Stress Center Peer Support

Hello everyone!!

I live in California and yesterday they put yet another tax on ciggs. I've been wanting to quit for sometime now. I figured when starting the program I would be able to work on this slowly. But thats going to happen.

I'm 35 and have been smoking since I stared high school, or alittle before that. I quit once before for about 3 years. Then started back up in 2000.

I can't afford $8.00 or more for a pack. I have alittle less then a whole pack left, and once it's gone I'm done.

So heres my problem.........I'm too afraid to use patches or take RX meds. I had my boyfriend buy me a regular pack of chewing gum today. I'm afraid that once this pack is gone my anxiety will get worse.

I've made some progress since starting the program. I have gotten through some panic attacks without fighting them, and am now able to go outside when before I wouldn't even go out of my house(I've been like this for almost a year). I can't go anywhere or drive yet, but I'm slowly working on it.(on session 3 again, I'm having to repeat it for another week. Not quite ready to move on yet)

I guess since I have to quit cold turkey I'm worried it will affect the progress that I've already made.

I would LOVE to hear advice or suggestions from anyone who has some!!!!

Thanks for reading,
Little~Italy

I just wanted to say I'm impressed. I've wanted to quit for a while now too. My smoking has gotten worse since I got laid off from work now I'm smoking a pack and a half a day and I hear you on the price of smokes, ours are over 8.00 a pack. I like you don't want to use any RX or patches, I used the patches years ago and they gave me horrible night sweats. I'm thinking of going cold turkey myself. I quit once before in my late teens early 20's. My problem is the hand and oral fixation so I ended up cutting straws up to the length of a cigarette and I put cotton in the end so it had the same feeling as a real cigarette when you took a "drag" on it. I think there are fake cigarettes you can buy to help you quit. I started smoking in my early teens and am now in my 30's it would be so nice to not have this habit anymore but like you I'm afraid I'll have more anxiety if I quit or when I quit. Just wanted to say I'm envious of you for having the strength to start this.

Hi Little Italy!!! First of all, who said you have to quit "cold turkey"? "Cold turkey" isn't for everyone you know. I'm not knocking it, but I couldn't do it that way, I'm too anxious and emotional. Just thought I'd let you know that I have been smoke-free now for two months, and I've smoked for thirty-two years. I went to a support group for smoking cessastion and used the patch, and the gum to quit. The patch package says to use one at a time, and no other quit aid with it, but the company has to cover their butt, so they say that in general terms. With the doctor's say so, two patches can be used together along with the gum, inhalor, lozenges etc..... The support group I go to for quitting is run by doctors and nurses who specialize in addictions, and I'm sure California has it too. I started out on two patches and gum together, and I"m now down to one patch and gum. It doesn't matter how you quit, just as long as you do. I feel so much better physically now. Still have rough days, but manageable. Studies show that depressed people have a harder time to quit, but it's done everyday . I'm living proof. Some people are on Chantix, and I know quite a few people who have quit on that, and it's an amazing drug.I can't take it though because I'm on anti-depressants. Here we need prescriptions for it, but not in the USA I believe. Someone on this forum called "Stagerlee is on Chantix and he swears by it." There is help out there for you. Please keep me posted and let me know what you've decided. Good luck. You will be healthier and glad you quit. Don't wait until you get sick to do it. I have COPD early stage, so I quit in time, but a lot of people aren't that lucky. Anyhow, if you need to chat, just yell, I'll be here.

Hugs

I quit smoking years ago with the help of hypnotherapy. It only took a couple of sessions and I've never craved a cigarette since.

YAY a topic I like!!! Well I'm going to be 28 the end of this month and had been smoking since I was 12 (though not as heavily at that age)... I was up to a pack a day sometimes slightly more or less... Well I tried quitting a few times... in Jan of 07 I quit for 4 months while on the patches but started up again after that... stronger than before... I am happy to say that I have quit again in October of 2008... and yes it is HARD... I still crave cigarettes every single day... however a couple of weeks ago I took one oull from my moms cigarette and wanted to puke... I started coughing and was coughing for a few days after that... Mind you it was not one of those really loooong drags... it simple little drag... I was shocked honestly... I have more to say to help but I have to leave work right now... I'll finish later...

Hello little italy,
Do we have something in common or what? I started smoking when I was 12 but only now & then. Every year since then I would smoke more & more. By the time I graduated high school I was smoking a pack a day. I was up to 1 ½ packs a day when I quit the first time & like you I started smoking again 10 years later. When I started smoking again I was smoking 2 – 3 packs a day. Iowa added a $1 per pack tax on smokes so on my birthday two years ago I quit cold turkey. It was probably the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. The first time I quit smoking I used what they call a one step at a time filter system. There are 4 filters & you use each one for 2 weeks then go to filter # 2 & so on. Each filter has a bigger hole in it than the one before depending on what filter you’re on. So you inhale more air as you go up in number of filter. So by filter #4 you’re inhaling more air than smoke. Anyway it worked for me the first time I quit smoking. The second time I just stopped cold turkey. I just wanted to quit & get it over with. You have to keep busy, drink lots of water or juice, stay away from other smokers if you can. If I can quit cold turkey & smoked 2 - 3 packs a day I bet you can do it also. I always kept a roll of lifesavers in my pocket & would suck on one when I had the urge for a smoke. If you need to talk just PM me or send me an e-mail, my e-mail address is on my profile. Together we will all help you quit.
Good Luck,
Triple “L”

Thanks everyone for the replys!!!!

It's going to be hard...wish me luck, only 8 more left.

Hi Little Italy - I'm not a smoker but something you wrote hit me funny:

I'm too afraid to use patches or take RX meds.

While you are detoxing off the cigs, it would be better to be afraid of starting up again. Imagine what they've been doing to you all these years. Imagine the chemicals and additives and preservatives that are causing the addiction.

Drink lots of water, and if you can get your hands on a juicer, I'd recommend doing that. Juice carrots, apples, grapes, melon...any hard fruits or veggies. Mix 2-3 combinations.

I wouldn't recommend using a crutch like alcohol, coffee or any other kind of substance other than maybe green tea.

Buckle down for a rough 3 days, taking a pain reliever if you need to.

Busy yourself with walks, cleaning, doing a project like painting or reorganizing, etc.

Stay out of the kitchen between meals or you might overeat and/or oversnack. A lot of ex-smokers are fairly overweight as they replace one addiction with another. Food can be addicting, so be careful not to binge on a bunch of junk food.

Remember, drink plenty of water.

Do you have any exercise equipment or exercise videos? Try doing that at least an hour a day, this will get your mind off it, feel good about your body and help you detox more quickly. Have a dog you can take for a walk?

Keep drinking that water and eat lots of fruit, which is very cleansing.

All the best to you!

Chantix is by RX only here in the USA as well.

I need to quit also. We think that cigarettes actually calm our nerves, when in fact, they actually contribute to the palpitations and other anxiety symptoms that we experience.

Cigs just went to $7 a pack here yesterday... I bought 3 cartons before the increase, LOL! Not funny really, but I do plan on quitting when they are gone.

As a sidenote, I tried the Chantix last year, but it only increased my anxiety tenfold!

Good luck... I'll be right behind you in a few weeks!

Hey I'm back... so where was I???? Ok so in my mind I was going to quit smoking... I was smoking to the point where I was nauseous but still smoked... Mentally I tried preparing myself... By the way cigarettes are over $9 here now... and even higher in Manhattan... anyway... One night I found myself having trouble sleeping... I could hardly breathe... I don't have asthma or any other breathing problems... I just couldn't take a deep breathe... if I tried hard enough I would cough like there was no tomorrow... that's when my brain said "uh uh something has got to give"... I had 2 packs of cigarettes left from a carton I bought. I decided I would quit after the 2 packs... (For some reason we feel we need to finish our packs in their entirety) Well I had calculated that Friday night that I would be done with my packs by SUnday night and Monday morning would be a fresh start for me... Well it so happens that Sunday night I had a third of the pack left... What to do...what to do... I decided to smoke three cigarettes before I went to bed and gave the rest of the pack to my mother... I went on the highest nicotine patches there are... The first week was the easiest week... the 2nd was a little harder and to be completely honest with you the next couple of weeks were really hard... I think I had a total of maybe 5 cigarettes in the 3rd or 4th week (more out of anger dealing with a personal issue)... I am so proud to say that I went through the whole nicotine patch system thereafter with not 1 cigarette... after I completed the system I still had that uneasiness... I went from 7 mg of nicotine to 0 mg... so I decided to start chewing on the Nicorette gums that I had taken years before and could not stand... guess what? They helped.. They are 2 mgs each and taste way better than they did years ago... I still chew them actually... every day... well usually when I'm at work... I seldom crave them on the weekends or after work... well again I have to be honest and say it is still a struggle but one that is soooooo worth it... Just the other day I was EXTREMELY upset and said "you know what I don't care I am going to smoke a cigarette, I'm upset and I have the right to. It's my body!" I called my friend up so she could bring me one and she did not answer my call until I was already back at work... by the time I finished work that urge had went away... that's the most important thing to remember here... if you hold out long enough the urge goes away... if you remember that and repeat it to yourself hopefully it will help... I understand the fear of any nicotine meds... I had very vivid dreams while on the patches and very scary nightmares... that was because I kept the patches on when I went to bed... if you take them off before bed and put one back on in the morning those symptons are little to none... In regards to anxiety yes it puts a little harder umph into my anxiety but I'd rather have that umph than cancer... just a thought... hope I caught at least one persons attention... Oh one other thing... whenever I actually imagine myself inhaling cigarette smoke I remember the taste and it disgusts me... there are ways to play around with this and stay smoke free,... just be as strong as you can!