I need help-- please

[smallhouset]

OK, its been 10 days since I quit smoking.I did it cold turkey, just stopped half way through smoking a cigarette. I can't say I don't miss it or that I don't want a cigarette. I do. But I used to really enjoy smoking, but lately I didn't enjoy it any more, so I figured why do it. He still is smoking but not as much and not around me and he's trying not to smoke in the house now. So maybe he'll kick it too.

But that isn't what I need help with. I need to know how do I stop EATING, and EATING, and EATING. I should have said its been 10 days and 10 pounds ago. I've tried gum, hard tack candy, fruit, pretzils,rice cakes, water, tea,coffee, you name it I've eaten it this week. It was cheaper to smoke than buy the food I've consumed.

The support groups say to get a hobby, I have a wonderful hobby, that I love and this is when I used to smoke, while waiting for glue or paint, I smoked, reading directions, I smoked, now I eat.

Any ideas? Please.

terri

[Peggi]

Terri I wish you success, I've tried many times and have not succeeded yet in quitting. But try cinnamon sticks or tick tacks, they have a little kick. There is a brand out now made with splenda, so not so many calories, called Blitz.

Drink plenty of water, will help keep you full. Once when I was able to quit for about 3 weeks, I also kept toothpicks around to "chew" on or floss picks.

Hope some of these work for you.

[Deb]

The support groups say to get a hobby, I have a wonderful hobby, that I love and this is when I used to smoke, while waiting for glue or paint, I smoked, reading directions, I smoked, now I eat.

Any ideas? Please.

terri

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Terri}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Oh sweetie, I understand perfectly! We've been trying to quit since Bruce's heart attack and are making progress, but it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do. (unfortunately, I love to smoke and still enjoy every puff)

It's really not breaking one habit, it's breaking 20 individual habits every day. There are some things like waiting for glue to dry or reading the directions or finishing a meal or..........well, you know what they all are....that are ingrained habits to light up when you do them and it's as much a habit of something for your hands to do as it is oral gratification.

I've gained weight too. <sigh> I tried the mints and hard candy and lemon drops and altoids. (I smoke menthols so I tried things with strong flavors to compensate) Pretzels are good for me too and they're low calorie. But the main thing that I've discovered is that it doesn't help me much to break each individual habit by doing something similar, (like eating for smoking) but it does help if I do something radically different to make a new habit. I got some little "worry" toys to play with........squeeze balls and little electronic games and fidget beads and that kind of thing. They give my hands something mindless to do to distract them from wanting to hold a cigarette. I even do the Captain Queeg thing with marbles. For me at least, giving my hands something to do is almost more important than the oral compensation.

Hang in there girl! You're doing something incredibly hard and you're succeeding soooooo well! I'm truly proud of you.

Deb

[havanaholly]

My DH smoked from his early teens until about eight years ago, he said the cigarettes suddenly began tasting "nasty" (I could have told him that!). He started to put on weight. Then he picked up a bicycle on sale at Wal-Mart and began riding on weekends, and at work he began walking outside during his breaks & @ lunch, taking stairs instead of the elevator, working out on our weight machine at home, and we started cutting down on fats for his cholesterol, and the extra weight has come off (he was over 200 # for a short time). Now we are both on a fairly strict medical diet and have a lot of physical activities we both enjoy (going paddling later in our tandem kayak) so that in our retirement we have managed not to gain weight.

[LPCullen]

Terri, go buy a bottle/container of whole cloves. Whenever you want a cigarette (my worst time is when I get in the car to go drive), take a whole clove and put it into your mouth. Don't chew it up or swallow it, just keep it in your mouth, and I tend to nibble it a bit. It also gives you something to hold in your hand. Anyway, not only will whole cloves help with the craving for nicotine, it's also a natural appetite surpressant. The water is good as well. Also, start taking a 1-2 mile walk (2 is best) every day, and try to do it at the same time each day.

[heidiiiii]

Wow! I am not the only one with THE nasty lil secret habit. Whew.

When i was 25 I went to get a teeth cleaning. My dentist told me that my gums and roof of my mouth looked like they belonged to a 60 yr old person that smoked for 30 yrs. He couldnt guarantee that I would`nt get some form of mouth cancer. I quit that day! I started the patch. but it was July. So it kept peeling off. I had to go cold turkey. I was an ex-smoker for 4 yrs and I know I am smoking now (stupid, stupid, stupid) but I do have some things that really helped.

If you can chew it, invest in bazooka bubble gum. It is cheap and hard and sturdy. They have it in sugarless too. Tell dh he has to take it outside! You cant be around it at all. Cause if you even smell it, your going to want it.

I learned from reading and dr that nicotine burns fat. Really it does! So unless you change your eating habits and you dont overeat, you will still gain some weight. That is why they say quitters can gain 5-10 lbs. So if you gain it, really dont worry about it now. You can deal with it after you are over the nicotine hump.

My sister gave me a great mantra to remember when the urge hits you...

The hardest times you will face when quitting smoking are after 2 mins, 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, and 2 yrs. It is really true. You will go along and feel good and BAM! Will want a cig.

Your gums may bleed when you brush your teeth. That is the toxins leaving body. You will get a hacking cough for awhile. Same reason.

You will be SHOCKED at how bad smokers smell! You will say "I smelled that bad?" I never lie to dr`s anymore and say I dont smoke. They know!

If the hobby isnt helping then you arent a hand smoker, you are a mouth smoker. So try the gum.

I smoked when I was on the phone, so i started washing dishes while on the phone To this day, I still wash dishes while on the phone. Friends and family have learned to live with it!

Hang in there! We will be your cheerleaders!

Hopefully, I will kick this stupid habit again!

[Lyn]

I wish you all the luck in quitting smoking. I too smoke and due to some personal issues I tried to quit but started back up again. Maybe we all should get together to try and help each other quit when we are all ready of course.

[wenlaine]

You really can do it!! I smoked for over 20 years, menthols and 2 cartons a week. I had to be in a bar that particular weekend from Thursday to Saturday night and everyone around me was smoking. It was the hardest thing I ever did. That was in 1991 and I haven't had one since. Mind you, I still crave them and I still say, the day I die, I'm going out with a cigarette in my mouth. I miss them but I do prefer to smell nice and I'm so glad I'm not coughing anymore.

Good luck, Terri and all who are trying to quit.

[smallhouset]

Thanks for the support everybody. I'm getting passed the tobacco cravings,but still battling the habit of doing something. All of the ideas you had sound good and I'm going to try them. I'm glad I quit and hopefully I won't start again. I quit twice before, both times for over a year. The only reason I started back the other times was my son was very ill as a child, (he has diabetes,) and twice I've had to rush him to the hospital in severe diabetic ketone acidosis, and was told by a doctor he wouldn't make it.. As soon as he was semi-stable, I went out for some air and walked up to the first person I saw smoking and lit up.I know my quiting smoking has nothing to do with my son getting sick but I'm not telling him I quit.

I was thinking about what Heidiiiii said about being a hand smoker or a mouth smoker, I think I'm more of a burner. I would light one take a drag and put it in the ashtray, I think I only smoked about a quarter of each one. So I tested it. I took one of his, (nonfilter) lit it and put it down, just like I used to . That urge that I should be doing something passed and I didn't want to smoke.

So maybe I'm making some progress.

Thanks again for the support.I'll let you know if I stumble.

terri

[luvmypoodle]

Please understand as I write this, I cannot understand the reason for smoking and I don't understand the hold it can have. I mean this with a loving heart, nothing rude intended. I am looking at this from a scared family members position. I have never smoked but my sister does, . She is 40 and I am 35. My grandmother smoked and died of lung cancer when I was a freshman in college. We lived in the same town until then. And school was only an hour away so I would visit on weekends (grandmama). I watched her slowly die, it was awful. I don't understand the habit of smoking. I wish that our grandma dying would be enough for my sister to quit. Maybe if she experienced what I did with grandmama that would of done it for her. I pray that God would let her see how bad it is and to take that desire away. My mom and I think she also smokes so she won't gain weight. I rather have her here weighing more that standing at her grave side. It terrifies me. I pray all of you will be able to stop. Good luck to you.

[LPCullen]

I don't understand the habit of smoking.

Well, it starts as a habit, and usually learned from family members (both of my parents smoked), but nicotine is an addictive drug, and smoking is actually an addiction, and not a habit. Too many people view it as a "habit", and not what it actually is. Just like with other addictive drugs that people use (cocaine, heroin, alcohol, etc.), when they stop using it, they gain weight. Lots of that has to do with substituting food, chocolate, and/or candy of any kind for the nicotine cravings. I've heard it said--but I don't know if it's true--that the only addiction harder to break than nicotine is heroin.

[havanaholly]

There's a biochemical basis for the addiction I won't go into because it gets boringly technical, but DS#3 began smoking while in the state hospital system as a 13-year-old and although he stopped taking his psych meds several years ago (and managing well) he is totally addicted to nicotine. That his dad quit "cold turkey" in his 50s is his hope he can one day quit, too.

My prayers are with all of you who want to quit, when I finished nursing school my first year was working the respiratory unit of our local big hospital and I got thoroughly sick of watching the folks I'd get attached to die from smoking-induced COPD (lung cancer patients died on another floor); it's a hard and horrible way to go. No matter when you stop, short of developing COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), the lungs will eventually heal themselves, somewhat.

[darrellandmelissa]

I've heard it said--but I don't know if it's true--that the only addiction harder to break than nicotine is heroin.

I am not sure about that.I have been drug free, (which did include herion), for 18 years. Darrell has been drug and alcohol free for 28 years We both still smoke. I did manage to quit for 3 days about 2 years ago when I tried. I will try again when I am ready. I am taking steps to cut down how much I smoke. The truth is we enjoy smoking.

Melissa

[Deb]

I am not sure about that.I have been drug free, (which did include herion), for 18 years. Darrell has been drug and alcohol free for 28 years We both still smoke. I did manage to quit for 3 days about 2 years ago when I tried. I will try again when I am ready. I am taking steps to cut down how much I smoke. The truth is we enjoy smoking.

Melissa

<nodding in agreement> I've been drug and alchohol free for 10 years. I could walk away from everything except the cigarettes. And like you, I enjoy smoking. That's why I started it in the first place and it's the only vice I haven't given up. Even with the patch, I still want a cigarette just because I enjoy it so it's not just the nicotine craving that makes me want one. Bruce and I have both cut down to around half of what we used to smoke, but I don't know that I'll be able to quit until I stop liking it.

Deb

[LPCullen]

Ah. So, Melissa and Deb, you're telling me heroin is easier to kick than nicotine? That's a bit scary!

[Color Me Holly]

Maybe we all should get together to try and help each other quit when we are all ready of course. :angry:

I'm game. My quit date is tomorrow.

Terri,

I have tried to quit many times. The hardest part for me is being around people who smoke. I also understand that you don't want to replace smoking with eating. One thing that I would suggest is to have a plan of attack for cravings. Do something you normally wouldn't do while smoking. When a craving hits take a shower, Weed the garden, wash dishes, declutter a closet, use a stress ball or squeeze a ball of clay, go for a walk. These worked for me before my only downfall was being around other smokers. I think I am going to use Linda suggestion and use cloves this time.

I really am a private person and I don't talk much. I think that was my mistake before. I tried to do it without telling anyone or having some sort of support. Most of my closest family smokes. None of them are ready to quit. SInce this thread popped up, the whole quit smoking thing has been on my mind again. I have set my quit date for tomorrow. I have been looking around for a place to blog, but I haven't found one yet. Ok, I am ramblin' . Good Night everyone.

[smallhouset]

I would say kicking the nicotine habit is much harder. Especially since it is so much easier to get. As a teenager, my step-brother was sent to a court run drug rehab/ juvenile detention center for all types of addictions. In every room in that facility, there was a constant supply of cigarettes, and chocolate candy. All of the patients were encouraged to smoke and eat their way through the withdrawl of whatever addiction sent them there.

I really miss smoking, I enjoyed it for a long time,

terri

[Peggi]

Please understand as I write this, I cannot understand the reason for smoking and I don't understand the hold it can have. I mean this with a loving heart, nothing rude intended.

No offense taken and thanks for caring.

As a smoker I'll give you my take on it--imagine a friend that is always there for you --when you're angry, depressed or happy. Something that relaxes you without getting you high (at least after the initial pack). My brain also knows this friend will betray you with coughing, wheezing, and lead right on up to heart/lung problems, and/or cancer. But like a loving pet, we've all talked about, it gives comfort--you tend to forget it can and will bite you. It's a crutch, sure, but it's damage creeps up on you, slowly and though you know in your mind that it will eventually take it's toll, you just can give up on it easily.

When I started smoking all the dangers hadn't been proven or advertised, and by the time it was, I was hooked. I manage to quit at least twice a year for 2-3 weeks at a time, then some major life crisis happens and I pull out the one "crutch" that I know will see me through.

When you quit, you grieve the loss--this sounds strange I know to non-smokers, but it is so true. Especially when you've smoked as long as I have. I consider my previous "quits" as practice for the time when I am able to give it up completely, but I have found in order to succeed--even for a short time--you have to plan ahead--and I'm not there yet.

I truly admire those who are able to quit and stay quit. But I've talked to smokers who have been quit for 20+ years and they will tell you that there is still times when they wish they had a smoke.

I wish for everyone trying Success and freedom from this addiction and hope one day to join you.

[Deb]

I truly admire those who are able to quit and stay quit. But I've talked to smokers who have been quit for 20+ years and they will tell you that there is still times when they wish they had a smoke.

My dad quit smoking over 50 years ago and he still misses it. He'll stand downwind and inhale deep when he's around someone who's smoking. He says he'll know he's completely kicked the habit when he can forget the last cigarette he had......and then he'll tell you the exact day and hour of his last one. But he's never smoked again.

I've been smoking for 30 years and one of the things that's hard for me is to separate the smoking from my personality. Like Peggi said, that's going to sound funny to a non-smoker, but I was 14 when I started so most of the adult personality traits I have were developed with a cigarette in my hand. That doesn't mean that smoking makes me the person I am, but it's a part of my identity.

Linda: Ah. So, Melissa and Deb, you're telling me heroin is easier to kick than nicotine? That's a bit scary!

I'm not sure if it's easier (heroin wasn't on my daily list--that was either meth or tranquilizers depending on the day), but for me, I was ready to leave the chemicals behind. They were a part of the abuse in my childhood and first marriage and when I was finally able to break free of my mom and my ex, the drugs got left behind too. I didn't want them anymore when life became good. :angry:

CrzyLdyWmn: I tried to do it without telling anyone or having some sort of support. Most of my closest family smokes. None of them are ready to quit. SInce this thread popped up, the whole quit smoking thing has been on my mind again. I have set my quit date for tomorrow.

Good for you!!! Go for it and we'll be here to cheer you on! You've definitely got a support group with us.

Terri: The only reason I started back the other times was my son was very ill as a child, (he has diabetes,) and twice I've had to rush him to the hospital in severe diabetic ketone acidosis, and was told by a doctor he wouldn't make it.. As soon as he was semi-stable, I went out for some air and walked up to the first person I saw smoking and lit up

Yep, that'll do it. When Bruce was in ICU, I went out for a smoke and one of the nurses mentioned that she thought I had said I was quitting. I told her that when one's husband is hooked up to heart monitors it just isn't the week to stop cold turkey.

Deb

[wenlaine]

Deb, you are so right. For weeks before I quit I had to convince myself that I really never was a smoker in my heart. I hadn't started until I was 20, never ever tried one as a teenager. So convincing myself that I really wasn't a smoker, I believe made it that much easier to quit.

Good luck CrzyLdyWmn. I praying all of you can be strong and most importantly, don't feel quilty if you can't do it. You can always try again the next day.

[nuttiwebgal]

all this talk of addiction to nicotine brings back conversations I have with my mom.

she is has smoked for 43 yrs....has never tried to quit. I used to try and encourage her to but after our last conversation I just let it go. although I am not a smoker and have never been I am addicted...my addiction is to food. I LOVE food. not cookies and sweet stuff but real food like steak and potatos and all that other good stuff. I know now that for sometime I have sufferred from a metabolic disorder but before I knew that she and I would have many discussions about my weight. our last talk ended with my agreeing not to harp on her ciggerets and she would get off my back about my weight.

food is needed by our body to live...very hard to give up. I would love to "diet" but the mere mention of that word sends my body into "attack" mode. she told me the same thing happens to her when she seriously thinks about quiting!

I think if you have the power to put it down MORE POWER TO YOU!!!

and Good luck! the life you are enhancing is yours! You are doing the best thing for you and your body!

nutti :angry:

[Lyn]

All of this Talk about addiction either cigarettes or other things has really come at a good time for me. My husband is a addict he is currently in detox seeking help for being hooked on pain pills along with him being a Alcholic. I have learned alot on thid Disease and like Deb Iam too much in love with my cigarettes to quit at this time in my life and yes I know its a addiction. I have tried to quit smoking many many times. Deb and Melissa I give you alot of courage and credit for kicking the herion that took alot of strength on your part and to come here and say hello I was herion user takes alot of guts on your part. I Thank god that the only addiciton I have are my cigarettes.

[ilovecats]

I'm sorry i can't be of any help. I have never smoked and haven't experience the pull of the addiction to nicotine. I know it must be very tough. Good luck and hope all works out for you. I have asthma and could never even consider starting smoking. I had a sister who had asthma (alot worse than mine) and she smoked...I know it was a struggle for her (breathing and quitting).

[heidiiiii]

I've heard it said--but I don't know if it's true--that the only addiction harder to break than nicotine is heroin.

My name is Heidi and I am a Compulsive (smoking, chocolate) Gambler. "Hi Heidi"... I know addictions to and I have one that doesnt include drugs and alcohol but is just as insidious.

I agree that herion is probably a very very very hard addiction to break (no experience) but i found out that out of all the addictions it has been said that gambling is one of the hardest to overcome (experience). I have been clean from slots for 3 months. I did have a year under my belt but I slipped.

I guess any addiction can be as bad as it gets to the person it is afflicting.

[havanaholly]

It's the destruction of the addicted individual's relationships & support groups as well as the physical destruction caused by the toxic stuff that makes addictions insidious.

Without trying to get too technical, the addicting activity/ substances causes the brain to release a rush of "feel good" chemicals (endorphins) and it's the desire to retain that "high" that fosters the dependence. (It's not just that simple, but that's a big part of it.)