First day down

[...]

Jay, take as much time as you need on the patch. This is not just about nicotine addiction. Smoking is a lifestyle for us, a coping mechanism, a DEEPLY INGRAINED internal belief system that cigarettes do something positive for us. It takes time. We are not just quitting smoking, we are literally changing how we function on a day to day process, how we cope with things and learning that all we knew about smoking is a complete lie. If you need to do the whole series, then do it. This is YOUR quit and if standing on your head helps, then by all means, stand on your head.

 

Many many people have been successful using the patch. What works for one person may not be the best solution for another. This is yours to own and protect. And no matter what you do, how you do it or how long it takes, we will ALWAYS have your back.

 

I'm really really glad your here

[mtbjay]

I think I may have read it on another forum...or one of the members here had it in their sig. line, but this always stuck with me....and you just proved it to be true...

 

"I am just 1 puff away from a pack a day habit!"

 

you dont owe the addiction any courtesies ...just turn you back on it and walk away...no good byes ...instead, good riddance!  :)

 

Yep. It really is true. Before i knew it, i blew through an entire pack that day, even though it made me feel ill. I kept right on going, almost like i couldn't control myself. I would look down, and there it was, another lit cig in my hand.

 

This time around, i actually don't miss smoking at all. I can best liken it to being asleep, and someone dosed you with an addictive substance without you knowing. You wake up, and have withdrawals for it, yet you have no desire to take the drug, since you have never willingly taken it before. You just want your life back, so you buck up and make it through the detox. It is the strangest thing in the world. I have never had a quit like this. Every other time, I longed for the intimate moment of firing up a smoke. This time around, it is disgusting to me. Even though i have cravings, i have no desire to "service" that addiction, i just want it gone.

 

 

Jay, take as much time as you need on the patch. This is not just about nicotine addiction. Smoking is a lifestyle for us, a coping mechanism, a DEEPLY INGRAINED internal belief system that cigarettes do something positive for us. It takes time. We are not just quitting smoking, we are literally changing how we function on a day to day process, how we cope with things and learning that all we knew about smoking is a complete lie. If you need to do the whole series, then do it. This is YOUR quit and if standing on your head helps, then by all means, stand on your head.

 

Many many people have been successful using the patch. What works for one person may not be the best solution for another. This is yours to own and protect. And no matter what you do, how you do it or how long it takes, we will ALWAYS have your back.

 

I'm really really glad your here

 

On the other hand... You are correct. It is a lifestyle. I remember reading an article online written by someone who had quit for six months. He described, in a colorful and comical way, his first few weeks dealing with this. Basically, he recalls walking, in the middle of a blizzard to the local store, at 3 am for a pack of smokes, cause he was out and woke up in the middle of the night wanting one. He said, "What am I doing? I wouldn't do this if I was starving! Have I gone mad?"

I couldn't help but laugh, because its true. I have done similar things. I started smoking when I was ten years old. I would sneak out of my house at 3 or 4 am cause I couldn't make it till the morning when my folks would go to work, or I would head to school. I would steal from my parents, all that jazz. 

 

 

I think we really learn a lot about ourselves on a deep level when we quit smoking. I think you really learn what you are made of. You either keep trying until you make it, or you risk life and limb, literally, to cower away and hide, all the while puffing on those things like they are actually necessary.  

[SueBeDoo]

I love love love your attitude jay, that alone will help you along the way, this is most definitely your final sticky quit, keep doing what your doing and before you know it you will be a year quit and not even remember what it was like to be a smoker,

Great stuff,

Sue xx

[Still winning]

Your attitude is a powerful tool in your quit, yours is amazing Jay!! 

 

I love Bacons advice of when you feel ready with the patches. I quit using champix (like you many quits, fails etc and felt I needed a crutch) and there does come a point you feel like you WANT to make it your own. Trust your gut instincts on that.

 

xx

[bakon]

your on right track. don't rip them off too early. but grab NOPE and the puff away from a pack a day. those sayings work.

[mtbjay]

your on right track. don't rip them off too early. but grab NOPE and the puff away from a pack a day. those sayings work.

 

Yep. Lesson learned last time. lol! Day 4 and Im feeling great, except it feels like im catching a cold. I kinda think is my body healing up though. I started running again each night, it hurts like hell now, but im sure in a few weeks my lungs will be in better shape. 

[Paul723]

Your body has a lot of healing to do for the next weeks and even months for the lungs. It's great that we can undo much of the damage we inflicted on ourselves.