Had a "slip-it." :o Now I feel awful.

[phyllis_liberty]

Hi everyone,

Last night I found a pack of cigs in my buffet cabinet. "No, no, I said to myself." However, the evil things eventually ended up in my hands. I feel SO bad for doing it. I smoked one and inhaled it like a crazy woman, and the tears poured as I smoked it. The rest are in the garbage out back of my house. Yes, I did right with getting them outta' here.

I had quit for a week, but relapsed. I don't want them, yet I do. Crazy addiction. I need some help. I didn't find the site for help to stop smoking. Maybe I need that. ??

Also, can anyone tell me if e-cigs hurt your lungs too? I know some of you smoke those. I feel like (at times) I'm going to pull my hair out from the withdrawals. UGH!!!!!

If e-cigs don't cause further damage, I may look into that. But, if they do, I'll pass. Guess I'll just fight this demon down and eventually, I WILL WIN THIS BATTLE.

I feel so, so disgusted with ME right now. I guess I had to vent a little also.

Hugs friends,

Phyllis

[mrsmummy]

Okay. It's done. And today you quit for good. Look on it as a trial run and now you are off on the real thing. Good luck. You will find lots of extra help here:

healthunlocked.com/quitsupport

[onamission]

Don't beat yourself up you did really well not smoking for a week.

I gave up with the help of a quit clinic and champix they say if you give up smoking with support you are less likely to fall off the wagon.

Rome wasn't built in a day start fresh again tomorrow Google local quit clinics some GP practices have them take one day at a time and good luck

[girliegirl2012]

Oh my dear Phyllis,

Please don't crucify yourself! It's not the end of the world. I promise. I was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2011. I've been through two surgeries, chemo and radiation. I smoked all my adult life. It was the hardest thing I have ever done was quit smoking. I'm dead serious. No one enjoyed smoking as good as I did. When I quit smoking I grieved all day. For all my life I had come to depend on them for a crutch. If I was on the phone, I wanted to smoke. When I wanted to drink, I would smoke. When I was driving in the car, I wanted to smoke. When I was sad, I would smoke. You name it....I always wanted to smoke and I was addicted to the nicotine. No question about it. Now, I said all that to let you know what helped me quit. What worked the best. I absolutely would not smoke those ecigs. That vapor is nothing but chemicals and I would not put that in my lungs. I think in due time, studies will show how dangerous they really are. Anyway, if you drink water, often times with a meal that is helpful. Water helps flush the nicotine out of your system. The more water, the less cravings. I drank water often. A lot.

I don't know where you live, but here in the USA, we have the nicotine gum. That too was of a huge help for me. The fruit flavor was the best. I would bite a piece of gum in half and chew on it slowly. I would always have a bottle of water with me, as the nicotine would burn my throat. By chewing a half piece of gum at at time, I was able to stretch a pack of that gum as it was expensive. Some people had success with the nicotine patches. I never tried them as I am allergic to glue on any kind of patch. If you happen to live in the US, you can call:

1-800-784-8669 ( 1-800-Quit now)

They will send you free nicotine patches and offer you support. Best wishes Phyllis and if you want to live longer, you must stop smoking.

I personally don't know of anyone who has lived with lung cancer since 2011 until now. I can assure you that had I not quit smoking, I would not still be here. Best wishes!

[Badbessie]

Do not be so hard on yourself, it's happened so today is a new day. Good luck all ex smokers know know how hard it is.

[Schmicter]

Hi Phyllis,

Early on during your quit is definitely difficult and just chalk up the slip to trial and error. We have to relearn so many things when we quit and trial and error definitely comes into play. Now you know for sure what it feels like, and you have successfully resisted over and over and over again for the past week. So...dust yourself off and keep at it. It is not new anymore...you've done it before, and it gets easier pretty quickly in fact it will get familiar to you. I would also encourage you to join the quit support on here, it has been a major help for me during my quit.

[lKeith]

phyllis_liberty

Giving up the cigs is always hard, there are so many products on the market that can help, use them. Do not go down the route of e-cigs they keep the habit alive and often the desire to just have one. If you have started to kick it carry on, your lungs are far more important to you. Remember IF you get the symptoms of COPD or worse, you loose energy and are less able to carry out tasks that require effort, even walking ,getting dressed become an effort.

Get off and keep off the dreaded cigs.

Keith

[Dragonmum]

Why are you beating yourself up? I've done what you did dozens of time over my 60+ year smoking career. I tried every patch and gum on the market - always fell off the wagon, then, in 2010 I got an e-cig and have not felt the slightest need to smoke since that day. It was immediate and painless with no withdrawal pangs at all. It is a substitute for a habit which gave me great pleasure but wrecked my lungs. If you live in the U.S you will be reading all the stupid stuff about e-cigs being as bad as, or worse than tobacco cigs - this is utter rubbish. Here in UK we have an unbiased Public Health England - not funded by Big Tobacco or Big Pharma who both need you to keep smoking - they have stated that vaping is 95% safer than smoking. I have used an e-cig for 7 years and seen a massive improvement in my health - no flair ups and have only needed antibiotic and steroids 2or3 times for infections in all that time; I used to need them 4/5 times a year. For a real addict they are the solution to a massive problem that non-smokers can't begin to understand. Just to add that a lot of people do it gradually by substituting a vape for a smoke here and there, but if you want to try don't buy them from gas stations or supermarkets - go on-line and get the proper gear, there are loads of Vaping forums who can advise you. Whichever way you choose to go please stay off the smokes - the tar in those things is a killer; you cannot "smoke" an e-cig BTW as there is just no smoke. Wish you so much luck.