eriklamb

thanks everyone. also for the record I didn't censor myself. quitting might have me feeling some kind of way but not to that extent.

Working in a high volume restaurant and not smoking is funny. I'm one of two people who don't smoke. It's also infuriating on occasion. I want to smoke out of habit but I don't actually want to. My palate has improved and my energy has increased. I am going on tour in August, that too may be tempting but I am honestly at the point where taking up smoking seems like too much of an effort. I feel like crap sometimes but I'm riding it out. Pardon my Germanic roots but this is hard as ****. One love.

my reaction to pollen is crazy this year (I quit in Dec), I also got some sorts dry scalp for s bit when I first quit but it was also winter and zi have dreads. Best of luck to you!

you can do it.

very sorry to hear, my condolences

I realize my general malaise/anxiety stems from my lack of practice dealing with everyday stuff as a nonsmoker. Instead of moping around feeling all "I can't even" I'm going to run some 5ks in the Connecticut area. Anyone interested in joining shoot me a message, I don't run but I used to do cardio when I kick boxed so hopefully it'll come back to me, esp since I no longer smoke. Cheers.

Yes 4 months without nicotine, and nah I have no urge to smoke again. I think its a matter of me having to relearn how to cope with everything. I spent most of my first three months patting myself on the back and saying "its okay, you are withdrawing, don't bother putting any effort into thinking or bettering yourself". Thanks for the support and such.

...and horrible anxiety. this is getting harder, I think.

congrats!

I used to work as a prep cook, I had carpal tunnel for a while. It got to the point where I had to learn to mince and peel stuff with my left hand because my right hand would cramp up and I would have to pry my fingers off my knife handle haha. This was in 2012, I don't know if its psychosomatic but now when I cut a lot of veggies I always feel like I can sense the smallest bit of carpal tunnel coming back.

Haha glad you like it, thanks for listening. And I'm stuffing them with a tomato sausage basil garlic mozzarella blend that I should have made last night but instead am doing last minute

P.s. what's the introduction section?

Haha I'm not sure but I know I have an order of stuffed mushrooms for 80 tonight at 5

I wrote this song over a year ago when I was kicking a pretty nasty opiate addiction. I never bothered to record it, but have performed it frequently at shows. While doing a set last January I realized the themes parallel nicotine withdrawal and any addiction really, esp how I was currently feeling, so I figured why not record it. Maybe it will help someone who is amusing the thought of "just one", maybe it will help someone change their perspective during their quit, I don't know but here it is if you are interested. https://www.soundcloud.com/eriklamb/solace-city

I definitely see what you are saying. I read all the books on third grade and honestly feel that the current BBC version, despite the setting/etc, capture s the heart of the series better than anything else. Second I feel is the basil rathbone bit, third I feel would be House lol

I don't think he will. The smoking/drug use in the original books were used to reinforce the addict personality he has in regards to solving crime, I think.

Thanks everyone. I am positive this is quit-related, I can remember how I was before I started smoking and now I have moments where I feel normal but they aren't consistent feelings. How does quitting affect blood sugar levels? It didn't occur to me to monitor that, thanks for the suggestion. I feel like I do have ADHD or something, I work as a cook and it feels like I've had to work twice as hard for no reason. It's funny, I use to be addicted to opiates and have been clean/sober for 16 months now, it was hard but even with now understanding how I think and my personality in regards to addiction and all that, quitting cigarettes feels harder to do. I never was depressed or anxious before I started smoking (I smoked for 7 years starting at age 21) but Im aware I picked up the habit during a pretty important developmental period. Finding a career path, becoming a touring musician, living on my own, dealing with heartbreak and loss, heck even driving (I used to ride a bike everywhere until I was about 20) all are things I only knew as a smoker. I don't have any urgr to smoke persay, cigarettes are like diapers to me now in that I remember using them and liking them but feel now that they aren't necessary, but being that I've overcome addiction before my brain knows that a direct craving wont trick me into relapsing so it gives me bouts of the symptoms I described in the first post when certain triggers occur. E.g., last week my kitchen catered a party for over a hundred executives. We were short two people but still came together and made some beautiful food. I left work, it was sunny out (I live on the east coast, New England), I'm driving home to cook for a party we were having after a friends show all excited and exhuberant and high on adrenaline and suddenly boom, huge wave of sadness/anxiety/despair. Oh yeah, I'm not actually feeling any of this, its because normally after a service like that I'd sit outside in the sun and have a smoke with my fellow cooks. Stuff like that, really getting old. Thank you all for reading and replying, it means a lot.

Hey all, this is my first post on this forum. My name is Erik, and I quit last December. I wanted to ask those who have been done with nicotine for a long time, is feeling lost after eleven weeks normal? I can tell i feel a lot better overall, but still feel very foggy and have horrible memory (short term) and feel like my brain is rejecting logic and reasoning. Is this normal? If so, how long does it take to go away? Thanks in advance.