Hi everyone, I have just found this site and registered, so bear with me while I find my feet. This is my 4th day as a non-smoker, whew, who know I could get passed one day. I'm 58 and been a smoker for about 45 years. I love that the 13th March 2013 is no smoking day, we all have a head start, I like that. I am trying to not let the cravings get to me too much, this is the first time I have seriously tried to give up smoking and I am scared to death if I fail I won't try again. Hope to chat with you soon.
Sue
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Hey Sue hello from another Sue.So glad you found this site its brilliant! I was like you I found it on about day4 too and if it hadnt of been for the 'virtual' support I would of failed on day9.Im about the same age as you and had smoked for 43years.(I am now on day 13)I really wanted to give up for ages but like you thought it would be awful.My desire to have the best quality of Life for the time left and getting away with smoking for so long has spurred me on and kicked me up the arse! DONT YOU DARE GIVE UP YOUR QUIT!You have come this far and thats absolutely brilliant.I found those first 4days the toughest and around day 9. Are you on NRT? Im on them Niquitin mini tabs the 1.5mg ones and Ive found them excellant. Stick with it please and use this site it is an invaluable tool.Good Luck x
Hi Sue, I'm guessing from your user name you are a Suzanne, like me. So pleased to have found a like-minded forum buddy so soon. No, I gave up cold turkey. A bit over 2 weeks ago I came down with a nasty virus, and believe it or not still tried to smoke even though each puff had the potential to create a cough capable of dislodging a lung. I had to go to the doctor to get a puffer to help me breathe, and realised how positively stupid I looked to the doctor asking for something to help me breathe while I still smoked. So thanks for your welcome support Sue but giving up now is definately not an option, I know it is not going to be easy but finding sites like this have got to go a long way in taking the edge off it. Good on you for getting to day 13, did you have light-bulb moment that helped with your decision to quit?
I am 63 and smoked for 48 years. I am now, unbelievably in week 16. I suffered from the chest thing every time I got a cold. I couldn't lie down at nights without extreme coughing and breathlessness. T'his could go on for weeks.
Paying for lots of dental treatment and not wanting to spoil all the good work was my trigger to quit. It hasn't been easy. But do one cigarette at a time. The benefits soon start piling up! I can't believe how much more breathing capacity I've got.
My mind is playing games with me at the moment, I feel like a big part of me is missing. Of course it is, but it is a good miss! I know I will never have another cigarette, so I just keep plodding on. I'm waiting for my brain to give up and say, ok I give in, I won't bother you anymore. Good luck. The days soon pile up.
What an achievement getting to your 16th week. You should feel very proud of yourself. I, like you kept getting this nasty chest thingy and trouble breathing and it would also last for weeks. I'm sorry to hear your mind is playing games with you at the moment. Thats why this forum is so valuable, when things get hard, log on and tell some-one what you are feeling, I'm sure you will get alot of support. It is good to hear no matter how hard things get you will not light up another cigarette. Think not what you are missing but what you are gaining. Please don't think you are a bother, we are all going through a difficult time together. Stay strong
Hi Blossom.No I didnt have a lightbulb moment I just had a slow build up ie. Little pain in chest,bit of breathlessness,hating myself for and the act of smoking,feeling I had pushed my luck too far after 42 odd years,started to look awful and feeling ill after smoking and the big one-I wanted to change and live the rest of my life in as best condition as I could cos lets face it life is short AND Id like to live to a 100!!! : ) Be vigilant n watch out for demons.All the best x
Welcome aboard blossom. Congrats on "hanging tough "in your quit - (nice subtle reference to your thread heading for you there!). Its an amazing thing youa re doing...
just one thing, Toucan says "I'm waiting for my brain to give up and say, ok I give in, I won't bother you anymore". I think thats dangerous as there wont be one. You wont have a sudden vision or revelation that you are free, you wont have that eureka moment. That feeling needs to be there from day 1, if it isnt i fear that one may spend a lifetime suffering the "want". Sorry if this sounds harsh but being forewarned is being forearmed.
You wont have a sudden vision or revelation that you are free, you wont have that eureka moment. That feeling needs to be there from day 1, if it isnt i fear that one may spend a lifetime suffering the "want". Sorry if this sounds harsh but being forewarned is being forearmed.
Good luck
With respect magic, I have to disagree with you there. It might well be the case for you and for others that you are absolutely in the right mindset from the first day. But it is not the case that if you feel the 'want' at the outset of your quit you will always feel it. Not so.
I did not prepare to quit, I didn't particularly want to quit. I felt I had to and I had to find the determination inside me to keep going. I certainly thought about smoking continuously for many weeks. I'd have good days, and then bad days when there was a nagging feeling of loss and that sort of continuous underlying ache to smoke. I just chose not to give in to it. And THIS CHANGED. I changed. My subconscious caught up with my conscious choices, and my entire mindset altered - nearly two years quit and I am untroubled by any desire for a cigarette, that feeling is completely gone. For me, it took time, and I know it took time for others as well.
I think your positivity is great, and it's really working for you. But if someone had told me when I was going through it that that feeling of wanting would be with me forever, I wouldn't have bothered to continue!
Blossom - welcome to the site. However the quit pans out for you just know you're doing a terrific thing and freedom is absolutely achievable!
Fair point Hels, each to their own. It'll be different for everyone. i just know that i could not cope with pining for something i dont want. thats screwed up.
Thankyou for your welcome. Thankyou also for your words of wisdom. There is much to learn. At this point I am trying not to let my mind think of anything negative, failure is not an option. My success by far will be because I found this forum site. Stay strong
What I do is see everything for what it is and be 100% honest with myself. If i get a craving (which is rare now) i will face it down and accept it for what it is - i well revel in the fact that it doesnt hurt me and thats its pathetic and i am beating it with ease. It sounds strange but in the early days i really looked forward to getting the cravings just so that I could prove that i could beat them easily and actually didn't need the cigs. I was so overjoyed everytime i did this that the next one became even easier and this is how its been since. Now, i think the cravings are shit scared of me so they dont bother coming out anymore.
My advice, for what its worth, is to arm yourself with the facts, face up to the truth of everything and be strong.
Every Saturday morning my wife and I ply our wares at a 5k Park Run here in York. There are various ages, body shapes, fitness levels and outlooks. It would be too simplistic to say they are all heading for the finish line so therefor they all have the same goal in common. What matters more is that no two runners are the same: some like to sprint, some like to amble, some like a combination, some like solo and some like groups. Everybody looks out for everyone else whilst primarily looking out for themselves. No one runner has ever claimed to have the defining secret to a universal good run that I'm aware of, there is an acceptance that everyone finds what's best for them and takes it at their own pace.
Quitting smoking is one of the most important decisions of my life as is the realisation that it is not a one size fit's all process.
Hi Sue - and welcome from yet another Sue! I'm 52, smoked for most of my adult life (and, for some of it, with an inhaler in one hand and a cigarette in the other) and have now been quit for nearly a year. I would NEVER have thought it possible, and I certainly couldn't have done it without the help of this site.
I am absolutely with Helsbelles on this. And it seems a good time to share a quote which she used to have as her signature and which I used as my mantra during the early days and weeks of my quit (in fact I printed it out and stuck it on my kitchen wall. And my living room wall. And my bedroom too)...
Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.
Day at a time, Blossom. One Day At A Time. And when that sounds too much, one hour at a time. Or 5 minutes at a time. I promise you this is do-able. It really is. And it is soooooo worth it.
Thank you for your welcome. I feel very touched by all the welcoming hands that have reached out to me since I joined this site, only a few days ago. What an inspirational quote, definately worthy of printing off and framing. Each day without a cigarette I feel that little bit stronger, you are right Sue one day at a time. Thankyou
Thank you for your welcome and your words of wisdom. I feel very at home in this forum, everyone is very passionate about their journey to quit. Practically every waking moment since I have joined I have been logged onto this site, it has been my saviour. It can be a lonely road quitting, but to read other peoples stories and gain knowledge from their experiences has made it so much easier. Well done to you too.
Yes you are right, this forum has been a life-saver for me too. Practically every waking moment I have been logged on to it. Good work getting to day 9. We are all strangers, from different countries, different cultures, different ages, different genders, yet have a fundamental similarity, we are all in the process of quitting smoking. That is powerful, and each time I log on I am reminded I am not alone. Each day at a time.
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Hello all, new to the forum - on day 19
Here i am on new quit
A bit slow off the starting blocks...
new quitter 5 and1/2 days
