Giving up smoking

[Guest BigJase88]

Im a 20 a day addict and have decided for my health and bank balance to give it up.

I have been struggling of late with a persistant lung infection that i just could not kick even with the help of anti-biotics.

My grandad passed away last year after succumbing to COPD from smoking, my grandmother also is suffering the same fate.

I am 25 and i don't want to follow the same path so have decided once and for all to beat the addiction.

So far i am on day 7. Day 1 and 2 i did have 1 cigarette a day but have been clean for the past 5 days. I previously tried this vaping nonesense but it wasnt for me. I have been using the strongest patches available for those 7 days.

Today i ran out so thought id give it a go going cold turkey, i lasted until around an hour ago and had to give in and buy the next strength patches available.

I am okay on the patches and feel better now, i am not actually craving a cigarette but i have noticed a few side effects that i need the patches for.

The main issue without the nicotine i've noticed are blurred vision? And lack of concentration? I can hardly drive with it and my mind just wanders off.

The plan is to use these patches for the next 7 days, then go onto the weakest patch for 7 days. I've noticed i need to keep myself active and my mind working or it just sortov hazes over and i go into a zone.

Within the next 1-2weeks i will no longer need to drive for the next month or so as im going offshore so will be mentally and physically active for 12hours a day.

The plan is to come off the patches completely and hopefully by the time i arrive back i will be nicotine free and i hope that will be the end of it.

Hopefully it all goes to plan!

Positives so far are

Cough has gone

Lung infection is gone

Lack of breath is gone

Wheezing / coughing gone

And the other half says i smell nicer lol

Wish me luck

[Brijo]

Go for it - you know you've got to.  (Been there, tee shirt etc.)

 

How long are you 'going offshore' for?  Is it 'no smoking' there (wherever it is!)?  - that's always a help. 

 

Good luck, my friend, but ultimately it's all down to you

[theezenutz]

Good luck chap. By the way check out a book by Allen Carr _ Easy way to stop smoking. Supposed to be pretty good, my boss recommended it to me after he give up.

[devonutopia]

I'm privileged to have never smoked but having seen the cost I know that alone would mean I couldn't lead the life I do, not even bringing in to account the health aspects.  Wish you luck!

[Guest BigJase88]

Go for it - you know you've got to. (Been there, tee shirt etc.)

How long are you 'going offshore' for? Is it 'no smoking' there (wherever it is!)? - that's always a help.

Good luck, my friend, but ultimately it's all down to you

Its going to be 3/4 weeks offshore on a rig in canada. There is a smoking facility but its like the ones you get in airports, smoking room with electronic lighter.

And if you've ever been in a smoking room in an airport its not exactly appealing or anywhere you'd want to spend a great deal of time anyways.

[Brijo]

Three or four weeks cold would be a very good start, provided you have plenty of unavoidable distraction.  I did six weeks abroad, plenty to do while away, so the hardest bit was always going to be when I got home.  By then, I could tell myself 'You've managed six weeks without, just do one more', then another and so on. 

 

Whatever they say, I don't think it can ever be 'easy'.  But you can do it! 

[Llanigraham]

I gave up in 1976, the year I got married. 2 very good incentives:

1/ I had tonsolitus for 2 weeks and couldn't eat for 1 of them, so also couldn't smoke.

2/ My wife to be said, if you don't give you don't get nookie!! Best incentive EVER!!!!!

 

Haven't smoked since.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't know where the nookie went though?

[sparks03]

Congratulations Jase, it'll be the best decision you ever make.. Just realise that 90% of the cigarettes you feel like are just habit nothing more. You get so ingrained in having a smoke and doing a certain task or being in a certain place but it does pass. 

Don't be too down-cast by not feeling mega or having loads of cash quickly either. Will take a few months or longer before you're feeling healthier but it does come. Quit from 50 per day 18 months ago and never looked back.

[jibberwobble]

Sheeeeiiit 50 a day!! they must have been nose to tail all the way. One of the cleaners at work used to sit and light one off another all day long saying "cancer come and get me" with a chuckle as he went. You just know he'll be one of the ones that get away with it.

 

Good luck Big Jase be  :strong:

[gallego1968]

Well done for wanting to stop, i stopped smoking in 1996 and i just stopped there and then. It was hard but the best way for me to stop.

[Jonny5ive]

All the best chap. Would it be worth investing in one of those quick relief sprays for when you're offshore and you may get a craving?

I'm guessing patches are not easy to get hold of that quickly at sea.

Just a thought.

[jlwah]

Good luck and be strong!

 

I gave up 18 years ago (almost to the day - Super Bowl night Jan '96) and whilst I certainly feel (felt) healthier, I have no idea where the money I saved went  :think: , but at least me and my clothes smell better.

[vrsRob]

Good luck chap. By the way check out a book by Allen Carr _ Easy way to stop smoking. Supposed to be pretty good, my boss recommended it to me after he give up.

 

EasyWay is OK but not brilliant, I stopped once on it but not for long.

 

I recommend Champex, it is prescribed by your doctor and works like magic, blocking your receptors and simply removed the want/need to smoke, no effort needed! I have been smoke free now since Boxing Day, not even thought about smoking.

 

Before that, I gave up for over 2 years, only started again when I went out on a company p155 up and fell into the trap of "just one, I can't get hooked on just one", then, sure enough, it tasted horrible so I thought I'm safe, I can have another..............................OOOOOOOOOOOPPPSSSS!!!!

[Brijo]

A laugh, Big Jase, to help you on your way down the stony path.  (I think it was posted on the forum a while back, but what the heck!)

 

Lady: Do you smoke?
Man: Yes
Lady: How many packs a day?
Man: 3 packs
Lady: How much per pack
Man: £10.00
Lady: And how long have you been smoking?
Man: 15 years
Lady: So 1 pack cost £10.00 and you have 3 packs a day which puts your spending each month at £900. In one year, it would be £10,800 - correct?
Man: Correct
Lady: If in 1 year you spend £10,800, then not allowing for inflation the past 15 years puts your spending at £162,000 - correct?
Man: Correct
Lady: Do you know that if you hadn't smoked, that money could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after allowing for compound interest for the past 15 years, you could have now bought a Ferrari?
Man: Do you smoke?
Lady: No

 

 

Man: Where's your ****** Ferrari then?
 

[BJM]

I quit 2 years ago, after about 45 years of smoking.

 

Did it through the Doctors / NHS support scheme.

 

Worked fine, and the advantage was that the patches, sprays, gum et. al. were free for, IIRC, 12 weeks. Worth it when you look at the cost of the stuff.

 

AFAIK Champex is normally only prescribed if you have tried other methods, and they have failed, but that may only have been my quacks take on it.

[vrsRob]

All this NRT is all well and good but can you really help someone stop taking a drug by prescribing the same drug in a different form??

 

Giving a smoker (nicotine addict) nicotine patches/gum is like giving a heroin addict who injects it a pipe to smoke it instead!

[sparks03]

Sheeeeiiit 50 a day!! they must have been nose to tail all the way. One of the cleaners at work used to sit and light one off another all day long saying "cancer come and get me" with a chuckle as he went. You just know he'll be one of the ones that get away with it.

 

Good luck Big Jase be  :strong:

 

 

 I know, it was some scary sh£t! 

 

 Quit using Champix as trying a pipe, inhilator, gum, mist etc didn't work. Phenomenal stuff and recommended to those who want to give up but have failed with other methods. 

[VRade]

Been smoking 8 years (Yes since 13) just quit 3 weeks ago from 20 a day.

 

Im using the vapour electronic cig's (No-Match) Fully tested working a treat so far! iv smoke about 5 cig's in 3 weeks but that was when i was hammered on a night out.

 

Id give the vapour another try! you can get different strenghts i am currently on 1.0mg and i dont crave a cig EVEN when i stressed or driving.

 

I did stop cold turkey last year for 8 months but i found i was having the "Occasional" cig far to often.

 

I did a 4 mile run the other day and didnt feel anywhere near out of breath as i did!

 

Good luck mate, its not easy but its worth it, if you need any help give me a shout.

[Guest BigJase88]

All this NRT is all well and good but can you really help someone stop taking a drug by prescribing the same drug in a different form??

Giving a smoker (nicotine addict) nicotine patches/gum is like giving a heroin addict who injects it a pipe to smoke it instead!

The way i see it the nicotine patches are indefinately better than smoking.

I will be cutting down the patches over the next 2/3 weeks to ween myself off it

[VRade]

All this NRT is all well and good but can you really help someone stop taking a drug by prescribing the same drug in a different form??

 

Giving a smoker (nicotine addict) nicotine patches/gum is like giving a heroin addict who injects it a pipe to smoke it instead!

 

Nicotine it self isnt the biggest problem! 

 

Its the Carbon monoxide and carcinogenics in cigarettes that cause the majority of damage....

 

Its the Nitotine that you crave.. remove all the most harmfull substances and your on the road to a healthier lifestyle...

[sparks03]

Nicotene itself is no more harmful than caffeine even though it is more addictive. The real health problem of smoking is tied up in the fact that every cigarette contains/ releases just about every known toxin and noxious gas!

 

 The idea of patches is to slowly diminsh the amount of nicotene being supplied to the body ergo weaning yourself off the craving. This practice is the same with Champix and indeed heroin addicts do the same with methadone. 

Edited 15 January, 2014 by sparks03

[Guest BigJase88]

Well the idea is heroin addicts should use methadone to wean themselves off when im fact all they do is use the methadone as its free

Result

[vrsRob]

The way i see it the nicotine patches are indefinately better than smoking.

I will be cutting down the patches over the next 2/3 weeks to ween myself off it

 

 

Nicotine it self isnt the biggest problem! 

 

Its the Carbon monoxide and carcinogenics in cigarettes that cause the majority of damage....

 

Its the Nitotine that you crave.. remove all the most harmfull substances and your on the road to a healthier lifestyle...

 

 

Nicotene itself is no more harmful than caffeine even though it is more addictive. The real health problem of smoking is tied up in the fact that every cigarette contains/ releases just about every known toxin and noxious gas!

 

 The idea of patches is to slowly diminsh the amount of nicotene being supplied to the body ergo weaning yourself off the craving. This practice is the same with Champix and indeed heroin addicts do the same with methadone. 

 

 

Totally agree, it's not the nicotine that it is harmful but it IS what you are addicted to. Nicotine addiction is actually NOT that strong, smoking is more a habit and I (along with colleagues that I have recommended it to), have changed that habit very easily and almost effortlessly using this method. I am 30 years old and smoked iro 20/day for the last 15 years or so. I stopped completely within 10 days of starting to take Champex and (although you are supposed to take them for a number of months) I stopped taking them with 3 days of smoking my last cigarette.

 

I have not looked back since, sure I have the odd craving and I still have a few in a pack that I didn't finish but I haven't touched one of them, just knowing that they are there if I want one is better than not having them. If you are a smoker/ex-smoker you will understand that logic! It is easier to stop wanting one if you could have one any time than knowing you haven't got any....

[sparks03]

Well the idea is heroin addicts should use methadone to wean themselves off when im fact all they do is use the methadone as its free

Result

 

I'm pretty sure many continue to abuse both. 

[gadgetman]

I gave up in 1976, the year I got married. 2 very good incentives:

1/ I had tonsolitus for 2 weeks and couldn't eat for 1 of them, so also couldn't smoke.

Similar here. Flu followed by tonsillitis and I gave up cold turkey. Felt like razor blades trying to smoke which is quite an incentive. Never had one again after that morning.

After a week free looking at one put me off. You always find the smell of tobacco nice, and now and again even the smell of smoke can seem inviting, but I'm not interested after 7 Years free.