DenaliBlues

-2

Well done on six years smoke free @jillar. I’m so pleased for you, and so very grateful for all of the ways that you’ve helped me - and countless other newcomers - find our way to freedom. "Hoppy" anniversary and congrats on your Super Quit!

-3

Love your poo bag tactic, Patchy! Good riddance, indeed!

Sorry to hear that you smoked, @Shymaid. It's happened to all of us one way or another before our forever quits finally stuck. This addiction is wily and persistent and it wants to survive. Good for you for your immediate recommitment. You're doing the right things to talk about it here, re-immerse yourself in the literature, pledge NOPE (as often as needed!), and post yourself a reminder in the SOS column. Come up with a list of 100 things to do instead of smoking and use it when the urges surge. Also, notice what was or was not going on in your head or your heart right before you picked up... Was it a physical craving? Was it a strong emotion? A rationalization? Whatever it was, double your guard on that "door" to keep the nicotine demons out. Keep marching forward... you can do this!

hush puppies

-1

Glad you made it through Day 2, @Shymaid! Feeling sleepy (without the stimulant of nicotine) and also antsy (due to withdrawal) is par for the course in the early days. Staying busy helps. (I did a lot of little household chores, short "exercise snacks," played with silly putty to keep my fingers occupied, came here and played games, etc.) It's funny that you used the word "buzzing" because my own cravings felt like a hive of bees at the beginning, too. Partly that was withdrawal irritability, but I think it also was about detoxing. Drinking cold water and shaking my arms and legs - really shaking them HARD - helped to manage that energy. I still do it sometimes. I probably look like a dunce. But hey at least I am a dunce who doesn't smoke, as opposed to a double dunce who does. So that's progress! Good luck with day 3. You're doing great!

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Howdy, Patchy. Welcome to the Train! So glad to hear that you are ready to quit. You've come to the right place for good company, perspectives, and encouragement. We all know what it's like, so we'll have your back through the ups and downs. I quit in early February using the patch. The combo of patches and occasional lozenges helped me navigate the first phase of breaking free from 40+ years of smoking. I had some wackadoodle dreams and skin issues on the full strength patches, but they really helped with the cravings. Once I had my feet under me, I ultimately chose to accelerate my taper through lower dosage patches - to clear the nicotine out of my system faster and get through the withdrawal once and for all. It got easier over time, and I am gratefully nicotine free today. You can do this, @feeling_patchy!

N O P E !

Hi, Loren. I also use the Activity | All Activity view lot.

Overcooked rhubarb disintegrates.

Your enchanting lingerie looks stunning. hubba

1. clean behind the dresser

escaped <expletive> nicotine

4. wash and store grapes

Oh, me three on the Coca Cola! Nicotine and caffeine sort of balanced each other out in my bloodstream. Now that I am nicotine free, I am way more susceptible to racing pulse (and thoughts) if I knock back too much Coke, or anything else with caffeine. I now ration myself to one “baby” Coke per day… those little bitty 7oz cans. I may eventually have to quit those too, if the caffeine makes me too zingy. But one thing at a time!

Glad you can look back on Day 1 with a sense of pride. Here’s to many more to come!

Congrats on making it through your first 24, @Shymaid. Love your determination!

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It sounds like you're truly ready to quit. That will make all the difference. I, too, was hesitant to share at first. I lurked on the site for weeks before I signed up. I initially signed up because I know that addiction feeds on isolation, and writhing around in my own head was a certain recipe for relapse. But I ultimately found this community to be more helpful than I ever imagined. Congrats on getting your signature up. You're close to hitting the 24 hour mark - way to go!

Welcome aboard, @Shymaid. It's great to have you join the Train! The first 20 hours is a big deal, so good on you for making it through. You are smart to be reading and absorbing everything you can, to lay a strong foundation for your quit. That - and plenty of distraction tactics - can be super helpful during the early days. You'll find a lot of different perspectives and experiences on this forum. Everyone's journey is different, so start a thread and tell us what your own quit is like. What you share might be just the thing to help another newcomer take the plunge someday. This community can help you learn, talk things through, and stay occupied. The people here are very supportive (and wonderfully wacky). So glad you're on this journey with us!

1. Make contact with friends from other galaxies