Genecanuck

Good morning. Just re-affirming that I am all in to committing to be here one year and beyond!

Happy Special Friday... its time for all of us special window lickers to pat ourselves on the back for another smoke free week. I know that us window lickers' love to dance!! Who is ready to join in on a special Friday special Window Licker Dance Party?

Not One Puff Ever!

Hello @TOMMY S... feeling depressed temporarily is absolutely a side effect of smoking but I know from personal experience that this will not last. Mood swings early on in a quit are very normal. Your brain is ajusting to functioning without nicotine. If you give it some time, you will start to feel normal again. I think consulting with a Doctor is a good idea before you make any firm decisions about returning to smoking. Please stay close to us and let us know how you are doing. You can keep your quit!

Hello @Leander.. Thank you for coming back to check in with us. It is always very encouraging when someone comes back after having quit for a long period of time to let us know about the positive impact stopping smoking has had on their lives. Love and peace to you as well! Regards, Gene

Happy Thursday Window Lickers!!

3 weeks is awesome @Pilgrim.. One more step along the road you go! Keep it going. Warm regards.

Welcome aboard the QUITTRAIN @Gattu Joshi.... Quitting is always worth it my friend. Feelinjg agitated and disturbed is only a temporary state and will go away if you stick with us and your quit. Keep coming here. Read lots of posts and follow all of the sage advise you will receive ehere. Develop the mantra, not one puff ever. You can do this @Gattu Joshi. Keep the quit.

Welcome @Jane... your all aboard the QUITTRAIN! I hear what you are saying about your quit. You don't want to have to go through the quitting stress again and it looks like you are well on your way. Using the patches is a good way to step down from nicotine but I caution you to follow the program precisely so that you avoid the risk of developing a long term patch addiction. I am projecting a bit but that is what happened to me in the past. And yes, I remember that smokers cough all too well. Getting rid of that cough is one nice benefits of quitting. Keep reading posts, post often and adopt the mantra, not one puff ever. You have got this @Jane!! Keep the quit!

Fast Car: Tracy Chapman

Good morning @tocevoD Noticing that you have more energy is a nice benefit of not smoking. You are probably entering the phase of your quit where you have to work on relapse prevention. What are the little triggers in your world that you have to be aware of that might catch you off guard? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! You have an awesome quit. Keep it going. Here is a handy checklist regarding relapse symptoms that I picked up in Quitnet back in 2005. Following is a checklist of relapse symptoms we can watch for: Exhaustion - Allowing oneself to become overly tired, usually associated with work addiction as an excuse for not facing personal frustrations. Dishonesty - Begins with a pattern of little lies; escalated to self-delusion and making excuses for not doing what's called for. Impatience - I want what I want NOW. Others aren't doing what I think they should or living the way I know is right. Argumentative - No point is too small or insignificant not to be debated to the point of anger and submission. Depression - All unreasonable, unaccountable despair should be exposed and discussed, not repressed: what is the "exact nature" of those feelings? Frustration - Controlled anger/resentment when things don't go according to our plans. A lack of acceptance. See #3. Self-pity - Feeling victimized, put-upon, used, unappreciated: convinced we are being singled out for bad luck. Cockiness - Got it made. Know all there is to know. Can go anywhere, including frequent visits just to hang out at places that allow drinking\using. Complacency - Like #8, no longer sees value of daily program, contact with other alcoholics\addicts, feels healthy, on top of the world, things are going well. Heck may even be cured! Expecting too much of others - Why can't they read my mind? I've changed, what's holding them up? If they just do what I know is best for them? Leads to feeling misunderstood, unappreciated. See #6. Letting up on disciplines - Allowing established habits of recovery slip out of our routines, allowing recovery to get boring and no longer stimulating for growth. Why bother? Wanting too much - Setting unrealistic goals: not providing for short-term successes; placing too much value on material success, not enough on value of spiritual growth. Forgetting gratitude - Because of several listed above, may lose sight of the abundant blessings in our everyday lives. "It can't happen to me." - Feeling immune; forgetting what we know about the addiction and its progressive nature. Omnipotence - A combination of several attitudes listed above; leads to ignoring danger signs, disregarding warnings and advice from fellow members

HI @Minnie Mouse.... I did not know that PAWS -- The 2nd Stage of Withdrawal was a thing. I have had several relapses for short and longer periods over the years. Maybe it is because I was not paying attention to PAWS. Many thanks for this insight. Cheers

Hello @Sherberry. Congrat's on on your 30 plus quit. You are off to a good start. I did use Lozenges but I do not recall experiencing the white chalk issue you are going through. One word of caution about lozenges. They will help you step down and off of nicotine if you follow the perscribed program. BUT.... if you use and take them every time you feel the nicotine urge and don't taper off them, they can beecome as addictive as smoking. That was my experience. In fact, I because hard core addicted to Lozenges for a while because I was not followng the step down program. All NRT is a tool to help you taper off and step down but eventually you will have to do the hard work of handling withdrawl symptoms. Keep the quit.

Hello @Kingelocin. Welcome to the Quittrain... and congrats on an your awesome quit. I really can't add any more sage advice to what has already been shared here by the Quittrain team. The withdrawl symptoms you are experiencing are very normal. They will subside with time when yous top feeding your body nicotine. Please check in with us often and let us know how you are doing. Keep the quit.

Happy Special Friday... its time for all of us special window lickers to pat ourselves on the back for another smoke free week. The Church lady was a special window licker!! Who is ready to join that special lady in the Certified Window Licker Club?

Livin' Thing

And millions of people world wide died as a result