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I had a week long vacation in Seattle using money I saved from not smoking. Not smoking owns (quit August 2013)
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Oct 21, 2014 15:11
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 04:40 |
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So I quit smoking 31 days ago. Had five weeks off work and decided to make the push. Started with the 21 mg patch, then stepped down to the 14 mg after a week, then the 7 after another week, and only wore that for two days before quitting that jazz. The initial drop in nicotine made a couple days drag (no pun intended), but nothing like the first week of not having the actual habit of smoking. Like so many others, I loved smoking while driving, smoking after eating, waking, smoking with a cup of coffee, while waiting, while breathing, etc. That's the hardest thing, I think, for many of us. Even though your brain is restructuring itself from the withdrawal, it's the routine change and self control that we struggle with more. I think the e-cigs are good for the nicotine reduction, but do they really alter the habit? Also, some new research is saying that e-cigs are probably still harmful. http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/20/2_Supplement/B16.abstract and http://gizmodo.com/bad-news-e-cigs-alter-cells-a-lot-like-tobacco-does-1561416238 were two quickly Googled sites I found that say what other sources are. Apparently breathing anything other than air is harmful. Maybe I should move out of southern California .... Anyway, I found a couple of apps (Butt Out and Livestrong) for my iPhone, both have craving trackers and a community of people who have quit/are quitting; people that love to cruise the posts and encourage others to keep fighting. These were incredibly beneficial for me and I suggest that any of you who are considering quitting or are in their early stages should really check those out. http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/top-iphone-android-apps-quit-smoking#14 has more than a few suggestions for apps. My favorite is Butt Out 'cause it has meters for how well your circulation, nicotine levels, lung health, and risk of heart disease are based on your previous habit. Take it with a grain of salt, but it's nice to watch the meters drop as you get deeper in sobriety.  I accidentally reset the counter one day, so it only reads 5 days, but it didn't reset how many people have died this last month! So that's good.Other than being aggravated by my spouse or a co-worker, the biggest trigger I've encountered is when I've been engaged in one activity for too long and need a break. Recognizing that all I need to do is something different for a short while has been enormously helpful. Altogether, feeling good and quitting is something I recommend to everyone. It's so much nicer to actually sit inside a Starbucks or not feel rushed 'cause I need to get that last cig in on my way to wherever. Or wishing I could pause a movie at the theater when I feel the cravings coming on. Or my clothes smelling clean all day. Or ... or ... or .... Being on the other side and realizing how much my life hinged on when I'd have an opportunity to smoke almost makes me feel shameful. But no more. Get on the wagon, peoples! Change your lives. surfwriter1 fucked around with this message at 16:00 on Oct 23, 2014 |
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Oct 23, 2014 15:43
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I've not been smoking for about a month now, and I'm using E-Cigs as a way of 'tapering off' (it's worked before, I find I get less and less interested in them as the habit fades). Going cold turkey, I'm too much of an angry man. This is the sixth (maybe seventh) time I've quit, and every other time, I have been lured back after a period of months by that 'one' cigarette I have whilst I'm drinking. The pattern then commences: Don't smoke all the next week, get to Friday, have a beer, think 'gently caress it, I can have just one, I've proved I can do it'. That'll carry on for a few weeks till I start feeling guilty about bumming cigarettes off people, so I'll buy a ten pack on an evening of drinking, as a treat, and think 'no more after tomorrow'. This will work. So I'm all 'Truly I am the master of my addictions'. Next weekend, I'll buy another ten, as obviously I can just smoke whenever I like, I am the Special One. Fast forward three months and I'm smoking as much as I ever was (about £80 a month, I like roll-ups), and I realise I've hosed it up yet again. This time is different, because I don't have the willpower to go through all this again. The next time I start smoking, I'm not going to bother quitting, so I can't risk just that one cheeky smoke as I know where it leads for me. Makes it a fuckton easier, knowing that if I want to smoke, I can, but there's no more quitting.
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Oct 25, 2014 13:17
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Or when you start to tell yourself "eh gently caress it I can have one" Remember where it leads, and just don't have "that one".
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Oct 25, 2014 13:25
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de la peche posted:This is the sixth (maybe seventh) time I've quit, and every other time, I have been lured back after a period of months by that 'one' cigarette I have whilst I'm drinking. That's pretty normal dude. Most people make a dozen or so attempts to quit before they get the hang of being a non-smoker. You're going to gently caress up. That's a part of the learning process for anything. I was stalling the engine for months before I learned to drive properly. At the time I didn't think I'd ever get the hang of it... so don't allow yourself to walk away from trying to become a non-smoker.
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Oct 28, 2014 22:54
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