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I don't smoke on Fridays...NOPE !!!!

Nope

Well I never thought I would be here but after more than 40 years of smoking I have now completed 4 weeks of no smoking and starting off on my 5th. After going thru this I do have a few thoughts: 1st week -- Hell Week, lived up to its name but I found out it was not as bad as I thought and that it was not impossible, hard yes but not impossible. 2nd week -- Heck Week, I began to see that this could be done and I found this forum to help me through. Physical symptoms began to fade and started to learn to cope with the pyschological symptoms and cravings. 3rd week -- I could smell again, I mean really smell -- the air never smelled better and brought back many memories that had been repressed. As for most my taste it began to come back, I can breathe better and my blood pressure began to improve (still have to take medication but is under full control at this point). Many things happened for the better and I really began to appreciate being nicotine/smoke free and came to the full realization of the addiction and what it had been doing to me thus increasing my desire to make this "the quit". 4th week -- I really did a lot of learning this week because now I see that I have to be on guard so I can fight the thoughts of smoking again -- they are still there but are not as strong and I am learning how to navigate through them. This has definitely been a difficult journey but I have found so many positive aspects while going down this road (and will continue to go down this road). I have found my health, old pleasures that I thought were lost, that I could withstand many different things without "my old friend" and in fact found out it was no friend at all. I found out that this journey is not as hard as I let my mind think it was going to be. And let's not forget I found a few friends along the way in this forum, Thank You All.

I refuse to smoke on Groundhog Day...NOPE!

I feel like I've said this before... NOPE!

NOPE!!!! Not today!

npe

NOPE!!!!!

nope

No Smoking on Ground Hog Day!! NOPE!

NOPE!!

On the eve of my 1 year quit anniversary I couldn't help be reflect on what brought me to this point. I remember 1 year ago today standing beside my car in the cold and damp, subconsciously reaching into the pocket of my coat for a cigarette. Like the thousands of others that had gone before it, I lit that smoke and took my first drag. I had just finished a coughing fit from the bronchitis I had for all of January 2017 and that first drag on the cigarette launched me into another coughing fit. Struggling to even take a breath after that, it finally dawned on me that what I was doing was completely insane!! That was the moment that literally changed my life. I knew I had to quit smoking! For whatever reason, this event had grabbed my attention. This time it was REAL. I suddenly knew I was no "special flower" who could escape the ugly fate that many years of smoking clearly had in store for me. The next morning at 8:30 AM with no real plan in mind, I had my last cigarette. The days that followed are a murky blur of what I perceived to be at the time, unwelcome feelings and sensations, as my body purged itself of the drug that had been present on a daily basis for over 4 decades. The highs and lows of that first week or so are indescribable to me now. I wish I had kept a blog of it all. I remember feeling like I wanted to crawl out of my own skin at times the anxiety was so pronounced. And the time ....... God Dammit!! Time was standing still! I was trapped in a never ending series of mental and physical withdrawals. I was unsure as to what was happening to me. I was even more unsure whether I could weather this storm I was caught up in. After a week or so of this crazy roller coaster ride, I found this place and signed up. I was welcomed, as all of you have been and was given the first glimmer of hope through the encouragement that others were extending to me. This was good! I started to read and read and read all the pinned posts and a lot of other posts. I watched numerous videos about quitting. This was the perfect distraction for me while my body and mind rebelled against the path I had chosen to take. I was on this site sometimes almost 24/7 it seemed. Sleep patterns were interrupted to say the least so here I was on the site at ungodly hours of my day and night sometimes. Everything I read from these people who had gone before me sounded the same! It was like a broken record, repeating itself over and over. Pledge your NOPE every day. Take smoking off the table. Watch out for the Nicodemon because he will attack you at your weakest moments and try to lure you back to smoking. Every battle you do with the Nicodemon, you get stronger and he gets weaker. This all sounded like some sort of cult like lingo to me. Could I take this seriously? Dare I believe them all? I read some more. I read how the people before them had been telling them the same things. I was ultimately convinced and decided that I too had to abide by the same critical rules if I had any hope of being successful. Blind faith had overcome me and I was all in! From that point onward, I read and read about every phase of my quit. What had others experienced when they were at the stage I was at? 1st month, second through 3rd and fourth months when I was in No Man's Land. What had others experienced and how did they cope? This was what became my guiding light through to the time I finally became aware that I would never smoke again. I would never smoke again by my own free choice because I now knew what smoking really was. It was an addiction. It was my enemy - trying to kill me. It was certainly NOT my friend. And in the end, it's my belief that this is the point one has to reach in order to know you will be permanently quit. You need to be able to gladly choose not to smoke. So on the eve of my 1 year quit anniversary, I don't feel a lot different than what I felt after probably 5 or 6 months quit but, this 1 year landmark is still a very special one because I have weathered the storm through all the 4 seasons and experienced all the temptations I can imagine and I know that providing I just don't ever put another cigarette in my mouth and light it on fire, I will be permanently quit I sincerely hope to be still around and able to help each and every one of you newbies celebrate your own 1 year anniversary celebration (Sorry for the long winded post but ......... I've earned the right to be annoying )

I'm so excited for Sundays game! Any Pats fans here?

I'll get back to you .... sorta busy at the moment.

I don't know .......... Eagles look tough!!

Time to start on the left hand Go Pats!!!

It can progress into the rockin pneumonia and the booogie woogie flu. But if you are hot and you have rock and roll pneumonia, itt's time to call in Dr Love.

-5 Good afternoon Horny Toad.

A well-earned Congrats. Very well done (extra crispy) Sir.

Excellent post, Reciprocity, and great to see you giving so much back to the community.

The biggest tell-tale is simply "Do you have a fever?" You can tell you have a fever by checking your temp. If its elevated, you have a fever. If you are dancing and have a fever then you have Boogie Fever. It's terminal. If you have a fever, consider it flu and treat it accordingly. Otherwise you got's the creeping crud.

Thanks for those great insights. It's a whole new, wonderful life you've opened up. Keep it going!

NOPE!

congrats

Good job lad. Keep the quit lets make it stick. Respect.

I have an account at alltrails.com, but haven't downloaded the app. I have a handheld Garmin device with GPS and topo maps on it that typically does the trick. I'll probably get the app anyway since I'm a geek for maps. It's a strange fascination, but it keeps me busy.

-5 Good morning Doreen! Happy Friday! Have a great day.

I cut the cord and went with Playstation Vue. Love it.

That vacation is going to be twice as good, cause you don't smoke now Tyme!

We like parties.

How was your trip? (I'm jealous by the way)

Fabulous post Martian5 and everything you stated is bang on normal for your 1st month quitting. Really impressed with your understanding of what you are going through and how to handle it. You're doing great. You have been a regular contributor here too which I personally think helps. In my own experience, I found this connection to be even more important in the months after my early quit. Once the excitement of my new quit had wore off. By the way, keep an eye peeled to the Celebration thread on Feb. 4th then for Octain on Feb. 5th. We'll through you both a party

Awesome post Martian. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Boo......do use the app "AllTrails"? It maps and records the trail. Logs distance traveled. Speed. Total time. Time moving. Elevation gain. It has 10's of thousands of trails nationwide. I really like it.

This a wonderful testimonial to the "not necessarily easy but definitely doable" nature of quitting smoking. I foresee that you will get a lot out of looking back at this post one day. KTQ! You're doing an absolutely great job!

The tougher spots of the quit are only going to continue to diminish while the positives accumulate from this point forward. Congratulations Jerry. Enjoy your newfound freedom.

I’m going to be off on Vacation the month of February...heading off to a warmer place than Canada ? I will be in touch if the Internet Connection allows, otherwise we come back March 3rd. Looking forward to a smoke free Vacation!

LOL, well then disregard my original message. Friday will be four weeks. I’ll take both LOL.

Sarge had craves up until about 10 months. Not a one since. It's over 6 years now. Ditto. First quit. Last quit. Only quit. 6+ years. Going on lifetime ... EZPZ

Who would have guessed it, me, a non-smoker?… crazy ! Just a reminder, one month ago this Friday at 10:30 PM I smoked my last cigarette. I will never forget exactly where I was and exactly what I was doing.

Swank off...but thanks piggy...lol...

I have not had cable in years either, not since like 2009? I do not get this about cable though - So the programming sucks, it costs a minimum of $100 a month for repetitive sucky programming featuring white trash, people pay for this, then complain that there is nothing to watch. But I beat the system yes siree Neal and Bob, I watch "nothing" for free! In fact, if i want to watch Jerry Springer, Cops, Intervention, or other trashy people shows, i just look out the window. Sometimes there are even people showing why you should not use meth. I am not really even kidding - all the ills of society that people watch on TV, It is all in my very neighborhood. It would be CRAZY for me to pay for cable.

With everything the Eagles went through this year I believe they should take it.