Smoking - I quit

[whipped]

I tried that once, unfortunatley they did and it really hurt. Stopped me having a cig though.

No smoking tonight Jon. You've got to not smoke in pubs and stuff at some point, so why not start tonight.

 

[Gumbo]

They Speaketh the truth!

Be strong. You're getting there, get through tonight and it's all plain sailing from here on.

 

[Lester]

have one you faggot.

 

[whipped]

Originally posted by Lester
I've had lots more than one cock. Me faggot.

Fixed

 

[Jonny_Darko]

I didn't make it .

I hope people will keep up the support though. It has been helpful, honestly. I did three days cold turkey which was a hell of an achievement given my track record with giving up.

I've started again today. Successfully so far...

The next obstacle is the previously mentioned GAME barbeque. I'll spend all week mentally preparing to get through it without smoking and hopefully I'll be able to.

One of our coders, Paul, is a kung fu-fighting, zen-master, buddhist yogi, and he's recently stopped, so I'll hang around him for the day and get him to talk me round in his scarily calm jesus-like way should I start to freak.

 

[MYstIC G]

Originally posted by Jonny_Darko
I didn't make it

Seriously, you don't want to quit, if you did, you would have. Sorry if this doesn't seem very supportive but I went cold turky & haven't touched one since, so don't decieve yourself. If you want to quit do it, the end.

 

[Gumbo]

And remember, you're starting again from scratch now. You can't say, I gave up on Tuesday, oooh, apart from a couple on Friday night with my beer hehehe.


Try not to make the barbeque a big deal, otherwise the 'big deals' will continue to be your downfall.

Like Meg said, if you want to, just do it.

 

[Embattle]

Originally posted by Jonny_Darko
I didn't make it .

I was going to say that you wouldn't make it when you first posted about it, although I thought I'd show some support by not posting any thing

Oh well give it another try sometime and don't tell us until you've stopped for at least 1 week

 

[Quige]

Originally posted by Jonny_Darko
I didn't make it .
.....
I've started again today. Successfully so far...

Oh well, chalk it up to experience, I think you're doing the right thing, just starting again straight away.

Very few people can get on a bike for the 1st time and ride it. Not smoking is a skill that needs to be worked at and learnt.

Try not to beat yourself up about the failure, if you are that is.

Like you said you did 3 days and if you can do that you CAN do it all.

Don't feel that you have to do it the cold turkey way either. Have a good honest look inside yourself ... maybe you don't have the personality to do it that way. It's not something to get macho about ... stoping is what's important, anyway you can.

It might depend on where you live, but down here I know of a friend that got his patches on prescription, so cost doesn't have to be an issue.

Anyway, good luck ... when (not if!) you get through the barbie I reckon it will give you a lot of strength and confidence to go forward with.

 

[MYstIC G]

Originally posted by Quige
Very few people can get on a bike for the 1st time and ride it. Not smoking is a skill that needs to be worked at and learnt.

Fraid not, though I totally agree with the suggestion of trying patches if you're not ready to just get out. Though in reality you're just converting to another addiction with less health risks.

 

[Quige]

Originally posted by MYstIC G
Fraid not, though I totally agree with the suggestion of trying patches if you're not ready to just get out. Though in reality you're just converting to another addiction with less health risks.

Not if you actually use them as intended. You're meant to start at a strength that equates with your smoking (20-a-day, 40-a-day etc., ) wear those for a while, and then over a period of about 3 months step down the strength, until you're on such little nicotine that you gracefully slip into non-addiction.

Throughout this period you don't have to deal with physical withdrawal symptions whilst you get adjusted to not smoking in social environments where you're habituated into smoking, work, home, down the pub etc. Since you've got a steady stream of the thing that drives you to smoke you can think about the other physical aspects of smoking, none of which you really want... after all you don't get a high from smoking them, just the smoke and poison.

Well it worked for me and as I said a friend, 15 to 20 year smokers. I haven't smoked for 3 years . I guess it does all depend on what's right for your personality.

For me I had tried for the 5 years or so before to give up via all the ways you can think of. Everytime it wasn't the addiction itself that broke me but me myself & the social aspects. I decided that I needed to do some brain rewiring and that's the attitude I guess I finally appoached it with, so it did take a bit of learning, about myself and what made me tick to finally crack it.

 

[Jonny_Darko]

Originally posted by MYstIC G
Seriously, you don't want to quit

There aren't many things I want more than to stop!

Holly Vallance gagged and bound though...

 

[cjravey]

I resent the suggestion I encourage you to smoke Jon I have a purposeful non-interference policy on your rollercoaster ride of smoking / non-smoking.

But I decided to get the runs for a couple of days to be off work to help you quit. *That's* how good a mate I am.

And should you follow me sheepishly to the smoker's corner and say 'got a spare one?' on Monday, I will whelp you good.


(PS - DaGaffer, was it me, or was Nick O'Teen always way cooler than Superman in the posters? I was always disappointed he wasn't in the comics. Bad move by the gov; what's cooler than a super-villain? 'Hey Kids - Darth Vader wants you to smoke'. 'Oh, OK.' )

 

[Jonny_Darko]

Hey CJ,

Did I say that? I thought it was DaGaffer who was slandering your good name?

Hope you're feeling better m8.












PS. The runs? Probably that strawberry stuff we used.

 

[kameleon]

*shudders*

 

[Trem]

I went from 30 a day to around 6 a couple of months back, I was sooooooooo close to quitting, then BAM!! I had some shit at home and now I'm back up to 25 a day.

 

[whipped]

Ok, I broke last night as well, but I'm quite proud of myself. I actually didn't even think about a cigarette for about 3 pints (Probably because I was to involved in chatting up the women )
Then someone offered me a smoke and I took it on instinct.

I only had 10 all evening and am back on the wagon this morning. So, it seems that we're still even pegging at the moment Jon. Keep it up guy.

 

[SoWat]

Gah, sad to read that you two have had a relapse.

I passed the 1 week mark today and apart from a mad (resisted) craving at a party last night, it's going ok. After last night, I *think* I'm ok at social functions now (nicotine-wise anyway. My fashion sense is a lost cause).

I don't know what to suggest you do at parties and such... they're probably the single biggest reason for people starting again.

 

[whipped]

How you going today Jon? I had none yesterday and I'm trying today with no patch. Feeling good at the moment.

 

[Jonny_Darko]

I'm ok so far. Someone earlier said I should report back when I have something worthy to talk about, like a week under my belt.

I can see this thread going a long time, so if it's going to stay of interest to people we'll probably have to post updates less often.

So, personally, I'm going to leave it alone now, and report in a week today, hopefully to say that I've not had one between now and then. That will involve this barbeque I've mentioned, and a night out on the beer.

So, until next monday then!

Whipped, ready for a week?

 

[Damini]

Originally posted by whipped
How you going today Jon? I had none yesterday and I'm trying today with no patch. Feeling good at the moment.

Why are you coming off the patches so soon? Since you had ten at the weekend, I'm thinking you might be being a bit premature in coming off the patches. Not meaning to put a dampener on you or anything... When I did the patches, I did the whole scaling down where you start on the large patches and work your way down to the smallest dose.

 

[Karlo]

I got into the habit when I was travelling Italy with my mate whos a heavy smoker. Guess I just started for somin to do whilst he was puffin away watching the world go by.

Kept it up all through univeristy, not too many, about 10-15 a night, 3 times a week. Then Id go days without etc.

Then the other day I realised Id not smoked for about 2 months and had somehow sub-conciously got off them. I guess I didn't have a full on addiction, perhaps I was a lucky one.

 

[cjravey]

memories....

My first industry job was with Colin Campbell - a frighteningly dedicated and well regarded chap, but we never really saw eye to eye...

But one thing I do remember fondly was when he gave up smoking. I was still nipping out for a ciggie and mentioned I was thinking of giving up...

'How old are you?' he snapped. I told him I was 21, which I was all those years ago.

'Giving up smoking before the age of 25 is sheer cowardice,' he replied dismissively. Happy days.

Anyway, I'm a year overdue, but still puffing away....

 

[whipped]

Re: memories....

Originally posted by cjravey
'Giving up smoking before the age of 25 is sheer cowardice,' he replied dismissively. Happy days.

Lol, I'm just coming up to a year overdue, so I think it's about time I got it out of my system completely.

Me and cigs have had some fun and I'll have some fond memories, but now I'm going to concentrate on my unhealthy Knights of the old Republic addiction.

 

[Will]

My girlfriend started quitting today.



I'm scared she's going to kill me.

 

[Quige]

Originally posted by Damini
Why are you coming off the patches so soon? Since you had ten at the weekend, I'm thinking you might be being a bit premature in coming off the patches. Not meaning to put a dampener on you or anything... When I did the patches, I did the whole scaling down where you start on the large patches and work your way down to the smallest dose.

Likewise ... and it worked.

Maybe it's cause the giving-things-headspace isn't much of fun place to be, and people want to get it all out of the way real quick.

Might work I guess ... I'd been smoking for 15 years - 3 months didn't seem such a long time to get that habit out of my system.

I never thought of the patches as a crutch of getting me through the nicotine addiction, I looked at them as a way to break the habitual response in social situations. That's going to take time.

Good luck to Johnny_Darko at the barbie. Good luck to Whipped.

Got to go ... Mexican food just been delivered.

 

[whipped]

I've taken everyone's advice and I'm going to do the patches properly.

The last time I did them I cheated a little. I came of the strong ones two weeks earlier than it recommended and that may be some reason as to why I started again.

I keep thinking the patches are too expensive, buit then I compare it to the amount I'd spend on fags over a week and it seems ok again.

 

[TedTheDog]

As a non-smoker I still find it had to understand why intelligent people like whipped and Jon cant simply just walk away from something they know is shortening their life spans and making a bunch of bloody americans richer in the process.

I mean, they add stuff to make these damn things more addictive, knowing that everyone accepts they're addictive anyway so its relatively "ok", and they know that they're seriously bad for your health, and they know that you know, and that you know they know.

For gods sake, why do you give money to these people under these circumstances? They are nasty unpleasant people who are intentionally damaging your health for their own profit with a system that you pay to be a part of, knowing all of this in advance.

I just dont get it. I loved the "all smokers are morons" idea as it easily explained things in simple terms, but I guess only a moron would actually believe this statement if they stopped to think about it first.

 

[Xtro]

On a side note I've never smoked a normal cigarette in my life.

Unfortunately I have smoked large consignments of ganj instead but have now been *clean* for 2 weeks.

Yay me.

 

[cjravey]

Imagine that you KNEW p0rn or self pleasuring was bad for you, but that you probably wouldn't hit the effects for another fifty years (or so you tell yourself) and it gives you a window into the grey world of the smoker...