my journey

Thank you Wade and great work to you for 49 days. I havent heard of the lollies if it gets hard might look at them.

Hi Debi, first of all my sincere condolences on the passing of your husband, how terrible for you. Congratulations on making the decision to quite, you obviously have huge motivation but it is never easy. For myself I am using champix, 30 days now smoke free and it really helped me - I smoked for 35 years, but champix is not for everyone, use what works best for you or discuss options with your doctor. You can also gets lots of input from this site by just reading through all the messages. You know it is never too late to quit and I can't tell you how great you are going to feel when you get through your first couple of weeks, it's amazing! I wish you all the best and please reach out for support if you need it, the people on this site have helped me a lot!

Hi Debi. It's good to see someone here who is not using champix. I am up to day 8 of my current attempt to quit, the latest in a long line of attempts, and using the patches once again. But I'm determined this time as I am very aware of the damage I have inflicted on my lungs (I have emphysema in one lung) and it will only get worse if I continue smoking. My quitting experiences (plural) have been different from Wades. I find the first few days the easiest while I bask in self congratulation and the obvious improvement in how I feel. But once I no longer cough each morning and my breathing is easier, in a perverse way I persuade myself that it is now okay to smoke again. But I am determined that this time will be different - it has to be. I don't mean to be discouraging, just to alert you to be strong if after a few days the urge to smoke returns.

I have smoked for about 33 years. My father died from emphysema 25 years ago. So I've felt guilty and disgusting for a long time but still continued to smoke. I'm now day 29 of no smoking. I can only imagine how you feel, Debi, after losing your husband. Just believe that you can and think about the short lived pleasure vs the long term gain each time you want to smoke.

Hey Debi, The super market and chemists have the lollies. they come in 4mg and 2mg. I was sucking on lollies all day long not smoking and I tried to go without lollies and then, back to smoking. So I made the decision to go cold turkey after that. And today I'm on day 50

There is all sorts of nicotine aids. the lollies I have mentioned, chewing gum, spray, patches. you could argue vapor from ecig is not smoking but to me it is...

Probably spray worked best but I'm on a pension and thought of it as too expensive. Chewing gum gave me a sore jaw as I was constantly chewing. Patches simply did not work. Lollies were my best substitute when looking for a nicotine fix! But, in the end it was cold turkey for me....

How are you going with this?

Hi Debi,

I smoked for a similar period of time (36 years) and tried to quit a number of times but always went back to smoking having convinced myself that "I was choosing to smoke" and of course " I enjoy smoking".

I have no issues in admitting that I did not have the willpower to go cold turkey and have used Champix this time round. I no longer smoke and I will never smoke again.

To quit is the most important thing and how you do it is a personal choice. Just stick with it and if you get cravings then don't act on them, instead just take 30 seconds to think about the consequences of smoking and before you know it the "moment will have passed". Treat that as a small victory against your addiction and soon all those small victories will amount to you winning the battle. Share your experiences, good and bad on this site. All the very best.

Thank you its great to read your stories. Its going good only 5 days but Im determinded this time to beat it. Surprising I have only had 2-3 cravings a day just keep deep breathing until it passes.

may only have about 3 craving but they are so intense I could rip my hair out and smoke it. Which makes me wonder what do other people find that works sucking on lollies etc. Deep breathing helps but.

Find a replacement for those times when you would smoke, for me it's water or flavoured teas. I like to try all the different ones and they are herbal, so non caffieinated. It's just a silly little thing but for those two or three times a day when i am lost and struggling, I find the tea very soothing. You can do this! Keep up the great work!

I play cards. I can play on the computer or with a deck. I find I can play until my nerves are firm again. I play until I am well and truly over the craving. The other thing I have been doing is cooking without a smoke. It no longer occurs to me to smoke afterwards anymore. I sip on soda water for lapses in concentration. I knit and crochet too. I would like to take up drawing and reading, so there is plenty to look forward to. I have smoke-free outings and smoke-free days.