Quitting Smoking

[Tom in TX]

It will be 8 days this evening! Still no major cravings.
I thought I would really want a smoke, after work, after having a few beers, but even that hasn't "tempted" me!!
One curious side-effect of Chantrix, for me (it was listed as possible) is "strange" dreams!! I am having some really strange ones - things, and people and places I haven't thought about for years! My wife thinks I'm crazy, as I want to go to sleep earlier than usual, and I tell her I want to get to my "dream time"!!

Plus I saved alot of money so far, about $40!!

Tom in TX

 

[SatelliteGAL]

lol It is really strange that the side effect from a lot of the smoking cessation products is strange dreams. It was even a side effect of the patch.

Congrats on your 8 days. Keep it up.

 

[korsjs]

It will be 8 days this evening! Still no major cravings.
I thought I would really want a smoke, after work, after having a few beers, but even that hasn't "tempted" me!!
One curious side-effect of Chantrix, for me (it was listed as possible) is "strange" dreams!! I am having some really strange ones - things, and people and places I haven't thought about for years! My wife thinks I'm crazy, as I want to go to sleep earlier than usual, and I tell her I want to get to my "dream time"!!

Plus I saved alot of money so far, about $40!!

Tom in TX

good job and best of luck.

i have been tobacco free for about three months and nicotine free for about a month and a half.

 

[bidger`]

The craving for a cigarette NEVER EVER EVER goes away.

I quit over 20 years ago and I have to say that hasn't been my experience. It's a matter of unlearning learned behavior and after awhile you find there are benefits to having unlearned that behavior.

When I quit, packs of cigarettes were $1.75 in vending machines. Now, you could buy lunch with what they cost over the counter. I haven't taken the time to figure out how much I've saved over the years by not smoking, I just know it's substantial.

If you stop and stay that way, and let's face it, there are far more reasons to stop that habit than continue, it just becomes a part of you. You'll think no more of the fact that you're a non-smoker than what leg you hop in with first when you're putting on your pants. You'll know you've reached a hurdle when your quit date anniversary rolls around and you don't realize it for a few days, weeks, or months afterwards.

Mind you, when I first quit, I pretty much removed myself from the situations and people I used to center my smoking activities around. I can't expect people still engaging in that behavior to understand someone quitting and be supportive of that. I took to hanging around folks who didn't smoke because that way it helped remove that temptation or craving from the picture. And eventually the cravings subsided, but I still don't go into smoking situations. I hate the smell so I avoid places where it's allowed.

Tom, best of luck in what will be the best decision of your life if you succeed. Congrats on your first week and remember to celebrate all the tiny victories and pat yourself on the back.

 

[Tom in TX]

Thanks, everyone, for the continued support! :
It means alot!

Tom in TX

 

[Bogy]

Congratulations Tom. Keep going.

When I smoked, a pack cost less than a half a buck. My Grampa started smoking when he was about 12, rolling his own back in 1912. He never smoked a filtered cigarette, preferring either Lucky Strikes or Camels. Even at the relatively low price of cigarettes in the 60's and 70's we tried to get him to stop smoking by considering how much he had spent on them over the years. It didn't work. Even when he was in the hospital dying of cancer my grandma would sneak him cigarettes. By then it didn't really matter anymore. Out of 7 brothers, who all started smoking at about the same age my grampa did, only one didn't die of cancer. He drank until his liver exploded.

 

[Ramy]

Great Job Tom, keep it up.

 

[Tom in TX]

One month tonight, and going strong!
If anyone else is ready to quit, I recommend Chantix!

Tom in TX

 

[Ramy]

Congrats.

 

[dfergie]

Congrats also... while not a smoker, I dipped snuff and chewed tobacco from an early age until 1992, I had an appendectomy and quit cold turkey... only had 1 chew since(enjoyed it but...), spit it out and never went back...

 

[Ramy]

I have never smoked, dipped, chewed, or get this....never taken a drink of alcohol. True.

 

[goaliebob99]

The last time I had a cigeratte was back in december and havent looked back... Congratz tom.. Keep up the good work..

 

[Tom in TX]

... Congratz tom.. Keep up the good work..

Thanks, GB, and YOU keep up the good work, too!

Tom in TX

 

[SatelliteGAL]

congrats tom
How long do you keep taking the chantix?

 

[bidger`]

Congrats Tom.

Don't forget to reward yourself in some small way. You can afford it now that you're not buying cigarettes.

 

[Tom in TX]

congrats tom
How long do you keep taking the chantix?

The first "series" is 12 weeks. If you feel you need continued "help", you can get an additional 12 weeks. I feel so good about this, that I am tempted to stop after the intial 12 weeks, but just to be on the safe side, I think I will extend. I guess I'll see how I feel at that time! i would hate to slip.

Tom in TX

 

[Tom in TX]

You can afford it now that you're not buying cigarettes.

It's amazing how much money I spent on cigs! Texas passed a new law, effective Jan. 1st, that added $1 tax on every pack. That made a pack about $5!! I smoked roughly a pack a day. That's $150 a month!! I can sure put that to better use!

Thanks to all, for your encouragement.

Tom in TX

 

[Bogy]

Many people here in Iowa also got an incentive to quit in the past few weeks. Our taxes also went up a buck a pack. The help lines for people who want to stop smoking are jammed. Yet a number of letters to the editor in todays Des Moines Register were still claiming that the increased tax would not be enough incentive for anyone to stop smoking.

 

[avediswolf]

I know EXACTLY what you mean about when someone smokes near you, after you've quit. The "Treat" is what got mo smoking again after my last 2 semi-log term quits ( about 1 year each ).

I've done three long-term quits, all cold turkey. By long-term I mean I started smoking at 14 the first "quit" at 27 lasted 5+ years. The second at 35 lasted 2 years. I am entering the second year of my latest "quit". The craving for a cigarette NEVER EVER EVER goes away. I understand psycological addiction very well. Believe it or not I LIKE the taste of tobacco. When some one smokes near me, I am like a dog sniffing a treat. This is probably why some ex-smokers (or what I like to call them, "recovering smokers") are so millitant about making sure others don't smoke around them. I try no to do that. But I understand why. Will-power is the only real solution.

See ya
Tony

[edit] SatelliteGAL is absolutely correct. Having the one cig at a bar or with a friend at a game is what knocked me back again both times.