Kate18

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Congratulations!!!

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Wohoo, two months, looks as though you're on a roll! Congratulations and many more to follow!!!

Jolly good!!! Congratulations on three months!!!

I must say, this is awesome!!! Congratulations on the first half of your first year!!

Congratulations! And wishing you many more months, years of success ahead!

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Someone to help with the heavy lifting, perhaps??? (photo by

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@Brioski, congratulations on 5 months! Wahoo! The months are adding up!

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NOPE Happy Weekend!

Congratulations, Nancy! Wow, 10 years!! And many more to come. Thank you for all of your encourage and support over the years, Nancy.

Congratulations, Doreen! You are such an inspiration! Thank you!

Congratulations, Pippa! A decade is a wonderful milestone. May you have many more!

Thank you, all is well now. I was in a bipolar downward drifting phase. I'm back out of it with the use of strategies I've learned through the past few years. Thank you for asking, and have a super weekend! Also, I returned to my whole plant food based diet (with the addition of eggs). It's how I ate before Covid. I only slid away from it after four months of the stress of going to work before the vaccine came out. This past Winter, I attempted keto because it is supposed to lead to mitochondrial repair and an improvement - real healing, apparently - for bipolar. Anyway, over the course of the past week, my daily resting heart rate went down 5 points, the % of time my heart rate goes below resting heart rate at night went from 0% to 90%. I'm above 5.5 hrs of sleep/night, now, almost 6. Still not enough, but it's the right trend. Off to the gym. Then the park with my dog. Sofia likes to wander a while, then throw herself on her back in a patch of clover. She spends 10-15 minutes, like that, just watching people and other dogs pass by on the sidewalk 10 feet away. Have a great weekend!

Stunning. We need a "WOW" emoticon. NOPE

Went to sleep. Slept about 5 hours. Drank a litre of water with electrolytes. Taking another dose of the prescription med and back to sleep, if I can. Realized I felt warm. Temp is almost 2 degrees above my normal (I run cool, about 97.5). Checked my email, and there is a notice that someone at work just reported they have Covid. Perhaps part of this is not feeling well due to a virus, whether Covid or not. Thanks one and all. I live quietly, with only my son and daughter for society. I am grateful for The 'Train to turn to about smoking challenges. It means a lot. Have a good week, one and all.

Thanks, @RhinoDragon. I'm 3+ years into a quit and this is by far the worst temptation point. It isn't the smoking cravings, it's the craving for sleep. And relief of bipolar depression. I have a text to my psychiatrist in place, to which she will respond tomorrow, likely. Some well-intending podcaster suggested that nicotine helps with this. Going to drug myself to sleep to get past this. Thanks for your kind reply. I appreciate it.

Thanks, Doreen. You were a part of QSMB, were you not? That's were I started. Most of the key folks are here, now. I took the sleep meds right after @Jillar replied, about the time my daughter and I rung off. Seriously, getting enough sleep is that important. Don't know if I had enough respect for it before. Why in the world would the person interviewed say that cigarettes helped with sleep? Or maybe he said bipolar depression. I'm half zonked at this point. ready to go to sleep. I'm going to re-listen to the podcast. If the person who mentioned cigarettes and a positive benefit from smoking said what I think he said, I'll post a comment about the unintended consequences his remark could have on someone like me, who has quit a terrible addiction and may be susceptible to a stupid - albeit scientifically accurate - suggestion. Because his remarks reawakened a desire to smoke. I'm that desperate for sleep. I spaced out and fell at work 2 days ago. Yesterday, I had difficulty staying in my lane while driving. This morning, I couldn't even go to work. I'd do anything to get sleep, even smoke.

Thanks, Jillar. I just got off the phone with my wonderful daughter. You're right about the tools to quit when it finally worked. I quit because of Covid. I was pretty sure that if I were a smoker and got Covid, it'd die of lung congestion. That was during the pre-USA presence of Covid, but I was sure it was coming to our shores. My daughter pointed out that when I don't get enough sleep, I get weak-willed and feel hopeless. She's right. I'm so sleep deprived. It's a consequence of bipolar gene mutations related to the circadian rhythm. The Sleep Clinic was next to useless. All the advice I already had online from sleep researchers. I do them all. I've tried addressing bipolar depression/anxiety/insomnia with a ketogenic diet and strict carb restriction, but it also brings intense carb cravings AND insomnia. Sleep deprivation erodes the will power to resist carbs. And carbs bring back depression. I'm so tired of this. My daughter suggested I just drug myself right now, at 10 in the morning, and get some sleep so that I don't cave to either the craving for cigarettes or alcohol. Good advice. Thanks for responding, Jillar. I really appreciate it. I'm going to take my sleep med and go back to sleep. Have a good week.