Question for former smokers...

I know it is a terrible/horrible habit...I really would love to quit...I would love to TTC in the near future. What ways did you go about it? The patch/gum is too strong for me and I do not like taking pills. I have tried to cut down but then when I get stressed out i just light up again!

also, how long before you TTC did you stop smoking?

Re: Question for former smokers...

I quit after almost 9 years of smoking by using the patch and Welbutrin together. Its the only thing/combo that worked for me! I'd talk to your doctor and see what they recommend! I quit in April of 2007 and conceived in May of 2008. I DEF wanted to quit before getting pregnant- one less thing I had to worry about!



GOOD LUCK!! If I can do it, anyone can!!

Re: Question for former smokers...

I smoked 1.5-2 packs a day for about 6 years. I quit last year by using the patch after being hypnotized.

Do I think hypnosis worked? No, but it was a very relaxing experience It did make me realize though that I didn't want the addiction to control me and that I believed that I could regain control.

I used the patch for 6 weeks and then the 7th week I was away and it wouldn't stick in the water. After that point, it was cold turkey and even when I cheated with a drag, it tasted so bad that I don't think i could go back.

I think that you really need to be mentally ready and committed to quit. I know most people want to quit, but they really aren't "ready" yet, if you know what I mean.

Anyways good luck!

Re: Question for former smokers...

I quit (after 10 years of smoking) cold turkey. I told myself I'd go on the patch if I needed to, but I didn't.

Re: Question for former smokers...

I used thepatch and it was the best decision I ever made. I smoked for 12 years and have been clean for 3. If the patch step 1 is too strong, try starting with step 2. Good luck!!

Re: Question for former smokers...

I quit cold turkey after 19 years of smoking; the day before i got my BFP

im 34; started at 15

Re: Question for former smokers...

I read a study on former smokers that said those with the best chance of truly quitting are ones who use something to address the physical need for nicotine (patch, gum, those stick things) combined with something to address to emotional/stress relief need (mild antidepressants.)

You may not like to use stuff like this, but if you are really serious about quitting, it may be a good idea. I think the worst thing you can do is keep quitting and starting again- when you really quit, you want it to be as final as possible.

Good luck!

Re: Question for former smokers...

ugh...I don't envy you! I tried, many times to quit. Wellbutrin was helpful but had side effects that didn't work for me.

Ultimately, I just quit on my own. It basically came down to the fact that I think my body had enough.....and I became disgusted with it. It was also around the same time that I met my husband and things got serious and I did NOT want to be a smoking bride.

When I had cravings, I would chew a peice of Nicorette. I didn't do the whole plan, just a peice here and there whenever I needed it. THat was 5 years ago. To this day, I keep a stash of the gum and when I really want a want it (usually about twice a year) I chew a peice.

Once you quit, you'll feel SOOoooooo good.

Re: Question for former smokers...

I started smoking at 11 and quit at 36. I tried to quit about 15 times before that but the truth is if you don't really want to then your not really going to. I quit New Years Day 2006.

I did it cold turkey and it wasn't easy. I still want one now and then and I have to fight the urge constantly. Especially when I have drinks.

Smoking is disgusting. As an ex smoker I don't like to be around people who smoke bc they smell. Thier breath smells, hair, clothes..they stink. It's a dirty, disgusting habit. The tobacco company could care less about you or if you get cancer.


CANCERS YOU CAN GET FROM SMOKING

Tounge
Nasal
Throat
Larynx
Esphogus
Stomach
Lung
Kidney
Bladder

There are circulatory and cardiac (heart) diseases that come with it.

Keep giving the tobacco company $6 a day. Thats $2,184.00 a year. You could go on a cruise for that money, new wardrobe, new shoes, go to a spa.

I just said no more. I'm not giving those @ss holes my hard earned money. I'm not going to die young and miss out on my nieces and nephews bc i'm dead from cancer. I don't want green mucus and phlegm comming out a hole in my neck and the smell is horrific. (oh yes, i've seen it and smelled it) I want to be able to scream at my husband and not use a voicebox. I'm the stupid, f**ing idiot if I keep smoking not the big tobacco company who is laughing thier @ss off at me right now while living in thier supermantions, driving jaguars, and taking off in thier private jet to some secluded island. F- that!

And every time I wanted a cig that is what I told myself. And it worked.

TIPS

*Take a vitamin B and B6 supplement along with a multi vitamin every day. (smoking drains your body or it's essential vitamins especially the B's)

*Driving- while driving I would eat an apple. If it took me 2 or 3 apples then I ate 2 or 3. The motion of putting the apple to the mouth was a huge help plus apples are high in fiber so your not replacing that part with sugary, fat food.

*Telephone- when I was on the phone I would need something to do with my hands. So I got a gameboy and bought Tetris. Not a game you need to concentrate on. You're just fitting pieces in a puzzle so it was easy to talk on the phone and play the game. It kept my hands busy so that I wouldn't want a cig.

*After eating- this was a tough one. I changed my eating habbits. I ate several small meals a day so that it wasn't like sitting at a table for dinner. (i'm Italian and we always engorged ourselves and ate our meals sitting as a family) So since I wasn't full the urge wasn't so strong and it was easier to fight. Plus eating several small meals a day actually helped me lose weight.

Drinking- this one I had to use my sheer willpower. I stopped drinking. Where I would maybe have a glass or two of wine for dinner- I had a soda. If I went to a party- I drank water or soda. I had to stop drinking alcohol for about 6 months. When I started drinking again I did get the urge but it was easier to fight off bc I didn't have nicotine in my system for 6 months.

Nicotine is out of your system in 3 days. THREE DAYS!!! You no longer have it in you. Now the neuroceptors in your brain is what makes you want that cigarette. So tell your brain no. Fight with your brain. Yell at it. Tell it it's an @sshole and all the bad things that will happen to you. SOUNDS WEIRD I know but here's the thing- if you TELL YOURSELF all those things your just telling yourself. BUT if you ARGUE WITH YOUR BRAIN (actually visualize little people in your brain wanting a cigarette) You are ACTUALLY ARGUING AGAINST SOMETHING and when you argue against something and then you don't smoke- YOU WIN!! See, so you can say yeah- I won that argument. I didn't want a cig, my brain did, and it lost. So now you feel victorious and it's a positive reward toward your quitting.

Plus drink lots of water.

One more thing- From the day you quit you must think like an addict. That's what you are. That's what I am. I am a drug addict. And like AA or NA and all those others- you can never have another cigarette again. And almost 3 years later I still say that to people. " I can't smoke again bc if I do I will wind up right where I left off. I can never have another cigarette again." Just like an alcoholic can never have alchohol.

I know this was excrutiatingly long but if anything in this helps anyone, especially you to quit smoking then it was worth the half hour typing it all.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Re: Question for former smokers...

I was a 2-2.5 pack aday smoker for almost 15 years. DD was a surprise, so I quit soon after I found out. Not by choice, but my body just rejected it!

I had wuit a few times before. Keeping straws, gum, toothpicks, etc always helped.

Many friends have been able to quit with Welbutrin.

Good Luck!

Re: Question for former smokers...

Quit smoking cold turkey 2 years before TTC.

Just my opinion, but the gum/patch other replacements just drag out your body's addiction to the nicotine. I tried all that but only cold turkey worked. I kept telling myself, well you made it 2 days through the torture of withdrawal, don't back out now or you'll have to do it all over... Then it would be 5 days, a week, 3 weeks, 2 months, etc... and eventually, I just stopped thinking about it. Now, the smell of smoke makes me queasy and I have no more cravings, but it is a sort of long process to get there. It is so worth quitting for your health, finances, quality of life. Best of luck to you!

Re: Question for former smokers...

OH, and this website really helped me. www.whyquit.com

Also, this is a good starter link from the whyquit website: http://www.msnusers.com/FreedomFromTobaccoQuitSmokingNow/the1st72hours.msnw