On day 4 of my quit

[lml]

Hi all,

 

I decided to quit smoking several months ago and set my quit date, which I changed a bit to coincide with my move to a new place - where I have not established any smoking places. I started on 4/29/2018 and am using the patch, which is taking the edge off the physical withdrawl, but I am still dealing with the habits like waking up in the morning with a cup of coffee, get in the car to go work, morning break, before and after lunch, afternoon break., etc. You name it, I had a habit. I am an addict.  

 

I am going to be 65 in July and have been smoking since I was 16. I "quit" a couple times, one when I was pregnant and once when my daughter was 10 and talked me into it. But this time, I wanted to quit for me. And as I read and learn, day by day, I am becoming more aware of how addicted I am and how much of my life has been controlled by my "need" for a cigarette. 

 

This is a battle of and for my life. I want to live and breathe; I started preparing for retirement and travel and began exercising on the tread mill. I worked hard to get up to 2 miles, but the shortness of breath I felt was not just from the exercise, it was from smoking. I have given enough time to smoking. Now that I am reaching 65, time is precious. I took time to smoke before I left for somewhere I wanted to go and time to smoke once I got there before I did what I wanted to do. So much time...  

 

Even with the patch on, there are times when I automatically reach for a cigarette. I bring celery sticks with me and on my drive to work yesterday morning, I noticed I was "smoking" a celery stick!  

 

Day by day, habit by habit, crave by crave...

 

Best of luck to everyone. 

[Martian5]

Lml -- welcome aboard, glad to have you along for this journey.  Yes it is day by day but those days add  up pretty quickly.  I am 64 now and just quit a few short months ago (I went cold turkey).  However you make your quit successful and make it work for you is good -- so long as you do not pick up another cig and light it up.  It looks like you have the right attitude.  Remember to use deep breathing techniques and drink plenty of cold water.  Also come here to educate yourself, reach out to others, to have fun, and most importantly do the daily "NOPE" pledge -- it really does help.  The celery stick thing, yes I was there but, at least it was a celery stick (and so many of those).  You can do this

[Joe7]

Hi Lml. Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on getting your quit started and making it into your fourth day.

[notsmokinjo]

welcome LML... Well done for getting to day four... Lots of us 'smoke' air cigarettes. Some of us have them made out of straws or 'smoke' a pen (although be careful of that because you can end up with a mouth full of blue ink)... anyway day for is great, the three worst days of your quit are over. There is a lot of thought you have put into your quit and you can do this. Just remember one day at a time.. Promise your self you can do 24hours and then repeat the next day. At the start "just one day" is much less daunting that "forever" but before you know it those 24hours of quit will add up, join together and make 1 month, 6 months, 1 year.... forever. You can do this.

[Nancy]

Welcome, lml.  It sounds like you have made up your mind this time, and that is over half the battle.  Just remember and pledge Not One Puff Ever (NOPE) and you've got this!

[jillar]

Welcome lml, congrats on four days quit! The first month is totally the hardest. Please post an SOS iif you feel yourself caving to a crave then wait for three responses. We will come running to help you past it. It works so use us to your advantage

[catlover]

Welcome and big congrats on your 4 days , will be a week before you know it. Take it a day at a time and focus on all the good you are doing yourself. The better breathing, the money etc and don't forget to treat yourself at the end of the week.

 

[Sazerac]

1 hour ago, lml said:

Hi all,

 

I decided to quit smoking several months ago and set my quit date, which I changed a bit to coincide with my move to a new place - where I have not established any smoking places. I started on 4/29/2018 and am using the patch, which is taking the edge off the physical withdrawl, but I am still dealing with the habits like waking up in the morning with a cup of coffee, get in the car to go work, morning break, before and after lunch, afternoon break., etc. You name it, I had a habit. I am an addict.  

 

I am going to be 65 in July and have been smoking since I was 16. I "quit" a couple times, one when I was pregnant and once when my daughter was 10 and talked me into it. But this time, I wanted to quit for me. And as I read and learn, day by day, I am becoming more aware of how addicted I am and how much of my life has been controlled by my "need" for a cigarette. 

 

This is a battle of and for my life. I want to live and breathe; I started preparing for retirement and travel and began exercising on the tread mill. I worked hard to get up to 2 miles, but the shortness of breath I felt was not just from the exercise, it was from smoking. I have given enough time to smoking. Now that I am reaching 65, time is precious. I took time to smoke before I left for somewhere I wanted to go and time to smoke once I got there before I did what I wanted to do. So much time...  

 

Even with the patch on, there are times when I automatically reach for a cigarette. I bring celery sticks with me and on my drive to work yesterday morning, I noticed I was "smoking" a celery stick!  

 

Day by day, habit by habit, crave by crave...

 

Best of luck to everyone. 

 

 

Welcome Iml,

Congratulations on making an important decision for yourself.

You will appreciate the myriad of benefits that accompany quitting,

a boost in self-esteem, to name but one.

As others have recommended, educate yourself on nicotine addiction

and post here freely.  We have lots to read, lots to think about and a vibrant section of word/number games for brilliant distraction.

Be kind to yourself, reward yourself.

You Quit Smoking !

That is fabulous.

 

[Sslip]

Welcome on board lml. Great that you are here, you'll get lots of fantastic support. Look forward to seeing you around.

[Doreensfree]

Hi and welcome aboard...

Congrats on the fabulous decision to rid yourself of this horrible addiction...

You will find lots of useful information and tips to help you along ...

Take our daily NOPE pledge..it's a great way to start each day...

Looking forward to getting to know you better....

[Boo]

Welcome aboard lml.  Congratulations on choosing freedom.

 

Acknowledgement and education about the true nature of this addiction is the single-best starting point for the process of setting yourself free from cigarettes.

 

You're well on your way.  Enjoy the ride.

[johnny5]

Welcome to QuitTrain, lml.  Quitting smoking is a fantastic decision to make.  Life is much better without being controlled by that dark and deadly addiction.

 

Stick close to this site.  There is a lot of support and knowledge you can gain here that can help you quit for good.

[Reciprocity]

Welcome lml! Congratulations on your decision to take back your life!!

You have already had a lot of great advice. Hang around here and read all you can. Learn just what a horrible addiction this really is and how you too can beat it!

You were right when you talked bout jusy how this addiction takes over so much of your life. You too can free yourself, like so many of us have. Look forward to following your successful journey

[Lin-quitting]

Welcome ImI, I'm so glad that you've made the decision to quit.

[beazel]

Hi lml & welcome! Glad you found us, hope you stick around.

[PeaceTrain]

Welcome to the QuitTrain, lml. You're right in the thick of it now, so keep your resolve strong and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. You're doing the very best thing you can do for yourself by quitting. It's definitely doable as you can see from all of us around you.  Stay close to the board if you need support.  We're here for you!

[lml]

Thank you all for the welcome and the encouragement. It really does help me to know that you are there for support and to read about trials and successes. 

 

Today is Day 5 for me.  

[Wee fluffy me]

Hello and welcome aboard ImI, whoop whoop on 5 days smoke free, you are doing fantastic and almost at the end of week 1, looking forward to getting to know you

[TravellingSunny]

@lml - Five days?!?  That's amazing!  The first week was soooo hard!  Congratulations!  Make sure that you are rewarding yourself for your accomplishments!