I quit smoking

[pockets]

I quit smoking May 3, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. It is now May 6. I am miserable. My daughter hates me, and I hate myself. I don't want to go back to that cig. It costs to much. I really didn't like the way it tasted, the smell in my hair, or on my daughter. She is only 9. She defineatly shouldn't be smelling of smoke. It is like they are calling me to smoke. I need help. I need your stregnth. I am doing this cold turkey. No, smoking aids. I was scared that I would just get addicted to those.

[2big4mysize]

good for you Not only does your child smell of smoke when you smoke she actually has measurable smoke products in her blood too which effect her health too so you are really quitting for both of your health and well being.

Make a deal with the kid. Ask her to be opart of your quitting smoking support team. Figure out how much of the cig money you can still aford to spend and get a jar and each day add money you didn't burn up to it for a special treat say every wek if it is a big amount or every month if it is a smal amount for her and you to enjoy as money and me time. Then let her plan those times and do it.

Peter should be alonf soon with the name of that book I posted in your journal about if you haven't already found it in here reading all the great quitters posts.

Hang in there you can do this after all you have already overcome your carb addictions so you know you are a strong person when you set your mind to stopping your addictive behaviors.

Happy smoke free low carbing!

[Laurenfra]

Drink water. My DH is sucking it thru a straw. He says that helps with the whole needing a drag thing. And if you get addicted to water then good for you. When you get real pissy send your daughter off to do something fun and come here.

I would explain to your daughter about withdrawl and how horrible it makes you feel and act. I know it can be hard to admit but seeing their dad act this way has made my kids swear off cigs.

[Laurenfra]

If you're reading this and you're still smoking go to www.amazon.com And type in "The Easy Way To Stop Smoking" you don't have to buy it just read the reviews by people from all over the world.

This is the book I think toobig is talking about from Peters post

[pockets]

I promise you this addiction is worse than carbs ever thought about being. I am wondering if this is what people with drug addictions go thru. I have tried to quit many times before. (just like with the diet) This time I have support. I didn't realize so many people out there are fighting this addiction too.

[2big4mysize]

yep the cig companoes new nicotine was addictive and even tried to develope tobaco with more nicotine in it to keep you addicted. you are just like a drug addict going through withdrawals with real physical and psychological symptoms. Exercise can help you use up the chemicals your body is making while dealing with this and it also generates some cool endomorphins to sooth your brain a while.

Seriously talk and explain momy's sudden strange behavior as many kids think they did something bad to cause stuff.

[Peterlock]

Hi Pockets, :wave

First congratulations!

Believe me I know how this feels, I know how hard it can be. I quit a 3 pack a day 30 year nicotine addiction just six weeks ago - and I quit cold turkey.

You're setting a wonderful example for your daughter by showing her that this, like any addiction can be broken all you have to do is want it. You have to want to live without a monkey on your back, without pulling those toxic, lethal fumes deep into your lungs and body - but you know this already.

Remember, the physical withdrawal from nicotine is worse in our minds than anyplace else.

I'm not saying it's easy or comfortable but it doesn't wake up in the night, it doesn't reduce us to crying and screaming in agony as the withdrawal from so many other drugs would do. Instead it's kind of a mild, hollow feeling, very similar to hunger which is one of the reasons people gain weight when they quit.

I never knew this, but it's true and it helped me, it helped me to know that nicotine only lasts in your body for 72 hours and then it's gone completely, your body won't crave it anymore - you'll still have cravings but they'll be psychological and there will be no pain or discomfort.

The average craving lasts about three minutes max - so keep riding them out the best you can.

The worst is over, it really is. The first two days are the toughest. The third day a little bit easier. Just take it one day at a time or if you need to - one second at a time.

Quitting cold turkey is the best way to do this, using patches and gum only prolongs your quit over weeks and allows the Pharmaceutical companies to profit. So never question your choice because you couldn't have made a better, braver or wiser one.

Please take a look at this website: www.whyquit.com

It has so much vital information you're bound to get some help and relief just by paying a visit.

You can also call the American Cancer Society Quitline 1-877-44U-QUIT
(1-877-448-784 anytime 24/7. They offered to send me some information and I said sure - a few days later this huge box arrived with tons of materials, books, progress calendars, self help tools - it's pretty unbelievable and it's 100% free.

They're there to help you, even if you just feel like talking or venting or yelling it doesn't matter they're there for you so don't be shy about taking advantage of it.

You can do this, you can break this disgusting addiction and never look back, you're half way there already so just keep going.

Every time you feel the urge to smoke that's your addiction screaming for a fix and each time you deny it - it becomes that much weaker until it finally dies.

And you can have the distinct pleasure of dancing on it's grave.

So hang tough because this really is the worst of it and you're going to come out of this feeling better than you can imagine - I guarantee.

Peter :hug

[Peterlock]

Hi Again Pockets, :wave

Ooops I forgot a few things!

Lauren and 2Big are exactly right about the book "The easy way to quit smoking" by Allen Carr.

I didn't read it until the third day into my quit, it had a profound effect on me and I know has had a great deal to do with my ability to remain smoke free. No gimmicks, No scare tactics and No preaching, it just works.

95% of the people who read it - never pick up a cigarette again. Allen Carr is to nicotine what Dr. Atkins is to Carbs and sugar. I think having the book will help you a great deal. It's not a difficult read at all, in fact you'll find yourself laughing out loud more than once.

You can order it from Amazon.com but most any of the large book sellers should have it in stock I bought my copy at Barnes and Noble but Borders carries it as well.

I think it would be great for you to have over the weekend - you might want to think about getting a copy.

Peter :joy <--cheering you on!

[pockets]

When, I saw my responses. I just started to cry. I knew there were some really good people here a the ADBB. Here you come and support this whining, crying, ranting big ole baby. I will be honest I had no idea how much this nicotine has/had me. I still haven't smoked at 6:00 p.m. central time. I will have made it 72 hours. Thanks to Peter I know that the withdrawals will be gone. Or maybe it is the nicotine. The cravings will be there. I have talked to my daughter, and she knows it is the cigs making me so mean. She said she would rather me be mean for a little while then die from smoking. I am going to take her to the fair tonite. She is wanting pic with the baby tigers. Hopefully, that will make up some for the horrible way I have treated her.

Does it bother you to walk by someone who is smoking? What are some of the first benefits you noticed?

[Peterlock]

Hi Pockets, :wave

I think you're sensational, gutsy and brave. Just hearing the remorse you have over your treatment towards your daughter makes me believe whatever happened is worse in your mind, as it would be for any loving and selfless parent.

Do yourself another favor and forgive yourself, after all your daughter has so why shouldn't you?

I'm a recovering alcoholic and addict - clean and sober for six years now and can tell you that cigarettes have been one of the most complex, insidious and evil addictions in my life - and I'm really just beginning to understand the addiction and why it was so difficult to stop.

Here's what you can expect:

The physical discomfort will be gone after you've been free of nicotine for 72 hours. But you'll still have to battle psychological urges. Think how deeply smoking has been ingrained into our lives. We get upset we light up, we light up to relax (which is insane because nicotine is a stimulant) we think somehow smoking after a meal is pleasurable. I could go on and on with example after example.

But the reality is it's all one big lie.

Taste buds don't recognize smoke as a flavor so there's nothing to enjoy

We say we enjoy smoking and in fact we believe that to be so. But what's happening is that in between cigarettes our body starts to go into withdrawal. We light up, the nicotine acts immediately and we feel better or so we think.

But what really happened?

All we did was relive the discomfort of not smoking by taking in more nicotine. We've confused pleasure with the relief of discomfort.

All cigarettes are is a delivery system for nicotine which is one of the most addictive drugs on the planet. And certainly the most lethal. Just imagine, more people die from smoking than heart disease, AIDS and Cancer combined.

More people have died from cigarettes than all the people who perished in World War one and World War two - combined

Yet despite this staggering data, I smoked three packs a day year after year for thirty years.

As usual I digress! I'm sorry but I'm long winded!

You asked about what to expect and you deserve an answer, here's a quick run down based on my experience.

After the physical withdrawal pangs end you'll start to feel better. Your body actually begins to heal itself within an hour of your last cigarette

Expect to feel tiered and maybe even a little blue for the first week or so. It's a natural response vitamin B helps - I take a complex so I get all the B's but it's B6 and B12 especially - vitamin C is good too along with plenty of water.

After only the first week I noticed one day that my smokers cough was completely gone - just vanished. I was breathing easier and deeper than I had since I could remember.

My partner Sean told me my snoring which was apparently so awful it would wake the dead and make them want to die all over again - was gone.

By the second/third week food tasted so much better I couldn't believe it. I love to cook and love to eat (obviously!) and I noticed that food and drinks tasted much brighter, richer and cleaner.

Smoking deadens your taste buds, I never knew this, but it actually burns them and many actually atrophy and die. But soon after quitting they reawaken, it's amazing.

Then there's new found energy, before I quit I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without having to lie down and recover. Now I'm up to walking 3-4 miles a day and I'm lifting weights. If you had told me I would be doing this 8 weeks ago I would have told you to lay down until your delusions passed.

It feels good knowing that the nicotine plus the whopping 2,000 other chemicals in each cigarette (including cyanide and carbon monoxide) are out of my body.

I'm grateful for the second chance. My heart and lungs never had a say in my smoking I forced those toxic fumes into an already compromised body over and over year after year and I regret it. I know I can't change the past but I have absolute control over the future choices I make and those choices will never include another cigarette.

It's also wonderful not being a slave to them. No more counting them to see if you have enough to make it through the day or night. No more midnight runs regardless of the weather to pick up a pack. No more God Awful stink, no more filthy ashtrays.

No more paying out the nose for the privilege of indulging in an addiction that's going to strip your body of oxygen, systematically destroy your health little by little and then ensure you die in the absolute most horrific manner possible.

So I guess for now that's it - you can expect a better life, a longer healthier life.

You can take great pride in knowing you've reduced the chances of your daughter ever becoming a smoker significantly by the example you're setting right now.

You can expect to feel what it's really like to finally be free.

Peter :hug