I was a 2+ pack a day smoker for 18 years. One day I woke up feeling like I could not breathe. I felt like my lung had collapsed. I swore off smoking and went out and bought the Nicotrol CQ patches with the strongest dosage and put 2 patches on immediately. I was okay for 2 days, then got a huge urge to smoke sitting in a coffee shop in San Fransisco after being dumped by a guy I had been dating.... I bummed two cigarettes, one after another, from a guy in the coffee shop and chain smoked 'em. Like a dying man thirsty for water...I sucked 'em down to the ashes! Got a Hell of a sick feeling......
I have not touched one since, and that was 8 years ago.
I will say that you have to WANT desperately to quit because of the emotional, pshychological and physical tie-ins you have with smoking.... after drinking, waking up, going to bed, after food, with coffee, after sex, when nervouse, distressed, etc. Those are the hardest to kick ... the physical and emotional triggers that you associated with smoking. I could deal with the nicotine withdrawl okay...it was the other associations that had me frustrated.
If you are a heavy smoker, be prepared for emotional swings after you quit. Be prepared to cough up lots of nasty stuff for months after you quit, clearing out your lungs... Be prepared to eat. Be prepared to want to sleep a lot. Be prepared for possible depression from withdrawl. I went through it for a year. But I stuck with it.... and although it was the hardest thing in my life I have ever done, it was the best, and i will NEVER touch one again.
I can't imagine how people used to tolerate me. i did not know that i oozed nicotine from my skin and when you smoke even your skin smells.. you clothes, your hair, your house, your car, everthing... but after I quit I started realizing there were many smells and tastes that I had forgotten about in my years as a smoker.
It's a great liberating feeling to kick that habit......but man it was hell to do it for me..... but in hindsight....the best thing i ever did.
If you are money conscious,, just count the money you are spending and save it daily.....it'll motivate you to continue to not smoke.. then buy yourself something nice on milestone days.
