Odelle

Several members responded to Easyrider’s invititation to join him in smoking cessation beginning March 13, 2013. For the record, those members include Easyrider , Odelle, Venuscat, Fantail and MvngOn. We will be posting in this thread for camaraderie, encouragement, and support and venting. Anyone else that would like to join us in this endeavor, please jump right in. Be forewarned - this little band is also in the Class of February Daily Support Thread!

Mvngon

Awesome Odelle!! Thanks for taking the time to start this up. I'll make sure to check in and post later.

Easyrider

Thank you Odelle this is fantastic! I had just typed a massive post then the internet went off and I lost it! Boo!

Basically, this group is a brilliant idea and I think with us each supporting each other I'm sure we can stay smoke free forever!

As said previously, i'm on the patches which have worked for me in the past (6 months quit).

So yeah, this is DAY ONE!

Dee74

best wishes guys

D

Odelle

Day one here! I had 1/2 a pack left last night which I tore up and pitched. I have some patches left over from my last "quit" but I am going to try cold turkey and will only use the patches if absolutely necessary. For now, I am going to push the detox herbal teas and cranberry juice to flush the nicotine from my system. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

Easyrider

Day 2. Quite a few moments where I sort of expected to be smoking, but the patches are working well. Already saved £7.00 . Double really if you count booze. I'm gonna be rich. lol

It seems very quiet here...

Mvngon

Hey guys! How are you feeling?

Day 2 for me, and feeling a bit irritable, but glad to be moving past this. I'm not sure if the grumpiness is from sobriety or nicotine withdrawl, and I guess it really doesn't matter so long as I get all of this crap out of my system and move towards a healthier life.

If you have any hints for getting through the irritability, I'd love to hear them.

Best to all who are taking on both of these feats at once!

Odelle

Well everyone, confession time! I made it till 10:30 pm last night before lighting up. I have been taking evening classes to improve computer skills. Though I must admit to being very annoyed by some people in class constantly interrupting the instructor during lecture, last night I wanted to scream at one lady to please just shut the "F" up and let him finish! Me, irritable? That would be a big understatement! I bought a pack on my way home, checked the March Madness thread (looking for some support?), waited, waited, waited....damn! I am not giving up so don't count me out just yet, just a bump in the road. My quest today is to explore ecigs as an alternate.

On the bright side, no alcohol cravings!

Easyrider

Sorry Odelle but your post made me laugh out loud...only because I also failed miserably! The important thing is we're all sober :-) . Still, I'm not gonna give up giving up! I'll get back on track tomorrow. Slightly embarrassing as it was my idea to quit. We'll get there eventually. Good little group we've get here though, 40% MIA, 40% failure, at least mvngon is keeping it real. (Please don't use that as a reason to light up! )

Seriously though, nicotine is a devilishly addictive substance. Maybe even more so than alcohol. But with my logical sober head on I still can't justify it. Maybe I'm being too lenient to the nicotine monster, I've given it the perfect get out. I've even just typed it! "It's ok as long as you don't drink." Maybe I kind of agree. But part of me doesn't. Perhaps the problem is I now have 3 competing voices in my head. The real rational smoke free, sober me; the alcoholic beast voice and the little nicotine monster. PLUS all the permutations in between. Perhaps I should merge the latter two into one voice. But I'm not sure where to start there. It's maddening! I'm thinking out loud here...but at least it's keeping me from smoking!

As for coping strategies, I should have came here...and posted, coz this is helping just sharing this. (You said you waited Odelle, but we don't know you're waiting if you don't post, just saying) :-P I also plan to keep myself busy, tidy up or brush my teeth or something. I might also read up on the urge surfing what dee posted in the other thread. Maybe I'm not committed enough. At least not as much as I am to never drinking again.

I could type all day on this subject... And if I get any more cravings I just might lol. But I'll leave it there for now. Back on the smoke free wagon tomorrow.

Easyrider

No more screwing about. I had to get out bed and soak the cigs I had left...and the butts. Slapped on another patch. Come on! Night all. Don't puff!

Mvngon

You guys really are funny! There's some good material here. If I weren't so da*n tired and cranky, I'd try to say something witty, but all that I have is, "good try, tomorrow is a new day, you'll do better, blah, blah, blah".... But really, best to you. Quitting multiple addictions is tough, and it's really great that you are holding onto your sobriety.

Sleep well.

wehav2day

hi, this is wehav from the feb. thread. YOU CAN DO THIS!!!! i learned a "new" trick in therapy about cravings. there are 4 steps to it. 1) acknowledge it's really a craving, don't diminish it. 2) Remind yourself it will ALWAYS go away. your body and mind can't keep it up for long. 3) Remember the worst you ever felt while smoking. 4) Remember your dreams. is it having happy, pink lungs? saving a ton of money? running a marathon? think of something really cool.

good luck you guys!

wehav2day

p.s. i wrote down the 4 steps in a way that applied to me on a card, and put it in my wallet. you gotta get $ out for smokes...

ladybug77

Hi everyone! I'm not a member of the February of 2013 but would like to join you on this endeavor, I set my quit date for Mar 17th so if y'all don't mind, I'm along for the ride. Good luck to all, we can do this

Odelle

Great to have you, Ladybug. I'm joining you tomorrow. Seems I hit a low in alcohol WD and am struggling a bit with fatigue; day 39 here. I did buy an ecig, haven’t tried it yet, but would really rather go cold turkey. So tomorrow it is. If it gets really bad, I will have the ecig as a back-up. This will happen!

How are you doing Easyrider and Mvngon? Fantail and Venus, feel free to jump in when the time is right!

Easyrider

Hey I've bought an e cig too. Surely i can resist tobacco with this?! Lesser of two evils. Quitting is hard, but failing makes me miserable. Sigh.

Mvngon

Hey guys! Welcome ladybug!

Sorry to hear about your low Odelle. I hope that you get to feeling better quickly.

I've actually been off the regular cigarettes for about 9 months. It's the e-cigarette that I am now doing away with. I will say, it was really easy for me to switch from the regular ones to the electronic. I've just decided that I want to do away with the nicotine, so that's why I am giving it up.

Feeling really irritable for the past couple of days, but I guess that's normal. It's just not like me to be this cranky, and so I am finding this frustrating. But....this will be worth it in the end.

Hope that you are all doing well. Stay healthy.

Mvngon

Hey guys. How's everyone doing?

Hope that your class is going well Odelle. There was a woman in a psyche class that I took, who's father was a psychiatrist. The girl thought that she could teach the class... She was clearly more qualified than the instructor.... She constantly interrupted with her words of wisdom.... I couldn't stand her. There's always one.

I'm a bit less cranky in general, but I have noticed that I keep blowing the little things that come up way out of per portion. Things that I used to ignore, now must be addressed, whether it's my children's behavior issues, or returning phone calls that I don't want to make. The things that I let go are now biting me in the ***, and I react not only to the incident at hand, but also to my frustration in myself for letting things get so out of control. But the good news is, the windows of relative calm are growing wider, and despite the frustrations I am committed to fixing the problems that I had a role in creating, without alcohol or nicotine. Not that I haven't been tempted though!

Hope that you are all doing well. Have a great Monday!

Odelle

Hi Mvngon, you are doing awesome! Just hang in there, it is so worth it! You are so right about there being that "one" person, classroom and/or work environment, that just drives everyone insane. The woman I referred to had joined the class late, 3-4 weeks into the semester. Shortly afterwards, the class size started dwindling, with now somewhere around 25% left. And yes, I do think that she is the primary reason; just the looks of frustration, shaking of heads and rolling of eyes were more than obvious. Funny, everyone in the class seemed to share the same reaction but the annoying person is totally oblivious!

I have so many smoking cessation stories I could share with you, but you are doing so great I don’t want to give you any leeway in justifying picking up again!

I started the ecig today and I think the transition will be an easy adjustment. I have used the patches in the past but one downside for me was the red swollen patch of skin underneath that would take up to a week to heal. Possibly some sort of sensitivity to the adhesive I assume. My current plan is to make the switch, taper down in frequency and nicotine levels, and then go cold turkey by May. I want to be an official non-smoker while I am still 50; that number increases in June (yikes!).

ladybug77

well, day 1 went really well, but day 2, not so good . I caved and smoked 1 last night after being stranded on a country road with a flat tire, not happy with myself, but am starting over this morning.

Hope everyone else is doing well,