I had originally came to this site and joined about a year and a half ago after seeing an add on tv. I never did anything with bothering to come back, read info, etc. I came back today after getting an email from EX, asking me if I quit and if so, to tell my story. So here goes..
I just had my one year anniversary of quitting smoking. I quit on July 4, 2010. I have to admit, it was a heck of a lot easier than I thought it would be, and I can't believe it's been one year already. I went into the long holiday weekend thinking I'll give it my usual half-hearted attempt, smoked my "last" cig before bed, and by mid morning the next day, I'd be down at the gas station buying cigs. And usually I never had a problem sleeping that night because I knew in the back of my head I'd have a cig in my mouth by 11 am. But this time was different. By mid morning I was thinking, hey, I don't even want a cig! So I kept myself busy-let me tell you my bathroom sparkled that day! By evening, I was thinking about cigs, but not really wanting one yet. So I kept going. By midnight is when it hit. Everyone else was asleep and I was laying there awake and bored. And that's when I went out into the living room and cried like a baby-for hours and hours on end. I started thinking what an idiot I was for crying because I couldn't have a cigarette! So I got online and did a search to see if crying was a normal part of withdrawal, or was I going crazy. Turns out the drop in nicotine level is severe the first 24 hours, and it triggers hormones that can make you cry! Woohoo! I'm not crazy! Ok, that's debatable...
Anyway...I did a lot of research. I found out that studies have been done and proved that nicotine is absolutely and completely out of your bloodstream in 72 hours. By this time it had already been 30 hours since my last puff. I figured I'd keep going and see how far I could go. By the end of the 72 hours, I was amazed that I barely wanted a cigarette. From this point on it was all a psychological battle and not a physical desire for a cig. In the past year I have hardly thought about cigs at all. I came across a "quit counter" program that allows you to see how far you have come. It tracks total days since you quit, how much money you have saved, and how many cigs you have NOT smoked. Can you believe in one year I have not smoked 11,000 cigarettes? Yes, I said 11,000. I've saved over $3,000. My husband and I took that money and went away to a secluded cabin in the mountains of Luray, VA over the 4th of July to celebrate my one year quit. I did chew a lot of gum to get over the cravings, and ate a little too many brownie batter blizzards. That has leveled off though as I've gained about ten pounds. Believe me though, I'd rather be ten pounds heavier, than still smoking. I started doing yoga to relieve the stress, when I normally would have smoked when I was stressed. I know now though that smoking only added to the stress and it is only a psychological mind trick that it is really relaxing you. I also reminded myself when a craving would hit about just how horrible my mouth used to taste from cigs, how bad my clothes smelled and that I was so glad I didn't have to smoke anymore. It also helped to remind myself that this was now a battle of the mind and not an actual physical craving and that I am the master of my mind.
And you need a good support group-or at least one person you can count on to say way to go! It really does help to have someone cheer lead for you. My husband will be the first to admit he didn't think I would do it. But besides myself, he is the most proud that I have done it.
There were things along my way, and before my quit, that helped me quit and not even miss it. It is probably in bad etiquette to mention another site here where I got most of my info and quit counter, or a audio book I listened to almost on a daily basis before quitting. If you would like the info, email to my inbox here and I will let you know the things that helped me.
If I can do it, anyone can do it. You have to want to quit though. If you haven't made up your mind to quit, please do. I can't believe how great I feel. I wish I had done this years ago! One thing I'd like to add though is, you have to just feel it in your bones and understand that once you quit, that is it-you can't even have one more puff or soon you'll be right back where you were. Don't play mind games with yourself of, "i'll just have one and that's it". Just quit. You'll thank yourself in the long run.
