I'm typing this through gritted teeth.

Daisy Steiner

12 of 72.

Hi everyone,

I've decided to stop smoking. Had my last smoke at 3am this morning (26/07/10).

Knew I was going to do it so not a spur of the moment decision, was conscious that it was my last smoke.

I've read some threads here so am prepared for a hellish 72 hours.

I'm 31, probably smoking half my life. I've thought about giving up before but this time feels right.

Coming up on 12 hrs without a smoke now, kinda tragic I guess to be posting here but hey, I need some support. I don't want to announce it to anyone in rl just yet. My n/s friends will put too much emphasis on it and my smoking friends won't be too happy I reckon!

So, I'm aware of weight gain during this process but hoping it won't happen to me. I'm in the process of losing weight at the moment, I've made some drastic changes to my eating and exercising habits so hope I can continue with them without stuffing my face.

Jaysus the cravings are tough though!

My plan to avoid succumbing involve:

• Water.
• Apples.
• Going for a walk.
• Singing a song .
• Jobs around the house.
• Posting on boards :pac:.
• Trying not to meet any of my smoking friends until the dreaded 72 hours are over.

Every now and then I notice that my mouth and jaw are all tensed up and I have to make an effort to relax.

Also, my chest/lungs feel weird, It's almost as if my lungs are thirsty and a cigarette would quench that thirst. I know if I had a cig now though I would feel like utter ****e.

If anyone else has any tips please feel free to post.

Wish me luck and joy folks, it's gonna be a toughie!

Heading for a swim now.

irish_star

Well done you!!!! I want sooooo bad to give up smoking,looking at this thread, thats it!! I am going to have my last fag at midnight tonight!! maybe we could encourage each other, Keep up the good work xxx

irish_star

Woops I got so excited about my decision to stop, I forgot to add waight gain is a problem to most people giving up the dreaded fags, by the sounds of it you are going the proper way about it, Just don't eat junk and lots of exercise, I am going to walk every time the craving gets bad.:)

judas1369

Yeah ,been there and its pretty tough the first couple of days, but it will get easier... honest!
Have you tried this website-

http://www.stopsmoking.ie/index.php

There is a quit meter on it which may give you an added incentive.
At the bottom of the page is "crave buster" which you may feel a bit daft doing especially if people are watching! But strange as it may sound it actually works!
Anyway you have come to a good place for support.
Good luck with your quit.

Daisy Steiner

Wow, thanks for the swift replies!

irish_star wrote: »

Well done you!!!! I want sooooo bad to give up smoking,looking at this thread, thats it!! I am going to have my last fag at midnight tonight!! maybe we could encourage each other, Keep up the good work xxx

Just do it. You know you want to and you definitely can!

judas1369 wrote: »

Yeah ,been there and its pretty tough the first couple of days, but it will get easier... honest!
Have you tried this website-

http://www.stopsmoking.ie/index.php

There is a quit meter on it which may give you an added incentive.
At the bottom of the page is "crave buster" which you may feel a bit daft doing especially if people are watching! But strange as it may sound it actually works!
Anyway you have come to a good place for support.
Good luck with your quit.

Just had a look there, pretty funny stuff but I can see how it would be effective.

Went for a swim with my two nephews, had two goes in the steam room as well.

My GOD! the craving when I hit the fresh air after. Got over it though!

Home now cooking din dins, 2 pieces of fish with spinach and soya beans.

Drinking tea and water when I feel I need to do something with my mouth!

Heading for a nice long walk before dark then when the shops/pubs are closed I can relax!

Daisy Steiner

Having worst craving so far, right now!

Struggled to finish my dinner which is good as I was afraid I'd eat for Ireland.

As soon as I'd put my fork down I was nearly knocked over by the longing for a smoke.

I feel like I'm being stretched out in all directions and my addiction is trying to convince me that a smoke will make that feeling go away.

Taking deep breaths and trying to focus on other stuff . . . like typing!

Putting on my runners and going walking, I need to get out of the house.

I can actually see myself going into the shop and asking for 20 camel lights, ripping them open, lighting one . . . .

And feeling like ****e because that's what cigs do to you, try and convince you that you need them.

NOT ANY MORE.

irish_star

Keep the faith Daisy You are doing great.:) My dad used to soak celery in water and keep it in the fridge, Crispy and cold to chew on, It helped him big time, He was 60 to 80 a day for 50 years (I kid you not) he is off fags 3 years now.
You can do it, YOU WILLLLLLL xxxxx

Daisy Steiner

Thanks irish star.

Just went for a very brisk walk. There was a good bit of clenching of my fists and deep breaths going on, but after the first mile or so I noticed that I wasn't aware of my breathing at all, no wheezes, no surreptitiously slowing down because my heart is racing.

:eek:

That much improvement after not even 24 hours? Dunno, but I have to say I really really enjoyed it. Over 3 miles didn't knock a bother out of me.

Going to watch some tv now with a nice cup of tea, then into bed and hope I'm not staring at the ceiling all night! I should sleep in fairness, An hour and a half horsing around a swimming pool with a 4 year old and a 6 year old, then a 3 miles+ walk.

Savage.

:cool:

kildare75

Congrats on making one of the hardest decisions of your life!

Im 6 months off the cigs and it really was the hardest yet best decision i ever made to quit the cigs.

I smoked 20 cigs a day for 15 years until 26th of jan 2010.

Just decided that day that id had enough of wasting my money,coughing in morning,smelling like an ashtray,leaving a warm pub to stand outside smoking,not having the energy to go for a run or walk. etc...

Sure i still get the odd craving(first few pints were murder),but hand on heart they do ease over time,and only last a few seconds anyways!

Stick with it .........:D

joining this as given up too !! as of tonight hate the morning fag yuk but still smoke whats the point ??

kildare75

i found breaking the routine of when i had a cig during the day helped me,in terms of not having a cup of tea, at say 10am,and going for a wee walk instead,although i did find myself doing crosswords at the start just to give me something else to do instead of smoking with a cup of tea...

Daisy Steiner

Thanks guys,

Haven't found the last couple of hours to be too bad at all. Heading to bed now and all systems go for the morning.

I know it's only my first day but to be honest, I'm dead proud of myself, I've never gone a full day without smoking since I started the vile habit!

I know the morning is going to be tough but just gonna do what I did this am, shove a bowl of porridge into my face then get out of the house for an hour or so. You're dead right kildare75 it's all about the habits ain't it? Very well done by the way, you must be very happy to be off them so long.


Off I go to me bed, will post again tomorrow. x x.

Daisy Steiner

[quote=[Deleted User];67131441]joining this as given up too !! as of tonight hate the morning fag yuk but still smoke whats the point ??[/QUOTE]


Yeah that's what I did, had my last smoke at 3 am, then bed so when I got up this morning I was already 7/8 hours into giving up!

Hope you are successful.

irish_star

[quote=[Deleted User];67131441]joining this as given up too !! as of tonight hate the morning fag yuk but still smoke whats the point ??[/QUOTE]
Best of luck to you Viviana Small Quarterfinal, I had my last fag 30 m inits ago! I am off to bed
with a positive mind lol I hope I can keep it up, Let us know how you are getting on.:)

Mackman

Well done Daisy, irish_star and Viviana Small Quarterfinal. Its the best thing you'll ever do.

Daisy, i would be of the mind that you should tell EVERYONE that you're giving up. The more people that know the better. The dissapointment of all those people if you go back on the fags will help you stay off them.
Every little helps. I didnt want to tell people in case i failed, but i forced myself to tell everyone.

It sounds like you're having a much worse time than me, but stick with it!

Daisy Steiner

Well, it took me a while to sleep last night, It was kinda weird I didn't feel wired or anything just constantly on the brink of sleep but unable to drop off.

Woke around 9 this morning, got up and had porridge and tea. Lay back into bed and dozed until 12.

The craving isn't too bad today so far. Going to go for a walk soon then get stuck into the studies!

Thanks for your words Mackman. I'll definitely be shouting it from the roof-tops once I've done the 72 hours. I told my sis-in-law yesterday and she was glad I'm giving it a go.

I have never in my life (since 14ish) gone this long without a smoke.

My chest feels a small bit funny today, should I be expecting a chesty special? I realise that all the gunk has to come out, any idea when that process will start?

Thanks everyone.

NavanEPS

Re: Gunk
I am off them 22 Days and haven't got rid of any yet..... not sure what is going on.

Well done you are doing great!

irish_star

During my last attempt to give up smoking, I was off them a long time, I never got any gunk up at all, I just put on 3 stone lol (if it did not move I eat it).
I am not going to eat this time ,Just exercise for me.
By the way I have not had a fag for almost 15 hours, No withdrawal yet !
Well done to all you nicotine free people, Keep it up Daisy Your Brill.

Daisy Steiner

Too funny! I met a friend while I was out batin' the roads . Told him I'd given up and how happy I was to have done it.

He started telling me all these excuses as to why he still smokes, I wasn't impressed with even one of his excuses. Think I may have annoyed him a bit by smiling and nodding and quietly reiterating that it's my decision and that I don't expect everyone else to stop just cos I have.

I feel great now. Just about to have lunch, no craving for sweets yet, the nicotine craving is fairly constant yet manageable, it spikes every few hours but I just stick on the kettle and have tea while I wait for it to recede.

Must do a few hours study now. Will check back in later.

Daisy Steiner

Ok everyone,

I just had my first brush with frustration. I couldn't find the charger for my mp3 player, I knew I had it only a couple of days ago.

So I start to look for it . . . and look for it and start tearing through boxes, ripping the cushions off the couch and armchairs. Searching in places I know it couldn't be.

Getting more and more irritable, almost ripped a cushion in half! Was trying to calm myself by thinking: it's ok, it has to be here, it's all ok. BUT IT WASN'T OK COS I WAS SO WOUND UP.

Had to take loads of deep breaths and finally felt the craving dissipate.

Found the charger eventually and I realised then that the anger had nothing to do with the mis-placed charger and far more to do with the sneaky nicotine that had almost fooled me!

Anyone else here feel the rage during withdrawals? I thought I'd be able to cope with it and recognise it but it was on me before I copped it was happening!

Daisy Steiner

Kinda freaked out right now, was over in my mam and dad's gaff, had a cup of tea and a chat.

Walked home, it's only a 5 minute walk. Next thing I'm vomiting? Thankfully there was only tea to come up so it didn't take too long.

Such an unexpected thing to happen. Can only assume that it's withdrawal's as I've been feeling fine all day and am fine again now.

Oh, and guess what? One of my triggers appears to be . . . vomiting :mad: yes, as soon as I'd stopped all I wanted was a cigarette.

Before I went out walking I had a serious crave, wanted to go and buy rollies "cos they're not real fags" :rolleyes: it's mad how vividly you can see yourself go and throw all that effort down the drain, I learned today that I am stronger than that!

Kinda dreading tomorrow though, the less nicotine in my system the stronger the cravings get.

Wish me luck.

Mackman

Daisy Steiner wrote: »

Anyone else here feel the rage during withdrawals?

yeah i had a couple of those. I just got really irritated over the tinyest things, and it just grew and grew. But i managed to get through it. and apologise to the OH

That nicotine is evil. It tricks you into thinking that a fag will calm you donw, when it doesnt at all. what calms you donw is taking 5 minutes to sit and relax.

Daisy Steiner

Slept well-ish last night, woke once or twice but am up nice and early again today.

Feeling good this morning and noticing more and more improvement in my breathing and sense of taste.

Just had brekkie and going to get stuck into some studying.

Can't wait to wake up tomorrow knowing I'm over 3 days free!

Daisy Steiner

Having a wee break from studying, really haven't felt the urge too strongly at all today.

Went for a lovely walk with no complaints from my heart and lungs.

The gas thing is that I can smell fags from a mile away was walking along when I caught the stench . . . stayed walking for another few minutes until I got to a cottage with its door open, the bang of cigarettes was unreal, and I smelt it from way back.

It didn't make me want one, in fact it was the opposite, I could feel my stomach churning and I realised what an absolutely rotten smell it is.

I'm washing every stitch of clothes that I have while I'm working away with the study.

Think I'm gonna splash for a proper car valet too with the money I'm saving.

Gonna throw a tenner in a jar every 2 days and treat myself when my exam is over.

Woop woop!

Daisy Steiner

I cleared my throat earlier and got more than I bargained for :eek:.

Still . . . better to have an empty house than a bad tenant as my dear daddy always says.

Had a momma of a crave earlier, decided to clean out the car and hoover it while waiting for it to pass, Guess what I found under the passenger seat?

Yep, a box with 5 coffin-nails in it.

Had a moment of wavering then snapped out of it.

Go me!

NavanEPS

Go Daisy - I am delighted for you 'cause that is tough!

oeb

You are doing great Daisy! And don't worry about the rages, I get them myself too (Although thankfully always when I am by myself )

Daisy Steiner

Thanks guys, am very glad that I live alone! Not sure if I could cope with anyone annoying me

I hope these are the worst of the cravings and that it gets easier after this, wrecked tired, can't wait to go to bed.

Will be telling more people about the quit tomorrow, so far I've only told my friend who's a non-smoker, my sis-i-law n-s also, another friend who smokes and really didn't want to hear it and I mentioned it online to another mate who smokes but lives really far away from me.

Am actually nervous about telling my ma as it's something she's wanted me to do for ages and ages. I know she'll be thrilled but it will be stressful once she knows. No going back then!

Daisy Steiner

Off to my leaba now, had a big crave that lasted about twenty minutes an hour or so ago but feel great now. (apart from the oncoming chesty special that I just know is in the post)

Will be off them 72 hrs at 3am. That's my first milestone done.

Gonna take it week by week after that I reckon. Must try and get out for a few pints this weekend and get that out of the way too.

Mackman

Daisy Steiner wrote: »

Must try and get out for a few pints this weekend and get that out of the way too.

Definatly do this. It will only build up in your head if you dont.
Once you get through the first night of boozing, you will realize that you can have just as good a time without the fags.

Today is going to be hard for you, 3rd day is the killer.

You'll be in a bad mood, everything will annoy you and you'll just want to sit in a room on your own all day.

gimli2112

Keep at it OP. I'm off them six months and still crave them but am delighted not to be smoking. I used spend €3,000 + a year on smokes. I'd agree with an earlier poster and tell everyone you know cos it makes it harder to let them all down.
If you drink it's much harder. I find it toughest the day after a session. Dunno why.

Daisy Steiner

And I feel good. Everyday it gets easier to break the habit. Everyday I can walk faster, breathe easier and smell better.

My next two major milestones will be: 1. A few pints and 2. meeting smoker friends.

Hopefully heading to the cinema later to see Toy Story 3, with 9 kids (none of which are mine )

May just tell the rest of my family today as well.

Can I just say; to anyone reading this who is still smoking, get your head on straight before you attempt this. I know it took me a long time to prepare myself but as soon as I was ready it felt right and honestly, a lot of will power is required but it's totally worth it.

The thoughts of letting nicotine run my body again is awful, even now on Day 4 the thoughts of lighting a cigarette makes me feel nauseous.

Long may it last.

Daisy Steiner

Just told my mam and started bawling as I was telling her :pac: am definitely still feeling the emotional effects of withdrawal although apart from that I feel tip-top!

Tried a run today but had to stop for several reasons although madly enough lungs/breathing wasn't a problem. More along the lines of needing better shoes and a decent sports bra!

Can't wait for Monday now when I'll be off 'em a week.

NavanEPS

Hi Daisy - I cried too! it seemed pathetic at the time but good for the soul to get it out.
Off them over 3 weeks and have only cried once. Must be a girlie thing

Daisy Steiner

NavanEPS wrote: »

Hi Daisy - I cried too! it seemed pathetic at the time but good for the soul to get it out.
Off them over 3 weeks and have only cried once. Must be a girlie thing

Ha! Pretty sure my ma thought I was gonna drop the preg-bomb 'cos when I started to tell her I was like: "I've something to tell you and I'm going to need your support . . . " Then I started bawling :pac::pac::pac:

Hilarious!

'Sports bra' omnomnomnom :P

Well done anyways, 3rd day is normally the hardest.

tommylimerick

well done to all of ye that are quitting smoking
i am off them 12 days now have been using nicorette
inhaler when ever i get a craving and find it really good
one step at a time

Daisy Steiner

Did loads of exercise today, am happy with the way things went, had a few glasses of wine sitting in a garden with two smokers. Didn't even bother me. I would say that being outside was key . Still though, really thought I'd feel way more of a pang as I'm a divil for fags when imbibing.

Ya live and learn.

Sea Sharp

Well done Daisy, you're an inspiration.

I'm planning for Saturday, Sunday and Monday to be my three days in hell.

judas1369

GaNjaHaN wrote: »

Well done Daisy, you're an inspiration.

I'm planning for Saturday, Sunday and Monday to be my three days in hell.

Best of luck! Just make sure you have a variety of distractions to hand, fruit, gum, water or whatever, even just a walk.
Its different for everyone so keep us posted, support is there if you need it!

Daisy Steiner

So, I'm a week off the cigs and I feel brilliant. The last couple of days have been absolutely fine. Long may it last!

judas1369

Thats great! stay with it, it really does get easier!

DEFTLEFTHAND

Well done keep up the good work. Im trying to kick the habit myself at the moment , but finding it very difficult , mainly due to the fact that im surrounded by smokers both at work and at home.

Daisy Steiner

Macros42 wrote: »

One other bit she mentioned which is now a goal. While nicotine takes three days to leave the body habits take 28 days to break. That's the new goal. Day by day to Day 28.

I've just been reading Mac's quit log. I found this quote to be very much food for thought.

I'm doing ridiculously well with the big quit. I'm clean 11 days now and my last conscious craving was last week!

However; after reading the above my guard is very much up again. Another 17 days to wait before the habit is broken :eek:.

One last thing; (I have my own theory but would love to hear your thoughts) Why are non-smokers/successful ex-smokers really supportive of someone quitting, and current smokers really aren't?

I've come across some fairly eye-opening attitudes in the last few days, it makes me a bit sad to be honest. I've been offered more cigarettes then you can shake a stick at, it really is increasingly easy to say no and to mean no though so yay (and two fingered salute to the rest of ye).

tazdustdevil

Hey well done Daisy! and all others on here.

Me and my bf quit in mid May- so we are nearly at 3 months.

THis time we used nicquitin cQ patches (off them 3 weeks now) and i occasionally used the inhaler on nights out and stressful days in work....

I think reason smokers dont encourage you is cause they are so afraid of being the only smoker left and you remind them that it is possible to give up= goes against all the nicotine monster thinking...

Definetely, minimise being exposed to smoke. BF nearly had a breakdown after exposure in a beer garden the other night....

Daisy Steiner

Oh god, I was in a very stressful situation for three hours today and to my mortification I was like a bag of cats :mad:

It got to the point where I was almost in tears and very close to telling some one to go away and fork off for themselves, suddenly realised that I would have had about four cigs smoked at this stage had I still been a smoker.

As soon as I had that thought; the black mood started to lift but I would have given anything to smoke loads of cigarettes.

At home now, drinking tea like a mad thing, about to have dinner and then need a big massive walk.


Today has been an awful day. I'm still an ex-smoker but I really really want one.

Daisy Steiner

Daisy Steiner wrote: »

Oh god, I was in a very stressful situation for three hours today and to my mortification I was like a bag of cats :mad:

It got to the point where I was almost in tears and very close to telling some one to go away and fork off for themselves, suddenly realised that I would have had about four cigs smoked at this stage had I still been a smoker.

As soon as I had that thought; the black mood started to lift but I would have given anything to smoke loads of cigarettes.

At home now, drinking tea like a mad thing, about to have dinner and then need a big massive walk.


Today has been an awful day. I'm still an ex-smoker but I really really want one.

keep strong !! you have made it this far!!!

Daisy Steiner

thanks. Today is the first day that I wasn't glad to be off them. I'm glad that I didn't end up smoking cigarettes but am hoping that evil mood doesn't ever come back as strong as that again.

I'm wrecked and sad and heading to bed.

dolliemix

Hi Daisy. Just reading through your thread and you're amazing! I was where you are now seven months ago and I'm still off them. Stay strong and just take one day at a time. You will get plenty of cravings but they become less and less as time goes on. I did the C25k running program. It filled a void, I got fitter and I lost weight. Reading this thread reminds me of how hard it is at the beginning. You're doing so well. Keep it up

And all the other quitters reading though this thread - Congrats everyone!

pambelina

Daisy Steiner wrote: »

One last thing; (I have my own theory but would love to hear your thoughts) Why are non-smokers/successful ex-smokers really supportive of someone quitting, and current smokers really aren't?

I've come across some fairly eye-opening attitudes in the last few days, it makes me a bit sad to be honest. I've been offered more cigarettes then you can shake a stick at, it really is increasingly easy to say no and to mean no though so yay (and two fingered salute to the rest of ye).

If I am 100% honest, when I was was a smoker and someone around me was giving up, I would give the obligatory "well done, fair play to ya" but in the back of my mind I was so delighted that it wasn't me giving up and convince myself that they must be so envious of me smoking. I do find it tough when I phone someone and I hear them smoke on the other end, as its the initial hit or inhale that I miss, so to hear everyone from the other person is hard. We just have to remind ourselves why we gave up. As time goes on though, you will begin to inspire others to give up. My friends are amazed at me, as I am the, " if she can do it, anyone can" person. Though none of them have quit yet, it is cool to hear how impressed they are by me, and now it's genuine.