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Hi there newbies and lurkers! This is Lust4Life (aka L4L, Lust, Lusty, Lusty One ...) coming at you live from the SE USA. If you are reading this you are interested in quitting, have recently quit, or you're just hanging around. Or, you're an old pharte with a grand quit and just could not help but click on the catchy title. Quitting smoking sucked. It really did for me in the beginning. The physical part at least. Then mental part soon followed. Once upon a time I loved smoking. College and immediate post- College years, going out to clubs, for cocktails etc, Then, I hated smoking. I hated that I was a smoker. Some folks out there are on the opposite end. I know some folks loved smoking and everything about it. The ritual was comforting. Tap the pack down. Unwind the cellophane. Take the first. Flick the lighter. Inhale and quiet the scream of addiction. The ritual is comforting to the addict. Roll the sleeve up. Tighten the tourniquet. Tap the vein. Take the piercing injection. Plunge the syringe. Release the tourniquet and quiet the scream of addiction. One is legal. The other is not. One can result in instant death. They other settles in for the long haul before taking your life. Either way - you're dead because of addiction. June 2016 I thought I quit. I stopped having my cigs w coffee. I stopped having my cigs after work. I stopped having my cigs on the weekends. I stopped smoking. What did you do? July 4 2016 I went out and had that one innocent cigarette. You know the one. That one. That one cig after a quit that tastes like ass and makes you thankful you quit until you light up another one that doesn't taste quite like ass but maybe a chafed inner thigh. Yep. Yuck. Have you tasted that filth? Early Sept 2016 - We had a great family vacation. I was still smoking. I missed out. My mind focused more on planning the perfect time to leave for smoke breaks rather than the vacation. How much have you missed? Then it clicked. It HAS to CLICK in your BRAIN or it won't work. That CLICK must happen. It CLICKED. It clicked and I knew it was time. Cold turkey time. For me, do what works for you.. I knew it would suck. Straight up suck. It sucked. So hard. I became a grumpy bitch that ate too much. Then it stopped sucking so much. My thoughts resumed to regular scheduled programming, not smoking thoughts. The weight staring coming off. I celebrated my 2 year smobriety anny this week. I WANTED to quit. So, I did. Do you? --The End

Nope

NOPE!

Greetings NOPErs.... today is International Heart Day... a day to focus on heart health because we all want our tickers to be working well for many years to come. So there are a lot of things you can do improve your heart health from eating more fruit and veg, reducing salt and trans fats from your diet, regular exercise, even just a walk a day is good.. lots of things but one of the greatest gifts you can give your heart is to Quit smoking. So for 2018 World Heart Day has combined its theme with that of world no tobacco day... because Smoking Breaks Hearts... so if your lurking... World Heart Day would be a great day to quit... don't break your heart or anyone elses. NOPE .... cos never again will I breath in poison to hurt my heart.

NOPE

Nope because the will is greater than the challenge!

NOPE

Here is to the quit. Nope. Smoking is not an option.

Nope!

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just got home and now having a glass of pinot noir. Had a little birthday celebration brunch for my Mom today at her house.....it is her 85th! All she was worried about was if she would have enough chairs and where would people sit!! All was good....and we had a lot of laughs! PS She is quit 27 years as of this past July!!! She is one tough cookie!

NOPE!!!!

@pottanramu Clear out a junk drawer. Take a nap. Do a crossword puzzle. Head over to the games section and play a few—they really helped distract me in my early quit. Read some older, pinned posts on this site. They offer great motivation. Read up on addiction; what it does to the brain. If able, run around your house screaming expletives, waving clasped fists in the air ?. The angst will fade. It will eventually go away-as long as you don’t smoke. Please post SOS if you’re about to smoke. If you smoke, you’re back to the very beginning and that’s a crappy place to land.

NOPE!!

Is the party still on..? What helped me in my quit, so far: Reaching out here when having a hard time. It felt vulnerable at the same time too, cause I tend to have many thoughts like 'get over it already, don't put yourself out there, just buckle up'. But these were also the thoughts/insecureties that got me back at smoking in the past. So yeah, trying to get through all of that. And apparantly I am not the only one! And such wonderful people here. Also... distraction, power walks, qigong, reading everything there is to read about addiction and smoking in particular, forcing myself to see each day as a brick I use to build this quit. Venting, writing, screaming in my pillow, practicing silence and learning to listen to what I need. Day by day and if needed back to hour by hour. Bitterbal, anyone?

My quit sucked too as you know Lust so thank you for this great post. Proves that even us who have a harder quit succeed as long as we believe we can

Wow this is so true i had vaped for a while years ago and between all the juice flavors, coils, tanks, "drippers", batteries, and mods(the devices) i significantly Tleast quadrupled what i was spending on cigarettes and smoking well vaping almost constantly all dY everyday even in my house when i would never smoke a cigarette in my house.... That being said i was arguably more addicted to vaping and the lifestylr around it than i was smoking but ironically whent back to smoking as it was cheaper lmao! Vapinh started off cheaper but once i could handle bigger mods it was all about making the biggest cloud which obviously meant more juice needed to be bought and more expenaive devices some of which i paid 300$ for and had 5 or 6 totalvapes.... Lmao so sad. Also truly sad tbat everything is marketed as safe and towards younger children to get a whole new group of people hooked.... This time i chose to not take another puff no matter what and that includes vapes! So when someone asks me if i want to try there vape i just say no i dont smoke. They are usually deffensive that it is not me and i just explain to them that putti g anything in my lungs again will kickstart my addiction all over again! So whileit can be tempting with all the flashy packages and greatsmells i choose not tovape! Some people choose to vape and maybe its better for them than cigs and there not ready to quit fully more power too them but to me they are the same thing and i cannot takeeven 1 puff ! Great post thank you

NOPE - smoking sucks!

NOPE!!!!!!!!

#NOPE

Nope!

NOPE!

This right here is how I lost my way too...I didn't smoke, but I just didn't know where to turn because I was kind of embarrassed that I needed help. I've never in. my. life. had to ask for help. Please know the common goal here is to help people quit, stay quit, and learn to embrace and live quit. Never worry or wait. We are here to help! Party on MLMR!! ((I'm so glad you came!!))

Neh, no nicotine for me anymore. Why would I, after 5 weeks of abstinence?

Thank you @Lust4Life absolutely brilliant post.

Amen!!?

Hey all...just wanna stop in for a quick hello.... my life has been pretty hectic, some good, some bad, but in the end, I'm still smoke free and life goes on! As some of you may recall, our oldest daughter Kelli is (very) pregnant with grandchild #9, ..our first grandson! (After also having 4 daughters of our own) she was due Friday the 29th....on her last visit to the dr (on Wed) he said she isn't ready yet...1/2 cm dilated...no thinning, and the babies head is still "floating". (He still hasn't dropped). Kelli has a clotting issue, so the Dr. Wants to wait for nature to take its course before possibly inducing labor. He is afraid if they induce her and she isn't ready, a,c-section may then be nesassary, and he wants to avoid that....he told Kelli, he is expecting something to happen by next Thursday, or he will have to consider inducing her....sooo... The little guy may be holding out for a few more days, but by this time next week, I'm pretty certain I will have some help,around here battling all this estrogen .. I have poked my nose in a few times and see everyone seems to be doing well, and we are still getting quite a few newbies that seem to have a good handle on this quitting thing....good job everyone!

2 years ago today I smoked my last cigarette, and a lot of my success was because of trolling forums and sites like this one. 730 days 3/4 pack per day average (probably a little high, many days were less, some were more.) 10,950 cigarettes 547.5 packs ($8 each) $4380 not spent Do I miss it? Sometimes. Less and less as time proceeds. However, the fact that I know the date and time and where I was should tell you something. Glad I quit? Yes. Was it hard? No. Not this time. Once I understood that nicotine is a chemical that lies to you while making your brain think that cigarettes are your friend and that you need it and deserve it and that is it good for you, it's easy to walk away from your enemy. That knowledge provides the strength to defeat the chemical dependency and that the cravings for the nicotine are the vehicle that the tobacco companies depend upon to take your money out of your wallet. A couple of tough days, sometimes an hour or a minute at a time, and you become free. ("OK, I won't smoke today" is the trick I told my brain). The key is not to ever give in and re-introduce the nicotine back into the body, because the brain recognizes it and instantly, you are a smoker again, even if it's only one drag! That's why cutting down slowly, gum, patches, vaping, e-cigs, pipes, cigars and nicotine-replacement therapy do not work. The goal is NO NICOTINE EVER AGAIN. Have I ever been tempted in these two years? Nope, not even close, because I understand what happens. I'm done. I win. Do I feel better? Not really. Blood pressure is still the same. Gained about 15 pounds. Am I going back? Never.

Your Mom sounds very similar to mine, in terms of the things she worries about I just got home from my Mother's place today. She will be turning 98 next month and still lives on her own in a 3 story house. She has been OK up to this point but is starting to have some issues here and there. It's amazing that some of our parents are doing pretty well at pretty advanced ages My mother still lives like it's the Great Depression. She grew up then and some of the things she does now are pretty telling about those times. She will wrap up all left overs from a meal - no matter how few. Nothing gets thrown out - NOTHING! Her compose bin is still brand new after 15 years - never seen a scrap of food - lol! Glad you had a good time celebrating with your Mom!

Congratulations, Sonic, on your FOUR years of Freedom. You spirit has encouraged so many of us. Thank you, baby. Possibly the most important thread that our, somewhat salacious, Sonic, started is 'Babe of The Day' (located below stairs, wrapped in brown paper) I firmly believe this thread has provided much needed distraction from smoking and kept certain purient or merely curious individuals close to the board, close to their quit. Thank you, Sonic, for your ummmm.....service. He has also been great support to lots of quitters through the years. I am one of those quitters. Your laughter and kindness has meant a lot to me, Sonic, and it is always a good time when you show up. Have a raucous celebration, baby, I am so happy you quit smoking and shared your journey with us.

Vaping is nuts! You can adjust the level of nicotine from what I understand and those huge clouds of "vapor" or whatever it is that they expel just looks ridiculous. As others have mentioned, it just seems people who vape take that thing in hand with them all the time! It's crazy. Like a security blanket or something - no thanks!

Yup, i agree. Juju is one a lot are trying now. One person was telling me that they quit smoking ciggs and later picked up vaping, the said vaping is tougher to quit than ciggs .. Good read from carr https://www.allencarr.com/usa/news-and-media/is-vaping-harder-to-quit-than-cigarettes/

@Lust4Life, Thank you for this post. It is really great. I love how you embraced the suck. That is what got me through too, I knew it might be gnarly. It was. Nothing to do but power through and come out on the other side. Thanks for quitting Lusty one and for all your posts. They certainly resonate with me and I know many, many others.

Great idea.. Come - on newbies...get together ...you are all in this fabulous club of quitters,...that's something to dance about ...

With one more Lido Deck celebration for September still to come its time to start preping for October which is shaping up to be another huge month of celebrations. We are set to celebrate a few first monthers which are huge cos that first month is the hardest as we all know then its just a case of onwards and upwards. That said the Lido (and possibly the Tardis) will be hosting 11 celebratory events. So the chicks have been super helpful providing the cleaning crews this month which i am sure Reci appreciates. October 2018 Lido/Tardis Calendar: 3rd ... 3rd year 6th ... FIRST YEAR 7th ... FIRST YEAR 14th ... 6th year 17th ... 5th year 17th ... 2nd year 21st ... 4th year 23rd ... 5th year 23rd ... 5th year 24th ... 5th year 25th ... FIRST YEAR 31st ... 2nd year October, another big month of success. Hope to add to this list for 2019 as October seems to be a successful month to quit so maybe any of your out there thinking of joining us October could be the month for you.

#NOPE on the last day of the month

Nice job MB! Keep moving forward and stay close to this place because things will start to get "old" in your circle of family and friends. It's sometimes referred to as "no man's land". Everyone expects you to be over it by now but you know you are not there yet. The daily challenges will start to lessen but you are now in for the long game. The long game is rewiring your brain to operate normally again without relying on smoking every hour or so. Non-smokers don;t get that part but, we DO! Stay closer than ever through the next few months because you will need the knowledge and support that this place can offer you.

The first time I learned of vaping about six years ago, I was at a night club. Some tall, uppity looking woman was there with what looked like a cigarette and I asked if we were allowed to smoke in here (very few places allow it). Anyways she explains it is an electronic cigarette, and it is just harmless water vapor coming out. So I wondered what the hell is the point of "smoking" water vapor? I do that every time i take an extra hot shower and the bathroom steams up. I didn't ask but it just sounded stupid. I started to see vaping people out in public. Something about the way they did it and carried themselves screamed one thing - DOUCHE BAG. Like walking around all proud of their electronic cigarette like they were somehow sticking it to the man. At least cigarette smokers typically try to hide their habit. Vape people put their habit on display. I asked someone about vaping and they explained you had to buy a bunch of stuff to get started. That and it really wasn't much cheaper than smoking REAL cigarettes. People say they quit smoking but they started vape. That is not quitting, it is making a lateral move. It is like when a drunk quits drinking only to start downing bottle of cold medicine. Lateral move. And that vape exhaust? The huge obnoxious cloud smells like someone puked after eating an entire bag of Halloween candy. Vape companies are fighting tooth and nail to say it is not harmful or at least less so than cigarettes. Kind of like Camel said more doctors smoke camel. Cardiologists, lungologists, and even anusologists agreed. I think the MOST healthy and most cost-effective is to not use ANY form of nicotine. BTW, yesterday i had to go see a "cut the mole off the back of my legologist and her assistant smelled like a cigarette. I wanted to blurt out, "It smells like cigarettes" but no, if someone is chopping flesh off your thigh, it is best to be nice.

I have alot of kids...I do alot of screaming. That little girls pretty face should be in your mind 24/7. If you do this right, she will never remember that you smoked. And, when she's old enough to make the decision to smoke or not, she will have a dad that can help teach her Nope. Maybe if people like you and me work together, we can raise these kids to never put death in their mouths.

Great post Lust!

Wonderful post and so true!!

No no no no no and NO. While I respect your method of quitting, pottanramu, recommending nicotine to someone who has stopped administering nicotine is horrible and dangerous advice. It only awakens the addiction. This happens no matter how you administer nicotine, smoking, gum, patches etc... Here, we are dealing not only with smoking but with nicotine addiction and I encourage you to learn all you can about nicotine addiction because knowledge is power and is an essential component of a successful quit. I hope you understand my fervor and passion.

Meathead...he ain't the sharpest knife in the drawer. And he has a bad habit of going missing for prolonged periods of time. However, four-years is a solid achievement. And, as Saz mentioned earlier, he did create the greatest thread on the interwebs with "Babe of the Day." Good job Meathead. Enjoy this video featuring some classic Van Halen and a bunch of hot chicks...

That needs to go straight to the Babe of the day thread @c9jane29 lol

^^^ I'm the busty one

Good job. (insert random Australian meme here)

Welcome Baseball Coach and congrats on your quit!! I'm all about an educated quit and it sounds like you have one! KTQ

I think I saw the new woohooer's practicing earlier!!