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@Arnolder Hey. I'm the same today. I've had days where I feel great and doing things all day. Then days like today where I just feel like sleeping all day. Our bodies are just trying to readjust to life without inhaling chemicals. Just have to push through and keep telling yourself better days are coming!

NOPE!!

NOPE!!

Why do I feel so lazy and sleepy all the time?

NOPE

Nope... Not today, not any day ever again!

I remember being hidden away in my house for the first 3 days of my quit just watching DVD's and mentally battling the constant cravings. The constant mental battles were exhausting so I also sletp a lot at odd times. Early days of quitting are quite the experience; not one I'd like to repeat. All you can do is take things one day at a time and roll with the punches ensuring your commitment to quit stays strong, despite the voice in your head screaming for a smoke. Keep it simple as well. There's only 1 rule ... don't smoke!

Nope for Tuesday

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

Hey, @Arnolder. Nicotine is a pretty powerful stimulant, so my early days were pretty sleepy/foggy without it. Also, quitting is hard work, systemically. A lot of recalibration is taking place during withdrawal… metabolic systems (including low blood sugar) can go a bit haywire before they settle down. Hang in there, give your body what it needs during this tough transition time… and keep the quit!

Sleeping a lot makes the quitting easier at least it did for me it's more hours during the day when you don't have to fight against the urge to smoke. Keep going your doing great.

This cruise was actually two back-to-back cruises on the same ship; Holland America Rotterdam. It's a newish ship, about 4 years old. Very nice ship. Not one of those 6-8,000 people monsters so not overly crowded. We had a lot of sea days on this one which was fine with us. Relaxing by the pool while shaking off the winter cold We stopped in The Bahamas, Curacao, Aruba, Caragena Columbia then did a partial transit of the Panama Canal. Also stopped in Colon Panama then over to a stop in Costa Rica where we went for a tour to a beach community up the coast called Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a heaven for back-packers and other "naturalists". Last stop was Grand Caymen before heading back to Fort Lauderdale. There was an interesting fruit/veggie market in Curacao. Venezulan men bring all sorts of fruit & veggies 37 miles across ocean waters in small boats to the Island of Curacao and set up a market to sell them. Bananas still on the banana plant tree limb.

NOPE!

Polly want a cigarette? Nope! Polly wants corn on the cob!!

Nope! for tue also.

NOPE for Tuesday

@Arnolder @JustQuit83 Yes just sleeep. Take a break from anything needed to stay quit and get that check mark for another day clean! There really is nothing more important than to keep your quit. Remember that sneaky addiction will make it tough on you to keep you under it's control. Just smile or maybe a little laugh and say NOPE. Then crush another day... Great job you 2. Stay Happy and Positive you're doing great. Cheer's and KTQ Stew.

Hi @Arnolder You will find a whole bunch of physical and mental feelings happening when you quit smoking. Your body is going through withdrawal and many changes are taking place. I remember having this weird feeling in my mouth for several weeks in addition to having a sense of doom and dread. Eventually all of these things that everyone goes through will go away. If you are able to take the time to sleep and just lay around, then do it. Whatever helps you. Also drink a lot of water to flush the toxins out of your body. Try and keep busy to help you keep your mind off of smoking. You are doing great, and remember one day at a time. Why don't you get one of those ticker banners so you can see all the days you have been quit plus the money you saved by not smoking.

NOPE!

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

Nice to be back but being away was pretty good too! Hald Moon Cay; Bahamas: Los Colorados Wildlife Sanctuary - in Cartagena Columbia; S.A. Old Town Cartagena; walled city; South America.

NOPE monday, NOPE tuesday, NOPE every day!

That's right ^^! Post here as often as you can and bare your soul. Tell us how & what you're feeling. We've all been there and we've all experienced everything you'll go through. It really does help to know ... you're NOT alone! Distraction is key in the early days. Play the games here. Get to know others who'll you'll be able to relate to because we're all quitters. Quitting is a journey you need to take to learn how to live again without smokes. Be patient, stay committed! You need to ratchet up you're commitment to stay quit to stay ahead of your addiction's desire to smoke again. You can win if you stay the course!

Nope!

The cruise sounds wonderful!! Was it a 3 week cruise? Yeah I don't like those mega ships either...way too crowded. Some of them are like small cities!!

Aww that cruise looked Amazin Could sure do with some of that , but I’m not the best sailor. Fabulous Piggy xx

Quitting smoking is one of those things where posting a lot seems to help. Feel free to post your feelings, experiences here. Post often - several times a day, cry, rant, babble, spew existential philosophy, whatever. We get it as we’ve all been through it and done the same. Oh, and stomp on toothpaste and eat junk!

NOPE

Gday Im ex navy. Taking a sea cruise would be like a bus driver taking a coach tour…..

Welcome back @Reciprocity What ship did you go on? Very nice pictures. Old Town Cartagena reminds me of Old San Juan when I was there. Cruises are great, so nice and relaxing. What other ports did you go to?

Glad to see you back Piggy

Wow! 8 Years already. How that decision changed your life for the better! I still remember that winter day your car wouldn't start and I had to give you a ride home Hope you & the Fam are doin' great!!

The two of you are doing really great!! Before you know it you will be a month quit and then 2, 3 and 4 and so on! The time just flies by because the longer you stay quit, the less urges you get and after a while you won't be thinking of smoking all day long. When I first quit, I would think of smoking all day long, every minute it was on my mind. Now at 9 months, maybe a couple times a day. I'm hoping by the time I get to a year quit, I won't think of it at all. So just hang in there and it will happen to you two as well!!

NOPE!

Congratulations "old timer" on the 8 year quit. Best wishes and hope all is well with you and your family.

NOPE!

I thought I heard a lot of hootin' an hollerin' going on in the celebration section and sure enough, it's EIGHT years for Boo!

NOPE!!

Happy birthday, Cat! NOPE!!

Nope... Never again!

Happy Birthday! N O P E !

NOPE… Not on my birthday

NOPE!

Aine Quit Date: 2-26-2014 Posted May 4, 2019 The Law of Addiction Most quitting literature suggests that it normally takes multiple failed quitting attempts before the user self-discovers the key to success. What they fail to tell you is the lesson eventually learned, or that it can be learned and mastered during the very first try. Successful recovery isn't about strength or weakness. It's about a mental disorder where by chance our dopamine pathway receptors have eight times greater attraction to a nicotine molecule than to the receptor's own neurotransmitter. We call it the "Law of Addiction" and it states: "Administration of a drug to an addict will cause re-establishment of chemical dependence upon the addictive substance." Roughly half of relapsing quitters report thinking that they thought they could get away with using just once. The benefit of fully accepting that we have a true chemical dependency and permanent priorities disorder can't be overstated. It greatly simplifies recovery's rules while helping protect against relapse. Key to arresting our illness is obedience to one simple concept, that "one is too many and a thousand never enough." There was always only one rule, no nicotine just one hour, challenge and day at a time. Navigating Withdrawal and Reclaiming Hijacked Dopamine Pathways Like clockwork, constantly falling nicotine reserves soon had hostage dopamine pathways generating wanting for more. Sensing that "want" thousands of times per year, how could we not expect to equate quitting to starving ourselves to death? Again, the essence of drug addiction is about dependency quickly burying all memory of our pre-dependency self. Thus, the first step in coming home and again meeting the real us is emptying the body of nicotine. It's amazingly fast too. Cut by half every two hours, our mind and body become 100% nicotine-free within 72 hours of ending all use. Extraction complete, peak withdrawal now behind you, true healing can begin. While receptor sensitivities are quickly restored, down-regulation of the number of receptors to levels seen in never-users may take up to 21 days. But within two to three weeks your now arrested dependency is no longer doing the talking. Quitting fears and dread are gradually thawing and melting into "like" or even "love." You're beginning to sense the truth about where you've been. It's critical during early withdrawal to not skip meals, especially breakfast. Attempting to do so will likely cause blood sugar levels to plummet, making recovery far more challenging than need be. Why? A stimulant, nicotine activates the body's fight or flight response, feeding the addict instant energy by pumping stored fats and sugars into the bloodstream. It allowed us to skip breakfast and/or lunch without experiencing low blood sugar symptoms such as feeling nervous or jittery, trembling, irritability, anxiousness, anger, confusion, difficulty thinking or an inability to concentrate. Minimize or avoid those symptoms. Eat little, healthy and often. If your diet and health permit, drink some form of natural fruit juice for the first three days. Cranberry juice is excellent. It will aid in stabilizing blood sugar while accelerating removal of the alkaloid nicotine from your bloodstream. Also, heavy caffeine users need to know that (as strange as this sounds), nicotine doubles the rate by which the liver eliminates caffeine from the bloodstream. One cup of coffee, tea or one cola may now feel like two. While most caffeine users can handle a doubling of intake, consider a modest reduction of up to one-half if feeling anxious, irritable or unable to sleep following caffeine use. One caution. While we need not give-up any activity except nicotine use, use extreme caution with early alcohol use as it is associated with roughly 50% of all relapses. The above is an excerpt from John Polito's article, "Nicotine Addiction 101". It explains the science behind why it is so darn difficult to quit nicotine and to stay quit. The full article is here: https://whyquit.com/whyquit/LinksAAddiction.html Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/12338-the-true-nature-of-nicotine-addiction/

babs609 Posted February 13, 2015 Quitting smoking is often referred to a roller coaster ride, and with good reason. While one minute you are feeling confident and strong that you finally "beat" that sucker. Thinking.."Yes! I'm doing it..I'm gonna make it"..only to be followed by feelings of doubt, fear, anger, frustration, sadness, lonliness..and these feelings can change within just moments. This is the part that would beat me down in prior attempts. I just was tired of the ups and downs. I think having the "ups" was actually a deterrent to my quit because it would set me up...when I would feel restless...it would piss me off because I thought I was done with all that. Please please please...keep in mind...these thoughts that just pop up out of nowhere are not YOU. Any thoughts that pop in our heads are not actually us. We aren't controlling them...we are just going about our business and them BAM! there's a thought. Now....you have a decision to make. If you are someone who normally runs with their thoughts...this could be trouble for you. You actually may believe these thoughts to be true without question. You give these thoughts power by believing they are true when in fact.....they are a complete lie all made up in your head. Being an ex-smoker in the early days or weeks of quitting without truly grasping the reality that your thoughts are not true...then you may be not only heading for relapse but are in danger of becoming a chronic relapser until you change your thought patterns. No matter what...don't believe you are a weak person. This kind of thinking re-enforces to your subconcious that other quitters are stronger and you are weaker and therefore....quitting is harder or even impossible for you. That's total BULL$HIT. That just gives the addiction more power. It's already powerful...more powerful than you. Otherwise..you would have quit long ago or maybe not even started. Although the addiction is stronger than you....it's not smarter. "Keep your friends close and your enemy's closer"....that saying couldn't be further from the truth when referring to the addiction. Learn all you can about the addiction. Don't just read....absorb it...live it...taste it....feel it...and most of all...believe it. Learn all the tricks it will try to play on you...learn what fellow quitters have done when faced with these challenges. Believe with your whole heart that you are no different than anyone else. You are not weaker than us...your addiction is not stronger than ours... Until you understand that...you will either struggle and continue this fight and give up quitting altogether until illness or death forces you to quit....OR..you will struggle and fight and relapse after relapse after relapse until you either finally absorb the teachings of fellow quitters...wasting months or years in the meantime and just making it harder for yourself than it really has to be. I wish this could be a post where a lightbulb goes off in your head and you say "aha! I got it!!! I finally got it" But that lightbulb moment is different for everyone and that's why I just ask everyone lurking and reading and contemplating quitting...to just keep coming back here...keep reading...keep reading...keep reading. Lots of posts and video's to help you "undo the brainwashing" that has been planted in your head from the years of being a smoker. It takes time......it takes patience..it takes re-enforcement... In short, it takes work...but it is sooooooo worth it. When you finally are ready...and you put down your final cigarette... Keep your arms and legs in at all times...put your buckle on...and enjoy the ride. You might as well because even though we enjoy when we feel good...it's the hard times that strengthens you. ONE DAY AT A TIME>>>ONE MOMENT AT A TIME Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/4460-the-roller-coaster-ride/