Question:
tips for quitting smoking

hey, im getting the surgery and I know i need to quit smoking I find if very difficult. Im 25 and have been smoking for 9 yrs. Anyone with any pointers please help. I know that getting the surgery should be enough motivation but its not helping like i hoped...any feedback is appreciated! thanks    — cinamoni (posted on June 1, 2003)


June 1, 2003
Hello Amy..quitting smoking was the hardest thing ever! I know your pain. I have been a non-smoker for 1 year now to the month. I got a nice stop smoking CD by the American Hypnosis Institute and listened to that puppy every day for 2 weeks straight. That's my best advice. Good Luck!
   — Connie P.

June 1, 2003
This is not for everyone, but many of the Doctors I work with had told me about Wellbutrin, an antidepressant that has a side effect to take the craving of wanting the nicotine away. I started taking it about a month and a half before surgery, and about two weeks before, the cravings did go away. My Doctor said if I needed to, I could still take it following surgery, but I didn't need it anymore. You do need to talk to your PCP about taking it, but it did work for me.
   — Melody D.

June 1, 2003
I have smoked for 9 years and I tried several times to quit smoking. I tried quitting cold turkey, cutting down gradually and patches. Nothing worked. Now hopefully I am gettinig ready for surgery and I got a prescription for Zyban. Its kind of expensive, but well worth it. I have not smoked in almost 4 weeks. I also make sure I dont get around anyone that is smoking(for now) and I have lots of gum and mints. Also Find something to keep your hands busy at times when you usually smoked. Good luck.
   — sandyh

June 1, 2003
I smoked for years but quit in May after deciding to have surgery well in Oct the wait was driving me crazy(my excuse) so I started smoking again. I quit with the help of the patch and Wellbutrin on 1/31/03. It was hard with the patch but once I was on the Wellbutrin I didn't crave cigs anymore. Well, I had surgery on Tues 5/27/03 and I thank God I quit when I did cause coughing after surgery is so very painful but necessary to clear your lungs. I wish I quit months before due to the amount of coughing I did. There were 3 of us that had the surgery on the same day and only one never smoked and I didn't hear her coughing like myself and the other ex-smoker. It pays to be in the best shape physically you can recovery is not easy. Sorry to be so preachy but that is my story. Please hang in there you can do it. Peace, Valarie
   — Valarie M.

June 1, 2003
HI Amy: I have been a smoker for 30 years and I love to smoke and realy did not want to give it up however with my surgery date approaching I knew I had to. I am the last person on earth I thought would ever say I quit but I did. I've tried a few times to quit cold turkey and was able to go 12 hrs. without a cigg. but all I thought about for those 12 hrs. was a cigg., I tried the patch that didn't work. Well a friend of mine quit using the nicitrol inhaler (by prescription only) so I purchased it, it sat on my night stand for 2 months well last week I ran out of cigg. and said well let's try it, OMG since then I have not craved a cigarette, I am no moody or anything and it will be one week tomorrow. I can't rave enough about it. Try it!!!!
   — jane O.

June 1, 2003
Well quitting smoking is a "mental thing". Make it up in your mind to quit and QUIT. I just did it cold turkey after smoking for 35 years. I have not been smoking now for 2 years. My daughter quit using the patch. Drink TONS of water. You will make it. Good Luck in your Journey!
   — Eleanore Davis

June 1, 2003
Hi there :) I had smoked for 15 years before quitting, I started very very young and smoked into my late 20's. I quit 5 years ago this past April Fool's Day (the joke's on who? hehe)... anyway, the way I did it, cold turkey, so to speak. But I reminded myself every single day that if I picked up a cigarette that I'd have to go through all the crap, all the aggrevation, all the bitchiness, all over again... and was ONE more cigarette really worth that? my answer each and every time was, Hell NO!.. I haven't slipped once. I have to admit though, I had some pretty compelling reasons to quit. I was engaged to a wonderful man, and had heard the stories of how his grandfather lost his wife to lung cancer which had spread to the brain. How he loved her so much, how he took care of her in their home until the very last day with the assistance of hospice nurses, etc. And how absolutely horrible it was for him when she finally did pass away. I couldn't possibly do that to him... and now that we're married he reminds me frequently how proud of me he is because I quit. I couldn't have a better support system, and I can honestly say I never ever miss it!
   — Kimberly J.

June 1, 2003
It's funny you ask this. I just had a dream last night that I was smoking again and I was so mad at myself. I tried to quit many times using different methods. I was successful s few times for a few months doing it cold turkey but it was PAINFUL. I once stopped for 2 years after hypnosis and then started again one day thinking I could have "one". I had cheated a few times in those 2 years and never really lost the craving for one though the tapes they gave me helped a lot. It was a matter of USING the tapes and as time went on, I used them less and less. I think I would have stayed quit if I put more of an effort into reinforcing the hypnosis. I also tried hypnosis a second time and it didn't work. I have heard that hypnosis is hit or miss and you never know when it will "take". For me it only worked that first time which should have been enough. However, I am now 5 years smoke free, have never cheated in the past 5 years and don't ever crave cigarettes. I quit this last time using both Nicorette gum and Wellbutrin/Zyban after trying the patch (unsuccessfully) about six months before that. The last time I quit started to use the Zyban and supplement with the Nicorette (the taste of Nicorette is initially nasty but you get used to it, it took me a few times to stop spitting it out) on Feb 1 and tapered off until I was only having one cigarette in the morning. (I remember counting out my cigarettes) Then I made a QUIT DATE of March 13th 1997 (I picked that date because I was traveling on airplanes all day and knew I couldn't smoke) and stuck to it. I had my last cigarette that morning. After the first few weeks, the Zyban started to make me nauseous so I stopped using it. I used Nicorette for six months a few times a day though they say to only use for a few weeks (after the first few weeks I used one or two a day). I tapered off that as well. One night I popped a Nicorette in the car (the car was a favorite smoking place) and hadn't had one for about 2 days and it made me sick. From that day (Sept 1997) to now I have been nicotine free. I have a complete aversion to cigarettes but sometimes I crave Nicorette (honestly, I walk by it in the drug store and I want to buy a pack. :)) but it's not too bad. Much better than smoking! Quitting led to an 90 lb weight gain that I could not shed without surgery but I STILL would do it all over again if I had to. Being smoke free is GRRRRRRRRRRREATT!!!!!!!!!!!
   — susanje

June 2, 2003
I was able to quit only b/c my surgeon said either I stop or no surgery, so I quit 6wks before surgery with no problems. I did however start back up a couple months post-op and now I can't quit and I try over and over. Everyone keeps yelling at me over smoking now. I'm down to just a few a day and who knows maybe today will be the day I'm down to none again. Good luck to you!
   — Sandy M.

June 2, 2003
A few enviromental things that helped me quit cold turkey- STAY AWAY FROM ANY PLACE THAT PEOPLE ARE SMOKING-always go to non-smoking sections in restauraunts, bars, stores; get a new purse, it won't have a familiar spot for ciggs; get rid of your lighters and ashtrays; no smoking in the house-not even guests; in your car-remove the lighter and ashtray, get the car cleaned at a full service car wash-interior shampoo; clean all of your windows, curtains and blinds, lampshades, carpets, bed pillows or get new stuff if you can afford it; change your furniture around so it all doesn't look so familiar, sit in places that you usually didn't-if you have a favourite smoking chair,get rid of it; when talking on the phone, don't sit in the same room as you did when you smoked; move your computer to a different place in your house if you smoked while on the puter; make your meals tastey-your taste buds will come alive after you quit ciggs; get as much fresh air as possible for your lungs and breathe deeply. These are things I did and they did help me to not associate many of my daily routines with smoking. If you need a pill, a patch or gum, go for it and use what you can of my suggestion to help make the transition to cleaner lungs. The longer you are smoke-free the easier it is to stay smoke free. I smoked for 20 years and have been smoke free for almost 7 years now. Good luck to you,YOU CAN DO IT, NOW IS AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY WITH YOUR SURGERY APPROACHING:)
   — mary ann T.

June 5, 2003
hi original poster here! Just want to say thanks for all the feedback. Funny thing happened 2 days ago...i had an astma attack for the first time it was horrible...but ive been smoke free now and i dont miss it...i was 2 days out of smoking when it happened so im now 4 days without a cig. I dont really miss it just cant stay in the same place for more than 5 minutes and cant sit on the computer for hours. Believe it or not just 4 days without one and i feel 100% better...im coughing this crap up out of my lungs but I know ill be stronger and healthier in the long run...thanks you guys!!!!
   — cinamoni




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