Longtime exsmokers question

Well, I'm almost two years quit and I feel great. After my wife had her heart attack, I finally made her quit. Now my house is finally starting to not smell. We had to wash and scrub everything. YUCK! I regard smoking as a drug addiction because nicotine does make you 'chill" . But that trade off is a high price to pay since the penalty for smoking is your health and even death. My advise to anybody who is going to or has already quit is to never inhale that drug nicotine again. Life is much better without it. Best of all if my leading example that lead to my wife quitting and them my daughter quit and my sister who hasn't quit yet but is going to. My hats off to everybody who puts their mind over matter which is what it takes to gets off of that drug nicotine. Good luck to you and all and like everybody who's been there says... Take one day at a time. It's a long and sometimes painful journey but the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is your health and your life. Regards... [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/28/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 683 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 19,131 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2390.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 127 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 6 [B]Seconds:[/B] 33

2 years quit today

Lets just face the truth. Nicotine is a drug and smokers are addicted to it. With this addiction there grows an overpowering dependence on it. Once we have the courage to admit that we are addicted to a drug called nicotine the next step is convincing ourselves that we have to break the addiction. Quitting is no easy task even for the strongest of minds. From experience both ways I found that quitting cold turkey was the most effective way of me quitting. Before I had tried patches but they only proved to be an alternate source for my nicotine addiction. They just kept the drug in me, which gave me a good feeling about myself of not actually smoking, but in reality I was still getting the drug, I was still hooked. Cold turkey is not to be taken lightly. Be prepared to lose all your friends. Be prepared to put yourself in agony and to be tormented as your body demands a fix. Yes, at this point you are really suffering and then you know that you really are an addict. Here is what separates the quitters from the rest of the crowd. You have to have a strong mind that will take control of the body and force it to quit. The patch helps you to quit smoking by reducing your nicotine withdrawal symptoms but you are still getting the drug. To me logic says that a patch only prolongs the physical dependency. That's why most people give up and fail. Simply put, the process takes too long and the body is weak and nicotine has a long memory. It's presence will stay with you and tempt you every chance it gets. Now we're back to mind over matter. No matter which way you decide to quit, you have to stay focused and force yourself to quit. Either way it's going to be a long and hard row to hoe and it boils down to how committed you are in quitting. I have been quit for two (2) YEARS today and I have no regrets and yes, I did get back the friends I lost and lost the weight I gained and gained my life back and that makes me a winner. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/28/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 730 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 21,910 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2920 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 136 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 46 [B]Seconds:[/B] 2

I took off my patch!

Cold turkey is the fastest way to quit smoking. It's also the hardest. As I have said many times, it's mind over matter and your mind better be stronger than your body. I quit cold turkey because I figured the fastest way to get the drug out of my system, and the faster I will be free from the addiction. The first week was bad but the second week was worse. Nicotine has a way of not letting you quit in peace. It's a sneeky bastard that creeps back into your life at anything you ever had associated smoking with. After a month you will be doing ok but your thoughts of nicotine will still haunt you for years to come. Like I said it's sneeky and it will always be a lifelong companion, who will always be by your side, and it is always willing to give you comfort when you need it. That's where your mind has to stay strong and fight back. You just have to want to really quit. Good luck... you can do it. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/28/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1009 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 30,280 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $4036 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 187 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 21 [B]Seconds:[/B] 6

Forgot patches today oh dear

Forget the patches and go cold turkey. The faster you get that poison out of your system the faster you will be free from the nicotine addiction. I went the first two days thinking I had a patch on but at the end of the day I realized that the patch had fallen off each day. Since I had made it the first two days thinking that I had a patch on, that made me think that it must be mind over matter and that I could do the rest of the quit without a patch. And the rest is history. Good luck [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/28/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 989 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 29,695 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $3956 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 183 [B]Hrs:[/B] 21 [B]Mins:[/B] 30 [B]Seconds:[/B] 39

I HATE the Patch! Help me kill it!

Stop using the patch and go cold turkey. You will 'quit' a lot faster and just remember that nicotine withdrawal is a temporary phase of recovery. It doesn't last long and better days....much better days lie ahead. The fantastic feeling of freedom and control you'll get when you successfully beat this addiction is worth every bit of effort you give to quitting, and then some. Good luck. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/28/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1066 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 31,998 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $4264 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 198 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 46 [B]Seconds:[/B] 9

Using patches and withdraw

If you are still on the patch or gum, then you are still hooked on nicotine. Regardless of how much you have in your system, stopping the nicotine source will start the withdrawal symptoms. I've always said that cold turkey is the hardest way to quit but it's the fastest way to get it out of your system. Good luck [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/28/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1056 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 31,706 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $4224 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 196 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 22 [B]Seconds:[/B] 10

3 years ago I made the most intelligent decision of my life

It�s amazing to realize that on 05/28/2004 on or about 7 AM I smoked what was to be my last cigarette. To those of you who are newer and especially to those of you who are struggling or stumbling or questioning your quit, always remember that there are those of us who have made it, and you can, too! Do not let your own quit be influenced by others. Someone else may go through the 3 month �ickies�. This does not mean that you will or have to. Others may backslide and start smoking again. This does not mean that you will or have to. I've been every which way looking for the best words, the �key� to success, how to encourage the newbies to stick with it no matter what. Now I quit Cold Turkey and to many, cold turkey conjures up visions of torturous pain, suffering and general drudgery. In fact, it is easier to stop smoking using the cold turkey method than by using any other technique. Cold turkey induces less suffering and creates a shorter period of withdrawal. Once you stop smoking, withdrawal will end within two weeks. Cutting down on cigarettes or use of nicotine replacement strategies throws the body into a chronic state of drug withdrawal. As soon as your body reaches its minimum requirement of nicotine, the body starts demanding more nicotine. As long as there is any nicotine in the body then the body will continue demanding nicotine throughout the rest of your life unless you take one of two steps is taken to rectify it. First, you must stop delivering nicotine altogether. Remember that nicotine will be metabolized or totally excreted from the body and the withdrawal will stop forever. Or, you can return to the old level of consumption and accomplish nothing. As long as there's nicotine in the bloodstream, the body will demand its old requirement. I really hope that this advise helps someone. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]5/28/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1107 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 33,210 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $4,428.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 201 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 13 [B]Seconds:[/B] 23