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Congratulations @Genecanuck, eight months is Awesome!

Sazerac Quit Date: October 23, 2013, A Good Day to be Free. Posted October 3, 2014 Our Nancy asked me to post this from my blog to 'Quit Smoking Discussion'. Thank you Nancy. Lifetime of Addiction I didn't want to hear this but, I am now facing this truth. Nicotine Addiction doesn't go away. You can put it to sleep. You can even put it into deep deep and deeper sleep for years ! but, it will awaken the moment you take one puff. One Puff. This is for your whole life. Mind boggling, huh !? This was the choice you likely didn't even know you were making all those years ago when you started smoking, I didn't understand the ramifications for sure. But, it is the truth. You will always need to be cognizant of your addiction even when smoking is a vague memory, because the moment you take a puff, the moment you take One Bloomin' PUFF, That's it ! It's all over and your enslavement will begin, again. What tenacity ! but, you need to understand, Nicotine is not as tenacious as You and Your Will. You can quit. I know you can. I quit and I am not a special snowflake, I am a Nicotine Addict, just like you. I have great resentment about my Nicotine Addiction. Damn....I didn't know it would be so invasive. I didn't know it was going to be a lifetime relationship. I am so angry about this and it is My Own Damn Fault ! But, my anger, it is a good anger. It is a righteous anger. It is an anger that will fuel my commitment to NOPE. Not One Puff EVER. Copping to the 'forever' part is a cold hard reality of the addiction. At some point, I had to quit fooling myself and accept it. It isn't just for today. It must be forever. If it isn't...I will continue to enslave myself. Some feel their addiction is so strong they cannot quit, This is wrong. You have the power. You always have the power to quit and you always have the power to stay quit. Make the commitment to NOPE ! As our friend, Sarge, says, 'Easy Peasy'. Easy ! not complicated ! This is not Rocket Science. If you make that commitment to NOPE...you will not fail. You Will Not Fail. The simplicity of it ! The Beauty of it ! Not One Puff Ever. Do it. You won't regret it. Love, S Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/2927-lifetime-of-addiction/

Hi @Jane, congrats on day 12 and isn't it awesome when we start seeing positive results of quitting like you did on your exercise bike. This is the right place to post about your journey. I use to read my old posts each Monthaversary just so I wouldn't forget where I came from. Because I did not want to do that whole first year ever again...

Hi @Minnie Mouse, yes this is the right place to ask this. The blogs are a great place to have all your thoughts in one place. Not everyone looks at the blogs so if you post something you're looking for replies on you should post on the main forums. The blog that looks like reposts is just that. I created the Pick of the Week blog for members who haven't dug deep into the board posts and may have missed great information.

SecondChanceSailor Quit Date: 20Sep20 Posted December 1, 2024 I know I’ve been really bad about checking in here. I’m a couple months past my 4 year anniversary and felt compelled to touch base and if I can help anyone struggling, to do so. If you told me 14 years ago, when I first quit, or any of the 10 years between then and when I actually did quit that I’d be here right now, I wouldn’t believe you. My journey started on the old message board, the one that shall not be named, and I recall reading SO much information. Posts, celebrations, failures, advice, tricks, tips. I remember getting compassion and tough love with every relapse. Every relapse that I would eventually tuck my tail between my legs and come back looking for some commiseration and a new plan of attack. There were also long bouts of staying away, while I was smoking, of course. It’s the normal cycle of a relapse. After enough times, you sort of even stop feeling sorry for yourself. At least I did. At this point though, I feel that I’ve gone from “I used to smoke” to “No, I don’t smoke.” Like, it was a part of my life for about 15 years but where I am now people are surprised to hear that I used to smoke, they would never guess if I hadn’t told them. And for me, that’s a good feeling. The battle with nicotine was mine, and mine alone, but as far as anyone else is concerned, it makes me so happy that I have severed that connection with the cigarette. I don’t have any tips, tricks, or other advice that made this quit stick when the many, many others did not. I just knew, my body knew, my mind knew…I was done. It was like I had never smoked before at all. No withdrawal, no cravings, no triggers…I was free. And that’s where I am today. I am as free as I will allow myself to be, which is honestly why I DO make an effort to come back. To celebrate and to remind myself that I got lucky. To remind myself that before this quit, I struggled countless times. And to remind myself that I can NEVER go back, no matter what. Because it’s easy to go back to it. And it’s easy to stay quit for good…as long as you NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF! If you’re struggling, on the brink of relapse, don’t give up. Speak up, reach out, don’t give in, don’t give up. This to shall pass. Stay the course, shipmates. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/28047-it’s-as-easy-as-you-let-it-be/

Welcome aboard @Sherberry and congratulations on quitting smoking. I didn't use lozenges but we do have others that have so hopefully they'll be able to give you a clue on that. Just out of curiosity, have you tried calling the manufacturers helpline?

Welcome aboard @Kingelocin and congratulations on your deciding to take your freedom back Googling my symptoms was also how I found my first support board. There's no better place to be than with a group of people who have been through or are going through what you are going through. As far as your symptoms go, you can expect them to last at least few months so you still have a ways to go. And you will still need to go through the nicotine withdrawal once you get off the patches. I used distractions, playing games, reading funny threads in our Social section or educating myself on the main section. I also found supporting others took my mind off my misery. I also was addicted to soft peppermint puffs and sucked on them for the whole first year of my quit. And when things got really bad I took out my JAC (jillars air cigarette) an imaginary cigarette I pretended I was holding in my fingers and then going through the motions of "smoking" it. It worked great at tricking my mind into thinking it was getting the real thing Hang in there, because the icky feelings are only temporary!

I agree, great post pilgrim. You're done with Hell week, the hardest week of them all

Yea @tocevoD it sounds like you're still getting a lot of nicotine between the patches and lozenges. I would worry you're getting too much nicotine using both and would encourage you to maybe try using just the lozenges since those sound like your preference. At any rate, the idea with patches and lozenges is to reduce your nicotine use over time and at four weeks I would think they would have started doing that. Just my opinion.....

Glad to hear that @Paula B., let us know if you need any help figuring things here out. Youll probably want to post any questions on the main forum and not this Nope one so more people will see it.

Wendy Quit Date: 18/01/2015 Posted January 19 Yesterday, I celebrated 10 years since I quit smoking. Except celebrated is a bit of an exaggeration on what I actually did. I remembered the anniversary at around 7pm, promptly texted my eldest son to say “hey it's been 10 years” - he congratulated me - and logged onto Quit Train to log my 10 years on a little section in my profile. I’ve done that almost every year (usually a couple of days late and my 6th year anniversary I totally missed and didn't realise until the following year) since quitting for reasons I struggle to articulate other than it feels important to do so. Anyway, that was the extent of my ‘celebration’, other than the thought of “what shall I have/get as my reward?” And that started a little trip down memory lane. Sort of … This wasn’t my first quit attempt by any stretch of the imagination. I struggled for a few years, cold turkey or with aids, always finding a reason to abandon the ‘attempt’. Eventually a mix of hypnotherapy and Champix did the trick. I had planned to quit on the 20th but on the morning of the 18th I had run out and made the decision to not buy any more, bringing forward my quit day. Still, it wasn’t easy and there were some really hard days. What did I do to get through those hard days? I honestly don’t remember, I don’t have any words of wisdom, but I think I did the 4 second breathing thing through craves, after meals I would have fruit flavoured chewing gum and I found rewards to be really important in those early days, weeks, months. Things I would buy with the money saved. Never anything extravagant and honestly I don't even remember what they were - maybe a chocolate bar or a donut? I think for my 6 month and 1 year anniversary I bought some jewellery. Maybe a ring and a necklace? Ooh maybe perfume! Are you sensing a theme here yet? I also rewarded myself on my 2 year anniversary - I think I bought a kindle or a tablet? I also made the decision that I would next reward myself when I got to 5 years. But when I got there I didn't feel the need for a reward. Smoking was no longer part of who I was that would need rewarding for not partaking. So my almost immediate thought of “what shall I have/get as my reward?” at 10 years made me chuckle. I think I just wanted an excuse to treat myself! The only ‘reward’ I have these days is a square of chocolate after a meal but that’s more a reward for doing the clean up than anything else. Sometimes I’ll have grapes. My point is, ‘smoking’ is just something other people do and has nothing to do with me. I know quitting was hard but I don’t remember it, even the once so important rewards. I barely remember the anniversary. If you are down in the trenches of your quit and holding on for dear life, I salute you and I congratulate you. You will find that one day, almost without realising, you can do everything without needing the crutch of a cigarette. I have lived celebrations, deaths, vacations, going for a walk, writing a letter, drinking a beer, drinking coffee, reading a book, watching a movie, eating a meal, waking up, going to bed, and everything in between, all without smoking and it was absolutely fine. (I actually struggled to come up with this list of what I previously couldn’t do without a smoke because … you guessed it … I don't remember!) I implore you to keep the faith, keep your quit. Because one day, you will not remember this stage of your life that clearly or with the focus it currently has. Congratulations to all, wherever you are in your quit, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, 1 decade … wow, time sure does fly. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/28569-10-years-quit/

I'm glad your site came back on. We'd love to have you all stick around but understand if you don't and will be here if it happens again

Unfortunately @Ray1198, you're going to have to go through them to get past them BUT each one you do get past makes it weaker and weaker until it's just an annoyance. I kept tellinh myself this too shall pass and of course using my JAC. I still to this day highly recommend the air cigarette in the beginning of a quit to get you past the withdrawal and as long as you need it after. Then it's all about the habit

Congratulations on your awesome quit @Mac#23, I hope you celebrated in some way

Welcome back @Ray1198, you know the drill so let's do it this time

Welcome Ryan, glad you found us! We can absolutely support you in getting your forever quit Check out all our various forums, lots of good info. The pinned threads at the top of each forum is a good place to start

Doreensfree Quit Date: 7 /8/2013 Posted May 23, 2018 If you havn,t read this book yet...its a must... He has helped millions.... You can download it on the internet ,and read it for free... What have you got to lose.!!!!....nothing.... And could gain freedom !!! Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/10456-allen-carr-the-easy-way/

That's crazy!

That's a pretty good reason to quit or keep the quit for anyone still needing to find one. Thank you for sharing jo and I hope you have a speedy recovery with no recurrence...

Congratulations @Kdad!

Thank you for bringing that to our attention, I didn't even notice they had deleted your text and added theirs. Pretty sneaky for sure!

You're doing great @tocevoD

I love the flashlight on my smartphone and am surprised how much I use it

Hi Shellee, welcome aboard, here is the post I believe you're looking for. I highlighted it on my Pick of the Week blog: https://www.quittrain.com/blogs/entry/1082-no-mans-land/ Just FYI we have a search engine in the upper right hand side that will allow you to search for anything you're interested in.

DenaliBlues Quit Date: 2/10/2022 Posted March 2, 2022 Congrats on completing day one @JustinHoot99! And thanks for raising the topic of action. I can relate. A fiendishly clever aspect of my addiction is how it takes habituated behaviors + emotions + physical/chemical dependence and ratchets them into a really tight knot that seems impossible to untangle. As I start to pry those strands apart, I find that each one wants to smoke for different reasons. Each one has the power to sabotage my quit. I suspect that each part of my addiction needs its own attention, reprogramming and healing. Thinking about my behavioral habits or my “action” strand: until not smoking becomes my baseline (which I am months and miles away from) I need substitutes. The vacuum of not smoking is just too much to deal with. Also, at this stage in my withdrawal the reward centers in my brain are still pretty fried and screwed up, so things designed to make me feel good - taking a walk, breathing deeply, noshing on snacks, etc. – can irritate the bejezus out of me, instead. Depending on my mood. A new coping mechanism I started this week is a “Mini Honey Do” list of small tasks that need doing around the house. Nothing arduous or time consuming, or else I’ll procrastinate and it won’t help me combat an immediate craving. Simple stuff that can be done in 15 minutes or less, things I know I can’t fail at. Tighten the loose screws on the recycling cabinet door. Scrape whatever that sticky goo is off the laundry room window. Change the light bulb that’s been flickering in the bathroom. Swap out the HVAC air filter. I have to write these down because when I am stressed or sunk emotionally, my mind goes weirdly blank. I’m so used to meeting that moment by smoking that it’s hard to remember or imagine doing anything else. So I get up, look at the list, pick something, do it, and cross it off. It feels sort of silly, but it’s better than picking up a smoke. It adds a little novelty to my coping routine. And there’s the silver lining of stuff getting done around the house… Ditto on your comment about writing here being helpful, too. Reading your post and responding helped me ride out a nasty crave wave this morning, so thanks! Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/17681-giving-up-my-car-for-3-weeks-this-time/#findComment-466935