I have read Allen Carr, I quit for about 6 hours because of it around 12 months ago. I read it again I didn;t even attempt to quit.
One thing Allen Carer does is lay it on the line and investigate, disect and characterise what nicotene is, how it restricts your life, the false pleasure and the control it has over you.
I suppose the weep, weep in the thread title is the nictone speaking, it keeps calling me crying, begging me not to let it go, letting me know how when i am alone, or cold, or bored it can be my only friend - i don't want to listen to the little b@stard but it is very difficult. It is also me weeping because I actually enjoy smoking, i'm hoping next week or the week after i Hate the thought of smoking.
I have been thinking about this for a while and do not want to depend on a drug that is ruining my standard of living, distracting me from clear thinking and has a hold over me greater than any human being in the world. The money is not that much of an issue to me, but maybe that's the dreadful weed speaking to me, i'm sure i will appreciate it when I stop, I think i could save between £20 - £25 a week not smoking.
For this reason (and the fact my girlfriend stopped recently) I am off the fags. My GF has a load of champix tablets left, i am using them. I usually smoke about 10 -12 a day, sometimes 20 if i am drinking.
I started on Monday just cutting back and 1 champix tablet, I went through Monday smoking only 4 fags, still craved but surprisingly the champix does have an affect.
Today I took another tablet and with willpower i have been able to survive the day on 2 cigarettes. My last ciggie was at 5pm. With Champix you are meant to give up on day 8 and cover a 12 week course of tablets. I don't want to do that, I Hate tablets. I am on champix just to help ease the nicotene withdrawl, I want to be off the tablets with a few days. This is also the way my girlfriend did it.
Tomorrow I will NOT smoke anymore cigarettes, I will take a champix in the morning and fight any urge to smoke. It is helping that it is cold outside at the moment, it would be a lot harder giving up in the summer.
Wish me luck folks, I wish all smokers giving up smoking today the best of luck in the world, I am just imagining how it will feel to be free and that is what is spurring me on. I don;t want to have to think about these evil white sticks anymore or let them run my life, i want to smell fresh air, breath, taste, run faster, run longer, not cough, not alter my life to cater for this horrible drug.
WE can do this together I hope we can all offer each other support. I will be posting at every craving and let you all know how i get on with the champix . .
anyone here have tales of champix?
how long before i can concentrate again without constantly constantly thinking about cigarettes?
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it's been 10 mins since my last post, i'm craving.
I have counted my calories and have consumed over 3000 today, tomorrow I will be going to the gym. I will walk around without any money on me so i cannot smoke - hope it works.
Welcome to the rest of your life, AntiFag, and good luck with telling ol' Nasty Nic O'Tene he's not welcome any more!
I'm sorry I don't have any champix stories for you; it's a bit late at night for some of those who have experience of it to be around but I'm sure you'll have some comments in the morning.
It strikes me that you didn't smoke a huge amount (note, past tense!) so objectively your craves should be a little less overpowering than some people's who are on 40 or 60 a day.
You need to convince yourself that the craves are all in your head and it's in your head that you'll overcome them.
Drink lots of water and fruit juice to keep your sugar levels up and to help your head fight your worse instincts. And when Nasty Nic starts tapping you on the shoulder, just ignore him. You can do it!
I smoked my last cigarette 6 Days, 13 hours and 32 minutes ago. I have saved £59.85 by not smoking 262 cigarettes. I have saved 21 hours and 50 minutes of my life.
I'm on day 11 of Champix, and day 3 smoke free. It's not a miracle cure, and I still get cravings, but I dread to think what the cravings would be like without it! You still need will power and the desire to NOT SMOKE, but I do believe Champix does subdue the cravings. I suppose it'll affect different people in different ways, but I can't see it being anything other than positive.
You'll get loads of support and encouragement on this forum. It's a great place, so hang on in there matey. It will be worth it.
Forgot to mention...I'm also reading Andy Marshalls book 'stoppings easy'. Excellent and well worth a read.
Keep reading the Allen Carr book, im on my third reading of it now. Just keep saying NO to that nictine monster.
I have been quit for 1 Week, 11 hours, 7 minutes and 4 seconds (7 days). I have saved £49.75 by not smoking 223 cigarettes. I have saved 18 hours and 35 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 11/03/2008 23:00
The last cigarette I smoked was yesterday at 5pm. I feel ok, the champix is helping but i am definitley still craving.
Luckily my smoking partner at work is off until next week, this is one of the factors that made me decide to stop. He is back next week though.
This weekend is also goin got be tough, being easter. I have decided not to go to the pub so I can stay away from the association.
As my craves start diminishing, what are people experiences on how it feels, do you still have the urge to want to smoke and if so why if it not the nictoine urging you - what is it and what does it feel like?
What is this I hear about cranberry juice helping?
How does it help?
Sorry about all the questions but i want to experience and understand the quitting process as i go through it.
Anyone quit/quitting the same time as me - I want to be in a team.
Hopefully, I will be on the day2 forum tomorrow.
Every time I want a cigarette I am using breathing techniques, having a drink, i have even been to the toilet and washed my face with cold water - that helps.
It;s weird how it is constantly in my mind, it will not disappear I am thinking about smoking constantly. I hate to think how this would feel without champix, I think the longest i lasted pure cold turkey was 6 hours and that was hell.
I have never ever had a tough time acquiring a cigarette and never really fought the urge. It is surprising and scary the hold this horrible nasty drug has on smokers.
Antifag, the first three days are the worst, but you will get through them, you may be best using NRT rather than champix, as you know with champix your supposed to take them for 8-12 days before stopping, so your not giving them a chance to work properly.
Either just go cold turkey or get some patches - either way, we're all here for ya, it does get easier after a while.
I have been quit for 1 Week, 12 hours, 4 minutes and 21 seconds (7 days). I have saved £50.01 by not smoking 225 cigarettes. I have saved 18 hours and 45 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 11/03/2008 23:00
Luckily my smoking partner at work is off until next week, this is one of the factors that made me decide to stop. He is back next week though.
This weekend is also goin got be tough, being easter. I have decided not to go to the pub so I can stay away from the association.
As my craves start diminishing, what are people experiences on how it feels, do you still have the urge to want to smoke and if so why if it not the nictoine urging you - what is it and what does it feel like?
What is this I hear about cranberry juice helping?
How does it help?
Sorry about all the questions but i want to experience and understand the quitting process as i go through it.
Hey, this place is great for questions! Not so good on answers, as we all have our own and although everyone can tell you their answer, that might not be yours.
I'm a bit like you: I like to understand the ins and outs of what's happening to me and that helps me cope.
So, my answeres to your queries, almost 7 days in. The craves are up and down. I have no desire at all for the "first of the day" fag but then that was never really my favourite. This is one of my reasons for believing that, in my case at least, the craves have got little or nothing to do with the need for a nicotine hit.
My craves happen as a result of specific triggers, although some of them have stopped being triggers. Dinner was a biggie but now it's only about 10 mins after I finish my dinner (and come on here) that I realise that I have no desire for a smoke at all. I've also noticed that getting off public transport (I use local trains a lot) is a HUGE crave moment, especially seeing the other addicts lighting up as soon as they're out of the station.
I just take a couple of deep breaths and a swig of whatever I have in my drinking bottle (I am currently NEVER without a small bottle of water or fruit juice) and the crave is usually gone. Evening craves are a lot worse. I've avoided a social life since my stop although I did spend Sunday evening at the home of friends of my parents helping them out with a few things, and when I left I really did want a smoke, but the 10 minute walk to the station with no shops in sight put paid to any weakness on my part.
Cranberry juice is full of all kinds of good things (antioxidants, etc) and is a very good natural antibiotic. The impact of smoking is system-wide: heart, lungs, circulatory system, brain, gut, kidneys, liver, etc. and it all needs clearing out. And your blood-sugar levels are all over the place. Short of pumping yourself full of all kinds of crap, cranberry juice contains most of what you need. And it tastes "healthy" so it impacts your psychology as well as just the biology.
(I swear by cranberry juice generally and drink cartons and cartons of it all the time, and have done so for years)
I smoked my last cigarette 6 Days, 23 hours and 23 minutes ago. I have saved £63.60 by not smoking 278 cigarettes. I have saved 23 hours and 10 minutes of my life.
I have stopped now for 7 days and trust me it's been a long slog, vivid dreams and every one accompanied with a work colleague, great enough to make me start all over again!
Hacking cough, jittering, lack of concentration and an irksome mood. I have though managed to go so******ing have a drink and still not crack, that was one thing I had to solve first as I'll be darned if no smoking was gonna mess with the pub!
Orange juice helps me I drink gallons of it while at work. Also every time you have a craving sing a song, apparently you can't think and sing at the same time - it will be interesting to see what song you sing, mine was 'lets go fly a kite' subconscious wanting to be high on something!
Also every time you have a craving sing a song, apparently you can't think and sing at the same time - it will be interesting to see what song you sing, mine was 'lets go fly a kite' subconscious wanting to be high on something!
Interesting, I've found myself singing to myself to get over craves, too.
The song I currently can't get out of my head is "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir" from Sweeney Todd (I saw the film last week and have the soundtrack pretty much on a loop on my iPod):
These lines in particular keep going through my head:
'Twas Pirelli's
Miracle elixir
That's what did the trick, sir,
True, sir, true.
Was it quick, sir?
Did it in a tick, sir,
Just like an elixir
Ought to do!
while I wish there was a miracle elixir to stop smoking...
I smoked my last cigarette 6 Days, 23 hours and 50 minutes ago. I have saved £63.77 by not smoking 279 cigarettes. I have saved 23 hours and 15 minutes of my life.
That all sounds familiar.... I had a lucid dream about Amy Winehouse last night!!
i knew it was a dream but wanted to stay in it coz she was such good company lol
I'm starting to feel more like myself today, I didn't think so at the time but the last 2 days have been kinda foggy, today probably will be too when I look back on it.
Antifa the reason i'm drinking cranberry juice is because when you smoke, everytime you have a ciggy your body releases stored fats (or something) into the blood stream. I also suffer terribly with low blood sugar slumps anyway, so it's worse when you stop smoking. Plus, cranberry juice acidifies your urine, takingthe nicotine out of your body faster thus... ridding your system of this ridiculous poison and peaking sooner.
Hope that's factually correct.
I'm off out soon. Luckily I live 'int' countryside so can't sneak off to the shop very easily.
I think you should have seen your GP before just taking a few champix, but whatever happens keep off the smokes, you can do it.
Antifag - I agree with Mojo on this, and would also like to add that Champix is doing absolutely nothing to help you the way you are taking it. It is recommended you stop around Day 8 on Champix because that is how long it takes to get into your system and start working.
You are basically doing this Cold Turkey, so good for you - chuck away the Champix and take a smartie a day instead
Bloody hell!! no wonder i'm gasping every 5 mins and eating every 30 mins if thre champix isn't working. This is a very very unvomfortable feeling.
Andy - regarding cold turkey, thanks for putting it in perspective. I am counting every hour at the moment.
If i;m really not feeling the affects of the champix, which figures considering i;m gasping all the time, maybe i should just pop a smartie or not pop anything at all and see what happens.
I am sort of getting use to the feeling and am dealing with it on a here and now basis. As soon as i think it will never go away i get depressed. I am keeping myself positive and constantly assuring myself this empty, hollow, anxious feeling will disappear and it is the nictotine trying to pull me back into the hell it took me to in the first place.
It is nearly 24 hours since I last smoked, i went out to get some lunch, normally i would smoke, i made sure i stayed focus, i got myself loads of grub (as low calories as possible). I did notice something, as i breathed the fresh air it felt.. different slightly, better, more pronounced, my nose was able to take more in, i 'felt' the air inside me more. This gave me a massive boost and am hoping i can ride this journey all the way home!!
Antifag - I agree with Mojo on this, and would also like to add that Champix is doing absolutely nothing to help you the way you are taking it. It is recommended you stop around Day 8 on Champix because that is how long it takes to get into your system and start working.
You are basically doing this Cold Turkey, so good for you - chuck away the Champix and take a smartie a day instead
ooops, hopefully i;m getting a placebo affect.
cold turkey is better anyway hopefully i will recover and be non dependatnt of anything quicker.
Folks I got a major problem i am worried about. My girlfriends family is having an Easter session on Sunday where there will be lots of drink food and SMOKERS.
If i stay focused and do not smoke or drink until Sunday what are the odds I can get through this party without smoking??????!?!
I'd hang out as much as possible with the non smokers, avoid being with the smokers too much (especially just you and ONE smoker - too easy to have a sneaky one!) and avoid too much bevvy also
In spite of the above, or maybe because of it - have a great time!!!!!
Deep breaths, fresh air, healing lungs, no cough mmmmmmmmmmmmmm how tempting is all that?
having restarted my quit today and going cold turkey a team would be the icing on the cake , not round too much but pop in when i can and like the team name
be aware of Day 5 - I found it a nightmare - so much so that I caved in:mad:
Partly because got so focussed on Day 3 being the 'mare & so concentrated on getting past that, lost focus & just thought things would get easier - they didn't!!
Hi folks, I'm in the evening of day 2 and the start of 4 days of easter break.
Cravings are different a very little bit weaker, i can almost taste what it's like not to crave and be smoke free, then the evil nicotine haunts me again, I still want to smoke more than ever.
I am taking each minute at a time.
If i can get through to monday night without a smoke i;m gonna feel great.
thanks for the stress balls/blu tack trick - i think i definitely need something like that to play with - might go shopping tomorrow. I am even holding back on golf saturday because i play with heavy smokers.
If i feel like this on day 5 i'll go crazy, maybe you let your guard down too much. I am taking every single day and every craving each on their own, i have to constantly tell myself I WILL NOT SMOKE. Thanks for reminding me never to let my guard down.
i am finding my behavior is very erratic, i am either going crazy or irritable. My GF has had enough LOL.
I can't wait for the cravings to go so i can concentrate on the psychological and be rid of cigarettes forever.
some of the things getting me through at the mo' are
knowing how uncomfortable this feels and how i don;t want to go through attempting to quit again so i will not start again.
going to the gym and running/exercising for longer - yes seriously i am burning up the treadmill.
being able to smell/breath easier - yes even after 2 days.
and of course this website is great for moments like now when i just can't get the cigarettes out of my head.
thanks for the support folks, i will re focus and reassert, feel better already after writing this post. I will not fail, i Will be FREE.
i just want to be rid of these cravings it's horrible.
good luck all!!!! let's ditch this parasite together,
This is for the benefit of the newcomers including Antifag.
I quit on 12/3 and I am now on day 8.
The three main reasons that I have made it this far are as follows:
1. My own determination to beat this drug addiction.
2. The support that I have received from this wonderful forum.
I honestly believe there is a wee bit of magic here.
3. whyquit.com Seriously, if you haven't checked out Joel's
Library then get over there now....... I said now, move it!!!!!!
Good Luck
Bobby, thanks for the site, i have it bookmarked on my blackberry so when i am not near a pc and gasping i can read it again, great librrar ! 'Never take another puff again' he says it so often you just need to say it to yourself sometimes and the cravings stop.. for 10 seconds. . . LOL well done on making it this far.. and KEPP IT UP.
I may also need that site on sunday night. Folks i may even post a message on here letting you know how it's going, if i get desperate expect a rant!! LOL
i'm on day 7, i'm giving it 4 weeks if i feel the way i been feeling these past 7 days on week 4 i'm smoking.
simple as that.
i'm starting to get tired of this craving and uncomfortable feeling, i cannot concentrate very well and am irritable. it's really starting to piss me off
Um, no you won't anti - fag :eek: I had that exact same attitude and I did a bad thing and smoked today and you know what? It has solved nothing. Nada. Not a thing. All it has done is remind me why I want to quit. I wish I hadn't have caved, but I did. I can't undo it. You, on the other hand, can.
I know its not easy. It is really damn hard. But just work through it as best you can.
sorry to hear you smoked, maybe you needed this relapse to realise how much you actually want to give up!
please don't go back to smoking 20 or so a day.
stop now.
Just don't want you doing something you will regret because regret it you will, unless you actually want to smoke and be victim to the evil weed. I'm sure you don't.
If I could take today back I would but I can't. I have to live with it but its not the end of the world. Tomorrow is going to be another smoke free day same as the last 23.
Keep on keeping on!
One word of advice, try not to watch too many vids. Sometimes, it can de-sensitise you to the horrors you come across. I think sometimes they can drive you to friggin' smoking! lol I think thats where I went wrong a lil bit...I had watched so many videos so many times they had lost their 'shock' impact on me.
Not saying that will be the case for you, but it was for me to an extent. I will watch one now and again, but thats all it will be.
Glad things are improving since day 7 the first week is the worse things will get better now. You will get much more good days than bad promis. Linda xxxx
jeeeeeeees chad you were a few days away from feeling a lot better.
2 weeks is meant to be a great milestone. 3 weeks even better.
Thanks for letting me know you cracked it is ensuring i stay on guard.
again i am having a terrible time on day 9.
it is sooooo depressing, i can't concentrate very well, i can't type very well, i can;t speak very well, i have no energy, i have no motivation, i feel depressed.
it's very very nasty.
i need some time off work i think, i need this feeling to end - it is pissing me off no end. fooking barsteward ciggies have ruined my life!!
i am starting to hate them with a vengence.
i hope i can get through this.
like i said if i feel like this 4 - 6 weeks in i'm smoking.
Just re-read this thread from the beginning and realise that today is nowhere near as bad as the first few days of my quit, i just failed to remember how bad it actually was. Has made me feel slightly better - it seems i am slowly, very slowly weening myself off it.
one things for sure thouugh, i'm still not comfortable and am definitiely still in a battle.
Don’t let my weakness put you off I remember day 7 I lost the ability to type, hold down a sentence, concentrate and felt weak and god forbid I start dreaming of folk I work with all over again, mind if they keep their clothes on it's just about bearable!
But a break with my Mother and I am really surprised I aint on heroin!
But back to the drawing board... I started so I'll finish and I am finding this forum selfishly hilarious knowing I'm not on my own...
Don’t let my weakness put you off I remember day 7 I lost the ability to type, hold down a sentence, concentrate and felt weak and god forbid I start dreaming of folk I work with all over again, mind if they keep their clothes on it's just about bearable!
But a break with my Mother and I am really surprised I aint on heroin!
But back to the drawing board... I started so I'll finish and I am finding this forum selfishly hilarious knowing I'm not on my own...
Well Chad remember this hollow, vacant, corrosive feeling, this time when you get back on your stead make sure you don't fall off.
Let;s ride this baby home - stay clean, stay strong, no retreat nor surrender!!!!!
Don’t let my weakness put you off I remember day 7 I lost the ability to type, hold down a sentence, concentrate and felt weak and god forbid I start dreaming of folk I work with all over again, mind if they keep their clothes on it's just about bearable!
But a break with my Mother and I am really surprised I aint on heroin!
But back to the drawing board... I started so I'll finish and I am finding this forum selfishly hilarious knowing I'm not on my own...
LOL
I'll be honest with you, i have never had so many dreams that i can remember so clearly when i wake up, feel sooooo real, are so varied and so common as i have when not smoking, it is worth it just going to sleep and wandering what you're gon ]na drream of next.
I'll be honest with you, i have never had so many dreams that i can remember so clearly when i wake up, feel sooooo real, are so varied and so common as i have when not smoking, it is worth it just going to sleep and wandering what you're gon ]na drream of next.
Brain must be in overdrive.
Me too, the dreams are insane and i feel like i haven't slept in weeks. Soooooo tired!!
sunnyserpent said yesterday about 'mustard'. I've heard good things about it. You can get it in health shops and it's a bach flower remedy. It will lift your mood if nothing else and help you be a bit more cheerful. You are still functioning and trying to help others so it's not full blown depression, you're just feeling a bit low because quitting smoking is traumatic on some level.
Soooooooooo really pleased your still with us and out of the black cloud hope youve see the last of it. I know too well what it feels like not nice. Maybe from now on it will be blue skys for us all you too nicky. Linda xxxxxxxxxx
Oh yes a very dark dark cloud - i hope it's passed more than anyone.
One thing is that it is a stark and clear reminder of exactly how bad those first few days were - i feel great i have lasted so long and for anyone just starting out please remember it DOES get better you do not really realise unless you observe someone else giving up or keep a diary of how you feel every day.
My diary is this site and this thread.
Thanks to all for the input and support with my quit.
I'm going to try and get through without any anti depressants.
I do feel a hell of a lot better now but the past few days have been horrendous. Very very very low.
If I ever start to feel that way again, believe me I will be straight off to see the herbalist.
I know what you mean about the blues AntiFag. I quit with Champix last October and had a really rough time with the depression side, crying at the drop of a hat about all sorts of daft things and feeling like I was in a black hole, but I'm glad to say since the sun has come out my mood has started to lift. I didn't take any anti depressants as I hate taking tablets but the herbal remedies sound really good as an alternative.
My GP (who quit himself a lot of years ago) told me that stopping smoking was an extreme emotional rollercoaster but if you hang on in there you will start feeling normal again, for me its taken nearly 6 months but everyone's different, I'm just so chuffed that I've come out the other side, the depression was awful but worth it to be a non smoker :D:D.
I know what you mean about the blues AntiFag. I quit with Champix last October and had a really rough time with the depression side, crying at the drop of a hat about all sorts of daft things and feeling like I was in a black hole, but I'm glad to say since the sun has come out my mood has started to lift. I didn't take any anti depressants as I hate taking tablets but the herbal remedies sound really good as an alternative.
My GP (who quit himself a lot of years ago) told me that stopping smoking was an extreme emotional rollercoaster but if you hang on in there you will start feeling normal again, for me its taken nearly 6 months but everyone's different, I'm just so chuffed that I've come out the other side, the depression was awful but worth it to be a non smoker :D:D.
Keep going, it does get better, PROMISE :).
Carol xx
Caz
THANKYOU so much for your response !!!
it gives me so much hope to hear from people that have been in the battle for a whlie and are WINNING the WAR, especially the reassurance to know there is light at the end of the black hole.
You guys are great and have been amazing - let's all stay true to our goal.
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