4th time quitter
Hi all Im 24 years and have been a smoker since I was 17. my first attempt at quitting was on champix, i took it for a week and it make me very sick, I took up smoking again.
2nd time I gave the champix another go and although it made me very sick, I did end up quiting for a whole year! Then i started it up again after starting a new job, sneaking one in here and there and before you know it, I was back on them again.
3rd time i tried the champix and that made me sick Again so i stopped taking them and started doing it cold turkey. I found this time if i didnt tell anyone i was quitting they wouldnt ask "I thought you were quitting" or "havent you given them up yet". This time i went a whole week without one and I felt great! Then a close family member died and what do you know, I was rifling through the drawers looking for an old packet that might have one cig left. I ended up buying a pack and that was it, back on it again.
Well this time im doing it cold turkey again, im going to change my diet over the next week and smoke 2 less per day. This is day one and iv already had my usual 12 cigarettes. Tomorrow will be 10 until i give up in a week. Wish me luck please!
Good luck. Also try reading posts by others on getting started on the road to quitting. You may be one of a minority who can wean themselves off nicotine by continuing to smoke.
Good luck Caleb. 24 is a great age to quit. I could have quit at 24 but I left it to 44. As well of your health, think of all the money you will save by not smoking between now and 44!!!!
Thanks guys day 2 and i had my first cigarette at 1:30pm iv started a diet of lean meat, salad, veggies, fruit, green tea and plenty of water. Thanks for the support and I will check out the other posts thanks lia!
The reason for relapse is that we are confident that having a puff wont do any harm after quitting for a year or two but a puff is the trigger point. DO NOT TAKE ANOTHER PUFF after quit date....
Agreed james! I thought me having one here and there was no big deal and I was in control. No way. Once I had the first puff after quitting one I had lost control
So you can see where I was coming from. You said it. You had no control. One thing I have heard over and over again on this site is how the craving comes and goes regardless of whether you light up or don't. Lighting up actually prolongs any imagined or imaginary stress you may think you are feeling. Just one puff will send you spiralling back to where you started. Take note of James Myl's comment and advice, not to mention everyone else's advice and encouragement. Or be prepared to burn $100 000 or more over the next 10 years or maybe you can think of something you would enjoy more than the stench in a ginormous ashtray of your hard earned cash. Hang in there.
Good luck, caleb. You and I are at the beginning of a hard but worthwhile journey. Although my current attempt has just begun, I remember a realisation that has been helpful. Just like there are people addicted to other substances, I have to realise I am addicted to nicotine. This means that if I am serious about stopping on (and continuing to stop after) my quit date, I cannot afford to have even one puff of a cigarette after that time, let alone an entire one. It's too risky. Likewise, when I was 'cutting down'. Please don't break your schedule and I urge you to find a medical or other professional or even a fitness or social group that will be supportive and non-judgemental. You are so young and you can save yourself a world of ill-health and wasting your hard-earned wages. I wish you luck!
Also, ask your GP's advice whether Zyban may be a better alternative for you. My GP said it has fewer side effects than Champix.
Good luck, caleb. You and I are at the beginning of a hard but worthwhile journey. Although my current attempt has just begun, I remember a realisation that has been helpful. Just like there are people addicted to other substances, I have to realise I am addicted to nicotine. This means that if I am serious about stopping on (and continuing to stop after) my quit date, I cannot afford to have even one puff of a cigarette after that time, let alone an entire one. It's too risky. Likewise, when I was 'cutting down'. Please don't break your schedule and I urge you to find a medical or other professional or even a fitness or social group that will be supportive and non-judgemental. You are so young and you can save yourself a world of ill-health and wasting your hard-earned wages. I wish you luck!
Thanks lia and suszan. I will keep at my current plan and see how I go in 5 days time. I really want to go a whole day without cigarettes on my quit day and feel good about it. Even today is a strange feeling, I have only had 4 cigarettes out of my usual 12 so I think its a good start! I like this forum, theres plenty of people on here going through or been through what I am about to. Thank you guys
You're doing amazingly! I have another role model to look up to. I've found the tracker really useful. It helps to focus your mind on when, where and why.
Just an update for anyone interested. I did cut right back over the week, sunday was my last smoking day and I had 3. Monday went quite well, I threw all my smokes away and didnt have any! Today is day 2 smoke free and so far im feeling good. I have been coughing up a lot of muck and had 1 nosebleed. Im not sure if this is a symptom of quitting or just a coincidence? Anyway this time im feeling good. I hope I can keep off them and not give into the urge to go back. Thanks!
Fantastic news, Caleb. When I rang the Quitline, I asked for a free quit kit to be sent to me. It has lots of great information in it. It said on page 8 of the Quit Because You Can booklet 'within a week of stopping that your lungs' natural cleaning system starts to recover, becoming better at removing mucus, tar and dust from your lungs.' so that could be the reason for your coughing up a lot of muck.it doesn't say anything about nosebleeds. It could be the muck is from your sinuses but your GP can advise you on any health issue you're concerned about. Keep at stopping, Caleb. You're making the footsteps in which I'm about to tread!
Well I never thought I'd be here again but life happens! Once again I've fallen off the bandwagon and this is attempt number six. Since 2015 I had quit successfully for over a year, then slipped up and started smoking again. I got it back together again and quit for 3 months leading up to covid, then during lockdown I slipped up and before you know it I was hooked once again. I became a secret smoker, I tried to hide it from my friends and family as I was ashamed and embarrassed. I used to hate the thought of people seeing me smoke. I hated the smell I hated the taste, I hated what it was doing to my health. I hated what my kids must think of me I hated everything about smoking but for some strange reason I just keep on going back there against my own better judgement. I came across a book by Allen carr (how to quit smoking without willpower) and wow I rad a revelation. I have completely changed my whole mindset on smoking and I didn't even realise how deluded I was. I though It was just a habit I couldn't kick until I realised I was literally a drug addict. I've stopped smoking 3 days ago and I've made a vow to myself and let my family know that I'll never go back to this horrible lifestyle again I hope everyone on this forum is having some success with Their quit smoking journey, it's been a long hard road for me and I can't wait till this mountain that's been in front of me all these years is far behind me and I can move on. I'm now 30 and If I quit now, my health should recover back to that of a non smoker by the time I'm 50.