This brought TEARS to my eyes i kid you not!!!!!!!!!!!

tytytytytytytytytytytyty.

Belle I did not know you smoked! I am trying to quit the 3 cigarette every few days habit that keeps lingering. It is just so hard. Harder than it was to quit a pack a day 20 some years ago. I have never gone back to a pack a day.

I have been tempted to try the e-cigs. What brand did you get?

Ah Belle! Considering the big fat warning on regular cigarettes has done no good whatsoever to deter me I am thinking I might have to give these a try. I am hoping it is at least less bad than the real thing! Wow how sad is that?

Congrats Princess
 

woo hoo for you princess...

trust me when i say you will have your moments and you can get all kinds of crabby and even want to say screw it a time or two

If your on fb get the quitometer...

if you cant find it see if julie can send it to you :)

again congrats....

Be careful, Julie. You don't want to actually take more nicotine in than what you already take. I don't know how easy it is to regulate e-cigs and if you are only having a few cigs every few days, using the e-cig could end up increasing your nicotine habit!

I would suspect that your habit at this point is more psychological than physical and I would approach it from that viewpoint and not from a physical/psychological standpoint. Use a toothpick in your mouth or one of those "blank" cigarrettes in place of a real cig., not something that adds nicotine to your body! You could become more addicted!

You need to work through the psychological "withdrawal" so to speak, not the physical one, IMHO.

Whatever you decide, Good Luck!

Oh absolutely it is mostly psychological. Nicotine is a helpful part of managing my OCD when I need a little steam valve. Too long and involved to go into here but that is one role that is plays. Also it is hugely helpful in stuffing emotions and creating a "f$%# you" veil of smoke to hide behind.

I had heard that about the e-cigs too. I would get the lowest possible strength.

Congrats!!!

That's brilliant Just_G, well done for not caving and having a cig, once you've got over that hump you know you can deal with stress without resorting to cigs again....it's great when you see the weeks of being nicotine free build up too huh? There comes a time where you even forget how long it is. I remember my quit date but lost track of the weeks at about month 9. :cheesy:

Woohooo princessbelle, go you! Stick in there you really can do it. Keep us posted on progress

Magic! You are doing so well princessbelle. You'll be off that e-cig before you know it. I'm so glad you're seeing positive results so soon.

One thing I've only really noticed recently, after over a year not smoking, is that I haven't had a tooth abcess or infection for the same length of time. I used to get 3 or 4 a year. Result!

Keep it up, princessbelle!

And throw away those ashtrays! No need for them anymore and smoking visitors can smoke outside and take their butts with them!

Even when I smoked I smoked outside.

Never been the case in this house. If you use rolling tobacco for your joints that's fine unless you smoke tailor-mades which means the doorstep.

Stay strong! I quit cold turkey 4 months ago. I even had someone smoke in front of me and I didn't want anything to do with it. In fact I thought wow that smells pretty bad(no offense to anyone that does smoke). It's hard as hell but if you want to beat it you can.

Congratulations to all of the non-smokers and anyone even thinking of quitting!

I have been struggling to quit for years. There have been a couple times I have quit for a while but have always gone back to it in times of stress. It is the last great (destructive/unhealthy) coping mechanism I have left. Had.

I last smoked over 60 hours ago. My official quit date being the 24th. I have been reluctant to post about it because I have been feeling like a miserable wretch and I have this thing about keeping my misery largely to myself.

I have just awaken at 4am in a pool of sweat. My sleep has been out of whack these few days and I feel like I have been in a haze. I am more sensitive than usual, irritable and weepy. But I keep reminding myself WHY I am doing this. There are of course the myriad of health reasons which are the facts behind the motivation but when it comes down to that moment when I am struggling through a craving, I have to keep telling myself that I WANT this.

Also, in the past year I have made several attempts. The first few days/week are absolutely the hardest part and I keep putting myself through this torture only to pick up the smokes again, setting myself up to have to go through it again in the future. I am done with that. I am done with smoking. I am done torturing myself. I am done poisoning myself. And soon, I will be through this withdrawal and I will be free.

But for the moment, I am still a wretched mess.

Ms. Meander...

You are at the crossroads - This is soooooooooooo amazing and Incubus is so correct about the breathing.

Good for YOU!

Julie (5 weeks / 2 days / Hours unknown)

:happyjump::happyjump::happyjump:

More than a month Julie! That's awesome.

Thank You, Incubus.
I feel GOOD!

Keep it up! Keep going!

You have been through the withdrawal before, so you know that it ends...then after getting over that main hump, it is mostly psychological.

You CAN do it. You WILL do it!

And freedom is exactly the right word. I had never seen it as freedom before until a few months after I had quit, but that is SO correct.

Keep posting for support!

Thank you all for being so supportive. I think sharing is an important part of this process. By letting others know what I am trying to accomplish, I make myself responsible to someone other than myself. Which just might be enough to make me think twice when in a difficult moment - which just might be enough to keep me from caving in.

I have been "deep breathing" through cravings, as mentioned. It is a helpful tool. I think of all that smoke-free oxygen being delivered to my lungs - it almost makes me light-headed sometimes!

Congratulations Julie - You are amazing and inspiring!

Horrayyyyyyy!!!!!!!!! Way to go!!! Hang in there...you are doing awesome!!!!!

http://dl10.glitter-graphics.net/pub...su6p0cfpko.gif

(((Hugs to you all))))))))

omg amazing i havent been here in a couple of weeks and this thread seems to have some new comers...awesome...

Way to go Jules!!!!!!!
Way to go Belle!
Way to Go Ms Meander.......keep on keepin on dear.

im at week 6 day 4 ( i think) and let me say the first 5 weeks were a piece of cake, icing if must say...the last two I've had more tantrums than even i want to admit too more break downs than my normal happy days self...

my smokes allowed me to deal with life without "emotion"...shit suddenly i have these damn emotions and i don't understand them....oops..it sucks waking at 40 and realizing I've never dealt with any of my emotions and now i get to...no more poison no more killing myself slowly..


Heather
6 weeks, 4 days, 7 hours and 53 mins.

i wont give up these last 6 weeks..even tho i have my days and moments that i want to, i wont...

Day 5
 

Struggling not to eat everything in sight :eatinghersheybar:

And just for the record: :whine:

Go you!! You're doing brilliantly, I'm so chuffed for you. You're hitting the 'hump' now but it does pass.......eventually. One just develops new strategies for coping with emotion.


Try not to substitute food for cigs...you'll hate yourself for it in the long run. Do something active instead of eating. I purposely didn't do the oral substitution but have still managed to put on a quarter of my original body weight. :overreaction:


Keep the faith both of you!

Holiday weekends are filled with temptation and opportunity.

I admit, I succumbed. Only a little bit, and I don't consider my efforts ruined. I am right back on track this morning.

I really didn't want to come here and share this but I'd rather be honest and shame-faced, then dishonestly accept kudos I don't quite deserve.

SO - fresh start this morning. All is well. So far, so good. I hope everyone else fared the weekend better than I!

We all have moments ~ I think it's great you are back here and getting back on track. Don't beat yourself UP!

Almost six weeks - but... Does not mean I am not tempted every single moment, especially when I get in my car -- I used to smoke in it and I can still smell it. Blah

om julie....me too lol i bring a bottle of water with me everywhere i go now tho...my car is starting to smell better for sure...i create my own temptations which suck however holding on tight....the scent eventually leaves the car..

by the way, how is the healing coming along?

I am pretty sore..still. BUT they never would have done the surgery had I been smoking - So, my breasts are healing beautifully and so are my lungs.

Feels GOOD!

You sound like you are doing great.

i dont know if, i would call it great lol, i whined enough the other day the lady actually gave me one and i refused it...shit the whining wow unexpected...

im really just doing the best i can every day and focusing positively on the daily stuff you know...

im so glad your healing well...

BY THE WAY
 

I have been ten minutes from buying a pack for the last week...this so major freaking sucks...someone said maybe its my cycle interfering with my psyche ...UGH..

Honesty...I wanna scream and have a tantrum...I wanna cry i think i already did this morning. This will pass though it always does.

Honesty....I refuse to break...im stubborn that way...besides i don't like the flippen withdrawals they suck big time..

I know this is easier than im making it sound..and i love and adore those that have allowed me my tantrums and fits..

Honesty....I want someone to hold my hand through this..is that so bad?

Firstly, congratulations to everyone who has quit whether it has been a hour or 10 years.
Gaea – I totally get what you mean about dealing with emotions. The first two months were the most shit-tastic experience of my life. Having a dry birth was less hard than this. I think that it is too important to do this to feel like you have to do it alone. I will pm you my number, and you can text or call if you want.
Ms. Meander – East some of that chocolate, girl! You deserve it! Congratulations!

My Story:
Smoking was my last great vice, and I smoked for 20 years. About 3 months ago, I developed pneumonia, and was out for about a week. During the course of the week, I slept and didn't really wake up to eat or use the restroom, much less smoke. When I was finally awake enough, I decided it was time to quit. I am the kind of person that if you take away my addiction, then it will be worse than what it needs to be. I kept a pack of cigarettes on my nightstand, and gave myself permission to smoke only if I need to. After the week of not smoking, I pulled on out of the pack, and left it on my nightstand with the same permission as above. It stayed there for two weeks, and I threw it away. Don’t get me wrong, I know I was lucky because I got to sleep through the worst part of the physical addiction, but I was in the middle of my last semester, in an unhealthy relationship, and having to fight with a professor who was trying to bully me into quitting. I never in my life wanted to say fuck it, gimme a smoke. Everyday for about a month I wished I had a cigarette. The toughest part, I think, is living with people who still smoke. The smell sits in my mouth like some explosive chemical reaction, and leaves my tongue feeling rough and abrasive against my soft palate. And so, three months later, I still want to smoke. I don’t think that feeling will ever go away completely, but I know that today is easier than yesterday and tomorrow will be easier than today.

Go you lillith. Sounds like you've succeeded against the odds. I'm sorry you're living with smokers, that must make it really hard. The feeling of wanting to smoke does go away eventually.