I QUIT SMOKING , YOU CAN TOO. I QUIT SEPT 27, 2012, SUPPORT EACH OTHER HERE

CHLT, that first book was an excellent read. (Now that I can actually focus enough to read again out of the fog) Do not take another puff. I got momentarily discouraged however because despite all my ravings and hysteria here I have a patch on. Without it I fear I'd never make it. His contention is that i'm basically torturing myself. Well, so be it. I am doing this and there is indeed an end to these patches and to my addiction.

I will not take another puff. I will not smoke today. Those are my mantras. For me, getting a handle on the psychological aspect of quitting is harder than anything and that is where the patch helps. I rub it and know that i'm getting all the nicotine I need today and so everything else is just in my head. It's a game I'm playing with myself.

All I have in my head is: The choice of having a cigarette is plain and simply only choosing between the hell of withdrawal or a pack and a half a day addiction... There is no other option. There is no in between. Not a puff. Not one.

Other people have done this. I can too.

I'm still too hazy and cranky to be of any help to anyone else right now or to even know who to thank.. I'm hazy as hell. Selfish old thing that I am! Oh well... why not for once in my life?

:)

The main person to thank is you my friend. You are doing the hard part, we are just here to cheer you on. DF

Day 5

Ever feel like you're fiddling while Rome is burning? All this horror in the news makes things like quitting smoking seem small and selfish.

But it is what it is.

Oh yes, every day is a serious challenge. But armed with my newly discovered willpower, I have never been more commited.....

Bravo!!

Miracles happen.

Hubby who smoked since he was 14 and now is almost 60 quit.

It was hard sort of at first so ate quite a bit but he is back to normal.




He just decided he would quit when his brother in law was dying of cancer and it's been a couple of months now and his

moods are better as well plus he has no desire for one. Oh yeah he smoked cigars and had the last one and never had another since the very first day he decided to quite. Its been quite a while now.

I think it helped that we both agreed he could quit.

It is nice he has been able to quit. Seeing family die from cancer is a horrible thing, but a real motivator.

2 months for me now.

the only time i struggle is when i'm drinking. i've been out drinking 5 or 6 times but have managed to refrain. its a struggle when i'm drunk, i have about 5 or 6 battles with myself that last about 5 to 10 minutes. i'm pleased to say that i'm winning these mini battles. i use the previous battles to say that i can win the current battle!!

i'm not sure if these urges will ever go away when i'm drinking :-(

I have been wanting to quit for about a year. I am 30 years old from NYC. I started smoking 10 years ago when I was an investment banker because it was something to do to justify a break at work.

I have 2 cigarettes left in my pack and as other have seen here I am tired of paying $14+ for a pack plus all the other negatives that comes with Smokimg.

Thank you whoever started this thread to inspire me to take the step I have been wanting to.

I will update when I am finishinhed with my last 2

You are more than welcome. My thread has been a huge success, I am very pleased that so many have quit. May you have great success. You will receive all our support here.

You will make it, you will.

They will get better, but takes a long time. Fight each battle one at a time. For me it was the morning coffee, and I still get the urge but it passes more quickly now. Stay with it my friend, the rewards are to great and penalties far to alarming. DF

Day 6

For some reason today is hard.

Best thread here on GLP!!!

Hang in my friend, hang in. It will pass. DF

Thanks much. It has turned out to be a helpful thread to many. My wishes for my thread coming true, one at a time.

Day Six, Grumpy. That's Amazing. Think where you were last week (take a lifetime, or an hour's dream) and here you are. Big congratulations.

And, yes, some days are tougher than others. Ebb and flow.

I'm fiending like a madman today. Two weeks ago today I was smoking two to two and half packs in my last gasp knowing I'd be putting them down Monday, December 3. Today I'm smoke free. Some days are indeed tougher than others. Today, my mind is telling me 'who would know if you had a smoke?' and 'you smoked for 40 years and you've been off them for almost two weeks, what's a few more or a pack going to do?' The shit really talks to me. Also, I'm a sprinter not a long distance runner. I'm good when the bullets are flying and things are swinging (I'm girded and posied for the adversity), but daily living is very daily and long-term campaigns wear me down. My mind is saying, 'I'm bored, next, what now?' A real nutter.

I do know this will pass. I also know this is part of the cunning/baffling part of all addictions. There have been many moments of great hope and happiness over the last two weeks. Moments where I almost wept with gratitude because I wasn't smoking and, wonderously, was freed from the compulsion to put a toxic stick of poison in my mouth by rote and without thought. Like a robot.

Free for the first time since I was a kid.

So, I won't smoke for today. No fucking way. And to the insidious part of my mind that listens to and entertains my addiction, for today I'll simply say thanks for the information but I think I'll pass. My people will call your people when I'm a little clearer and can make an informed decision. If I smoked now, it wouldn't be by choice. It would simply be driven and derided by the mechanical mendacity of addiction. Fuck that.

So I won't smoke for today.

"God Bless ye merry gentlemen may nothing you dismay" as we all fight the good fight and stay free from the smokes today.

As always.... well written Mac.

Day ten for me...... so many annoying things happened today and for a wonder, I didn't think about smoking once....amazing I said!
The only time I really feel the need is after being on the interwebs and posting on threads.....like this one....lol The urge passes even more quickly now although the frequency hasn't

Keep up the good work quitters and remember to check back in

Oh and the Seahawks are kicking f'ing ass and are well on the way to having another superbowl stolen from them.....

I was sitting in the car in the parking lot watching a man smoke today in the snow and wind. He inhaled for the longest time and then exhaled. I watched every single breath he took. Every single one of them... I don't know why. Fortunately he didn't notice me sitting there staring at him alternating between wanting to cry and wanting to run out and bum a cigarette or thundering out to rip it from his lips and stomp on it. I sat there and just watched. It almost seems like I'm in some kind of alternative world. I'm not a smoker at least today and I don't know who I really am. I'm just not him there inhaling and exhaling smoke in the winter landscape. Once a kindred spirit. Its going to be hard to find kindred spirits now because lord knows I can't freakin' stand the righteous non-smokers... Sometimes I wonder if I continued to smoke simply because I couldn't stand non-smokers. Funny I should find rebellion in me still at such a ripe old age. Apparently there are people out there that don't smoke that are quite nice human beings. So I think. So I'm told? Sanctimonious bastards! (:) JUST KIDDING!

This... Its just a freakin' addiction. It's not a big psychological thing I tell myself. It's just addiction. And today I am okay. Today.

You know Mac, your writing is poetry. There's a book in your struggle... At least you're making sense as you quit and not babbling and grumbling and wailing... lol :)

The rest of you are amazing too. How do we persevere? With each other. We are bonded now ladies and germs... :) Watching the smoke sweep away into the wind. Going going gone.

hey all,

i want to join in quitting.

been smoking for nearly 21 years, tried quitting halfheartedly 3 years ago, but now i want and have to.

i know it is wrong to do it for someone else, but if the chance of not repelling someone who i really do like (have a thread on how my dating w/ him is going here)includes quitting, it might be a good idea /timing.
also my financial situation is not good enough to stay a smoker, at least my health altogether is good.
as i have issues with acne, i hope quitting will help with that in the long run, too.
i am used to smoke when i have a drink at the bar or pick up the telephone, but i do not like the taste any more (always was a "i want to smoke" not a "i have to", as i could go for hours/days/2weeks without, if i had to), so i hope withdrawal symptoms would be less.

2 pcs left in the box - will smoke them, go to bed, wake up in the morning and that´s it.

Good job Grumpy! you are there! you're at the point of almost "pitying" the smoker rather than envying them and that friend, is HUGE

Keep it up and just think of all the awesome stuff you can buy now that the "smoke money" is freed up :)

Don't do it for him yo! Do it for yourself and your well being and that alone

Any other reason and you are setting yourself up to fail....

In any case good luck :)

Just quit a week ago, and in that time my breathing, sense of smell and energy levels have improved dramatically. Still having cravings, but so far so good.
The hardest part about quiting is my job - I work at a convenience store.

Grumpy, you are a pisser. I liked you from start and feel so fortunate to be walking through this with you. Man, you brought me right to that smoker inhaling deeply in the winter's cold. I am so grateful you're on this thread. You crazy, zany nicotine fiend. Loved the Ladies and Germs (I flew in fom the coast and, man, are my arms tired). We have indeed become what we once loathed. Thank God. My "best thinking" has always gotten me into the biggest jackpots and jams of my life. If I tell myself to go left, I'm going fucking right from now on. Two hangmen hanging from a tree, Grumpy. So good to be with you.

Phoenixe - Truly risen from the ashes should you put the smokes down.
Thanks for being so honest about your hopes and concerns. When someone honestly shows a part of themselves, it gives me the permission and courage to show what's going on for me. So here you are and you're helping people already. Agree with Brother CHL and ask that you do it for yourself. I can tell just from your brief introduction that you deserve it (and it's a damn good day that fellow you may be starting a relationship with gets to be with someone like you). Your turn now. You really do deserve it.

Anon - A week is huge. I bet it's tough given the work you do (and slinging all the packs across the counter has to be a huge challenge). No one can take that week from you and know you've got a safe place here with like-minded travelers to walk with you. Please keep checking-in.

CHL, you are, and remain, the shit. Doing it, Brother.

I was simply amazed how fast my lungs cleared out and I began breathing deeply again, and how fresh the air felt. I almost believe that I may always have some cravings now and then, I will not be that week again. Coming up on 3 months the 27th, to far to turn back. I just know that my mind and body would so enjoy a smoke and always will, but with all of us supporting the others, somehow it is easier not to give in. I can not log on here and tell all of you I failed, That would be a poor example. So friends, I will be here often, as a non-smoker. you all. DF

If you can go for two weeks without a smoke you will succeed if you want too. Good luck, and welcome to the quitters support thread. DF. ps. check back in and let us know how you do, ok?

Last Edited by Desert Fox on 12/16/2012 11:55 PM

Day 7

7 days
7 nights

Wow, Seven Days, Seven Nights. Grumpy. A huge, huge, milestone.

"Seven Days and Seven Nights" sounds like the title of that old country song "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" and is oddly appropriate to the hours, days, and years we wittled away slowly, methodically, killing ourselves.

Seven Days and Seven Nights
Since I found my thinking right...

I still remember the day
I put you away
I felt so lonely
Pined for you only
But I left you

Seven Days and Seven Nights
Has brought a week of lips pursed tight...

Still, I sometimes call your name
Although you're the blame
For years of misery

Seven Days and Seven Nights
A dream deferred is now in sight...

I refuse to keep loving you
Your whispered lies were never true
You came in stealth smoke and an assasin's kiss
But my life and my freedom mean much more than this

Seven Days and Seven Nights

Now comes the easy part for us, Grumpy, and we'll do it .......

"Eight Days a Week."

Congratulations and all best. - Mac (Two weeks on this end Today! - Oh, yeah, it's your birthday! We're deeper than deep and cooler than cold).

Fight the Power!

Day 11 for me and still having the odd craving....

Dude at work offered me a smoke and with no pause, I said hell no....

Told him to go out and choke himself....lol



Way to be everybody...........

WE'RE DOING IT!!!