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Quitting Smoking.
Blutraserei
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I have made it the first 72 hours, and my cravings based on stress response are going down. There is still, however, the matter of this sensation I feel in my lungs. They feel tender or something. I have taken to using really strong gum and the vapors that ensue from it's chewing as a soothing agent. It works for the most part (because I used to smoke Camel Menthols..the ments that also have a menthol capsule? Smoooooth. Ohgod. Resist.)
I need to know if there are ways other than gum to help curb this, because for some reason when I feel that sensation it makes me want to smoke again. Other tips for fighting of various forms of craving would help too, just in case they happen to me as well.
Just to get it out of the way: I don't have the hand-to-mouth fixation, because I already gnaw a little on my fingernails anyway.
I need to know if there are ways other than gum to help curb this, because for some reason when I feel that sensation it makes me want to smoke again. Other tips for fighting of various forms of craving would help too, just in case they happen to me as well.
Just to get it out of the way: I don't have the hand-to-mouth fixation, because I already gnaw a little on my fingernails anyway.
Blutraserei on
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Nicotine patches help.
Inhale some steamy water for the "inhaling smoke" thing perhaps?
I like the carrots idea. Might help me get a little healthier.
I think I'm over the nicotine for now, but I'll consider a substitute if I figure out that i'm still having nicotine cravings.
And I think that my lungs are just in the healing process and are inflamed. I don't know if steam will help that. It crossed my mind, but I thought twice and figured I'd ask around to see if anyone else had done it.
Best of luck.
Its a filthy, expensive habit, so good luck!
Run the water in your sink until it's hot, then plug it and let it fill. Put a towel over your head that covers the sink and just breathe for a couple minutes... That should help a little.
I would imagine the issue will clear up as your lungs heal.
@Zephos: You could do what I did. Get completely hammered New Year's Eve, wake up New Years and swear off all vice forever... swearing off booze didn't stick, but I haven't smoked a single cigarette in 2010.
I stopped having the dreams where I was smoking about four months after quitting. I honestly haven't had a craving the entire time, but that's unusual for me (I've quit a million times), so I'm choosing to believe that means this time is the last time.
One of these should help you get your menthol fix, minus the cancer stick. They clear the fuck outta your sinuses too!
#FreeScheck
#FreeSKFM
And yeah, the dreams. I used to dream I was flying among clouds of cigarette smoke, and when I woke up I was all D:. I had horrible cravings after such dreams too.
You've got to be careful about stuff like smoking when drunk, having an "emergency smoke" in a very stressful situation etc. You'll be all "wow I didn't even remember how good this is!" and it'll be really easy to slip back into the habit. This happened to me, so that six months after quitting I was smoking again. Maybe I'll try again this fall... or sometime later...
Man, I still have those occasionally, and I quit over 9 years ago. But now when I have them, I always feel bad because in the dream I think, "Man, what am I doing? I broke my streak!"
This is always what happens to me...I'll get drunk and just go buy the pack. I wake up the next morning and am like "well might as well just finish the pack and then quit again." Rinse and repeat. I've found that if I have the gum at the bar it keeps me from doing this...not mainly because the gum kills the craving (though it helps) but because even drunk it's taking a specific action in place of the smoking. Somehow that solves the problem in my head.
What I did was go on bike rides. Short ones, at first, because my lungs just couldn't handle it. I always had a coughing fit at the end, but I think it helped to clear all of that nasty gunky shit out of there. Within a half hour I felt much better than I had prior to the bike ride.
Instead of mini-carrots I chewed on the cap of an ink pen. Worked just as well.
I'm completely over smoking now to the point where I smell a cigarette and just think "That's fucking disgusting," but I still have the dreams where I smoke. Doubt those will ever go away.
"that I must bow so low?
Only a cat of a different coat,
that's all the truth I know.
In a coat of gold or a coat of red
a lion still has claws;
And mine are long and sharp, my lord
as long and sharp as yours."
And so he spoke, and so he spoke,
that lord of Castamere,
but now the rains weep o'er his hall,
with no one there to hear.
Yes now the rains weep o'er his hall
and not a soul to hear.
I would suggest reading this free book: http://ffnicotine.com/free.html
I can be tough to read at times ("self helpy" and repetitive) but it has good information.
Don't use the gum/patches, or any other product with nicotine in it.
I'm about 9 weeks in myself.
Damn, the thing I was going to say and someone already said it in the first post. Carrot sticks are a good thing to do with your hands and are healthy too.
Anyway, yeah it is very hard, you need to remove yourself from the situations where you usually smoke to have any hope of sucess.
He lives on as cheezburger grease in our hearts.
I might try the Vicks inhaler, sounds good. Might even cool the sensation in my lungs a bit too. I am fortunate to have only really smoked for about 4 months now, but it got really heavy here recently, and I decided it was time to quit before the habit got any worse.
I was walking downtown with a lady friend last night towards my favorite pub and immediately had a strong craving because I normally smoke a lot in social situations or in pubs. I did very well and still haven't had one.
I started taking it for depression several months ago. It's worked like a champ in that regard. But I was an on-and-off smoker for a couple years before, and once I started taking it, I found quitting to be almost effortless. That was a nice bonus.
Obviously, you should consult with your doctor beforehand.
Just be aware, though, that if you eat a bag of baby carrots in a day you aren't really being "healthier" than if you ate nothing instead. If carrots keep you from eating potato chips or candy all day, that's "better", but all things in moderation.
The hardest part for me (quit a year and a half ago) was keeping myself BUSY. I only really wanted cigarettes when I was sitting around doing nothing. When you find yourself craving a cigarette, start doing something that takes a lot of attention and activity. Drag out some sort of arts/crafts thing. Mow the lawn. Clean something. Build something. Dont just sit on your ass and think about wanting a smoke.
Well that's just it isn't it? Most methods of quitting smoking basically boil down to getting another less serious addiction to replace your addiction to cigs, then hoping that somewhere down the line you can rid yourself of that too. That's why people who quit often end up putting on weight. Yeah snarfing down a bag of carrots a day isn't ideal but it's a hell of a lot better than a pack of cigs.
The first few weeks of quitting is the hardest part so you should allow yourself to do whatever it takes short of convincing yourself that "just one more" will make it easier. After that ridding yourself of a dependence on carrots should be pretty easy.
He lives on as cheezburger grease in our hearts.