Smoking, quitting, and cravings

[Point 357]

I ask only to seek the experience of all of the collective knowledge assembled here.
I am 51 years old and have had quite the adventurous life so far. The single worst habit I have picked up has been smoking cigarettes. Recently I was given about the most clear medical signal to quit that there can possibly be. Right now. .
It's been two weeks since my five day stay in ICU after surgery and I have not had a smoke. After 25+ years of a pack and a half a day habit not a single puff.
It's the cravings that haunt me. Badly.
From everyone's experience, how long can these cravings last? Life is otherwise great for me, but these cravings are giving me a tougher time than I had expected.

 

[arjay]

The physical cravings will last about a month,the psychological-I have no idea.Im an expert at quitting and a real pro at restarting...Stick with it!

 

[kudzu3]

First, I believe you could have said the same thing without the profanity. Now, I quit in 1987, after smoking for about twenty years and was burning about three packs a day. I satisfied my cravings with baby carrots. Yep, carrots. Keep a bag of baby carrots with you and when the cravings start, eat one. As you eat it hold it like you would a cigarette and breath in through your mouth as if inhaling. No, I ain't joking. Another thing that helped me was to stay busy, don't let yourself be idle. I bought a 1947 Willys jeep and spent my time working on it. Also, when you must be around smokers, smell 'em, they stink. The cravings will be gone before you know it. Good luck.

 

[Bkreutz]

I used to quit every night when I went to bed. It lasted about 8 hours. 4 years ago my cardiologist told me he wouldn't operate again if I continued to smoke. I found some help with the Nicorette lozenges. After a while the cravings got less and less. Now every once in a while a random craving will come out of nowhere but it passes quickly. I smoked for 45 years, wished I'd figured out quitting was possible sooner. Keep fighting it, it can be done.

 

[timn8er]

The cravings last a long time, unfortunately, but they do get easier to bear as time goes on. I quit in 1991, and for several years I had dreams that I was smoking. I'd wake up & think that's it, I did it, I started smoking again, might as well keep doing it. I don't crave it near as much as I used to, but I would be lying if I said I didn't crave tobacco at all. You have to help yourself, & the best way to do that is to stay away from places & situations that make you want to smoke. One big thing in your favor is that so many places don't allow smoking any more, so that will help a lot. If your friends smoke, you need to stay away from them for awhile. If you can trust them not to light up around you, that might be alright. When I was quitting, some of my so called friends would blow smoke in my face to make it even worse for me. Another thing when you're around people that smoke, especially after you've quit for awhile, Is you begin to notice how bad they smell(from the smoke!). Besides the obvious health benefits, as mentioned, your sense of smell will improve as will your sense of taste.

I hope this helps you & best of luck with staying away from the cancer sticks!

 

[shouldazagged]

I guess my experience is a little different. I smoked from age 14 to 54 (I'll soon be 76), most of it two and a half to three packs a day. I quit cold turkey because (a) the patch hadn't yet been cleared for use, and (b) I couldn't see how putting small quantities of an addictive drug into my system would help me break the addiction. I'm a sober alcoholic--"tapering off" is a meaningless concept for me. So I quit smoking the way I quit drinking, one day at a time and asking for help from a higher power.

What I found was that an awful lot of the discomfort stemmed from not having the familiar habitual things to do with my hands and mouth. In those days you could buy fake cigarettes--three-inch lengths of filter material wrapped like filter-tipped cigarettes. You could inhale through them, handle them, do anything but light them. They helped enormously. They aren't made anymore as far as I know; but many people find that using the empty barrel of a pen, a length of soda straw, or something else as a surrogate helps.

I was very uncomfortable for about a month--my wife was still smoking at the time, which didn't help--but then the discomfort was over and the craving went away very quickly. Let me urge you not to assume that because others have had the urges for a long time you will also. It may not be like that, but if you anticipate it you may well be right.

 

[kamloops67]

seriously man , i can help ...but you gotta help yourself first.
try copenhagen or something like it but strong! only take a pinch when the cravings become unbearable .
for my self i always thought snoose was gross and i knew most ladies think snoose is gross so... . yeah just take a pinch of that gross sh-t and the nic need is gone and you can go back to the face to face fight with the habit . i havent smoked in 19 years...but i miss a GOOD cigar badly

 

[Arik]

I tried just this winter. Lasted about 2 months. I had morning cravings BAD! But after day 3-4 it wasnt so bad. Mental cravings last only about 10 min. Every time i got one I'd remind myself "its only a few minutes". It got to be ok but i have a harder time giving up good beer and liquor and thats when the cravings were the worst. So i started back only a little with a beer and quickly became a pack a day again. Gotta quit!

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[Hillbilly77]

I smoked for around 15 years.
I also had a scary medical thing that prompted me to quit. (The medical thing turned out to be nothing, but it put the fear into me.)

It's been 5 years since I quit, cold turkey - no patch, no nicotine gum, no nothing.
I was smoking a carton per week.
The good news is, that at two weeks, you're almost out of the woods as far as the physical addiction goes.

The mental addiction can be bad also.
Here's what worked for me:
I chewed gum. So much gum that my jaw ached from chewing. Instead of popping a whole stick of gum into my mouth at once, I'd nibble on it little by little.
Also, drink water - a lot of water. Keep your stomach filled with water so you don't gain as much weight from eating.
Also, drinking coffee helped. I replaced my after-meal cigarette with a cup of coffee.

Lastly, don't think of it as quitting smoking for the rest of your life.
Have you ever heard "One Day At A Time"? It's simple and it works. Just don't smoke today. Don't worry about smoking tomorrow. Just don't smoke today.

All you have to do is be able to count to ONE.
Don't smoke ONE cigarette for ONE day. Period.

Good luck and Godspeed.


BTW, the money I'm not smoking up anymore is now a TRUCK PAYMENT.
Think of all that money.

 

[trulyapostolic]

I quit 13 years ago after a life changing experience. The cravings and desire for another one lasted for nearly a year afterwards however. You may find there's other things that you'll have to give up because they are associated with smoking, drinking alcohol and coffee just to name a couple.

The very best advice I can give is for you to go to a real bible believing church and receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. It will change your life an you won't desire cigarettes any longer.

 

[Xtasy]

Your body quits craving for cigarettes really quickly, the rest is in your head.
I quit 4 weeks ago and have right now 0 cravings because in my head I got over it. Due to an incident in Afghanistan I needed some teeth to be rebuild, well the last bill now was around 14.000... My mouth is pretty much worth a whole car now so I figured I can not destroy so much money and pain just because of cigarettes.

Yes sometimes I think hum a cigarette would be nice... But I have set myself some goals and want to achieve, cigarettes would make it impossible.

You should maybe start setting yourself a new goal where cigarettes just don't have a spot.

Oh believe me a good beer and a cigarette are a perfect match... But overall, I sleep better since I quit, I have more energy and I want to keep it that way

 

[kamloops67]

judging by tour alias "point 357 " you consider your self a leader . lead the way to freedom from that govt controlled tax trap. yeah thats my dime store psychology...enjoy .fight hard, i actually thought about you after a hard days work, and my fingers hurt but i want you to fight and win

 

[iouri]

It can be done. I quit about 5 years ago after over 20 years of smoking. I've used nicotine losengies (sp?) for about a week, but they were tasting so bad I quit them too Craved for a few months (my wife still smokes, so it was an additional challenge) but then cravings just faded away. I've used to smoke at least pack a day, so by current prices it's like $210 a month... I can save for a new gun every few months Wish I did it sooner I would greatly recommend a book by Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking: The Easyway To Stop Smoking: Allen Carr: 9780615482156: Amazon.com: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41XFvNbZjxL.@@AMEPARAM@@41XFvNbZjxL it was an eye opener for me. Right now I have zero cravings - I can be in a company of smokers and feel just fine as long as they don't blow smoke in my face .

 

[Viss]

I was a heavy smoker for 35 yrs. I encourage you to take one day at a time as others have mentioned.

I have been smoke free for 5 yrs. now, the cravings will diminish with time, but I still have them once in a while but they don't last long. Best of luck with kicking the habit.

 

[kamloops67]

like i said its a fight. roll up your sleeves and dont quit. you are your judge so is you kid, wife, co worker, friend , dont stop .fight like its your life.its yours and theirs too

 

[PA Reb]

seriously man , i can help ...but you gotta help yourself first.
try copenhagen or something like it but strong! only take a pinch when the cravings become unbearable .
for my self i always thought snoose was gross and i knew most ladies think snoose is gross so... . yeah just take a pinch of that gross sh-t and the nic need is gone and you can go back to the face to face fight with the habit . i havent smoked in 19 years...but i miss a GOOD cigar badly

Sorry "kamloops67" but this advice is a REALLY bad idea. Did you know that the most direct route for a chemical to get to your heart (nitro tablets) outside IV injection is under your tongue or between your cheek and gums?!

Here is a good website that offers some really good tips on beating the urge > Quitting smoking: 10 ways to ride out tobacco cravings - MayoClinic.com . Although nicotine is usually out of the system after five days, studies are showing that the effects of many of the other chemicals found in cigarettes can last for many years. The reason you continue to have these urges is proof alone that these new theories are probably correct. Yu may have to find a way to fight these urges for five years or more BUT, you can do it if you really want to. Best of luck and don't give in!

 

[loutent]

I quit in '76 after smoking for about 12 years - I'm still addicted but have been smoke free since then. I could start again tomorrow - nothing better than having one (or more) with coffee in the morning or a couple with drinks before/after dinner at night - and some to handle the "stress" in between. I really miss it!

Nicotine is extremely addictive - tough it out - I don't think that medications work that well - ultimately it falls back to your own willpower and conviction.

If you have to eat/gain weight to get a handle on it, then I say let it fly - you can always lose the weight later.

Best of luck.

 

[Delos]

Do not go gently

Convince yourself to fear cigarettes. Then put a cigarette in your mouth, look in the mirror, and say "this looks really stupid" twenty times each night.

You are sending carbon monoxide into your blood with each puff. It attaches to red blood cell receptors that would have taken oxygen. Your heart is a busy muscle and you are depriving it of oxygen also. The tar on your lungs also blocks oxygen. The tar you swallow ends up in intestines and even kidneys.

Do not go gently into this kind of night. Fight your demons now.

Humphrey Bogart - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
By the mid-1950s, Bogart's health was failing. Once, after signing a long-term deal with Warner Bros., Bogart predicted with glee that his teeth and hair would fall out before the contract ended. Bogart had formed a new production company and had plans for a new film Melville Goodwin, U.S.A., in which he would play a general and Bacall a press magnate. His persistent cough and difficulty eating became too serious to ignore and he dropped the project. The film was renamed Top Secret Affair and made with Kirk Douglas and Susan Hayward.
Bogart, a heavy smoker and drinker, developed cancer of the esophagus. He almost never spoke of his failing health and refused to see a doctor until January 1956. A diagnosis was made several weeks later and by then removal of his esophagus, two Lymph nodes, and a rib on March 1, 1956, was too late to halt the disease, even with chemotherapy. He underwent corrective surgery in November 1956 after the cancer had spread. Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy visited him at this time. Frank Sinatra was also a frequent visitor. With time, Bogart grew too weak to walk up and down stairs. He valiantly fought the pain and joked about his immobility: "Put me in the dumbwaiter and I'll ride down to the first floor in style." The dumbwaiter was then altered to accommodate his wheelchair. In an interview, Hepburn described the last time she and Spencer Tracy saw Bogart (the night before he died):

Spence patted him on the shoulder and said, "Goodnight, Bogie." Bogie turned his eyes to Spence very quietly and with a sweet smile covered Spence's hand with his own and said, "Goodbye, Spence." Spence's heart stood still. He understood.

Bogart had just turned 57 and weighed 80 pounds (36 kg) when he died on January 14, 1957, after falling into a coma.

 

[Old Seabee]

Smokin

After 45 years of smoking I Quit cold turkey . You have to count to 10 slowly when the urge hits you , They will slowly go away but never total. Hang in there

 

[kamloops67]

Sorry "kamloops67" but this advice is a REALLY bad idea. Did you know that the most direct route for a chemical to get to your heart (nitro tablets) outside IV injection is under your tongue or between your cheek and gums?!

Here is a good website that offers some really good tips on beating the urge > Quitting smoking: 10 ways to ride out tobacco cravings - MayoClinic.com . Although nicotine is usually out of the system after five days, studies are showing that the effects of many of the other chemicals found in cigarettes can last for many years. The reason you continue to have these urges is proof alone that these new theories are probably correct. Yu may have to find a way to fight these urges for five years or more BUT, you can do it if you really want to. Best of luck and don't give in!

dont feel sorry , feel wrong . it worked for me. how did you quit?