Quit today 1 week ago - Cold Turkey, now what?

[PomRakBKK]

Hi Guys,

Today it's been exactly 1 week that I had my last cigarette.

I went cold turkey as I believe all those patches and 'fading out' are just another excuse to keep smoking.

If you're serious about quitting it, you just stop - no excuses.

Anyway, so the first week is over and I feel no major difference besides that I got a bit of a cough today. Still a few cravings here and there but nothing major.

How long can I expect the cough to last?

[Johnniey]

The cough could last a long time, depending on how long you smoked. I smoked for over 30 years. Quit over 2 years ago and I agree that cold turkey is the best way - the only way that worked for me. After 7 days the worst was over. After 1 month lost the cravings. I had a cough for a few months on and off. Good luck!

[PomRakBKK]

Thanks! I read on some other forums that it could indicate lung cancer as well if it lasts a longer period of time. So just trying to get a grip on whats the usual duration for the 'coughing period'.

Still craving a cig now and then but it luckily doesn't last very long.

[paulinbkk111]

The cough could last a long time, depending on how long you smoked. I smoked for over 30 years. Quit over 2 years ago and I agree that cold turkey is the best way - the only way that worked for me. After 7 days the worst was over. After 1 month lost the cravings. I had a cough for a few months on and off. Good luck!

I never smoked but was always impressed by people going cold turkey after so long. How did it feel going cold turkey?

[manfredtillmann]

congratulations, mate. a good step you will not regret. stopped 30 years ago c.t. from a 60 / day. habit. the wife got pregnant...

your cough could be anything, did you cough when you were smoking? go and have it checked out by a quack.

my most lasting memory of the times after i quit was the increase of smell and taste perception. not always good (like walking next to a smelly person in the supermarket) but incredible non the less.

hang in there, and spent your money on something better.

[vogie]

Your cough is probably your body repairing itself, it is beginning to work again. Well done.

[sappersrest]

Well done you will have no regrets, best way to do it as well, hope you have a happy healthy life.Its the sweets you will have to worry about now??

[PomRakBKK]

Thanks guys. Nothing in my diet has changed so far. I just 'sit out' those cravings and try to occupy my time.

Don't think I'll be putting any weight on, luckily.

The cough has really something to do with the lung repairing itself.

[manfredtillmann]

the 'putting weight on' thing might come with time , replacing the puff with something else. pepsi max or similar, you might end up drinking liters of it...

replace your addiction with one more healthy - if you like.

sympathizing with you right now...

[docshock13]

Congrats! Just curious, how much were you smoking per day and what was the number one factor that led to your decision to quit c.t.? I am a smoker and desperately want to quit. But always find myself making excuses for another puff. I tried the patch for about a week. Didn't help. Tried e-cigs. Waste of money and raw lungs and sore throat. Any advice from you (or others) that have decided to liberate your bodies from the disgusting, costly and harmful habit would be helpful.

[NanLaew]

Cold turkey worked for me while I was working in Cuba about 22 years ago. Talking about a +40/day habit.

OK, I was aided and abetted by the sweet and charming 18 year-old (then) Yahima Gandol Gonzalez commenting with tear-filled eyes as I hacked my lungs up after my morning smoke, "If you die, I will be all alone in this world."

I'm still alive and I assume she is too, albeit somewhere else.

There, sorted.

[PomRakBKK]

Congrats! Just curious, how much were you smoking per day and what was the number one factor that led to your decision to quit c.t.? I am a smoker and desperately want to quit. But always find myself making excuses for another puff. I tried the patch for about a week. Didn't help. Tried e-cigs. Waste of money and raw lungs and sore throat. Any advice from you (or others) that have decided to liberate your bodies from the disgusting, costly and harmful habit would be helpful.

I smoked a good pack a day and got a pain killer addiction, thanks to the good doctors around here. I always toyed with the idea of giving up smoking as I used to wash my hands after every cig at home, out of respect to my wife.

One night I went out and got hammered with a major hangover the next day. So I staid in bed all day and decided that this is already day 1 if I just stay in bed and try to sleep - so I did.

It's been 8 days now since.

Guess it was a bit a decision of caring more about my health and the constant hand washing with was like OCD.

[champken]

I gave up 4 years ago after 37 years of smoking and believe me it can be a long hard road ahead if you have smoked for a long time.

In time your body may show up certain problems that smoking somehow masks, don't forget if you have smoked for half a lifetime your whole body needs time to sort itself out and get used to being without all the chemicals and shit that you have inflicted on it.

[squatncrunch]

It has been 4 days for me. My anxiety is acting up, just part of the process I guess. The reason I quit is due to my health anxiety and fear of smoking related diseases. I have smoked almost continuously for 25 years , pack a day, alot more when I would use drugs in my 20s and alcohol binges in my 30s. Terrifies me.

[PomRakBKK]

It has been 4 days for me. My anxiety is acting up, just part of the process I guess. The reason I quit is due to my health anxiety and fear of smoking related diseases. I have smoked almost continuously for 25 years , pack a day, alot more when I would use drugs in my 20s and alcohol binges in my 30s. Terrifies me.

You can get yourself some valium from the hospital which will help with your anxiety.

Congrats on 4 days, the worst usually happens during the 1-3 day. Keep in mind it's all in your head... Stay strong and you will make it out alive! You owe to the people that care about you.

[WitawatWatawit]

I'm a little curious about the coughing as well. When I was a smoker, I didn't cough very much, so I just naturally assumed that the smoke irritates the lining of the oesophagus more in others than myself. When I quit 2 years ago, the small amount of coughing that I had experienced quickly went away. Perhaps you just need a little more time. I hope so. But well done, anyway. Stay strong.

(I went CT 2 years ago after my doc told me I had had a heart attack, though I can't pinpoint when, what or how. Along with quitting booze, it has been a revelation. I'm now 65 and about to embark on some serious long-distance cycling.)

[nikmar]

I quit 10 days ago after about 30 years heavy smoking.

The first few days I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown but today I ate a fresh mango.

I had no idea they could taste so good!!

Iam going to do this. For my kid

[gerryBScot]

Well done. It really is an insidious addiction defying any sort of logic and I have a lot of form in the addiction department. I did it cold turkey too and I wanted to smoke everyday for the first two years. Then I noticed one day that the desire had left me. As a sober drunk and ex-compulsive gambler I adapted some of the fellowship mantras to keep me going and not restarting like: it's the first cigarette that does the damage, one's too many, twenty is not enough, if I don't take the first cigarette I can't start smoking again etc. Fortunately smoking is becoming a real minority pursuit so one additional feature in your favour is the growing anti-smoking lobby and restrictions on the freedom to smoke anywhere. Just avoid that first cigarette and be careful around getting pissed up - that can bring the whole house tumbling down if you're not careful.

[Dancealot]

I need to go cold turkey. No excuses. My logic is that smoking doesn't add any extra value to my life. I look forward to getting my smell and taste senses back.

[WitawatWatawit]

I need to go cold turkey. No excuses. My logic is that smoking doesn't add any extra value to my life. I look forward to getting my smell and taste senses back.

You'll get firmer erections as well.

[Dancealot]

I need to go cold turkey. No excuses. My logic is that smoking doesn't add any extra value to my life. I look forward to getting my smell and taste senses back.

You'll get firmer erections as well.

Yes, Dr. Witty...^^I need more incentives.. I know it's hard to go cold turkey(respect to the people who did). But we all know it's easier to quit when things get life-threatening.

[jeancarlos1100]

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[apidge]

went cold turkey some time the middle of june, have tried many times using patches and tablets. only lasted a few months on them and always had cravings for a smoke. I was a 40 to 50 a day smoker

I have been smoking for 56 years and started having breathing problems a few months ago. Any cravings that i get now only last a moment or so.

I am diabetic and it has thrown all of my system out of balance as i am eating more and at different times so the years of regular diet has been blown out of the water, causing me quite a few problems.  I have found that my tolerence of other people and thier stupidity as well as thai family trying to take an advanage of my generosiety is being pushed to the max.  I am at the stage where saving face means nothing to me.  I hope it passes soon.  Thankfully i have a loving wife who understands what i am going through, if i didnt i would be out of here pronto.

sorry about the rave folks but it is a very hard row to howe,  David BOWIE   said it was the hardest thing he ever did all of the other drugs were easy compared to tobacco..

A little bit of advise to the person who mentioned Pepsi max maybe you should google  a site called SWEET  POISON  i have been there and  done  it.. synthetic sweeteners are very dangerous.

  all the best  folks  be tobacco free.

sorry about the spelling mistakes.

[Dongkampo]

On 06/03/2016 at 7:09 AM, docshock13 said:

Congrats! Just curious, how much were you smoking per day and what was the number one factor that led to your decision to quit c.t.? I am a smoker and desperately want to quit. But always find myself making excuses for another puff. I tried the patch for about a week. Didn't help. Tried e-cigs. Waste of money and raw lungs and sore throat. Any advice from you (or others) that have decided to liberate your bodies from the disgusting, costly and harmful habit would be helpful.

Keep trying you will decide eventually to stop, hopefully before too much damage has been done to yourself.

What helped me was purely my health and my desire to live longer than I would've if I hadn't stopped. Try to imagine being short of breath trying to tie your laces or getting dressed in fact every aspect of your life will change if you don't stop. Keep trying it gets easier,  although I still could have a ciggie but not often now and I don't as I know what these 'coffin nails' can do. I must admit a great help was nicorette 15mg inhalator. Initially the first one of the day was with a coffee, substitute the nicotine inhalator,  and the craving subsided. Don't inhale anything harmful into your lungs... It's been a year now ...much healthier.

[dentonian]

I quit thrice, relapsed thrice.

 

The real danger is when you've stopped long enough to believe your now a non smoker.

Then months  later at a social event someone offers you a cigarette.

You believe you can smoke one with a beer as a treat just this once.

 

Don't be a sucker, once stopped, stay stopped, regardless of temptation

Thrice I was caught out.

[Loeilad]

giving up smoking requires you to adjust to a greater or lesser degree some aspects of your life-style;  one of the main factors in smoking is "oral gratification" - which largely means putting something in your mouth.....many people who give up, put on weight, this is often because instead of a cigarette they pop a snack in their mouth instead.

It's also to do with having something to do with your hands....smokers use a cigarette as an excuse to sit down and do nothing (smoking is used to give off a guise for activity) - people smoke when they drink - partly because they aren't actually doing anything and secondly because the alcohol reduces inhibitions and therefore will power.

 

If you are aware of these urges you can avoid them or tackle them.

You need to make adjustments in your lifestyle - don't take "smokos" if you haven't got a cigarette or at least something to occupy yourself.

Look at situations where you would normally light up and avoid or modify them so you don't need to fill that gap with a ciggy.

Never believe that you can just have one and stop again later.....

you know when you liked to smoke so don't go there any more - or at least modify your behaviour in those circumstances...

 

[optad]

Seven years or so now after almost 30 years. Tried and failed many times, then think i just got fed up. Almost easier to stop. Sounds perverse I know

 

Occasionally, to this day, i will dream I had or am having a cigarette. True nightmare and will wake up scared, and in shock so it was obviously a powerful desire to quit. Strongest dreams. The cough goes and they reckon five years on and clear of effects. Smells are new except, passive smoking. I can smell a cigarette now considerable distances away. 

32aud for twenty in aus although I tossed 'em in LoS. 

[changside]

Was smoking for over 50 years since I was about 11 years old. Quit lots of times . Never lasted for long. Been on ecigs for over one year now. Working really well. My doctor ever approves. 555

[Ace of Pop]

The worst part of giving up is waiting for that " Feel so much better" moment to come along .!!.Wallet is feeling better but I still feel the same years later ,so console yourself with the joy of giving up,and don't denigrate those who smoke,that's a bigger weakness!!.


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[ben2talk]

On 3/5/2016 at 10:35 PM, PomRakBKK said:

Thanks! I read on some other forums that it could indicate lung cancer as well if it lasts a longer period of time. So just trying to get a grip on whats the usual duration for the 'coughing period'.

Still craving a cig now and then but it luckily doesn't last very long.

Lolz it lasts FOREVER. The trouble is that - although 6 months later you'll laugh about this - you're IN the moment and it's you torturing yourself.

 

The way to see it is - if you survive the first 24 hours, you can do the next. Repeat with 48, 96, erm... 192

 

After 6 months I'm still not ready to try another smoke...

 

Last week I caught a cold from my son -  I got a raw red throat and bronchitis. Up until last year, I'd go to the clinic and get pills or an injection - but they didn't work very well. Anyway, I dutifully went and threw good money after bad - same antibiotics and nasty tasting green cough stoppers (mano dextro)...

 

Well here's a thing - 12 hours after taking the first antibiotic pill, I took the next - but I already felt fine. I dutifully finished the course - but only took two green cough stoppers...

 

Whatever you think - the addiction is at least 99% psychological. You don't NEED any benefits to quit - just take away the smell (my wife sometimes says 'wow, I almost forgot how much you used to stink).