mtbjay

Nope for me. I'll join you.

Deep breaths, practice doing the moonwalk. don't stop 'till you either can do it, or aren't craving anymore. lol!

Very clever. I like how you write these down. That is very smart, both for you and for others that are struggling. This is very good stuff. I'd say you have this quit. Your head is in the right place.

Good. Serves them right. A&&holes.

Sorry I haven't posted on this thread. I've been posting on others. Day three is almost over and I feel great! Still moving along, thinking about how great it is to not have headaches from smoke anymore. Good stuff!

Yep. It really is true. Before i knew it, i blew through an entire pack that day, even though it made me feel ill. I kept right on going, almost like i couldn't control myself. I would look down, and there it was, another lit cig in my hand. This time around, i actually don't miss smoking at all. I can best liken it to being asleep, and someone dosed you with an addictive substance without you knowing. You wake up, and have withdrawals for it, yet you have no desire to take the drug, since you have never willingly taken it before. You just want your life back, so you buck up and make it through the detox. It is the strangest thing in the world. I have never had a quit like this. Every other time, I longed for the intimate moment of firing up a smoke. This time around, it is disgusting to me. Even though i have cravings, i have no desire to "service" that addiction, i just want it gone. On the other hand... You are correct. It is a lifestyle. I remember reading an article online written by someone who had quit for six months. He described, in a colorful and comical way, his first few weeks dealing with this. Basically, he recalls walking, in the middle of a blizzard to the local store, at 3 am for a pack of smokes, cause he was out and woke up in the middle of the night wanting one. He said, "What am I doing? I wouldn't do this if I was starving! Have I gone mad?" I couldn't help but laugh, because its true. I have done similar things. I started smoking when I was ten years old. I would sneak out of my house at 3 or 4 am cause I couldn't make it till the morning when my folks would go to work, or I would head to school. I would steal from my parents, all that jazz. I think we really learn a lot about ourselves on a deep level when we quit smoking. I think you really learn what you are made of. You either keep trying until you make it, or you risk life and limb, literally, to cower away and hide, all the while puffing on those things like they are actually necessary.

Well done!

I have read that a lot, that nic patches are slow torture, but every time i tried just stopping cold turkey, i couldn't handle it. I made a huge mistake on one of my quits, i made it two weeks with the patches. (I use one step a week, three weeks total, I understand that nicotine takes about three days to be gone, so i figure more than three to five days on a patch is overkill, your already adjusted to the lower levels...), Anyway, back to that last quit i was talking about... I made it two weeks, actually two and a half. By that time, on step three of the patches, the withdrawals were SO easy at that point. It was a walk in the park. I made a fatal mistake and had just one smoke to say "goodbye", cause i knew it was over, i had this quit in the bag. Stupid, stupid, stupid. In no time flat, i lost that quit. Not this time though.....

MarylandQuitter makes a VERY Excellent and very important point. That right there can lead to the junkie side of an addicts persona taking the wheel and slamming on the gas. Lets all be honest, how many of us have thought, "Hell, this isn't bad at all! In fact, this is SO easy, that i can probably go pick up a pack of smokes, and just quit again tomorrow." Its those "15" days that keep us in check. You survive those, and then enjoy the 2-3 or 1-2 days, while remembering that if you quit quitting, those 15's will ALWAYS BE THERE waiting for you. Yet if you stay quit, eventually, those 15 days never come around anymore. They get tired of playing a game they cannot win with someone who is determined to never put all of those toxic chemicals into their bodies ever again. Im really glad to see that you survived! Nicely done!

N.O.P.E!

NOPE.

Fantastic. Very well done! Funny story about the protective case!

Sweet deal! Keep it going!

Hey Marti, just because this quit seems easier doesn't mean that I dont need quittrain, or that I'm leaving quittrain! I think it's because of you guys that this is easier. I have accountability now....

I may be late to the SOS here, but let me ask you a question. If you were smoking, your dog would still have run off, and you would have had to chase it, with a chest full of TAR!. Gasping for air, and I guarantee that you would have thought at that moment, "Man, i gotta quit smoking!" I have had to stop and ask myself questions like this a few times. I have four kids, aged 1, 3, 5 and 10. I write software for a living, and have a VERY stressful life. I learned to ask myself, "Would this have happened if i was smoking? Would this deadline still have been handed down from my bosses at work? Would my wife still have ruined my shirt in the wash? Would my kids still have smashed my cell phone because they were fighting over it to play a stupid game?" Yep. YES. YES AND YES. Would smoking a cigarette have helped? Nope. Not at all. Sure, i hated the game developer that made that stupid a** game that my kids wanted to play, which resulted in my phone being broken. Sure, I wanted to punch the ceo of my company for backing an unrealistic deadline for an entire new customer facing site design. Sure, I wish i didnt have to buy another shirt because someone forgot to take out chapstick from their pockets and it ruined my stuff in the washer. Smoking or no, this stuff still happens. At least your not risking your life, lungs, well being, and frankly, pissing money away on something that is useless. Also, at least you were actually able to catch that dog..... Leave the past in the past. You are NOT a smoker, remember??? Nicotine is a stimulant. It does nothing to calm you down. I have found that doing something to take your mind off of your problems for a moment or two helps. It just so happens that us addicts used the result of taking a mental break, and gave smoking the credit. Go outside and take deep breaths. But don't you dare put a carcinogen loaded cancer causing agent in your mouth. One more thing, do you realize how much from cigarettes goes to your government in taxes? Don't you pay enough taxes? I know I do.

Half way thru day two. Not sure why, but this time it's been very easy thus far. Maybe it's because I truly am sick of smoking and dipping, maybe it's because I have support! Quit train is the place to be! Oh, and Jay is fine. The mtb is short for mountain biking. Cheers all!

Double post. Sorry.

Whew. That was easy. Granted, im "cheating" and using patches, (I never was able to quit cold turkey.) Here's to hoping this quit stays this easy. My last three were horrid. One day at a time, right?

NOPE!

Hey everyone! This is it. My last smoke. Right now. I honestly can't wait to be able to breathe and be free from the constant headaches!

Fantastic! Think of everything you miss on the train ride while you sit alone with your carton of life-suckers. Well said.

Welcome! You got this. Kill the addiction and get your life back.

Thanks everyone! One more day till quit day. Getting nervous and excited.

52 years? Wow! That's a great accomplishment to quit after smoking that long!

Thanks a million everyone. I read Alan Carr's book as well, and that helped bring things into focus. I got really mad when my last quit failed. Then I was watching those shows and thought, "well, your not on the streets feeding a heroin addiction, but it's the same. They feel better after a hit and live for the next fix. So do I. If I'm willing to do almost anything for a smoke, then what's the difference?" And yeah, your doc was right. We just chose nicotine instead of adulterated street drugs.