Class of March 2013 Part 59
 

Last part here
https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...t-58-a-20.html

Do I get shotgun?!?!

Thanks Dee!

Sass - so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Your sense of peace with the situation is inspiring.

Day 1 of no nicotine is winding down. Feeling very dizzy with brain fog and a headache. No real cravings per se - just nasty withdrawal. Still not as bad as alcohol though. I ate half a pizza and felt a bit better.

I've read things start to get better by day 3 so I'm optimistic I can push through this. And unlike drinking, I keep telling myself these withdrawals can't hurt me.

Will check in tomorrow.

DD, great to hear you are quitting smoking! I did that in 1983 - cold turkey, too. For the first month I walked and walked and walked, constantly repeating to myself “faith, family, friends” as a reminder of why I quit. The first month was tough but it definitely got easier!

I do feel at peace - I wasn’t surprised when this happened. When I had heart failure when I was 54, my heart was very seriously enlarged. I could theoretically go for the CRT-P outside of insurance but have decided not to. Doc said it’s about the price of a new Mercedes and of course total cost would be up from that and unpredictable. I don’t need a fancy car in my chest :scared: He is keeping tabs and will do the procedure as soon as I qualify.

There are worse ways to go, i think. I will be very well looked after here at the OFH. I didn’t expect to live as long as I have and I am very grateful for that. More, having quit smoking and alcohol have made an enormous difference in how I feel about myself. I’m not planning on exiting this life anytime soon but decided to let you all know in case of a sudden situation when I wouldn’t be able to let you know.

Thanks to all for your support!

Much love :grouphug:

Sass, Im sorry to hear your news, I'm hoping things work out for the best.

Great to see you DD, as North told me when I guit smoking in 2016 " The cravings go away whether you give in or not" stay strong.

Today is year 9 anniversary for me.

DD great to hear from you and thank you for the updates, I'm sorry for your personal losses, it sounds like you have a good family unit to deal. I quit smoking cold Turkey around the time I turned 27. It was tough, I was surrounded with smokers, including my then husband but I've never regretted it.

Sass, I hate that there may come a day I don't see your posts any more, I guess that will be true of us all at some point or another. I hope for you it is a long time in the future my friend.

Budd, congrats on 9 years I'm still a few days off!

prayers,sass

Congrats, Budd!

Thanks for the support all! That means a lot. It’s unpredictable how this will go so I am just going to live every day and enjoy what I have :ws_flower

Woke up this morning by flashing lights and beeps. Our power went out - luckily we had a whole home generator installed a while back so things kicked back in after 10 seconds. We learned our lesson the hard way a few years ago when we lost power for 5 days straight. Living in the woods is not the same as living in the city lol.

I'm feeling a bit groggy. Ended up taking a Benadryl last night to help with sleep. I'm just going to relax, watch some TV, and if the weather clears up, go for a walk outside. It's snowing right now in March!

I totally underestimated this quit. I felt confident that if I could kick alcohol (was drinking a 5th of vodka a day at the end), I could handle quitting such a low level of nicotine. But the physical and emotional symptoms definitely kicked my butt yesterday. I ended up crying to my wife last night about my struggles. I also texted my AA sponsor and we're going to talk today. I'm not in danger of drinking or anything - I just could use the support.

This experience has definitely made me realize how I've taken my sobriety for granted. Rehab and detox seem so long ago, but I keep getting flashbacks to how tough it was then. Even with all life has thrown at me, staying sober over the years has been pretty easy, hence me not posting much lately. I guess I forgot how hard it was at the beginning.

Anyway, on to day 2! :dance8:

DD. I have quit smoking 36 years ago...it was hard.but. drinking has been harder...I'm still having bad days. Isn't it funny how everone is different?
you can do this too. You have a good group here , thats behind you all the way.
Babs.

Hi Babs!

This group (and Dee, of course!) made all the difference in the world to my becoming and staying sober. I am immeasurably grateful that you helped me stick with it. :c015:

Day 3 today.

Things aren't so bad during the day, but definitely get worse at night, including dizziness, anxiety and inability to concentrate. I'm starting to wonder if it is more anxiety based than physical withdrawals. I'm going to try some breathing exercises tonight if things get bad again. But if it's physical, from what I've read, days 1-3 are the hardest and then the withdrawals start to subside for most.

I'm glad you were all able to quit so long ago. A part of me clearly convinced myself that I was entitled to at least a couple of vices since I gave up alcohol and drugs. And because I was vaping, I wasn't putting all of the hazardous, combustable materials from cigs in my body. But I just turned 40 and want to set a good example for my son. I'm also just tired of it. Vaping wasn't making me feel good anymore - just another crutch.

Just don't try to take my coffee from me lol.

Maybe try some meditation DD? You're doing great, hang in there

DD, coffee! I can only tolerate ONE cup a day now - and all the tea in China wouldn’t convince me to give up that single cup. It sounds like you’re in a good place (other than nicotine withdrawal). I always figured if I could do it then anyone could!

Day 4 now. Last night was rough. My wife came down with something and had a fever so I had to jump in to get the kid to speech therapy, make dinner, pack lunches, put him to bed and then wake up on time to get him to daycare. Normally, I do this all the time, but tough to do when my skin is crawling with anxiety. He also had a total meltdown screaming in my face so I had to summon all my remaining patience to deal with him and discipline without losing my temper.

I'm just exhausted this morning. I've taken Benadryl the past three nights so I could sleep through the withdrawals but tonight is just going to be my regular meds. If I don't get any sleep, so be it. I need to start prepping to return to normal life/work on Monday. I'm hopeful the worst is behind me but preparing to dig in just in case I still to have to fight. I get these huge waves of anxiety - not really a craving because I know nicotine won't fix it so I have no urge to vape. Just tired and frustrated.

Toots - I have tried meditation many times without much success. I just can't keep my brain from bouncing off the walls. I find the deep breathing exercises to be the most effective when the waves of anxiety come. Also, distraction and changing environments.

Sass - I've actually cut back significantly on coffee during this quit so I don't heighten my anxiety even more. I'm an espresso drinker so I've just been drinking a single shot in the morning (about the same amount of caffeine as a can of diet soda - 60mg) and another shot in the early afternoon. I usually drink double shots.

I had a 7day migraine...yesterday was horrible. The worst in years.
Meds for mig. kicked in eventually, so a better day today.

Very glad to hear it PJ.

D

DD sorry it's such a physical struggle, maybe your son has picked up on your stress, kids can sense things like that. Hope your wife is better too.

Peej :grouphug: mate, I hope it continues to improve

Day 5!

Wife went to urgent care last night - no flu or covid; just a bad cold. My anxiety was much better last night so hoping I've turned the corner. I finally fell asleep around 2am but was able to sleep straight for 6 hours with no sleep aid.

Just had my coffee and then need to prep the snow blower for 3-5 inches in March. I'm actually looking forward to getting outside and doing some manual labor this afternoon. It should tire me out.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

PJ, glad to hear the meds are kicking in. Migraines are no fun!

DD, sounds to me that a) you are having a rough go of it in some respects and b) your determination shines through and I have little or no doubt that you will do this. Best!