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  • #2278303

    32 Hrs. since my last cigarette.

    Locked

    by tbragsda ·

    My smoking buddy will be in very soon. Anyone got any advice how, or why I should make it through today.

    I?m acting very strange. I don’t know if I should be allowed around the office right now.

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    • #2706026

      Press

      by ippirate ·

      In reply to 32 Hrs. since my last cigarette.

      tbragsda,

      I quit just over a year ago. It’s gonna be rough but it is well worth it.

      I can taste food again
      I sleep better
      I feel better
      I don’t get sick(headcolds, sinuses, allergies, etc.) anywhere near as much
      I can actually smell supper cooking
      No more butts on the ground
      The list goes on and on

      Keep on, get the gum, get the patch, get the pill, get whatever it is you need but keep going. The hill is steep but it is worth it.

      Don’t berate yourself for the habit or for desiring it, shift the desire into something constructive and move on. Don’t dwell and don’t feel bad or weak because you want one. Just don’t give in and keep your objective focused. To quit.

      Things that helped me quit

      Water, by the gallon
      Crunchy vegetable foods, carrots, pickles, etc.
      I treated myself for making it a week, a day, an hour, etc

      Stay away from the alchohol and the really fatty foods for a while if you enjoy them, they impact negatively.

      Hope it helps and yes, today it is all the more worth it.

      • #2706013

        Thanks.

        by tbragsda ·

        In reply to Press

        .
        Just finished tossing my desk upside-down looking for a match. Funny thing is, it was the activity of looking that I was obsessing about, not finding them and smoking. Like if I could find a match, I would be near smoking.

        Can’t type worth a dam right now.

    • #2705980

      OK. I broke.

      by tbragsda ·

      In reply to 32 Hrs. since my last cigarette.

      .
      This realy sucks.

      My head is spinning. From smokeing, and not smokeing. I can’t do anything.

      I really should not be working.

      Just went to a mtg, Im sure I made no sense. It was with the CEO, he knows Im trying to stop. We are talking about next qtr MBO (goals). I think I may have said “fire me!”

      • #2705979

        Just *breathe*…

        by salamander ·

        In reply to OK. I broke.

        …sometimes just breathing is the best that you can do in a situation. I always try to tell myself that as long as I can do that, everything will work out all right. Because breathing is the most important thing in any situation, right? Try to concentrate on listening to that sound to the exclusion of the mental chatter. Don’t do anything else for awhile, just that, and try to stop *thinking.* A significant part of any craving is obsession.

        • #2705975

          Thanks.

          by tbragsda ·

          In reply to Just *breathe*…

          .
          Im fighting OCD. Obsessiveness is part of my problem.

          I don’t want a patch, or the dam gum, I don’t its the physical part thats killing me. I may be loopie as shit right now, but I can live with that.

          My keyboard is clicking soooo f*#@ loud right now.

        • #2705960

          “Fighting”…

          by salamander ·

          In reply to Thanks.

          Those of us who are fighting that have such a hard time keeping our minds *still,* not thinking anything, not doing anything, not worrying about anything, not playing the “what if” game. As flaky as it sounds, some of the meditation techniques that focus on empty-mindedness really even help with physical symptoms. And that worry does affect your body, and vice versa.

          May help, may not, in your situation:
          http://patienteducation.upmc.com/Pdf/DeepBreathing.pdf

        • #2705785

          It’s also a great way to kill basic headaches!

          by oz_media ·

          In reply to Just *breathe*…

          An old Japanese wise man taught me this when I was young. (OK, he was an old Chinese salesman where I worked as a teen but he seemed like confucious to me :p )

          Sit in a dark SILENT room and do the same thing while trying to mentally picture your headache, usually feels like a big dark blob in your skull, rotate the blob in your mind while listening ot your breathing. YOu then keep rotatng the blob in your mind and try to really visualize it, it will seemto change color to white and becomes smaller and smaller and smaller until it disppears like a jawbreaker.

          Open eyes, headache gone almost every time. (I used to get chronic headaches from a nasty whiplash case, this was a lifesaver).

          It is wierd at first but once you get the hang of it, you can kill most headaches in minutes.

        • #2722128

          I will try this…

          by salamander ·

          In reply to It’s also a great way to kill basic headaches!

          …thanks! Not like there aren’t enough work-prompted headaches to try this on! In fact, I see one coming down the hall right now with a change request…urk.

    • #2705943

      Bah just quit dude

      by garion11 ·

      In reply to 32 Hrs. since my last cigarette.

      The first week is the hardest week you will ever go through. Everytime you want a craving, do 10 pushups and 10 situps. No complains, no excuses, if you really want to quit you will do this. After the first week, DON’T EVER EVER SMOKE even one cigerette, otherwise its back to the huff and puff. Good luck.

      • #2705783

        I tried that

        by oz_media ·

        In reply to Bah just quit dude

        I figured that would be the best way (sit ups push ups). I figured not only would I quite smoking but if it was hard enough, I’d be in better shape too!

        So I’d crave a smoke, drop and do 20. THen I’d huff and puf back to the couch noting if I was out of breath and for how long, I figured it would be a great way to prove how I was breathing beter as a result of quitting.

        Then I’d light a smoke. 🙁

        I am a clockwork smoker in the sense that I have certain times when I smoke more or less, at home most of the day I will have two or three, in the evening 10 or more.

        When I’m tired, bored, confused etc. I light up.
        When wiating, I light up. I have specific times and places each day where I light up, first thing I do after boarding the ferry, hit the deck and ligt up. First thing I do when I wake up, light up.

        Smoking sucks, that’s ONE area where I wish I was American. I hate the taste of American cigarretes, even Canadian smokes sold in America are diferent than those sold in Canada but they are SO DAMN CHEAP!!!!

        In PH the gas station is at $8.50
        In Vancouver from $7.75 – $9.50

        And HERE’s the kicker, at a bar a few weeks ago I went to the machine with 10 bucks in change (10 loonies) only to find out I neede to break another $5, they were $11.50 a pack!!
        So I grunted and groaned, they didn’t have my brand but I paid up like a faithful Canadian anyway.

        To top it all off, our packs out West are 20 packs! 25’s are REALLY expensive!

        But hey, there’s nothing wrong with helping the government make a few bucks, maybe it’ll help!:D

        • #2721953

          what can help….

          by itgirli ·

          In reply to I tried that

          My dad quit smoking a few years ago after smoking 3 or 4 packs a DAY for 20 years. He had a really easy reason to stop smoking. He calculated up how much he paid per year plus tax. He found out that if he quit smoking, he could afford a brand new porshe and have money left over. Right then he threw out his pack and never touched one again. I however smoke about 4 or 5 cigarettes a day. Usually just when I’m driving or after a big meal. If I’m home all day, I might have one, but might not. I do it more out of boredom than anything else. I would love to quit, but I get bored too easily.

        • #2721899

          If you are bored, there are other things to do. Sex? Excercising? Sex?

          by garion11 ·

          In reply to what can help….

          I dunno what the smoking people’s excuse is. I quit (after smoking for 3 years) because I found out that my umm…”nuclear missle” will not perform as optimally as I get older (and continue to smoke). After that my choice was made for me.

        • #2721896

          Yeah I tried that too

          by oz_media ·

          In reply to what can help….

          Sure there’s a LOT of money saved, I could probably bail Canada out of it’s 500 billion dollar deficit by quiting smoking. Then I realized that, without ALL my tax money, this country would sink! My money is SO important to our government that they find new ways to take a little more ALL the time. THey just need to ask and I’d mail them all my money, they could send back what’s not needed and I’d start all over again, and they say I’m not a good Canadian!

          I feel sorry for the government, if they are reduced to taking money from some poor bugger like myself, then they REALLY need help I think and I will do whatever I can to help. :p

          So did your dad ever buy the Porsche?

          My dad quite after 30 years of smoking filterless smokes 1 1/2 pack a day, cold turkey just gave up.

          EVERY summer he’d buy something new for the camper, the dirt bikes, he bought a friggin’ ZODIAC one year with the money he saved. What he did is put his cigarette money in a jar each day and at the end of he year rewarded himself.

          Pretty cool, but if I quit smoking, I’d just bet more on horses and drink more beer.

          I am just not disciplined that way, money to me is useless if it is dormant. As long as the flow is continual in AND out, I am happy and making progress. I believe money must move in order to accumulate, odd I know but I’m serious, if money comes in and gets banked, it adds up. If you get a constant stream of income and have a constant stream of investments and spending it accumulates much faster it seems.

          Anyhow, economics some other day. :p

          Cheers,
          OM

        • #2722742

          yep

          by itgirli ·

          In reply to Yeah I tried that too

          My dad has a new porsche, a new house, his third wife, and a big house near the beach in florida (I think it’s still there). He also has found out that he has a genetic disease that affects the lungs and would probably be dying really soon if he hadn’t quit.

        • #2722865

          I’m looking forward to a reward.

          by tbragsda ·

          In reply to what can help….

          .
          I don’t think its the money. The price of cigarettes has never stopped anyone from smoking. Many (my mother being the most consistent) have bugged me about the cost of smoking for many years. I have been very poor, and still choose smoking over almost anything else.

          With that said. Where I live they cost ~$5.00/pack. My wife and I both smoked ~ one pack a day, never less, often more. That will almost make the payments on a Jaguar. I have been waiting to buy one for a long time. That may be the payoff. Like I said in another post, its prep work for having our first child. If I were a better money manager, we would save the money in some “child account” or such.

          3:15! Hope the debate doesn’t push me over!

        • #2722858

          NO I guess money WOULDn’t be a motivator at 5 bucks a pack.

          by oz_media ·

          In reply to I’m looking forward to a reward.

          Even at nearly 10 bucks a pack, it hasn’t motivated me, yet some use that as a crutch, each of us has a different way of coping/rationalizing I guess.

          But 5 bucks a pack, man, it’s almost worth moving, but naaaaaah, I’ll stick to the 10 bucks and BC’s wildlife. When it gets too xpensive, I just request more money to compensate, that way it’s not so much MY burden, at least under the twisted logic of smoking anyway.

          Cheers, keep it up man!

          OM

        • #2722737

          $10 a pack?

          by itgirli ·

          In reply to NO I guess money WOULDn’t be a motivator at 5 bucks a pack.

          Oz, I pay about $3.50, sometimes less. I know a place were I can get a carton for $18. You want me to ship some to you?

        • #2722664

          Depends

          by oz_media ·

          In reply to $10 a pack?

          If you are talking about Canadian smokes available in the USA, thanks but nope.

          They aren’t the same at all. Even most indian band versions are diferent. Same pack, gross tobacco.

          A GOOD price for smokes here (other than going to taxless Alberta for the 25 packs) is about $6.95 +GST + PST = $7.90

          There are a tonne of indian reservations on the island where you can get cheap smokes if you have a status card, non-indians get them a bit cheaper than normal but not much.

          Great deal, huh?

        • #2722739

          good luck

          by itgirli ·

          In reply to I’m looking forward to a reward.

          I quit as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Unfortunately, about two weeks after I had my son, I was so stressed from not being able to sleep and having a crying baby with me everywhere, that I started again. It was the worst thing I had ever done. I just hope I can stop again some day.

    • #2705789

      Hang in there man

      by oz_media ·

      In reply to 32 Hrs. since my last cigarette.

      You are trying to do one of the hardest things a person can do other than saying I DO.

      I keep giving in by telling myself, ‘well once these issues are settled I’ll be more relaxed and will be able to handle it’, ‘I can’t quit now, too much going on’, ‘I KNOW I’ll quit one day, I’ll just give it up cold turkey like so many friends did’, and so on and so on.

      I quite for a year and a half once when I was younger and then just took it up again, dunmbest thing I have EVER done to date!

      Actually, o I really read your message, you could mean the exact OPPOSITE!

      Perhaps you haven’t had a smoke in 32 hours caus payday’s tomorrow and you’re strapped and your smoking buddy is just that, your SMOKING buddy, and you are just dying to bum a smoke. :p

      Well am I red faced now?!? 😀

      Uh oh, I am acting strange, maybe I shouldn’t be allowed around the internet right now.

    • #2722182

      Doing OK @7:30 PST

      by tbragsda ·

      In reply to 32 Hrs. since my last cigarette.

      .
      I did have a breakdown during the day, but doing well now.

      Thanks for the help everyone. I need it. My wife and are quiting together. We are thinking a baby in the next year or so, and this is one of the first steps.

      Thanks.
      TBR

      • #2722072

        I’m pulling for you man!!!!!

        by jkaras ·

        In reply to Doing OK @7:30 PST

        Hey I hope you dont spark up after sex, if not hump like bunnies for better health and pleasure!!! In another thread about a year ago I started about a tv show on addiction that there is no physically dependancy merely the mind wanting the crutch to relieve stess. I’ve heard it’s tough but you dont need it, life has thrown you harder obsticles than a cancer stick. You posted that your in a state of confusion. You are an intelligent person that made your own way and cigarettes had nothing at all to do with it. Are you and your wife competitive? If so talk trash to another on who will break first and set up a bet that either of you dont want to pay off by losing, it could help focus your desire to win. Dont shy away from smokers, face it confident that you are through and uneffected by the smoke. If I were you I would have slowly weened myself cutting back to almost nothing before cold turkey, but you drew your line in the sand and that’s impressive, really. Good luck friend.

      • #2722042

        Congrats!

        by admin ·

        In reply to Doing OK @7:30 PST

        You will feel way better and be much richer in the end :>

    • #2722034

      Woke this AM, and no desire.

      by tbragsda ·

      In reply to 32 Hrs. since my last cigarette.

      .
      Well yet. I just got to work, and I think it will be another hard day.

      Thanks all for the support.

      TBR

    • #2721976

      Good Job

      by rickkellogg ·

      In reply to 32 Hrs. since my last cigarette.

      Stay away from things you did when smoking, Coffee, Bars, Drinking, People that are smoking around you, Sex, No forget the last one.

      Go to the Doctor and get a physical and discuss quitting with Doc. They can prescribe medication to relieve the anxiety.

      The first week or so is the worst this is when you will experience the physical withdrawl from tabacco. However, like Alcoholics even after 20 years are only 1 drink away from a relapse. Smokers are always just 1 smoke away from starting again.

    • #2721966

      Its work thats killing me.

      by tbragsda ·

      In reply to 32 Hrs. since my last cigarette.

      .
      Its just too easy to slip, while at work. I think I need to find something to replace the work smokes. At home, I’m ok.

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