Want to quit, Please help

[elizabeth83]

Hello, My name is Elizabeth, and I want to quit smoking.  . I am a stay at home Mom. I have 2 beautiful boys ages 8 and soon to be 3. I also have a wonderful Husband who supports me and encourages me to quit. I am 27 years old and I feel way older than I should. I feel so crappy in the mornings when I wake up-I just have no motivation. I have been smoking on and off for about 10 years. I smoke a half a pack to a pack a day. I've made 3 attempt to quit smoking, I tried the gum and patch-it just made me feel sick.. I quit Jan 7 for a week. The cravings were so strong,and the withdrawls were awful, but I got through it with the help of my husband. I felt so good that whole week, then I just decided to light one up and now here I am. I would think it would be so easy-my husband doesn't smoke and I smoke outside, but It's harder than I thought. I've been exploring this site for about a month now, and I think the biggest mistake I am making is setting my quit date. It is too close from the time I am still smoking. Any feedback or advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated. I am so thankful that there is help like this out there and people to support me.

[Thomas3.20.2010]

WELCOME Elizabeth!!! I want to reassure you that Smoking Cessation is a true adventure full of HEALTH and HAPPINESS!!! It doesn't have to be scary or overwhelming if you have good information, advice and support!!! And that's what we're here for! Check out whyquit.com and quitsmokingonline.com and read , read, read the Blogs!!! You CAN quit! It's as simple as making the DECISION and RESPECTING yourself enough to HONOR that Decision just for TODAY! Remember, I said simple - I didn't say Easy!! But there are ways to make it easier too, like getting plenty of water and Cranberry Juice, exercise, and sleep!!! We're here for you! Make friends and keep in touch! Best Wishes!

[jojo29]

  ok hi eleizabeth, welcome to the site here and congrats to the 1st step here which is reaching out for help. im 53 yrs old i smoked 40 long yrs and have sever copd, just lost my mother to lung cancer to in aug. i had 3 good reasons to stop smokin, copd, my moms death and my 4 kids, i smoked 2- 3 pks a day, u can do it, i did it cold turkey too. got to whyquit.com, read and eduacate ur self, drink plenty of water, weather u do this now or next wk its gona be what u make it,but the longer u wait the harded itll be, blogg wen u have to theres always ppl here, i just made 3 months so im tellin u if i did this, u can, believe in urself,have faith and be ur own very best friend. :)) and itll work for u. what gets me threw is cleaning, yoga which i do i=off cable its 10 min and its free and it works mentally which is great b/c th\ats where we think we wana smoke, so lets roll here ,go do ur thing at ur pace, but no where here if u need us ok.. hang in there, ull be ok if u trust urself. joanne,

[sandra40]

Welcome Elizabeth! I have been trying to quit since last March when a team of doctors told me I had to. It was a real struggle till I came here. I second the motions above and will add to read "The Easy Way To Stop Smoking" by Allen Carr (read it while you're still smoking). Others here will also recommend it. Come on here every day, set your plan, track your cigs, do what they say. I was asked some questions in the beginning of setting up my quit plan and a quit date was recommended so that may help you decide when to set it. Then read as much as you in the meanwhile. After awhile you'll realize that the one really important thing about quitting is...It's only hard because we've been told it will be, and believed it! I'm on Day 4 of my Last Quit and I'm really proud of myself. This time it doesn't seem hard like it did on the other times I attempted to quit. I had a tough day last Saturday by right away came here a sent out a cry for Help! Needless to say I got through it! There's a lot of great people here to call on who have time as non-smokers, and who want to help. If I can anyone can 🙂 Ask my kids, they'll tell ya!

[triomommy27]

Hi! I feel like everyone has offerred some really good advice but I wanted to say hi because we have a lot in common. I'm a SAHM to 3 kids, I'm 27, and always "wanted" to quit. Now I'm doing it instead of wanting. I used to feel just like you did with the cravings and not having energy ect. The I realized I've done it in the past, this isn't impossible but there was one thing missing. I hadn't made up my mind completely. I still has self doubt and didn't fully believe I could do it. So I will encourage you to keep reading and blogging because YOU CAN do it!!! Believe me when I say that! Those are powerful words! Another thing stuck with me is "Grow a backbone where your wish bone is" 🙂

[anacondahead]

Congrats on your excellent decision to quit. First - you need to accept the fact that you are a nicotine addict  -  like the rest of us. You can quit if you want to - we did. BUT you need to get a plan. There are many different ideas here and elsewhere. Do whichever feels right to you. Just tossing out the cigs and 'toughing it out' is the hardest way to do it. The desire to quit is the first step. Be smart about it. Those little boys are counting on you.

Best wishes !   😃

[nikki1295]

The book mentioned above by Sandra was a life changing book for me...Read it!! Lol, ok, not trying to be bossy but I really really believe in this book...and you can download it to your computer for free! What do you have to loose? I went from feeling miserable and anxious about my quit to upping the date to the next day and being super excited and no longer scared...it was truly amazing! I had a friend read it and she quit two days after I did! I had many failed attempts in the past, all miserable and full of horrible cravings but this quit is different! I love being a non smoker! 😃

[Mike.n.Atlanta]

This is a very tough thing to do Elizabeth. I quit cold turkey & recieved some good advice from some that I hols dear to this day. I was told to welcomes the urges. Let em come & just wash right over you. They come & then they're gone just as fast. Just say no for this second. Put it off until the next urge & then say no again just for that one moment. The more you do this the weaker those urges will be. I smoked over a pack a day for 35+ years & like Triomomy says, I didn't believe I could do it. Being around & staying in touch with others trying to quit made a huge difference. Others convinced me & believed I could do it. Who was I to say different? I changed my mind & my lifestyle followed suite. Read all you can about our addiction. Education is key. You can do this cause you're stronger than you think. I know you have it in you.

[maggie_8-1-2010]

http://digg.com/news/lifestyle/Allen_Carr_s_Easy_Way_To_Stop_Smoking_Download_free_PDF  This is a direct  link to the site suggested by Sandra and Nikki! Many people here have used it tor successful quits.

http://quitsmokingonline.com/  This is another site that offers a positive approach to quitting that suggests you keep smoking until you have finished the course.

Wishing you all the best!

[eagrant]

Hi!  I am also Elizabeth and nearly 20 years older than you with a wonderful 17 year old son.  I am on day 6 and my son begged me for years to quit.  If you are serious and it sounds like you are, I can tell you that I am only using the patch....drinking tons of water helps immensely....chew sugarless gum and write post it notes all over the place celebrating why you are quitting.  It has helped me and while today I am having a rough day, I am doing whatever possible to stay away....

You don't need motivation, you just look at those adorable faces and tell yourself that you don't want them to smoke and you don't want to look older than you are and that you want the energy to be with them.  If you are on here, you made a crucial step....

I battled quitting on and off for years.  This is the longest I have gone in 17 years.  You can do it.  I am with you and hope you do just do it.  Here are some of other motivation for me.....cost (way to expensive), smelling bad, humiliation, hiding behind buildings to sneak a smoke and your health and well being.

Hope this helps!  I made the decision literally last Monday and quit Tuesday.  I went out, got the patch, veggies to chew on, life savers to suck on and had a talk with my son.  He was and is my biggest supporter right now. 

Good luck and I know you can do it!  Look forward to hearing that you made your mind up and making the jump!!!!

[elizabeth83]

Thank you everyone for all the support! I'm still getting used to navigating this site, and for awhile there I thought no one was posting and I was about to cry. I have it set in my mind that I need to do this, not just for me but my husband and children. My whole family smokes except for my older sister(she is supporting me also) Most of my husband's family smokes. I find being around them may be my toughest challenge. I have a plan and made a routine for myself to keep mind off of smoking. My brain is in overdrive-it wants to keep smoking but I keeping telling myself no. I look around and see the people who don't smoke(including my husband) and say to myself "hey they function without ciggarettes I can too."

[Strudel]

  

Welcome to the site! Congrats on deciding to quit! To prepare I did a lot of reading - blogs here, the course and book Maggie listed above. The reading to prepare and get your mind ready really made a difference for me. That - plus the support here - stick around!