Three years later, still smoke free!!!

Mitch Rapp

Mitch Rapp

Bah, humbug. Shut up and look out the window.
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29APR2021
Little late updating this, but its now over three years and I feel great!!!!
I guess Ive been lucky, too...I havent really had significant issues staying quit like most folks do.
Sure, I occasionally think about it, and even less ocassionally crave one, but by and large, this was a quit and forget event for me all around.
My wife has even 'quit' too. She went from actual cigarettes to an e cigarette.
Please spare me the lectures on e cigs, ok? She doesnt stink of smoke anymore on her clothes, hair, and breath. All the vehicles have aired out and she is much better about the having to go outside part when we are out somewhere.
Just hafta nudge her over the edge to complete quitting.



Update 4APR2019
Today makes day number 365 without a cigarette.
It will be a full year when I lay my head down tonight. I feel soooo much better and have more energy. I have also gained 15 pounds in the last year lol. Breaking that snack habit is next lol.
Just thought those who cared to share would like to know I made it this far.


Apr 8, 2018
Its been three days....
Since I've had a cigarette.
And I'm gonna shoot for three more.
And three more after that.

Came home from work thursday afternoon (5 Apr) not feeling good. Took a handful of Tylenol and laid down for a nap.
The little woman come into the bedrooma couple hours later, sees me basically melting into the bed and takes my temp. It was right at 103.
Well, she gets me up, gets me to the urgent care, they get me diagnosed with Strep and a scrip called in.
I took my first antibiotioc at 9:00 pm Thursday in Walgreens pkg lot and spent until about 9:00 this morning in a hazy daze lol. The fever broke and boy o boy do I feel sooooo much better.
But, the important part is that I haven't smoked since I swallowed that first pill. I cant pinpoint the last time before that, but I know for a fact I haven't since.
The hardest part is usually the first three days. Heck, I got that licked already. Didn't particularly notice any DTs with all the sweating and mild delirium already going on.
The withdrawals usually peak those first three days and laat about two weeks. As sore as my throat still is, and probably will be for a few more days, I don't think it's going to be a problem.

I'm sure I'll have a long term issue like most people do. But there is nothing like waking up from a 2 1/2 day haze to realizing 12 hours later that youve got a 14 year problem kicked in the teeth!

My confidence is high and Im gonna do this.
 
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I mean, why not @Catfish
Providence handed me the easy out on the toughest part. Might as well take full advantage
 
FWIW...I won't even pretend to understand the addiction, as I've never had tobacco (or alcohol) in any form. But I've known many a smoker, and lots of those have at least tried to quit. Of all the methods/tips, these two have always stuck out in my mind as logical.

1. Had an uncle that simply decided to quit. Went a bought a brand new pack and put it in his shirt pocket unopened. The theory was most people go crazy thinking they can't get to one if they needed it...so he wasn't going to have that issue. That pack never got opened.

2. Had a technician that worked for me that said he usually had one lit but never remembered getting it out of the pack or lighting it...especially when driving. His solution was to put a pack in the pocket of the passenger door. He knew it was there, but it took enough effort to reach across the bench seat of the truck that he could stop himself from grabbing it.


You can do it. And it a month or so you'll realize all the other smells you d been missing. And also how nasty the stench of cigarette smoke is. ;)
 
Glad you're feeling better man, strep sucks azz. It's all mental after the first week. You got this.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
 
@BigWaylon
Ironically, and this really is ironic, this will be my second time quitting.
And my second time with this exact same method.
Dec 23, 1997 went to bed. Woke up Dec 26. Stayed quit for a little better than six years.
Thats actually why my confidence is so high. I know the exact mistake I made and the exact moment I made it that made me start back right around this time in 2004.
 
JimB said:
Great start, but don’t get cocky, the road is long and just like when your parents went to school, it’s all uphill, in the snow.
Click to expand...
Not really cocky...confident. Ive been down this road before and I know where the potholes are.
See my post above this.
Sincerely, though...thanks for the well wishes
 
I just quit about 2 months ago. Same story. Got sick and put it down after coughing shit up. Got a vape for free then lost it. Haven't touched it since then.

You can do it. The mental is the hardest part and find something to do to replace the smoking time. Keep up the good work. Your body will thank you.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 
Good luck, it's even harder when both of you smoke, like my wife and I do. If you both don't then the battle is even tougher, I should and do know.
 
Diverdad said:
Good luck, it's even harder when both of you smoke, like my wife and I do. If you both don't then the battle is even tougher, I should and do know.
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My wife still smokes like a damn chimney. She goes on the porch everynight and will burn half a pack. Oh well. She doesn't want to quit. "I'll quit when I'm ready" she says. However I no longer purchase her cigarettes everyday. Nice add to my fun money.

Also my little 2 year old had alot to do with me quitting. Can't run after her with a smokers lung.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 
The part about addiction that no one who hasn’t been addicted to something can undersrand is it’s an argument with yourself that you have to win over and over again.

When you first quit that little addict inside you will argue every 10 minutes that you don’t have to do this, or just one and then you can quit and a million other sneaky things.

As time progresses the period between arguments gets longer but it’s still there. If you drink at all it’s worse because most people don’t have the ability to resist when their inhibitions are lowered.

I quit smoking fairly easily because I dipped. And I quit that for 2 years cold turkey and then one day I wasn’t paying attention and he won the argument.

I chew niccorrete now and don’t see myself ever stopping. Maybe I will but it just isn’t in the cards.

What helped me quit, when I did, was changing my routine. I always sat in one spot at the house to watch tv and dipped when I did. So I changed seats. Helped a lot.

I always dipped after eating so I carried a bag of baby carrots and ate three after every meal.

Little things like that break the mental programming.
 
draco88 said:
Dec 23, 1997 went to bed. Woke up Dec 26.
Click to expand...
Wait, you slept through Christmas? :eek:


Great way to take advantage of the situation. You've got a head start. Keep that ball rolling. ;)
 
georgel said:
Wait, you slept through Christmas? :eek:


Great way to take advantage of the situation. You've got a head start. Keep that ball rolling. ;)
Click to expand...

Yup, sure did that first time. Kinda saddened me a little. A lot of people remember visiting that year. I don't remember them at all o_O
 
draco88 said:
Since I've had a cigarette.
And I'm gonna shoot for three more.
And three more after that.

Came home from work thursday afternoon not feeling good. Took a handful of Tylenol and laid down for a nap.
The little woman come into the bedrooma couple hours later, sees me basically melting into the bed and takes my temp. It was right at 103.
Well, she gets me up, gets me to the urgent care, they get me diagnosed with Strep and a scrip called in.
I took my first antibiotioc at 9:00 pm Thursday in Walgreens pkg lot and spent until about 9:00 this morning in a hazy daze lol. The fever broke and boy o boy do I feel sooooo much better.
But, the important part is that I haven't smoked since I swallowed that first pill. I cant pinpoint the last time before that, but I know for a fact I haven't since.
The hardest part is usually the first three days. Heck, I got that licked already. Didn't particularly notice any DTs with all the sweating and mild delirium already going on.
The withdrawals usually peak those first three days and laat about two weeks. As sore as my throat still is, and probably will be for a few more days, I don't think it's going to be a problem.

I'm sure I'll have a long term issue like most people do. But there is nothing like waking up from a 2 1/2 day haze to realizing 12 hours later that youve got a 14 year problem kicked in the teeth!

My confidence is high and Im gonna do this.
Click to expand...

You can do it. I got strep last year. Haven’t had any smokeless or smokable tobacco since then. Just never got back to it.

Now a year later I don’t even miss it. Do I get cravings, sure but they come and go quickly and I never gave in. Even found a can of Wolf straight pouches a month or so ago Popped it open, took a big ol whiff of it, took me back, enjoyed the smell and threw it away.

Oh and I was a tobacco user since 2006. Pack of smokes a day till I joined the army 2008. Switched to smokeless up till deployment in 2010, smoked a pack a day and dipped a can a day while deployed for a year. Cut back to a can every week while smoking a pack a day.

Got out in 2012 and cut back to a pack a month and a can a day. Stayed like till I quit


You’ll get through it, it should be easier as the days go on.
 
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HELL YEAH SON!
good job, It's tough. but you can do it/

I quit in 07, and i think bout one every once and a while/

But I use the old weekly smoke money and buy ammo..
 
Dad quit smoking when I was a wee lad. I remember him smoking two packs of Camels a day.

His advice to anybody who wanted to quit was this:

"Make up you're mind you're not going to smoke any more then just don't smoke any more."

He would go on to say "Don't cut back, don't tell yourself you'll quit after you finish this pack or this carton...just quit."

That would have been around 1969ish. He never smoked another cigarette for the next 30 years, when he finally passed away.
 
Chdamn said:
Little things like that break the mental programming.
Click to expand...

There is a ton of truth to this right here. I had to reprovram myself last time, and this time I'm almost being forced to.
Last Friday was supposed to be my last day at my old job. As it turns out, they didn't get that day lol.
Anyway, I'm off till Wednesday when I start my new one. Im transitioning from a second shift, production, manufacturing worker to a first shift field service tech in a company truck.
EVERYTHING about my life is getting reordered lol.
Not without it's challenges, but its having to be done anyway.
backwoodsshooter said:
You can do it. I got strep last year. Haven’t had any smokeless or smokable tobacco since then. Just never got back to it.

Now a year later I don’t even miss it. Do I get cravings, sure but they come and go quickly and I never gave in. Even found a can of Wolf straight pouches a month or so ago Popped it open, took a big ol whiff of it, took me back, enjoyed the smell and threw it away.

Oh and I was a tobacco user since 2006. Pack of smokes a day till I joined the army 2008. Switched to smokeless up till deployment in 2010, smoked a pack a day and dipped a can a day while deployed for a year. Cut back to a can every week while smoking a pack a day.

Got out in 2012 and cut back to a pack a month and a can a day. Stayed like till I quit


You’ll get through it, it should be easier as the days go on.
Click to expand...

First cigarette the summer of 1985. I was 12.
Smoked 12.5 years before I quit the first time and about 14 this time.
And from the first experience, you are entirely correct. It gets easier day by day.
Chad talked about little daily arguements with yourself. Mine had turned into every about every three months or so when I finally lost it. Was at the bar and a fellow beside me opened a fresh pack of my brand.
My brain asked if I remembered the smell of the fresh pack, taste of the first one out of it, and how good it was with beer.
Sneaky little bas.... caught me off guard and I asked for one.
That'll not happen this time around lol.
 
Remember Nicotine attaches itself to habits which is why it's so hard to quit. To help break the addiction you have to change some of your habits. Most people light up after a meal, when they get in the car, after sex, before bed, on the toilet, while drinking, etc. You should look for other things to do during those times to make kicking the tobacco easier.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
In 1994 I picked up a pack of smokes from my neighbor. That was the beginning of my hell. A pack a day for the past 20+ years, and I thought I wanted to quit, but it was so hard, and I knew that meant I wasn't committed to quitting.

September 22nd last year, I ran out of smokes before I left work, and I forgot to get some on the way home. Since I don't smoke in my house or car, it didn't cross my mind. While I was walking up the stairs to my front door, my bad knee buckled and I dropped to the ground. Dragged myself in the house and into bed. Had some cravings, but just grabbed my wife's e-cigarette to see if it would take the edge off. Between her "nursing" skills and having a habit replacement handy, it was a cakewalk. I was using her e-cig for almost a month before she told me it didn't have any nicotine in it. Now the smell of cigarettes makes me feel sick, and I'm not on the verge of poopin' mah pants all the time either.

I can trust a fart once again.
 
You are doing it right man - take it day by day
I quit 2 packs/day on 15 October 1994 and to this point if I am having a drink I crave the nicotine. promise yourself to never touch cigarettes, cigars, dip, nothing because all it takes is one to break the seal.
I went to Augusta National this past Wednesday and my friends werew smoking cigars, boy did I want to beg for one but simply walked away and was called names that I won't repeat here but I am sure y'all can guess :)
 
I retired March 1, 1991. Came home from work that day opened up the freezer (that is where I kept my cartons) took out the carton and a half put them in the trash. Wife asked me what I was doing. I just said starting my new life. I had smoked for over 20 years by that point. That was one of the hardest things I have done. For over a year I still had a desire for a smoke especially in the morning with a cup of coffee. Now smoke bothers the heck out of me. Just do not like to be around it.

@draco88 Keep it up and just try to make it through each day. Each day you do not smoke makes it easier to get through the next day.
 
Every time you get the craving, run one out. Eventually you'll start losing skin, and won't wanna do anything, including smoke.
 
Goofyfoot2001 said:
Bought this with my savings. Don't give into the fear of not having your best "friend" around. He has been with you a long time but it's time to let him go.

View attachment 50794


WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!! This supposed to be a picture of a 1200 Harley Sportster!
Click to expand...
It's about the same size, and probably makes the same amount of power.
 
It will save your life and the lives of your family.

I stop after my first child was known to be on the way, plus with compound broken jaw helped.
 
Scott Free said:
It's about the same size, and probably makes the same amount of power.
Click to expand...

Actually I have mine dialed in with some larger jets and more teeth on the forward pully so she runs well. Lots of torque left at even 70mph. However, it WOULD make twice the HP if it were a jap bike. Can I say jap bike?
 
Goofyfoot2001 said:
Actually I have mine dialed in with some larger jets and more teeth on the forward pully so she runs well. Lots of torque left at even 70mph. However, it WOULD make twice the HP if it were a jap bike. Can I say jap bike?
Click to expand...
I don't know, is it racist? or would it be lacist?

I'm just bustin' yer chops though, I just can't ride a Sportster, I'm too fat.
 
I smoked a pack a day for 46 years but I have not smoked a cigarette in 598 days. I would not recommend it to anyone else, but a heart attack got me past the first several days of actual nicotine addiction. Strangely, it does not bother me to be around someone who is smoking. All of the subsequent cravings are mental responses and when I rarely get cravings, they are always triggered by some association.
 
draco88 said:
Since I've had a cigarette.
And I'm gonna shoot for three more.
And three more after that.

Came home from work thursday afternoon not feeling good. Took a handful of Tylenol and laid down for a nap.
The little woman come into the bedrooma couple hours later, sees me basically melting into the bed and takes my temp. It was right at 103.
Well, she gets me up, gets me to the urgent care, they get me diagnosed with Strep and a scrip called in.
I took my first antibiotioc at 9:00 pm Thursday in Walgreens pkg lot and spent until about 9:00 this morning in a hazy daze lol. The fever broke and boy o boy do I feel sooooo much better.
But, the important part is that I haven't smoked since I swallowed that first pill. I cant pinpoint the last time before that, but I know for a fact I haven't since.
The hardest part is usually the first three days. Heck, I got that licked already. Didn't particularly notice any DTs with all the sweating and mild delirium already going on.
The withdrawals usually peak those first three days and laat about two weeks. As sore as my throat still is, and probably will be for a few more days, I don't think it's going to be a problem.

I'm sure I'll have a long term issue like most people do. But there is nothing like waking up from a 2 1/2 day haze to realizing 12 hours later that youve got a 14 year problem kicked in the teeth!

My confidence is high and Im gonna do this.
Click to expand...
Started smoking when I was about 16 and stopped when I was 22, while I was smoking it normally ran about a pack a day. It's been 8 years since I quit, I want to go ahead and tell you when the weather is cool and I see somebody flick one out while driving down the road it instantly makes me want a cigarette. But at that exact same time heck I haven't smoked a cigarette in this long might as well not pick up one now. But I do have the occasional cigar...
 
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