Ex Smokers?

Has anyone out there quit smoking and are willing to say how? Please, no "cold turkey" stories, been there, done that, didn't work. My latest attempt involved a small gun like instrument that shot electrical pulses in certain parts of the ear, it is called "Auriculor Therapy" and for a mere $115.00 did absolutely NOTHING! I am frustrated, irritated and tired of smelling like smoke, but, I reach for that nasty cigarette anyway, somehow. x:'(
Any ideas, input would be appreciated.
scorpio
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Comments

  • 33 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • Scorpio:

    Visit a hospital and watch someone dying of emphysema, otherwise known as slow-suffication. When combined with medical help (patches, etc)if the emphysema exposure doesn't scare you into not smoking, I'm not sure what will. Seriously, I've known several individuals that stopped smoking after actually seeing someone in the terminal stages of emphysema. You have to actually see their suffering, not just read about it. Good luck!
  • I'll have to agree with Rita on this one. I was holding my mother in law's hand when she died of this horrible disease and it was directly tied to her chain smoking of many, many years. She could not give it up - she actually smoked the day she was admitted to the hospital for the last time.

    It's a horrible way to go....if seeing this doesn't do it, Scorpio....I don't know what will.


  • My mom just went for hypnosis. So far, so good. She had a few friends that quit this way.

    Truthfully, I don't think the actual hypnosis works...but suggestion is incredibly powerful...and maybe it's just that little bit of help you need to get through a few weeks smoke free.

    When I was a teen a friend's dad caught her smoking...made her smoke a whole pack right in front of him....one after the other...CURED FOREVER! x:D
  • I have pseudo relatives who smoked for 20+ years and went for hypnosis near Boston. The guy's nickname is The Mad Russian. Here's his contact info. He charges around $75 for his visit and has a 90+% success rate.

    Yefim Shubentsov (The Mad Russian)
    1680A Beacon Street Suite 201
    Brookline, MA 02445
    (617) 232-3930

    Good luck Scorpio!!!

  • The Mad Russian is famous in Mass. I know people who have gone to him for weight loss and smoking; they all swear by him.
  • I thought the mad russian worked for the KGB and was famous not for hypnosis but for stabbing people in the crotch.
  • Great! I'm on a roll! Sorry forum for posting this. It was meant to be a personal message to another forumite. Jeez! I sure as hell swallowed my foot today.
  • Well, if you're willing to shoot yourself with a gun in your ear, I assume you're serious about quitting. I would tell you my successful 'Cold Turkey' story of 20 years ago, but you said you didn't want to hear those.

    Like most things, it's mostly a matter of 'how bad do you want it'?
  • I personally know of 3 folks who were treated by the "Mad Russian" and guess what........... they're smoke free. Don't know what he does but it must be pretty good...
  • I know what he did and it's incredibly simple and painless.
  • Well,............? Are you sworn to secrecy?
  • I agree with Don. It is all up to you and how badly you want this. DISCIPLINE! My husband of 19 years died of lung cancer related directly to smoking. He had tried over the years to stop but never succeeded and like alot of cancer sufferers felt what is the point now. He smoked until he no longer had enough lung power to suck in the smoke. Very, very sad. It is 100% your call and no patch, gum, hypnoics (SP) will really do the trick. (speaking from what I have witnessed) I wish you well and hope you can not only for your sake but for those who love you quit. My husband not only left me behind but our children who were 13 and 15 at the time of his death. To you and all those wanting to quit my best wishes.
  • Seeing someone dying with emphysema, lung cancer, stroke, whatever, will not influence a hard-core addicted smoker one way or the other. Same as watching a drug user overdose will not prevent another drug user from using or an alcholic won't stop drinking after seeing the ravages of a drunk driving accident. Most of them are in denial and too addicted. Bottom line, like Don said, is how bad do you want to stop and finding that resource that can help you, be it the patch, an accountability group, hypnosis. I've seen them all work only when the individual is committed to the process.
  • I quit smoking on January 12th of this year after smoking off and on...for..ever. I chew the nicorette gum when I get a bad craving. One of the things that has made this quit different from the others is a website I frequent on a daily basis, [url]www.quitnet.com[/url] and [url]www.quitsmokingonline.com[/url]. The first site has web boards with tons of people, whom are also quitting, online at all times giving each other support. Both sites are also very helpful PRIOR to your quit, preparing yourself. The quitnet.com site also sends me emails now about once a week but in the beginning it was every day, advising me how many days I've been smoke free, how much money I have saved, and how much time I have ADDED to my life. My latest stats were:
    Your Quit Date is:Wednesday, January 12, 2005 at 10:22:00 PM
    Time Smoke-Free:89 days, 8 hours, 34 minutes and 24 seconds
    Cigarettes NOT smoked:1787
    Lifetime Saved:13 days, 15 hours
    Money Saved:$315.00


    Those 13 days could be the most important days of my lifetime, you never know and every week I buy myself a new "non smoking" outfit....I've spent WAY over the $315.00 but hey it's only $$.

    Good luck with quitting and remember once you decide to quit you are "just one puff away from a pack a day."

    Reach out for support it is a very important aspect of quitting.
  • Scorpio, like Don I have a "cold turkey" success story that I won't tell. It was so cold turkey that I didn't know at the time that my last cigarette WAS my last cigarette. That was 26 years ago.
  • I have to concur with the "watch someone who is dying from it" approach. I smoked for about 3 years from 1988-1990. Watching both of my grandfathers die miserably and painfully from lung cancer from cigarettes cured me but good. Self preservation should rule the day, no?

    #1 thing a consultant shouldn't say: "I could tell you the answer right now, but we're committed to a three month project..." #-o
  • I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future the HMO's and other health insurance stop covering emphysema due to smoking. It will cost you a lot in more ways than just your health. The hospitals and doctor's were successful in sueing the cigarette companies so ...

    On another note. My mom also will absolutely not quit smoking. Has already been through many health related problems including near death about 10 years ago due to heavy alcohol drinking. So I guess I have a lot to look forward too! Emphysema!
  • Mine is a cold turkey story also, so I won't go into it, but.....

    One guy I listened to about one year ago, a hypnotist (I was attending to see if we would offer his tapes to EEs through our wellness program for weight loss and stop smoking) - indicated that once you really decide to quit - and I mean that decision deep inside yourself where you make your real choices - then it is a matter of winning a 15 second battle.

    He indicated that research (this guy had some sort of PHD)says the nicotine craving lasts for 15 seconds. So if you can win a 15 second battle with yourself, you can quit smoking. The craving goes away for some period of time (I don't remember how long) and when it comes back, it is another 15 second battle.

    He augmented all of this with hypnosis sessions and was really quite successful according to his self-published statistics.

    The point was ...Can you win a 15 second fight?
  • I once quit smoking for about four months when I was dating a nonsmoker, using the cold turkey method supplemented by the "care package" I received from the American Cancer Society (gum, hard candies, etc.) plus a lot of support from my girlfriend and coworkers. I found that gum was the most helpful device in defeating a craving (for me it wasn't nicotine gum - it was just the action of chewing gum).

    Unfortunately, once things became stressful at work I wasn't able to resist the temptation to have "just one cigarette." The rest is history, as they say.

    Also, watching someone (my mother) die with lung cancer was an eye-opener, but as a practical matter did not help me quit smoking.

    A friend of mine has had some luck with hypnosis. The hypnotist gave him a post-hypnotic suggestion (?) that his gag reflex would be triggered if he tried to smoke a cigarette. It's apparently worked because he's been smoke free for several months now.
  • Beagle, I'm shocked! I thought you being a vegetarian you would be all health conscience and definetly not a smoker. When I smoked I only dated non-smokers cause I knew I wouldn't smoke around them (until they got on my nerves and I wanted them gone...)and that helped me not smoke as much.

    I only have one friend that is a smoker so that helps me not smoke as well and people that I work with have never known or at least never saw me smoking cause I always kept it a secret cause I was embarrassed that I had the nasty habit. Now whenever I think I miss smoking I go to a bar where there are smokers and all I have to do is take one whiff of that stench and I'm glad I QUIT!
  • I'm only a vegetarian 'cause I can't stand the taste, the texture, the smell or the sight of meat - not for any high-falutin,' esoteric, health or ethical reasons like those PETA-nazis.

    I don't smoke a lot, but I do smoke. One day, I'll quit. My dr. sends me a card every year on my birthday asking me if I've quit yet. Not looking forward to my annual physical next week - it gives him an excuse to browbeat me for an hour. x;-)


  • My mom quit years ago and said it was simply mind over matter. Everytime she wanted a cigarette, she told herself she could have one, but choose not to have one now. For her, it worked.

    My dad also quit, a number of times. He says it's bad for 3 days and then he is fine. He sort of brags about it. But then, if it is so easy why does he take it up again?

    My husband will be 59 this year. He started smoking when he went into the service. He has stopped several times, but always starts again. He has tried various patches, gums, hypnosis, and cold turkey. He is really hard core addicted. He quit again just over a year go using a kit advertised on tv. He had to take pills everyday and smell this special stuff everytime he wanted a cig. He managed to quit, but still craves his cigs. He struggles every single day.

    Just before he quit last time I showed him an article that claimed no matter how many times you try to quit and fail, you should just keep trying. It said statistically speaking, every time you quit you increase the odds that it will be permanent.

    This is the 2nd time he has lasted a year, though this time is about 2 months longer. We hope it will last the rest of his life, but if it doesn't he will try again.

    Scorpio, try anything and everything. Just don't give up trying to quit.

    In the meantime, I think I will show my husband Judy's sites. They sound interesting and helpful.

  • I'm sure no one's suggested what I am about to. Please understand that I am not joking when it comes to this. I realize there are some of you out there who will denounce what I have to say, and that's OK too.

    I suggest you try a 12-step approach. Although the 12 steps originated with the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, there are now dozens of groups that cater to all sorts of addictions, nicotine included.

    I won't bore you with all the blah, blah, blah, but here's the link if you're interested:

    [url]www.nicotine-anonymous.org[/url]

    I believe very much in 12 step programs because I have personally witnessed and experienced what they can help people accomplish. I know, I'm a recovering alcoholic and AA member.

    Gene
  • I thank you all so very much for your advise. I clicked the link to be advised when someone posted to this site, but, it did not work. Tonight was the first opportunity I had to check in, and boy oh boy, as usual, the Forum was there with excellent advise.
    I thank all of you for your time and for trying to help. Gene, funny thing isn't it, about a "Higher Power" I just went last night to a 12 step smokers anonymous meeting, there are NO coincidences are there?? Thanks for the help. I will keep on keepin on and beat this, it beating me has ceased to be an option.
    Have a great week everyone.
    scorpio
  • Don't share all of Judy's methodology with your husband, NaeNae. You will recall that one of her 'tricks' is to go to a bar under the guise of whiffing smoke. You don't want him trying that do you? (This Judy sounds like a dangerous person).
  • HEY! I resemble that remark! ;;)
  • (Sorry for the length of this post)

    I went from smoking more than 2 packs a day to nothing a few yrs. ago. It was a struggle to say the least, in the beginning. But it lasted and I am still smoke free, even though my husband hasn't been able to give it up. It is mostly in your mindset. If you're not ready for living smokeless, you won't. It's scary, but do-able.

    I used a fault for my good....procrastination. Plain and simple. Make a plan. It takes some planning, but you'd be surprised how painless it will be. 1st you have to notice whenever you take out a cig to smoke. Make a list, be honest with yourself. When you're ready to begin, start your procrastination process. Every cig you take out to smoke, put it off for 10 or 15 min. Wait the required time and smoke. No guilt, no withdrawal. Slow but sure...it won't happen in 2 weeks, or 4, but it will stick.

    I tried to step up to the "next level" after a week. I would bump up the waiting time to 20 min. And so on, and so on. You will notice that as you stretch out the time, you will start dropping off the "unneccessary" ones. Keep the important ones just the way they are for a while (1st one of the morning, after meals, right before bed, you know which one's are the hardest to let go).

    All the time you are going through this process, you need to remind yourself why you don't want to smoke, like a mantra: "I hate the way my clothes smell. I hate my teeth being stained, my breath smelling like smoke. I hate always having to look for a place to put my ashes. I hate the money I am spending on these things."

    Tackle the "important" ones one at a time. You will feel stronger about it as you go along. You will have been able to cut down, with little or no withdrawal symptoms, no weight gain, no guilt. All positive. Celebrate yourself and your increasing strength in resisting.

    I just want you to succeed. The rewards far outweigh the effort you have to put into it. I'd be glad to talk to you about it more, if you might be interested.

    Kathy P
  • I have a friend who quit by counting the cigarettes she had in one day, smoking that amount for a week, then halving that number for two weeks, halving it again for two weeks. It worked really well until she was down to one cigarette a day. At first she was so grateful for that one that she was satisfied. Then, her husband told her he was so proud of her that when she finally gave up that last cigarette she should take the money she would save by not buying cigarettes and buy something really extravagant for herself. That was just the push it took to give up that last one, and she never looked back. I don't remember how long it took, probably several months, but it was worth it to her.

    It's true that trying again each time you fail will eventually worked. It took me lots and lots of tries, but one day it finally clicked. I had 3 cigarettes left, so I went outside and smoked them, one after the other. Then I told myself that never again would I be an addict. I decided that as long as I never bought a pack I would not have any to smoke. So, I concentrated on not buying them rather than not smoking them. I would not bum one from anybody as a manner of pride. That was 12 years ago and I've been smoke free all that time.

    Bottom line: don't give up! And don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work this time. Maybe it will next time.

    Linda
  • Scorpio,

    You may want to try this...It is expensive $450.00 but I had my doctor check into it and she says it sounds pretty good. Look at the web site and ask you Dr. what they think. I am considering it, and I do know someone who has done it and thinks it is great. If you decide to try let me know.

    [url]www.niana.us[/url]

    They are located in Tampa, Orlando and someone told me yesterday they thought there was a new clinic in Naples.
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