How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Post by **Uncle Jesse** » Mon May 19, 2008 6:50 am

theholymackerel wrote:
As-Ol-Joe wrote:The only real problem I have is, things are smelling and tasting different. Not sure I like that part, but I guess I will live with it.
You'll like that part the next time ya gotta make cuts!

"Damn guys I never realized how many tails I was letting through..."

Post by **Usge** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:43 am

I reckon it's got upsides...and backsides.

GingerBreadMan · Post by **GingerBreadMan** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:15 am

Well, this Friday I say goodbye to a good friend. It's my stop smoking date. My wife is quitting too.

I've elected to quit at 5pm Friday. Enjoy the evening with some Irish Whiskey and my gal. Perhaps I'll make a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream. My wife is going to quit when she goes to bed.

As I sit here, smoking some of my last cigarettes, it's like saying goodbye old friend. But at 42, it's time I start thinking seriously about my health so I can enjoy perhaps another 60 years of living.

We're doing the reward, 'money in a jar' motivation program. Just putting dollar bills in a big ole jar of what we would spent on cigarettes. At the end of the year, we've booked a cruise ship vacation for New Years. That jar will be our party party money. Then we'll continue doing that every year. We figure we can hit all our dream vacation spots over the next 10 years and get healthier too.

God, I pray I don't bite my wifes head off on Saturday when I'm jones'n for a smoke

As-Ol-Joe · Post by **As-Ol-Joe** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:30 am

Good luck to you GBM. Cold turkey has not worked for me.

Post by **Uncle Jesse** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:43 am

good luck and keep it up for all you trying to quit!

GingerBreadMan · Post by **GingerBreadMan** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:47 am

My wife's doing the nicorette chewing gum.

I'm going to do the 'Guitar Hero' program. When it gets bad, I'll just play a couple of video games to get my mind off of the urge. Either that or I'll cook up a nice fat juicy burger, mmmm..... with swiss cheese, and sauteed mushrooms and onions.

LOL, I might have another problem to deal with in a couple of months

wineo · Post by **wineo** » Wed May 21, 2008 8:17 am

Good luck GBM.If I were you,Id get some patches or gum.It will ease the cravings some,and keep you two from biting each others heads off.
I have been doing better since I started doing a fast 2 mile walk in the morning.
Dont beat yourself up too bad when you slip,and dont give up.You really have to change your way of thinking to beat those evil little cravings.If your not careful,they will sneak up on you when your not looking.

Butch50 · Post by **Butch50** » Wed May 21, 2008 1:51 pm

I would wish you luck, but you won't need it. I will wish you continued motivation though!!!!

As-Ol-Joe · Post by **As-Ol-Joe** » Sat May 24, 2008 3:08 pm

Still going strong. Cravings are fading slowly.

punkin · Post by **punkin** » Sat May 24, 2008 3:56 pm

As-Ol-Joe wrote:Still going strong. Cravings are fading slowly.

Good work Joe.

It all gets easier and easier from here till you wonder how you could ever have been so fukin stupid to have smoked in the first place.

Sorry to the smokers, and no insult intended, but that's just how it seems to me now.

WorldsABetterPlaceForMeWithoutItPunkin

GingerBreadMan · Post by **GingerBreadMan** » Sun May 25, 2008 12:19 am

Well, off to a great start. I quit on time, on Friday at 5. Went to the store, picked up some Irish Whiskey, and several grocery bags of my favorite foods and snacks. Spent the night, playing video games, snacking, and having a few nips here and there of the Whiskey.

Woke up Sat morning, binge ate all the fruit I bought the day before. Wife quit smoking too, she chewed on the nicorette gums, said it works great. We went out for a long walk together. Made that delicious burger I was dreaming about, with swiss cheese and mushrooms. Wife agreed eating burgers works better then nicorette, but says we (as in I) can't eat burgers all day

Anyways, haven't hit any really hard cravings yet - I'll probably hit them when I'm back to work - first bit of stress will trigger it.

I did have the brain playing tricks on me several times. All of a sudden, I'll be thinking to myself - "Your doing great job. You should celebrate with a nice smoke, you can handle just one. It would taste really good". I know it sounds weird saying my brain is trying trick me, I'm not crazy or hearing voices, but it is interesting how my mind will wonder off thinking about stuff and before I know it, I've completely rationalized having a cigarette. Don't worry, my brain isn't going to trick me this time...

Going off to visit the parents. My Dad was a smoker for 50 years. Quit almost 2 years ago. It took about 2 years of trying to quit, he slid a couple times but kept trying. But he's been tobacco free for 2 years now. He'll be a good inspiration/motivator on day 2 for me and my wife.

As-Ol-Joe · Post by **As-Ol-Joe** » Sun May 25, 2008 4:45 pm

GingerBreadMan wrote:I did have the brain playing tricks on me several times. All of a sudden, I'll be thinking to myself - "Your doing great job. You should celebrate with a nice smoke, you can handle just one. It would taste really good". I know it sounds weird saying my brain is trying trick me, I'm not crazy or hearing voices, but it is interesting how my mind will wonder off thinking about stuff and before I know it, I've completely rationalized having a cigarette. Don't worry, my brain isn't going to trick me this time...

That will happen about every day. I did the same thing today: " Come on Joe, it's been about 2 weeks without one, let's smoke one to celebrate"

You don't have to beat the cigarettes, you have to beat yourself.

Butch50 · Post by **Butch50** » Sun May 25, 2008 4:59 pm

The little voice is evil, but once you recognize it for what it is, you can beat it. Hang in there, it gets better.

wineo · Post by **wineo** » Sun May 25, 2008 7:22 pm

It took me a while,but I finaly got that little voice on a leash.6 days with no cheating.Day 3 and 4 were the worse.Its getting easier,but I will have to keep my guard up.Did some drinkin last night and didnt smoke.Rum and coke.My rum turned out good.

punkin · Post by **punkin** » Sun May 25, 2008 7:41 pm

You guys are way cool. I'm excited for the three of ya

Triple thumbs for all of ya today

Butch50 · Post by **Butch50** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 4:50 pm

As-Ol-Joe wrote:I'm 50 years old and have been smoking for 37 years. I have quit at least 100 times, if not more. Now it is affecting my job, not to mention my health. Been taking the pill and chewing gum for several days now. I can already breathe easier and don't get winded tying my shoes. Should have done this years ago. I think I will make it.

How is it going? Are you still quit?

I decided to cut down on eating - not quit mind you, just cut down. Damn near the same feeling as quitting smoking....

As-Ol-Joe · Post by **As-Ol-Joe** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:02 pm

I have eaten everything in sight. Shit, I think I've put on 20 lbs. I have been cooking at work and the guys I work with are telling me to go get a pack of cigarettes. They are putting on the pounds too.

I have back slid a few times, but I keep pushing forward. This is the hardest thing I have done in my life.

Butch50 · Post by **Butch50** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:12 pm

Hang in there - everyone here is on your side and pulling for you.

wineo · Post by **wineo** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:09 pm

Hang in there joe.I know its a real bitch to quit.Im on day 16 with no cheating,but the cravings are still there.Ive gotten better at telling them no every time.I have been walking 2-3 miles a day,and just bought a new bike.Im not worried about the eating now.Its more important to not smoke.Food is tasting alot better,and my since of smell is getting better and better.Tell them guys at work to kiss your ass.

Post by **HookLine** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:02 pm

and my since of smell is getting better and better.

And that will help your stilling a lot!

What more incentive could you need?

More seriously, I have a whole lot of respect for anybody who manages to give up a long time nicotine habit (and a lot of sympathy for those who can't), it is probably the hardest of all addictions to kick. I had a couple of friends who slid into serious heroin use for a few years back when we were all young fellas, and they were also heavy smokers, and they both said that nicotine is much harder than heroin to give up. A quarter century later and both have long since got the smack monkey off their back, but neither of them has been able to kick the smoking habit.

Post by **Dnderhead** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:20 pm

about 50+ years of smoking--------long 8-10+ hour runs dont help, set and watch old Betsey for that long-twice a day ,and--I quit many times ,and slid back more power to ya !

GingerBreadMan · Post by **GingerBreadMan** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:23 pm

Well I slipped. Gonna try again.

Here's what happened. On Saturday the data center where our servers (main and backup server) had an explosion in the electrical room knocking out the power to the entire data center. The data center is a Tier 4, world class N+1 redundant data center with backups everywhere. Apparently an explosion in the electrical room where the power distribution for the building is the weak point.

My livelyhood depends on the servers for income - it's my only source of income. That's why I have two identical servers, one main server one backup in 'hot stand by'. I can't afford downtime. The company I rent them from has 6 data centers. I always assumed if I order a server and a backup they would put them in different buildings. Nope, fuck me.

Anyways, the data center is still having up and down problems - read about it here if you care

http://service-update.theplanet.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I've spent the last 3 sleepless nights, smoking cigarettes and rebuilding from scratch my business lifeline - two new servers. One in California and one in Dallas. Thousands of miles apart. I'm back in business now. Going to have a smoke, a rum nippy, go to bed and try again tomorrow to quit.

As-Ol-Joe · Post by **As-Ol-Joe** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:57 pm

GBM, I think I would smoke too.

wineo · Post by **wineo** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:22 am

GBM,dont beat yourself up about it.Just keep trying.The hardest part for me was to just say no,every time my brain said,lite one up.Every time I tried to quit in the past,I would get stressed out about something,and end up smoking one.I could never get past 3 days,even with the patch.Im on day 17 with no cheating,but still on the patch.I will be very slowly weening myself off the nicotene.Just for the hell of it,I thought I would just not put on a patch and see what would happen.I went all day till about dinner time,and had to put one on.This stuff is worse than heroin.I had mood swings like crazy,and would flare up so fast,over the littlest thing.I wont be doing that again.I have avoided stress as much as I can.Its all I can do.I am determand to quit this time,and Im not going to give up because of stress.Even if it means loosing my cool,insted of lighting up.
I dont see the cravings ever going away completly,and I am just going to have to learn to deal with them,and just say no every time.They dont last but a few seconds,so if you just blow it off,and dont come unglued,the battle is over.
Just keep trying,were all rootin for you.

Post by **Usge** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 7:14 am

GBR, it happens. Don't beat yourself up. Just start the process again.

punkin · Post by **punkin** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 11:06 am

Little money saving tip i sussed when i tried the patchs wineo....

Instead of buying the lower strength ones when you're ready, just buy the full strength ones and cut em in half

When you're ready agin, cut em in quarters...

Saves a fair bit of dough.

wineo · Post by **wineo** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 11:40 am

Sounds like a great idea Punkin.Im a cheap bast**d myself.

EuroStiller · Post by **EuroStiller** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 3:37 pm

Just a word of advice on cutting the patches. The chemical on the patch, nicotine polacrilex, is not evenly distributed over the entire patch. As a medical professional, I thought I should share this information. I would not advise cutting the patches unless you are totally desperate! While it may work for some, it really is not a good idea.

EuroStiller- The Doctor

Post by **Uncle Jesse** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 4:28 pm

keep at it guys, you've got my respect just for making the effort

bushido · Post by **bushido** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 6:23 am

Yeah, I have to get around to doing the quitting thing too. Have to change the life style for sure.
Kudos to you guys that are trying, right-on. You have to commit yourself to it. If you want it, you'll do it.
Good luck!

Home Distiller

How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

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Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?

Re: How many here have quit smoking? How did you quit?