lml

For me, the patch has taken the edge off the fog so far - but i am still putting nicotine into my body/brain; wondering what I will experience when I go off the patch completely.

I need it all! Thank you.

That is great! Congrats Sunny. I can only imagine, but nice to have a glimpse/reminder of those things to come. Thanks so much for sharing.

So glad you are having a wonderful day Sunny I so look forward to reaching that accomplishment. Soooo nice for you. Great advice.

Right Saz. There are times when I do feel the strength you talk about Which is a very, very good thing. But yes, there are times when I feel weak and vulnerable. As you can see from my posts, the rollercoaster ride I am on goes from high to low, sometimes within momements...lol.

Dear Linda (lml), Hugs to you. Breathe deeply and meditate. Find that place in you that knows how precious life is and how much more you enjoy it without nicotine taking so much of your time and attention. Nicotine and smoking does nothing good for you - but it will lie to you. You know the lies. Breathe deeply, meditate and find that place - you know how now that you are smokefree. Every time you do this, you get stronger and learn some new tidbit of gold about yourself. Believe in yourself and that this too shall pass. Love...yourself

I had a thought when I read this. In a way it is terrible, but in a way, this time, it is good. I am learning a great deal about myself; the addict I am (and all the characteristics of the addict me), the strength I have, how vulnerable and weak I am, how strong the community is, gaining confidence with each crave, how magnificient and resiliant our bodies are, and I am getting a glimpse of how wonderful life is without a cigarette.

Sounds like a good idea. Thanks. Thank you Saz. We all deserve strength and joy. Weird how your "wish" for me did bring me some strength and joy. Hi Given, Thanks! I wouldn't say I am doing it in days, but weeks rather than months. And if I need to go back on schedule that nicoderm recommends, I will do so. But now that I have learned some about nicotine, and know that I am an ADDICT, I HATE nicotine too...lol. Not just smoking. Grrrrrr. I believed my lies to myself for a little bit, but more and more is unraveling. Not sure whether it is working for me, or I am working it! Sometimes, I feel some of that inner strength that Saz talks about I quit, don't like to smoke, don't believe the lies I tell myself about how I enjoy smoking or how it relaxes and calms me down, I don't want to smoke, and I want to get off nicotine! Hard to believe that I actually believed those lies and that sometimes, I still begin to believe them when they creep into my thoughts, but I say NOPE - not true!!! I will not smoke TODAY!

Nope!

Saz, I appreciate your taking the time to write something from a different perspective. I struggled with the pros? And cons? Of patches, other nrts, chaotic and cold turkey. I still struggle with the fact that I am still feeding myself nicotine, so even though I am not smoking, I am getting nicotine. And now that I realize the damage that is done by nicotine ( I did not realize it changes/damages DNA till I read something you wrote), the nicotine receptors and the fact that I am a nicotine addict, I appreciate that I need to get off the nicotine to begin additional healing/recovery. I really did not realize or chose not to see that I was addicted. Perhaps someday I will feel what you say is true about me - that I am stronger than the crave. But right now, I feel very weak, vulnerable and fragile and I need all the help I can get - And the patch is helping me recognize my strength and come to believing that I can do this. I am going to be seeing a quit smoking therapist next week. I appreciate yours and the thoughts of everyone on this forum. And it means a lot to me that you take the time to encourage me and offer other ways of moving forward. I don't understand why it means so much, but at this time, in my vulnerable state it really helps. Weegie, thank you for sharing your experience. I really thing the critical ingredient is a strong desire to not smoke any longer...for yourself. But I also think I do have an addictive personality so I need to be diligent right now regarding my getting dependent on the patch. I am thinking 4 weeks may be right for me. 1 week on 21mg, 2 weeks on 14 mg and one week on 7mg. But I will probably carry one on me for a long time. Smoking another cigarette is not an option. There is no thing as just one for me. So even though it tries to entice me sometimes with just a puff...i know the lie.

Hi weegie, thanks for the encouragement and description of your experience. Congrats on your quit. Step 2 is 14 mg of nicotine. Step 1 was 21 mg. Step 3 is 7 mg. And I will not hesitate to back on 21mg patch if I feel my quit is in jeapordy.

I did think about cold turkey and all nrts for a few months before quit date and decided on the patch. Cold turkey withdrawal is much more severe than patch...the patch takes the edge off the torture. I have done cold turkey before and was useless for 5 days. With the patch I am able to function. But that is me. The step down has affected me, but not as bad as ct. I decided for me, I wanted to continue to funtion rather than sleep for 5 days to get through it, which I did on previous 2 quits. It will be interesting to see what happens on when I finally wean myelf completely off the patch. Will the 5 days be as bad or will I still be able to function. Don't know. I am thinking it won't be as bad as ct was for me.

Hi everyone, I did go to step 2 of the patch this morning. The craves are a bit strong but I breathe and meditate through them, so doing ok so far. My body and mind are definitely feeling the reduction in nicotine. Two steps forward, one step backward, but I am thankful that net gain, I am one step ahead of the game to start this week.

I have no idea how long I will be either physically, psychologically or habitually dealing with this addiction. All I think about is today...not smoking today and then getting off the nicotine in a month or two, depending on how I adjust to each step down. But even after having quit for a year and half , 30 years ago I know my nicotine thinking can still get to me IF i forget. I had quit while I was pregnant and breastfeeding. The day I stopped breastfeeding I rewarded myself with ONE cigarette. Bought a pack, took ONE out and threw the rest away. That was it for me. In a month's time I was back to a pack a day. I had also quit for over a year about 10 years ago. For me, I see that I will always have to be diligent and first thing every morning say NOPE for the rest of my life. While the urges may not be as frequent or hardly at all a year from now, I am an ADDICT. After my past two quit experiences, for me, it always tries and find a way back in to my life because I think I have beat it. I know people who have quit and eventually get to a place they never want to have a cig again. If I am one of them on this quit...good. if I get urges the rest of my life and i have to say NOPE every morning for the rest of my life...good. as long as I don't ever have smoke a cigarette and I am free, whatever works for me. But for now, I will not smoke TODAY.

Nope!

Thank you all so much for your words of ecouagement, support, and advice. I am feeling so much postive energy from you all and it means a lot. And it is good to know that there is a group of quitters from around the world that have my back when I need it. ?

Good morning ?. Today is day 7 and I am pleasantly surprised to find that I have only thought if having a cig a couple times and I quickly noped them away. I feel good this morning... Both mentally and physically and am taking the time to build up my reserves for what comes next. I am going to step 2 tomorrow and I am preparing for the battles. I hope everyone is doing well and keeping strong.

Nope!!! Good morning all.

Congrats marie!

Congratulations ela!

I live in Florida and we are known for not having change of seasons. I wonder if I will be spared that part? ? Doreen, That promise alone makes me smile and is a wonderful feeling. Something wonderful to look forward to. It makes the "pain/confusion/insantity or whateverever it is" I am now experiencing well worth it.

Thank you all for the encouragement. Wow. That is hopeful! And as I look at my week, it is right on. The "firsts" without a cigarette were tough for me this week, but once I did something for the first time without smoking and deprogrammed the trigger, it became easier and easier. Like waking up in the morning, first cup of coffee, driving to work, breaks, before lunch, after lunch, driving home from work, after dinner with coffee, before going to bed. Those things I had done for years always with a cigarette were tough the first times not having one, but now they don't trigger my crisis. Yet, this was the first time I had to fill my car with gas, where many times I would buy a pack and it became a crisis. Thanks for that perspective ! I will prepare myself for these firsts or at least understand what is going on.

Thank you DV for sharing. I don't know why, but reading what you are going through encourages me. I am on day 6 of my quit and fight with myself all the time. It is a battle for me. Several times a day, I engage in a war with my addicted self. I think if I get through this battle, I will be "home free", but NOPE, the battle comes back from a different direction with different weapons. Stay strong DV and congrats on winning that battle. Good advice. Thank you.

Good morning all, This morning on my drive to work, I had to stop and get gas. And while I was pumping gas, thoughts of going in the store like I usually did, and buying a pack of cigs and having just one or two kept circling through my mind. Then I would just throw the rest of the pack away and pick my quit back up. Addiction is insane. That doesn't even make sense. I don't want to smoke, I want to quit! Yet, I try to convince myself to smoke? I am still amazed that it wasn't until these past few days that I didn't realize I was addicted. I thought I enjoyed smoking. I thought I wanted and chose to smoke. I am almost 65 years old, a reasonably intelligent (? :)) person and yet live in denial about cigarettes? I had "heard" about what smoking did to your lungs, but I never let it penetrate. I never looked at pictures of what smoking did to your lungs and what they looked like...until yesterday ?. I regret for not valuing my precious lungs more than my cigarettes, for not valuing time, for not listening. Yet, even as I embrace my lungs, time and life there is a voice in me that says...have a cigarette. But NOPE, not today.