...Do you smoke? Or have you smoked and quit? My husband and I both smoke I know as a future nurse, it's not the best example to set. Hence, I've resolved to quit. I should say, my husband has resolved to quit, and included me in this 'journey'.
I'm taking my pre-reqs now, toward my nursing degree; I didn't think this would be a good time for me to quit, what with the stress of going to school, while holding a job. However, I came home from class last evening to have my husband announce he is quitting and there will be NO more smoking in the house. OK, so I had my cigs outside...no big deal, that is until the snow falls.
I went to bed thinking about his resolve to quit, and thought to myself, "Maybe NOW is the time for me to quit as well. With the money I save, I can buy myself a laptop computer." That is...until my husband came to bed in such a foul mood...complaining about the way I turn in bed, "You don't just slowly turn, you FLOP". Can you say, "Withdrawl"?
I've made an appointment with my dr for Friday morning, when I will speak to him about taking Wellbutrin to help quit. I'm just looking for any input on the matter...if you quit, how did you stop?
This is great inspiration for me :) I'm glad I posted this.
Today, I smoked 3 cigs (that's a start, I usually smoke a pack a day). One of the cigs I had outside with my husband. This is the ?funny? story behind one of the cigs. My husband and I went out after I got done working tonight (I work as a pharmacy technician). I needed to get a thesarus for my Comp class. While we were at a red light, he actually turned left onto a two-way street!!! I said, "What are you doing, that was a red light?!?" He then said, "Let's smoke a cig outside when we get home." Thankfully, there was no traffic, no police either :) I think he was a little 'loopy' in withdrawl.
I'm keeping my appointment with the doctor on Friday. I have two packs of cigs left...hopefully they'll last me till the Wellbutrin builds up in my system and I'm ready to quit completely.
I know that quitting smoking is something everybody seems to have an opinion on, so I'll share mine too.
First, I set a date a month or so in advance. With me, I went on vacation, had 2 or 3 days to get back to the grindstone, and made that day my official "Quit Day." Until then, I smoked as much as I could and enjoyed every last one of them.
When that morning rolled around, my BF and I threw out all of our cigarettes and quit right then and there. He decided to be brave and quit cold turkey, but I'm a very weak-willed individual and I needed the gum. I only used the gum for 6 days, unlike the package which says you have to use it for something like 3 months. It was tough, but *ALOT* easier to do with another person suffering right along side of you. However, it was alot easier than I thought it would be, because I guess I was imagining that I wouldn't be functional as a person during the first week or so...not true, but I'm not saying it wasn't very difficult either.
I'm proud to day that 14 months have passed, and once we were over that 1 year mark, I considered it an official accomplishment. I would be lying if I said I hadn't had a few drags here and there while at the bar with friends, but the smoke just irritates my throat and makes me choke.
Now would be an easier time to quit, as opposed to when you start nursing school. It's not an easy thing to do, but well worth it not only to save money, but to save your LIFE! Let us know how you did...GOOD LUCK!!!!! (ha ha!)
I know exactly how you feel. I smoke too and nursing school is the worst time to quit. It is actually how I ended up starting again and the same thing happened to several of my best nursing school buddies. You may want to try the nicorrete gum. That is my plan. It is expensive but the people who I know that did it never relapsed. You will get addicted to it, but you slowly decrease the dose until you don't need it anymore. Also, remember that your smoking addiction will help you to understand your patients' addictions and habits when you are a nurse. You will know how hard it is and not judge your patients! Good luck and wish me luck!
I think the moral of the story here is that you must find your own way. It is GREAT to hear all these stories but did you notice how different they all are. Quit with your spouse. Don't quit with your spouse (I understand this one - my husband was horrible when he quit chewing tobacco - I almost wanted to shoot him). Take Zyban. Quit cold turkey. Etc . . . .
You have lots of support here . . . . I've never smoked but I think I would probably need the Wellbutrin . .. :)
I went cold turkey about 12 years ago (smoked a pack a day from 15-19 yrs old). It wasn't hard for me, but everyone is different. Sometimes I stil lcrave my marlboro light 100's: HM!
GE, best of luck to you as you quit. I hope you're able to get off them entirely.
I hope you're able to find a different, healthier outlet for stress. Just remember (if you ever want to use stress as an excuse to start again) that non-smokers have JUST as much stress in their lives as you do, they just different (and hopefully healthy) outlets.
I was a 2 pack a day smoker. Here is my quitting smoking story...
Started smoking at 17...quit cold turkey at 18 for 6 months. Relapsed.
Quit with the patch at age 24. Clean for 1 yr. Relapsed.
Quit with the gum at age 25. Clean for 3 mos. Relapsed.
Quit with the patch at age 27. Smoked with patch soon after.
Tried Wellbutrin to quit. Didn't work one iota.
Quit with the patch at age 28. Chewed nicotine gum with patch. Got hooked on the gum. Starting smoking soon after. Was using the patch, gum & cigs at same time. Experienced no physical illness except a profound worsening of my addiction.
Quit with the patch at age 31. Abstained 5 months. Relapsed.
Quit with the patch at age 32. Horrible withdrawal. Needed more than 1 patch for a while. Did have a couple of relapses, but finally stayed quit. Abstained so far for 15 months. A miracle if you ask me.
Like any other drug withdrawal gets worse & worse with each successive quit attempt. The first attempt cold turkey was a snap compared to my last quit attempt. What keeps me from smoking is fear of the physical agony of withdrawal. Relapse is no longer an option. I rather eat a cigarette than smoke one now.
Take it from somebody who thought she'd die a smoker, where there is a will there is a way.
Okay now my story - I smoked 30/day for 20+ years and quit cold turkey overnight. Previous attempts with cutting down and gum had not worked but finally I caracked it. Funnily enough what I did is very close to what the professionals recommend.
1) make a list of the reasons why you keep smoking now ( not why you should give up - you know you should) Just list why you keep on keeping on. Be brutally honest - maybe having a smoke is a way of putting off vacuuming for 5 more minutes. Include in this list your "triggers" i.e. I like to smoke after a meal because it helps me digest the meal or I like a smoke with coffee.
2) Avoid your triggers - If coffee is a trigger swap to tea or hot chocolate for a little while ( a couple of days gets you over the worst) - stay away from your favourite "smoke spot"
3) Clean house ( yeah like THAT is an incentive) - just get rid of the smoke smell - throw out ashtrays and use the fabric deodorant to kill/ mask smell. The smell is an unconscious trigger. Maybe you want to smoke outside for a week or two before giving up.
4) four D's Deep breathe
Drink water - hot water is best
Delay
Do something else
Delaying and Doing something else are really the important ones. A bit of REALLY important information - the withdrawal feeling - the really bad teeth grinding bite something feeling lasts 5 minutes. That is it!!! Tell yourself you are stronger than 5 minutes. Get yourself through that five minutes and each time will be a little longer between the bad withdrawals.
Do something else - especially something that you do not associate with smoking. I never smoked near the computer so for three weeks I played computer games - worked for me!!!!
Finally - put the money you would have spent on cigs in a jar on top of the refigerator. That is your holiday money. If you just say "I will have more to spend" - it will be gone and so will your incentive putting it away adds the incentive and a bit of fun!!!!
I went cold turkey after I got so sick I couldn't get out of bed to smoke. Figured if I could get through one week of not smoking, I could do two, etc. I didn't let myself even think about smoking during the day, but I dreamed about it at night. Even felt guilty in my dreams for "smoking"! Started smoking again somewhat halfheartedly before the sore throats it gave me hurt too much, so I quit again. This was back in the day before patches and Wellbutrin. It's not easy no matter how you do it, that's for sure!
Specializes in Cardiothoracic Transplant Telemetry.
I quit smoking while I was doing my prerequisites because I knew that whatever stress I was feeling then was just a sample of what my nursing program would be. I quit cold turkey using a program that I developed for myself, it seemed to work for me....so here it is
1. I didn't smoke inside the house to begin with. I live with nonsmokers and had smoked outside exclusively for years.
2. I didn't smoke that last cigarette. I gave myself permission to smoke whenever I absolutely had to, but I knew that I could only smoke that last cigarette once. So whenever I had the urge to smoke, I asked myself if I was sure that this was the nic-fit that I wanted to smoke my last cigarette during. In this way I was always able to convince myself that there was a worse craving just around the corner. I wasn't denying myself, but making the most of my commitment. All the while this lone cigarette was sitting in its pack on the balcony, getting stale in the air, being exposed to dew at night...etc. After about two weeks, I convinced myself that I wanted to light it up just to see if I still liked the taste. Ofcourse by this time it was completely stale, and utterly disgusting.
3. I quit during a break between semesters. For me the psychological addiction to smoking was greater than the nicotine. By quitting during a school break I was able to get the nicotine out of my system and get used to not smoking at the usual times/places/situations while at home. By the time that classes started again, I was nicotine free, and the only hurdle I had to overcome was the situational addictions that I hadn't already worked through. This helped me break up the pain a little bit. It is now a year and a half later and I am still happily smoke free
I just wanted to give you a few ideas. Everyone has to find a method that works for them. The other posters are right in that the main component to any stop smoking program is your decision that it is the right time for you.
It is a really good idea to quit before you start your nursing program as your professors and other students in your class will really ride you if you smoke. Also I know that our clinical instructors allow no smoking on hospital grounds, or while in the school clinical uniform. Believe me, you don't want to go through withdrawl and the stress of clinicals at the same time.
aaahhhh....triggers!! Homework is a biggy for me. I tried to quit and did very well for 5 months then my marriage broke up. Right back at it and smoked twice as much. And the cost is astronomical!
After reading this thread, I'm seriously thinking of doing it again. You'd think that I'd learn by watching the patients that I take care of with smoking related illnesses. There is alot of suffering there (air hunger, SOB, etc) so maybe this thread was started for a reason.
Good luck to all the quitters. I guess "quitter" is one term that is ok to use in this case:D
i started taking the Wellbutrin on Friday, my certain "quit date" is September 21. Maybe it's a placebo effect, but you just don't think of smoking. That is...until tonight. i came home from my comp class, anxious to start my FIRST paper.
i sat in front of the computer...and lit a cig!!!! i tell myself, it's OK to have some now...i set my quit date, and the Wellbutrin is building in my system.
On the plus side, i finished the paper which isn't due for another week, and if i do say so myself...it's quite good :)
I know as a future nurse, it's not the best example to set. Hence, I've resolved to quit. I should say, my husband has resolved to quit, and included me in this 'journey'.
(ha ha!)
GenesisEve
16 Posts
This is great inspiration for me :) I'm glad I posted this.
Today, I smoked 3 cigs (that's a start, I usually smoke a pack a day). One of the cigs I had outside with my husband. This is the ?funny? story behind one of the cigs. My husband and I went out after I got done working tonight (I work as a pharmacy technician). I needed to get a thesarus for my Comp class. While we were at a red light, he actually turned left onto a two-way street!!! I said, "What are you doing, that was a red light?!?" He then said, "Let's smoke a cig outside when we get home." Thankfully, there was no traffic, no police either :) I think he was a little 'loopy' in withdrawl.
I'm keeping my appointment with the doctor on Friday. I have two packs of cigs left...hopefully they'll last me till the Wellbutrin builds up in my system and I'm ready to quit completely.
Gonna do it!!!!
Genesis