hey, thanks for asking! Last week, I went from a pack a day to six a day. Then, on Saturday, I went from the night before til four pm that day w/o smoking, but I was getting very jumpy and not feeling well (serious anxiety). I decided it may not be best yet to just try and stop. SO, gonna cut down to four a day, then go to two a day the week after next. We'll see how that goes. I am already on Welbutrin and Zoloft, so I don't know if there is another drug I can take that will take the anxiety edge off. That is the hard part-I will have a piece of gum then spit it out ten mins later and put a new one in, and tootsie pops, oh gosh, had four already! That ten pound gain after stopping may happen. I feel hungry all the time. Would an appetite suppresant be good I wonder? Gosh, between my back, bm problems, and this smoking cessation-I am a walking pharmacy!
I hope to have great news within two weeks! Thank you so much for asking!
I'm happy to hear that you are still working at it. I know when I quit I had a sucker in my mouth pretty much 24/7! And unfortunatly the weight gain is something that will likely happen but it's better to quit smoking and then worry about the 10 pounds afterwards then to be a smoker. Try carrot sticks and celery, it helps, and drink a lot of water, it makes you feel full. Anyway, good luck. And be sure to let me know how the next week goes. Kristy.
four a day isn't working right now, I think I will just drop one a week or something. We'll just have to see. I am still optimistic I can stop, even though deep down I don't want to , but I hear that those who stop usually don't really "want to". I just learned that my gparents smoked until they were 40! My gma said it was harder for her to stop than my gpa, I thought they only smoked when they were like 20. My mom smokes like two a day-my dad is a chimney. My gma on his side smoked a lot too and died from lung cancer. My husband smoked but stopped two years ago. I know I can do it-
Of course you can do it. I did not want to quit at all! My bfriend was the one that wanted us to quit. I put it off for as long as I can and made up every excuse in the book. My grandpa smoked for about 40 years and ending up getting emphysema (sorry about the spelling!). He was on oxygen for about a year and a half before he passed away, my grandma passed 4 days after him. It was a very tough time as I was extremly close with them. I wanted and was determined to quit for my grandparents. I knew they would be really dissapointed and upset about me being so stupid about smoking. My gpa's life was ruined after he was put on oxygen. Not only was he elderly but walking around his apartement with his oxygen hooked up in the bedroom and having it trail behind him everywhere he went, tripping on it and getting it caught on everything. As you can imagine he got depressed and he kind of gave up. It's such a miserable way to live, especially if you can prevent it. Considering everything my g'pa was very lucky, he lived to 90 and was in good health for most of his life.
My point is, it's just not worth it. I know it's tough and to this day I still want to smoke. But, you will feel so amazing when you don't smoke anymore and you can start celebrating success. It's worth it, it really is. I am so much happier being a non smoker.
Keep going, you can do it. Look up heart disease and emphysema and all the other dieases that are caused by smoking see if you can look at pictures of the heart and lungs. I guarantee you that alone will help you quit. I know you can do it, DON'T GIVE UP!!! BE STRONG. Take care and let me know how you are doing. I here for you and will help in anyway I can. Kristy.
Hey all, SHG here...I cannot tell you how important it is to not smoke when we have back issues. I was never a big smoker but on occassion I did and when I was in pain prior to my surgery and not all that mobile, I smoked a lot. Anyway, when healing from any back operation, when you smoke, you really stop, not slow but stop the progress of healing. I'm NOT trying to preach not smoking or anything but when I go out now, if I have one, the next day my back aches...
My 2 cents. Take it or leave it or in terms of smokers, if you got em, smoke em or break em
hence one of the reasons I want to stop. I had surgery two years ago (micro)and my smoking didn't affect my results, but I know it does with fusion. OF course, that is just a small reason in the big picture of things. But, none the less one of the reasons I am stopping.
You know, I was cutting down the number of smokes, and I realized today, that cutting down won't make it any easier to quit. SO, after smoking the last one out of my pack this morning, I opted NOT to buy another pack. I will do my best to make it through the next 72 hours. It may be hell, but I know I can do it. BUT, here is my weak part-I don't drink much, but my hubby and I are going to try to go out Sat for halloween, at least for a little bit (he has a cold and my back hurts, of course). I doubt I will drink, but if I do (and dont' worry, only will if I don't take any meds) then I know that will be the hardest where smoking is involved. My hubby said a few smokes with a drink shouldn't interfere with my quitting. Any thoughts? He will sometimes have a smoke with drinks, but that is it.
Hey,
Good for you!! When my boyfriend and I quit we actually didn't have a tough time with not smoking when we were drinking. We thought it would be the hardest but it wasn't. We are very social drinkers and we just had to keep busy. It's not to say that we didn't want to smoke but we just didn't. We knew that if we were to have a smoke then that would put nicotine in our systems and we were not willing on fighting it the next day. When I tried to quit on the patch I had a hell of a time not smoking, it got to the point where I didn't go out because I knew I would want to smoke. It was very different with Zyban. When you are out on Saturday just try to keep yourself away from the smokers. You can do it!! Take care and let me know how you do. Good luck. Kristy.
I have now been smoke free for 27 hours, and it really hasn't been bad! We'll see how it goes! I can't say I won't smoke tomorrow night though-but, can guarantee that the next day I wont.
CONGRATULATIONS!!! You deserve a pat on the back. You must feel really good! You know yourself so as far as tomorrow goes if you feel totally confident that if you smoke the next day then go out and have a good time. Just try not to smoke too much because it'll put the nicotine back in your system and make it harder the next day. Have fun tomorrow. Good luck. Kristy.
I am still smoke free today! It has been over 48 hours! I still don't know about tonight, but I am going to go and plan on not smoking. Here is something I bet a lot of you didn't know-
Your body makes it's own natural form of niccotine. So, when you start smoking on a regular basis, your body quits making it and that is why when you quit, it takes about two weeks to make it through the withdrawl. IT takes up to two weeks for your body to start producing it naturally. That is why you could smoke one day and not feel the need to start regularly. Of course, the reason to stop is for bigger health reasons, and this is not an excuse to start smoking even socially. But, thought it may be interesting.
I am handling this much better than I thought though!
Take care and let me know how you are doing. I here for you and will help in anyway I can. Kristy. 
You deserve a pat on the back. You must feel really good! You know yourself so as far as tomorrow goes if you feel totally confident that if you smoke the next day then go out and have a good time. Just try not to smoke too much because it'll put the nicotine back in your system and make it harder the next day. Have fun tomorrow. Good luck. Kristy. 
