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I'm a quitter!!!! (and new here)

Amy R.

By Amy R.
in Introductions & About Us

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Amy R. Apprentice

Amy R.

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Hi!  I'm Amy.  Never did I think I'd be happy to be labeled a quitter.  But here I am!  After almost 20 years, I quit cold turkey on January 29, 2021.  A small portion of my story and what led me to quit:  In December, 2020, I very randomly became afflicted with severe anxiety.  Literally, one day I was fine and the next day I was downright incapacitated.  My daughter had a bit of a cold and for some reason I was positive it covid and if she had it then it must have been from my job.  I tested negative, she was fine and it was just a cold, but for some reason I couldn't shake the anxiety.  I forged through for a little over a month, slowly withdrawing from life.  The medication I was put on gave me awful side effects (I actually lost almost 10 lbs over Christmas, not complaining but I couldn't even enjoy Christmas cookies!).  The second medication had me downright depressed and I cried for most of January .  I wasn't myself.  I got the first covid vaccine shot on January 12, 2021 and a week later experience what's now known as "covid arm."  No one had any idea what that was at that point and it landed me in the emergency room with a HUGE anxiety attack.  That ended up starting me on a path to taking a month leave from work.  So all of February, 2021, I stayed home to get myself right.  Because I wasn't going to be going anywhere, I had my last cigarette at 9pm on January 29th.  I decided this was the perfect time to totally focus on whole body wellness.  This decision was only further solidified when I read the news that actor Dustin Diamond passed away from lung cancer.  I didn't know him at all, but it hit me harder than I expected.  Anyway, imagine my complete surprise when I had absolutely NO CRAVINGS OR SIDE EFFECTS?!?!?!  I mean I was dealing with anxiety and thinking I was going to die from the vaccine (obviously I did not), but I was expecting some kind of side effects.  I haven't even coughed!  I actually found this site because I'm clearing my throat like it's going out of style.  To an excessive degree really...and it's annoying.  BUT.  It's been 1 month, 1 day and 13 hours since my last cigarette.  I enjoyed smoking for sure, but I'm going to enjoy living even more.  Once the world can finally move on from the current stresses, I look forward to watching my daughter grow, go to college, get married, have some babies, etc.  I'm taking now to really focus on myself, my faith journey, and my health journey.  Fear may have pushed me to my breaking point, but I'm using it to better myself and that starts with being a quitter!

 

Thank you for letting me join this group and introduce myself!  Hopefully I didn't ramble too much!

  • Like 9
Reciprocity Grand Master

Reciprocity

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Welcome to Quit Train Amy! Sounds like you have your quit well in hand, considering you've only been quit for just over a month 👍

By the way, we share the same date Jan. 29th 😀

You've obviously still got a way to go still in getting completely used to life as a nonsmoker but you're right ..... you're gonna love all the things you will do as a nonsmoker. Nothing like finding your freedom again to really show us just how enslaved we were as smokers.

 

Great work so far and happy 1st month!

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jillar Grand Master

jillar

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Welcome aboard Amy and congratulations on taking back your life! You're already past the hardest month of all and sound like you're doing great 😊 

I hope you have a look around at all our various forums. We have everything from educating yourself about our addiction to socializing to keep your mind off quitting. 

We have a great group of quitters here so you're in good company for this journey. 😊

P.S. I had no idea Dustin Diamond died or about Covid arm so you've taught me two things already on your first day here 🤗

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Mac#23 Grand Master

Mac#23

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Welcome Amy, you are definitely headed down the right path. Grab a seat, enjoy the ride and congratulations on your quit.

  • Like 4
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JH63 Contributor

JH63

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Welcome! You have came to the right place for support on your journey!  As was said above, there is a wealth of information here. Click on the forums tab and start reading, watching videos, etc.

In your post you said that you quit while you were off from work! That's Great! I think that when you go back to work you will find that staying quit is even easier. Being busy has always helped me keep my mind off smoking!

Good Luck!

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Amy R. Apprentice

Amy R.

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1 hour ago, jillar said:

Welcome aboard Amy and congratulations on taking back your life! You're already past the hardest month of all and sound like you're doing great 😊 

I hope you have a look around at all our various forums. We have everything from educating yourself about our addiction to socializing to keep your mind off quitting. 

We have a great group of quitters here so you're in good company for this journey. 😊

P.S. I had no idea Dustin Diamond died or about Covid arm so you've taught me two things already on your first day here 🤗

It was definitely a shock to me that he died!  I'm only a few years younger than he was so it for sure hit home.  Covid arm isn't a "serious" reaction, but no one knew what was going on when I had so it terrified me.  Basically, 8 days after my shot the injection site got super itchy, warm to the touch, swollen and red.  It went away within a few days but still weird.  Left me thinking they'd have to take off my arm!  LOL  Seems dumb now, but at the time it was super scary.

1 hour ago, JH63 said:

Welcome! You have came to the right place for support on your journey!  As was said above, there is a wealth of information here. Click on the forums tab and start reading, watching videos, etc.

In your post you said that you quit while you were off from work! That's Great! I think that when you go back to work you will find that staying quit is even easier. Being busy has always helped me keep my mind off smoking!

Good Luck!

My first day back at work was yesterday.  I'm actually doing really well still with having no cravings.  The worst is still the anxiety.  I've never dealt with anything like this so it's a rough road!

  • Like 6
AceWhite Mentor

AceWhite

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Awesome I’m so happy for you Amy!!

Quality of life will always be better as a non smoker- thank you for sharing your experience 

  • Like 6
Doreensfree Grand Master

Doreensfree

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Hello and welcome Aboard Amy ....

Congratulations on your wonderful quit....here's a well earned pat on the back !!

You sound in a good place .... everything is positive about quitting ...

Looking forward to getting to know you better ...

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Boo Veteran

Boo

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Welcome aboard Amy.  Congratulations on one-month off of the smokes.

 

4 hours ago, Amy R. said:

 Fear may have pushed me to my breaking point, but I'm using it to better myself and that starts with being a quitter!

 

Every journey starts somewhere.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how many benefits the process of quitting offers.  

  • Like 4
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Mee Collaborator

Mee

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Welcome Amy.  Awesome start to you quit.  Keep concentrating on the benefits you will get by quitting.  It is so wonderful not to be controlled by smoking!  Keep that beautiful quitt going.

  • Like 2
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QuitTrain®, a quit smoking support community, was created by former smokers who have a deep desire to help people quit smoking and to help keep those quits intact.  This place should be a safe haven to escape the daily grind and focus on protecting our quits.  We don't believe that there is a "one size fits all" approach when it comes to quitting smoking.  Each of us has our own unique set of circumstances which contributes to how we go about quitting and more importantly, how we keep our quits.

 

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