Ex smokers...tips wanted

[Corinna]

Ask Sue( Lv4dogs) She'll say just have our Gina"'s Ark come visit for a day . You'll qiut. She just has a way of getting you to stop.

[lv4dogs]

Ask Sue( Lv4dogs) She'll say just have our Gina"'s Ark come visit for a day . You'll qiut. She just has a way of getting you to stop.

Yes she does.

She said to me that I should stop killing myself. I always knew smoking was killing me but I never had anyone say that to me. It really made me wake up. And as odd as it may seem, it really had an impact coming from someone that I didn't know all that well. To think that Gina cared that much about a "stranger" to actually tell me to stop killing myself really made me open my eyes.

Have you seen the smoking commercials with the blood clot in the aorta and the one where they show the lung tissue dying and the one where they squeeze the whitish/yellowis stuff out of some other artery (or some kind of vessel type thing). Boy oh boy those are just so gross. I think those would make any smoker quit!

[Felix]

It will be a year for me in March

First of all one thing at a time.First you stop smoking than you worry about the weight later.I got the no smoking down pat,now I started today to loose the weight.Be patient.

A craving usually only lasts for about 5 minutes.Once I got a craving I would occupy myself and drink down a glass of water.(Lots of water will flush out all the bad toxins)This will get the craving off your mind and water will sastisfy you.They say to go and brush your teeth when a craving comes along as well.

When I was stressed.I would walk it off.

Reward yourself with the money you no longer waste on smokes.Buy something just for you.You deserve it.

In just a week you will notice an increase of flavor on food,increased sence of smell.Its just wonderful.You will truley be amazed.

Dont let that cigerette control you.Good luck with it.

Hope these tips are of some use to you.

Here is what they say happens to your body just after quitting for 20minutes than throughout the years....

Within 20 minutes after you smoke that last cigarette, your body begins a series of changes that continue for years.


20 Minutes After Quitting
Your heart rate drops.

12 hours After Quitting
Carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.

2 Weeks to 3 Months After Quitting
Your heart attack risk begins to drop.
Your lung function begins to improve.

1 to 9 Months After Quitting
Your Coughing and shortness of breath decrease.

1 Year After Quitting
Your added risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.

5 Years After Quitting
Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker’s 5-15 years after quitting.

10 Years After Quitting
Your lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smoker’s.
Your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases.

15 Years After Quitting
Your risk of coronary heart disease is back to that of a nonsmoker’s.

[jenluckenbach]

I never smoked so I am of no help with hints for you, but I will give you a hearty congratulation!!!!!!

My mom quit smoking (cold turkey) after it was already too late. she was dying of lung cancer. But even in her sad physical state, she could feel the difference after stopping. She could breathe better and it was the first time in my life that I had ever heard her NOT coughing.

I do know that the gum or hard candies are right on (especially peppermint).

Wishing you the very best of luck! {{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}

[G535]

I also quit "cold turkey", never used patches or gum and didn't gain weight. You really have to want to quit for it to work, if you're only half-hearted about it then you will fail. As for the weight gain, that's just a myth, if you don't eat any more than you did as a smoker then you won't gain weight. The reason most people gain weight is that they eat more after giving up the smokes.

Good luck with it, you really can do it!

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

I am a smoker and totally hate doing this to my body. My only advice is, you have to want to quit to be successful, thats why I couldnt!

Good luck!

[Laura's Babies]

Gee whiz! I never expected so many responses and so much advice! THANK you ALL and anybody else wanting to add to it, go on and do it!

The thing that REALLY made me decide that this is the year is, this year, I turn the big 6-0... Soon to be loking at retirement and I don't think I could afford it on retirement income. #2 reason is my son Eddie and the stuff that I saw coming out of him while in a coma, just in breathing. He was a light smoker when that explosion happened. His breath made the tape holding the ventalotor in his mouth, brown for about 10 days.. Needless to say, after 9 months in the hospital, he is a non smoker now and I would like to surprise him with my quitting the habit myself. His wife has also quit since his accident.

It is just the right time to do it, I have wanted to for years... (lets see if I still feel like this when my quit time draws nearer!)

[G535]

You're starting off on the wrong foot already! You have to think positive even before you quit!

[poofy]

I prayed for the desire to be taken from me 7 years ago and it was, but i chewed gum and sugar free gum, and still gained lots , n lots of weight, so im sure no help

[Grace]

I was lucky. 7 years ago I got pneumonia. By the time I even thought about smoking, the physical cravings had pretty much disappeared. For about a year I had the occasional itch to smoke. Now I don't even think about it.

I think doing it when the weather is nice makes it easier - you can keep busy outdoors.

My b-i-l used the nicotine lollipops and they seemed to work well for him.

GOOD LUCK!!

[catland]

Quitting is hard. I've been there. But it is one of the smartest decisions that I have ever made (starting smoking was one of the dumbest ones).

What helped me included:

Sugarless gum. I purchased Trident by the multi-pack.

A "cigarette" pacifier. I just took a small piece of paper and rolled it into the shape of a cigarette and put a piece of tape on it. A straw cut in two might work also. I could then go through the motions of holding, or even taking a drag off of a cigarette and this would look silly, but get me through a craving and help calm me down.

Throwing out any remaining cigarettes so that I wouldn't be tempted.

I think though, that the mental part of it is most important. You have to QUIT smoking - you can't delude yourself into "quitting" smoking. Either you are a smoker or you are not. The people that I've seen be the most successful are the ones who quit and don't look back. They don't bum a drag or a smoke from a friend or just cut down to one or two a day.

To paraphrase Yoda "Smoke or don't smoke - there is no try"

[Pawsitive Thinking]

You're there already because you want to stop - that is all I needed. Good luck

[Laura's Babies]

LOL! I have been researching and found the perfect sight that is loaded with information of all kinds on quitting They state there that the first thing to do is to educate yourself and in looking around, I discovered something already that I think few people know..

Blood sugar plummets in many people when first quitting. The most common side effects felt during the first three days can often be traced back to blood sugar issues

That is why you CRAVE things so bad.. Anyone wanting to check out this sight it is here..

http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_Index_0...g_Smoking.html

I think everything I need in in there. They are addressing everything in there. There is a TON of material there to read.