I've recently quit smoking. After 5 years of smoking and defending The Smokers I quit cold turkey.

On Dec. 21st 07 I went to the ER for chest pains and after several tests it came that I have bronco spasms as well as inflamation of the cartillage that surrounds my breast bone plate and ribs. Nothing can be done about the latter since I was born with it and will always have it inflamed. The doctor said smoking does not cause either but that it doesn't help.

I decided to quit because of the toll it started to take on my body. I wanted to quit with my older sister but she is not ready to quit even though she was diagnosed with the same bronco spasms one month before me and got bronchitis.

So....it's been 3 weeks now, I do get cravings (hell yeah) but what's worse for me is the withdrawal symptoms. I've never been this depressed/anxious in my life, I get severe panic attacks & sometimes it hurts to lie down at night because I feel like my lungs are clogged and won't be able to breathe as well as headaches.

I'd just like to know if anyone on here has had the same symptoms I'm having and if you can spare some advice. I know it will all go away (hopefully) in a few more weeks.

My bf is very supportive (thank you Sap) but I'd like the words of an ex-smoker too.

If you wanna add your story of why you quit please share.

C>

 

Hi... My name is Stevo and I have an addiction...

 

 

What you are feeling is normal…your body is going through nicotine withdrawals, which should last less then 7 days. As an ex-smoker, I can say that you will still have cravings for tobacco (for me, it was during drinking).

Some advice:

- Most people will try to quit more than once before they are able to kick the habit. Do NOT give up girl! And don’t use taking a drag or two from one as an excuse to go out and buy a pack. NO BUYING OF PACKS!!!!

- Risky, but this is what worked for me: I never quit smoking. I never said I would never smoke again. Take it 1 day at a time. Cliché, I know, but I am serious.

- To this day, I will crave a smoke during certain events. I even smoked a few drags last New Years. But the 1st was a new day and I didnt smoke that day. I have not smoked at all this year.

- I recommend you take up some exercise as well….if you already exercise, add another type (bicycling, jogging, hiking, weights, etc.). The reason is twofold; it will occupy some time and also allow you to eat a bit more (you will be eating more when you quit) without the weight gain.

Good Luck Claudia

 

I quit Jan. 1 because I've tried to quit in the past and been unsuccessful. My weak point has always been when going to bars. Well, they banned smoking in bars in Illinois Jan 1st, so I figured it was the perfect time to quit.

Also, if the government wants to take away places I can smoke, I decided I would one up them and not give them anymore tax money from the cigs I bought.

I've been smoking for 6 years, and honestly, it's been pretty damn easy. I had trouble sleeping the first couple nights because I'd always had a cigarette before bed, but now it's not so bad. I've started coughing some ____ up, but I assume that's a good thing.

The one thing that has made my life easier is whenever I get a craving, I chew on a straw. I've heard other people do this before and for some reason, it works really well.

 

^^ unfortunately I can't chew cos I got my 4 impacted wisdoms taken out so no straws/gum/nicorette for the time being. Hope you stick to it buddy!

 

well..i dont smoke cigs..but i can tell you is that what ur going through is normal. my dad had the same thing..he had the urge to smoke..he finally gave in and smoked because he said my mom talks too much and he was getting stressed out..but stay strong..you will WIN!

 

Well, it's not the same, but I quit Caffeine on Jan 1.

That was rough! Seriously, I thought I was dying for a couple days. Day one was fine, but day two killed me.

I felt like I was in a complete haze, I couldn't concentrate and I was exhausted. After 5 days of having a splitting headache, I had a cup of coffee.

The headache went away, but it hit me so hard, I was super skittish. So now it's Friday and I haven't had any caffeine since Sunday... so far, so good.

(I'll also point out that alongside caffeine, I also cut out Coke and what have you (which was my biggest source of caffeine))

Eff... withdrawal kinda blows.

 

uh oh

That's the exact mentality I am having. Like that I don't get as paranoid as if I said "no more, ever". I say to myself "there is a pack in my glove box so no need to stop to buy any and if I REALLY need one I can have one cos Ihave a pack". When I think like that it usually calms me down and makes the craving go away.

Thank you =) I have a few questions..have you had any of the symptoms I've had or just the extreme nicotine craving? How long had you been smoking for? And if I may...what made you quit?

 

I quit a year ago in Feb of last year, on the 16th of next month it will be a year.

I was diagnosed with cancer for the first time when I was 18 years old, last February I found out it was back, while my cancer was in no way caused by smoking it put a lot of stuff into perspective. I'm 21 years old and kicked the butt of a life threatening disease twice.

That is why, and C if you need some motivation I can let you know what it feels like to be as tall as I am and weigh under 130 pounds and not be able to walk up stairs without help, or drive.

 

And C one of the things I did to make it easier I spent the money I would have spent on cigarettes on something else... like shoes, or movies, or CDs or anything.

 

How much did u use to drink? I cut down a LOT on coffe too =/ and booze (not that I drank much of alcohol before). Yeah coffee is a toughie but for me coffee goes hand in hand with smoking so might as well not do either

[but I do have a good capuccino once in a while]

 

Good luck C! you can do it!

 

I picked Lush. seriously my cabinet is FULL. bout $300 worth

 

good job C! I smoked for about five years from when I was 19 to about 23-24. I can't say exactly for sure when I quit. It just happened one day. I looked at myself in the mirror one day and wasn't happy with myself and just dropped all my bad habits. I won't lie, it was a struggle. I went 2 years without craving a cigarette then all of a sudden one day I just had to have one. I got a cigarette from a coworker and ended up getting sick for 2 weeks! My throat hurt and I was coughing up nasty junk. That last cigarette was about 3 years ago. I haven't had a cigarette since. The first few weeks were the toughest while my body was getting rid of all the nasty cigarette junk. Yeah it feels sh*tty but just think, that sh*tty feeling is your body saying bye bye to the 5 years of icky tobacco from your body.

 

So dorry love to hear that, but I'm glad you are that fierce!!

Regarding the last part, that's in reference to the illness not the smoking habit correct?

 

http://www.dedicateddesigns.com/qk/

I downloaded this app for the fun of it. You input some data and it spits out how much money you've saved and stuff like that:

I have been quit for 1 Week, 3 Days, 13 hours, 9 minutes and 19 seconds (10 days). I have saved $24.04 by not smoking 126 cigarettes. I have saved 10 hours and 30 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 1/1/2008 3:30 AM

 

Yeah thats from cancer treatment.


Which eventually people who continue to smoke could very well end up in.

Killer motivation to quit.

 

cigs are nasty! they do nothing but hurt you. i dont understand why people smoke cigs..i seriously believe it shud be illegal. i dont smoke cigs because i saw what its doing to my dad.. :[

 

I so wanted to hear this. I hope the symptoms are over soon. Sometimes I feel like smoking again cos I think that the depression/panic/anxiety will go away if i pick up again.