Quitting smoking

Thanks! I think it might actually stick this time.

― schwantz, Saturday, 15 September 2012 17:05 (8 months ago) Permalink

OMG I just realized that I have smoked, but NOT SO MUCH in a CLUB! Most clubs I've been to have weird ventilation systems or dry ice and it deters you from smoking. I just realize that because why do I associate clubs and dance with smoking. I now recall that no...it discourages it. So does being semi-drunk.

I'm an on and off "sneak out to have a smoke because I'm frustrated" type of person. Don't find it hard to quit when I'm fit and the pressure is off.

Had eye surgery recently and just popped pain pills and stayed off the shit for three whole days. Hate it, switched to these natural cigar things that seem less addictive. I'm trying to turn my health around...

― โตเกียวเหมียวเหมียว aka Italo Night at Some Gay Club (Mount Cleaners), Sunday, 16 September 2012 15:50 (8 months ago) Permalink

yeah I've quit seriously twince in the last 10 years and relapsed after 6-12 months thinking I could have just one "cuz it's a special night" or some bullshit.
Anyway I really feel like quitting now but not sure if I should try yet another nicorette product or not - might be easier to withstand teh withdrawal but in a way I fear it maintains this connection with nicotine somehow.

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Monday, 17 September 2012 13:36 (8 months ago) Permalink

i am sorry to say but i think unlike the umbilical cord the nicotine connection will never be cut once you have established it by smoking heavily for a couple of years. after 4 years without fags, there are times where i think the connection is broken but there are others where it is stronger than ever... ;-(

― alex in mainhattan, Monday, 17 September 2012 13:41 (8 months ago) Permalink

Tobacco plants - the human parasite

― Brian Eno's Mother (Latham Green), Monday, 17 September 2012 16:10 (8 months ago) Permalink

i'm getting close to my first week quitting smoking, after about 3 years of a half pack/pack daily. for some reason my muscles and body feel way weaker than they did while i was smoking... i thought i'd feel like superman or some shit right after i quit. i did an easy workout today, but it was a lot more difficult than anything i've experienced during my smoking years. on the flip side i was able to cycle uphill way faster than before, which felt pretty great.

what's up with this?

― Spectrum, Wednesday, 19 September 2012 23:59 (8 months ago) Permalink

i dunno -- every time i quit in the past, i would catch a cold or get the flu. it was weird! maybe your body's working through its addiction? you'll feel better soon, though. congrats!

― rayuela, Thursday, 20 September 2012 00:16 (8 months ago) Permalink

It's normal, it's temporary, it's shitty.
http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/cravingsandurges/a/withdrawal.htm

― The Most Typical and Popular Girl Rider (Crabbits), Thursday, 20 September 2012 00:52 (8 months ago) Permalink

I took Matt P's advice and started running, which I hadn't really done since I was 14. It's cathartic! Some Maniac McGee shit, you know? Also makes me feel good like hey my cilia are growing back, I can breathe again. Which I was defs not feeling a weeks after I quit.

― The Most Typical and Popular Girl Rider (Crabbits), Thursday, 20 September 2012 00:54 (8 months ago) Permalink

Quitter's flu!

― rayuela, Thursday, 20 September 2012 02:49 (8 months ago) Permalink

I want to have quit by 32. This is the beginning of October. I was doing okay and was down to just one a day in the evening by bumming them off my housemate, but yesterday I felt like I was going to explode or something (this has actually been one of the most stressful, bad-news fortnights of my life tbf) and somehow I figured I couldn't keep nicking fags off my mate so I bought a pouch :-( :-(

― This Is... The Police (dog latin), Thursday, 20 September 2012 15:04 (8 months ago) Permalink

I want to have quit by 32
Thinking and writing a sentence like that means that you won't do it, sorry. It's the old story, why do something today if I can procrastinate till tomorrow...

― alex in mainhattan, Thursday, 20 September 2012 15:08 (8 months ago) Permalink

i quit smoking in febuary. it's great to be off that shit! i quit once in 1991 for 1 year, once in 1996 for 2 years, once in 1999 for 3 years, once in 2003 for 8 years, i'm hoping this will be the last time! or at least stretch it out to 25 years this time, at which point i'll probably be pretty much ready to die anyway

it's frikkin hard, but doable. the 8 year stretch was practically the easiest - once you get past the first year or so, all you really have to remember is *YOU CAN'T SMOKE A CIGARETTE AGAIN, EVER* and *YOU WILL DESPERATELY WANT TO SMOKE A CIGARETTE EVERY TIME YOU SEE SOMEONE ELSE SMOKING ONE, IN FRONT OF YOU OR ON TEH TV, FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE* but once you get past that stumbling block it's actually pretty easy most of the time. helps if your roommates and girlfriend don't smoke. it's worth changing roommates or girlfriends to quit, too.

― messiahwannabe, Thursday, 20 September 2012 15:40 (8 months ago) Permalink

*YOU WILL DESPERATELY WANT TO SMOKE A CIGARETTE EVERY TIME YOU SEE SOMEONE ELSE SMOKING ONE, IN FRONT OF YOU OR ON TEH TV, FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE*

This isn't true for me at all and I smoked roughly a pack a day for approx 17 years. If I see/smell people smoking during the day now it seriously grosses me out. The only time I really want them is if I'm around other people smoking at night or if I've had a drink. Admittedly I REALLY want one during those times.

― (✿◠‿◠) (ENBB), Thursday, 20 September 2012 17:09 (8 months ago) Permalink

ok, been trying nicotine patches to ease withdrawal, but these things make me want to rip my skin off. i had to take it off in the work bathroom and will now try cold turkey. nicotine's an evil substance.

― Spectrum, Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:20 (8 months ago) Permalink

cold turkey worked for me. you just need a little patience and it will get better.

― alex in mainhattan, Thursday, 20 September 2012 21:15 (8 months ago) Permalink

yeah nicotine substitutes always seem like tearing out a bandage really slowly instead of just ripping it off once and for all.
In any case I've found the nicorette plastic ciggies more useful

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Friday, 21 September 2012 09:07 (8 months ago) Permalink

I found the mouth spray really helped me. But then I had an extremely extended "cutting down" period, like, over 10 years of being a social smoker. This year I decided I should pack in the fags completely but couldn't seem to get round the intense cravings once I have a beer, the spray was a quick and not that unpleasant way of circumventing that. I hated lozenges and gum cos they tasted gross and took quite a while to get through, the spray isn't much nicer but it's just one quick shot and quickly washed away. Then I gradually stopped using the spray as much when I went out until a couple of months ago I stopped using it completely, and now I seem to have broken the habit. Hopefully it will stick...

― Colonel Poo, Friday, 21 September 2012 09:15 (8 months ago) Permalink

never heard of that method - what is it? a nicotine mouth spray? Must be slightly awkward to use in social settings, no?

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Friday, 21 September 2012 09:23 (8 months ago) Permalink

Yes, a nicotine mouth spray. It's not really awkward to use at all, or maybe it is and I don't realise :/

― Colonel Poo, Friday, 21 September 2012 09:26 (8 months ago) Permalink

from a random reuters article

"Dependence on tobacco encompasses other factors -- factors that exist far longer than nicotine withdrawal and that, over the long term result in relapse."

Smokers who are highly motivated to quit, and get themselves out of the social environment that feeds their habit, may have the best chances of lasting success, according to Connolly.

Even with combination therapies, kicking the smoking habit is often an uphill battle. The ALA estimates that it takes the average smoker five or six serious attempts to finally quit.

And according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 36 percent of the nation's smokers try to kick the habit each year -- but only three percent succeed in quitting for six months or more.

pretty depressing stuff - esp the part about the need to get out of one's social environment. Not only do you need to give up on smoking but you also must shun your frends and stay home.

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Friday, 21 September 2012 09:37 (8 months ago) Permalink

Over the passed week I've cut back my smoking to a few a day, and like the previous time I tried to quit ,I am sick. Ugh, I can't even hold August now. I really do want to quit and maybe when I come out of being sick I'll be stronger. Wish I had a good way to deal with the extreme grumpiness.

― JacobSanders, Friday, 19 October 2012 16:26 (7 months ago) Permalink

The good part is how much of a hassle I have made smoking for myself since August was born. I have a smoking shirts to wear, always washing my hands and beard, showering often. But I've realized I'm still putting August's health at risk and hate myself with each smoke. I never thought I would be a parent that smokes, Ugh

― JacobSanders, Friday, 19 October 2012 16:37 (7 months ago) Permalink

i realized i spend $500 a month on smoking (pack a day on average, occasional pack and a half + expensive cigarettes).

i have a no fail plan: i'm not going to buy cigarettes but i will buy a vanilla primetime to smoke if i really can't live without nicotine.

pros:
- cheaper
- i will have to travel to get the primetime and during that time i can hopefully convince myself not to fucking get one.
- tasty. vanilla flavor.

cons:
- i've smoked five vanilla primetimes today.
- unfiltered, so they're pretty harsh.
- i have a hypermasculine image-- the only people i know who smoke vanilla primetimes are 16 year old girls.

your thoughts?

― dylannn, Saturday, 20 October 2012 21:26 (7 months ago) Permalink

― dylannn, Saturday, 20 October 2012 21:27 (7 months ago) Permalink

i will use that video when i finally need to quit smoking vanilla primetimes.

― dylannn, Saturday, 20 October 2012 21:27 (7 months ago) Permalink

What's scary is how easy it is falling back into smoking, really just one, and you might as well have a pack a day. At least that's where I always end up. I hate this.

― JacobSanders, Sunday, 21 October 2012 03:48 (7 months ago) Permalink

My quit date is tomorrow.

Wish me luck.

― fueled by satanism, violence, and sodomy (elmo argonaut), Monday, 10 December 2012 19:47 (5 months ago) Permalink

you can do it. it won't be easy. but it'll be worth it.

craving a fag for four years, 4 months, 15 days.

― alex in mainhattan, Monday, 10 December 2012 19:50 (5 months ago) Permalink

You likely quit eating sugar directly from the packet. You'll do fine with this.

― pplains, Monday, 10 December 2012 22:02 (5 months ago) Permalink

how much did you smoke a day, elmo?

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 10 December 2012 22:04 (5 months ago) Permalink

i really, really need to quit.

really.

― king of torts (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Tuesday, August 16, 2011

lol recidivism and laziness

― the oral history of (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Monday, 10 December 2012 22:14 (5 months ago) Permalink

good luck and strength, elmo

― ( ͡° ͜ʖ͡°) (sic), Tuesday, 11 December 2012 00:35 (5 months ago) Permalink

i'm on day 2. it's going... okay.

i would generally smoke ~15 a day, maybe more depending on stress levels and alcohol consumption

i've got the patch on. even so, I'm experiencing some mood swings and feeling a little twitchy. also, i woke up about a full hour early this morning and could get back to sleep, but i think i can attribute that to wearing the patch at night (as directed)

― fueled by satanism, violence, and sodomy (elmo argonaut), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:51 (5 months ago) Permalink

on the upside, i'm brushing and flossing and using toothpicks a lot to deal with the oral fix, so my breath is sweet and my smile will soon be dazzling and pearly

― fueled by satanism, violence, and sodomy (elmo argonaut), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:53 (5 months ago) Permalink

(i'm not overbrushing, it's ok)

― fueled by satanism, violence, and sodomy (elmo argonaut), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:54 (5 months ago) Permalink

i'm participating in a smoking cessation study through brown u. so there's a certain level of preparedness and accountability built in to this quit attempt, which is good.

i go in once a week for a counseling session, and i have to fill out a battery of mood assessments and have to blow 2 breathalyzer tests: 1 for alcohol (if i've any alcohol in my system i'll be asked to go home) and 1 for carbon monoxide

yesterday was my first day without smoking, and the CO breath test came back with 3 parts per million -- my last cigarette had been about 18 hours before. before my quit date, i was getting 15 ppm. it's pretty cool to see that -- a pretty dramatic change in a very short time!

― fueled by satanism, violence, and sodomy (elmo argonaut), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:59 (5 months ago) Permalink

good going, man. in my recollection the first week is always the worst.

i have 16 left in this pack and i think that might be it for me. mostly because i can't justify buying another pack right now. but also maybe it's just time.

starting a new job and quitting smoking at the same time seems like a recipe for either suicide or immense character-building. i guess we'll see.

― my dinner of butt (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:01 (5 months ago) Permalink

i've been cigarette free for about 6 months now, tried to have a cigarette about a month in and found it disgusting.. haven't really had the desire to smoke since.

this would be great and all if i hadn't just replaced cigarettes with swedish snus, which i've been doing daily since i quit.

― ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) (diamonddave85), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:07 (5 months ago) Permalink

I'm on day three. Again. I stopped for a couple months but was then around people who smoke and blah blah blah. Hopefully this will really be it this time. Stupid smoking :(.

― go to party leather (ENBB), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:08 (5 months ago) Permalink

I'm not quitting, but I will say in the first days after my accident when I was really weak, I realized how much energy and healthful feeling each cig was taking out of me. Normally it just feels like a slight lessening of "nervous" energy but when I needed every speck of health it was devastating. I still feel noticeably shaky and worse after smoking, am down to 2-4 per day, in the evenings.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:11 (5 months ago) Permalink

I still feel noticeably shaky and worse after smoking

When I have quit and then started again I totally notice how bad I feel after one.

― go to party leather (ENBB), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:13 (5 months ago) Permalink

Quitting at the same time you change up a routine is actually a pretty good and effective idea. The longest I went without a cigarette was a result of a new relationship where I was spending most of my time with a different person at a different place. So, immediate stress stuff aside, quitting when you're starting a new job might be a great thing!

― ENERGY FOOD (en i see kay), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:15 (5 months ago) Permalink

the study i'm in is about "positive psychology" and all my counseling sessions & quit strategies are focused on the affects of positive mood on behavioral changes. this basically means that i have what you could call "happiness homework" -- doing tasks which research has shown to elevate mood -- which sounds corny, and it is corny, but it's also somewhat effective.

― fueled by satanism, violence, and sodomy (elmo argonaut), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:16 (5 months ago) Permalink

i remember back in early 2011, i quit for about a week, mostly because it was just too damn cold to smoke outside, and when i finally broke down again the head rush from that first one made me feel like i was legit high.

― my dinner of butt (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:18 (5 months ago) Permalink

not as effective as nicotine replacement, but anything that helps, right?

― fueled by satanism, violence, and sodomy (elmo argonaut), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:18 (5 months ago) Permalink

does anybody else find that the effect of a cigarette varies w/ the amount of food you've eaten

― 乒乓, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:19 (5 months ago) Permalink

yes absolutely

― my dinner of butt (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:20 (5 months ago) Permalink

smoking on an empty stomach makes me feel all jittery and nervous but after a really big satisfying meal -- my friend in hong kong taught me a cantonese saying "smoking after a big meal makes you feel like a god"

― 乒乓, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:21 (5 months ago) Permalink

I quit in 2007, started again briefly in 2009, quit again, started again in summer of 2011 as a social activity, graduated to a non-social activity in summer 2012, and I am quitting again. I am on day 5.

― homosexual II, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:22 (5 months ago) Permalink