Quitting Smoking

[Cagliostro]

Hurray! Glad to hear it Sea!

In other news, Carla and I have been cheating a lot lately on our cigarette quit, and it has been nice, but the cheating needs to quit. We plan on this weekend (in which we are having a "weenie roast" party thingy) for quitting again.

[aliantha]

Congrats, Sea!

And good luck, Cag and Carla! You can do it!

In related news, Magickmaker has become so sensitive to cigarette smoke that just walking past someone smoking on the street is enough to give her a headache. So I guess she won't be waitressing at a place with outdoor seating anytime soon...

[Avatar]

Yeah, I gotta quit one of these days...

--A

[Lord Mhoram]

Check out this 2-year old Sumatran baby who smokes 40 cigarettes a day. So crazy.

[stonemaybe]

So, after flippin years of quitting and then after a couple of days going back on the fags (aka "cigarettes")....after years of using nicotien replacements while trying to quit...and chewing normal gum...and going bonkers....and thinking to myself "flippin' heck, my life of enjoyment is over coz I LOOOOVVVEEEE to smoke". After years of thinking "it's SO hard to quit" and "I'm going to spend months...maybe years...missing my 'little friend'..."

I'VE STOPPED SMOKING and it was EASY!

A bit of context: Over the years I've become somewhat of a chain smoker (especially when I'm drinking)--ask anyone from Seafest. PUFF PUFF PUFF goes Sea. Me and cigarettes....they've been my "crutch" for years (well, I thought they were a crutch--that I needed them and the nicotine)

WELL!

I read a book recommended by a friend. It's written by a dude called Allen Carr. "Easy Way to Stop Smoking".

I'll admit, I was thinking "yep, this'll be a bit of a w*nk". And it kinda is. [I'm intelligent enough to see the "workings" of the book]. BUT I don't care.

On Monday morning I had two chapters of book to go. I'd been reading it over about 5 days (and smoking all the way through--as instructed to do). Monday morning was lousy but I picked up the book, read it to the end, smoked my last cigarette (as instructed) and that's been it. And I haven't used any nicotine patches, gum, whatever. Just "cold turkey" but, to be honest, it's been bloody easy! Can't believe it!

I am converted! I'd highly recommend the book I read to any smoker. I've smoked for 16 years, and I LOVED cigarettes (or thought I did) and I've struggled to give up, and I've tried time and again. It's always been hard. Not this time. And I know it's only been three days since I quit...but if you knew what kind of smoker I was you'd say that was a miracle (doing it without any nicotine replacements).

I've heard good things about this book!

But the people who recommended it, are all smokers again.

I'm not saying that to get you down, Sea. But now that you're off them and enjoying it, is the time to plan. Try to think of what might happen to start you smoking again, and make contingency plans against it. Everyone's different so it's hard to give advice, but it might involve putting away a bit of cash as an emergency fund for an alternative treat. Also, your taste buds will come back soon, so start experimenting with herbs and spices in your food (and garlic ) - once you start REALLY tasting food again, it's hard sacrificing that just for the sake of a ciggy!

[Avatar]

I think drinking is the real killer when it comes to starting again. The one time I did quit (for a few months) it was drinking that led me astray again...

(Oh, I know somebody who used that book to quit...seems to have worked for him so far, although it has only been 6 months or so.)

--A

[Marv]

Pfft! Quitting's for losers, man.

[Avatar]

For this you show up again?

Nice to see you around Marv.

--A

[Marv]

Smoking is a serious business, Av.

[Avatar]

Well, I haven't quit yet...

--A

[Harbinger]

Currently taking Chantix. Basically what it does is reduces the severity of the withdrawl symptoms. For instance, the room doesn't spin and the headaches are much less severe. If you can't quit with this stuff, you just don't want to.

It does upset my stomach a bit, and I have weird vivid dreams. My semen production has decreased significantly (like < a tablespoon), but my libido has increased significantly- and it was already fine.

I forget to take it a lot; and have to dbl dose a couple of times a week. So far, it's helped me a lot and I just hope that I'm able to avoid a relapse. Once you quit, you can never do it again, not even once. That's the only way to stat off. I've quit four times, one of them was for nine months.

[Seareach]

I'm on Champix (same thing as you Harbinger) after failing miserably using every other method. So, how ya going on it? Still not smoking. I'm praying this will end this god awful habit I have once and for all!

[Harbinger]

Still not using tobacco. Getting ready to go off Chantix. Looking forward to normal stomach. Good Luck!