speed, and assorted pharmaceutical products at the same time. True story. I gave it all up on the same day. Cold turkey.

You can do it.
leavingthezoo
9/5/2006, 03:19 PM
i replaced smoking with cycling. i was only tempted to light up the tires for the first week. ;)

good luck on this!
jk the sooner fan
9/5/2006, 03:22 PM
i quit cold turkey 10 years ago......i've said it before, youv'e got to beat 2 addictions......the nicotine AND the "hand to mouth" habit

good luck - dont quit trying
GottaHavePride
9/5/2006, 03:28 PM
Try substituting exercise in place of smoking. Occupy your mind and fight the weight gain at the same time!
Rogue
9/5/2006, 03:45 PM
Glad to hear your success stories. I feel like the air traffic controller in AIRPLANE!

Dean, you must have a nervous tic or two from that kind of withdrawal. :eek:

I've tried the patch and Zyban before, both helped but I think cold turkey is prolly what I've heard people have the most success with.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go kill something. ;)
jk the sooner fan
9/5/2006, 04:10 PM
at a pack+ a day, there's no way i could have "exercised" everytime i wanted a smoke.....its all i would have done the entire day
Mjcpr
9/5/2006, 04:11 PM
at a pack+ a day, there's no way i could have "exercised" everytime i wanted a smoke.....its all i would have done the entire day

I think he meant "spank it".
BoogercountySooner
9/5/2006, 04:28 PM
I smoked about 6 cigars a day! I quit 7 weeks ago and I feel way better. You can quit Rogue. Hang in there!
Ike
9/5/2006, 06:56 PM
I'm in there with you rogue. I'm quitting cause I got a kid on the way and theres no way we want to raise him or her in a smoking house...

So hang on in there man...its driving me bat **** crazy.
jk the sooner fan
9/5/2006, 07:01 PM
I'm in there with you rogue. I'm quitting cause I got a kid on the way and theres no way we want to raise him or her in a smoking house...

So hang on in there man...its driving me bat **** crazy.

there's no better motivation - my kids are why i quit

you'll be glad you did later
VirginiaOkie
9/5/2006, 07:35 PM
I used smokeless tobacco for many years and finally quit (first time) in 2002. It was so easy that I started up again knowing how easy it was. Finally, in 2003 I was the one that wanted to quit (not the wife) and stopped for good.

I used the patch and a little wonder pill called Zyban (perscribed). Zyban killed the desire and the patch met the need. Check it out. I was a hardcore dipper and thought I could never quit.
proud gonzo
9/5/2006, 08:21 PM
30 or so years ago my grandma quit smoking, after 30 years of addiction. She bought a carton and put it in the kitchen cabinet. She told everyone else not to to uch them or get rid of them because as long as they were there and she knew she could have one if she wanted, it was her decision and she was fine. She said if she had gotten rid of them then it wouldn't have been about giving them up but about not being ABLE to smoke and that wouldn't work.
Mjcpr
9/6/2006, 07:43 AM
I'm in there with you rogue. I'm quitting cause I got a kid on the way and theres no way we want to raise him or her in a smoking house...

Dude, you might want to get that looked at before the baby comes.
sooner_born_1960
9/6/2006, 07:49 AM
Quiter.
sanantoniosooner
9/6/2006, 07:50 AM
at a pack+ a day, there's no way i could have "exercised" everytime i wanted a smoke.....its all i would have done the entire day
That was my first thought. As many smoke breaks as I see people take, I can't imagine them stepping out to just run around the block.
goodonya
9/6/2006, 08:37 AM
I concur with the successes above with only one addition. I was told that to quit you had to decide that you wanted to quit. After I decided I didn't want to be a smoker I did the cold turkey thing. I was also told that the physiological effects were out of my system in 3-days and after that it was psychological. True or not I set my mind to those things and quit in 2001. I did however keep a pack in my car "in case". I finally tossed it in 2004 without ever touching it. Interesting that I have been having severe cravings for a cig for the last 3-months. I will not give in.
Howzit
9/6/2006, 08:40 AM
i quit cold turkey 10 years ago......i've said it before, youv'e got to beat 2 addictions......the nicotine AND the "hand to mouth" habit



Bev straws. Get a box and chew on them. I knew a guy that quit this way and still chewed on straws years after quitting for the hand-to-mouth deal.

Although, he died from little pieces of plastic causing a spastic colon...
Mjcpr
9/6/2006, 08:41 AM
Bev straws. Get a box and chew on them.

Will any box do or does it have to be one that used to have beverage straws in it?
Howzit
9/6/2006, 08:50 AM
Will any box do or does it have to be one that used to have beverage straws in it?

You could probably use just about anyone's.
Mjcpr
9/6/2006, 08:53 AM
You could probably use just about anyone's.

Won't they get mad or is there a service out there for people that need a box to chew on?
GDC
9/7/2006, 01:04 PM
Nothing is harder to quit than Copenhagen, guaranteed.
handcrafted
9/7/2006, 04:07 PM
I concur with the successes above with only one addition. I was told that to quit you had to decide that you wanted to quit. After I decided I didn't want to be a smoker I did the cold turkey thing. I was also told that the physiological effects were out of my system in 3-days and after that it was psychological. True or not I set my mind to those things and quit in 2001. I did however keep a pack in my car "in case". I finally tossed it in 2004 without ever touching it. Interesting that I have been having severe cravings for a cig for the last 3-months. I will not give in.

Heh, that about describes my process. I had a few things going for me, tho. I was newly married and my wife would not let me light up in the apartment. I had to go out on the patio. In winter. In Northern Virginia (we were living in the DC area at the time). Also, around the same time my office building went smoke-free. I did the "keep a pack in the glove box of my car" thing, too. It worked. I did relapse once about 6 months after I quit (because I lost my job), but the first one tasted so horrible after that long that I just ditched it and threw the rest out. Nowadays, I can even have the occasional cigar and not have craving problems.

Working out is a pretty good idea, too. When you are engaged in sports-related activity and you realize that you are not breathing all that well, it doesn't make you want to light up.