Closing thought of the day

[intoxicated yoda]

I've done a bit of research on it already and it seems a lot less scary than quitting.  LOL

[Kris]

Lord god, quitting was scary enough.  I will say I do not worry about putting stuff in my mouth as long as it is not a smoke.  I will worry about the weight later. I can only take on one challenge at a time.

K

[Doreensfree]

Enjoying following your journey Yoda....

Quitting the smokes is only the first part ....I always find it interesting what route a newbie takes ...

Your finding new ways of becoming a better you ....I'm Lovin it .

Edited November 12, 2021 by Doreensfree

[intoxicated yoda]

Well, I've been busy the last few days and no time to really sit down and make a thoughtful post.  It's enough to say that for some reason this evening I am struggling a little bit.  I keep getting these images in my mind of lighting up and inhaling.  I can almost feel it.  Weird sensation.  I feel like these are the things that happen to people who have been quit for a while and then relapse.  Maybe this is the no mans land I've read about.  I don't know and probably noone could tell me for sure so it's back to the drawing board for now and beat the desire a minute at the time and hope for a better tomorrow.  Keep up the good fight everyone.  I'll pray that everyone here finds the strength they need to overcome whatever struggle they encounter.  Stay positive.  Peace

[jillar]

I agree @intoxicated yoda that you could very well be in no mans land. It usually hits around three months and you're right there. But even past no mans land you're going to get these sucky days. The beauty is that with time under our belts its much easier to see them for what they are and know we can get past them because we have many times before.

You really are doing great so hang in there. It won't be this sucky forever I can promise you that

Edited November 16, 2021 by jillar

[Kris]

@intoxicated yoda Yep! I feel your pain.  I get those feelings all the time, I dream of those things but then I wake up and remember I am still trying to save my life.  Well really not save my life but have a choice in how soon and how I will die.  Let's face it, we all hope to leave at a very old age, in our sleep and in my case with a sweet little dog curled up by my side.  I want it to be in the winter, on a comfy overstuffed bed with pillows like clouds and sheets of silk with big fluffy blankets. So all I can do now is make sure I am ready, that I have all the things ready just in case I get to live/dream my goals.  The first step is to quit, I have done that, so far, so good. Sweet dreams!!

[Kris]

I am up late and I think you maybe up early.  Just want to check you are okay??

K

[intoxicated yoda]

@Kristhanks for checking on me.  I am east coast of US so I was up kinda late.  I'm doing ok this morning.  I think if I can ever get my sleep routine back to normal things will vastly improve.  I hope you have a great sleep and a wonderful today!!!

[KEL]

There must be something in the air. Shifting into the holidays, memories. Etc. 

I'm not sure if the thoughts are precursor to relapse; the times I relapsed it was more of a "f--k it" attitude. This feels more like a recognition of how deeply ingrained the addiction is within the subconscious and maybe the thoughts @intoxicated yoda is describing (which I have as well) are a deep clearing?

One can only hope.

I keep going back to Allen's instruction which is to not be afraid of the thoughts of smoking but to instead use them as an OPPORTUNITY to remind ourselves of just how wonderful it is to be free! A little CBT for a Tuesday morning. (I really need to figure out the emoji system because my posts lack color).

Wishing you all a beautiful and smoke-free day.

[intoxicated yoda]

@KELthat's an interesting thought.  don't worry about the emojis though.  it's the content that counts and I absolutely loved that content.  

[jillar]

I'm pretty sure I post enough emojis for everyone

 

PS I use the keyboard emojis on my kindle @KEL but the text boxes also have emojis, just click on that smiley face above in the text box and choose which one you want. There's also GIFs

Edited November 16, 2021 by jillar

[Kris]

@intoxicated yoda I have discussed this sleep thing with my doctor, hard to fall asleep and stay asleep.  Now it is just out of hand  my body has decided it wants to stay up until the wee hours of the night and then I wind up sleeping away the morning.  I wonder if this is an age related thing. My Mom went thru the same sort of thing.  

[intoxicated yoda]

@Krisit is possible, but I tend more towards it being a brain chemistry thing related to not smoking and the weird alterations to my diet that is giving me more trouble than anything.  if there was stuff happening before like this before i quit then i would start looking for a different reason, but for now anything that is out of the norm i consider quit related and temporary.  with that being said i am start to get a slow improvement since ditching the coffee.  instead of falling asleep between 2 and 3 am it's now between 11 and 1.  i'm hoping cutting out the carbs and sugar will start to kick in in another week or two.

 

i do hope you find relief for that soon,  sleep troubles are the worst.

[jillar]

Insomnia is a pretty common recovery symptom and usually resolves on its own. I take an OTC sleep aide like nighttime Bayer a couple times a week if I'm having trouble getting to sleep so maybe try that? I found just one pill was enough to kickstart my brain into realizing that it was night night time.....

 

[intoxicated yoda]

@jillari prefer a more natural substance.  (damn...no bong hit emoji.  lol)

[Opah]

Natural:

Warm milk, Have someone read to you, A long Hot to warm Bath,  a heart beat recording you will sleep like a baby.

I am sure there are a multitude of them out there, But I would suggest

A long Hot to warm Bath then a warm milk on your lamp table to sip on while you settle down and a heart beat sound track or one of the CDs where someone is reading a book to you

Edited November 16, 2021 by Opah

[Boo]

5 hours ago, KEL said:

There must be something in the air. Shifting into the holidays, memories. Etc. 

 

It's not uncommon for holidays, changing seasons, etc., to trigger a crave for a smoke.  We conditioned ourselves for years.

 

About eight months into my quit, I was rolling along pretty well.  Hadn't had a serious craving for weeks.  Then I raked the leaves for the first time that year.  Raking leaves was one of those chores that I "rewarded" myself with a cigarette upon completion.  Had to sort things out in my head, but I got through it.

 

There is a reason that the one-year mark of a quit is such a big deal.  Going a full calendar year without a smoke really cements your place as a full-fledged non-smoker.

 

Quitting smoking is not an event, it is a process.

[Opah]

Yes something in the air !

[KEL]

For sleep, I have used Valerian root for years. Celestial Seasonings is making an extra potent "Sleepytime" tea with chamomile and valerian. Just my 2-cents.

I FOUND THE EMOJIS! Life is on an upswing.

 

[Kris]

At this point I am just going with the flow.  I eat when I am hungry (not saying I make good food choices) I sleep when I am tired what ever the hour.  I have the yearly physical next month.  I just know I am not happy.  I prefer to be early to bed, early to rise,  I am thinking this is age related.

[intoxicated yoda]

@Krisgoing with the flow is a good option and nobody knows you better than you.  you got this!!

[Doreensfree]

Hey Peeps ....

If you didn't smoke today ....your Doing great .....and should feel very proud ...

We win the war ..Day by Day ...Well done ..

[intoxicated yoda]

Good evening my junkie and ex junkie friends...thought I would give you guys a little update on my current quit situation.  First a little recap and definition of how severe things had gotten for me.  The bloating I was experiencing had gotten to the point of being painful.  The weight gain was concerning as hell since my worst fear of quitting was realized and then some.  Getting fat as hell.  Before quitting I stayed around 163 to 165.  In less than 11 weeks I topped out at 199.  YIKES!!!.  I definitely pulled the pin on the fat grenade and blew the **** up!  So I lost track of when I quit the coffee and started the kombucha tea but I believe it's been about 10 or 11 days.  I was supposed to be drinking some apple cider vinegar and lemon juice before bed but I forget to do that most of the time.  Been eating carnivore for the last 4 days and only eating one meal a day but I don't skimp on that meal.  The results....drum roll please.  Over the last 10 days I've dropped from a high weight of 199 to a low weight of 188.  Meals exit with about the same frequency as they enter and the bloating is only after meals, mild and usually only lasts for about an hour or so.  That tells me that my stomach acid is building back up to where it needs to be for proper digestion.  I'm slowly retraining my brain to not have my hands shove everything in sight that looks like food down my pie hole in a neverending binge.   Another side effect is the problems with my back, hips and shoulders seem to be getting better as well.  I'm still hacking up phlegm.  As far as the quit...well let me tell you, I still see myself lighting up in my minds eye but the cravings are not as severe.  Ever since quitting the coffee the cig cravings have gotten much more tolerable so I don't know what sort of weird ass situation I've gotten myself into but at least it's manageable.  I still feel like I need to keep the quit front and center in my mind so I don't wind up half way to the store when I'm going to the golf course (yeah, that happened today).  Good sleep is still a luxury that eludes me but hopefully that will start to return over the next few days to weeks.  Anyhow, if anybody been following that's had similar problems these are the things i've done that seems to help.  

[KEL]

@intoxicated yodaGood morning. That post shows a lot of dedication. The "easiest" way to resolve those issues would have been to smoke. Only to start all over again. I recall a lot of bloat in the first few times I tried and this time really focused on getting a handle on it (water, water, water) from the beginning. Blessings to you. It does get easier.

[Doreensfree]

Quitting is a journey ....everyone's journey is different ....

Some take the steady scenic route ....some take the fast Highway ....

My sleep was disturbed for a while ....it will settle eventually....

Well done for not smoking today Yoda....youv,e stayed on the track .