Oh god what have I done. I stopped smoking

Nik_B

Typo Above.

I am now 8 days without nicotine in my body.

Definately cracked it now.

Nik_B

Will be two weeks nicotine free tonight at 21:00 and past the 12 week mile stone on Sunday!

Not done any exercise for ages and I'm starting to put weight on slowly

74 KG for 5 ft 7 too much?

Nik_B

13 Weeks off the fags.
22 days without any form of nicotine.

Hardly touched my ventoline at all in weeks. Normally I would go through 2 of them every 6 weeks or so and be using my seritide steroid inhailer as well.

I am also on pariet tablets for my stomach and as I am running out of them here in saudi I haven't been taking them for days either. Definate improvement there also probably also partly due to zero booze for the last 5 weeks as well

Barely even think about smoking. Hardly get any kind of craving allthough they do happen very briefly. Has been a little weight gain, normally I will lose a bit when I am away as I am not drinking beer.

I'll be coming home in a week or so and this time I will not put my hands anywhere near glass! So I'll be out on the bike as much as pos. Can't wait.

p.s I still didn't give myself any kind of treat/reward so I'm still thinking about a new bike.

Ditch Witch

Oh, yes. I think a new bike is the very least you should do for yourself.


Nice work, Nik. You should seriously give yourself a huge pat on the back (and your family for helping you through it)

Graydawg

5 years off them as of the 20th September!

Can still remember when I quit - horrible experience! felt like I had had a hand cut off when I stopped - missed it terribly but it will pass....

Stay strong - lots of words of encouragement on here.... at the very least think of how much money you will save!

20 a day habit at £5.70 a packet over a year is £2074.80!!

Nik_B

Cheers for the comments.

It's really helped documenting the progress in this thread. There have been a couple of times where the fact that I'd have had to admit that I'd failed in this thread persuaded me to keep trying.

4 weeks totally nicotine free tomorrow!

p.s fee free to ignore this post. I'm not trying to get attention this is like a very short diary that I can look back on hopefully in a years time.

FSR Si

Well done chap 8)

Ditch Witch

You never know, Nik, someone else may be inspired to transform their lives and be free of that evil crap by this thread!

ojoger

not only will you live longer and feel better but you wont smell like i used to!!!!!
stick with it!

stevenmh

An inspiring journey indeed. Well done.

I too was a slave to the old cancer sticks and understand completely what you have been going through.

Well done, and a new bikes seems like the perfect way to treat yourself.

One word of caution especially in the first few months, and seeing as you seem to be living in "dry"ish Saudi with occasional visits back to the motherland, is aclohol. I tend to give the stuff up completely for a while until I can more comfortably drink without the craving for a cig. Now they have made it no smoking in many pubs etc makes it so much easier but alcohol lowers the defenses.

Keep it up!

Nik_B

Very true Stevenmh. Booze is my biggest worry to be honest. How ever I hope I've gone long enough for it not to be niggling at the back of my mind when I have a drink.

As far as the smell...wow I can't believe how bad people who smoke stink. I know I sound like a anti smoking nazi but the smell of stale smoke on people is unbelievably revolting.

The very fact that for the first time in years I have actually made the break from the nicotine where before I was still on the patches makes me much more determined.

Cheers

stevenmh

So what bike are you going to treat yourself to? I find that really helps too as you just have to look at it and you know you promised it and yourself to maintain the strength so to speak.

Keep it up!

Nik_B

ha ha good question!!

I started out promising myself a 5 or a Zesty

Decided to be a little more realistic and aim for under a grand. Limited to a few types by local shops. Thinking about another marin actually, maybe a Rocky Ridge if I can stop being such a tight arse for a minute :shock:

stevenmh

So. did you get a bike? How is it going?

It ain't easy, some days are better than others and I fully understand what you mean by mood swings.

Hope you are sticking to it!

Nik_B

I just got back from a family holiday and still haven't bought a new bike. Mostly I haven't got round to making a choice but I am also going to have an operation soon on my shoulder so I might wait till after that.

59 days nicoteen free and I can't even remember when I stopped now, must be more than 4 months though.

Vaudevillevillain

Vaudevillevillain wrote:

Nearly two years in now, quit in July 07. If you really want to do it - its easy. Deciding that I really did, took me about 5 years though. But you get there in the end.

Not sure what the rules on outside links are here but I would recommend two books, one that actually made me quit - The Nicotine Trick by Neil Casey and Nicotine: The Drug That Never Was by Chris Holmes which basically proves nicotine ins't actually a drug at all. Sounds unbelivable, but its a convincing read.

I hate to get all broken record on things, but I havent posted here in a while, so thought I'd up my old post in here... over two and a half years quit now, thanks to these two books, seriously. Forget NRT and anything chemical, its ALL mental.

Nik_B

Just to update I am still not smoking. It is nearly 7 months. I hardly think about it anymore. On occasion I like sniffing other people's cigar/fag smoke but that's it.

Thanks for all the well wishing and I hope I can inspire at least one other person.

Cheers

marchant

Rather than make a new thread, I thought I'd search and bump up an old one; just shy of six weeks without the fags for me and feeling all the better for it, plus in the region of £230+ better off (or at least, spent on things other than cigarettes).

Nik_B

marchant wrote:

Rather than make a new thread, I thought I'd search and bump up an old one; just shy of six weeks without the fags for me and feeling all the better for it, plus in the region of £230+ better off (or at least, spent on things other than cigarettes).

Mate good for you.

By the way I used to use two full ventolines per 6 weeks, would always have a bit of a cough and was constantly clearing my throat. Now I barely use my ventoline ever, dont cough or anything. Its hard to remember back as it is a gradual change so I suggest you document how you are now so you can read back in several months time.....which was the point of this post

Good luck...never did buy that bike though

dave_hill

Nik_B wrote:

By the way I used to use two full ventolines per 6 weeks, would always have a bit of a cough and was constantly clearing my throat. Now I barely use my ventoline ever, dont cough or anything.

First up, hearty congratulations - giving up is one of the best things you'll ever do. I know it was for me - that said I was lucky. I was a "random stopper", I just decided to give up one day, was as cranky as hell for about a fortnight but once I'd stopped coughing all the sh!t out of my lungs I was fine and I've never looked back. The very thoughts of it knocks me sick now.

But it's funny isn't it - while you were a smoker, you were asthmatic and used shedloads of Ventolin. Now you've stopped, you hardly use it at all. Question is, were you/are you really asthmatic...???

Just as an added, giving up the drink is a lot easier - I did it by having a massive falling out with the landlady of my local, I haven't been in since last January!! I save about £50 a week, I've bought myself a new (ish) car and I'm a stone lighter! Result!

Well done you again!!

treeman

i have been of the dreaded ciggies for about 13 weeks now feel much better even though i have put about a stone and half on in weight mainly because i cnt get out on my bike due to a massive inner ear infection and the ruddy weather as well hope to get out soon to start practising for the end 2 end here on the isle of man i know its not till sept but have a lot of catching up to do to get fit lol. it's been six and half months now put a little weight on but not to much feel a whole lot better for it to need to get out on the bike some more i'm suffering withdrawl sysmptoms lol. coming up for 7 months fag free now its getting a little easier not much on some days though but will carry on all being well