Introduce Yourself!

[Mac#23]

Welcome aboard Joan, congratulations on your decision to kick the habit. You are on your way to a happier and healthier life. Plus, congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

[Doreensfree]

Hi Joan ...

Welcome aboard this fabulous Train ...

Congratulations on your quit ...your doing great ..

Go to our Main Smoking Discussion Board ....there is tons of information there to help you along ...

We have great members here who will support you through your journey to Freedom ..

[nicotine_free]

Hello, I am on day 21 and as my username suggests I am now entirely addicted to nicotine gum. I am very afraid of still being addicted and the thought of going cold turkey off the gum is terrifying. I bought a whole bunch of gum, enough for at least another month. I am looking for anyone to tell me they successfully stopped this way. I am committed to never taking another puff one day at a time.

[johnny5]

Welcome @gum_addict and congratulations on 21 days smoke free.

 

I didn't quit by gum but I know a lot of people here did quit by a nicotine replacement treatment such as gum and they did quit the gum with time.  

 

You are doing a great thing in quitting smoking and being concerned about the gum.

[jillar]

Welcome @gum_addict and congratulations on your three week quit, that's fantastic I went cold turkey myself but we do have members who have successfully quit by using the nicotine gum. I'll tag @notsmokinjo to give you some clues how she did it. You can also try alternating between nicotine gum and regular gum but obviously at some point you'll just need to go through the three days or so it takes to get the nicotine out of your system. 

 

[KEL]

Welcome! I used gum on my first quit but this time went cold-turkey. I'd defer to other members on their experience but just wanted to congratulate you on your 21 days. That is an amazing accomplishment. Stick around-this is a good place!

[nicotine_free]

Thank you @Jonny5Just having someone respond and give support means a lot to me! In only 21 days I am noticing positive effects:

 

My sense of taste and smell has returned

I can breathe more deeply and easier

My hands and feet stay warmer, and I no longer need an extra blanket to sleep

 

My plan is to stick with my plan

[KEL]

The gifts from quitting just keep coming so I hope you will stick with it.

[nicotine_free]

Thank you @jillar and @KEL, I am very committed and will be here for the long haul  I smoked religiously for 42 years so I can appreciate putting time and effort into remaining smoke free for the next 42 years.

[jillar]

I smoked for 35 years and I'm convinced that being a part of a forum with others who had been or were going through the same thing as me is how I achieved my forever quit and you can too, we got your back

Check out all our different forums. We have our main board with tons of great information on our addiction. We also have a video forum if that's more your thing. Then we have our Social boards for when you want to stick close to your support but try to get your mind off your quit for a bit. Lots of fun threads there

[nicotine_free]

Thanks again @jillar, I am very excited to have an online community to join and participate in. I will be sure to check out your suggestions. BTW, how do you add your ticker to the bottom of your posts? I am mostly interested in the number of cigarettes avoided, they add up fast!

[intoxicated yoda]

@gum_addictwelcome and good job quitting smoking.  it really doesn't matter how you get the job done as long as you get it done.  21 days is a great start.  and that ticker is a great motivational tool.  

[jillar]

@gum_addict here is step by step directions for making yourself a ticker

 

https://www.quittrain.com/topic/15042-creating-a-ticker/

 

[Rozuki]

Hi to all here! I am 67, divorced, retired from the IT profession 3 years now! Originally from New York (Long Island) and now living in lovely Western North Carolina, w my boyfriend, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. In February of 2017, I wound up being hospitalized for first time ever, due to a stroke that occurred while I was at work.  I quit smoking, after 40+ yrs, that day! 

 

I was having a hard time about the 3 month mark and searched online for help and found my first quitting forum.... same one as @jillar , @Doreensfree and others on here! After that forum shut down, I stumbled onto Quit Train.  I, too, think the online support was key to my staying quit along with NRT. I used the patch and the gum.

 

Not long after my one year quit anniversary, in April 2018, I was informed I would need a CABGx4, asap! Coronary Artery Bypass surgery with 4 arteries needing replacement. Doc told me it was good that I had quit smoking the year before, as she had every confidence I would have a good outcome. She was right.... and it turned out I only needed 3 bypasses! Only!?!?! 

 

I had always considered myself to be in shape (I ate my veggies, walked 3-5 miles a day, took care of my house, in-ground pool and yard myself, was involved in various activities like bowling, scuba diving, gardening). I am extremely lucky that I was able to recover fully from the stroke and the bypass surgery.

 

Smoking is an awful addiction and does so much damage. Take advantage of all the info that is here and read, read, read everything and watch the videos. Knowledge is power!

 

PS I will be celebrating my anniversary of the bypass surgery by going to a Bon Jovi concert!! 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2022 by Rozuki

[Gus]

Welcome @gum_addict! You’ve got a great start on your quit going! Congratulations! Although I did not quit using nicotine gum, I did use the patch. Eventually, you are going to have to go through those three days of getting that nicotine out of your system. I started my complete withdrawal by forgetting to replace my patch one morning and decided if I could go the length of time I had without refreshing my mode of delivering nicotine into my system—I was done. And I was! I hope to see you around!  

[Doreensfree]

Hello and welcome ..I'm late !!!!....due to time Zones ....

Congratulations on your wonderful Quit ....

We have had successful quitters here,using the gum ..All road leads to Rome ...

Al long as you keep to the plan to slowly ween of it ...knowing there will be a day when you are nicotine free,

You should be ok ...I agree with using regular gum too...

Read all you can on the Main Discussion Smoking Board ...there is tons of useful tips ...

And Joel's videos ...

Those who stay close and participate.... usually succeed ...

Check out our games too..they keep you busy ..plus we could do with another chick in the chicks and stick game ..just sayin ....you can do it ...believe in yourself ..

[nicotine_free]

Thank you @jillar I created a ticker, I hope it worked.

[jillar]

That' ticker looks good on you @gum_addict, and look at all those savings already!

[Boo]

19 hours ago, gum_addict said:

I smoked religiously for 42 years so I can appreciate putting time and effort into remaining smoke free for the next 42 years.

 

Good news: After you put in the time early in your quit, there's no real effort involved.  You can simply enjoy being a non-smoker.

 

Not smoking only feels weird for a while.  Then you reach a place where not smoking begins to feel normal.  Eventually, you will reach a point where not smoking is not a task but rather your new reality.

 

Welcome to the Quit Train Gum_Addict.

[johnny5]

4 hours ago, gum_addict said:

Thank you @jillar I created a ticker, I hope it worked.

 

Ticker works and looks good.  Take pride in the time since you last smoked.  Things will get better, even with coming off of the gum.  You are doing a great thing.

[nicotine_free]

1 hour ago, johnny5 said:

 

Ticker works and looks good.  Take pride in the time since you last smoked.  Things will get better, even with coming off of the gum.  You are doing a great thing.

Thank you for responding to me with encouragement, it means a lot to me as I trudge my way through the first few weeks. I just chewed a non-nicotine gum instead and it feels like I have a real shot at quitting at the moment.

[nicotine_free]

2 hours ago, Boo said:

 

Good news: After you put in the time early in your quit, there's no real effort involved.  You can simply enjoy being a non-smoker.

 

Not smoking only feels weird for a while.  Then you reach a place where not smoking begins to feel normal.  Eventually, you will reach a point where not smoking is not a task but rather your new reality.

 

Welcome to the Quit Train Gum_Addict.

Thank you, Boo. I don't yet know when the day will come for me that not smoking will not be the largest thing in my life but I look forward to that day nonetheless. Today I am confident that I will not take a puff and that is all I know for sure on day 22.

[nicotine_free]

Thanks @jillar I look forward to the day I break even from the cost of the gum, it will take about a month before I'm really saving money. Instead I am focusing on the number if cigs not smoked, all that tar I did not put into my body, all those chemicals avoided, all that stink I didn't have to smell of.

[KEL]

@gum_addictEveryone is different but for me I found involvement with other quitters helps enormously. I am on the site several times a day and post often. Its a felt-sense of a loving community whose only desire is that I do not smoke. And that is my wish for them as well.

The nice thing is that we don't have to be in the cold anymore-at least that is where I smoked. And given the altitude, quitting sure makes motion easier.

Hang in.

[nicotine_free]

@KELThank you, I am very happy to have found this place. The support offered here makes my smoke-free day! I'm on day 23 and going strong.