kathyjo

[Jade59]

Hi there!  Just thought I would start a new thread to eliminate all the "scrolling"   It's day three smoke-free for me AGAIN!!   Man, this has been one long 6mo struggle and I know the next 6mos will be hard too.  I called my mom, sister, friends, oh and my husband too, of course, and told them my need of daily support and everyone was very understanding and my mother actually rang me today.  I see now that I can't expect someone to meet my needs if they don't know what they are!!

So thank you for this idea, I think it's going to help a lot.  

Thank you again for your support and of COURSE I'm there for you whenever you need it.  That just goes without saying. : )

[kathyjo]

How is it going? I'm hanging in there and hope you are too : ) You have a week anniversary today? Tomorrow? Congrats!!!

Kathy Jo

[Jade59]

Oh no honey, you're MY hero!!!   You were solely instrumental with the encouragement when I needed it most. : )  

Congratulations!!  I'm glad to hear the cravings are coming few and far between.  The funny thing is, so are mine!!!  I think that is all thanks to the fact that I never considered my relapses to be permanent and never went above 3 cigs a day.  Even though it's only been 5 days since the last puff ( 5 or 6 ) I don't have any more cravings than I did the first 3mos when I first quit in July, but to be fair I have to make the quit date the last time I took a puff.  5 days, 6 days, whatever, who cares because I'M A NON-SMOKER!!!!!  : )

And like Jennifer said, always remember why you don't want to smoke, even when you really, really REALLY do.....

Take care Kathyjo and stay strong!!  I can tell just by the ring of your posts how committed you are to your quit.................

[kathyjo]

Stay focused, watch out for the triggers and I 'm sure you will do well : ) Always remember why you are doing it as Jenn said, especially when your gut is feeling so much better that you can't quite remember why you quit. I think we all need to remind ourselves why we quit (thanks Jenn.)
Today makes 3 months and 3 weeks. The cravings don't come as often and when they do, it is easy enough to ignore. There is no way that I would want to start the process over, so I will stay "quit" and never smoke again. I can't imagine having to relive any of my quit time!
Keep us posted and congratulations on 4 days!!! You're my hero!!!

[Jade59]

1yr, 20yrs, it's all good!!!  One year is alot more than I have EVER been able to accomplish!   I understand about smoking being a constant companion....I haven't been able to work for many years now so was outside smoking every 10mins.  

Congratulations on a "little less" than one year because that is just AWESOME!!!!!

[Jennifer375]

ohhhhh, I worded that totally wrong... I am a non-smoker NOW after 20 years of the habit,, sorry "blushes" ! Actually Iv only been a non-smoker a little less than a year.

I used nic gum/lozenges mostly to stave off the brains cravings for that 'thing you do between things your doing all day long'... smoking was my constant companion and really I think most the folks who smoke like I did , do so in part because addiction is a lonelyness game most the time rather than a social event. Outside of the gum, I learned to stop resisting the touch of others, hugs, kiss'es and other affection, human contact is really important to healing IMO.

Wish I could offer more advice, but I think the biggest hurdle to overcome is going from "I want this" to convincing yourself you really dont anymore. Thats the hard part,, convincing yourself. Blessings!

Jenn

[Jade59]

Kathyjo--Yes, VERY nice not "suiting up" and I woke up this morning wondering why my pain levels were better and what I did different yesterday and "Oh yeah....I stopped smoking 4 days ago, that must be it!!!"  I remember this feeling last time too.  Other than that, not much physical w/d which I chalk up to the fact that I wasn't smoking much on this last relapse.  Now it's all mental and that's the hardest part!    I don't know what day your on kathygo, but it's over 3mos.....Wow, you're doing just great!!!!  Keep up the good work and take good care......: )


Well hello Jennifer!  Congrats to you on 20 whole years, that's amazing!!!  Can you give me any tips on how you handled the cravings?  Do you remember?  Do you WANT to remember? Lol.   I visit "whyquit.com" a lot, walk and of course, I discovered these forums a relatively short time ago and I have found that time just flies when I'm on here, so that's been some help.  However, sitting so still and in one place is very hard on me and I'm finding I can't do it as much as I would like.....getting carpel tunnel too, I think.  Thank you so much for your support and I'll see you around........: )

[Jennifer375]

Fancy meeting you here!! :-D

Im also a non-smoker after 20 years now..... and I just wanted to offer you my encouragement and congradulations!!

I also want to say,,, when you do feel a craving come on, dont ever let yourself slip into thinking about who you might be disappointing if you dont follow through, think about your reasons for quitting and where going back to that habit will take you if you were to regress. You have given yourself a huge gift that will pay you back in spades... Blessings friend.

Jennifer

[kathyjo]

Good for you, both on the 3 days smoke free and that you let everyone know how important their support is : ) You have now withdrawn from all physical effects and you have prepared for the mental/emotional times by letting your friends and family know that you will need them and call on them from time to time. Make sure you do and make sure to post your progress and post your weak moments, it will help you in the future to read old posts and see how you were feeling back when : ) It will also help others to know that we all need support.
Imagine not "suiting up" for 3 whole days! I'm sure your healing gut is thanking you : )
Hang in there......you can do it!!