I think I'm the most weak-willed person on the planet.

[thefuzz]

Why do you want to quit?

 

[Chimera]

I hate every last stop smoking gimmick. You know why? My opinion is that they exist purely to give you something to blame.

At some point, you have to realize that if you don't buy them, don't bum them, don't light it up, and don't inhale the toxic poo, YOU WILL NOT SMOKE.

I know it sounds stupid, but once I realized that, quitting was easy. 2 days of nicotine cravings and I was done. Instead of "oh the patches/gum/lozenges/gradual withdrawal doesn't work; try something else" routine, I came to the realization that it's me putting that poo iny body.

I'm sure you can hold in a fart for five minutes. You can ignore a nicotine craving for five minutes, then another five minutes, and another, etc.

[Khyber53]

On 10/26/2015, 6:42:55, stankowalski said:

CAN'T QUIT SMOKING!!  I detest smoking now, but somehow am unable to quit.  This isn't a cry for help, it's more a statement of fact.  I've tried at least 20 times and rarely make it past a day.

I quit three years ago after 26 years of pack and a half a day. I went the Nicorette route and just switched over. The first three days were the hardest, but the nicotine/gum combo was enough to see me through. (And I had tried unsuccessfully maybe six times before, including using that horrid Chantix stuff). 

I did, however, get hooked on the gum, since it has a dose of nicotine in it. It took some time, but I transitioned down to the lower dose and then just transitioned to regular gum. The whole process took about six months but now I am out and haven't slipped up a single time.

It works. One BIG word of advice, though. Do NOT buy the store brand nicotine gum. Get the nicorette. It makes a huge difference. It costs more, but the store brand stuff is so bad, you will give up just to quit chewing it.

 

[SOJA]

Basically everyone who has been addicted and found a way to quit is going to give you a slightly different answer, because everyone is unique and motivated differently. 

All I can say for sure is that I'm proud of you for choosing to try to quit, and while its not easy, you can do it. Try speaking to your general practitioner about it the next time you are in for a visit and I'm sure they would be more than happy to give you some helpful information and advice. If they don't then find yourself a new doc. 

[ClawOn]

On Tue Oct 27 2015 14:49:12 GMT-0400, stankowalski said:

Tried that and it gave me horrible nightmares...bad enough that it would wake me up 2 or 3 times a night...and I already have sleeping problems as it is.

The thing that gets me every time is that it literally l feels like I lost a loved one.  I know that sounds stupid but it depresses me somehow when I go without for a day or two.    

I'm the exact same way with sleep and had the same reaction to chantix. Doesn't work for people like us. I've cut down a bunch. I only let myself smoke at exact certain times every 3 hours. Limits me to 4 or 5 cigarettes a day. 

[iBBB]

(FYI, I've smoked for 7 years, and before I quit, I've been trying to quit for over a year)

I would quit smoking multiple times, only to find myself say "I can do whatever I want", and pick up smoking once again.

 

When I finally got so tired of it, I tried something really weird and it worked for me.

 

Here's how I tricked my smoking addiction:

- a few days before you quit smoking, completely stop consuming any sweets  and quit sugar intake all together. I mean 0 sweets. no sugar in coffee, no candy, nothing sweet at all. 

- make a mental decision to quit smoking and just stop smoking. 

- tell your self, out loud, repeatedly, " I am not a smoker" as much as possible or you allow yourself. 

- as soon as you crave smoking real bad or are around a setting where it reminds you of smoking, eat something sweet. Cover your craving for cigarettes with that of sweets. Don't eat too much, just enough to satisfy the craving that started for smoking but ended being satisfied with a small dose of sugar you have been actually craving. 

- after 7 days, you are no longer a smoker my friend but don't stop the process. Before you know it, months will pass by and you will be a smoke-free man. 

 

This is what actually worked for me, no patches or other bs. If you don't ever eat any sweets or you dont care about sugar altogether, you might substitute it with something else that is part of your diet. Idk, maybe coffee or something else. 

 

Good luck.

[lightsout]

I'm actually quitting dipping as of today after almost 10 years of doing it. I quit once before, but started back after about 3 months because I figured "well, I can do whatever", much like somebody else said.

I fancy myself as strong-willed, though I know it's not entirely true (else I wouldn't have ever become addicted to nicotine in the first place). I have about half a can left. I left that much on purpose. I'm just getting off work, so I'm throwing it and the spit bottle away and then taking off the trash the second I get back in the house. Idea being that I'm committed to this and I don't need the crutch of keeping a little just in case the cravings suck. I'm also cutting out sweets for this week (hard for me, as I LOVE sweet tea) and drinking only water. Nothing else. No juice, no Gatorade, no tea, no soda, no beer. Just water.

Water cleanses your system. You'll pass the toxins. When I say I'm drinking water, I have a liter bottle of Deer Park that I'm refilling. The goal is 6 liters of water per day. I get my strongest cravings post-meal, watching TV, while gaming and driving. Easy solution on a couple of those. While at home, whenever I crave, I'm drinking water at a higher rate. If that doesn't satisfy my craving, I'm doing 10 pushups and 10 situps. I'm a gym rat, so I'm basically replacing nicotine with a healthy alternative to get my mind off of it.

While driving, I'm going to keep gum and nuts in the car. Oral fixation satisfied as well as getting protein with the nuts.

I hear once you get through the first 3 days, if you've drank plenty of water, you're good for a few weeks, at least. Then the cravings return, because your mind is saying "OK, we've been without for long enough, you can afford just one". Then you go a few more weeks or months even, rinse and repeat. Fight the urges by staying busy doing something. Make it impossible for you to smoke by not just not having it, but by making yourself too preoccupied to think about it. Hard to smoke and do a workout, or smoke and sit in the DMV. Just find ways to battle through it, even if you have to lie to yourself ("I'm cleaning this entire house, I don't have time to smoke").