nd4speed

Hang in there all. Just take it one day at a time. Before you know it you won’t be thinking about them anymore.

Well 10 years and some $18,000 + later…I’m done. There were some hairy moments in the beginning, but by and large the pain and suffering subsides with time. I still get cravings out of the blue but they are pretty mild and most times I’m not thinking about smoking.

In retrospect, the fear of experiencing “the agony” of being deprived of cigarettes kept me from starting my quit for many years. This was of course an illusion created from my addiction to nicotine. While it was very uncomfortable the first week, the experience becomes sharply more manageable after this period. My fears were completely unfounded.

The forum has been invaluable in learning about my addiction and sharing in the pain it causes others has helped me gain strength. I hope you all realize your goal of breaking free from this scourge. The best tips I can offer while battling this include

1. To find support (family, friends, online groups) to get behind you during this period, it really helps to have someone nag/encourage you once in a while.
2. Learn all you can about smoking; you’ll eventually find out that you can’t survive as a smoker. The myriad of facts available will have you come to the realization that it will kill you if you continue to do it. You must accept this as fact; the statistics are irrefutable. If you value life, this motivation will come in handy.
3. Eliminate any and all temptation (bars, partying, drinking, that last pack of “emergency cigarettes” in the house, whatever will set you off) especially in the first few weeks; you wouldn’t put a recovering alcoholic to work in a bar. Same principle. It’s not easy, but hey if you want to make a life changing decision you have to sacrifice a little.
4. Find distractions (breathing exercises, gum, low fat munchies, water, low cal beverages) that you can find handy at all times; you will hit rough spots and you have to be ready to diffuse them.
5. Slowly introduce yourself to exercise (if you’re not already doing it). Some people find the adrenaline rush and exhaustive phase afterwards therapeutic. Give it a try, you might like it.

Best of luck to you all:D

No more chest pains, no more gagging after a short bit of exercise, no more leaving a party or movie to get a fix, no more running to the store for cancer sticks, no more yellow teeth, no more stink on my clothes, hair and fingers, no more ash dust on all my personal belongings, no more metallic taste in my mouth, no more hacking up god knows what, no more incessant cravings, no sign of cancer. Freedom.
Another week and I’m calling it. The door to my new life opens, the door to my old life closes. To you brave souls confronting this demon, keep fighting, eventually you’ll win.