Starting Over Again

Morning everyone. Hope today finds you in good spirits :)

I have put myself back at Day One because although I have gone three days (nearly!) without smoking, I did have a slip up and managed to smoke ten cigs on the night of Day Two and morning of Day Three (thats ten cigs altogether...not ten on each occasion!). So I guess I'd be cheating if I said I was starting Day Four, right?

So here I am back at Day One :rolleyes: Oh well.

This time, I'm trying Cold Turkey. I read within Catwoman's link 'whyquit' that using NRT products encourages cravings as you are still getting the flow of nicotine into your body, whereas if you quit Cold Turkey, the cravings disappear quicker as you are not feeding your body nicotine still and therefore rid yourself of the stuff quicker. I hope that makes sense!

Are there others out there starting Day One today???

15 Replies

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  • Hi Maddy

    I am not on day one but I just want to congratulate you on the decision to start stopping again! The best advice I was given was to take it one day at a time. In the early days, one hour at a time. It makes the process not exactly easier but manageable.

    Good luck and I am sure some buddies will show up x

  • hi maddy, good luck . not on day 1, on day 8 now,

    i,m using champix and i honestly have no cravings at all.

  • Thanks Magpie and James. I appreciate your encouragement and I hope I am able to return the favour as time goes by.

    I really am determined to kick this habit this time. Scary to think that I have been smoking for 17yrs approx. I actually gave up for two years but then I started again :mad: That was 5 ish years ago now.

    I started getting bronchitis after every cold so it spurred me into quitting the dreaded weed. Also, I want to buy a Wii for my kids (and me!) so the money I save will more than pay for that in just over a month. My other motivation is the trip I'm planning for Disneyland Florida. Will save for 2/3 years and finally take my kids (got three) on a holiday of a lifetime :D

    I'm really interested to know what motivation/s you guys have...what made you want to quit and are you striving for anything? :)

  • here ya go..

    nosmokingday.org.uk/forum/s...

  • Hi Maddie,

    Best of the best for you. Just think of that Florida sunshine oozing into your pores!!!

    My motivations were

    1. Health..enough is enough..I'm 57 and can't get away with it much longer (I mean the inevitable winter bronchitis and prolonged colds, if nothing worse!)

    2. Finding out what I'm like without smoking. That's become an increasingly interesting one. If you look around the threads you'll see that lots of people ciscover a rather different personality hidden - or rather masked - by the smoke.

    3. Just actually succeeding at something is a nice feeling. I use that to stop me when I think I want one!

    Hope that helps...I'm sure you'll be different, we all are. But we're all in this 'Stop the mad bad habit' boat together...All the best with it. You'll find lots of help on here (it's made a huge difference for me).

    Bill

  • Are there others out there starting Day One today???

    Even if we're not starting a fresh quit with you, we're all here with you on day one... :p

    You're in that position now where it's quite tough to give advice without potentially upsetting others so I'll talk about me and not generalise..

    I didn't have the willpower to use NRT. I had 2 unsuccessful quits, once using gum, once using patches. I spent weeks gagging for a fag and had major snappy mornings every morning. I failed and then smoked continually for 3 years, the longest period ever as a serial quitter, pronouncing myself a failure.

    It is my personal opinion that stubbing out your last fag and welcoming a clean body in 72 hours is so straightforward. At the end of the period you know you don't need a fag and everything else is in your head.

    I used to chew my gum and then be even more needy for a fag afterwards i used to almost cry in desperation..!

    So you'll understand why many CT quitters start to get a bit evangelical when they read that their method is apparently tougher....it isn't just me..!

    I'll stress again, the above is my experience.

    If you're reading this happy on your NRT stick with it, the priority is not smoking.

    You have to find the method that works for you but you have to be aware that there are plenty out there with a financial stake in the matter trying to influence your choice.

    I posted earlier today in "how to stop" and it might at least distract you for a minute if you read it..! :)

    The best quit aid is of course determination.

  • Thank you once again everyone.

    I felt I was doing ok today until someone had a dig at me and now I just can't shake this feeling 'down' feeling...why do people have to have digs about stuff when they know you are trying to quit? Selfishness comes to mind.

    I so badly want a cigarette so that I can feel better, but feel better for how long? :rolleyes:

    Actually, no, scrap this whole post...I feel great!!!! lol

    I'm gonna try and do this CT. I've never tried CT before so I'm gonna give it a chance.

    Good luck to all you guys with not smoking anymore. I have every faith in you all!! :p Gawd, how nice will it be to not be tied to cigarettes anymore? Bliss.

  • Just ignore me. Feeling rather down and teary. All I keep thinking about is cigarettes and how nice it would be to take a pull on one right now :( I soooooooo want one. But if I go have a smoke then it will undo everything and I will have gained nothing. Although I am only on Day One, I have done nearly four days without cigs.

    Maybe I'm just one of those that can't quit. Will never have the determination to see it through. Don't wanna carry on smoking though so what to do? Just carry on smoking until the time feels right? But how do you know when the time is right? Surely, you will suffer withdrawal symptoms whenever you starve yourself of nicotine and you just have to put up and shut up?

    If I cave in now and have a cigarette then I may as well resign myself to the fact that I'm always going to be a smoker because if I can't handle the withdrawal symptoms now then I'm never going to be able to.

    Sorry for whinging. Just trying hard to not go down the darn shop to buy some cigs.

  • Hey there~

    I quit cold turkey 5 months ago! Although it was very tough in the beginning I felt I have had the most success with it so far. It's not going to be easy but quitting any bad habit never is! I hope you do well this time! The first 2 weeks were the worse for me. Week 2 i was pms so you can just imagine!!! I got through it though and still going strong! Hopefully going to Disney will be enough encouragement for you. Just remember~you will most likely have to sneak off to smoke there because they have pretty much banned smoking here in public places. They probably allow it outside but in designated areas since it is a family oriented park. Good luck & I wish you great success this time around!

  • Maddy

    ask yourself a few questions....

    Do you wake up in the middle of the night gagging for a fag..?

    Have you gone out to buy fags when there's some still in your packet but you're anxious that you might run out..?

    I'd be surprised if you answered anything other than no and yes to those two..?

    Yes, nicotine is incredibly addictive but its hold is not as strong as you first imagine. It won't wake us up to feed but if we're awake it'll make us do the oddest things. It doesn't have the power to make us pass out or become feverish but it will simply make you WANT A CIGARETTE...!

    Know and understand your enemy.

    Get on the net and read everything you can about nicotine addiction and its effects.

    I'm the least brave person i know, i take a day off just to go to the dentist but i stared old Nic in the eye 4 months ago, understood his methods and tricks and then slammed the door in his face.

    No-one is a lost cause. :)

  • hi maddy , how are you ??

    i know that feeling you are describing, been there, done that !! but it will pass.

    yer brain is a funny thing.....

    mine is full of useless info that ive stored in the last 41 years.. that may one day be useful :)

    i know the thinking bit takes some beating.. but it is just a matter of time (not long) before you will be thinking of something else..and you will forget the fags ..

    something else will take thier place ..

    good luck, keep at it, and i may need your support :)

  • Maddy,

    If you look around the forum, there are many (I'd say probably most) of the people on here wh've tried many times to stop.

    What makes this time any different? I don't know for you...For me, it's been just incredibly reinforcing to have the company of others who are quitting and to have all the information on the site.

    Everyone here is rooting for you...Youy're NOT ALONE!!!

    All the best,

    Bill

  • Yeah you should never worry about sounding whingy, thats the great thing about this forum, we are all going through it together. I feel really lonely sometimes since quitting smoking, like a big part of my life has been lost but when i come on here and read other people going through the same thing it makes me feel a million times better.

    I guess you dont need to be a smoker to have the smokers comrade :-)

  • Morning and thanks everyone. I got through yesterday ok. I just tried to keep busy and you know, my dog has never been exercised so much :D

    I hope you are all doing ok too. I know I'm not the only one here suffering the withdrawal symptoms and that kind of helps to know. When I visit this place I don't feel so alone in my quit so thank you everyone :)

  • The following link I used extensively, initially it will take you to a page called 'tales from the quit'. Its an American bloke who is an ex smoker and that page is his story of quitting. I found the stories inspirational and they really really helped me in understanding what the hell was happening to me at times. On the page there is a link to his message boards. They take a bit of getting used to, being American they are so much more open, honest and perhaps shouty than us, but again I found them invaluable. The main thing I found about this site, as on whyquit, its not just people giving empty and meaningless platitudes, its people giving real, solid, useful knowledge and advice.

    woofmang.com/tales/index.shtml

    Good luck maddy, if you beleive in your head you can beat this addiction, you are half way there. Keep strong and CT really isn't the demon its made out to be, HONEST! :)

    Thanks for that my feline quit buddy......

    That's one i hadn't come across but it's now on my favourites :)

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