I'm scared. January 11th, 2005 is THE day

[LondonBroil]

me and my fiance quit smoking after a 10-year pack a day habit. Anyone have any experience with this and what I can look forward to in regards to withdrawal symptoms?

[Alobar]

why the 11th?

[nicky g]

You will be extremely irritable at times and get intense nicotine cravings. Those will go quite soon but you'll still want a cigarette a lot. In my experience, you should avoid spending time with other smokers and drinking even small amounts of alcohol until you are sure you are done for good. Doing some kind of exercise also helps motivate you to want to stay cigarette free if you enjoy it.

[sfer]

If you make it past day 7 or so you'll notice that things you eat have flavor.

[LondonBroil]

My fiance is getting some kind of prescription that you need to start taking a few days before you actually quit. Also, I've been told to set a date, so we set a date. This also gives me a couple weeks to mentally prepare myself. It's also a date I can easily remember for future reference.

[FatMan]

Smoke like a chimney on the 10th. Smoke 3 or 4 packs until you are sick of it. That will hold you for a about five days. After that it is all will power. Just keep saying to yourself "I've gone XX days without smoking, do I want to throw that away and have a cigarette." I kind of made it a personal challenge to see how long I could go without a cigarette. I quit on January 21, 1981. It took me 7 years before I didn't have cravings for a cigarette. There are no easy answers, but stay away from other smokers and places that allow smoking. Do some cardiovascular workouts that get you breathing hard and that will help you realize why you should have quit smoking a long time ago. Now I can't stand being in a smoky place or the smell of cigarette smoke.

[KJS]

I've been there (and will have to go back since I started again). I quit a 8 year habit for 5 years until I slipped up after moving to Asia.

The worst thing for me is the mood swings. You might want to investigate getting some help with that, like acupuncture. The cravings will be intense, but you have to bite your lip until they go away. Eat lots of food you really enjoy. Definitely don't go to smoky bars or drink at home. Go for a walk after you eat instead of your post-meal smoke.

You will also cough a lot more than usual as your lungs clear up. Think about how much better you are going to feel physically when you don't smoke anymore. Get some exercise and think about how much easier it will be.

The first 3 days will be the hardest; after that you will mostly be over the physical withdrawal since (according to what I have read) the nicotine will be out of your system. After that period the cravings will continue, but they will be less intense, in my experience.

I think the fact that you are doing this together is good in terms of being able to motivate each other, but I would be a bit worried about one person wanting to smoke and the other enabling that because they do too. I would also be worried about some nasty fights happening when you are both having intense nic fits. I would have a long talk with my girlfried about some "time out" phrases or something to keep any arguments from escalating because people are having withdrawal-induced mood swings.

Best of luck. I'll be doing it myself in February.

KJS

[1p0kerb0y]

Great to hear that you're quiting. I quit about 22 months ago after smoking for 9 years. Some quick advice:

1. What helped me the most was reading "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Quiting Smoking", or it may have been the "For Dummies" series. There is TONS of great information in that book.
2. You will have to break the "habit" first. I noticed my first couple of days I would literally go to grab a smoke out of my pocket, but they weren't there. Pick up a couple of new habits just to keep your hands and mouth occupied (please don't quote this part and then write in an obscene response). Some examples would be drinking bottled water, chewing gum, chewing on sunflower seeds, stopping what you are doing to take deep breaths, etc.
3. I highly recommend you take some sort of Nicotine supplement. Most people relapse because the withdrawal symtoms become unbearable. I was on the patch and it helped. The supplement your fiance is taking is supposedly the best way to go (Zyban or the others).

Good luck to you. Remember if you break down and smoke one it is not the end of the world. And once again I HIGHLY recommend you pick that book up!

[ChoicestHops]

I am currently quitting, but I have not completely quit. I binge drank a few nights ago and wanted to smoke so bad I took off my patch.

Im on 21mg/day of Nicoderm CQ. It really helps physical withdraws - the simple wanting to smoke you have to beat on your own. It is expensive, however. Here cigarette packs average around $3.40, but a two week supply of CQ costs about $45.

Even only after a week, I can notice that my taste and smell have both improved. I am coughing alot, which I figured I would hence my lungs aren't used to breathing normally!

[jasonHoldEm]

Good luck. You already seem to be well on your way (setting a date, having a supportive partner, etc). I quit back at the end of May.

You might want to check into alt.support.stop-smoking (AS3) it's a newsgroup that I lurked at while quitting, good advice and motivation from people in the same boat as you as well as comitted quitters.

AS3 web page archive and FAQ's (http://www.swen.uwaterloo.ca/~as3/as3.html)

AS3 newsgroup through google groups (http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.support.stop-smoking)

Good luck,
J

EDITED TO ADD: On the night of the 10th throw away everything related to smoking. Ashtrays, lighters, matches, etc. Get rid of everything that will make it "easy" to relapse. A simple step that a lot of people don't make.

[Slacker13]

Ask your Doctor about taking Wellbutrin. It's an antidepressant and works great for people who are quitting smoking. Combine that with the patch and it should help alleviate some of the cravings.

[LondonBroil]

I'm pretty sure that this was the drug my fiance said she was getting. She did mention it was an antidepressant.

[Slacker13]

It helped my buddy a lot. He said he couldn't of done it without the Wellbutrin.

[Rushmore]

A couple of things are important:

First, congratulations. You decided you'd like to stay alive, and further, that you not have a disgusting product that some guys manipulated you into using hanging out of your mouth and fouling your insides. Excellent.

I found that my pride helped me quit smoking. I felt moronic consuming the product. I can't quit smoking? Oh yeah? WATCH ME.

This is important: THE WITHDRAWAL FROM CIGARETTES IS NOT THAT BIG A DEAL!! Don't let everyone (Nicoderm, etc.) convince you otherwise. So what--you have cravings and you're moody for a few days, maybe a week? Big deal. Don't buy into all of this tougher than heroin bullshit. Some of us know better.

It's tough to do something like this WITH someone else, but that's what you've chosen to do. Fair enough. Have a pact: don't talk about it, or at the very least: do not suggest quitting quitting. The pact should dictate that if one of you were to suggest "just having ONE" or some such nonsense, that person is a lousy piece of garbage.

Look, it's important that you quit smoking, it's true. But for crying out loud, it's not like you're living in freakin Russia in 1930 or something. I mean, you're not in some forced labor camp somewhere, right? Right. You just feel cranky. You can't smoke cigarettes. Just get past it.

Nobody's allowed to smoke in your home, and you don't go to places where people smoke.

I honestly believe that one of the major difficulties people have with quitting is their own perception of how hard it is. It's not that tough, I promise. Especially after the third or fourth day.

You ever have the flu? This is about 10% as bad. You ever had a 300BB downswing? It's much worse than quitting smoking. You survived those things, you survive this thing.

Best of luck. Don't dwell on it, it just makes it worse. Just do it, then give yourself a pat on the back and say "Damn, people are stupid. Quitting smoking's not that big a deal. Or maybe I'm just one tough sonofabitch, I dunno. Whatever it is, I DON'T SMOKE ANYMORE."

And I'll say NICE JOB.

[LondonBroil]

[ QUOTE ]
You ever have the flu? This is about 10% as bad.

[/ QUOTE ]

Surprisingly enough, I'm 27 and I've never had the flu. I don't even take flu shots. I've heard it sucks though.

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
Surprisingly enough, I'm 27 and I've never had the flu. I don't even take flu shots. I've heard it sucks though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe all the nicotine was warding off the dangerous viral predators.

Anyway, my point was that it just ain't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Think Thing that seemed really bad but turned out not to be so bad, and there you have it.

By the way, one thing that I forgot to mention is that the morning you wake up without that horrible wheezy gagging feeling, you'll get in the shower and wait for that really deep, cleansing cough that you need so bad every day, and it won't be there, because there won't be anything to clear. I remember I used to cough so hard every morning I would see stars, just like cartoon characters.

Good luck.

[nicky g]

I agree that it really isn;t that bad in terms of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. About one day of serious crankiness was the worst I suffered when I stopped properly. But I don;t agree that it's not hard; getting through the ending of the physical addiction is pretty easy, but never ever ever smoking a cigarette again, when you are so used to it, they're so available, and so many people do it - that is hard IMO. Maybe I am weak-willed.

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
I agree that it really isn;t that bad in terms of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. About one day of serious crankiness was the worst I suffered when I stopped properly. But I don;t agree that it's not hard; getting through the ending of the physical addiction is pretty easy, but never ever ever smoking a cigarette again, when you are so used to it, they're so available, and so many people do it - that is hard IMO. Maybe I am weak-willed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Right and right.

What I meant to say was that I think a lot of people picture themselves like Frank Freakin Sinatra in The Man With The Golden Arm or something, and it just ain't that bad.

1.) You have to want to quit smoking because (insert legitimate reason here).
2.) You have to quit smoking.
3.) You have to stay quit, by remembering that you quit because (insert legitimate reason here).

This is it. There's really nothing more. But the quitter must be totally sold on the legitimate reason.

And the rest should be easy enough.

[WDC]

Stay the hell out of a card club, I don't smoke antmore except playing cards.

[uw_madtown]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I agree that it really isn;t that bad in terms of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. About one day of serious crankiness was the worst I suffered when I stopped properly. But I don;t agree that it's not hard; getting through the ending of the physical addiction is pretty easy, but never ever ever smoking a cigarette again, when you are so used to it, they're so available, and so many people do it - that is hard IMO. Maybe I am weak-willed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Right and right.

What I meant to say was that I think a lot of people picture themselves like Frank Freakin Sinatra in The Man With The Golden Arm or something, and it just ain't that bad.

1.) You have to want to quit smoking because (insert legitimate reason here).
2.) You have to quit smoking.
3.) You have to stay quit, by remembering that you quit because (insert legitimate reason here).

This is it. There's really nothing more. But the quitter must be totally sold on the legitimate reason.

And the rest should be easy enough.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is why I have started smoking about 3 cigarettes every other weekend when I go out to bars with my friends. I enjoy a cigarette, a beer, and a pizza/burger with my college friends. I can guarantee it will never evolve into an addiction -- by addiction, I mean something I have cravings for, or do outside of that allotted situation. And I plan on quitting cigarettes completely when I graduate, although I'll still allow myself a cigar here and there throughout my life.

I find the idea of addiction intriguing. I can't imagine being "hooked" on something that obviously harms me. I can't imagine being so weak-willed as to say "I NEED to have a cigarette/beer/bacon-double-cheeseburger but I wish I didn't." If I wish I didn't, then I don't. And I don't want to be smoking cigarettes at all after college. I won't be.

I also won't be eating bacon-double-cheeseburgers and other fast food garbage more than once every couple months..

I will be drinking beer, but probably will stick more to Jack and Cokes than beer.

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
This is why I have started smoking about 3 cigarettes every other weekend when I go out to bars with my friends. I enjoy a cigarette, a beer, and a pizza/burger with my college friends. I can guarantee it will never evolve into an addiction -- by addiction, I mean something I have cravings for, or do outside of that allotted situation. And I plan on quitting cigarettes completely when I graduate, although I'll still allow myself a cigar here and there throughout my life.

I find the idea of addiction intriguing. I can't imagine being "hooked" on something that obviously harms me. I can't imagine being so weak-willed as to say "I NEED to have a cigarette/beer/bacon-double-cheeseburger but I wish I didn't." If I wish I didn't, then I don't. And I don't want to be smoking cigarettes at all after college. I won't be.

I also won't be eating bacon-double-cheeseburgers and other fast food garbage more than once every couple months..

I will be drinking beer, but probably will stick more to Jack and Cokes than beer.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, there's good news and bad news.

The good news is that you have the right attitude about self-reliance and will power.

The bad news is, first, that you miss the point about a growing habit (not an addiction). One day, for no apparent reason, when you're gassing up your car, you decide to pick up a pack of cigarettes (maybe, "for the weekend, as long as I'm here"). That night, although it's a Wednesday, you are having a beer and somefriends come by, so you decide to break your "3 on the weekend" rule. The horse is out of the barn.

Second, once you are physically addicted to a substance, all of this "I'm immune because____" stuff goes out the window. The cravings can be insidious.

As I have said time and again, it's not nearly as big a deal as everyone paints it, but it's not just a matter of being assertive or whatever, either.

And I have no idea what the point of aspiring to quit beer for Jack and Cokes is, but if it makes you feel good, you go right ahead.

Now hit those books!

[MarkL444]

good luck man, smoking is for stupids

[uw_madtown]

[ QUOTE ]
The bad news is, first, that you miss the point about a growing habit (not an addiction). One day, for no apparent reason, when you're gassing up your car, you decide to pick up a pack of cigarettes (maybe, "for the weekend, as long as I'm here"). That night, although it's a Wednesday, you are having a beer and somefriends come by, so you decide to break your "3 on the weekend" rule. The horse is out of the barn.

Second, once you are physically addicted to a substance, all of this "I'm immune because____" stuff goes out the window. The cravings can be insidious.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not really, no. I've had this opportunity many times -- been offerred one by friends after class, when I'm out on Thursday nights, etc. I'm a pretty stubborn person about things. I'd imagine a hard drug would have that effect, but I don't believe cigarettes are near as bad -- and, as has been pointed out, physical cravings only last for what -- four days? a week? It sounds primarily psychological. Even if it's not, believe me -- I've been through worse. I can handle it. I'm not worried in the least about it becoming more than a 3/wkend habit because I won't allow it to -- simple.

[ QUOTE ]
And I have no idea what the point of aspiring to quit beer for Jack and Cokes is, but if it makes you feel good, you go right ahead.

[/ QUOTE ]

Calories, mostly. Substitute red wine for Jack and Coke if you'd like, as that may be actually healthy for you. Point was that I don't think drinking in moderation (1 or 2 a day on weekends) is harmful at all -- or if it is, it isn't signficantly, and certainly not as much as a smoking habit and/or eating fast food and other fatty garbage is.

[spamuell]

[ QUOTE ]
Point was that I don't think drinking in moderation (1 or 2 a day on weekends) is harmful at all

[/ QUOTE ]

It's good for you.

[Ray Zee]

what you can look forward to is being around in 20 or 30 years or so rather than hooked up to an oxygen tank. good luck and will power. happy holidays to all.