So, living in NY I signed up for a smoking (to quit) kit, and my patches arrived yesterday. I had been cutting down the last few days, and they seem to work... though they are itchy, more itchy than my BC patches were (sorry for the TMI lol)

My roommates are quitting with me, so that should be helpful, one of them called me today to check on me, i've been smoking the longest so they know it's going to be even harder for me, I'm just not sure how ready I am for it, I didn't prepare myself or come up with strategies, so I feel guilty...

Good luck and stay strong guys. You can do it. :D

I smoked in high school and in college, mostly as stress relievers (my parents smoked so I'm sure that is where I learned that "smoke to destress" behavior from). I stopped smoking soon after college around 2000 and haven't since then. Ironically, even too this day, every now and then I will get the urge to smoke (especially if I smell one that I use to smoke). It is an urge that I easily can control though.

Like AGDee, cinnamon gum (Big Red!) helped me to stop smoking by being a great diversion of the cravings. I wonder if maybe there is something in the spice cinnamon that helps calm or curb cravings. :confused:

For me, the cinnamon gives the same kind of sensation in the throat that a big long hit of a cigarette would give.

Well, here I am, almost 8 months later, and STILL battling this every single day. It's still the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, after lunch at work, after work, when I'm done doing the dishes, etc. In fact, there are certain things that I have a really hard time doing.. like the dishes. Used to be, we would finish dinner, I would go outside for my smoke and then come in and do the dishes. Then I'd go smoke again. It was like a reward for getting through the really nasty parts of life (like washing dishes when you're exhausted from a busy day at work, etc). Now, there are no rewards so it all just sucks. Therefore, some days, the dishes don't get done because I can't bring myself to do them. I'm still very very sleepy all the time, which is weird. I miss it when I finish a big project at work or something.. like I said, it was my reward. After doing something I was dreading, I knew that reward was at the end. I haven't found anything that can replace it yet.

I've also gained 35 pounds...

ETA: I am still also very high strung. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever know what it feels like to be calm and relaxed again. I miss being calm, peaceful and content most of the time.

I know what you mean about the reward system thing, I smoked after I cleaned, or I needed a break in cleaning, after completing something at work, or getting through the day (pathetic, but true), it was either smoking, or i'd let myself indulge in a favorite food (usually macaroni and cheese, or some other comfort food) I've been doing my best to not do either, but I feel very empty, and am trying to find joys in other things, but it's not the same.

I wish I liked cinnamon gum, or gum at all, mints seem to work better for me.... :o

After getting through the day is another really tough time for me. When I would finally get both kids settled in bed, I'd sit on the porch, all by myself and Whoosh, enjoy the peace with a cigarette. I really wish I could find something (legal) that gives me that same sense of calm because I fear that's what will drive me back to cigarettes. I want to cry about it sometimes even.

Stay strong! Coming up on Friday, February 8th, I will be 11 years smoke free--and got the weight gain to prove it :eek: I was one who smoked about a pack or so of Marlboro Lights a day. I quit cold turkey and it was hell for about 3 days.

I have no desire to go back to smoking. But a couple of nights ago, I had a dream and in the dream i was smoking a cigarette

The rest of my family (mom, dad, sister) still smoke. I do NOT allow it in my house. They can smoke out on the second floor balcony or outside in the back yard.

DH never smoked (strange since he came from a family of smokers)

I can see where your husband comes from not being a smoker as I am from a family of them(a lot still do, some have quit). As a kid I didn't like the smell on my clothing, and it was way worse when I moved to Europe in college. Just never had the desire, quite honestly.

Keep it going folks who have quit! My dad quit cold turkey one day, and to help him over it he used to have a ton of Certs on him and would have one every time he wanted to have a cigarette. He ate a lot of Certs for quite a few years, but on the positive side he always had good breath. :)

I know what you're going through and it really is hard, I feel like I've lost a companion or something, it was something to keep me busy, something to calm me down, reward, etc. I barely got 2 hours of sleep last night because I was lying awake thinking, when I did sleep, I had nightmares and really crazy dreams where people were trying to get me to smoke (one of the ladies that works in another office here at my work (who doesn't even smoke) was like come on, try it, you know you want one, just one drag, come on, and i was like nooooo and then I woke up)... talk about cliché.

stay strong, it's going to be ok. How long has it been? I know it's only been a few days for me but I took a drag off my friend's cig 2 days ago and it tasted so disgusting to me, and I just think about how many chemicals are in every puff. I know this is the usual info that's in so much of the literature, but I try to keep thinking about it every time I want one.

I know this thread is kind of old, but I was wondering if anyone could offer some insight. A close friend of mine is trying to quit chewing. Is it at all like quitting smoking? PM me! I want to help him, but I'm not sure if it a comparable situation. Quitting smoking is all over TV and stuff, but I dunno how this compares. Sorry to look like a n00b with reviving this and all...

Either way, Lucy, it's nicotine addiction, so yes, it compares. He may find the nicorette gum to be helpful so he'll get the chewing feeling and nicotine and then he can wean off of that.

You know what they say about women who smoke...

I thought Lucy meant just regular chewing gum, not nicorette?

???

I'm pretty sure she was talking about chewing tobacco...

Anyway, best of luck to your friend, Lucy, and to the others who are trying to quit.

You're right. I didn't think about that originally. My bad.

My grandfather chewed tobacco and had a VERY hard time quitting. Nicorette didn't help him at all. He used some home remedy that my grandmother created to help him stop.

I heard rave reviews about the Chantix program if anyone is able to afford it and see through the entire program... I know somethings about how it works, but I don't know the whole story.

Right now, as I understand it, what nicotine addiction does through smoking, especially when started at a young age, it literally burns your brain cells (neurons) from making the appropriate connections to know how to control those urges. As a young person, developmentally, we do not have the wherewithal or discernment to effectively make an informed decision about smoking. Because of the nicotine is doing it in the brain, it means it is an addiction--which makes it a medical condition, making it "potentially treatable" according to some circles...

But the current mode of treatment involves introspective personal commitment to change... That can be difficult to do.