Have a drink instead. Now if you next tell us that you are giving up drinking, I will think someone has replaced our Rose with an impostor.

read other posts In a sense I did

NO BEER ALSO! Can we get dna test? At least you still got your coffee, just make it a little stronger.

I have not read the entire thread...so, I hope that I don't repeat what has been said a hundred times..

this is one of the most difficult things that you will do! I have been free of this habit for the past 5 months now...it was very difficult. I did not use the gum or patches...I did use Chantix once in awhile, although I did not take it all the time...

I found that I needed to not sit for very long, and I went to bed earlier than usual. I also took a random shower or bubble bath once in awhile to find relaxation...

I found that my triggers were mostly stressed based...and the car! When I used to travel about 600 miles a week for my job, I smoked in the car all the time...now, when I get in the car, I keep a pen or something to hold if I get the urge...

I started to change around my regular routines...and I stayed away from places where people were smoking.

It is truly one hour at a time sometimes...
It is one day at a time for me still...

I keep a pack of ciggy butts sitting in the house...if I don't have any here, then I tend to ruminate about not having them.

I honestly wanted to quit this time and that was the biggest thing, I think...

You are doing something that is difficult. It is not easy to change so many things in life around a habit, but you are doing it!!

It does get easier, although that really means **** to you right now!!

Good Luck!!

I believe that the benefits of not smoking are going to be worth it for me!!

lighthouselover...congrats!!! that is great. I did find myself looking for buts last night and then I realized what I was doing and started to laugh at how desperate I was. the family got a kick out of it too I had actually (not only) thrown the butts away when I started this but also poured water on them to ruin them to avoid temptation

I noticed I've been trying to sleep more though. it helps pass time.

what is Chantix???? I have been using St John's Wort.



Thomas....no one will mess with my caffeine...one vice at a time I have been getting calls from the bar wondering where I have been. I used to go every Thursday to shoot pool and watch the shuffle board tournaments and hang out with friends. I had to tell them why I couldn't go. They all think I lost my mind as well

Chantix is a prescription drug that actually works at the nicotine receptor level in the brain. I had several friends that used it and it took away the craving, which it also did for me. I know that there are a lot of people who do not believe in prescription drugs, and that is fine. I had a difficult time trying to quit on my own and because of other reasons, I could not "add" nicotine (which is a drug) in the form of gum or patches...my heart went through the roof!!

Nicotine is a stimulant and when you take that away, there can be a "crash" sort of...you may feel that. The withdrawal that you feel is a real physiological response to taking away a drug that has receptors in your brain.

The longer and more we smoke, the more dependent these receptors get on the nicotine. They actually "grow" more receptors to accommodate the drug and the system in the brain that is the "reward" or pleasure center says...OH yea baby..give me more!! I need more!!...so, until these receptors get "hacked down" in your brain...you are going to crave the drug...

This is very similar to being addicted to other drugs...

now, if you have been drinking every day...then your receptors for the alcohol will probably act up a bit as well...these are the "quiet my brain down" receptors...the same receptors that the medication benzodiazapines work on....

the natural stress response in the body also keys some of the coping mechanisms that we have as well...hence, my coping with stress was to light up...

The memory of the receptors can be significant...and nicotine crosses the blood/brain barrier very quick and easy...

Chantix is a medication that "blocks" the nicotine receptor so your brain does not get the message...I NEED MORE!!!


I will look for the links and post them if I can find them...

sorry for such a long winded post, but I tend to babble on and on sometimes...

not at all. enjoy your posts. Thank you for that info. what helped you get through it the most?

I did not focus on NOT smoking at all...I focused on doing something else...I let myself think about smoking, yet I would then refocus to something else.

For me, if I tell myself that I cannot have something, that I cannot do something...then I tend to ruminate about it and end up thinking about it all the time.

I had "quit" several times over the years, but was not really committed to it. I think that is the biggest thing for me, I was committed to it this time. I did not want my house to smell, my clothes to smell...I was sick of my car smelling like a "dead" cig...

I was also sick of spending the money on them..and I honestly could not afford it anymore...I also am hoping to be a grandmother sometime soon and I really do NOT want to smell like smoke around that precious child!!!

I just kept telling myself all the positive things about me not smoking. I believe that it is a very personal thing...what motivates one person means nothing to another person..

I also told my friends not to tell me how bad smoking was for me...that just made me think about smoking...I knew it was bad!! I did not need to hear that...

I also gave myself praise...I was and am proud of quitting smoking!! I do not preach to other smokers at all...I have not found that it has ever helped...


Like I said earlier, I took an extra shower or bath sometimes..I changed my routine a bit...I kept a pack of ciggies in plain sight...I tended not to think about having ciggies then...

I did sleep a bit more, and I think that comes from the lack of the stimulant in the brain that nicotine provides.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/nicotine4.htm

this may be helpful as it explains how nicotine works in the brain...and knowledge can sometimes help someone learn how they can make changes...

It is difficult to stop smoking and I think you are doing great!!!

I know that I am proud of your decision for sure!!!

~Deb

when i quit i think they were around 45 cents a pack (i thought that was too much)

Let's support YellowRose the same as she supports us. She lifts us up, and makes the world a better place for you and me. Just like MJ

She is doing great!!


I forgot to mention that another thing I did that was very helpful was to get rid of the smoke smell..on coats, on my suits, in my car, etc...

I even painted a room that I used to smoke in...

And it kept me pretty busy getting all this stuff done too!!

oh no support is dwindling

rose you still doing it

i know ya can

Don't give up!!

tweet tweet

Still standing by you Rose.

Kit it up. You won't regret it.

Much Luv & support to a beautiful lady who possesses many fine qualities & one that I have always admired from the shadows.May she persevere upon her quest.Godspeed!Cy{{{}}}

morning Rose, how's it going? hopefully you are holding strong.