Still winning

Did you notice how annoyed youwere to have a cough? It always made me chuckle, as smokers the cough was often and constant...once you quit, first cough cold thing and the cough really drives you mad :) We have that cough cold here, nasty one. Thing is you are so right. While the rest of us are a bit whiny and drugged up (tixylix and sudafed lol) the mother's has converted to a COPD flare up...difference between smoke free and smoker of only 5 a day now..... glaringly obvious! You are doing so great!! Berocca is pricey but great as a morning tonic alongside whatever you are taking. Don't forget paracetamol if you get a temp, you can take that with most cold meds. Also a cheats chicken noodle soup is two knorr chicken stock cubes in a 1/2 saucepan of water. Precook a chicken breast or piece. Sharwoods medium or fine egg noodles and add your cubed pre cooked bit of chicken and bobs ya uncle! feel better soon. x

haha, I used to go to a baptist church, they loved a tambourine there!! Vicar played a sax! That freaked a lot of the oap crew right out :)

Awesome work on day 40!!! You are doing amazing Laura, great job :) I think it's the time of year Laura, we're struggling here too, at least it's not freezing or pouring but this weather doesn't do a lot to life your mood nor do the dark months. What about getting some berocca? What about the gratitude thing in the morning to try and shake it off, you could try that. When you wake think of 3 things you are grateful of before you get up and then smile. Apparently it puts you in a better frame of mind for the day. I always forget lol.

nope

Agree with all of the above. Sometimes when we're swimming along with our quit we forget how powerful those triggers are! We know them well week 1 and week 2, day in day out sometimes but I truly believe later a trigger is a bit more of a surprise! This is because the triggers are less frequent, so we're not really watching out for them. For some reason you think you're dumb that when triggered you followed an impulse and then snatched yourself back from it thinking "ah hell no, not again". You absolutely won over that trigger, so yes rockstar :) I will say it until everyone hears it, the tough bits like that, where you wonder can you hold on...then do...are the absolutely biggest wins in the quit. It's you literally smacking down the triggers and with each one of those hurdles jumped, it gets easier. You just passed the friend re-started trigger, but there will have been working in the garden trigger, holiday trigger, massive arguement trigger etc etc. All of these slightly more different and unusual triggers faced actually reinforce your quit, if you don't smoke! We all get them Gabby so please don't worry it's something about you. xx. Are you financially able to treat yourself to something nice, last time I faced down a tough trigger I bought a rug for the lounge so I could look at it and "see" i was winning, it helped and it could with you too. I think sometimes we assume we won't be addicts forever, but we will. What changes is not that we could smoke...but that we choose not too because that life is better! With each trigger point we pass the process becomes easier. Some go into easy peasy, some have to trudge a little more, probably a personality thing although I honestly don't know...still, end game is the same... So you know I want to say sometimes, I look at a cig and think "could I?", still. The difference now is it doesn't pain me to say no, I won't. Only 3 months ahead of you Gabby, better times are coming and protect your quit, no smokers around may help. That line from Markus always stuck with me, it's not the strong person who quits, it's the vigilant person! Loves beauty. x

great work on 7 months DF!! Lol at forgetting :) Now time to remember to treat yourself!! x

brilliant work jac!! well done. xx

great stuff rob!! x

Wish I never had of started!! Wish someone could have talked me out of feeling invincible for years and years.... Savvy post and realisation Jackie. There have always been points in every smokers life where they wanted to pull of the quit. My only different point is we created a ton of timeline related excuses why we couldn't. x

Hey my friend. It can be a bit disconcerting can't it but please rest assured this is all in the "normal reaction time" camp. How long, well it really is different for everyone and that's the truth of it so it's pretty hard to say. For me on month 4 I started to level out, before that I had good days and bad days and I did still...but more became good at that point. I had a wobble month later but that was situational (stress related). So as you asked, that's mine...but truly the next person will say week 3, or month 8 so it's tough. Maybe start blogging or tracking your journey so you can start to see your own progress...that really helped me. You are doing amazing though!! This can be a tough time in the journey. The quit has somehow lost it's sparkle and trudging gets old and it's just meh! Now is the perfect time to line up some treats for yourself! Start writing down things to spend your quit money on, big and small. Buy tissues every week, it will pass, good and bad, it always passes and so do the tears. Every moment you go through is your body fighting out the crap, embrace that...feeling emotional...boom, another chemical must be leaving my body, good riddance!! Virtual hugs too, it can be un nerving but you gave yourself the best gift ever here and you need to trust that. Give the time some time ey. x

Happy birthday beautiful pippa. Hope the day is as amazing as you. xx

Aw Jimmy, you are fabuloso, we all say dumb stuff sometimes. Hope it's all calmed down for you and that your bro get's his stuff sorted. x

Rob you've made it past actually (sorry a day late) the 1 month mark!! With the move around too!! Really pleased for you and your quit that it' so solid and strong :) Massive congrats on 1 month free!!

nope

haha, I will pass this advert onto Chris!! I think it'll be ok as well. I mean we all know it's not a classic in the making :) Good on you for going.

Aww Gabby I'm pleased you've got some answers to questions you had for a long time. Pleased you didn't ask for a cig either. And that this quit is solidifying for you. All good news. x

That's such an encouraging start to the chemo Nancy. Good to hear the update too, I never quite know whether it's right or wrong to ask. Will keep Mary and your family in my healing circle prayers. x

nope.

nope!

every wave you ride is one you never have to face again. x

You guys are too kind. I was just a scared smoker who wondered if a support network and some crazy champix drugs could save her. I can swear jolly well it must be said, I'm pleased it's subsiding now and others can take the "mantle" on that thread. Oh I love the purple deckchair idea...I love boats and water and purple. If I inspired anyone at all then I'm delighted, I was inspired over and over again so it's only fair to create a circle of support. Love you all, truly, and need more tissues! x

GYm at 5.30 is people like Babs :) Nutters if you ask me, 6am meditation is much more my style! I love your comments about swearing. It's like a victory if you can connect 3 or more swear words together and man does it feel good sometimes to get it out...you know we have a swearing thread right?? Are you serious about quitting? Well you do keep trying it :) You wouldn't be human if youdidn't doubt. No one ever embarked on any project shouting from the rooftops oh I have this in the bag!! What will help is pre responding to your own SOS and promising yourself you will post one BEFORE you ever grab a smoke again. Trail back through the board to April and you will see a very sorry state of Marti, wined up to the hilt and frantically searching for cigs...but i had promised to SOS and then BAM there's my own words...can't argue with myself can I...well i probably can but we'd need another thread for that :) Write a list of why you don't wanna smoke and cart it everywhere. Get something to do with your hands, crystal, cut a straw i half...any form of distraction. x

Don't know how I missed this sweetie, so sorry! Of course, you're fabulous, as is your 11 month quit my friend. Thank you so much for our journey together, it always means a lot to me. Massive congrats to you. x

NOPE, not today, not ever again thank you very much :)

Love you too and thank you for taking me under your wing the once when I really needed support. Ridiclous that some moments are pivitol like that and help so much. x