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Today is my first quit day. Been reading the forums since yesterday and it is helpful. I have tried several times in the past and have no excuse to go back this time. Looking forward to: Not having to worry about a place or time to secretly have a smoke, feeling better, smelling better and looking better. NOPE it is .

NOPE, not today!

nope

NOPErs

No way Jose

NOPE!!!

Hello folks. About me. Daily smoker for 37 years, I'm a young 52(lol) (holy shit it just dawned on me) I don't smoke in the house but I can "free" smoke at work. I spend a lot of time driving a box truck. My wife smokes but she is considerate of my situation. Not a heavy drinker, Maybe a six pack a mos. healthy but about 40 lbs over weight, Love coffee, and I smoke/vape cannabis daily. Not a lot, but often when not working. I don't use any other drugs other than the occasional over the counter pain med and heartburn tablet etc. My job is pretty physical other than driving about 500 miles a week. December 22-25 was a tough time. Got the cold/flu bug and was knocked on my butt. Worst I've felt in more than a decade. The cough was absolutely terrible. I could literally hear the clatter in my lungs. I'm a workaholic and I couldn't work or enjoy time with family and friends during the Christmas holidays. I spent my holiday in bed drinking carbs, lol. While I was sick my smoking was limited from 1.5- 2 packs a day to 5 or 6 cigarettes per day. When I started feeling better(much better) I came to the notion that if I can do this while sick then I should be able to do it when well. My dad( a quitter for 25 years) has been encouraging me to quit for years. While explaining to him why I couldn't attend Christmas dinner and listening to him blame my ailment on smoking(of course lol) he suggested I get the nicotine patch, his aid in quitting. I sad nonchalantly, no biggie. I can do it without. Oh how wrong I was. My mind was plying trickery on me. Actually, It was flat out lying. Did good with smoking less than 10 cigarettes per day following Christmas through New Years but when the work routine got back to normal it got tough. Huge anxiety, sleeplessness, bad dreams. It was torture Talked to my dad on the 4th as I do most every day and he said he ordered a nicotine patch kit for me and I should get it Friday, the 6th. I thought, Oh shit, I'm really going to do this. This is the real deal. So I decided I would start on Saturday. As my addicted mind said, I can smoke more till then but I only ended up smoking 11 cigarettes Friday with my last one being 10:30pm. It was absolutely HUGE to leave for work Saturday morning without a pack. Been doing a 21mg patch since. 10:30 this evening will be three days smoke free. Longest I have ever quit. Seems that the patch helps with the anxiety but my mind tells me there is something missing without specifying exactly what. The reward system is missing something. Its absolutely amazing how much of my daily routine revolves around cigarettes. Everything changes. This challenge is going to be more than just not smoking. I try to avoid things that remind me of smoking but most everything does. I use to spend a lot of time in the garage but not lately. I used to smoke a lot while driving. Messing around with motorcycles and smoking cannabis in the garage, I smoked a whole lot there.. My favorite room in the house The temptation comes and goes but mostly stays. Its tough even with the patch. Harder than I thought it would be and trying not to satisfy the reward system in my head with food. Please forgive me for rambling all over the place but this is something I can do that doesn't remind me of smoking. Am I over thinking it?

Welcome aboard Octain. Congratulations on making a great decision. Most likely. Very few new quitters don't have some degree of overthinking and obsessive thoughts going on during those initial days of the process. I certainly did. Read the articles and watch the videos available here. If you're going to think about cigarettes anyway, you might as well direct your thoughts in the right direction. Rest assured, this is just the initial phase of the process. Eventually the cravings become fewer and further between. You will cease thinking about cigarettes all day. Eventually, you reach that place where not smoking feels far more normal that it would to light one up. Choose freedom over addiction daily and in time freedom becomes your new normal. It's a great feeling. Worth every ounce of commitment you can throw at it. It's as good as done then. The choice is yours and yours alone. Cigarettes only have as much power as you give them.

NOPE

I’m 11 Days Smoke Free today! I’m just waking up every day as a non smoker...period....NOPE! Yes I’m feeling tired & a little down but I’m sleeping & the cravings go away pretty quickly. I’m just very happy to be winning this battle! ?

Nope

^^^^That's the key! Welcome Octain. You can do this!

Welcome Yippy. The reasons you mentioned are all great (and there's countless more). As Doreen said.....go to the Daily Nope Pledge and commit to not smoking just for that one day. It really gives you a sense that you're in this with many other people. It also gives you a feeling of accountability.....you don't want to let yourself (and your peers) down. Glad to have you aboard. You can do this!

Hello and welcome yippy....love the name ,by the way... Educate yourself...knowledge is how you beat the beast...out smart this addiction... Join our daily pledge....it's a great way to start the day...with a promise.... You can do it....we are all proof you can... Buckle up on this train...it will take you all the way to freedom... Read,read and then read some more...there are some great videos to watch too...that will cover all what you need to know... Looking forward to getting to know you better.... Let's get this done !!!!

Heh, y’all are really in trouble now. I have you on my iPhone LOL. I really and truly want to make this happen.

Thanks for all the words of encouragement. Health does indeed play a factor. Then there’s the cost. Feel pretty good anyway but I just want to feel better. I’ve seen all the charts that show daily weekly and yearly progress of a quitter. So there’s that…Having cigarettes around me is not an option. My wife smokes. That is difficult for me. Day four underway…

-20 stop pushing now boo boo

Thanks everyone for the support. Couple triggers today..dental appointment and dropped an egg onto the floor. LOL ..quirky when you think about it. Anyhow..still hanging in there. I am also a long time smoker. Started as a teen ..I am 54 now. So all I can say is "Yippy!! and its about friggen time I did this!" Now I hope I can hang onto my sanity..and Im sure my hubby is hoping I can too

-17 I'm like that fella pushing a rock up the hill here. Sissyphus I think his name was.

Each day it does get easier. Need turns to want and then turns to "would like" when it comes to having a cancer stick. You are likely at the "want" stage by now, meaning the crave for a cancer stick is backing off. Notice also when you get out of bed, the "morning mouth" taste is no where near as bad? I have not even bothered to brush my teeth since quitting smoking, i figure there isn't much need now. OK kidding aside... the tired and feeling a little down, that doesn't last more than a few days so that will pass real soon.

Nope! I have no desire to prance around on stage wearing nothing but a spray tan and a banana hammock. Not that anyone asked, but for the record: I'm not a bodybuilder. I train for strength and performance. Bodybuilding is a weird world and frankly it creeps me out. But hey, to each their own.

Welcome, Yippy! Looking forward to following your success story here on the Train. Congratulations on your quit. It's the very best thing you can do for yourself!

I have not. But I will look into it. Thanks.

I could use some magic about right now.

Congrats Jet... 3 months is great... i think you may be at that point in your quit that you begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel... be careful though ... .. That light may turn out to be a train bearing down on you ... keep the guard up and see things for what they are! well Done!!

Getting sick was how I ended up quitting. The next step is to make sure you have no cigarettes handy. That way, if a crave hits real hard and you are considering going to buy a pack, it gives you a chance to think twice. Look up hazards of long term smoking. Then think, "Do I want to end up like that?" I am a little younger than you but old enough to say that at our ages, it is time to start thinking of our future health.

Welcome and congratulations Octain. 3 days smoke free is fantastic, and you aren’t overthinking it. We all have used different methods to quit. I found that, for me, cold turkey was the easiest way. Easy in the sense of there was no ripping off of the band aid a second time, once the withdrawal was over, it was over. We are happy to have you hear and look forward to getting to know you on your journey! Welcome to the QT.

Hi Octain (pardon the pun), welcome to the QuitTrain! Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking. Everyone here has gone through their own version of your last 3 days, so you'll get lots of support and understanding here. In answer to your question, are you overthinking it, I would say possibly yes, but I found it really hard not to think about smoking, quitting and all that was going along with it, especially in the early days. I would say do whatever you need to do to refrain from smoking and rest assured in I the knowledge that whatever you're feeling or thinking now, those feelings and thoughts are temporary. Try not to take them too seriously and hold tight to your quit. As time goes by, you'll feel better and better and realize your personal set of unexpected benefits of quitting. THOSE feelings and thoughts are permanent and grow the further along you go in your quit. Read as much as you can here, especially the ,pinned" threads. Education about nicotine addiction is super important and helpful when difficult times crop up- cravings or thoughts that you can't do it, why are you doing this, I'll quit another time , after (fill in the blank). Be aware that at those moments it's the addiction talking, not your own rational mind. Best of luck. Let us know how you're doing, reach out if you need a hand.

Another day I couldn't get up in the morning in time to get on the elliptical (sigh). I'm leaving the office now and will not get any dinner till I put in my 1/2 on that machine!

Change the hope...you ARE doing it...your already a non smoker..all you have to do ..is stay a non smoker...and Even folks who have never smoked have dropped some eggs in the lives...lol.....look on the bright side..you could have dropped the whole box...!!!! Your doing great...

O I guess I better head over to the "slap, slap, slap" thread now and see what Doreen is up to.

Oh! Dammit!

Wow !!!! 11 days Tyme...every day makes you a stronger noon smoker....I'm proud of you !!!!

-17 As soon as I remember what I did with the Stick signal, I'm calling for reinforcements.

-16 Boo must be busy lol!

You’re in good hands with the great support on this site Octain! I am a Newbie too & nearly 2 weeks Quit now. You will find Newbies all the way through to Experienced people with many years of success on this site as you start your journey! Quitting Smoking for good is a goal we all share. The support here is amazing! Good luck to you! People are here to help you Quit for good! You can do it!!

Congratulations on your 3 months, JB!! You are doing great!

Got my but on threadmill....ran a mile and did the rest of time walking on an incline for a total of 45 minutes. Did some lunges and squats. What Is everyone else up to Lisa

50 minutes kickboxing yesterday overslept so no elliptical this morning. Maybe tonight prolly not

Congratulations JB!!! You’re well on your way to Freedom! Good for you!!! ? And thanks for helping others along your way! I for one am grateful for your support...as Reciprocity says, “ participating & being helpful to others certainly seems to strengthen one’s Quit resolve”

Here

Thanks everyone:)

In one hour and 47 minutes, it will be three full days exactly for me.

Well, that's good but don't minimize your few days because that's a huge accomplishment!! Time seems to almost stand still in the early part of our quit because of the adjustment our brain is experiencing. That will pass soon enough. Learn something positive from this recent craving. That they only last a few moments and like BOO said, you don;t want to make a long term decision based on temporary feelings. These are the tools we pick up in our early days of quitting Also, think about going to the SOS page and post a message to yourself in the "Pre-respond to your own SOS thread. You can post a message about why you want to stay quit and read it any time you feel you want to smoke. It's another good tool or, just post up an SOS on that page and wait until your get at least 3 responses. People will be alerted when you post in that thread. Stay strong Christine

You reminded me it's only been a few days. Feels like a lot longer than that. My bad moment passed, feeling better now. Didn't smoke.

Fear... Fear of spending the rest of your life without our little fix...our minds are our worst enemies.... Over thinking.... Actually quitting is much easier than you thought it would be... This is where one day at a time comes in handy...no over thinking.....

That is sometimes the experience that quitting is not as bad as we thought and here is why - We have seen TV shows or PSA's where someone is trying to quit a serious drug like meth, crack, heroin or maybe alcohol etc. Of course the person going thru withdrawal is screaming, thrashing, rolling around, puking up demons from hell, being shot with tranquilizer darts, several cops trying to hold them down, and just this big theatrical hysterical scene. But THEN we hear that quitting nicotine is harder than any of the aforementioned drugs. So when we think of quitting, we may be expecting to go through something that makes the biblical version of hell look like a fairy tale (and no I am not talking about Ryan Seacrest's backside). We think taking a dump while doing a hand stand would be easier than quitting smoking. But then we embark on our "quit". Our sleep pattern gets messed up, we may get irritable, appetite changes, and just having those weird impulses like a nudge to the ribs saying "time to smoke" but we never do since we quit. We just feel a little weird for a few days or weeks. Doing the whole "flopping around screaming and hallucinating that the devil is going to sodomize us if we do not smoke" thing never happens. I THINK that image of withdrawing from nicotine probably comes from companies that make "quit" meds like gum, patches, etc... Yes, they are just as evil as the tobacco companies. Just do not give into the craves that hit on weird times and all will be fine. It really does get easier.