Don't EVER start smoking again! NEVER pick one up again. Help!

[Beausoir]

God dammit! I quit a two pack a day habit over 12 years ago. Hardest thing I have EVER done.

2 months ago, after a few drinks, my husband and I decided to buy a pack of cigarettes. WHy? WHY???

I've lost 30 pounds since September by following the Diabetic Diet...that's fantastic.

But I'm SMOKING! I hate it...it has me by the throat...again.

And I'm back up to a pack a day. And it's killing me.

I just placed a phone call to my internist asking for help.

Patch again? The lozenges?

What will work for me??

[bluethruandthru]

1. My husband and I both used the patch and Wellbutrin.

We've been smoke free for 2 plus years (after smoking for nearly 30 years!). I'd tried the patch alone several times with no luck. The addition of Wellbutrin made it relatively painless.

Good luck to you!

[cwydro]

2. I've never smoked

but my smoking friends (and YES, I have several) tell me that the danger time is when you're having a drink or two...just as in your experience. Just start over! You can do it! Don't be discouraged and don't feel guilty. Good luck!:thumbsup:

[Whoa_Nelly]

3. Bet you can get support/good suggestions in the DU Smoking Cessation Group

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=326

Good luck! :hi:

[hedgehog]

4. Absolutely talk to your doctor.

My doctor has an article posted in his office that people are much more successful on quitting if they enter a stop smoking program that treats smoking as a medical problem. The article pointed out that insurance companies should be pushing these programs since they save money in the long run.

Good luck!

[billyskank]

5. Why are you asking? You quit once. You know how to do it.

Do it again.

[LaraMN]

7. Sometimes staying quit requires finding the best tactics for the individual.

You learn a little bit, every time you fail, on a quitting program.

[billyskank]

9. Yabut

we're not talking about someone who has struggled with trying to give up - we're talking about someone who quit for TWELVE YEARS and then started again.

There is no trick to quitting. You just don't smoke any more. There's no way to make it easy, and it is unfair to pretend to someone that there is. Everyone who quits is going to crave a smoke, and we all have to live with it until the craving fades. And it never goes away totally - even after nearly five years I still get the odd craving. But it never lasts long and it is tolerable. Everyone who has quit knows this, and the OP quit for many years so they know it too.

I might sound like I'm being really hard here, but all I'm doing is not bullshitting.

[LaraMN]

6. There is no shame in starting over.

Lots of us have quit multiple times. It's worth it. You can do it, honey! I know it is incredibly difficult to do, but you can!
:hug: :hug: :hug:

[wildhorses]

8. drinking time is THE WORST--

don't beat yourself up--just QUIT again--one minute at a time...any way you can!!

get help...who cares in what form!!!

hypnosis..try it!!

patches, gum, lozenges...GO FOR IT!!!!

sending you some strength via pwerful mojo:hug:

[LynzM]

10. Apparently, this book is a great start:

Have a friend who quit a many-year pack-a-day habit after reading it, and now recommends it to anyone who wants to quit. Good luck to you. :hug:

[gpandas]

11. quitting

i quit when i was told i had emphysema. easy to quit when a slow,painful
death awaits. get a chest x-ray, look at pictures of the lungs of a long
term smoker. fuck those cigarettes, throw them in the garbage NOW

[Taverner]

12. Patch works for me

I need the drug itself...so going to the patch worked.

Granted, I haven't gone off the patch, but Nicotine itself is harmless. It's the delivery method that can kill you.

[astral]

13. I know how that feels

It's incredibly hard to STAY quitted for awhile. I was quitting for probably ten years, off, and on, and off, and on, making maybe 7 months, maybe 8, 9 months, but tricking myself into thinking I can give quitting a vacation or something --- finally, did it for good, at least, it's been 6 years now and I remember you can never, never have even just one puff of just one cigarrette -- quit means quit.

-- I set a date more than 30 days away
-- I smoked as much as I wanted right up to that day
-- I got the nicotine gum and cut each piece in half and used 1/2 a piece as needed. This just turned out to be 1/2 piece every four hours all my waking hours. For a year and two months but hey, I stayed quitted.
-- I went to this online support thing called Quitnet, just remembered it the other day but I couldn't getin because I couldn't remember my password
-- drank lots of water
-- let myself eat more (I didn't gain weight though, til 3 or 4 years later I put on 15 lbs)
-- got lots of fresh air and exercise through walking
-- remembered each day I went to bed to be thankful I didn't smoke that day
-- rememberd each morning that I don't smoke anymore! yay! (I prayed on these morning / night things, too, but if you don't believe in God just acknowledge it in your mind without praying should work fine)

I told myself a year was a milestone that meant I probably was going to make it this time. It was a big deal to me to make it a year, after that I didn't 'count' so much anymore exactly how long it was.

Quitting did cause me (perhaps!) to quit a job two months later, which I don't think was a bad thing at that point in time.

It's alot harder for some of us to quit than others. Don't worry about what people say and don't be ashamed. You can do it, even if you slip and fall sometimes. It helped me so much to know I'm not the only one, and that others know what it was like to kick butts!

[AIJ Alom]

14. Doh ! Now I've got to get me a cigarette !

[BlueIris]

15. Medication.

Sorry, but that's the only thing I've seen work consistently. PM me if you want my standard advice to people about this.

[MissMillie]

16. interesting

I had a drag off a cigarette last week, after not smoking for 8.5 years. When I inhaled, I instantly remembered why I quit in the first place.... and didn't take a second drag.

[michreject]

17. I used Wellbutrin/ Zyban

smoked 2 packs a day for 30 years. Nothing for 8 years now.

[Beausoir]

18. Well, I consulted with my doc and he said to go with the patch again.

I guess you don't even need a prescription for it now? That's how long it's been since I've used it.

Setting a quit date for December 1.

Thanks to those of you who gave such kind advice and good words.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

19. i loaded up on lozenges

did them way longer than the recommended time. but i'm smoke free 2 years in and never going back