Please let me do it!

you can't use every mishap as an excuse to smoke, so having a smoke is going to fix everything your son's arm will be fixed by you having a smoke and when you get sick who is going to have a smoke then, you wanted to fail you have only got yourself to blame other people have had bigger upsets and have not gone back to the smokes, by the sounds of it smoking has not been kind to you you have a gum disease and bad asthma what is next ?emphysema< i gave myself emphysema. i did not go back to smoking, oh well you will have to start again well all the best and goodluck.

I work in the medical industry and smoking is the hardest habit of all to quit. The top of the list for triggering the need to smoke is stress and that is what makes most of put the cigarette back in our mouths. The addiction is also at the top of the list. Not many would say that smoking is going to fix any of the things in our lives that go wrong but it is the fix we reach for when the stress becomes overwhelming just like an alcoholic reaches for a drink. The tobacco companies have known for decades upon decade that the addiction to their product is so strong that we will keep pouring money into their companies at any cost. Nic, your journey is a personal one with an outcome only you can determine. I really do wish you all the very best in finding what works for you.

Hi NiC Succeed,

It is hard one. I know Id be the same if I did not use the Champix. One of my co-workers was diagnosed with emphysema, she refuses to quit, that is her choice but I just kinda realised that it is not a good thing, a reality check. I had zero support from anyone on the outside, I think in many ways that is what made me more determined I'd tell her my co worker not to be scared I'll do it with you. To this day she still smokes. It was the hardest thing I did but no regrets, I had enough. My mum was in hospital last week she couldn't breathe, I begged her to quit ages ago , but she rebelled with I could get run over just as quick, true , I used to be the same attitude. I was so scared mum was ill. She got antibiotics and x ray is clear now, and she is off the smokes 3 weeks, I am so happy. I have her taking vitamins and just celebrating that breathing is life, don't mess with that ....simple.... it is too precious. A massive part of quitting smoking is psychological you have got to change how you think about them.

The only way is never buy them, do not have any around you. Take is slowly. Revaluate the reasons why you want to quit,write it down, I come up with a new one every week. The next step I would take is give yourself some support using, nrt, champix, gum, but do use something. Sometimes cold turkey can be drastic and can feel final. That is the truth at the end of the day it is final, the end of that behaviour, habit, addiction. I personally found champix gave me the support I needed , to believe that smoking had no power over me. When I thought about smoking like that it annoyed me, nothing as insignificant should rule you choices, your day, your way of coping with stress, boredom. I would not be too hard on yourself , and start again, quitting is something you have to say goodbye too. Do not get disheartened, do not let it beat you. You can and will be smoke free, set you goal, by the hour if you have to , break it up in manageable slots. Good luck and hope you still continue, regain back your power away from the smokes .

Thanks for all your wise words. I will continue to fight and I will get there!!

hi Nic

I'm not quite in the yes I did it category yet as I still get some REALLY bad urges (like whole days that seem as bad as about my 4th quit day!) but I am day 50 quit after 40yrs of smoking.

The habit is one of the hardest things, what do you do for those few minutes while you wait for something? (Deep breaths and relaxing muscles and tension helps!)

A few things I did/am still doing some of which helped me are

1/ rescue remedy (available some chemists) sip/drink/spray whatever, eminently safe helps really well for stress, would even help your son when he broke his arm, plus help you deal with the stress!

2/ I am on zyban, and that did help heaps just to get kickstarted, I don't think I could have done cold turkey

3/ there is a product made by Brauer called 'smoke eze' that is a spray that I find helped too

4/ bach flower remedies, I used 'larch' for fear of failure (which was my excuse to not try!!), plus hornbeam for strength

5/I also had some bowen therapy done, which helps relieve tension and gives a clearer outlook

6/ there is a web site I found called 'cognitive quitting', and their reasoning made sense to me and helped lots initially - http://cognitivequitting.com/ I tried their suggestions and only smoked 2 ciggies the first day I tried it

7/ I spent a few months first addressing all my triggers, so that ciggie I just 'had' to have on my way home, I waited til I got home etc, only one at a time but to prove to myself that those 'have to' I didn't really!

My theory after 40yrs and lots of triggers and lots of habits was everything I could chuck at it I would, as all previous non-attempts scared me too much!

I still have a few things to address to help with the odd bad days, but I keep struggling as I don't want to do those bad days again!!!!

Good luck, the fact that you keep trying is the first thing you need to do on the quit road, so well done for being persistent, you will beat it in the end

The first step is always the hardest. Sounds like something a non smoker would say someone who has never felt the smooth feel of nicotine hitting their throats, their lungs, their body. But its true. Nic Succeed you can do this. Speak to your dr if you havent already get some advice. My dr told me to try patches first as he advised that its better to break the habit first and then fight the addiction of the nicotine. Im on patches doing great i get one really strong sense that i need a smoke maybe thats more a want not a need. Ive started to treat my body with respect and have started excerising and eating right. Ive replaced a lot of tiggers out of my life. So maybe try deleting one trigger from your life each day or couple of days. Good luck i know you can do