It’s hard to believe, but just a little over five months ago I didn’t think I’d ever be able to say I’d be a non-smoker. I had just quit, but the cravings I was going through, even though they were dulled with the help of Zyban .. were difficult. It was hard to imagine that I’d quit for good – forever.
Now days go by and I surprise myself when I catch myself thinking about a cigarette. I still get the occasional craving, but it only happens a few times a week instead of several times a day now. That’s what I’d call progress. Considering that I quit on October 12th I guess it’s about time that cigarettes stopped ruling my life.
It’s funny how when I first quit, I wrote several posts about it and I’d get encouraging comments or congratulation comments, but I”d also get people telling me that I should switch to e-cigarettes. When I was really craving a smoke I checked out the e-cigarette safety information just to see how safe they are since I don’t know much about them. Anyway since I was being so successful with quitting smoking right from the beginning I wasn’t going to fool around with an e-cigarette. I didn’t want to start another habit.
I’m just happy I quit. I feel a lot better. My husband quit too. We’re both healthier, our house smells better and we have a little bit of extra money. Yeah!
Congrats on stopping smoking !!
An Arkies Musings
Good for you! The beginning are always hard, but with a little faith everything will be just fine.
Congrats on stopping smoking!
Smoking is definitely a waste of money and bad for health!
Good job!
Thanks Tricia, and good for you. I always have wanted to quit…but I always wondered what i would do in lew of it at work! ha, i know, I sound lazy, but do you feel any sort of sympathy? Do you still get urges now?
Thanks again, Dave
That’s amazing Tricia, well done. I was so shocked when my father told me he spent £240 a month on cigarettes! It must save you a fortune now and you must feel so much healthier.
its a good thing that you’ve already quit smoking… its hard for me to stop smoking my body is dependent on smoke…
Marc I wanted to quit for a long time but I knew that I was going to have a lot of trouble with it too. You need to be really determined to quit to be successful. I started becoming that determined last Spring … but I also needed to plan when I’d quit so that I’d be successful.
We tend to get a lot of guests at our house during the summer and I knew that wouldn’t be a good time to try to quit smoking as 1. we’d be entertaining and some of our guests are smokers. 2. Plus I tend to have a few drinks in the summer time and that tends to go well with cigarettes … so quitting during the spring or summer didn’t sound like a good idea.
So I set my sites on quitting in the fall and that’s what I did. I didn’t think I could just quit on my own cold turkey as I was quite addicted to smoking so I asked my doctor for a prescription of Zyban (there are a few different types of medications that can help you quit smoking) and I took it for three weeks and by the second week I’d quit smoking and I haven’t smoked since. I quit on October 12th 2010 and I’m really looking forward to April 12th 2011 so that I can say that I’ve been smoke free for more than 6 months!
Ah, been trying to quite smoking for the past several years. Getting through those first two days is always the hardest!
Never heard of Zyban and am going to have to give it a try. So glad I stumbled onto this article!
I am using e-cigarettes for 2 months now and I must say the change for the “”better”” is quite addicting too. The nicotine kick is almost the same minus the cancer causing ingredients of analog smokes.Now I have to quit e-cigs altogether. Nice post.
Its really wonderful that you have stopped smoking. Its a sign of gaining good health.
Hi Tricia,
Are you still smoke free? I hope so.
Well, I’m an old guy who quit, cold turkey in March, 93.
I was wheezing, could hardly breathe when I got a chest cold.
I was overweight and I’d heard you gain weight when quitting.
So I ordered a Nordic Track ski machine that day.
Every time I felt I wanted to smoke, I got on that machine for 30 minutes. Within 2 days, I never wanted to smoke again, ever, not even once. The smoke I used to think smelled good after a meal, just stinks now. My clothes no longer smell bad, my car and clothes don’t get burn holes anymore, and I must have saved a lot of money since then. I guess my mind must have equated all that exercise with wanting a cig, so it just stopped the craving FAST.
I kept exercising anyway for 2 months, lost 35 lbs.
Only thing is, that I should have kept up the exercise, at least 2 to 3 times a week. Now I’m fat again, I’ll have to restart my workout
routines to get rid of it, but at my age, it won’t be easy. Well at least I don’t have to contend with shortness of breath, because of smoking.
Two other thoughts:
Besides what I did, you have to lock your mind against smoking, as if the DR just told you that he would be cutting your throat or heart open, if you have even one more cig! You can’t “cut down” or “taper off”, that just keeps your habit alive.
#2— Those ecigs are merely a replacement source of nicotine, they will not help you quit, at all. (My opinion)
Sorry to have carried on—–but they say nobody is as bad as a reformed smoker. 🙂
I think every smoker must go through this post and we all must think from our hearts that smoking is another name of suiciding and we must quit as soon as possible from this habit. Thanks for making such a nice post.
Congrats on stopping smoking…Both you and your husband will be healthier when the time passes bye…Your lungs will clean your breath at a time of 6 months…
Good job for the both…:)
Kudos to you on quitting! That’s not an easy thing to do. Many try and fail as they give in to the urges. That’s what you need to do is take one day at a time to get through it and as you said the urges subside and get less and less. The patch is a great tool in helping anyone quit. That’s what I did. It took the edge off somewhat, but I gotta tell ya, still get the urges, I think that’s something that you will always have for many years, the key is not to give in to them!
Many many congrats 🙂 I am also trying to quit smoke but unfortunately not get success till now !