Damn it! Now I have to go buy clothes for all of my lights! All of my lights are exhibitionists and just hang out in the nude all of the time. They are going to be pissed!
No really. In all seriousness. I am quitting smoking! (Or at least going to give it one hell of a try!)
I’ve smoked since I was about 16. The first few years were pretty light, but once I got into college it was full on…a pack or more a day.
I’ve tried to quit multiple times. As you can see none of them have worked. The best I have done is quit for six months. I used the nicotine patch, and it worked quite well. But, when a stressful event occurred…I was right back to a pack or more per day.
I’ve tried quitting cold turkey before and that just doesn’t work for me. Most non-smokers always say, “Just stop buying them! That’s all you gotta do!” Easier said than done. It is hard…extremely hard.
In the past when I have tried to quit cold turkey, it doesn’t last long. The nicotine withdrawal does weird things to the body. I get jittery. I get moody. My vision gets blurry at times. I get headaches. My teeth hurt.
The thing that bothers me the worst is my teeth hurting. Well, they don’t actually hurt. My front two teeth on the bottom of my mouth ache horribly the whole time. It is so weird and doesn’t make sense, but that was always my sign that it was time to smoke again. So aching teeth is the hardest symptom for me to overcome.
I woke up this morning and put on a nicotine patch. I did good…really good. I went all day long at work without losing my mind. I got home and had one cigarette. I shouldn’t have smoked it, but damn it sounded good. After smoking it I wasn’t too happy with myself. I did good all day long and had to break down, didn’t I?
The thing is, that even when wearing the patch my teeth still ache. I’m not jittery or too moody, but my teeth still ache like I was quitting cold turkey. I know that if I can hold on for about 3 or 4 days the aching teeth sensation will go away. I just have to get most of that nicotine out of my body, and then slowly wean my body off with the lower dose patches.
Hopefully tomorrow will be as easy as today was.
Stress and boredom are two of my triggers to have a smoke. I’m trying like hell to avoid stressful situations and to keep from getting bored these first few days.
Other triggers are getting into my truck, after eating a meal, and break time at work. Smoking consumes everything you do. Everything you do reminds you of how bad you want a cigarette. Sometimes I wish a doctor would put me into an induced coma and wake me up a few weeks later to cleanse my body of the nicotine so that I would be unconscious during the withdrawal period. 🙂
So, wish me luck! I hope I have the strength this time to beat the money hungry health destroying habit…once and for all!
If I can give you a piece of advice don’t go it alone!! Use a patch, I swear by those things. I didn’t finsih my prpgram and started smoking again and I regret it. I was doing so well with the patches. So good luck!!
You can do it! *cue Dora*
I have a bloggie friend whose quitting she swears by this stuff
http://www.chantix.com/content/Chantix_Branded_Homepage.jsp?setShowOn=../content/Chantix_Branded_Homepage.jsp&setShowHighlightOn=../content/Chantix_Branded_Homepage.jsp
apparently its a bit expensive but she reckons its worth it
all the best
Good Luck to you! I’ve smoked since I was 14 (Yes, I began my hoodlum years early). I was able to quit while pregnant and breastfeeding . . . . but always somehow started again. I took Chantix for a while, and it worked great at not making me want to smoke. But it also made me a little crazy, with crazy dreams. Crazy enough dreams I wound up in People Magazine. Seriously.
Delurking, this is a subject I can understand!
I am struggling with the same thing. I had a LOT of success with Welbutrin (Bupropion), I went almost 3 months without a cigarette before I had a really bad day.
I’ve heard VERY SCARY things about Chantix, so I would be careful there.
I was going to suggest – as far as getting nicotine out of your system, Vitamin C is helpful in this process. It will speed the process – detoxifying yourself of the nicotine. The only downside, (for me) is that caffeine slows/prevents the nicotine from leaving the body, and I can’t quit smoking AND caffeine at the same time.
Anyway, congrats, and good luck – No one can do it for you, and I know how hard it is, so hang in there!
My hat is off to anyone taking on a battle of this magnitude. Fight the good fight, man! You can do this.
Kristen: I’m using the patch for sure. Day #2 and so far so good. 😀
ZoeyJane: Thanks ZJ! Can I call you ZJ? 😀
Jen: I know a couple people that used it successfully, but it is expensive and my insurance won’t cover any medications for quitting smoking. Oh well, the patches will work…I hope.
Honeybell: No way! I had to look your Peple magazine thing up…pretty crazy stuff! The patches give me weird dreams, but nothing like you experiences…whew!
Melody: Hi Melody! Thanks for commenting! I’ll try the Vitamin C thing. I won a contest over at MomminItUp.com where I got a free bottle of Vitamin C. Definitely will start taking it now… 😀
Pete: Thanks for the moral support! Doing good so far…I think it is going to work this time.
Congratulations Jared. That is awesome. I quit last year as part of my New Year’s Resolution. The first couple of days were hard but if you can just pre-ocupy yourself you can do it.
Its just over a year later and still no cigs for me.
Keep us posted and let us know how we can offer support.
Good luck. I hope it works this time.
It was interesting reading this, because I’m one of those non-smokers that just doesn’t understand why smokers don’t just quit. You explained it better than I’ve ever seen. The sad thing is that so many young people are starting to smoke, and it’s really funny, in a sad sad way, that they start smoking to prove how grown up and independent they are – only to give that control over their lives away to the cigarette companies.
Awesome! Parents don’t get stressed do we!?!
I used to smoke almost a pack a day and then quit.. it was horrible.. did it cold turkey.. I still steal a cig every once and again.. I still think about it everyday.. you need strong support.. GOOD LUCK..!!
Hey Jared! As a smoker, I know just what you mean! It’s bad enough to be addicted to the nicotine, but what a lot of people don’t seem to understand is that the *act* of smoking, in itself, is an addiction.
As you mentioned, certain events are tied very heavily into having a cigarette. My first cup of coffee in the morning, after a meal, and talking on the phone are some of my ‘must smoke moments’.
I wish you the best of luck in kicking the habit!
After my daughter was born, I couldn’t stand the fact that I smoked. I don’t want her associating that smell with me and otherwise pleasant memories.
Sometimes I didn’t even want to hold her if I just finished a cigarette. Sometimes I would scrub my hands with soap and hot water, brush my teeth, and change shirts before picking her up!
3 weeks ago I had a really bad flu. It was the worst ever. I haven’t smoked since. Now I’m weaning myself from nicotine with a smokeless tobacco product called Ariva. They’re nasty little pressed tablets of tobacco, but they’re cheaper than the patch, the gum, or the lozenges.
I’m using joesgoals.com to track my progress.
Shannanb: 1 Year! Awesome! Hope I can do just as good. 🙂
Anna: You said it very well. It does take over your life, health, money, … pretty much everything.
Jeremy: Nah! What’s stressful? 😀
TanquerayMomic: I’ve heard that the wanting a cigarette never goes away. That just goes to show how addictive they are…
Stacey: You got it! I think the act of smoking is harder to overcome that the physical addiction.
Elliot Kim: Ariva? Never heard of it. I’ll have to check it out. Congrats on trying to quit!
I know just how you’re feeling now. I too started smoking at 16 and in the later years I used to swear every night that I would quit the next day. Guess what was the first thing i reached for in the morning? I have now actually stopped for 7 years. I found the patch helped, but also I kept an unopened pack which helped to ward off the panic craving. I think you have to talk yourself through it though and challenge youreself eg I’m going to take a drive in the truck now and I won’t need a smoke. Good luck and stick with it.
@Betty –
Thanks Betty! I actually started smoking again, but both my wife and I are planning on quitting this weekend again. Hopefully it works this time! 😀