1st time - 20 years

[AtticaFish]

Normal routine changed up a hair. Once i poured my 1st cup of coffee for the morning, stuck a band-aid looking thing on my arm instead of stepping outside for my usual morning smoke. :beat-up: 1-2 packs a day for the past ~20 years will hopefully be coming to an end! The 30 min drive to work just didn't feel right and have been tapping my front left pocket all day expecting to feel that familar rectangle package there and thinking it was break time. The patch seems to help with the physical side of things.... getting over the mental hurdle is going to be rough.

I am working to convince my lovely wife that i should get to keep that $30-$40 i had been burning up in smoke a week as an incentive to keep on the right track. That may be a rough ride as well.

 

[AtticaFish]

Thanks Doc!

You should quit along with me.... we can b!tch at each other and maybe save our wives some grief. My father-in-law, own father and wife have quit with using the patch. My Dad chews on plastic toothpicks all day long - and they actually get smaller throughout the day. F-I-L chews gum all day long.

Dealing with he!! of an upper resperitory infection right now and had majorly slowed down smoking over the last week anyways once it began hurting to take deep breaths... if i get pneumonia, could very well be the end of me - long story there tho.

 

[Radtexan]

Best of luck Russ.....Thats one step I sure need to take as well..Keep us posted on the progress and any tools you find that help during the switch.

 

[jjsjigs]

Speaking of a first in long time... I just watched a Penn State game without Joe Paterno as coach. I've been alive for 37 years..... with JoePa as coach. It feels weird... jus' sayin'.

 

[hunter7711]

Good luck and stay with it. Started smoking Camel's in 1964, finally gave them all up for good 2 years ago Thanksgiving. Thats 45 years. I had forgotten what it felt like to take a deeeeep breath. You'll find out how nice it is soon.

 

[crappiecripplerjigs]

Best of luck to you. It is going to be very challenging to change the habits. I had to quit chewing tobacco for 3 months before my kidney transplant. It was very tough because I could easily sneak some at work, but knew I would be tested for nicotine. Any trace and the transplant was off. I managed to quit.... until I came home and had nothing to do for 6 weeks. Anyhow, just finished a can as I read this. I will quit right along with you. Need to do it anyhow. No cheating!!!

 

[Jig Man]

I have been tobacco free for 19 years.... If you need a punching bag I'm available. Calculate how much of that cash is for taxes and that'll be enough to help you along the way...

 

[SaltyBuckster]

Good luck to all of you that are trying to quit.I never touched one in my life and am glad of that.Good luck.

 

[ScottV]

Good luck to you Russ, I need to quit the "smokeless tobacco" myself. That's how I quit smoking. I'm not sure which one is worse.

 

[JSC]

Good Luck to all of you guys ... Went from 2 packs a day to "0" .. quit "Cold Turkey" ... If I can .. so can you ... left an open pack in my pocket for 2 weeks as a "Security Blanket" ... That was over 50 years ago .. They smell worse as time goes on ...

 

[toadfrog]

Oh brother I feel your Pain . Today is my birthday and I will succeed or fail beginning at 11: 10 pm the day the hour I was born . Hopefully this will prevent me from croaking ( pun intended ) before my next few birthdays .

 

[AtticaFish]

Thanks for all the support! 1 day almost down. haha I have it pretty set in my head that it is going to happen - just needs to stay that way!

Allright, THREE of us now... safety in numbers. I had made half-hearted attempts in the past to quit cold turkey and it didn't last long. I think the biggest benefit of the patch is in reading the warning lable. Has me worried that i would O.D. on nicotine if i try to cheat and sneak one.

 

[Ron Don]

Good luck guys! Glad y'all are trying to quit. I'm sure we've all had that family member that smoked for a long time and suffered from it in the end. Stick with it!!!

 

[Fatman]

Tried alot of times to quit but I've cut way back. Won't even touch the chew again, I went through chewers disease and it really tore my mouth up.

Good luck with the quittin!!!!!!! It's a real pain in the butt

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

Good luck,I hope everyone who wants to quits. I had the ear thing done over six years ago and I actually quit for over three years. A couple of months after I retired I started smoking again. I've been thinking about quitting again a lot recently. It's tough to do and I wish everyone the best. Hopefully I'll take that step soon.

 

[crappiecripplerjigs]

About 18 hours in..... had so much coffee this morning I am starting to sweat! Stopped by the Dollar Store on the way home last night for a bag of Wint-O-Green Lifesavers. Not good with coffee. Hang in there fellas......

 

[Uncle Grump]

To all of you trying to quit....Hang in there!!!

UG

 

[AtticaFish]

Day 2! :beat-up: but

...had so much coffee this morning I am starting to sweat!...

Same experience with me - bring coffee with me to work every day, a travel cup full and an insulated travel thermos full. Most days i will refill my cup from the thermos around 10 o'clock or so.... today, had to refill my cup before i even got to work!

My work let me take smoke breaks whenever i wanted and can't tell you how many times i've stood up from my desk already this morning with the thought in my head of walking out the back door to smoke. Had to just sit back down. Also put my Altoids tin in my front left pocket since i am continuing to tap my pocket looking for my smokes.... just grab a mint each time now. You should try some Altoids crappiecrippler - they don't last all that long but sure do have a mint KICK!

 

[crappiecripplerjigs]

Awesome! Cinnamon Altoids are the best!

 

[StumpHunter]

Hang in there guys. It is hard but worth it. Smoked 35 years 2 packs a day for many of those. Next month will be 2 years smoke free. It made it a little better knowing that I was going to use the money I saved to buy something for fishing. Never knew I spent that much money per month, wow.. Y'all should see all the rods I have bought over the last two years, not counting the I-Pilot, a 3hp and a 9.9hp kicker motors. Good luck!!