Giving up smoking

[chilliwitch]

I'm off to see the doctor Tuesday to attempt to give up smoking.I'm not 100% sure I want to give up but I've been having some problems with my breathing for a while now,I'm 34 years old but feel like a 70 year old some days!I have 3 children and know it's better for me and them.My hubby is giving up with me too.Have heard of tablets called Champix,they sound brilliant.Have read about them online and they sound like just what i'm looking for.Just wondering if anyone has given up using these and if they suffered any of the side affects stated.
Thanks advance.

[missprim]

Unless you are 100% certain you want to give it up, then whatever you try will not work.

[Rtaxron]

Hi chilliwitch,

I was on 35/40 a day for years till last January.
It can vary as to what is best for each person.

You have a few choices which I use, one is the chewing gum called nicorette. Patches with different strengths and the inhalator, which looks like a small cigarette holder and you put capsules inside and inhale. I find that the best for me.

None of them are cheap, but a lot less than ciggies. Its hard at first and I have had a couple of lapses.
I think the doctor will refer you the the trained stop smoking nurse after your first visit who you can see every week or fortnight.
Don't think for 1 minute you can fool her that you haven't smoked on a visit, as she will give you a carbon monoxide breath test, and it shows up if you have had a puff, : - )

Good luck and if you want any more info, just ask?.

[chilliwitch]

Thanks for that rtaxron,I tried to give up about 6 years ago and tried the nicorette patches and still smoked on them,even the strongest one!I couldn't get on with the gum as it made me feel sick.I've never tried the inhalator but feel quite positive about Champix,but like you say everyone is different.I feel a lot more positive about trying it this time than I did last time.I'm not 100% positive I want to give up but i'm 101% positive i'm going to try bloody hard.Thanks for the advicem,a lot more helpful than the previous post!!

[BillySugger]

There's a lot of good advice on hear http://www.whyquit.com/ .It's about doing it 'cold turkey' but it worked for me . All the nicorette patches etc are advertised as if they are doing you a big favour .It's a multi-million � business just like tobacco .
I don't think you can give up any addiction unless you really want to . But for me the thing with giving up the fags was believing that it's not really all that hard .
I'm only 6 weeks off them so by no means a long time but it has been remarkably easy so far .
Good luck however it goes but my advice would be to have a look at the link I gave - what have you got to lose

[DONNA1458]

Not to worry you but please go to the doctors my mum had a smokers cough for years and then started getting out of breath and turns out she has emphazima she has now stopped smoking for 1 month now since she found out she has done it with the tablet. good luck

[butterflies]

I stopped 3 years ago and have never regretted it. One of the reasons we think we don't want to stop is we feel we're losing a friend, like a prop and as well if we do relapse we can always say it's because I don't really want to stop. If you could press a button and become a non-smoker (no cravings) would you? I stopped cold turkey because I wanted to be in control of my cravings. It wasn't easy as I'm an anxious person, but after 5 days I felt better and I vowed I would never go through 5 days like that again so my mind was made up. Look ahead and never back. Good luck you'll never regret it and you'll be proud of yourself.

[blah32]

Hi. My friends did it cold turkey - hard but worked for them. They (a couple with 2 small children) were both determined and helped each other through the tough times... they made sure they did things that helped to reduce stress and tensions in their lives... they went on bike rides, did more gardening than they had done, they found a relaxing aromatherapy oil on the internet (something like eden aromatherapy i think) and took lots of baths!!
Good luck and celebrate every day I'm sure you'll do well - be proud!!

[chilliwitch]

Thank you all for your replies and encouraging words!!am off to visit the link billysugger gave and then smoke,hopefully for the last night!!!I'm actually quite looking forward to it in a weird way,Once again thank you all.

[Jugglering]

Please don't give up trying to give up ! What worked for me was the fact that I was not in control... in a meeting that went on a bit too long, I would be thinking of how to escape so that I could have a fag.... at the end of the working day, I would be wondering how on earth I could nip out for a quick one.... in other words, the nicotine was ruling me and I was NOT impressed !

It simply cannot be right to only feel ok when you have just filled your body with toxic substances ! Please take note of your GP's advice and look forward to the rest of your life.

Another little hint - if you really want to succeed, you must also cleanse your house and car (as well as your body). That means getting all the soft furnishings cleaned, all your clothes washed as well as washing down all the hard surfaces in your home. If one of you does lapse, then maybe that one could only smoke outside.

Sorry to seem a bit drastic, but I did find that doing all of this helped me (finally) kick the dreaded weed !

[butterflies]

Yes jugglerings right. It's important to make your house, car etc smoke free zones so you really smell that fresh difference. I remember once I came out of that smoke haze when I no longer smelt smoke on clothes etc I felt I was walking on a swiss mountain... then other people's smoke gets to you!
If you're actually looking forward to being smoke free, you're on the right road. Please keep us posted here on B&S.
PS Do have treats and don't mind putting on weight. I put on 8 kilos within 4 weeks not because I ate more but because my body wasn't pounding the nicotine away anymore. I went into eating vegetables & fruit instead of chips and kept as active as I could and I lost 6 kilos within 4 weeks. Keeping to 3 meals a day without snacks is the way to ward off unwanted calories.

[AngellaWeaver]

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