janiebluebird

14 days sober today- I haven't been sober for this long in years and I've been feeling pretty good. I am still smoking, however. Its the one thing holding me back from feeling really healthy. I want to try and stop this, too, but at the same time I don't want to take too much away in a short period of time and have it backfire on me. Does anyone have any suggestions or personal experiences on how long to wait would be wise? Any good strategies to do this? I smoke less than a pack per day, and they are ultra lights, but I do crave them, especially in the morning after I've had coffee. I also get very strong cravings for them if anything remotely stressful occurs. They are so gross though and make me feel unhealthy.

Terminally Unique

You can quit smoking any time you want to. I recommend the excellent (and free) quit smoking tools over at WhyQuit. I especially recommend the eBook, Never Take Another Puff by Joel Spitzer. He also has free video lessons for downloading or watching on YouTube.

Bikeguy

I waited 9 months after I quit drinking to give up the cigarettes, but I really believe it's different for everyone. Give it a try, see how it goes and if you feel stopping smoking might be threatening your sobriety give it some more time.

sugarbear1

The rehabs here are working on that with alcohol/drug use at the same time.

Sapling

My rehab told me not to.....Said I had enough on my plate with alcohol...I'm looking to quit at the one year mark...We'll see.

Sapling

Hey Janie....Did you ever check out an AA meeting?

suki44883

My doctor at detox told me to wait until I had at least 6 solid months of sobriety before I tried to quit smoking.

MustStop

I am at 36 days and might try giving up smoking once summer rolls around. Smoking is pretty disgusting on hot days so any little bit that can help will. Other than that I am going to wait at least 90-120 days before I consider it. Should be MUCH easier to quit since alcohol is now out of the picture...

janiebluebird

MustStop- I figured it would be better to quit while its cold and I have to stand outside in 30 degree weather to smoke!! I guess its gross at any time, though.

Sapling- I keep going back and forth with the meeting thing in my head! I'll look up meetings near me and say that I'm definitely going to go, then I chicken out when the time gets near and think of excuses or put it off and say I'll go to one at a later date. Its not because I'm not taking this seriously, I just get uneasy about it. I think this is going to be the week, though. I've been thinking about it nearly every day.

jv369

the first time i got sober i didn't quit cigs until the 2.5 year mark, i was smoking about a pack a day and did it cold turkey(i had tried gum and patches a few times before that). i'd say just do it when it feels right. smoking was a different type of addiction for me, it seems when i decided i was done with it i quit and that was that. i haven't started back up since june 09 when i quit, not even during my relapse. i'm now trying to get sober again, at day two and finally going to meetings again.......feeling at home again. but the thought of smoking a cig right now disgusts me.

janiebluebird

Congrats on ridding yourself of smoking. Cold turkey seems like the best route, from what I've heard. Good luck with staying off the drink- at least you are back on here and going to meetings. I have to start going to meetings. This is the first time I decided to get sober, I'm at 2 weeks.

MustStop

That can be a quitting factor too! I use to smoke even less when I was faced with freezing outside to do so. UNTIL I realized I could light a small fire in my fireplace and smoke inside and not leave a single trace of the nasty cigarette smell in the house or all over my clothes.

On a similar subject, my smoking spiked big time when I quit drinking, from about 8 a day (when not drinking of course) to a pack at the beginning but now its tapered off to about 12~ a day and should keep falling as my sober days pile up, until I can eventually quit fairly easily "I hope".

DarkDays

Allan Carr Easyway got me off smoking 30 a day 9 years ago. If I was smoking now, I would use RR AVRT and decide to stop right this second .

Birchgreen

I stopped smoking a month after I stopped drinking. It was very much a mental thing. I realised that by not drinking that I was not actually giving anything up, I was not depriving myself but giving myself my life back. It was the same with the smokes. I had smoked for 35 years and despite trying hard I had never managed more than a day. Once I realised that I was not in reality depriving myself, I did it. I had stocked up on nicotine replacement capsules/gum etc & never used them. Because my head was in the right place I suffered no withdrawal at all, just the occasional feeling that something was missing.

I know that everyone is different and everyone's experience is different, so good luck with stopping Janie.

Sapling

So you just stopped drinking and smoking on your own will power?...No program...No book?...Just on your own....I couldn't do it on my own...God knows I tried. You are right...We are all different. More power to you..

Birchgreen

Hi Sapling - I had tried patches in the past & Alan Carr's book worked for a bit a while back, but this time was so different. I have always argued that nicotine is a stronger mental addiction than it is physical & mentally I was so ready to stop this time. I cannot say that it is a matter of will-power either because I genuinely feel that I am not actually giving anything up. How can you miss something that is totally negative...withdrawal symptoms? Withdrawal from what? It's not physical. I never woke up in the middle of the night because I had not had a cigarette for 8 hours, but during the day?... I was a nervous wreck if I couldn't have a smoke for 1 or two hours (on a plane eg). But it was not a physical craving - it's all in the mind. For 35 years I told myself that I enjoyed smoking, that it was a social thing to do, that it helped relax/stimulate me, infact I conned myself that this wonder drug did so many wonderful things.....wrong!

For the first time in my life I know I will never smoke again. I am a non-smoker, not someone who has quit smoking. It is a bit like being a non-drinker, as opposed to a dry-drunk

Everyone is different but I believe that if your head is in the right place you can do anything, and thanks to SR & my psychiatrist I have have finally got my head in that place - & there it's going to stay! - & if I can do it, anyone can!

Sapling

That's awesome BG....I like to see that....I'm blessed I found something that worked for me. If you don't mind me asking....How long have you been without alcohol and ciggs?

Birchgreen

Ah..now you've got me! 5 months off the drink & 4 months off the smokes. Not that long on paper, but a long way, on a one-way ticket, in the head.

Purplecatlover

Janie, I quit drinking/smoking for 2 1/2 weeks about 3-4 months ago. I was past the withdrawal/cravings & like a dummy started drinking, which led back to smoking.
Now I'm 44 days sober & quitting again.
I'm so mad about doing this to myself again. Another reason to NOT EVER DRINK again!
I want to be healthy & happy without any chemicals/ drugs in my system.

At least, this will be my last round of withdrawals.

Everyone's different, I was going to try a few weeks ago but I was not mentally ready, so I waited until I felt I could do this without endangering my sobriety, which is top priority!
If it becomes too much on me & causes me to want to drink, I'm abandoning ship & will wait until I feel stronger & try again.
I second what TU said about Never take Another Puff. Awesome read.

mirage

I quit smoking 6 months after I quit drinking. Way easier to quit smoking this time as drinking and smoking go hand in hand for me. Good luck!!