My names Louise, I'm 22, I have been smoking for the past four years and I smoked around 10 to 15 a day as from tomorrow I will be entering my second day as a non smoker. Today (my first day) has been really hard; the temptation to smoke was everywhere and right now I have the most horrendous headache. I didn’t think that it would be this difficult!! I know that sounds pretty naive but I am quite shocked!
My boyfriend and I are quitting together and we are being strong for one another but if anyone here has any tips or encouragement I could really use it.
Thanks
Louise
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Firstly well done to you both on deciding to quit and welcome to the forums.
They key to quitting i believe is to re educate yourself as to the reasons you smoked. It really does help, i no longer see them as something i am depriving myself of but something i paid good money to poison my body.
Try these, whyquit.com & woofmang.com, they really will help.
Also you have almost got to the end of your first day so you know you can do it, and things get easier with each passing day, you really wont regret it hun.
I truly wish i had done something about it at 22 instead of 42 but hey if only you could turn the clocks back.
Stick with it hun, you can do it, you are stronger than the cravings dont give in to them.
Thanks for your support Denise, I figure if I can get through the first week I'll be Ok. I never told my parents I smoked so I cant go to them for support so this forum seems like it could really help!
I'll let you know how tomorrow goes, touch wood it wont be worse! I think I'm just going to eat as much as I can to distract myself. I'd rather put on a few pounds then continue smoking!
I had the same attitude, i just wanted to beat the smoking. What i used and still do are lollys, i buy a bag or 2 of assorted lollys and suck them all day, they really help and the other is chewing gum, air waves has good feed back on here.
Good luck for tomorrow hun, let us know how you get on.
Well done Louise-you are doing really well-day one is so difficult, but it is easier as the days turn to weeks-there are lots of links on here, and you learn alot by just reading peoples threads so keep reading! stay strong and at such a young age-you will really benefit from stopping NOW
Nice one Louise, I stopped for 4 weeks when I was about 21, can't even remember why I started again, but here I am 18 years later, probably smoked about £20k worth of fags since then! That's a holiday every year I've missed out on!
Read the link below to see exactly what you're putting your body through every puff - it's working as a great scare tactic for me :eek:
Thanks for all your messages, today is still technically day 2, day 3 from 6pm this evening. (does it work like that not sure but thats the way im gonna do it!)
Anyway I have been Ok so far this morning, I had a moment when I was annoyed and thought now I need a cigarette but then I realised that isnt going to help my situation what so ever! Which is definitly progress! I just popped into the shop as well and saw the marlborough lights staring at me, I had a pang of loss but then I thought well by not buying them I've just saved six pounds and I'm not poisining myself! I can see now why the government want to take them off display, back when I was a smoker I couldn't understand that but now I completely get it!
Me and my bf are helping eachother at one point last night I said to him Ok lets just go get some ciggies and he said no, then twenty minutes later he said the same thing to me and I said no! We either go through this pain or it kills us is our theory!
My boyfriend is finding it harder then me but he smoked a lot more then myself. We are also putting £5.00 in a jar each day and we are going to go on holiday with the money we save, much better then sitting in a smokey flat!
Anyway Ok so far! It is only midday and I think the nights are tougher so I shall be back then! Thanks for all your support!
You are doing good the first few days are the worse but dont worry it gets better really fast. Just take things day by day and when your having a bad time hour by hour things will improve honest and it will be much easyer. Keep strong. xxxxx
Hey Louise, welcome to the forum. You and your fella both appear to have exactly the right attitude for success! As long as you both remain true to your word and stay strong for each other, then you will be alright.
Your parents don't know you smoked? I don't know what they're like, but if you told them now, they might be mad for a bit (or even the the dreaded 'I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed'... 100 times worse!) but essentially they'll be pleased that you decided to make the best decision you can at this age, and should support you all the way. It's not as if you broke the law when you started smoking at 18.
Distracting yourself is a great idea escpecially when you get cravings. Keep your mind and/or mouth occupied for 5 minutes or so and those cravings will disappear. I chew a bit of gum (non-NRT) and have a glass of water when I do.
The best advice I can offer is READ READ READ. Get to know your addiction, what you might go through during your quit, the health issues related to smoking, and the benefits of giving up the cancer sticks.
Marlboro Lights, six quid? Better off in the jar, love
I didn't tell my parents I smoked because I started at uni and have managed to hide it from them since as they would be furious, it was also a reason to stop I felt like I was really betraying them.
I'm doing Ok, have had a few oh god moments but they pass, I'm finding myself doing a lot of cleaning around the house, which isn't a bad thing I suppose!
We have saved 20 pounds in two days it is stupidly scary how much it costs! Thats a new top for the weekend!
Not long till day 3, I hear its a bad day! I'm scared!
Also just wanted to say thanks for all your support it really helps!
Hi Louise, don't go worrying about day 3, or any other day for that matter, worry about the day you're on, not the next day, or the next week or you'll be forever expecting something that may never happen, use the energy you have to focus on the now, not tomorrow. I sound like a bit of a broken record with this advice, but i've stayed away from caffeine and I think it's really helped (but if you drink a lot of caffeine, just cut down, you don't want to be craving that!). Enjoy all the nice smells, no more hiding round the corner for a ciggie in the wind and the rain, definitely enjoy spending the money on that new top your getting on the weekend. Good luck, keep smiling cos you're doing the right thing.
Hi everyone, I quit at 4.pm on Sunday afternoon and so far doing good on my patches. However I quit on patches (not the same make ones I am now using ) last year for 2 months!! I was so stupid although I didn't think so at the time - was in London it was spring everyone outside the bars with glasses of wine and ciggies. I gave in but am determined this time to give up and never go back. I'm also having wierd dreams and the last 2 nights not much sleep so hopefully someone can tell me this won't last (please). I am 55 (o.k. nearly 56) and have been smoking since I was 13 yrs old!! sounds disgusting and I suppose it is. So pleased to find this forum as I need friends along the way. Will let you know how the rest of my week goes.
I gave up at 6pm on Sunday so we are on the same time line. I had a hard time getting to sleep last night as well I just couldn't get comfy. This site has helped me along the way so far.
Time seems to be dragging at the moment, the nights are the hardest for me.
Anyway I hope you stay strong, wish I had more words of advise for you but I'm having a tough time myself!
I gave up at 6pm on Sunday so we are on the same time line. I had a hard time getting to sleep last night as well I just couldn't get comfy. This site has helped me along the way so far.
Time seems to be dragging at the moment, the nights are the hardest for me.
Anyway I hope you stay strong, wish I had more words of advise for you but I'm having a tough time myself!
Hello Louise, its great to find someone who gave up on the same day, perhaps we can help each other along. I have already found it helpful reading some of the threads and it has made me realise that I'm not on my own. We can do it girl!!
Hello Louise, its great to find someone who gave up on the same day, perhaps we can help each other along. I have already found it helpful reading some of the threads and it has made me realise that I'm not on my own. We can do it girl!!
We can do it your right! I like your thinking! I'd like it if we could help eachother, we will be going through the same thing thats for sure.
We can do it your right! I like your thinking! I'd like it if we could help eachother, we will be going through the same thing thats for sure.
If you need support, I'm always on here!
Louise we will do it together with the help of everyone in the forum so no chance we will not succeed. I'm also going to take on board Nic's last line of his quote that we are not sacrificing anything, we are gaining and we will, health, more money, no smelly clothes, I could go on. So lets be positive and everyday check out what we have gained without having sacrificed for.
Lots of good advice has been said already but can only confirm that reading about your addiction will really help. If you understand WHY you feel like you do then you can deal with those feelings a lot better.
I had some very wierd and bizarre dreams to start with (see my thread in the 'general' section) but they do pass.
The benefits of stopping are already obvious to me. I wake up feeling a lot better, I have more money, I'm not as stressed, my teeth are whiter, my skin feels better, I can look forward to the future instead of worrying about my health.
So it is the end of day 2 or 50 hours of not smoking (I think the latter sounds better!)
I had a few rough moments throughout the night, mainly I couldnt believe how bored I was without smoking but I went on the nintendo and did some cleaning to take my mind off it.
I am worried about my boyfriend though. Tomorrow is his first day back at work since stopping and I'm worried that without me being around he'll crack and go outside for a cigarette, and if he does that, I'm worried I'll join him. I'm also concerned about the fact that sometimes a part of me wants him to start smoking so I have an excuse to start back up as well!
All in all not a bad night as far as cravings are concerned just a little boring!
Anyway off to bed to watch the Sopranos to take my mind off the smoking, although it seems all they do on that show is smoke!
Dont give in yet, you have done 2 whole days, just think about having to go back to day 1 again, not a nice thought :eek:
I found being back at work easier as i was to busy to really think of having a ciggy.
Try to be more positive , have you read the links yet in Nics signature, there are 4-5 there, if you havent then i recommend you read them before you do anything else.
Stay strong hun, you know you can beat this and that you are stronger than that Nico Demon, dont let it win.
Stay strong and don't let what your boyfriend does act as an excuse to start putting those things in your mouth, lighting the end and pulling tar and gunk into your body...Why would you want to?
It's only the addiction calling and it will be over really soon. Then you just have to deal with the habit. We most of us found the first few days were full of different physical effects...how not, when you've been chucking chemicals into your body 10-20 times a day or more.
You can do it, you really can. Think about what you'll do if your boyfriend does start again and give yourself the best chance to sail on regardless.
All the best with it for both of you. Here's hoping neither of you start again!
Hi Louise, I've seen a few people on here mention that taking Nytol is really helpful in regards to getting to sleep. I had a pretty rough one last night, waking up at random o'clock four or five times, then getting up for work which I struggle with anyway :rolleyes: . Also, going for a walk or run, any exercise really, is great for helping tire yourself out a little for bed. I walk 4 1/2 miles a day, and usually crash out on the sofa after dinner, so it must have some help towards sleep!
Hope things are going well. I agree with what Bill said there, don't let your boyfriends mistake become your excuse! I hope you both stay strong!
I know exactly where you are coming from with the boyfriend thing. When myhusband and I have tried to give up in the past I would search his pockets and sniff his clothes in the hope he had fallen off the wagon so I could too. Or, i'd spark a big argument in the hope he would crack and go and buy some cigarettes (by which time i'd probably have a pack of 10 hidden somewhere anyway!) This time I have stopped whilst he is still smoking and its actually easier! I am not expending any energy worrying about him, I am just concentrating on this new and exciting life I now have in front of me. The only downside is he smells like an ashtray! Keep with it and focus on you and the great future you now have free of the control of fags. I am only on day 2 but have never been so determined to beat the weed! Well done! x
Fiona that's terrible, starting big arguments just so your husb would smoke again and then you could too .. lol.
Honestly though, that's happened to me a good few times when I've been trying to quit, sometimes people are jealous because they're not strong to give up themselves, they try to get you to smoke again just so they can feel better about themselves.
What a powerful drug it is that can actually poison an otherwise (presumably) healthy mind so much that you want to damage the health of someone you care about just to feed your addiction. It's one thing damaging yourself. .
In my case it never worked as I suspected what they were up to and just made me think bad of those people, but imagine what your husb would say if he knew you did that.
Yeah I think the best way to give up is definately by yourself (doen't mean without any help however) You have to do it for yourself, you should do it by yourself.
God knows I've had enough experience.
(Hope you're still smoke free Louise, good luck to you.)
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