How long will I suffer?

Question

I'm a little over 48 hours into quitting smoking. My doctor said, "Alex, if you can quit smoking for twentyfour hours and roll it over for a whole week(7-days); the desire to smoke will leave you forever.". I've smoked for about eleven years now; I'm tired of killing myself. At this point - I want to run outside and find someone with a cigarette! Not to smoke but just stand by them and get some of the second hand! I'm sick(in the head)! I honestly hope that this one week method is effective. I can feel my body changin' already! My question is; Has any one else tried to quit and what was the outcome?

Answer 1

Alex, I did it and you can too. I started at a young age and smoked 2 packs a day. Did it cold turkey. Now am allergic to cigarette smoke. Wait until you smell everything really well. Food tastes better. The breeze outside and the flowers, the neighbor barbecueing, all these things smell great after you don't smoke anymore. On the other hand, I see this and I don't like looking at it. People carrying around oxygen cannisters everywhere they go, friends with lung cancer, emphyzema, coughing. You can do it. I'm rooting for you. I learned this little phrase once. IF IT IS TO BE IT IS UP TO ME. The advice from the lady about what triggers the smoking habit is very important to heed also. Carry a substitute with you. Gum, toothpicks, mints, jawbreakers. I'm rootin for you.

Answer 2

alex, only a portion of the addiction is physical. once you're over that, once your body has physically detoxed, then comes the real challenge. it's all about reconditioning your responses to your enviorment. for instance, do you like a smoke after a big meal? do you light up the minute you get in your car? you must identify yor triggers and make an effort to replace that smoke with some other activity. if smoking after a meal is a trigger, then take a walk instead. if smoking in your car is a problem, clean out your car really well, use the ashtray to hold change and you might try carpooling with a non-smoking friend for a while. the way addiction works, is that every time you do something the same way, a groove or pattern is embedded in your brain. the longer you do it, the deeper the groove becomes. when you quit, you are creating new grooves, so it takes awhile to create a groove that is as strong as the addictive behavior you are trying to erase. so while all that may have seemed a bummer....the good news is, you can do this. it comes down to wanting something badly enough. and wanting control of your own life. don't let the smokes control you! good luck! i know you can do this. (ps...that information about the grooves in your brain came from the addiction counseling classes i took in college.)

Answer 3

DRINK WATER....Lots of water. You only have one more day before most of the nicotine is gone. Go for a walk, eat something crunchy,(carrots are great for this). The only thing you have to really believe in your mind is that you are not going to smoke for the rest of your life. Far too many people quit but think they can maybe smoke some day in the future, on their birthday or other special event. If you honestly think that you can do this "some day", you will never stay off. IF , however, you decide that no matter what, you will never take one more puff, NOT ONE ,EVER, then your mind will get use to the idea and soon you will find you hardly ever think about it. If you do have a puff , you WILL regret it , and you will beat yourself up over the fact that you went that long without , only to ruin it and have to start over again.
Walk,run,drink water, eat, have sex,read , talk to a friend, watch a movie, go to the museum...anything but smoke.


Best of luck!!

OH! And if that doesn't work, think of how sexy you'd look with one of those cool holes in your neck.

Answer 4

I've got to give you many kudos!!!!
I've been trying to quit for about a year now, but so far I've been unsuccessful.
The immediate withdrawal symptom generally last for about 3 days. The desires to smoke don't go away for about 2 weeks. I did quit for about a few months back in 2000, and the results started to show within the first two days for me, as well. Then, of course, I ended up having a stressful week and picked up a cig telling myself "I'll have just one." Yeah, that didn't work.
Keep hanging in there, and I wish you the best of luck!
-Pegasus

Answer 5

12 years ago I was weaning myself from smoking.I was smoking 3 cigarettes per day. My doctor told me to go on the patch and quit for good! well the patch gives you the equivalent of 1 PACK a day,so by the time I finished that first box of patches I was smoking a full pack a day.I would have better off not to go to the doctor! Now I smoke 4 to 5 cigarettes per day.I'm not going to stress myself beyond any limit to try to quit.I enjoy it! Smoking 5 a day is no more harmfull than the air we breathe!

Answer 6

ooohhh man !do i know what you are going through!! sad to say i did not quit smokeing till after i had my son,hospital policy was a 3 day stay in the hospital so i was there and could not smoke but i had just had christian so that was the last thing on my mind i had a cool new toy to keep me busy...lol our room was hot the whole time we were there so i sweated alot and i think that had a lot to do with the fact that i did not crave a cigarette.try working out some and help the process along.........lots of luck

Answer 7

You probably should ignore my answer because I don't smoke but I want to help. Keep going but this method may be too harsh. I can say one thing, as a recovering alcoholic a support group can be more valuable than you can ever imagine. And honest to God the groups are fun. You won't regret it. The net would be a good place to start looking. One may meet at your local hospital, wherever. Other people don't suggest it?, screw them. You want to quit and it's not corny but you can also have fun doing it. good luck

Answer 8

I've tried to quit but always start up again. I've know women to go the whole 9 months of their pregnancy without smoking plus the time of breast feeding, then starting up again. I'm trying again so I know your feeling. Just don't give up. Keep your will power strong and I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 9

There are a ton of people that have quit smoking. You just have to take it one day at a time. Just be conscious of your decision not to smoke. I applaud you! Smoking is an addiction so expect yourself to have good and bad days. Just stay with it. Your cravings will start to disappear in no time!

Good luck!

Answer 10

been there, seen it and done it. Everytime the urge struck for the first couple of days I dsitracted myself. The urge only lasts a few seconds if you distract yourself. I just dropped and did 5 pushups, no matter where or who I was with as soon as the urge hit me. I would explain latter. Once I got up the urge was manageable. If it wasn't I did 5 more. Worked for me...

Answer 11

My grandfather smoked when cigs were $.05 a pack...when they went up to $.10 he finished the pack he had and never bought another...He said that he would rather have the dime he would save by not smoking...Good luck to you and just remember that you can do it as long as you have the will power.