You will mutilate and kill me, so I will say goodby forever. Soon.

[Totto]

I have strange sensations and bad circulation in my toes and it is supposed to be neuropathy. I also smoke and use Swedish snuff. So I have to quit the fags and to do that I have decide to quit snuff too, to be on the safe side.

But how to do it? I have smoked for close to forty years. It is part of my identity and a large part of my life.

I remember how unbearable dad was when pain took over, he stopped smoking at 65 when they threatened to cut his foot off. I am not going his way.

But how do you do it? Met with a non-smoking nurse today and she had three points of advice: Eat so you don't get peckish too soon, drink plenty of water and use the strongest nicotine patches in the beginning. Is that all?

So I am asking for advice from those of you who have done this journey. How to go about it? And to stay off tobacco long term?

 

[mo1905]

No easy answer Totto. I eventually gave up cigarettes 5 years ago but after many, many failed attempts. I tried patches, cold turkey and various other things. Eventually went to doc and prescribed Champix. This worked although they are not an easy drug to tolerate and I had lots of trouble sleeping. The main thing though and the most importr one is actually deciding to quit and you've done that so well done.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[robert72]

Hi Totto

I smoked 40/day for 35 years. In the end I had hypnotherapy and used strong 24-hour patches, reducing down over 3 months. The one thing you will need is determination. I have been smoke-free for almost 7 years and am never tempted to restart. I was always worried that the craving would always be there, but it isn't.

Hope you can find a way that works for you.

 

[Heathenlass]

Now that's one helluva thread title, Totto! Very Tarantino

Well done for making this decision though, and I think your title reflects the chances of you being successful

Have you thought about eCigs at all? I ask because many friends have swapped to using a vapouriser and gradually reduced the strength of nicotine liquid quite painlessly and sucessfully. Other methods hadn't worked for them.

Good luck!

Signy

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I gave up smoking several times (that's supposed to be a joke) but I only succeeded (in 1979) when I wanted to and I did cold turkey. I only craved for a couple of weeks but I was determined. Next I went through a phase where I couldn't be in the same town as cigarette smoke. This part was difficult since it was back in the days when they had smoking carriages on commuter trains. The final phase was where I had no opinion on smoking because it never worried me again.

I vote for cold turkey.

 

[jack412]

I've given up for 12mths now, gave up 50 times before from a day to a month.
Truth is you stop when you truly decide to. The patches will stop the cravings
If needed an antidepressant will calm the nerves

 

[sally and james]

OK, here's my "giving up" method: Don't. Why should you, it's hard and will probably fail. Just have longer and longer gaps between smokes, which isn't too hard. Keep adding to the times and places where you don't smoke, until they all run into one.
I began by not smoking in the morning, then not before early evening. Soon after that, it was quite easy to not smoke on Mondays at all. Then all weekdays became smoke free, just smoking from about 7.00 onwards on weekend evenings. By that stage, I was tending to forget that I was allowed to smoke on a Saturday night, so it got reduced further. But at no point did I actually "give up". I kept cigarettes and matches available at all times, so was never deprived. Soon, I realised I hadn't bothered to smoke for several weeks, then it became years. It's now 25 years since I lit up, so would count as a non-smoker, but, for at least the first 10 years I regarded myself as simply not having had a cigarette for a while.
Worked for me. Good luck.
Sally

 

[Avocado Sevenfold]

I know a couple of people who gave up by reading Allen Carr's book. It is very well reviewed on Amazon so there must be something in it.

Personally, I had a self imposed one week detox of bedtime hypnosis, daily steam saunas, vitamin c and a bit of nicotine inhalator. The inhalator soon got boring. That was over 8 years ago. Was on 30-40 a day previously.

Wishing you well, Totto

 

[bhatti3000]

I gave up smoking too and now I am glad I did it's important for your life


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Scandichic]

I love Sally's approach. I think it's in the head once you get rid of the physical cravings. Have you tried before? What didn't work and why? Whatever you decide Lycka till!

 

[innilus]

Need the nicotine? Get yourself a vapouriser. No tar, chemicals or any of that ****. Costs far less than fags, tobacco or the standard e-cigarettes which are a complete rip-off and you can keep your hand occupied as well as lowering the nicotine levels of your e-liquid should you choose.

 

[gfmoore]

I gave up a chain smoking rollie habit 24 years ago.

I smoked as many cigarettes as I could in one day. I made a note of that number. I decided that I would never go over that amount again. Every time I had a new lower level of cigs that became my new limit. I got down to three a day. I then decided to set a day to give in. I didn't have a cigarette again as soon as I did that. [I also prayed a lot!]

 

[Totto]

I love you all! I wrote the post, served dinner, went out to the poly tunnel to do some work and wow, I got back to find a host of useful advice and lots of cheering too. Thank you!

My aim is to be tobacco-free, that is nicotine free so I have decide against e-cig. The Swedish snuff, hereafter called by its proper name Grovsnus, the make I use, is strong so the physical dependency is heavy. I feel however that the mental dependency on cigarettes is far worse.


I will start with Sally´s method as the first thing I do in the morning is to drink a large mug very strong coffee, smoke two or three fags and read the newspaper. So I will drink my coffee and read the paper, mind you this means I can read my on-line and pdf papers too if I am not out smoking, as I smoke outside but read most papers on my laptop inside. Good idea.

I have already changed from roll ups to ready cigarettes to stop me enjoying the handicraft. I have also limited the places I can smoke to not to smoke in the poly tunnel that is my main work place most of the year and a lovely place to be.

This will take time. I haven't decided on when to actually stop. I think I am a bit of a chicken.

 

[Mud Island Dweller]

Not sure if you can get it there but the daughter in law has been on tablets meant to do a month did 2 weeks and ran out but not had a cig for 18 weeks on sunday. My hub who passed and my mum both went cold turkey after motre years than enough just said sod it thats it!

 

[bernie.freeman]

Good luck Totto, I am sure that you will succeed, you have such a lot of support here. Well done so far !!

 

[zand]

I have no advice for you I'm afraid Totto because I haven't been there myself, this seems rather weak after all the good advice you have given me. I just want to say 'Good Luck' to you. I'll be thinking of you, and you will know the right time to actually stop when you get there. You keep sheep, I am not brave enough to do that, therefore you are not a bit of a chicken!

 

[Totto]

Now that's one helluva thread title, Totto! Very Tarantino

Well done for making this decision though, and I think your title reflects the chances of you being successful

Have you thought about eCigs at all? I ask because many friends have swapped to using a vapouriser and gradually reduced the strength of nicotine liquid quite painlessly and sucessfully. Other methods hadn't worked for them.

Good luck!

Signy

Tarrantio´s stuff is lame compared to what fags do to diabetics. Long term anyway.

 

[Totto]

No easy answer Totto. I eventually gave up cigarettes 5 years ago but after many, many failed attempts. I tried patches, cold turkey and various other things. Eventually went to doc and prescribed Champix. This worked although they are not an easy drug to tolerate and I had lots of trouble sleeping. The main thing though and the most importr one is actually deciding to quit and you've done that so well done.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Why did you decide to give them up?

Why didn't patches work for you you think?

 

[Totto]

I have no advice for you I'm afraid Totto because I haven't been there myself, this seems rather weak after all the good advice you have given me. I just want to say 'Good Luck' to you. I'll be thinking of you, and you will know the right time to actually stop when you get there. You keep sheep, I am not brave enough to do that, therefore you are not a bit of a chicken!

We keep chickens too.

 

[Totto]

Not sure if you can get it there but the daughter in law has been on tablets meant to do a month did 2 weeks and ran out but not had a cig for 18 weeks on sunday. My hub who passed and my mum both went cold turkey after motre years than enough just said sod it thats it!

What tablets? The useless nurse I spent close to an hour with today mentioned two different ones but advised me to try the strongest nicotine patches first and she couldn't prescribe tablets anyway.