3 4 5 6 7
Marty!
Marty! Dork
12/15/11 6:44 a.m.

1 month today for me. I gotta say those e-cigarettes have been very helpful in quitting. Now I know I'm still putting about as much nicotine in me as a patch, but at least I'm not smoking :)

Brett_Murphy
Brett_Murphy Dork
12/15/11 8:52 a.m.

It gets easier, Marty.

4.5 months for me, and one thing I've noticed is that I'm brushing my teeth 1-2 extra times a day now since my sense of taste has come back. Apparently I just didn't realize how funky my mouth tasted mid-morning and mid-afternoon before.

EastCoastMojo
EastCoastMojo SuperDork
12/15/11 8:56 a.m.

Congrats guys, hang in there! I still have the guilt dreams after years of not smoking, but it gets easier.

4cylndrfury
4cylndrfury SuperDork
12/15/11 9:23 a.m.

it will be 3 years for me this march...After quitting cold turkey, I still do have cravings, but its not that often, and its typically that I just associated the act of smoking while driving or after a meal that creates the crave, not the actual cigarette...it gets easier...though I have very vivd dreams where I am smoking all the time.

Anyway, hang in there. When it gets tough, think about how proud you are to have made it as long as you have, and how you know youre tough enough to keep fighting the good fight. Before long, youll be too afraid of disappointing yourself to consider lighting another smoke. Its a healthy kind of brainswashing lol...

PubBurgers
PubBurgers Dork
12/15/11 9:23 a.m.

Yeah, I'm back to smoking again. Doesn't help that I'm a generally stressed out person even when smoking. Mad props to you guys who managed to quit, it sure isn't easy.

mapper
mapper Reader
12/15/11 12:15 p.m.

18 days 13 hours 13 minutes since I quite Copenhagen after 30 years. Surprised I haven't killed anyone yet.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker
Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork
12/15/11 12:26 p.m.
mapper wrote: 18 days 13 hours 13 minutes since I quite Copenhagen after 30 years. Surprised I haven't killed anyone yet.

I know how hard that is. It is like 10x more nicotine to free yourself of over smokes. All I can offer is that it can be done - and hide the car keys on yourself for a while if plan to have a few snorts of booze or you WILL drive to a 7-11.

Jeff
Jeff Dork
12/15/11 7:02 p.m.

Way to go guys, keep up the good work.

Pub, try again. Quit for a day. Smoke again and next week quit for two days. Every cig you don't smoke helps. Hang in there and don't beat yourself up.

aussiesmg
aussiesmg SuperDork
12/16/11 7:18 a.m.
Jeff wrote: Way to go guys, keep up the good work. Pub, try again. Quit for a day. Smoke again and next week quit for two days. Every cig you don't smoke helps. Hang in there and don't beat yourself up.

x2 proud of you guys.

Brett_Murphy
Brett_Murphy Dork
12/17/11 12:25 a.m.

In reply to mapper:

Just stick with it. Use your debit card at the pump to pay for gas so you're not tempted to pick up a can while you're paying.

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair SuperDork
12/17/11 9:13 a.m.
aussiesmg wrote:
Jeff wrote: Way to go guys, keep up the good work. Pub, try again. Quit for a day. Smoke again and next week quit for two days. Every cig you don't smoke helps. Hang in there and don't beat yourself up.
x2 proud of you guys.

me too. if you fall off the wagon, just remember to climb back on.

poopshovel
poopshovel SuperDork
12/17/11 10:21 a.m.
PubBurgers wrote: Yeah, I'm back to smoking again. Doesn't help that I'm a generally stressed out person even when smoking. Mad props to you guys who managed to quit, it sure isn't easy.

Well, I was gonna wait till I was a year in to reply, but I'm at ten months now. FWIW, Father in law died from cancer on Wednesday. Funeral is in 3 hours. No, I'm not joking. He retired this year but never collected a check.

As my good friend angry would say every time I sparked one up: "Man, you know those things will berkeleyin kill ya, right?"

He wasn't joking.

What helped for me this time was:

  1. Slowing down before quitting. I eliminated the "low-hanging fruit" smokes. Like having one before work instead of two. Only smoking after dinner when I got home, etc. Removing one smoke from the equation every few days, till I was down from 20+ to 2 or 3 a day. Not saying it'll work for you, but it was way better than cold turkey.

  2. Knowing that there was a good possibility I'd relapse, but if I did, I'd immediately try again. That took some of the pressure off.

I hope that helps man. I never want to put my daughter through what my wife and I have been through in the last month; basically living at the hospital with our 6-month old baby.

Gotta go put my monkey suit on and pretend I'm not absolutely devastated by losing one of the coolest motherberkeleyers I've ever known.

-mike

Lesley
Lesley SuperDork
12/17/11 10:48 a.m.

So sorry for your loss. I hate that disease – I watched two people I care about die this year, and a childhood friend is now battling it.

EastCoastMojo
EastCoastMojo SuperDork
12/17/11 10:50 a.m.

So sorry for your loss poop.

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair SuperDork
12/17/11 12:51 p.m.

poopie, i'm sorry about your FIL.

mapper
mapper Reader
12/17/11 5:10 p.m.
Brett_Murphy wrote: In reply to mapper: Just stick with it. Use your debit card at the pump to pay for gas so you're not tempted to pick up a can while you're paying.

Actually doing pretty good. I think it's because I made the decision internally instead of relying on external motivation. When I've tried in the past because of cost, cancer scare, etc., I've failed.

Congrats to everyone who has quit. I know the urge never goes away completely.

Pat
Pat Reader
12/17/11 8:47 p.m.

Sorry about the father in law...that's terrible. Best to you and the family.

nicksta43
nicksta43 Reader
12/18/11 5:05 p.m.

I dipped four 14 years, had one in nearly 24 hrs a day during that time. It's been around three months from my last one. I purposfully din't make a big deal about keeping track of the exact date, I figured the cravings are so bad that getting through each one is a huge milestone. It has been the absolute toughest thing I've ever done in my life. The cravings are still just as strong but are starting to get less frequent.

On the plus side my quiting has encouraged my wife to quit smoking, been around two months for her. She is doing great and has been through some very challenging times and much to my delight she has managed to tough it out. Both of us have done it cold turkey.

Congratulations to Poop and everyone else who has managed to quit. We know how much will power it takes and are pulling for anyone who is still struggling.

Brett_Murphy
Brett_Murphy Dork
12/18/11 6:15 p.m.

Poop- Sorry for your loss.

Nick- I had to break every small habit (dipping after eating, dipping while fishing, dipping while working on the car, etc) in order to quite the habit at large.

I still get cravings when I pick up a wrench or fishing pole, too. It sucks.

Curmudgeon
Curmudgeon SuperDork
12/18/11 6:21 p.m.

Poop, sorry about your f-i-l. I watched my dad die of the same thing.

wbjones
wbjones SuperDork
12/18/11 7:54 p.m.

keep it up guys.. as tough as it is, it's well worth it

DILYSI Dave
DILYSI Dave SuperDork
12/19/11 12:17 p.m.
poopshovel wrote: Well, I was gonna wait till I was a year in to reply, but I'm at ten months now.

Props dude. I was actually wondering if you had been able to stick with it through the stress that has been your last several months.

poopshovel
poopshovel SuperDork
12/20/11 7:11 a.m.
DILYSI Dave wrote:
poopshovel wrote: Well, I was gonna wait till I was a year in to reply, but I'm at ten months now.
Props dude. I was actually wondering if you had been able to stick with it through the stress that has been your last several months.

Thanks bud. It hasn't been easy.

4cylndrfury
4cylndrfury SuperDork
12/20/11 12:11 p.m.

Glad youre still on the wagon poop...it gets easier bud...both the smokes, and losing someone (in time). Sorry for your loss, but I am glad youre hanging tough...

Rusted_Busted_Spit
Rusted_Busted_Spit SuperDork
12/20/11 12:48 p.m.

Sorry for your loss man, and glad you are sticking with it.

3 4 5 6 7

You'll need to log in to post.

Our Preferred Partners
1z0mBWxjA3v5QZmdNzMmx8F79HmD8NG4c0Gx6IM9wTtm0e9VsYAHkU0NNvM5Rlcx