Still a Quitter

[nsd_user663_4743]

Hi all,

just thought I would check in finally as I have not been posting for a while. Loads of new quitters on here now which is great. I have made it to 4 months, 3 weeks and 3 days. Or is it 3 months etc ect. Lost count. just know it was a Tuesday in October that I gave up or stopped. Had one blip on New years day and smoked four fags. This was because I had run out of lozenges!! Could easily have kept smoking but decided to clamber back on the wagon. So far, it has been a bumpy road, but the potholes are getting less and less. I started off on the patches and then switched to lozenges as I felt that I could all too easily forget the patch was there (tho' i definitely felt the nicotine intake) and was tempted on social occasions. so was topping up with the odd lozenges and then gave up patches altogether. so one addiction has been swapped for another as i am now consuming lozenges by the dozen!! I know I have to cut down and do so occasionally, but they help so much as I need some sort of crutch to get me through life. Sad but true. I am not going to beat myself up too much about it though as I feel so much better and am sticking to my quit come hell or high water. I will deal with the lozenge problem when I am ready. Tried the Allen Carr way, but, still feel I am giving up something, though I totally grasp his method. One thing that always sticks in my mind is his advice to "never doubt your decision to quit."

So to all new quitters, I say -it is not easy but hang in there and stick to your decision not to smoke. That is all that matters. I must add, I did not enjoy the four fags I smoked but did it out of desperation combined with a hangover downer. Crazy, isn't it!! Take it one day at a time and you will soon feel the benefits. Let's face it, time flies but life can seem so long when you are quitting. Try to just ignore the slow bits and find something to do. Paint your nails or do the dishes. And as for the girls, put your feet up and eat some chocolate. I am lucky that I never put on weight and I am slimmer than before my quit as food does not hold any attraction for me other than preventing an early demise! So stuffing my face does not appeal which is a shame and probably why I love my lozenges so much.

I shall stop rambling now, just want to say thanks to all posters old and new. It is such a comfort to know I am not alone in this non smoking world. By the way, people left in the pub guarding the coats while friends are outside smoking are now officially known as Smorphans. I like this. I am now a smorphan and proud of it!!!

Take care

xox

[nsd_user663_17606]

Hi Rachel

Nice to know you're still a quitter Well done on getting this far, a quarter of the way to the penthouse

Rachel xx

[nsd_user663_13507]

Hi there Mrs, we have been looking for you on the Oct quitters thread, good to see you are still on the wagon. There are more of us still not smoking than 'lost along the way'.

Welcome back, most of us seem to be posting less and less but its good to keep up with the other quitters and just to know we are hanging on in there (even if it is by the finger tips at times).

[nsd_user663_14771]

hey rachel it's great to see that you are still going strong!! and you seem to have a great quit attitide and sense of humour intact too, which is so important - i love the idea of being a smorphan, for me it kind of sums up the sense of loss too!

I did not enjoy the four fags I smoked

that's really good to hear as my brain keeps telling me that if i smoked now it would be better than.... well anything

[nsd_user663_16968]

Hi Rachel

Well done you. When i first replied to a post of yours in Nov you were 12 days in on this quit and 2 days behind me so your quit date was 26th Oct.

Thats totally brilliant, you and i have our quits so close we could be twins. Keep it up hun together we can do this

[nsd_user663_9065]

Well done ,i thank everyone of you for posting on here . without you i would not be quit 5 months .Like you i take one day at a time ,and it works for me to x

[nsd_user663_4743]

Thanks for the welcome!

Hi to you all. Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I am glad we are all still going strong!! Thanks Nutty for locating my quit date - you would think I would remember, but all I could recall was that it was a Tuesday in October as I always quit on a Tuesday. Don't ask me why, but it has become a tradition. I was reading a post recently that said they were quitting in a quiet way, making no big deal about it to stop any pressure etc. I think that is why I have not bothered to remember my quit date as it justs adds stress. I agree it is best to just stop smoking and get on with it. Obviously, if asked I tell people and explain how hard it has been. But I try not to dwell on it, like it is no big deal, even though deep down it is a huge deal. It is funny how we adopt different methods (especially serial quitters like myself!) hoping that one will finally work. My boyfriend was complimenting me the other day on my quit and I thought "God, you have finally noticed!" But that is fine, it has nothing to do with him, I am doing this for me, so it is private. My private hell! Haha.

Anyway, hello to you all again and thanks again for your help!!! I still need this forum and will try to be more supportive to the newbies. Just to reiterate, when I smoked the 4 fags on new years day, I expected to enjoy them but really didn't. I remember thinking "what the hell are you doing?" I was out of control, the nico monster was literally stuffing the cigs in my mouth. It was like being driven about by a nutter with a death wish and being mesmerised as certain disaster approached. But then I grabbed the steering wheel and told him to get lost!!! So I lost the battle but I am winning the war. And now I know that it is pointless having just the one cos I won't enjoy it. But I would probably have enjoyed fag number 10, 11, 12 etc. And I am not going back there to a life of slavery and ill health.

Keep going troops!

xox