Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 32 years of smoking cigarettes...[Day #1]

Hawaii? You ever try turkey hunting there? How is it?

MrsTzone wants to go to Hawaii and I'd like to try to sneak a turkey hunt in while we're there. She didn't seem real impressed when I mentioned that tho.

Porn and Cheeto's ?

Drummond,

Yep, that's the diff this time...It's because I WANT TO QUIT versus Mrs. Late-Bloomer

It's no doubt going to be tough, however I just keep FOCUSING on them hills I want to tread upon and find them buggers
and learn their terrain and habits!

I have a lot to accomplish in my deer hunting adventures

I quit cold turkey 34 years ago. Cigarettes were 45 cents a pack than. Not easy, but dam glad I did.

I am just finishing up my last week on Chantix. The only issue I had was the VERY WEIRD dreams so doc put me on a low dose anti-axiety med. Luckily by this coming Sunday I will me off it all. I have no desire, no cravings, even after dinner or when I have gone to a bar. My BP has dropped even more after dumping this nasty habit and at this rate may even get off BP med.
I am pulling for you ALL!

LateBloomer,
While cigarette smoking is definitely a physical addiction, quitting is all in having the proper mindset, and until one has the proper mindset, one won't quit(at least not me anyways).

I started smoking at 15, by the time I graduated high school I was a (minimum) 2 pack a day smoker, for many years 3 packs a day. Tried many times to quit in later years, cutting down, etc. and I'd reward myself for being good and be right back where I was. Point being, I didn't really want to quit.

I quit cold turkey early in Sept. 2009 after 43 years of continuous smoking. Cold turkey, no doctor, no medication, no nothing, I just quit, and I was easily one of the worlds hardest core smokers.

What it boils down to it the 'mindset' I talked about above. You have to get to the point where you can say(and MEAN), 'enough is [bleep] enough'. Until I got to that point, I couldn't seem to quit, and once I got to that point, it actually surprised me how easy it was to quit.

I wish you the best of luck and I hope you have the proper 'mindset'.

Garry,

This makes all the difference in the world!

It's because I finally do have the proper mind-set to go at it!

I'm mentally prepared for the task at hand THIS TIME...

Thanks brother!

My late Father quit cold turkey the day the Surgeon General's report on smoking came out in 1965. He also dropped 100# after being diagnosed with diabetes a few years later. His lungs returned to the condition of those of a non-smoker. Dad enjoyed an active lifestyle exercising regularly and lived to be 89 yrs. old.

Well, LateBloomer, I do not count smoking among my many vices, so I have no first hand advice for you.

I did, however, want to give you one more message of support! This one comes from Sweden, 250 miles from the Arctic Circle where we have about 3 foot of snow on the ground still.

Bit different from Hawaii, I'm sure!

When things get tough, think of all your friends all over the world rooting for you.. and do not have that first cigarette!

John

LateBloomer, been there, done that. One of, if not the most difficult things that I have ever done. You have the right mindset and seem very motivated. You must somehow, someway, keep that mindset. Your plan to excercise as well at the same time is gold. My wife quit but did not excercise to make up for the slower metobolic rate that you will experience and then had to fight loosing weight. You are right in tackling them together. I must have quit five times until I finally kicked the habit. If you fall off the wagon....get back on. As others have said, don't quit quitting! Good luck and if you can get your friends and family on board with you. Their encouragement and love will help you very much. Just seeing that you are from Hawaii makes me miss my old military Vietnam veteran friend who lives on the Big Island in Hilo. Hang Tough!!

Thank you brother!

I started smoking in 1991 in Saudi Arabia. I've made good on this year's resoltion and haven't had one this year. I used to smoke a pack a day in the 90s to a pack a week the last 4 years. I quit one time for 6 monthes so I know I'm not out of the woods yet. One day at a time. I figure if my late grandfather could do it cold turkey so can I. Just think of all the "extra cash" you'll have to spend on guns and gear now.

Oh yeah

Smoked a bit as a kid and quit with my first job as no one had heard of breaks back then. Food tasted better, the cough left, and any chick that smoked was immediately off the list. I suspect you will reap instant returns from quitting.

With all the negative facts available, I find it hard to believe that my 21 yr old son took it up this year. Not allowed to smoke in our house, but the room still smells like sh-t due to the oder on his clothes.

Good luck,

I am trying to screw up the courage to kick the damn things. Been smoking a pack a day for nearly 50 years. Gave em up for 3 months last year and then fell off the wagon when the weather warmed up and I got back in the boat to do some fishing. I HAVE to give this another go. Heard that Chantic can work. Tell me more about the Chantix...please.

1minute....Thanks brother!

meddybemps,

I say go for it!!!

It's never too late brother!!!

I'm sick and tired of smoking and it's high time I DO SOMETHING about it instead of my usual bitch and moan!

Some are happy smokers but I haven't been one in the past 10 yrs and I've chosen to now draw the line in the sand...NO MORE!!!

Good luck!

You're lucky you made it to age 48. Very few people can quit cold turkey, so if you can't, don't give up. Just try something else. The nicotine patches worked for me--on about the 3rd try! I was facing heart attack #4 and still smoking. The doctors and logic said I wouldn't make it through it. My last cigarette was July 4, 1997.

Some hints:

(1) You can't quit smoking around smokers. If your wife smokes, divorce her. Strong words, yes, but the alternative is your death.

(2) Don't go to bars for a least two years after you quit smoking. You'll get a tiny shot of nicotine from the smoke in the air, and you will start wanting to bum a drag off your barstool neighbor's cigarette. "Just one drag!" you'll tell yourself. "It won't hurt!"

You've got more to worry about than heart disease and lung cancer. Your entire arterial system is probably in various stages of clogging. Can you get an erection? If you can, you're lucky. Ever talked to anyone who survived an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm surgery, better known as an AAA surgery? They take your guts out and repair the swelling in your aortic artery located beside your backbone at or near belly button level. And probably caused by pressure build up behind a blockage or partial blockage--and guess what caused the blockage?

They may or may not get your guts back in their original position. Your guts may or may not be grown together with adhesions, which they'll have to cut and which will grow back in a new location. The result is you will spend the rest of your life always knowing the location of the nearest men's room. When you hit the door--in a hurry--you will be praying that the room has a vacant commode. If it doesn't, you face the prospects of fecal-filled underwear and a long and stinky stroll through the supermarket to your car. You won't see that in a cigarette ad, huh?

Chantix basically fools the brain into thinking you don't want/need one. Your doctor will start you out on the *start week* box which is a higher dose to get the brain kicked into gear. You take them morning and evening. Only side effect I experienced is one I posted previous and that is dreams at night. I can honestly say, as can my brother, we have no desire to even think about lighting up. You don't miss the first smoke of morning,after dinner, or have the craving. Start by asking your doctor if this would be the way to go for you.

Junior1942,

Yep, the cig ads definitely don't tell you that stuff! And I'm the only one in my entire family and friends for that matter that still smokes! Many have given up the habit years ago!

I've been the only foolish one to date, but the time has truly come!

I appreciate your post! Thanks for that grim painted picture that has been a reality for many!