One week down......Update

[hankejp]

Well, yesterday I hit the one week mark of not smoking. I am on the Target brand patch and it seems to be doing the trick. I had to lay off of some things for now. Like drinking coffee. Usually when I drank coffee, it meant it was time for a smoke or 2. So I switched to tea. And I haven't had a beer for the same reason. I'm a little scared to have one of those, so it'll have to wait a while.
Do I feel any different? Not really, although my wife can atest that I have been sleeping much better, as I was snoring in her ear the other night.

There was no major health reason to quit. I just thought that enough was enough and 20 yrs of smoking was enough reason to quit.

Wish me future luck......

 

[IsamuM]

As a fellow ex-smoker who kicked the habit after 25 years, I certainly do wish you luck!

I think it's a matter of breaking habits more than anything else, so it looks like you're on the right track. Let me warn you, though, that you're still going to have cravings for a few more years. I think it took me six or seven years to totally get over cigarettes, but I've been clean for ten years now.

 

[LyndeeLoo]

You can do it, Joe!!! Congrats on your one week anniversary. Let us know how it goes!

 

[hankejp]

Congrats Isamu. Yes friends have told me the cravings will be there. A friend of mine said after 12 years, she still has cravings. It'll be a long journey, but should be exciting as I have smoked for 20 years or so, all of my adult life, plus some...

 

[hankejp]

You can do it, Joe!!! Congrats on your one week anniversary. Let us know how it goes!

Thank you Lyndee. Good thing for those Dum Dum suckers. I have a bag of 360 to keep me occupied.

Next up is to start working out again....

 

[Jeep Captain]

There was no major health reason to quit. I just thought that enough was enough and 20 yrs of smoking was enough reason to quit.

Wish me future luck......

First off let me say GOOD LUCK. Try not to think about it. You need to break old habits. You do not NEED a smoke but you do WANT a smoke.

As far as major health issues...maybe not now but if you continued to smoke there would be health issues. We all know smoking causes cancer...

 

[Gramps]

I thank all you folks that have quit and wish more would. Of all the forms of cancer we treat, lung CA is the least amenable to treatment. The survival rate is about 5%. My depression rate is about 100% we I see a lung CA. Please stop!!!

 

[ritewinger]

I quit in 1984, and it wasn't too tough. I had cravings maybe six months later, but convinced myself even one cigarette will kill me. I haven't had even the least desire for 25 years, everyone is different.
Gongrats and GOOD LUCK.........:wink:

 

[adaml]

I had my last cigarette on my 40th birthday, more than 20 years ago.

I still have dreams about cigarettes, but I haven't touched one since.

Next to marrying my wife, it was the smartest thing I ever did.

Stick with it; you and your family will be glad you did.

 

[Martytoof]

Keep it up you guys. I never smoked, but my parents gave it up and I know how difficult it was. Best of luck!

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

Congratulations - you will be happy you quit. I smoked for 25 years & was up to 2 packs a day. I quit cold turkey 27 years ago. To succeed, it has to be something you want to do, not because someone else wants you to. If it's any help, what I did was I did not say I quit, because that puts pressure on you. If anyone asked me if I quit, I just said I did not smoke yesterday or today, & I may not smoke tomorrow. Just go one day at a time. I also told myself that if I took a smoke, I would have to go through it all again & I did not like the thought of that. It does get easier, although the urge will be there for a long time, so don't despair. Beer & coffee are "triggers" that will make you want one, just tell yourself you are bigger than that butt. Lots of luck !

 

[olddogg]

Joe,
I quit in 1991 after more than 20 yrs of smoking. I got angry at the knowledge that I was an addict. My disgust with that fact provided the impetus I needed. I went cold turkey. I am so glad I did. It is a stupid habit. Hang in there. It does get easier with time. Pulling for you. You CAN do this!

 

[NiKool 36]

Joe, You Can Quit! You want to quit, that is reason enough to be successful. I quit almost 11 years ago after 35 years of a pack a day. The smoking had done severe damage to my lungs and heart but thank God today i'm in pretty good health and it's all because I quit in time to reverse some of the damage. I vowed i would never smoke again because I didn't want to and after 6 months it was never a big problem. You Can Do IT!

 

[Captain Trips]

Joe, keep at it. I am at almost 5 years without a ciggie. I did it cold turkey. I found the first week the worst. After about 3 months my cravings had pretty much disappeared even when having a beer, and trust me I very much like a beer! This after smoking for about 30 years.

Just do whatever works for you.

cheers
Simon

 

[Esexx]

Congratulations on your first week. I know you can do it!

Keep the faith.

 

[Carole]

Keep it up! You are doing great! You just have to take it one day at a time and not give in.

I know what you mean about the coffee as when I smoked it was always during "happy hour" after work. Every Friday night, we would all go out for a drink, and for some reason, I always wanted to smoke when I was in a bar. Now that I have congestive heart failure, it's no longer a problem since I can't drink with all the meds I have to take.

And, btw, you are doing it for health reasons. You are going to feel much better and will breathe a lot better!

Carole

 

[hankejp]

Thank you all for the vote of confidence and support. It is going good. I now need to incorporate a diet into this as I weighed myself last night. I'm up 10 lbs already. Took the 1st step towards that as I went for a walk/run.

 

[general]

You can do it!

I quit in 1987 after 30+ years of smoking. Most of the effort is in your mind; believe you want to do it and believe you can do it and the effort will not be so great. Congratulations and press on!

 

[bcarroll01]

Like others who are quitting you can use all of the money saved for new lens and equipment. Keep up the work.