I am wondering for anyone who has quit smoking, how long it took to feel better??? I popped a patch on a wk ago today. Have smoked one in morn and one at bedtime all wk. I use to smoke a pk a day. I cut out the bedtime smoke last night. Down to one a day. This is the problem...I thought I would feel better by now??? I'm kinda depressed. I am looking for any encouragement to kick that last smoke. Could I? YES!! But WHEN do you start to feel better?? Kinda sucks putting myself through this and feeling about the same. I am sure I need more time. Just need to hear someone say....I felt so much better after x amount of time. I guess that last smoke right now is the only thing I have to look forward to right now. Thanks in advance for any positive input.


Christine

Quitting's easy. I've done it a hundred times. Ha Ha! I finally gave up chewing tobacco 4 or 5 years ago after 17 years. I rewarded myself. What do I benefit the most from quitting? Or what or how will YOU benefit the most from quitting? For me it was athletic performance and overall health. Focus on your benefit and then reward yourself by buying something with the money you would have saved by purchasing the tobacco. Good Luck, You can do it, Peace, Nick

I quit smoking in Feb. 2006. I have some suggestions for you. Get on the QuitNet web site.It's a message board that really keeps you going. I got on the site at least twice a day the first few months.Second;I highly recommend a book that I give credit for my quit. It is "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking" by Alan Carr. When I bought the book I was just curious. I didn't really want to quit. After reading it; it changed my way of thinking and I KNEW I could quit. God bless Mr. Carr(he died last year).
Oh yes, you wanted to know how long it takes to get over the pain of quitting;for me, at about one month it got a lot better.
Good Luck!!!
Linda

Quitting smoking could be one of the hardest, yet most life rewarding experiences you can do. It took me a few tries to finally kick the habit, but I have found that the biggest influence came from friends that smoked.

You have to try and remove the temptation, at least for a few months until your body detoxes. Remember that you are not really addicted to smoking tobacco, but you body is addicted to a chemical and will play tricks on you to try and "give in". You might have become really accustomed to being around other people that smoke and seeing them enjoying it only confounds you because your logical mind knows it is one of the deadliest habits that we can do.

I think for any real change to occur, and even as I go through this Program, I see that changing your entire outlook, environment and mental state is terribly difficult at first. It is so foreign to us because we have based the idea of ourselves in negativity and bad habits for so long that it just becomes "us".

Looking for motivation, support and love is paramount. Surround yourself with people that want to help you stay the course and eventually your brain will stop asking for a chemical, because it is producing its own "feel good" chemistry by just thinking how good it feels to NOT smoke!

Good Luck,
Eric

There are some really good responses here and I wanted to add my two cents. I quit smoking in January 2006. I was a pack/day "social smoker." hahahah Love that term. What helped me was constantly re-visiting the benefits of quitting. Instead of focusing on how bad I was feeling or how much I was craving a cigarette, I focused on how good this was for me and how much stronger I am for this. That doesn't mean I never get the urge for one now and then, but I tell myself I'm stronger than that. The temporary relief does not outweigh the long-term rewards. Stick with it.
Peace,
Aimee

I AM A 10 DAY QUITER. I TRIED MANY TIMES AND HAVE QUIT 3 TIMES THRU MY PREGNANCIES AND WHEN MY ANXIETY 1ST HIT. I AM NOW ON CHANTIX. IT IS AWESOME. YOU CAN SMOKE FOR THE FIRST WEEK AND BY THE END OF THE WEEK YOU DONT REALLY HAVE MUCH DESIRE. IT IS A 12 WK PROGRAM, BUT IT IS THE EASIEST TIME I HAVE HAD YET. I HONESTLY THINK THIS IS THE ONE THAT IS GOING TO STICK. I HAVEN'T HAD MORE THAN 2 BAD TIMES IN THE 4 DAYS TOTALLY SMOKE FREE.

GOOD LUCK!!

I dont smoke but I wish you luck!!! I have heard that it is very hard to kick the habit.

good luck! i have tried 3 times in the past 5 months to quit. twice i tried the patch, but i get terrible stomach pains on the second day. i thought the first time it happened, it was some food i ate. but, it happened the second time. seems like your past day 2 with the patch, so looks like your side-effect free.

i quit once before, but it was because i had my tonsils out. i couldn't eat for a month, so after the month, i was like "wtf do i wanna smoke for?" haha. i went a year and a half before starting again. i felt awesome even after that first month. needless to say, i don't think i could have felt much worse after having my throat cut apart, lol. my sinus problems were gone, i would wake up with a clear nose, able to breath. no chest pain in the morning, no yuck feeling. i could walk and walk and not get out of breath. if you made it this far, your doing great. now your down to 1 a day, so this last one is gonna be the tough one. my suggestion is to take however many you have, and smoke out the pack, lol. i hate throwing them away cuz i feel like i wasted money. smoke 1 a day, and, after 2 or 3 days, cut about a quarter inch off the end. then, cut a half inch. (carefull, the lighter is getting close to your nose now) and then cut it down as far as you think you can before you burn yourself. pretty soon, you'll be at like, 1/4th of a cig a day, then its like, ugh, why bother for 30 seconds of smoking. just an idea. it does say not to smoke on the patch, so, if you get a stomach ache don't blame me though but on a serious note, watch for signs of nicotine overdose. if your on a small mg patch, my idea might work, but maybe rethink it if your still on the 21 mg ones. don't want anyone getting sick cuz of me.

Hi Christine:
I've been quit smoking for 10 years. If i remember right you really begin to feel like a new person at about 12 weeks off the cigs.
It takes about 12 weeks to get over them. And you begin to feel more free.
Hope this will help and not discourage.
I'm so glad I quit. It was worth all the withdrawal I felt in the beginning. I used the patches for 7 days, then it was on my own. I was a 2 pack a day user. Sometimes went over that. So I really felt good when I got over all the withdrawal.
Cornflower

I quit smoking March 2nd at 11:15 am.
I feel great now, right in this moment.
When you quit, remember the time and the day.
Starting right now refure to yourself as a non smoker. Every time you light one up say outloud "I don't smoke". Say to yourself every time the thought comes "I dont smoke".

Using this method made quiting easy, and another thing. Don't buy the kind of cigeretts that you like. When I quit I was smoking Bugler.
They tasted awfull and I got dizzy from smoking just a couple hits. Don't make it easy to be a smoker, after all, you don't smoke

Glen

You can do it LUVG! I know you can becuase I did it! I am smoke free coming up on 1 month and 2 weeks. If I can make it through, so can you! I never thought I would quit. I've tried so many times it's crazy. I started to really feel better the very first day I quit, but the pangs of wanting a smoke were still bothering me. I used the patch for about 2.5 weeks, got sick of the itchy red marks on my arm, and got off the patch. I planned not to use the patch long, so started the step down early. I started to feel normal at about 2 or 3 days after patch. That's about when the nicotine left my system. I don't know if 3 days will be good for you or if it'll take less than 3, but I can tell you I FEEL GREAT! Quitting smoking helps reinforce my positive attitude. If you feel it in your heart, you are ready to quit and you'll make it, one day at a time. Put that last cigarette down and come here or go to myquit.com for help and support. It's within your reach now, just go for it! We are here for you when you need to lean!
MBF13

What a blessing!! I forgot to put the smoking posts on notify. I just happened upon this as I woke up to NO smokes AND no coffee! OUCH! Decided to browse the forum before gettting my day started. I have fell off the wagon a few times over the last 2 wks. I decided I COULDN'T smoke one here and there. I'm realizing all or nothing when it comes to this. So, I am on day 3 of nothing. I read and re-read these posts and they are really speaking to me now! I feel so inspired by the thoughts of feeling better and hearing it from ex smokers. The positive atitude is something I do feel while not smoking. I don't know if it is coming from just feeling all around better or just KNOWING I will be set free from this monkey soon. I had a early morning thought before even waking completely..it said smoking is causing you mental anguish. I thought, how profound and NO SH@T!! I have known this all along...yet . I'm on it, moving foward and when the urge hits today, I will return to these words here in hopes of staying on track. Thank you guys so much for keeping me going!!!

Christine

HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For all members trying to quit and looking for a method, I have ised one that has worked well for me. I am on the patch and I left one cig in my closet which lets me know I am in control. I can smoke it or not. I choose not to. Try this!! Let me know how you do with this method. The panic is removed because you have one if you choose.

quote:

Originally posted by Lindygail:
I quit smoking in Feb. 2006. I have some suggestions for you. Get on the QuitNet web site.It's a message board that really keeps you going. I got on the site at least twice a day the first few months.Second;I highly recommend a book that I give credit for my quit. It is "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking" by Alan Carr. When I bought the book I was just curious. I didn't really want to quit. After reading it; it changed my way of thinking and I KNEW I could quit. God bless Mr. Carr(he died last year).
Oh yes, you wanted to know how long it takes to get over the pain of quitting;for me, at about one month it got a lot better.
Good Luck!!!
Linda

Excellent I also used QUITNET and Alan's book to help me quit. I'm so sad to hear he passed. Without Alan I would of NEVER quit. I tried Thousands of times to quit ( thats no exaggeration ) before reading his book. Bless his heart!