Getting Started

[jack14]

Hi - My name is Jack and I live in Washington DC, I've been smoking for 15 years and I've tried to stop several times. I hope that this program can help me quit. I'm a little nervous about quitting. I'm not sure I can do it. Does anyone else feel the same way?

[tracy9]

This site isn't going to help you quit it is just a place to ask questions and get support. You ,my friend, have to WANT to quit otherwise its all in vain. When you 're ready you will know it and no matter how much money you spend on the patch, the gum, the zyban or even the chantix......it wont help if you DO NOT want to give up the habit. The cigarettes are easy but the old habits are the hardest. I was a diehard smoker for 33 years so I know what you are going through but dont give up before you give yourself a chance. You may slip but we are only human and thats what we do. I havent had a smoke since March 7th and I wake up every morning and want one with my morning coffee outside listening to the birds. I drink my coffee inside standing at the counter and watch the birds from the window. One of these days I will venture out and sit at the table and be able to drink it without a cigarette in my hand. Just give it a try and if it doesnt work......it doesnt work but it just means its not your time!

[tracy9]

A few thousand dollars that your Insurance Company would or wouldn't pick up. I have had 2 members of my immediate family go through a 30 day in patient program and it took more than 30 days for the two of them to "get it". I remember when they were going through it....my husband went through it 23 years ago and they told him to lose one habit (drinking) and pick up another (smoking). He quit 8 years ago. My son just recently went through the 30 day in=patient and all they gave him was a nicotime patch.

Although smoking is addicitve it is no illegal and when you smoke cigarettes you are not harming anyone except yourself. Alcohol and drugs kill other people. If you are questioning this site......find another one that will help you but don't criticize others who have had luck with it. It doesn't sound like you are ready to be "AN EX". Good luck with whatever you do!

[pam14]

I am quitting tomorrow the 15th and I am SCARED

[bobbie-christenson]

chuck this is not cheerleading at least not from me or my friends, this is life or death for those of us who cannot afford a 30 day inpatient, i have been in rehab for drugs, rehab sucks so if you can do it with out it i would much rather do that, i may try and say things that are entertaining but they come from my heart, i get out what i put in, and whatever it takes, i'll do it if they ask me to stand on my head with my feet out the window of the car and it helps me stop cigs i will do it--, realpse which i haven't had to live threw yet and hopefully never, will, anyway whatver works for you but don't laught at me i am deadly serious here, and i am not a cheerleader, but someone who wants to live-- good luck and lots of hope for you bobbie ps. turn that negativity into positivity it can happen you know and attitude helps a lot also,

[bobbie-christenson]

monte, i also have copd, asthma being one of them, and i can do it you can do it and don't be afraid after you quit smoking the progression of the copd stops and doesn't go any farther, a nurse told me that and i like it so i believe it, others have told me also. i feel the same way my best friend has left the builing, and i miss him, i smoked and read, smoked and cleaned house, smoked whevner i coluld, i was a closet smoker so it wasn't as often as it would have been if i hadn't been smoking in the closet hanging out th bathroom window, or sneaking behind a tree, i spendt a lot of time with this friend of mine in my mouth or thinking of how i could do it so i know just what you mean, but it was an evil best friend., don't you think it made us sick and smelly and nervous, well no more good luck and lots of hope bobbie

[tracy9]

Pam. the cigarette part is easy......its the habits that are hard to break. I havent had a cigarette since March 7th and the habits are finally breaking. Sure I was scares....cigarettes were my best friend for 32 years.........but like bobbie said...IT IS DOABLE. So throw the scared out the window and get your mind right and stop today........The secret to a successful quit is all in your mind........if you aren't ready to quit, I mean really ready...then you won't. But if you are tired of smelling like cigarette smoke and others treat you like you have the plague (becasue you smoke) quit and go to bed smelling the same way you did when you took your shower, your breathe doesn't smell and you actually have money in your wallet for ther things! GOOD LUCK

[chuck4]

Jeff & All,

An in patient program would effectively "lock me up" so that I couldn't get cigarettes. It would also, MOST importantly, provide health care to relieve the awful physical withdrawal symptoms that for me include, dizziness, anxiety, insomnia,sweats, chills, nausea & other digestive problems.

I'm self-employed, and while some people think that means I don't have to work and am rolling in money, nothing could be further from reality on either point. Therefore there is a lot of stress associated with my day to day life (as there is for many of us, I know) and I don't have the discipline/ability to do it on my own, deal with my daily life and the withdrawal symptoms all at once.

Speaking only for myself, an in-patient program is what it would take for ME to quit, at least at this point in my life. Plus, I truly enjoy smoking, as I'm sure many here do.

I was an in-patient for 30 days in 1984 for panic attacks, so I know what such a program would and would not do. Mainly it would provide a highly structured environment where cigarettes were totally unavailable, help with relief of withdrawal symptoms, help me to deal with some of the associated stress issues, etc. In short it would provide additional tools, and start me on the road of re-habituation, which is essential.

Lastly, I'm not being personally critical of anyone. Just something that when I heard about it, thought might be helpful, but when I found out what it's about, came to realize that it doesn't even come close to working for me.

I'm glad it works for some, but for me, I need more than support (cheerleading).

Chuck

[jeff28]

Chuck,
I'm also a former sufferer of panic attacks. I successfully fought one off just a week ago as a matter of fact. I'm curious if you still suffer panic attacks, and if not, how are you able to cope with them?
The reason that I ask is because I believe now that my cigarette addiction and my panic attacks are caused by the same root source: not expressing my feelings and suppressing anger that turned on me internally. A fear that caused me to smoke and do all kinds of damage to myself. I felt helpless and wanted someone else to help make it right for me. I was a victim and I was gonna show everybody that it wasn't my fault.
The truth is, I'm quitting cigarettes the same I way I conquered panic attack. By recognizing that A: I'm worth better and B: That panic and cigarette cravings are nothing more than a playground bully in my head that I need to stand up to. The reality is that panic attacks and nicotine are powerless to hurt us beyond the power that we grant them.

I really hope you reconsider this site. More importantly, I hope you begin to reconsider quitting without the aid of in-patient treatment. If you did go, when you got out after 30 days, you'd find cigarettes still widely available and completely legal at every convenience store and gas station in town. You'll have to stand up to that bully on your own for most of your quit anyway.

Bottom line, don't give up. Instead of deciding to quit tomorrow, just take some time to ask yourself how much you truly enjoy cigarettes and how much they're worth to you. Talk with your doctor about a plan. Talk to people on this site and see what other people have gone through. Then formulate a plan, set a quit date, and talk with people on this site who are going through the exact same thing.

Good luck

[tracy9]

If being "locked up" in an in-patient center for 30 days so we could be in a structured environment to help with the withdrawal symptoms ans stree issues, we would all be there. The real world is out there and ready or not the temptations are there as well as stress issues.

If you truly enjoy smoking then its not a good time for you to give it up. Take a step back and make sure you are ready to committ to quitting otherwise you will be wasting your time

[bobbie-christenson]

pam, don't be scared it is hard but very doable, you just need self control and attitude, and keep your guard up all the time, don't let it get down when someoe offers you one or you just plain want one, i am here and will give any support you need just write latr a dn lot of hope bobbie