Gus

WooHoo @Steven Drojensky! You made it to the Lido Deck!!! Congratulations!

Congratulations on your 6 year quit @G67!

Hoping your mom has a speedy recovery! I get through my worst trials always by practicing my deep breathing. It just grounds and centers me. I just focus on my ability to breathe. I notice how deeply I can breathe and I feel my lungs expanding and I release it all in an ever so slow exhale of appreciation because I did it without a cough. Smoking a cigarette would take that from me. And that just wouldn’t do because I had only one quit in me. I would never survive another quit. Keeping that list of reasons you quit smoking in the first place and the tools you used to assist yourself in your quit handy helps a lot. Getting on here to immerse yourself in reading or to vent or to SOS are also on my list. Keep fighting to keep your quit and yes, by all means, hold your quit as being sacred to you. It is a part of who you are now. It is who you are now and you’ve shown that by getting on here for support instead of lighting up. Hugs for you!

It’s great to hear from you Sal! You really are doing a great job fighting this addiction. You’ve come so far. Remember how every hour was a constant battle to not light up? It gets easier and easier and easier. I promise it does. Hang in there! I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Great job @Sunnyside!

Congratulations @bakon and Amen! Enjoy all of that fresh air!

On most days the smell of burning tobacco doesn’t bother me. I like it. It doesn’t trigger the desire for a cigarette. It does trigger a runny nose, watery eyes, scratchy throat, sneezing, and headache though.

Welcome @Patti! We are here to assist! Please take advantage and read the material and watch the videos offered on this forum. There are also so many personal stories to read on this site and you are guaranteed to find a lot of help in them. Posting your own quit experiences will help yourself as well as others. Regardless of how interactive you are on here, you will find help when needed. Just remember to reach out. Someone is almost always on here. I’m looking forward to following your quit!

Congratulations @Wayne045 on 6 years quit!

WooHoo @jillar! Congratulations on your quit! And thank you for sticking around and being here to help me along when I needed it. Actually you still help me along sometimes. I do hope that you enjoy your day today and that you have done something very nice for yourself also!

I’m sorry that this happened to you @Shymaid. It’s great that you’ve hopped right back on the train though. Next time post an SOS and get some help riding out the crave. There is almost always someone on here and I don’t think there is anyone here that wouldn’t want to help someone else through a crave or with any problem you might be having really. Fighting the Nicodemon is all out warfare. You need to have an arsenal and you need to be prepared to use it. Try and do anything that keeps you from lighting up. Also, such easy accessibility to smoking materials while trying to quit is never, ever a good idea. But all in all, I am thankful that you decided to get right back on the train.

You are doing an excellent job of maintaining and chronicling your quit @intoxicated yoda! You sure have helped me along my journey. Thank you!

That’s good @jillar! I would still be sucking on those things and be diabetic on top of it. lol

Welcome aboard @feeling_patchy and congratulations on your decision to quit smoking. I used the patches. I skipped the Step 1 patch and although I still went through some MAJOR withdrawals I survived. I’m talking night sweats, tears, headaches, abdominal pains, mind bending anxiety, etc. I had it rough. I do not think it would have been AS bad if I had started at Step 1. The main thing that you need to realize is that when you step down from 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 and finally from 3 to none you are going to suffer from withdrawal pangs each time. The only reason I used patches is because I suffer from severe anxiety and I knew that I could not survive cold turkey. Drink plenty of cold water and take a mad dash down the hall or out to the mailbox and back when you feel like you are fixing to lose it. Just don’t light anything up and stick it in your mouth. Hoping for the best for you! Keep us updated. Getting on here to vent or just let us know what you are doing to keep your quit will help you so much and it will also help others. See you around!

Stay strong @Shymaid! You’re doing great. And @jillar is right. All of that which you are experiencing is normal. I skipped feeding the craving for sweets. I have always been slim too. I’ve always taken care of myself and eaten sensibly too. I didn’t want to kick Nicodemon’s butt just to say hello to the sugar fairy. But it is strange how I craved sweets when quitting smoking and now the same with the coffee. It’s why the next thing I’m going to work on is cutting out as much sugar as possible. At least processed and added sugars anyway. Anyway, you ARE doing great!

@DenaliBlues I have found that fountain sodas hardly affect me at all. Which is nice. But they are not the ‘real thing!’ lol

I love Coca Cola. An ice cold Coke was a reward I used for reaching milestones earlier in my quit. Horror of horrors, I HAD to quit drinking them. My anxiety levels went through the roof every time I drank one after I quit smoking. Coffee does me the same way but not as extreme. Yesterday was actually my first day of drinking fully decaffeinated coffee. It took me a very long time to wean myself off of caffeinated coffee. I miss my Coca Colas! Some people on here dream about cigarettes. I dream about ice cold Coke. LOL I don’t know what my mornings will be like without a nice hot cup of coffee in hand. I just can’t see myself continuing to drink decaffeinated coffee. What’s the point in it? HaHa

Day 1 done!! WooHoo! Time really will fly by the further you get into your quit! You are doing great!

I did this. I really wanted to focus on the last one too. It was more about saying goodbye for me. Kind of bittersweet. But also cementing my resolve. I knew without a doubt that I would never be spending time and money on cigarettes ever again. You have a solid foundation built for your quit!

Welcome @Shymaid! It’s great to see a new quitter come on board and I see that you are well on your way to a rock solid quit. Hang around as much as possible and document as much as you feel you want to share. It helps you and others as well! I look forward to following your quit!

Congratulations on your 8th year!!

WooHoo! Congratulations Yoda!!!

Congrats @Kdad!

This is awesome @Jenny! Ten whole years of quit!!! I hope that all is well with you!

I’m so sorry that you are having such a rough time right now @intoxicated yoda. I do believe that it can be pretty much expected right now, but as Denali says, ‘it’s what we do when we are awake that matters. ‘ I sure hope this passes soon for you.