....trying not to freak out.....
really really really trying
ugh I want one 
anyone have any advice?
what worked for you?
I've never smoked, so I can't offer suggestions.. but I wanted to say Congratulations for taking on such a great task!!!! I'm sure you can do it!!!!!!!!!!!!
I Smoked for 25 years. I tried to quit a million times. The last time I tried was 9 years ago and it finally took.
What worked for me:
- Understanding and accepting that yes, it was going to be really hard to do for a long time.
- Realizing that caving in and having a cigg didn't mean I'd failed and was a smoker again. I just got right back on the wagon and stayed quit.
- I used the patch for the full 6 weeks as suggested, not taking it off when I thought I was in the clear after 3 weeks like I'd done in the past.
- stocked up on hard candies. Yes I gained a little weight. But I realized it would be easier to lose that weight in a year than it would be to lose lung cancer.
- fiddle with a rubber band.
- and the big thing that got me through the immediate big cravings when I thought I'd go nuts...DEEP BREATHING. Take a series of good long, slow deep breaths until the feeling passes...and it always does.
It gradually gets better and fades away until you are no longer a smoker and no longer think about it.
Hang in. If it's the right time and you stick to it, it'll work.
Oh, and by the way...in case you need any incentive...I bought a new car with the money I saved. And that was 9 years ago, imagine what you could buy now with ciggs costing what, like $8 bucks a pack?
Good for you! DH and I quit two years ago. We just couldn't afford it anymore and it was ridiculous being down to our last $10 the day before payday just because we were each smoking a pack a day...not the way we wanted to be as parents. So we quit...DH did it cold turkey and I took Chantix...nasty stuff, it makes you feel pregnant and gives you some crazy dreams too.
The downside is that your metabolism slows when you quit, so it's normal to gain a little weight...sometimes 10 percent. Also, it can cause depression, so if you start feeling like that, maybe talk to your doc about antidepressants while you're quitting.
And stay away from friends who smoke, until you've been two weeks without a cigarette, or longer if you know you'll be tempted. You'll be surprised, friends who smoke won't want you to quit because they don't want to be the last smoker on earth 
That and they like to bum smokes from you sometimes...so don't hang around your smoker friends until you're over the worst of the craving.
Here's the good thing, for me, well sort of good depending on how you look at it:
A year after I quit smoking, I broke my leg pretty badly...we're talking screws and plates kind of bad. Anyhow, the doctors all told me how lucky I was that I had quit, because if I had been a smoker with an injury like that, the odds were that I would never have walked again.
I did the math between me and hubby we spend about 5k a year on cigs...blah makes me mad just thinking about it.
4 hrs and counting.
I've quit before 4 times each time for the duration of my pregnancy and nursing so 20+ months each time but the day the kids went to a cup I swear I was outside lighting up.
So sad and embarrassing to not be able to control myself.
Every time I light one up I feel like a failure, but yet I still do it.
I set myself a goal of 5 hrs so I'm almost there.
I'll smoke one and try to make it another 5.
baby steps
Thanx 
One of my incentives for quitting is I can get a boob job...lol
I can't if I smoke, plus with the money saved I can afford them!!!
WooHoo everytime I don't light up I'm thinking...boobies...to myself 
eww...I'd rather think of boobies 
But yes those are the pics I see in my head everytime I light up.
You'de think that would be enough but it is'nt, at least now I can admit that I am addicted, for years I swore I smoked because I wanted to not because I had to.
Thanx
One of my incentives for quitting is I can get a boob job...lol
I can't if I smoke, plus with the money saved I can afford them!!!
WooHoo everytime I don't light up I'm thinking...boobies...to myself
Do we get pics? 
Mike
Great work!! Lol, thats a great way of looking at it! maybe if i quit i can afford some new ones 
The money spent is crazy, its £6.20 for a box of 20 here! I dont even want to think about how much i spend!! or what i could have had instead! I have quit a few times. I have 3 children and never smoked while i was pregnant with any of them which i found easy to do. But left to myself and thats it i want one! I have been trying giving up on and off and i too am one of the people who say its because i want to not because i need to! Im very weak and always give in its easier!
I wish you all the best, keep it up and keep us posted on how your doing.
Good luck
Good for you...I know how hard it is to try and quit something..I've for years have tried to lose weight with the same end result..Last about half a day..But then one day I guess I hit rock bottom as they say you do and I went and joined weight watchers and followed the program religiously everyday for almost 5 months and lost the weight.I have kept it off for 3 years now..I never want to be fat again!!
What was your motivation for stopping while pregnant and nursing? Your babies, right? Well, you can still use them as motivation to stop for good this time. What happens to them when you get sick? It doesn't have to be cancer. There are all kinds of illnesses that can happen to you from smoking. Who is going to care for your children, run and play and create memories? Don't you want it to be you? Also even if you do not smoke around your kids, they can pick up the chemicals off your clothing and from the interior of the car which can lead to asthma, allergies, etc. You can do this and if not for your own health than surely for your children. My prayers will be with you.
Keep it up! you'll feel so much better afterwards, though it's sooo hard now! Keep up the good thoughts!!
Im a heavy smoker as well and it doesnt help that a pack of marlboros over here only costs $1.25
My husband managed to quit taking something called champix. not sure of the spelling. my dad also quit after 40 years of smoking taking it. My brother also quit using it but did start again about a year later. Apparantly what the pill does is make your brain think it hates ciggs. It tells you to take the pill but keep smoking. Within 2 weeks you will find them revolting and quit. my husband by the 3rd day was only lighting half the cigg and putting it out saying it "tasted awful". The suggested time to stay on it is 3 months.
I did the math between me and hubby we spend about 5k a year on cigs...blah makes me mad just thinking about it.
4 hrs and counting.
I've quit before 4 times each time for the duration of my pregnancy and nursing so 20+ months each time but the day the kids went to a cup I swear I was outside lighting up.
So sad and embarrassing to not be able to control myself.
Every time I light one up I feel like a failure, but yet I still do it.
I set myself a goal of 5 hrs so I'm almost there.
I'll smoke one and try to make it another 5.
baby steps
That's what my grandmother did. She started smoking at the age of 14, got married and stopped smoking during each of her five pregnancies and begun after she was done nursing. Finally (at the age of 75) she quit cold turkey because they raised the prices so much!
Now she is over 80 and can't move around much because she is out of breath so quickly from such little lung capacity (sp?).
Both my parents and a family friend quit smoking by taking Chantix. My parents haven't had one in over two years now.
Good luck!!
eww...I'd rather think of boobies
That is exactly what I thought when I saw those pictures, then I scrolled down and read your comment and it made me laugh out loud
Anyhow, when I took Chantix, it felt like smoking before you know you're pregnant, that feeling where it's hard to take a deep breath and the smoke makes you want to hurl. It was a pretty good motivation to quit. I didn't take the medicine for very long, only about two weeks, but that was long enough to get through the physical withdrawal symptoms.
It is hard though. I think people who don't smoke don't realize how very addictive it is. It was harder for me to quit smoking than it was to stop taking hydrocodone (I had leg surgery and had to take it for three months, long enough that I went through withdrawal when I stopped it). Anyhow, smoking is more than a physical addiction. It's something to do when you're bored, it's a reason to go outside for a little break from the kids, it's something to do when you wake up and when you're stressed out. So it's not surprising that it's so hard to quit. When you do quit, there's a lot more spare time in your day and you have to get used to that too.
CakeMommyTX, good for you! I quit just over 2 years ago (November 9, 2007 ), coincidentally it was just a few days before my 1st cake decorating class. My husband and I both took Chantix and we had been smokers for 30 years. Neither one of us has gone back.
Good luck and I'll be thinking of you!
Never been a smoker, but my stepfather was one and I think it is great of you.
Hmmm, 5K a year?!?! Thats a pretty good motivator. Think about it EVERYTIME you want to smoke...or maybe that would ony work on a cheapskate like me!
Take it one hour at a time. Invest in the patch. And if your MD will give you a script for either Zyban or Wellbutin, that really will help. Been there done that. No it's not easy, but the rewards are great. Your clothes don't smell, your hair doesn't stink, your breathe is fresher and You are getting the boobs of your dreams.
Hang in there.
How are we doing today? I hope still going strong.
So how much does one cigarette go for if you broke down the cost...? a quarter? Get a Jar and get your cigarette money in quarters and start plunking them in that jar every time you don't smoke one at the usual time. But then you must have a discipline to it also. You are only allowed to put in as many quarters are you would normally smoke. If you put a quarter in and go smoke then you have to take that quarter back out. And as you start cutting back on cigarettes, every time you smoke one more then you did the day before, you have to take two quarters out.
Star filling your jar!!!
Thank you everyone fro your support.
Well I have good news and bad news.
Bad news is that I have'nt quit completly.
Good news is that I've at least cut down to 1/2 a pack (give or take a few) a day instead of a full pack.
The fact that it is 30 something degrees outside has helped a lot, it's just too darn cold to go smoke so I've been forced to cut back.
But at this point I'll take any help I can get, even if it's from mother nature.
I like the Booby Jar, I'm going to make me one
Ah Cakemommy, don't you want perky boobies? Well at least your cutting it down to half.
If cutting back slowly works for you, then great. That did not work for me. I have quit twice in my life. The first time I was a 2-3 pack a day smoker. I started back after 10 years because of one cigarette. A co-worker gave me one on a break one day and that started me back for another 10 years. I quit in July 2006 and haven't had one since.
What worked for me:
Once I decided to quit this last time I never, ever took even one puff. My husband still smokes, but he has to go outside. I can't smoke one or two a day - I'm compulsive like that.
I put a rubber band around my wrist, and when I wanted a cigarette I snapped it hard against my wrist several times til it actually hurt. I don't know why, but it helped.
I told myself that I am no longer a smoker and I can't have one.
It was easier for me to be able to completely cut out a bad habit than having to control one.
Try to stay away from other smokers, if possible.
Now if I could just find a way to never have to eat again, maybe I could lose some weight......
I hope you are able to win this battle.
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