I need to quit smoking.

I don't have the answer. Have you talked to your Dr about it?

How much do you smoke?

It's hard for your body to fight lyme when you're smoking - but it could be stressful to try and quit.

Have you tried quitting before?

I was never a smoker, but i did develop one other addiction for a while. While at university, i started playing bridge (cards) and the first year in college, i barely made it through to second year, and so i continued playing bridge even more. By christmas time in the second year, i got my midterm results and i was a failure all around. I looked at myself and decided it was time for a change. I had to find a way to stop playing this game around the clock and i had to resume studies. I did a series of things to reinforce this decision to quit. They were:

1. I took my deck of cards and i cut each card in half and then i tossed the deck into the garbage.
2. I visited with 2 friends who were not into cards, and i asked them to make a bet with me on my own honour. I told each friend separately that if i were to pick up a hand of cards to play once from now on till the years end, i would automatically owe my buddies $100 each, and if i lasted to the end of the school term, I told them that they were to pay me $10 each. We shook hands and i was on my honor not to play cards till the end of the school term. This was way back in 1964. At the end of the school term of year 2, i went to my friends and i told them that i relieve them of paying me those $10 dollar bills. I had effectively broken my addiction. It worked. There were many temptations to play cards during this time. Buddies called, asked me to join. At the start of year 3, i was the only person of this card playing group that had passed his year and was back in school.

In my opinion, if i were a smoker, and knowing what i know about smoking since my dad died because of smoking, i would first promise myself to be true to my convictions and words/ promises i give to others. I would do something like this. I would look at how many cigarettes i smoke daily and i would draw up a calendar wherein i would include dates when i would cut back the smokes, and how much. Then i would go to one, two, or even more close friends, and i would announce that i am phasing out smoking and that this is my plan to do this on the following schedule. I would also put some money on this enterprise so that even if i were to fail just once, i would owe them big money and obviously i would humiliate myself. Once this machine was in motion, i would be diligent in keeping up with this schedule of reducing and quitting my smoking. There could also be a penalty that once i stopped, that i would not resume smoking in a years time or something like that.

Such a plan would be very ambitious but it would also prove to you that you are your word, you are an honest person, and there is nothing you cannot accomplish unless you really set your mind to it. Your will power will be severely tested and you will end up smelling like a rose, a non-smoker. This is my suggestion to you. xfmlg

What about changing over to those e-cigs? Vaping at least won't put as much tar into your lungs while you try to slow the amount you smoke. And they have different strengths, so you could easily step down the amount of nicotine you are getting.

My hubby and I both used to smoke - but my smoking lead to severe bronchitis twice a year when the rag weed bloomed because I'm allergic to rag weed and when I was a smoker, the tar in my lungs would trap the pollen and create an infection. So I had to just quit, but hubby had a more difficult time quitting - and when we had his Dad with us for the last months of his Dad's life, it was too much stress, and hubby went back to smoking.

With his lung issues (severe PE - 70% of each lung was full of blood clots), I begged him to switch to the e-cigs - come to find out, they are cheaper and he can control how much nicotine he gets!!

Hi IHL,

I've read that something beneficial to do before quitting smoking is to amp up self-care. Give yourself good foods, green juice and green smoothies, get exercise, get enough sleep, etc. Treat yourself like you would treat a child or loved one. Then, start cutting back on smoking. Chances are that you'll be feeling pretty good and you won't even want to smoke. I recommended this plan to a loved one (someone who'd been smoking since she was 12) and it worked! Stopping a habit has to come from a place of love.

Good luck and let us know it goes!

HI, I am not sure what other wrote, so forgive me if I repeat something. I am sorry if I offend you. My husband smokes and it makes me so mad. I will say to you what I have said to him. I told him that when he dies from cigerettes I will be so mad at him. Who will walk our daughter down the isle. Will he be there when our son graduates from collage? He makes that choice everytime he lights up. He chooses smoking instead of us. How can he do that? Do it for your son. This week smoke 4 per day, next week 3per day and so on. Come on now. You are sick already and need to fight this lyme.

I know this is not the same but I use to be addicted to food. I loved sugar and would binge on it when ever I could. I got sick and stopped. I stopped eating sugar and grains. It sucks living like this and eating like this, but I want to get will! I will be healthy and this is part of it. It is so hard being with others with out being able to eat and drink like them. I can't go out to eat, I cant enjoy any sort of gathering. It sucks, but I WILL GET WELL! You need to make this choice for yourself and your family.

Wow. That's pretty crazy! What's sad is that a lot of people would love to quit. It's an addiction. I wonder if he turns away over weight people too.

You're all so right! I can do this! I made my plan and I'm strong. I know I am. Time to put my stubborn nature to good use.

This helped me
Nr1. No alcoholic beer
Nr2. Electronic cigarette, the advanced ones give a lot of wape! /www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGbmwv1coYY
Nr3. Stepping down from Electronic cigarette as well.

After the 3 first months, you starts to forget about them.

Go to an AA group, and work the steps. They say that's the most powerful thing for stopping addictions. Cigs. are extremely addictive. Unfortunately, vap. cigs. also place fairly strong chemicals in the lungs/body. I would try narc. anon. or an "All Addictions" group.

I did it for awhile for co-dependence and for enabling, or being an enabler; also for ACOA (Adult Child of).

My Dad was addicted to benzodiazepines and Qualuudes, and he did it himself, just by going down bit by bit by bit. I used to hear him walking around the yard at night, bc he was trying to get it out of his system. He succeeded!

Maybe start with the average number of cigs. you smoke a day, and go ahead and smoke them. The next day (or even the next week), go down by half a cig. Keep going, even if it takes a year, until you reach nothing. Meanwhile, keep detoxing.

Stay away from other people who smoke, and find books or other info. about how to stop smoking.

M