Grannyweatherwax
Full Member
I had been smoking since I was in my 20's and must have tried dozens of times to give up. Even had a course of hypnosis! I can still remember the horrible cravings, not sleeping, getting ratty with the family and that Oh so wonderful first fag when I caved in and started again. That heady, giddy feeling with the first intake and the slow puffing out of the smoke. And then of course, the guilt.
In 2005 hubby and I decided we would quit and quit for good. We picked a date September 1st, joined the NHS quit line via our doctor's surgery and signed up for 1 to 2 counselling. The counsellor suggested, after taking a history, that we might find the easiest option was to have the nicorette inhaler thingie. We had it on prescription and never looked back. Quite honestly, it was the easiest thing we ever did. We feel, to this day, such blinking frauds when folk tell us how good we were to give up, because we had no trouble at all. One day we looked at each other and said 'Hey, we've been non smokers for a month!' And that was it.
Now if we can do it, anyone can. It is simply a matter of finding the right way and the right time for you. Its no good trying to give up if your head isn't in the right place. And don't feel a failure if you don't manage it at first. There is a time for everything, and you just tried to give up at the wrong time for you. that's all. Not the end of the world is it?
Being non smokers was an eye opener for us: Our house smelled like an old ashtray. We had to completely redecorate and have the carpets steam cleaned. For a year or so afterwards we would open a seldom used cupboard and be hit by the smell of cigarette smoke. Clothes too reeked. Today, I can walk past a smoker in town and smell the smoke on their clothes.
Funnily enough we aren't anti smoking, how could we be? We enjoyed every one we had! A couple of years ago we found our emergency pack: 2 inhalers and 5 cartridges we had put away in case we ever weakened and felt like a ciggie, but we forgot all about it. We put it in the bin.
Good luck everyone
In 2005 hubby and I decided we would quit and quit for good. We picked a date September 1st, joined the NHS quit line via our doctor's surgery and signed up for 1 to 2 counselling. The counsellor suggested, after taking a history, that we might find the easiest option was to have the nicorette inhaler thingie. We had it on prescription and never looked back. Quite honestly, it was the easiest thing we ever did. We feel, to this day, such blinking frauds when folk tell us how good we were to give up, because we had no trouble at all. One day we looked at each other and said 'Hey, we've been non smokers for a month!' And that was it.
Now if we can do it, anyone can. It is simply a matter of finding the right way and the right time for you. Its no good trying to give up if your head isn't in the right place. And don't feel a failure if you don't manage it at first. There is a time for everything, and you just tried to give up at the wrong time for you. that's all. Not the end of the world is it?
Being non smokers was an eye opener for us: Our house smelled like an old ashtray. We had to completely redecorate and have the carpets steam cleaned. For a year or so afterwards we would open a seldom used cupboard and be hit by the smell of cigarette smoke. Clothes too reeked. Today, I can walk past a smoker in town and smell the smoke on their clothes.
Funnily enough we aren't anti smoking, how could we be? We enjoyed every one we had! A couple of years ago we found our emergency pack: 2 inhalers and 5 cartridges we had put away in case we ever weakened and felt like a ciggie, but we forgot all about it. We put it in the bin.
Good luck everyone
