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Woohoo, six years quit today!!! I couldn't have done it without all the support I received, especially my first year quit. I've been fortunate to be able to be here to pay it forward and have made great friendships with people all over the world and for that I feel so grateful

WooHoo @jillar! Congratulations on your quit! And thank you for sticking around and being here to help me along when I needed it. Actually you still help me along sometimes. I do hope that you enjoy your day today and that you have done something very nice for yourself also!

Awesome Jillar!! Thank you for your support it truly makes a difference

CONGRATULATIONS Jillar!! And thank you for all you do for this community. I love reading about these longterm freedoms. Well done.

Well done on six years smoke free @jillar. I’m so pleased for you, and so very grateful for all of the ways that you’ve helped me - and countless other newcomers - find our way to freedom. "Hoppy" anniversary and congrats on your Super Quit!

Nope

I am looking for a quit sming forum , I used one years ago for a quit that didn't work...I caved...this time is for real and I just need a little help maybe Patti

Patti ...do you want to end up in the hospital again and being so embarrassed that you you had to say you smoked! Do you want to go thruvwhat your own husband went thru with the cancer in his throat...smarten up its been almost 2 weeks , you have done the worst days. .there will be more , but you can do it...please please think of how happy you will be not hacking and being able to sleep without hacking.

Congratulations Jillar, this is truly an awesome quit. Keep it up.

Congratulations on 6 years smoke free, Jill. Thanks for all that you have done to continue to pay it forward and help others in their quits. I hope you celebrate big today.

My patches have just arrived so I'm going to have a shower now and put one on! Yesterday I bought some disposable vape sticks and I was about to throw them in the bin when I recalled that my dog had left a package on the lawn earlier. It was most fitting, and very satisfying, to bag them and bin them together! Good riddance to it! Thank you @MarylandQuitter I just read your message as I was writing this. I'll be sure to watch a fair few of those videos in the weeks/months ahead!

Nope! (Re-pledging!)

Morning! Nope!

NOPE

Welcome @Patti! We are here to assist! Please take advantage and read the material and watch the videos offered on this forum. There are also so many personal stories to read on this site and you are guaranteed to find a lot of help in them. Posting your own quit experiences will help yourself as well as others. Regardless of how interactive you are on here, you will find help when needed. Just remember to reach out. Someone is almost always on here. I’m looking forward to following your quit!

Welcome @Patti Congratulations on over a week smoke free. These first days are the toughest but it does get easier and life as a non-smoker is worth any early struggles you may have. As Jillar posted, there is a lot of education and support you can get here. You are doing a great thing in quitting.

Hi @Patti, welcome aboard and congrats on almost two weeks quit already You'll find tons of support here with us as well as a library full of posts about our addiction to nicotine be it through reading or watching videos or a combination of both so be sure to check out all our forums. We even have a Social section of forums for when you want to get your mind off the constant thoughts of smoking but still be close to your support. You've joined a great year of 2022 quitters so between all you guys and the rest of us we'll help insure you get your forever quit

Congratulations!!! I'm so happy for you, well done! I know we've only talked for a couple of days, but thank you so much for your support so far! You're doing a great job helping others find their way through that damned smoke in and around their heads. Seems like May 29 is a lucky day

So, Shymaid, I know you either really REALLY want one, or you have become too relaxed on the quitting. You might think 'It is just one', but that leads to another and another and another. I know you have problems seeing a bright future now, but no amounts of cigarettes will make that any brighter. On the contrary, it will only make the future bleaker and darker. You hate being a smoker, you start hating and despising yourself for being one, and using that as an excuse to continue instead of doing something about it isn't an option; not anymore! The withdrawal might seem endless, but it isn't. It doesn't really last that long, and when you think it does, it's only in your head. You can do this! Just feel how your body feels now compared when it was drenched in nicotine! Stay the course!

Welcome aboard and congrats on your decision to get rid of the nicotine and deal with the addiction! First, please believe me when I tell you that you can quit smoking. There are more ex-smokers than there are smokers (yes, vaping is smoking - likely worse) and you will be an ex-smoker the INSTANT you take your LAST PUFF. Period. You seem to do a lot of planning and think you need more planning to accomplish this. What you need more than anything is to: Make a pledge right now that you will never, ever take another puff. Make a promise to yourself that you're done. You deserve to be a non-smoker and you WILL become one the instant you stop vaping nicotine. Treat nicotine as a drug addiction and learn about how it affects your body and brain. Watch the many, high-quality documentaries we have. Watching them provides perspective. Focus on The Health Benefits Timeline. Keep this timeline handy on your phone at all times and look at it even when you don't desire to smoke. Pre-respond to your own S.O.S. If you feel like smoking, read it!

@Shymaid I can appreciate that! In the past, I'd always found camping to be my solace (from drinking as much as from smoking)--yet going back to the real world was too much! Like you, I was at peace whilst away, yet the closer it came to returning home, the more I'd fantasize about sitting in my drinking chair with a good box set or film to watch (Game of Thrones was especially bad for it!), a few bottles of beer in the fridge and some strong eliquid in my tank! By the time I got home, I'd be frothing at the mouth for it! I actually managed to finally quit drinking in-reverse... By activley tackling my worst fears, rather than sheltering from them. I do find making a little base camp in the real world (enjoying a nice cuppa, savouring every mouthful) a good place to start. It's something that's readily available and turns nicotines strongest advantage against it--fearing having a nice cup of tea or coffee without a smoke/vape is one of the hardest things to endure. And yet, once you get used to enjoying a drink without a smoke/vape, it's something you can constantly use to say to your addiction: "I'm the one in control here!" I think the mistake I made, this time around, was thinking that was all I had to do! I was completely engulfed when the physical symptoms struck home, I wasn't prepared for such a battle for survival! Like yourself, I find music calming too. I think it's important to live life, instead of shutting yourself away from it. When I quit drinking, I made an effort to enjoy food, film, books, culture, everything and anything I could get my hands/mouth on that would prove to me that life without drink/vape was far better. I used to enjoy new boxsets and watch different sorts of films, read new books, simply to reprogram my addictive triggers. I forgot about that, though, this time around! I wasn't ready for it: I won't make that mistake again!

NOPE

We all have to find our own way through this addiction, and I know you are strong enough to make it through! I had a week off cigarettes while at a cabin in October, and found that it was all in my head. The physical craving was manageable, but my thoughts kept circling over smoking worse than some scavenger bird! And before I'd left the cabin I'd decided to start smoking again when reaching civilization... So this time I've focused on my head, purging the excuses, rationalizations, etc. One thing I've found helpful is hypnosis music, with subliminals (all listed so you know what you get), from the channel Minds in Unison. I've tried several of his tunes, and it's helped me get my head straight. One on forgiving yourself was essential on the day I quit, easing the fear of a smoke-free life. So try it out if you want!

Thanks all! I must say I'm quite taken aback by the level of support already offered to me on this forum! I thought I'd be able to quit cold turkey... Around 2 and a half years ago, I quit drinking and vaping cold turkey and managed to get through 27 days of it before I buckled! (I went back to vaping, but haven't touched a drop of alcohol since). I wasn't expecting it to be this tough! Anyway, I've checked and my patches are due to be delivered later on... It's on! I realize I'm going to have to go through it again, but hope that in breaking the habitual side first it will make it a little easier. Like you @DenaliBlues I'll probably accelerate things once I get to that stage, but I also want to make sure I'm in the right frame of mind to quit too! I am done with vaping, at least there is that! (My experiences last week just underlined how addicted I am to it and I no longer want that in my life anymore!) Thank you again to everyone for their supportive and kind comments. I'll definitley get to know the forums and come back often to help get me through and beyond the withdrawal!

Nope!!!

Welcome, Patchy! Just got on the QuitTrain myself, though I'm going Cold Turkey myself. Been working toward this point over the past couple of years, and at this point I've realized the problem is mostly in my mind. I CAN handle the physical withdrawal, it's not really that uncomfortable; unless my mind blows them out of proportion as it has in the past. So getting that under control is the most important aspect for me. I can't advice you on patches, but I can have your back through this journey as much as I can. You can do this!

N O P E !

NOPE…

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

NOPE!

Congratulations @Wayne045, on six years quit! Here's to many more!

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required)

Congrats!!!!

Thank you, @DenaliBlues and @Gus! There were several triggers at play at once, I suspect; the main two being 1) Lost in my own thoughts, and then I tend to go on autopilot 2) The availability of cigarettes in the house I will have to hold myself in better check from now on! I really don't want to smoke anymore, and that is one reason to more or less just jump into it as fast as I did. Didn't have the patience to wait a few days to read a bit more or anything, just jumped. Not giving up! I did so well, so overall that is more encouraging than not. I can manage this without taking off for the wilderness which then just postpones the hard part - getting back to civilization and facing the truth of the quit.

I’m sorry that this happened to you @Shymaid. It’s great that you’ve hopped right back on the train though. Next time post an SOS and get some help riding out the crave. There is almost always someone on here and I don’t think there is anyone here that wouldn’t want to help someone else through a crave or with any problem you might be having really. Fighting the Nicodemon is all out warfare. You need to have an arsenal and you need to be prepared to use it. Try and do anything that keeps you from lighting up. Also, such easy accessibility to smoking materials while trying to quit is never, ever a good idea. But all in all, I am thankful that you decided to get right back on the train.

Sorry to hear that you smoked, @Shymaid. It's happened to all of us one way or another before our forever quits finally stuck. This addiction is wily and persistent and it wants to survive. Good for you for your immediate recommitment. You're doing the right things to talk about it here, re-immerse yourself in the literature, pledge NOPE (as often as needed!), and post yourself a reminder in the SOS column. Come up with a list of 100 things to do instead of smoking and use it when the urges surge. Also, notice what was or was not going on in your head or your heart right before you picked up... Was it a physical craving? Was it a strong emotion? A rationalization? Whatever it was, double your guard on that "door" to keep the nicotine demons out. Keep marching forward... you can do this!

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required)

Yeah, caffeine isn't the best substitute later in the day! The withdrawal pangs aren't really that bad with nicotine, which is why it can be such a fight with the addiction. It's not like we get seriously ill without it, so if we falter it's so easy to start beating ourselves up for being "weak". And so end up in a bad circle where we end up still getting our nicotine fix one way or the other. Having a plan should make it easier, or at least better mentally prepared. You'll find the way that works best for you!

You are doing an excellent job of maintaining and chronicling your quit @intoxicated yoda! You sure have helped me along my journey. Thank you!

I actually had that the other night! I thought I remembered my tea ritual from last time and thought it would be a good idea to swap the buzz of nicotine for one of caffeine, I think that's why I was up all night with an upset tummy! (The last thing I needed during a cold turkey attempt! ) I managed on decaf, last time (when I quit drinking): it's not so much about the buzz but the taste. The further you get away from nicotine, the nicer things taste! I think the important thing to remember is that it is mainly psychological. We don't wake after a long sleep in the state we're in during a craving meltdown do we? Even if we normally light up/vape first thing, it's still pretty easy to make ourselves a drink or take a shower beforehand. It's only when we let it get to us that it becomes a downward spiral to hell. Likewise, I can easily go hours without vaping when I'm with my girlfriend and it doesn't bother me. Yet, as soon as she's gone, I'm left diving for my vape mod! I think I'm much of the way there, already (I truly don't want to vape anymore, I honestly wouldn't miss it, I know how to retrain myself and start to gradually tackle--rather than run away from--my triggers). I just need some respite--hence the patches. I want to be off vaping now, and formulate a plan of attack--rather than simply thinking I'll be able to get through it. I'm going to bury myself in photography and start going for longer walks daily--taking photos whilst I'm out. I'm also going to start a daily routine (stretching, showering, patch-on, then out for my walk, a nice, simple breakfast and a pot of good tea when I return) to get the day off to a positive start. I do think I need to plan it all better, though (which is where the book and patches will come in). I'm just grateful to be able to end vaping so easily, and start to break the habitual addiction whilst I plan for the mental challenges ahead. (Including only consuiming decaf, after midday!)

Indeed! I'm in my third hour or so with constant addict talk in my head, on why I should take one - 'it's just one to alleviate the cravings; then you can get straight back onto that train! It's ok!' It's one thing when you CAN'T because there's no tobacco to be had. Quite another when you have to make the CHOICE not to smoke. At times I've wished I could be put into an induced coma for a few days to a week until my body was over the worst cravings. But I'd just start up again, probably, as I wouldn't be prepared for the addict brain. I find myself remembering what that first week was like at the cabin, taking solace that it wasn't that hard to go through AND I was in a very bad place mentally with some stuff that had happened right before (hence the trip, lol). Not sure why I feared coffee so much this time, as I had morning coffee everyday then! Perhaps it was more a fear that I would start binging coffee to get that buzz and having a complete caffeine overdose I've found the music on that channel very helpful as it literally rewrites your brain while you listen to it. Sometimes you need to hear it several times, others might need a few minutes or through one night. At this point I'm less in need of that song, and enjoying silence once again. I'll be taking a looooooong walk very soon, but will back-up with that music just in case. And right now I truly do find solace in 55 non-smoked cigarettes! Every day life has to be changed, even if it stays the same just without cigarettes. And that takes time!

@jillar Congratulations on 6 years quit!! Thank you for all the support you give here!!

NOPE

Congratulations Wayne, awesome quit.

Congratulations on 6 years smoke free, Wayne. Fantastic job!

That's awesome @feeling_patchy If you want even more inspiration consider making yourself a ticker for your signature. You can watch all the time, money saved and cigarettes NOT smoked add up. I used to love coming on first thing in the morning to see my ticker my whole first year

Yep, just where they belong! 3 hours now, feeling good. The main thing is that I'm having cravings--especially after dinner--but they're so easy to handle, compared to a few days ago. I know coming off the patches will still be hard work, but at least I won't be battling the habitual aspect so strongly. And I'm already starting to breath better and feel more relaxed. Going to have a nice, tasty pot of Rooibos now

Glad you're right back after your relapse. I thought your ticker was acting up until I read this. Hopefully next time, if there is one, you'll try using our SOS forum. It really has helped a lot of us

Oh, I know how you feel! I've already had a few dances with the Sugar Fairy... For the most part kicked her butt, but I certainly don't want that to flair up at this point! I have a sharp line between added and not added sugar; I'm not cutting out all fruit just because they have their natural sugar in them, and all that. Good luck doing the rounds with her! And remember, she's not really fair at all! When the NicoMonster is under control, I'm cutting way back on coffee. No plan on cutting it 100% right now, after all, you don't have to cut everything at once I've been taking some extra yoga and walking the long way to the shops to alleviate the cravings so far. As said, anger flaring up was the most difficult hours!

Howdy, Patchy. Welcome to the Train! So glad to hear that you are ready to quit. You've come to the right place for good company, perspectives, and encouragement. We all know what it's like, so we'll have your back through the ups and downs. I quit in early February using the patch. The combo of patches and occasional lozenges helped me navigate the first phase of breaking free from 40+ years of smoking. I had some wackadoodle dreams and skin issues on the full strength patches, but they really helped with the cravings. Once I had my feet under me, I ultimately chose to accelerate my taper through lower dosage patches - to clear the nicotine out of my system faster and get through the withdrawal once and for all. It got easier over time, and I am gratefully nicotine free today. You can do this, @feeling_patchy!