I've been smoke free for a year and a month.......and, d*mn I want

a smoke like now!!!! Is this feeling ever going to go away?? I could have one, and then I'd be back to smoking 2 packs a day. D*MN!!! :cry: :cry: :cry:

I'm at nearly two months without a cigarette, and I've been craving them a lot in the last few days. :cry:

You've broken the back of it. :hug:

:yourock:

It's so unhealthy, not to mention expensive. Hang in there! :hug:

One little cigarette isn't going to kill you. And those few pleasing blissful moments will make the day oh so much easier to bear.

Can't you almost feel the smoke filling your lungs right now? That first puff is always the best.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

that one little drag that gets me BACK TO SMOKING...... no way Placebo. I'm not doing it.

I just don't think you should be climbing up the walls going nuts when a simple little cig could settle you down.

But you know better than I do what works for you, so best of luck!

I used to think that way. Just one..well its not just one. One leads to maybe two more, then next thing you know you are up to a pack aday. In my case a pack and a half a day. Smoking is the pits. When you are so craved that you have to dive down to the bottom of a garbage can to find a half inch of wasted tobbaco or pick one off the streets...you are at the deep end. I hated that feeling.

I hated bumming smokes. I hated giving them out to people who also bummed smokes. Its something you have to get through. Conder it like any addiction. You just have to get passed it and be bigger than it is. Other wise it will kill you.

I only smoke one or two packs a month, if that, and I don't smoke everyday. I've only been smoking for about two years, and controlling it really isn't a problem for me. The sad fact is that I know lots of people my age (I'll be 20 in a couple weeks) who are already at a pack and a half or two packs a day.

It's a sad burden to bear, and I only hope that they'll get over it someday.

it's the nature of addiction - unlike my mum, who took months to smoke a pack when she smoked- as soon as I light up I am HOOKED and smoking a pack a day....strange - my brother Glenn never smoked a cig but he drank himself to death, whereas I drink only a couple times a year, at parties...go figure

It's almost impossible to understand, I guess unless you are victim to that kind of addiction. I am one of those one or two packs a month people, and I've quit before for periods of a few months or more.

I smoked for 10 years, and on my fifth attempt finally managed to kick the habit. It took a year and a half for the cravings to subside, but they finally did. The thing is, I STILL smoke now and then. I find that at odd times, usually no more than two or three times a year, I'll still get a craving for a smoke. So what do I do? I smoke. I never buy a pack, and I never smoke more than one. I smoke a single cigarette to satisfy the craving, and it goes away...not to be heard from again for three, four, or more months. In fact, now that I think about it, the last time I had one was New Years.

It really is an individual thing, and I wouldn't advocate this for everybody, but if you're the kind of person who can control their cravings, then live a little and give in. If it'll help keep them off your mind, it can only help. Of course, if you think that ONE smoke will just get you right back into your daily habit, then chew some gum or go jogging.

As for when it goes away completely, my answer is that it never really does. "Quitting" is really all about taking control of your habit, instead of letting your habit control you. Your habit will never completely give up, but with time and control it will eventually only show its ugly head when you want it. In my case, I've found that feeding it occasionally keeps it sated, happy, and quiet. It's been six years since I've "quit", and I'd guess that I've smoked no more than a half a pack in that time.

I'll go a few months without, and then be somewhere like a wedding, or out having drinks and bum a smoke. Sometimes two, sometimes three. Usually the third I can't finish and if I smoke four I'll have a massive nicotine headache/hangover the next day. This from a guy who was a pack and a half not that long ago.

Your last paragraph totally sums it up. The urge never completely goes away, though there is no doubt it reduces after not that long. I can go days or weeks without even thinking about it, but then you watch a particular movie, or get really stressed, etc...and you crave one. The control of your habit aspect is spot on though. To me...I made the realization that if you want to quit smoking...just don't smoke. Cravings can't make you smoke. If you dont' want to do something just don't do it. It's a matter of self control that is very difficult sometimes.

The little devil sitting on somebody's shoulder! :rofl:

I've had asthma so bad my whole life that I don't dare do anything else that will make it so hard to breathe.

Don't give in. You'll hate yourself.

I think the cravings stopped after four or five years. Of course I may have
put food there next..but don't worry. I don't regret that I quit..and I know
I can never have one...(Nor do I want one, they stink so bad..and the price..
they are way too expensive to even think about.) If anything, reward yourself with
something expensive.. and say, this could have been a carton of smokes..wasted.

How did you set you that picture of yourself that zooms into a close up? I would love to do something similar. I am not technically savvy enough to figure out that technique on my own.

They said it was too big...Than tried another one...they sent me another email and told me that was too big. Oh well, guess I am stuck with a jpg.

but there are certain social situations where I still want to smoke. The craving to smoke has never left me, but I just consider the alternative and all is OK. Keep telling yourself that it will kill you eventually and you just can't do it. Be strong and you can resist. Best of luck to you! I know how hard it is to quit. Hard but not impossible!

Q

and I still crave them. But then I call my mother who is on oxygen with advanced emphysema and the craving magically vanishes!

bought a pack of cigs, took one out, threw the rest away there at the store, and just smoked that one cig---you would not enjoy it. It would taste harsh, it would hurt your throat, and make you a little woozy. So, why bother. Stay strong. :applause:

I had one while drinking after work on a Friday. Actually only had about 6 puffs. I was so fucking HIGH. I couldn't even stand up. Dizzy. Then nauseous. Couldn't even finish my beer. Last one I ever had.
Best cure for the cravings - take ten deep breaths, the desire goes away. Really.

Think of how much better you've felt in the last year!
Drink water, eat something refreshing like a salad or fruit.

DO NOT give in. It will pass. If you have one, it won't pass, it will go on and on. You DO NOT need one.

aA
:hug:

I've been off cigarettes for twenty years, after smoking from 17 to 26. When I finally quit, I was up to two packs a day. God, there was a sweet spot there at about a pack and a half when I flat fucking LOVED smoking--would rather smoke than eat, in fact, and couldn't go to sleep at night unless there was at least one cigarette in the house so I could have my wake-up smoke with my coffee. But then I realized it was making me feel like crap, and I was handing over a ton of money to freaking Philip Morris every year (and that was back in the day, when cigarettes were under $1). So I tried to quit a few times and didn't get very far, but then one time I did--I just quit. Didn't have the patches or the gum or any of that shit back then--it was cold-ass turkey or nothing. They still smell good sometimes when I'm around people who are smoking--but I hate the smell of it in my clothes/hair when I go home. I dream about smoking two or three times a year--I'm smoking a cigarette and it's GREAT but I feel guilty as hell and when I wake up it's always a big relief--but I don't actually ever want to smoke cigarettes anymore, except for the crazy wedding reception my in-laws put on for my wife and me four years ago, when I actually bummed a smoke from one of the guys in the band but never lit it up. If I had an alter ego, he would probably smoke. But I don't. Not anymore.

Seriously--have sex instead. Quitting smoking is the best thing you'll ever do for your health. You just added ten healthy years to your life. Congratulations.

having sex makes most want to have a cigarette :shrug:

at least me :blush:

that's one of the reasons i don't wanna quit. it goes so well with drinking and so well after sex :cry:

I used to smoke during sex--that's how bad it was.

eww. i'm even a smoker and i woulda smacked you if you did that :spank:

Most likely, at least. :shrug:

Myself, I've gone to moderation (the key to all things), as genetically I've discovered I'm not a whole lot better off either way. Put bluntly, I know I've got between four and thirty years left in me, depending upon my habits and lifestyle.

Sort of frees one up. I saw how I would have to live to get that thirty, ain't worth it. Saw how to live to get that four, too... a bit much, ;)

OT: Don't bother with that ciggy. It will NOT make you feel better after being quit for as long as you have. It'll taste funny and hurt your lungs, plus you'll be pissed with yourself. The only answer to which is ten more. And man, will you hock up in the morning. Been there.

Don't.

It's been two years smoke free for me, but I still feel like a large part of the physical perception of myself has been stripped away. Only smoking seemed to physically fill that hole. Do you feel the same?

Stress is a big trigger for me, but I want one less now when I'm stressed than I used to. And I quit because I had a heart attack, so I resist by knowing that cigarettes were killing me. Breathe deeply thru your mouth - inhale and exhale thru your mouth - sounds too simple, I know, but it works

smokers and make a joke of it...

What else can ya do? I can't smoke one either, or like you, I'd blast off into 2 packs a day again.

I've been off about 4 years now, I think.

Replace the thought of having one with another more pleasant thought, and the craving goes away.

Notice how full your lungs feel.
That's what you'd be missing if you still smoked 2 packs a day. :hug:

he said hold one nostril closed with your finger and breathe as deep as you can with the other nostril, slowly inhaling and exhaling - it works to dim those cravings

I wonder if it works for other cravings as well...

I've never tried it on any of my other cravings LOL

I have resigned myself to the fact I will always want to smoke; I am cursed but I am smart enough to know I should not smoke. I tell you though, if I was given 6 months to live I'd toke up a carton first thing :o

I used to smoke two packs of Viceroys (or Camel Filters, or Marlboro reds) per day.

Now it makes me just a little sick to think about.

Hang in there. Good thing you did for yourself, quitting.

...it's important to realize that the "craving" you're having now (and that' you'll continue to have for years to come) is all psychological. It's all in your head. --- You DO really want one, but only because your MIND wants one. The physical cravings, the physical addiction (the racing heartbeat, the nervous shakes, the headaches) don't exist anymore like they did when you first were quitting.

You only want a cigarette because your mind remembers the pleasant feelings associated with smoking... but most of the time those "cravings" only last a couple of minutes and it's not impossible to fight them.

I used to do deep breathing exercises whenever I wanted a cigarette. Pursing your lips into the shape of a small "o" (like you were about to take a drag from a cigarette) then inhale as deeply as you can... ALL THE WAY... until you can't fit one more ounce of air in your lungs. Next... keep your lips pursed and exhale slowly though your mouth... until you can't exhale one more "drop" of air.

Do this a couple of times and (if you don't pass out) you'll be a bit more relaxed. And you've given yourself something ELSE to do, and something ELSE to think about while you're waiting for the psychological craving to pass.

GOOD LUCK!!

PS: Assuming $4.00 per pack at 2-packs per day... that's $8.00 a day. Your annual cigarette bill was about $2920.00. --- Even though you probably didn't SAVE your daily savings in a separate piggy bank... that's an AWFUL LOT OF MONEY that you didn't throw away last year.

It was the $$$ saved that was my biggest inspiration when I quit smoking four years ago.

You already know everything there is to know about quitting cigarettes. Just hang in there. :pals:

Not completely. The reason for this is the addiction mechanism of nicotine: nicotine mimics the chemical released in your brain on natural release from anxiety, and binds to the same receptors. So when you smoke, you get a feeling of calm and relaxation. Unfortunately, the habit of smoking disrupts the brain's natural reward system, and you come to associate that feeling with having a cigarette. This is why people who haven't smoked in thirty years will still have cravings, especially at moments of stress and tension. The only thing you can do is not give in to the craving, because it's all too easy to tell yourself 'I'll just smoke the one' and suddenly one turns into two, and the next thing you know, you're back to a pack a day (I speak from experience here).


Don't do it; it's not worth the transient relief you'll get. And it'd be a shame to throw away thirteem months smoke-free out of a passing moment of weakness.

and you'll be back two wheezing and spending eleven bucks a day, 77 dollars a week, 308 dollars a month and THREE THOUSAND NINETY SIX DOLLARS A YEAR (the equivalent of a car payment) on something that kills you and provides ZERO value other than something to do with your hands (since at this point, 13 MO., you've done the HARDEST work of getting past the "physical" part of the addiction).

Good luck!

You can DO it.

I'M SMOKE FREE TODAY, AND I HOPE FOREVER!!! Thank you. :grouphug: I do know that if I ever, EVER, have a puff again, I'm back to smoking and that's NOT going to happen, so thank you again for all your words of encouragement and support.

helping keep the air we share a little cleaner! :pals:

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: