General Chat

Kim I had been thinking about it for a while now. One Sunday i woke up with a real bad headache which lasted for 2 day. I had no ciggies for those 2 days, so when headache went it was the thought of lighting that 1st one made me feel sick, so i didn't do it. my OH Smokes, but cos he doesn't smoke Bensons it doesn't bother me. I went on the patches, which also helped the cravings. Julie

Julie , Have to ask this , did you just stop or did you have help? Does anyone else in your home smoke ? I have three here . I even took the drugs given by my Dr . They worked for 3 months , but were originally prescribed for depression . The side effect is a loss of nicotine adiction. Thats why they gave it to smokers who were trying to give up.Problem was , if like me you were,nt depressed it totally screwed up your head ... Kim xx

Well done Colin Like i said you need to be 100% sure, i think if i was told to i wouldn't of stopped. Kim...I smoked for 33 years then dscided to stop. Julie...Thanks to Jeanie who told me im 77 days now

Colin , well done , this applies to all the other people who have the willpower to give up the weed . As a long term smoker ( have tried twice to give up) You have my respect , you also make me feel very weak and ashamed , I am an addict ... Keep up the good work xxx Kim x

Hi Alaina, Hi All :):) Well done to all of you for doing so well and also thank you for being an inspiriation to people like myself. I am not going to come on the thread saying I have quit as such as that would be a lie. I wont make excuses either as I would only be fooling myself at this time. I was allowed to smoke as normal with the new tablets (Champix ) that I am on. This would mean on a normal day without them probably around 30 a day. With the champix I have in all stayed on a bare minimum each day, perhaps four or five I have had an up and down week this week, my emotions have been in tatters at times, I can only put this down to the fact that I was forced to stop smoking because of having to go into hospital. Although in my head I want to stop anyway. The tablets are a blessing in my eyes because I can now actually leave my cigarettes and have done all week in places where I forget I have left them. I no longer carry them to this desk, refuse to take them when I go out and have become pretty stubborn with myself this week refusing to buy them. I was offered a very good incentive by my Tai Chi teacher. Quit smoking and I also get some half priced lessons into the bargain. At the start of this posting I said I wouldnt lie and say I have quit at this time, I have still had occassional cigarettes. My cold turkey day is tomorrow. At that time the tablets also increase. In my mind I am now more ready for that then at any other time. The tablets are a definite help for me, they have taken away the craving feeling already and as far as I am aware I have had no real symptoms for days of withdrawl either. Habits make me think now and again but that is all they are a habit of picking up a ciggie when I am doing a particular thing. Colin :):)

Well done Alaina you are starting to get the benefits of not smoking, your breathing has improved, your hair and clothes should now not be smelling of cigarettes, though you might not notice I am sure your friends have notice that you skin is looking better and your sense of taste is coming back, you now have money that was literally going up in smoke. James

Hi Guys Not been on GR for a bit been exploring other parts of the world wide web! Jeanie congratulations on getting to 3 months how do you feel in yourself? do you feel fitter? I read the Alan Carr book before I did my first attempt at quitting last year unfortunately it didn't work and I only lasted a day or so, this time round I ordered all the information I could from the Go Smokefree website, it's all free and I found it really informative, have you had a look on there Clare? just google go smokefree and it should bring the website up, this site is government run so all the info is from the NHS, also if your having trouble Clare have you tried speaking with your GP they may run a support group and they will help you out with getting patches etc at a cheaper price. Hi James - unfortunately I am not blessed with children of my own yet that's why I still live with my mum, there is no way that she will give up smoking she has an addictive nature, i won't go into details but she has been hospitalised because of her other addiction in the past and that did not stop her continuing to do it so she will not give up the cigs aswell. anyway I have seen her have to go without cigs in the past and believe me it is not a pretty sight so I would not push her in to giving up in a hurry! I'm doing really well anyway now and I'm managing to block out the smoking that is going on around me at home, it has been over 2 weeks since I had my wobble days and I have not even been tempted to have one I'm so proud of myself. My Quit Keeper is telling me that I quit 1 month, 2 weeks and 4 days ago which is 48 days in total, I have not smoked 1,421 cigs, I have saved £325.40 and I have saved 5days and 30 minutes of my life! I am starting to feel the health benefits aswell, i feel fitter and have been going for regular power walks in my lunch hour and after work and not getting breathless. Alaina xxx

Hi Jeanie I'm about 70 odd days now,

Hi Alaina, have you got any children/grandchildren who can work on your mother, by saying to her, that they want her around when they grow up, not just a picture? It also helps to mark off on a calendar each day, then you have a visual reference as well as the Quit Meter, your pride in your accomplishment will help you to keep on the straight and narrow. There is no such thing as 'One little cigarette won't hurt' it does and before you know you are on the slippery downward path. James

Will be constantly running behind u lot!!! lol Its true what Alan Carr says - dont know if youve read his stuff (I have!!) but when you have given up and see others doing it, you think they are suckers!!!! Well thats how I feel - a right sucker for keep on doing it. Keep this in mind if you feel tempted to have one. I have a quiet day today, so Alan is just coming off the bookself, I think I am in a better frame of mind for him to sink in a bit better this time - heres hopeing!!! Clare x

still no smoking but feel like strangling everone thought it got better

Well done Jeanie - I am soo jealous. I have to stand up and be counted - fell off the wagon BIG time in the last coupla weeks. BUT I am slowly getting ym head back round it, and am back to square one with the online quit meter. I can kick myself, coz I was doin quite well. I think Alan Carr my also come out today - see if a bit of hardened gentle persuasion can help!!! Well done all, keep going, I will be trying to catch you all up!! Clare x

Well done Jeanie.......Julie

Hi jeanie - talking to yourself again eh? lol It's was brothers turn for the computer last night even tho his girlfriend was hogging it coz she's addicted to my space so I didn't get chance to get on and reply. I wish i could see the benefits of me not smoking now i'm still skint! but at least I managed to buy my ticket to go to Germany I would never have been able to afford that if I'd been smoking! I feel sorry for my mum at the moment she is an harden smoker and will not give you yet she is as skint as I am, she has just asked if she could borrow 2 quid and I really had to put my foot down and say no, I've got to get the bus to work this week so need all the money I can, she'll only spent it on baccy and I just think why should i have to pay for her habit when I've beaten my own? can't wait till pay day anyway, I'm getting a nice fat bonus at the end of this month, plus I pay my last payment on a car I haven't had for 3 years (it's a long story) so aswell as going on holidays on the 4th of June I'm gonna have a mini shopping spree aswell, hurrah up pay day lol Colin how you doing hunny? Also others like Clare, Maz, Gwen? Right off to work now to earn some more! Alaina xx

Hi all, hello Colin, it helps to get The Quit Meter, which tells you how many you have not smoked, the amount saved and the life expectancy achieved, it also reinforces the will power and pride by telling you how long you have not smoked, by admitting to everyone you have stopped/ing smoking you will not want to let them down. As soon as you can get rid of any cigarettes, because if you have them then you WILL smoke them, The brain is a creature of habit and the hand will go to a cigarette without you noticing it and NICOTINE has got its fix. Keep reporting on here as it is another reinforcement. The exotic dreams have been reported by several people who are stopping smoking, the extra oxygen is also helps to improve the gums especially with loose teeth which occurs later in life and is another thing they do not advertise James

Morning All A very strange thing has happened this morning for the first time since i quit I didn't think about having a fag this morning when I woke (this has been my first thought every morning for the first couple of seconds) and i have got a sore throat, now where did that come from? I use to get sore throats all the time when I smoked but I swear I have not had a cig and I wake up with this! All I can think is that I'm breathing deeper when asleep and it's dried my throat up. I slept quite well last night for a change, the dreams are getting better but i have had some strange ones believe me! I'm not sure if I have mentioned but I have decided to put all this free time i have by not smoking into getting fit, I adore walking and use to go on quite alot of hikes with my dad and brother so I have decided this is the best form of exercise for me, i clocked up over 11,000 steps on my pedometer yesterday by going for a 20 minute walk at lunchtime yesterday and a 30 minute walk when I got home last night. so if you feel you are at a loose end because you not smoking and you want to change your routine a bit get up and move, go for a walk, the nicotine craving soon passes if you give your brain something else to focus on. anyway I'm off to work have a great smokefree day! Alaina xx

Hi Colin and Jeanie I was wondering how you were getting on today Colin I was going to post at dinnertime but ran out of time, I have heard of Champix but only recently I think i was on one of the NRT websites click2quit I think it was and came across it then I hope it works for you but well done in taking that first step and actually getting to the clinic not alot of people can't do that and well done for only having 5 cigs that is an acheivement in it's self for your first day I smoked a few cigs everyday in my first week and has the physical side of it got less and less it was easier to go that little bit longer without one. What you need to do now is make the area that you have your computer in a smoke free zone, get rid of the ashtrays and lighters if you do feel the need to have that cig then go outside or some where else away from your zone, I started by making my bedroom a smoke free zone I got one of those ambipur plug in things and shyt my door every morning so that smoke from other areas of the house couldn't seep in, unfortunately I could not make the computer area smoke free as it is in the dining room and my brother uses it aswell so there is always an ashtray about, I have now got in to the habit of having a go at him everytime I find it there and I move it away before I go on the computer! Thanks for posting and letting us know how you are getting on Alaina xx

Hi Alaina, Hi All.:) A quick update on how things went today. I have smoked about 5 cigarettes today after refusing to buy my usual. I visited the non smoking clinic this evening and was prescribed what appears to be a new medication called Champix. Apparantly this is more affective the Zyban which I once tried and had side affects off. The new tablets work by firstly reducing the side effects of the nicotine withdrawl and then by preventing the actual addiction of nicotine. Very highly praised by the nurse at the clinic but time will tell. I must admit I took one of these when I first got back from the surgery and already I am losing the wanting of having a cigarette. I now have some habits to break to go with the tablets, including not lighting up as soon as I use the computer :) Jeanie, Thank you for your good luck messagge and well done to you on stopping smoking. I hope things go well for you and wish you better health in the future Colin :):)

Jeanie - I got my fingers crossed for you hunny I'm sure everything will be fine x My grandad had to have some of his left lung taken away last year because of smoking for years and then he developed pneumonia he's better now but not 100%, my nan was really pleased to hear I'd stopped smoking she has been begging all her daughters for years to stop 3 out of the 4 smoke.

Colin Do you know what, it wasn't that hard. But i think it was only cos i was 100% sure this time it was what i want to do. Take Care Julie.