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Happy Easter one and all.. Hope you get lotsa chockies eggs and servive/enjoy the gatherings with relos. I'll be thinking if you all as I eat my TimTam stash...hasta la vista lent! Oh an in case ya didn't know today I NOPE cos nothin controls be but me. Happy Easter Nopesters.

NOPE!

So last Thursday night I braved the plaza and went egg shopping. I frickin hate shopping at the best of times but when its crowded and grabby l just really struggle so much more. So while I was sitting at a cafe doing the coffee thing an psyching meself up for the next shop an sittin on the edge of a panic attach I didn't think "if I nick out for a smoke I can calm down and do the next shop" i thought about the fact 4 months ago I couldn't do this... Face the plaza the night before a public holiday, 3 days before easter... I wouldn't have been near a shop in at least a fortnight.. So that got me thinking... Four months and 4 days ago I was an active smoker ( I'm now extinct, not dormant as in resting it out until the next smoke. But extinct as in all smoked out, still a smoker but I just don't anymore and won't ever again). So if you asked that Jo if she would be smoke free 4 months and 4 days later she would have laughed inya face, probably so hard she peed... See that Jo lived in the delusion that she liked smoking AND she needed smoking...seriously I so wish I could go back and smack her around a bit... (Confession time) when I first quit it was because the shepherd pup did a handbag raid and not finding anything he wanted like glasses or keys or random food in the handbag he dumped it in the loo (I swear he is a 3 year old child anything he doesnt want gets dunny dunked or buried) so here I was 4 days out from pay day with not enough $ to buy smokes but I did have enough money to buy a pack of NRT gum and if I rationed it I could make it last to payday when I could buy smokes... I had a plan... So basically I had no intention of quitting I was going to just struggle through on the gum for a few days until I could buy me some durries... But payday came and I was 4 days into a quit and chemist warehouse had NRT on special...so I thought let's see where this goes..best frickin decision ever... So for years I lived as a smoker using the excuse that I needed them because of the anxiety and they kept me calm and focused (I tend to he a bit scatty and all over the place), I thought I couldn't do stress without a smoke... I call BS!... Since I quit I have made the kid a dress the day of her graduation from primary school, I have gone through Christmas and new year where a dear friend and the kids best friends dad died in a car accident on Christmas eve and my uncle died on new years day after a fall and coma on boxing day... Multiple family functions... My mates funeral... Sending the kid off to highschool.. The kid being a preteen bltch.. Being made redundant after 18 years at the same job. ... I've done all that and come through without needing a smoke bevause having a smoke wasn't gunna bring someone back, it wasn't going to unbreak broken hearts...having a smoke wasn't gunna make family shlt easier...just don't take away me coffee even for 10 hrs. ... This quit is different, its the one... My big quit (nearly 7 years) never felt this solid or sure. This is the one, its really is getting easier every day. So thank you everyone because there have been times that just knowing you were all here even if it was just for a laugh has been significant. I'm not saying I have thus beat but I am saying I am in control of this and I living the 3Cs... I'm making the Choice to take the Challenge to live this Change. Oh and here's a song cos I pasted it by mistake and can't work out to delete it and don't wanna retype all that.

NOPE!

Happy Easter and NOPE..........

NOPE!

NOPE for the new month of April and Easter!

Nope!!

Gday NOPE C

NOPE

NOPE!

#NOPE

NOPE

NOPE!

NOPE

NOPE!

NOPE........none for me today

Ending the month of March on a positive note... NOPE!!!

Do what ever you have to do to quit and stay quit. No matter what you use, there will be work and self discipline involved but, if you want this badly enough, it is totally doable. There are many of us here that have done it. Try and get your mind into the right spot to celebrate the benefits of quitting rather than focusing on the challenges of quitting. A lot of this is just that ........ mindset Look forward to seeing you around. Lean on this community for support. It really helps being close to people going through the same thing. The more you give to this forum, the more you will receive back without even realizing it.

Hi marie, nice to meet you, im quit 148 days. I used patches and lozenges this time and doing great. But i have used the gum before too. I couldn't quit without using nrt so i think you are doing the right thing opting for it. So you have your quit date. I would spend my time just reading up all about the damage smoking does. But also how your body begins to recover itself. That was really important info for me to imbed in my mind. And read read read everything about quitting, addiction, coping stuff etc. Just drill it all into your head. Thats what i did and im having a great quit with really no problems. Basically educate yourself. I knows it scary but you can do this, you just need to get your head round it.

Missing George, Tom & Roy today.........

He smoked in his younger days, but quit back in 1969 before my sister was born. For a man his age, his lung functions are strong. And as I've learned over the last couple of days, strong lungs facilitate recovery. One more good reason to keep your quit.

Thanks for all the well wishes, it means a lot. They did the surgery today. It ended up being a double-bypass. A more complicated procedure, but it was necessary. The procedure went well, or at least as well as can be expected when you have people stabbing, cutting, and prodding you all day. Dad is in the ICU now. They took out his breathing tube, his vitals are good, and the last round of X-Rays looked good. The old man is going to be kicking around for quite a few more years. Thanks for the support and stay healthy out there.

Gday NOPE from me C

Hopefully this will encourage the newbies and lurkers. I am most thankful for being able to show my son that I wasn't a hopeless addict and could get back control of my life.

One more sleep boys an girls and its TimTam time...will I share? NOPE

Hi @marie-quit congratulations on your choice to quit. There are quite a few of us who have or do use NRT gum to help in the early days. I agree 100% with Weegie read and watch everything. OK.. I am 4 months smoke free and 6weeks NRT free. Firstly while I have anxiety and panic attacks I am not medicated, if you are medicated I suggest seeing your doctor as doesages of meds may need changing during your quit. So honestly, the first few weeks are hard but by about the 10 week mark I had noticed a huge improvement in my anxiety. So once I made the decision to quit I set a plan for how long I was allowed to use the gum and how I would use it. I was a heavy smoker (+20 a day) and so I started the gum on 4mg...but even still I would only allow myself 6 a day, I would gave normal gum in between and I would wait as long as I could until i had the first chewie if the day. After a week I switched to 2mg same rules, 6 a day max, hold off on that first one as long as I could. I had a plan to allow myself to use NRT for 3-6 months with a decrease in the # a day max on a regular schedule... Thing was I was using it less and less and for me, halfway threw month 2, I realised I hadn't had one in 4 days so I handballed what I had left and have been nicotine free since. The first week or 2 post NRT the anxiety was a bit more like it had been during smoking but now its the best its been in years. The 2nd biggest tip is everyone's quit is different do wot works for you because wot might work for one might not work for another, do what works for you. There are always peeps around here who have experienced what you are going through and will be able to help. The single biggest bit of advice I have, take it one day at a time. Focusing on 24 hours smoke free is much less daunting than a lifetime but all those 24 hrs add up and soon you will look at a calendar and say wow there are a 100 smoke free days. Best wishes for the strength and determination to achieve this.

I feel much better about myself and appreciate my life and the world around me much more than I used to. My last few years as a smoker were very dark and I had grown miserable as a smoker. I think the word depressed could legitimately describe how I felt during this time. Once I started to realize that I was really quitting for good this time, my overall mindset about life started to improve considerably.

Hi marie-quit, congratulations on deciding to take your life back We have lots of successful quitters here who have used some form of NRT, including gum. There is no size fits all so do what works for you

I am thankful that ive finally seen the light and no longer in denial.

Sitting here looking outside at how nice and sunny it is. Looks so warm and spring like, until I look down at the ground and see there's still the remnants of winter's carpet here and there on the ground. a good amount still in places too although now it's more frozen ice crystals rather than snow as most would know it. The thermometer has just inched over the 0 mark and it isn't noon yet so there's bound to be more snow-melt today later on. Probably even be able to venture outside without a coat later if the sun stays out and the wind doesn't come up It's nice to be heading OUT of winter's grip rather then into it!! Another couple of months and we'll be mowing the lawn and planting flowers

Nope!

NOPE

@Giveintowin, the truth is for a long time we will probably battle it. Life throws hard times/ hardships at us and sometimes the mind "thinks" about old habits. Remember and never forget that we are addicts and that we make a choice and the choice is not to reach for them anymore. I use a straw so does jillar and many others for a crutch and it helps. Long time ago i thought nothing would break me yada yada and something did, 2 1/2 years gone. Dont make that mistake and smoking does nothing for us really, its just a "jedi" mind trick

NOPE

#NOPE

NOPE!

NOPE - I don't smoke anymore.

A balm for my ears, there couldn't be better news. Hurry ! Get well soon.

That is amazing Your mom is made of tough stuff I wish you all well

My mom is awake! Her prognosis looking up It's a miracle! (It's been 11 days of touch and go but her waking up finally has given the drs, and us, hope that she can recover. I can't begin to thank you all for the prayers and positive thoughts)

I am most thankful that everything I do and when or if I do it isn't determined by my need for a smoke. I am also thankful for not smoking highlighting a health issue I had been writing off as smoking related that really isn't.

Sorry for the late reply! I had a houseguest this week so hadn’t been online much. I am still on the champix, I had just started the third month when I wrote the OP. I am going to start weaning next week just to be safe. Thank you so much for checking in!

Holy Cow Penguin of course it should. Why didn't Gotham city ever get federal assistance to deal with their weird criminals?

And out comes sslip screaming at you "where did you get it? Tell me now or suffer the consequences!" I put in an egg cup and some soldiers

Nasty things. Is puppy love legal anywhere ?

Good morning. I pledge NOPE today.

NOPE not today.

This is fabulous news sweetheart... Wishing Mr Boo senior a speedy recovery....Sending loving wishes.... And a warning to them lovely nurses....to watch themselves...like father like son...( wink ).... Hugs xxxxx