Trying to Quit

[Hop Sing]

I'll add a bit more to my endeavor.
Things I tried before "I stopped" were:
Nicotine patches, time release candies (like tic-tacs), hypnosis, and finally what I seen as a last ditch effort, Chantix.
Nothing worked for me, so by time I got to the point I considered Chantix, I researched the heck out of it. With Chantix, it all sounded very promising. The advertising on TV made it sound convincing, and very effective. Don't believe everything pushed. Everyone is different how the drug effects the receptors in the mind. With me, I started the plan that was laid out in the leaflet, and smoked for the first week while taking the pills. Week two (as per instructions) everything nicotine and support for, removed from my area. Everywhere that I spent time, all thrown in the trash. All clothes washed whether clean or not, vehicles cleaned out and swabbed, air fresheners placed wherever necessary to circumvent odor. I never smoked inside our home, and never smoked around people that did not. I told anyone who knew me that I was quitting smoking, that for no reason, DO NOT encourage me to smoke, whether they smoked or not.

With the Chantix, everything was going real well for the first few weeks. No cravings what so ever. It seemed to suppress the craving, and the urge. After about 30 days in the side effects started showing. Vivid, strange dreams that I can't explain. Then the side effects (thoughts) started happening while I was awake, at any given time of the day. Without going into details of those thoughts, the side effects scared the hell out of me. So much so, I quit taking Chantix. I've spoken to many people who have also tried Chantix, with very positive results. Which is great, for them. What works for some, doesn't work for all.

Something you need to do is convince yourself, YOU do not want to quit smoking, you want to STOP smoking.
Fight it my friend. FIGHT IT!!

The worst thing to happen in my life was Chantix. Even though it has been four years since my last pill, every stinking night is filled with nightmares. I never did drugs but I would say that each nightmare is akin to a really bad acid trip. Sometimes i don't want to to to sleep because the dreams are so bad.

A good buddy that took Chantix called me up in the middle of the day saying that he felt compelled to kill himself. Not kidding.

Not once did either of our doctors talk about side effects. Cobsuckers.

 

[EPS]

COME ON MAN IT'S EASY .
lol I have quit smoking a 100 times.

 

[2A2Dend]

COME ON MAN IT'S EASY .
lol I have quit smoking a 100 times.

It's easy, isn't it.
















Until the next one....

 

[AshWilliams]

I quit after a few moments of clarity: My toddler ran over to the ashtray in the patio and put a butt in her mouth emulating what she saw. Also, during the winter time I was outside shivering in the freezing rain after 10 minutes of searching for cigs and the lighter when the absurdity of the situation hit home.

Stress was my trigger, and I couldn't have done it without the patch. I slowly reduced the dosage over a month by cutting the patch (even though the product states not to do this).

If I can do it anyone can do it. Good luck and fight the good fight.

 

[Stomper]

I haven't had a dip since February 26th. Wasnt so bad the first week since I was on a cruise and had a constant BAC of .2 or higher. Its getting progressively worse though. Me and Copenhagen have been friends since I was 14. Now, I am constantly on a hair trigger mood wise. I haven't taken it out on anyone, but I've gone on a couple drives here and there blasting Du Hast and giving pedestrians dirty looks.

When does it end?

I love Rammstein!!

Try listening to...

-Engle (Angel)
-Fuer-Frei (Free Fire)
-Du Reichst So Gut (You Smell So Good)
-Bestrafe Mich (Punish Me)
-Bück Dich (Bend Down)
-Asche Zu Asche (Ashes To Ashes)
-Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen
(Do You Want To See The Bed In Flames)


Most of the lyrical contexts are absolutely filthy, but it doesn't matter if you don't speak German.... Knowing you, I'll bet you'll learn some German now... LOL

 

[2A2Dend]

@AshWilliams
That's excellent it worked for you. Congrats!!

Guessing, if the process for you was that simple, I'd bet you were not a smoker for long before you quit? Not that we compare, just that I smoked for 39 years. Just a guess, @No_Regerts has smoked for a good length of time.

 

[PNWguy]

I'm also a nicotine addict. Started when I was 20 and thirty years later, still smoking.

But... I've always been a light smoker. Maybe half a pack a day of lights. Drove my doctor nuts. Said I was too healthy to have been smoking for so long.

Quit a few times over the years for maybe a few months at a time.

Then Chantix came out and I tried it. A few nightmares, but I quit for a few months. That was two years ago or so. Fell off the wagon and tried it again last March. A few nightmares again, but then got very depressed. Went to my doc and was put on Prozac. Didn't help. Started therapy sessions and Wellbutrin. No help. Got severe mood swings and was impossible to be around. Lost a promotion due to poor attitude. Made it seven months with no tobacco and I was freaking miserable the whole time and became someone I didn't like.

My brain is now apparently wired for nicotine. So I started smoking again. Then a couple of months ago, I got one of those vape things, the Juul. Love it!

A pack of cigarettes now lasts me a week and they are so stale and nasty by the time I get to the last couple that I usually throw them away.

Hopefully I'll be completely free of smoking within another couple of months, then I can start ramping down the Juul use. One of the pods lasts me a couple of days, and it's $15 for four. I was spending $3 per day on smokes, and now it's around $2 per day for the Juul.

 

[2A2Dend]

Little tip for regarding JuuL. Pay less to quit. Buy the size that uses an internal 18650 battery, and a tank. Then buy the juice in bulk. Save more in the long run, than the JuuL over-all. I went down the e-cig road and started basically where you are with my investment. It got expensive. Then someone pointed me more wisely. That person had every stage of his fixation in a few boxes before he was told what saved me from losing financially.

 

[Stomper]

Here's a good song for all you slavering nicotine zombies...

 

[AshWilliams]

@AshWilliams
That's excellent it worked for you. Congrats!!

Guessing, if the process for you was that simple, I'd bet you were not a smoker for long before you quit? Not that we compare, just that I smoked for 39 years. Just a guess, @No_Regerts has smoked for a good length of time.

I started when I was 19 with Marlboro reds. I was then able to quit but started again when I was 26 as my girlfriend at the time was a smoker. I continued until I was around 31, and finally quit when I had a few epiphanies that I mentioned above.

I periodically check the cost of a carton of cigarettes, and I'm always astounded at the prices. That alone should be impetus to quit the dirty habit altogether.

I wish everyone the best of luck with their fight. There is absolutely nothing whatsoever redeeming about that drug addiction.

 

[2A2Dend]

The price of cigarettes is a death tax. Even going to the Indian Reservation.
I can't stand to be around the smell at ALL.
My mother smoked like a freight train, up until the day she died from a massive heart attack. That was the light for me!!

 

[Certaindeaf]

I'd look into a therapy turtle.

 

[MuleyTracker]

Its funny how I decided to quit. My buddy saw this dude picking his nose. Little bit later the guy asked to bum a dip. Buddy whispers in ny ear about the nose picking. Told dude just to keep the can. Realized I was stuck on a ship with no more chew. I made it a week on the boat and decided to ride the wave.

That reminds me of a funny story, I had a buddy in college that would always recycle his dips back into the can if he only had em in for a few minutes. We were out at a bar one night and this douchey guy was hitting on another one of our friends lady. The dude then asked my buddy to bum a chew when he saw him pull his can out, well he obliged the fella, we were all busting at the seams laughing a couple minutes after that.

 

[xtratoy]

I decided to quit October 2008 after chewing for 25+ years. Finished off my can and have never looked back. Never really even had any cravings to return to doing it. Good luck with adventure.

 

[pharmseller]

Tobacco, whether smoking or chewing, will shorten your life.

Say it with me: every cigarette, every dip, is time off your life.

Time

Off

Your

Life.

Stay strong, the cravings fade. They never go away, but they fade.





P

 

[No_Regerts]

That reminds me of a funny story, I had a buddy in college that would always recycle his dips back into the can if he only had em in for a few minutes. We were out at a bar one night and this douchey guy was hitting on another one of our friends lady. The dude then asked my buddy to bum a chew when he saw him pull his can out, well he obliged the fella, we were all busting at the seams laughing a couple minutes after that.

Ewwww, re-chew!

 

[Mygrainman]

I've been nic free for 7 years now..
I bought one of those eCigs and only bought the nastiest tasting juice I could find to fill it.... took the joy out of it, but curbed the cravings.
Lost the charger one day and never got a new one.

The only good thing to come from the fact that I chronically loose everything.

 

[Stomper]

Ewwww, re-chew!

WAIT!!! DON'T DRINK FROM THAT BOTTLE!!!

 

[308]

I haven't had a dip since February 26th. Wasnt so bad the first week since I was on a cruise and had a constant BAC of .2 or higher. Its getting progressively worse though. Me and Copenhagen have been friends since I was 14. Now, I am constantly on a hair trigger mood wise. I haven't taken it out on anyone, but I've gone on a couple drives here and there blasting Du Hast and giving pedestrians dirty looks.

When does it end?

My ex boss & good friend has chewed since we met 40 yrs ago. About 9 months ago he went cold turkey and was a total dik for about a month, then he came around as was just a regular dik from that point on

 

[2A2Dend]

After I started smoking (Sorry @No_Regerts. We way off topic a scosh) and before I was out of Junior High School, I was seeing a few grey hairs. By time I hit 18, there were quite a few, quite a few grey hairs. And the crop slowly consumed the brown. Nicotine (and/or) poisoning was in full swing. Any and all hair follicles were dead, or were on their way to it. Currently, my hair is grey, and I'm not that old.

Several years later after I graduated HS, I ran into an old friend walking down the sidewalk. I looked at him to the point I had to pull over from being distracted. As he walked by my car I rolled down the window, and said excuse me. That's when he bent down to talk. My chin dropped in shock, because I'd just seen his brother a week before. Slightly older by age, but very young looking in his mid 30's. Well, the guy I was talking to had hair past his shoulders. All grey. Seeing this blew my mind.


Ya, nicotine kills. In more ways than most think about. I'm glad I quit.