Ascension3030

Hi Gusa doing ok, hanging in there. Feeling little low energy and sick today so im taking it easy. How is the patchless life treating you? Feeling the freedom yet?

I can only imagine. No cotrol at all ;). Not to take it offtopic, but many people believe men cant be raped because they can control that particular function. But we really cant

Yes you can call me whatever you please. I like KISS, love ehat they did for rock music in their time. For guys, blood circulation improves after a quit, providing a benefit unique to being a male ;). You know when you eake up in the morning.

Yes, anxiety and depression are definitely a drag. Not sure if true, but they say smokers tend to deal with them more often than the rest of the population. Cause and effect isnt clear, and i sometimes wonder about it - certainly no expert on the subject... my old doctor told me that CBT therapy can be very helpful dealing with those. I do remember after my last quit, the feeling of pride and freedom, for the fieat time in decades. To be completely free of any substance. Didnt realise you were a woman, one of my best firends goes by nickname of Gus, obviously a guy. Can i still call you bud?

Yes, one step, day, week at a time. Woke up this morning and I can already tell my breathing has improved a little. I can take deeper breaths and somehow am able to feel that my body is getting more oxygen, improved circulation (i wont go into details here =)) etc. Looking forward to another smoke free day. Another super busy day at work, i have some new posts in mind to get more topics going on here and get some feedback from you guys, maybe get little more convos going concerning smoking, quitting etc

Woah, thats very brave of you Gus! I found that patches help you unlearn the habits that we normally associate with smoking ie having morning coffee with a cig, smoking after eating etc. I think it may be a little uncomfortable for you for the next 2 or 3 days, if you respond the same way i did in the past. Youre right, knowing that you have patches set aside, definitely gives one comfort that in case it gets a bit too dificult, you can always slap one on etc. Best of luck bud, Ill be cheering for you. I know that feeling of being nicotine free and not relying on patches, is incredibly freeing.

Doing great, thank you. Cravings all day, but able to manage. Extremely busy and long day at work :), but hanging in there. Thanks for all the support and warm welcomes. Appreciate you guys!

I completely get that, wanting to be off patches after 10 weeks. You seem to have a really good approach to it, so im sure youre on your forever quit. When i quit cold turkey, my anxeity was so bad that I had to go see a doctor, my hands were shaking, dialated pupils and blood pressure so high they had to use a second instrument to measure, because they thought the first was broken. I have to use patches to make it smoother. I remember back then I started practicing deep breathing and meditating for 10 minutes a day, always thinking about nicotine free life, being a non smoker, feeling like a non smoker etc. You got this though

THanks. Yes, the lie of "just one" i think all former quitters know that one. Its so stupid and silly too. imagine not smoking for 3 years and when seeing poeple smoking thinking to myself "smoking was so silly and pointless, why did i ever do it".....only to romanticize having just one, a couple days later. Happy to be here, you guys seem to have a great community here

10 weeks is amazing, big congrats! Thanks to you and others for the warm welcome. I see youre using the patches too. I know during my quit a few years ago, i had the same anxiety stepping down from step 1 to 2 and 2 to 3. I know some people resulted to cutting a 21mg(step 1 patch) in half, and using that, giving them easier step down from 14 mg to 10.5mg then to 7mg. I think you can do that depending on the patches that you use, Nicoderm CQ is possible, but some older patches used to spill the nicotine juice all over =). But those step downs only seemed to impact me for a couple days, and then things normalized again. Im 10 weeks behind ya, in this journey.

i completely get it. wouldnt want to risk your health by not wearing a mask

Hi Everyone, Im Chris, 45YO living in Chicago area. I have been smoking fairly heavily 2 packs a day, since I was 18. Was able to successfully quit in 2016 for 3 years, at which point Nicodemon talked me into having "Just One" since I was really missing it and was missing having something to do. In my mind anyway. So I have been smoking for the last 2 years and smoking heavily. I always have to use patches since i have really bad physiological side effects when quitting cold turkey, so im going to do what i have to to avoid that. I remember using Quitnet back then to find support on the quit smoking forums etc. Im looking for same here, I have tried quiting over last few months, several times and obviously have not succeeded. Because of that, im having hard time finding much support from friends and family, since I have announced so many times recently that im quitting, Im not sure they believe it anymore. I do though. Looking forward to reading your stories, providing the little knowledge I have and being there for you to support you as well. Finished my last cig some time ago this morning, slapped a patch on and Im ready to do this! Cheers!