Quitting Smoking

[Big Bad Voodoo]

I used to smoke lucky strike non-filters dont know how I ever quit those

 

[Big Bad Voodoo]

I blame Fred Flintstone
http://media.ebaumsworld.com/index.php?e=flintston.wmv

 

[Green Horn]

I did have a question about the patches for those of you who've used them. How is the transition from the different stages/ levels of nicotine? Did you really notice a difference or not? Also, how is it after the last patch? Basically I'm wanting to know how much "withdrawl" you experience upon completing all the stages. Thanks in advance. BTW tomorrow night at 10:00 will be exactly 7 days. :yeehaw: I know it's still early in the game, but I'm still feeling invincible.

 

[ellandoh]

3 months yeah!!!!

used gum for a week gave it up it was only prolonging the agony trying to cut down on the gum played with my head....then i read a story of a guy who had been using the gum for 8 years he started using it in half pieces cuz it costs more than smokes. my experience is that the faster the nicotine physical craving is COMPLETELY gone the faster you can make headway on the mental addiction

ps smoked for 18 years

 

[rickyd]

GreenHorn,
WHen i was on the patch, i noticed no difference in the different stages.. WHen i got down too the last one, i basically got off teh patch by forgetting too put them on..

Congrats too all!! WTG :)

 

[Green Horn]

Cool! Thanks Ricky and WTG ellandoh! I look forward to bragging about my 3 month anniversary as well. :) One of the coolest parts about this quitting thing is the opportunity to brag all we want and we all are genuinely proud of each other for our accomplishments. :yeehaw:

 

[plykins]

GreenHorn,
Just as rickyd said, I noticed no difference in the different stages. I also have three months under my belt. Smoked for 35+ years. Keep up that attitude, you can do it!!! Hey GreenHorn, where do you ride? I belong to CTOR. We have over 1300 acres west of Salado.

 

[Green Horn]

Well, as of current I pretty much don't ride. Haven't been out since October. I've had the chance to ride, but usually wind up doing something else. Shoot me an email and maybe we can go on an "ex smoker" ride one of these days. :) cjfarmer1[at]yahoo.com

 

[Rooster]

Hey GreenHorn, where do you ride?

Ride? :rotfl:

 

[MXSparx]

Chris, what rickyd said sums up my experience as well.
Good luck to you :cool:

 

[Green Horn]

Just got a PM from Sparx (thanks man) and I figured I'd post here too and let you all know. :)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Havent noticed any updates in the Quitting Smoking thread. You hanging in there??

I'm proud to say that I am. Yesterday was exactly 2 weeks. Still on the patch though. Gonna use it as recommended and go the full 6-8 wks. I've had my bad days where I REALLY WANTED ONE, but my mind is still winning the battle by reminding me that I can't do that stupid sh-- no more. I wanna make my family/ friends/ DRN friends/ and of course myself PROUD. :cool: Thanks for checkin' in man. I appreciate the support I've gotten from all of you here on the boards. [Where's the :worship: smilie when ya need it] :laugh:

 

[MXSparx]

GOOD JOB Greenie. If I can do it anyone can. Busted the 3 month mark and I'm feeling good about it. Hows everyone else doing? Still beating it I hope. :nod:

 

[plykins]

Way to go Green Horn, I know you can do it. I used the patches for 12 weeks(per my Dr.) Hey MXSparx, I am on my 4th month also. Everybody hang in there, we all can make it!!!! :cool:

 

[Green Horn]

Thanks for all your support guys. It really means alot to me. More than anything though, I'm thankful for those of you who have paved the way and given me goals to achieve. I see posts about 3 mos. here, 4 mos. there, years, decades etc... and gives me the drive to want to follow in those foot steps. Congrats and thanks again to those who have kicked the habit. You All Rock!!! :)

 

[rickyd]

Way too go!! Hows everybody else doing?? YZ165?? It only gets easier :)

 

[Green Horn]

It only gets easier :)

I'm banking on that. :laugh: As far as I know, YZ165 (Matt) is still going strong as an ex-smoker. :yeehaw:

 

[Proxy]

Here's a story I failed to mention earlier... and something that motivates me to not smoke, even though I smoked in college.

When I was about 10, I went swimming at my mom's best friend's house. Her friend's husband, Terry, was in a pool chair and I was playing around the pool or something. At one point, he had his arm off the side of the arm rest, cigarette in hand. Somehow, my hand accidentally got too close to the cigarette and it burned my hand. About 5-7 years later, Terry was diagnosed with lung cancer and it eventually got the best of him. He left his wife and 10 year old son behind.

To this day (15 years later), I have a small scar the size of the tip of a cigarrette on my hand, given to me by an eventual victim of lung cancer.

 

[Green Horn]

That is terrible. Knowing how it is to be a smoker, I still feel for those who lost their lives to cancer. Whether it was self-induced or not. I'm willing to bet your average smoker doesn't do it because they really enjoy the effects. It's an addiction, and a very bad one. It's tough to break that cycle and unfortunately for some it's too late. :(

 

[YamaB]

I quit smoking about 5 years ago using zyban... Unfortunately I've kinda gone into re-lapse recently... I was smoke free for 4 years, and then last year I started smoking every now and then when I'd go out drinking... And then I became best riding buddies with a guy who smokes, so I started having a few smokes when we'd go out riding... It has kind of escalated to where I now smoke at least 1 cigarette pretty much every day and several on the weekends... I'm not smoking a pack a day like I used to, but I'm still doing 1 pack about every 1-2 weeks... I'm really kicking myself for getting back into this nasty habbit, but I just can't seem to stop... Guess I may have to go back to the doctor for another $100 bottle of zyban... :(

- B

 

[ironworker]

Because of this thread but mainly because of the chat freaks (and you know who you are) i have been smoke free since around mid November, G.H if I can quit smoking anyone can ! ;) I feel so much better now that I don't smoke.

I was actually able to ride my bike on some very technical tight single track and a bunch of enduro trails for over an hour straight without a break since I quit smoking and when I did smoke that was out of the question.

I bought my Camel Back with a zipper so I had a place to store my smokes for those trail side smoke breaks (how stupid is that) :coocoo: and basically so I could get that awful craving off my back.

I am glad to see most everyone who stopped smoking months ago has remained smoke free.

Good luck to everyone attempting to shake this habit, its a true test of will.

Rich

 

[Green Horn]

Yesterday was my 1 mo. anniversary. :aj: I've still got a ways to go, but the battle thus far has been rewarding. I celebrated last night by going out for dinner with the family and then my wife and I went to a bar to watch a local band play. Ok so sitting in a smoke filled bar getting s-faced wasn't the best idea but I made it through the 3 or so hours we were there w/o incident. :) I've DEFINATELY had my moments where I just wanted to throw in the towel and take the easy way out. For every one of those urges, there has been an equal feeling of accomplishment. And that's what I try to remind myself every day. A good friend of mine at work has also followed suit and jumped on the wagon too. He's up to about 5 days now I think, and I'm proud of him for taking the step too. I told him that looking back at my first month, I'd have to say the toughest part I've done was to actually START to quit. Thanks again to all of you who have been there to support me with your comments. :cool:

 

[MXSparx]

Congrats on hitting 1 month :cool: You Da Man :nod:

 

[YZ165]

GreenHorn, Congratulations. It's a tough road, But worth the effort. Keep up the good work. :cool:

I want to personally thank everyone in this thread for their support.
If it wasn't for this thread, I'd still be a smoker today.

IronWorker and I quit about the same time. Congratulations to him and everyone else that has quit with the help of the DRN crew.

I also know that there are a few lurkers to this thread (cough, Okie, cough) that need to jump back on the wagon. You can do it, and I'm here to help. Feel free to drop me a PM if you think I can help in any way.

Thanks again to everyone that helped me get through the tough times.

Matt

 

[Rooster]

Git 'er done!

I know your story so well GreenHorn, going to a smoke filled bar is a mutha when you are an ex-smoker. It's awful easy to do the "oh, I'll just have one or two, no big deal". It IS a big deal, it can, and will get you started back up again. I had that happend to me several years ago.

Keep on quitting everyone!!

 

[Green Horn]

It's awful easy to do the "oh, I'll just have one or two, no big deal". It IS a big deal, it can, and will get you started back up again. I had that happend to me several years ago.

Keep on quitting everyone!!

When I tried quitting a couple years ago, that's exactly what I did wrong. I had a bad night at work and said "ah, just this once since I'm having a bad night anyways." Then it was around 2 yrs before I could work on breaking the habit again. :| Like you said, it IS a big deal. I knew that going into it this time and reminded myself that it's a whole lot easier to STAY a quitter than to have to start all over again.

...And go easy on Okie guys. We all should know better than anyone that it's a mother of a habit to break. He'll git after it when he's ready again. :cool: