best of luck and success to all of you. Really glad you're going to all make the effort to stop smoking. DTB, I know you can quit, so this time, you're going to stay quit. GL!
who is joining me Monday the 20th to QUIT SMOKING?
- Thread starter MadJack
- Start date
going out to the garage for my LAST CIGARETTE. i'll add the new ones that joined in the morning. i'm whacked 
this is it.
good luck everybody. what a miserable habit that we have to do all this shit to quit. christ!
talk to you tomorrow.
this is it.
good luck everybody. what a miserable habit that we have to do all this shit to quit. christ!
talk to you tomorrow.
MadJack
Gayle (my wife)
Lorraine (my mother)
chuckdman
no pepper
ryson
BahamaMama
DOGS THAT BARK
toastonastick
TJBELL
Donna
The Judge
3 seconds
spang
taoist
BADTODABONE
twofingers
BigSix
doochuk
Hooks
Hook's Girlfriend
watrdogg
Gayle (my wife)
Lorraine (my mother)
chuckdman
no pepper
ryson
BahamaMama
DOGS THAT BARK
toastonastick
TJBELL
Donna
The Judge
3 seconds
spang
taoist
BADTODABONE
twofingers
BigSix
doochuk
Hooks
Hook's Girlfriend
watrdogg
Turning in now after one last smoke...have been using matches and off brand cigs. No BIC lighters around, no extra cigs, GOBBLE GOBBLE cold turkey..... Day off Mon, so I'll be checking in if I'm not in the Ocean, far away from conv. stores, Let's whip this habit , ladies and gents!!!!!!
Good luck to everyone, hope it works for you all. if Agent can do it like he said early in the thread anyone can, I know that guy used to smoke like it was going out of style
IM IN !!! WATCHED MY FATHER SUFFER FROM THE CANCER AS WELL HE SMOKED FOR MANY YEARS, AND DONT WANT MY CHILDREN TO SEE ME SUFFER LIKE THAT......SO AS OF TODAY NO MORE CIGS FOR ME! :scared
WISH YOU ALL THE BEST OF LUCK
WISH YOU ALL THE BEST OF LUCK
MadJack
Gayle (my wife)
Lorraine (my mother)
chuckdman
no pepper
ryson
BahamaMama
DOGS THAT BARK
toastonastick
TJBELL
Donna
The Judge
3 seconds
spang
taoist
BADTODABONE
twofingers
BigSix
doochuk
Hooks
Hook's Girlfriend
watrdogg
allholyone
Gayle (my wife)
Lorraine (my mother)
chuckdman
no pepper
ryson
BahamaMama
DOGS THAT BARK
toastonastick
TJBELL
Donna
The Judge
3 seconds
spang
taoist
BADTODABONE
twofingers
BigSix
doochuk
Hooks
Hook's Girlfriend
watrdogg
allholyone
Listen guys.. if your using the patch and started off with the 1's and taste it/high off it.... go right to 2's and use them for 2 weeks.
also, if you can find the generic brand GO FOR IT. You'll save abot 25.00 a box !! your just paying for the name.
i quit 2.5 months ago and i feel great !!!!
GL
also, if you can find the generic brand GO FOR IT. You'll save abot 25.00 a box !! your just paying for the name.
i quit 2.5 months ago and i feel great !!!!
GL
WTF.... I did it for 20 months before, I can do it again. Smoked my last before I went to sleep last night. Have patches but we'll see. Emptied and washed all the ashtrays. On my way to visit my aunt who was just diagnosed with lung cancer and mets to brain. She'll probably only be with us for a few short months. She and Jack Sr. will be my support team... I must do them proud!
MadJack said:MadJack
Gayle (my wife)
Lorraine (my mother)
chuckdman
no pepper
ryson
BahamaMama
DOGS THAT BARK
toastonastick
TJBELL
Donna
The Judge
3 seconds
spang
taoist
BADTODABONE
twofingers
BigSix
doochuk
Hooks
Hook's Girlfriend
watrdogg
allholyone
VANurse
VANurse's other half
MadJack
Gayle (my wife)
Lorraine (my mother)
chuckdman
no pepper
ryson
BahamaMama
DOGS THAT BARK
toastonastick
TJBELL
Donna
The Judge
3 seconds
spang
taoist
BADTODABONE
twofingers
BigSix
doochuk
Hooks
Hook's Girlfriend
watrdogg
allholyone
VaNurse
i guess everybody is still smoke free?
sorry to hear about your aunt, VaNurse.
this is tough but i don't want to be a smoking casuality. and, like someone in another thread said, "IT'S NOT TOUGH JUST DON'T SMOKE".
i have 4mg gum in my mouth and a patch on my left arm. i know i only need these aids for about 4-5 days.
Gayle (my wife)
Lorraine (my mother)
chuckdman
no pepper
ryson
BahamaMama
DOGS THAT BARK
toastonastick
TJBELL
Donna
The Judge
3 seconds
spang
taoist
BADTODABONE
twofingers
BigSix
doochuk
Hooks
Hook's Girlfriend
watrdogg
allholyone
VaNurse
i guess everybody is still smoke free?
sorry to hear about your aunt, VaNurse.
this is tough but i don't want to be a smoking casuality. and, like someone in another thread said, "IT'S NOT TOUGH JUST DON'T SMOKE".
i have 4mg gum in my mouth and a patch on my left arm. i know i only need these aids for about 4-5 days.
Yeah, Jack, still smoke free....
...just finished lunch and having to endure major cravings. I am taking my frustrations out on this harmless piece of gum.... :scared
...just finished lunch and having to endure major cravings. I am taking my frustrations out on this harmless piece of gum.... :scared
MadJack
Gayle (my wife)
Lorraine (my mother)
chuckdman
no pepper
ryson
BahamaMama
DOGS THAT BARK
toastonastick
TJBELL
Donna :sadwave:
The Judge
3 seconds
spang
taoist
BADTODABONE
twofingers
BigSix
doochuk
Hooks
Hook's Girlfriend
watrdogg
allholyone
VaNurse
we had our first drop out. come back soon, donna.
Gayle (my wife)
Lorraine (my mother)
chuckdman
no pepper
ryson
BahamaMama
DOGS THAT BARK
toastonastick
TJBELL
Donna :sadwave:
The Judge
3 seconds
spang
taoist
BADTODABONE
twofingers
BigSix
doochuk
Hooks
Hook's Girlfriend
watrdogg
allholyone
VaNurse
we had our first drop out. come back soon, donna.
October 22, 1990, is the day I quit smoking, and it's on the short list of the proudest accomplishments of my life. In a lot of ways, my experience was atypical, which probably means I've been lucky. Once or twice before I was going to write about my experiences for an "I'm Quitting - Who's With Me" post - I've certainly thought about my experiences enough - but this time I got busy in order to offer encouragement and support to members of my Madjack's family that right about now could use some support and encouragement anywhere they can find it.
(Never forget, if you don't succeed this time, there is nothing wrong with falling down, provided you pick yourself up and try again.)
My cousin was diagnosed with leukemia in April of 1990, and his tortuous ordeal would end with his death at the age of 38 on November 6, 1990. Interestingly, my New Year's resolutuion at the start of 1990 had been to cut back on my smoking (my habit was up to over two packs a day for at least 10 years before then), mainly because it was getting harder and more unacceptable to smoke in so many settings, but the resolution was a miserable failure, and there is no doubt that within months I was smoking a few more per day (Camel Lights), if anything.
It was nearing midnight on 10/22/90, and I was sitting on my couch, channel surfing, but my mind that night had been thinking quite intently/intensly about what my cousin and his immediate family were going through. Literally, I had a flash that I was going to quit smoking. Within 20 minutes I was TOTALLY committed to the idea. My emotions and adrenaline were off the charts, and within 90 minutes of the decision I was ABSOLUTELY convinced I was going to pull it off. I was stoked. I had never made any effort to quit before, although in some abstract ways I had figured I would quit "some day". So I never had a final cigarette, and I really don't remember anything about the one that was.
Starting out I didn't tell a soul I had quit, and 3 days later not one person had noticed or commented, which is when I told the world. I had enough freedom at my job that I could just up and disappear if need be, especially after my secret was out, and that allowed me to get through those urges that came frequently and furious.
During the day I did things - anything, on the spur of the moment - to keep from smoking. Take a walk, snack, work, exercise, leave work early and head straight to bed before 7:00 p.m. (I've always been able to sleep well, and I think all the adrenaline rushes helped wear me out) - whatever got me past an urge and put more hours under my belt. But also at home in the evening is when I tended to reflect more on my reasons for quitting in order to stay motivated: (1) my cousin's tortuous death from an unrelated form of cancer; (2) the writing was on the wall that smoking was becoming much more unacceptable and smoker's were being looked down upon so much more blatantly, and I am not always a good sport when it comes to getting hassled; (3) lots of m-o-n-e-y; (4) general health, from no hacking to enjoying food.
More atypical stuff - I didn't throw my cigarettes away. There were several packs in my house, and a pack in my car. Rightly or wrongly, I told myself that if having a cigarette nearby was all it took to break down, then I wasn't going to succeed at this. I guess it never came down to a critical moment when the cancer sticks were too close for comfort.
Toothpicks were my biggest crutch. It seemed almost constant, although it was probably just more often than not . . . Smoking was much more on my mind while driving than at any other time - followed by hours at night with not much going on - not after meals, or when I woke up, or when stepping outside, etc. A song would come on the car radio, I'd reach for my pocket by reflex, and I'd start laughing out loud - a lot . . . Sunflower seeds were another crutch, especially through a critical patch. This was back in the days before sports bars were the rage and before Wolf/Holmgren/Favre started to turn my beloved Packers around, so as I had done all my life, I sat in my car at the park or out on a gravel country road (no reception otherwise) and listened to Jim Irwin and Max McGee broadcast the Green Bay games that were meaningless to most everyone but me, and I would go through over a half a bag of sunflower seeds, splitting them open and filling the ashtray several times.
I was tall and skinny as a teenager, and more or less kept that build until I quit smoking, but I put on 10 pounds in the first month, and filled out by adding 25 pounds within one year after I quit. Luckily, not a problem for me. I always ate a lot and drank my share, and I come from a family of fine cooks that enjoy eating and drinking a heck of a lot, but I can say I enjoyed my food a bit more right from the start.
Be selfish - Take a nap - leave and take a walk - do something with your hands - eat and eat some more - it's all good if you are serious and if it gets you through yet another critical 5 minutes. For what it's worth, reading is one thing, but I don't think sitting at a computer and writing about the obsession (or sitting in a group and talking about it) would have been helpful to me in the critical early days of my pursuit. And not putting on weight in the process, or being a good sport and not being cranky - I didn't give a sh*t about that sh*t, really. I was VERY single-minded, until . . .
It was on the 20th day when I realized that the prior 2 or 3 days had not been as bad as it had been at first, and thankfully, it never got that bad again. I can unequivocally state that those first 17 days had a high degree of difficulty, and nothing else in my life really mattered during those first 17 days. Early on I told my closest friend and fellow smoker that it would be 18 months before I would say "I quit smoking" instead of "I'm trying to quit smoking", and although I was more or less on cruise control a few months ahead of schedule, we did celebrate righteously on that 18 month anniversary.
I was very careful during those first 17 days mentioned above, but after that it never bothered me to be around smoking (in break rooms or bars, with family or friends), and I didn't try giving up some of my "lesser vices". "If you're going to smoke, blow a little my way", has been one of my favorite lines for going on 16 years - and I almost always meant it when I said it. During a poker game in 1994 I joined my friends and the new dad in an "It's a Boy" cigar, and I've had at most 120 cigars in the 12 years since (Partagas Robusto is my favorite). Just to do it, I've lit my brother's cigarette 5 or 10 times (no inhaling) and handed it to him. Interpret that atypical stuff how you will, and anything is possible in the future, but I kicked the habit on October 22, 1990.
One last thing - March 20, 2006 is your time - Good Luck!
GL
(Never forget, if you don't succeed this time, there is nothing wrong with falling down, provided you pick yourself up and try again.)
My cousin was diagnosed with leukemia in April of 1990, and his tortuous ordeal would end with his death at the age of 38 on November 6, 1990. Interestingly, my New Year's resolutuion at the start of 1990 had been to cut back on my smoking (my habit was up to over two packs a day for at least 10 years before then), mainly because it was getting harder and more unacceptable to smoke in so many settings, but the resolution was a miserable failure, and there is no doubt that within months I was smoking a few more per day (Camel Lights), if anything.
It was nearing midnight on 10/22/90, and I was sitting on my couch, channel surfing, but my mind that night had been thinking quite intently/intensly about what my cousin and his immediate family were going through. Literally, I had a flash that I was going to quit smoking. Within 20 minutes I was TOTALLY committed to the idea. My emotions and adrenaline were off the charts, and within 90 minutes of the decision I was ABSOLUTELY convinced I was going to pull it off. I was stoked. I had never made any effort to quit before, although in some abstract ways I had figured I would quit "some day". So I never had a final cigarette, and I really don't remember anything about the one that was.
Starting out I didn't tell a soul I had quit, and 3 days later not one person had noticed or commented, which is when I told the world. I had enough freedom at my job that I could just up and disappear if need be, especially after my secret was out, and that allowed me to get through those urges that came frequently and furious.
During the day I did things - anything, on the spur of the moment - to keep from smoking. Take a walk, snack, work, exercise, leave work early and head straight to bed before 7:00 p.m. (I've always been able to sleep well, and I think all the adrenaline rushes helped wear me out) - whatever got me past an urge and put more hours under my belt. But also at home in the evening is when I tended to reflect more on my reasons for quitting in order to stay motivated: (1) my cousin's tortuous death from an unrelated form of cancer; (2) the writing was on the wall that smoking was becoming much more unacceptable and smoker's were being looked down upon so much more blatantly, and I am not always a good sport when it comes to getting hassled; (3) lots of m-o-n-e-y; (4) general health, from no hacking to enjoying food.
More atypical stuff - I didn't throw my cigarettes away. There were several packs in my house, and a pack in my car. Rightly or wrongly, I told myself that if having a cigarette nearby was all it took to break down, then I wasn't going to succeed at this. I guess it never came down to a critical moment when the cancer sticks were too close for comfort.
Toothpicks were my biggest crutch. It seemed almost constant, although it was probably just more often than not . . . Smoking was much more on my mind while driving than at any other time - followed by hours at night with not much going on - not after meals, or when I woke up, or when stepping outside, etc. A song would come on the car radio, I'd reach for my pocket by reflex, and I'd start laughing out loud - a lot . . . Sunflower seeds were another crutch, especially through a critical patch. This was back in the days before sports bars were the rage and before Wolf/Holmgren/Favre started to turn my beloved Packers around, so as I had done all my life, I sat in my car at the park or out on a gravel country road (no reception otherwise) and listened to Jim Irwin and Max McGee broadcast the Green Bay games that were meaningless to most everyone but me, and I would go through over a half a bag of sunflower seeds, splitting them open and filling the ashtray several times.
I was tall and skinny as a teenager, and more or less kept that build until I quit smoking, but I put on 10 pounds in the first month, and filled out by adding 25 pounds within one year after I quit. Luckily, not a problem for me. I always ate a lot and drank my share, and I come from a family of fine cooks that enjoy eating and drinking a heck of a lot, but I can say I enjoyed my food a bit more right from the start.
Be selfish - Take a nap - leave and take a walk - do something with your hands - eat and eat some more - it's all good if you are serious and if it gets you through yet another critical 5 minutes. For what it's worth, reading is one thing, but I don't think sitting at a computer and writing about the obsession (or sitting in a group and talking about it) would have been helpful to me in the critical early days of my pursuit. And not putting on weight in the process, or being a good sport and not being cranky - I didn't give a sh*t about that sh*t, really. I was VERY single-minded, until . . .
It was on the 20th day when I realized that the prior 2 or 3 days had not been as bad as it had been at first, and thankfully, it never got that bad again. I can unequivocally state that those first 17 days had a high degree of difficulty, and nothing else in my life really mattered during those first 17 days. Early on I told my closest friend and fellow smoker that it would be 18 months before I would say "I quit smoking" instead of "I'm trying to quit smoking", and although I was more or less on cruise control a few months ahead of schedule, we did celebrate righteously on that 18 month anniversary.
I was very careful during those first 17 days mentioned above, but after that it never bothered me to be around smoking (in break rooms or bars, with family or friends), and I didn't try giving up some of my "lesser vices". "If you're going to smoke, blow a little my way", has been one of my favorite lines for going on 16 years - and I almost always meant it when I said it. During a poker game in 1994 I joined my friends and the new dad in an "It's a Boy" cigar, and I've had at most 120 cigars in the 12 years since (Partagas Robusto is my favorite). Just to do it, I've lit my brother's cigarette 5 or 10 times (no inhaling) and handed it to him. Interpret that atypical stuff how you will, and anything is possible in the future, but I kicked the habit on October 22, 1990.
I like that approach - a lot. While my approach was intentionally built around some different semantics, the power of that phrase corresponds perfectly with the adrenaline rushes that fueled me when I kicked the habit. Simply put, one of the proudest accomplishments of my life.chuckdman said:
One last thing - March 20, 2006 is your time - Good Luck!
GL
