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Nope...

Wow! Where ya been the last 7 years or so man? Lol. Good to see ya again!! Nope!

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G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

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So happy you made the decision to quit smoking, it will truly be one of the best decisions of your life, Read, read, read. There is a ton of information here, along with great posts from folks that know exactly what you are going through. The only way over it is through it, and that's where it gets tough. Your mind set is important. So remember Smoking Is Not An Option...NO MATTER WHAT! No matter what is a biggie. We tend to use those excuses too easily. No excuses! Smoking won't make a difference to any situation. Also remember that smoking is an addiction. It helped me when I realized I wasn't changing/fixing a habit. It's an addiction. I brought up strength from within that I never knew I had. You can do it!! Please post often. It helps. There are no lame posts, we want to hear all the good, the bad, and the ugly. The people here want to help, support, and lift you up when necessary. I hope you threw away all smoking paraphernalia. You don't need that stuff anymore. Take smoking off the table. Stay close to the board. KTQ

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Hello....newbie here, but lurking for a week or so. I am a 66 year old female that has been smoking for around 50 years and have no desire to quit, but it is time, due to early stages of emphysema and do not even want to be hooked up to an oxygen tank said amount of years down the road here. Since March, I have attempted, many times to quit smoking and even tho, I have finally made it to 18 hours several times, just could not do so. I am well able to get past the 3 to 5 minute cravings, but what I thought was brain fog, eyes half shut and some dizziness, was what I thought the withdrawal was and it was unbearable and I would cave and get a smoke. I have figured out in the last couple of days, that it is due to dry eyes, which I will elaborate maybe down the way on another post. Anyway.....for this day....I deduced....smoke what I want and come tomorrow, around 2:00....I will water down whatever smokes I have and I will do this and not cave...this I know. It is a little scary tho....but, I will not fail tomorrow. So I do thank all of you for the posts that I have read that have helped me!! And I do believe, at the moment, that what I think I enjoy about smoking, will cease to exist....but....it is...a letting go of the past and time for something new.

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G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

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Been a few days since I've posted, but still going strong. Nope!

Hello and welcome muddled to The Crazy Train ….I like this ..as most of the time it is crazy here .. Im so pleased you decided to take a seat ..rather than watch from the wings . Being involved with everyone one here helps your quit and everyone else travelling to Freedom .. make sure you read all the green pinned threads on our Maim Discussion Board …there is lots of tips to help you along … every time you beat a crave you have won a battle …before you know it you will win your war .. Your right to not want to spend your days hooked up to an oxygen tank ..I watched my hubby spend his last days,weeks ,years this way …

Welcome @Muddled Quince to the Train! So glad you found us, we are a really great group and can help you succeed. As you know quitting smoking is very difficult, BUT it is also very doable, as all of our members can attest to. We have members here from newbies such as yourself, 10+ year quitters, one of our members is quit 20 years, and everyone in between. The beginning few months are the worst as we all know. I have been quit for over 2 years and what helped me in the beginning was to take cinnamon sticks and pretend they were cigarettes. I would suck the air in and pretend I'm blowing it out. They tasted really good, so much better than an actual cigarette. If you don't like cinnamon, you can use cut up straws. I used the cinnamon for about 3 months or so. I had many many moments where I thought I was gonna go nuts from the withdrawal symptoms, but I got through it. Read everything you can on here as there is a lot of information and videos. There is a games section to help keep your mind off of smoking and if you really get a bad craving, there is an SOS section. Since our members are from all over the world, someone is usually on at all times. Take this one day at a time, on minute at a time, if you have to. Also do the daily NOPE pledge, you will see the section on the main board. I do it every day as I find it helps to keep me focused. Stay close to this forum as we can really give you the support you need. You can definitely do this!! I hope to see you again! P.S. "Crazy Train" in your subject line, how appropriate since the passing of Ozzy yesterday.

Congratulations @Paul723 on 12 years smoke free!! That is truly amazing and you are certainly an inspiration to all of us! Treat yourself to something special today. All the best!!

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Decide. That I think is the first step in quitting. When I decided to quit, I was trying to have my first morning cigarette. With each drag, I would go into a coughing fit. When the coughing stopped and I could catch my breath, I would try again with the same result. My cough was keeping me from enjoying my cigarette. My body had rebelled and fought smoking to a draw. Some would see a solution to this problem quicker than I. It dawned on me that smoking was going to kill me. Smoking was playing for keeps and would give no quarter. I had a deadly adversary. I of course had heard this many times before and ignored it. How could something I enjoyed so much be bad for me (the lies smokers tell themselves are unbelievable). But as I struggled that morning with smokers’ hack, I did something I hadn’t done before, I decided to quit. Now after twelve years it seems so obvious and simple (easy peasy). Some have the decision to quit forced on them while others quit on a whim. It doesn’t matter how you reach this point, as long as you do. If you haven’t quit, decide to do it. If you have quit, stand by your decision with pride. It’s one of the best ones I’ve ever made. I have dry cured and aged a country ham for 18 months, which I’ll have on my birthday. My garden was attacked by a groundhog and I lost the lettuce, kale, parsley and green beans. It doesn’t seem to like eggplant, peppers, zucchini or cherry tomatoes. null

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Welcome @Muddled Quince and congratulations on deciding to quit smoking. Yes, it can be a tough decision and can be tough early on but it is very doable, as lots of people here can attest. I hope you stick around. Read a lot of posts from the Quit Smoking Discussions section of our post, pledge NOPE (Not One Puff Ever) in the Daily NOPE section of the site once you feel comfortable, and feel free to reach out for help as you need it. It is great to have you here.

Congratulations on 12 years smoke free @Paul723 Great job!

Hello and massive Congratulations to my Quit buddy Paul , I carnt believe it’s 12 years since you fired up that Barby and kept the sausages going Enjoy the ham it does sound delicious maybe throw in a sausage for me Well done Dear Friend xx

You should be very proud of yourself! I guess I am not at the stage yet where I don't miss it anymore. I honestly do miss it sometimes, especially when I smell it. I can't go back, but I'm hoping that eventually I won't miss it ever again. Although, when I am around smokers, I don't go nuts and I can stay in a room with them. Sorry about the groundhog eating your veggies. Do you put cages around them to keep the groundhogs out? Enjoy your ham and congratulations again!

Welcome aboard the Quit Train @Muddled Quince! I won't add musg more to what other wise quitters have already talked about. YES, you can do it if it's really important to you, which it now should be if you've been diagnosed with early stages of emphysema. Nothing but fresh air should enter your lungs from this day forward. It's not just a nice idea; it's now imperative and we can and will be most happy to help you achieve your ultimte goal Stick around and post often no matter how you're feeling. We can help you put this fight and the challenges along the way into perspective. The turbulant times of quitting don't last all that long in the grand scheme of things and there is a whole world of benefits that will be yours aside from health improvements and money saved - like Freedom from being a daily slave to nicotine for instance - that's a biggie!! Anyway, welcome and be sure to stick around!

Thank you all for the warm welcome!! I ended up going to the eye doctor and yes, the withdrawal is affecting my eyes, which reminds me of my last chest cold, when they put me on a big antibiotic and big steroids and I walked around all day like a zombie and felt half asleep, lol....so in my mind, at this point...it is....Suck It Up Buttercup and let's get this done. I will pledge the N.O.P.E. once I do a walk around here and get rid of the NRT's and all of the other stuff. And thank you again for being here, as I know full well, come morning, it will not be pleasant!!

-18 Back Dave

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These are the crucial moments/periods, Pilgrim--so many of us have/had incredibly vulnerable moments during the first year or so. Keep grinding it out friend--you're doing it! Christian99 23+ Years Quit

Yaaaa I’m proud of you P One day you will look back at this thread and be so happy and thankfully you fought for your Quit Upwards and Onwards

I am very glad to hear that @Pilgrim You can definitely do it!! Just take one day at a time!

*A lifetime of freedom from nicotine. *Worldwide support from members in all phases of quitting and who know and can relate to what you may go through at any given time in your quit. *Tons of educational material about our addiction to nicotine. Be it by reading, watching videos or asking other members. We have it all So what do you have to lose by becoming a member?

Hi @Kdad... I think we do have to quit the desire to smoke. I think Joel is partially right. Long term non smokers occassionally want to smoke BECAUSE they have not truely addressed their inner desire to want to smoke AND they still believe that smoking can somehow make them feel better. Here is a snippet of a quote from my quitnet library that sums up this idea. You should not be trying to quit smoking. That's only a symptom. You should be trying to quit craving, because craving is the only way that smoking can happen. But even craving is only a symptom. The real problem - what you must "quit" - is your belief that an instant spent with a lungful of poison is superior to the same instant spent with fresh, clean, pure air. That belief is an error, and it's the source of every craving you've ever had. You have an awesome quit @Kdad... keep posting and keep reading.

Hi @Kdad, I believe I experienced exactly what you are going through in many past failed attempts to stop smoking for good. I also got really good at getting over the physical withdrawl symptoms. But what I had to learn is that I had to quit wanting to smoke. The post below from Dan1 in quitnet helped me to examine my underlying beliefs about smoking to learn how to quit wanting to smoke. I re-read this post often when I had those flighty out of the blue thoughts that I wanted to smoke. I always countered with the idea that a thought of smoking is not a command to smoke. Then, I moved to just feeling the urge to smoke but stepping back and just observing that urge. Yes, the craving felt like a mental buzz, but I was just going to ride that mental buzz crave. I recall Dan1 saying that people pay thousands of dollars to buy drugs to experience this kind of temporary alterted state. That made me laugh out loud. Then, as Dan1 suggests below, really examine your beliefs about smoking and challenge them. Smoking has no inherent value whatsover. It does not fix anything, cure anything, or make us feel better. The underlying desire, if you look carefully, is always rooted in some false sense that smoking one cigarette will make you feel better or offer any kind of short term pleasure or relief. Dan1 one says, 'the concept is simple - quit wanting to smoke, and this thing is over". I hope this helps. You are doing awesome @Kdad. Helpful Thoughts From DanL1 From DanL1000 on 4/2/2006 2:38:06 PM Helpful thoughts 1,000 days ago, I quit smoking - AGAIN. Obviously, this time was different, or I wouldn't be here talking about 1,000 days, or about how there is simply no sense of craving, want, or need for cigarettes. The thing that made the difference? The helpful thoughts that came from participating here at the Q. I'm not talking about the shared dreams and prayers, though those certainly don't hurt. I'm talking about the new way of thinking about smoking that came from sharing, caring, discussing - and even arguing now and then - here at the Q. Here, I offer a few of the thoughts that helped me turn "impossible" into "done." Addiction is not a thing. Addiction does not cause uncontrollable want. Addiction is merely a word that describes being in a state of uncontrollable want. The difference is important, as it puts the power to change where it belongs - with us. We don't need to quit smoking, because unless we've got hot smoke in our lungs this very instant, we've already quit smoking. The thing we need to quit is the wanting to smoke. Unfortunately, most quit plans focuses exclusively on trying to do what is already done, and spend no time at all trying to change the only thing standing between us and freedom. Does your plan include a way to end the want? Some folks imagine this change impossible, and so don't even try to end the want. Then they wonder why quitting seems so miserable and failure so common. The concept is simple - quit wanting to smoke, and this thing is over. How to do that is less obvious. We don't want to smoke because of some flaw in our personality, or because of some chemical changing our brains. We want to smoke for the same reason we want anything else in this world - because we believe that it will make our lives better or more enjoyable in some way. This is the only way that it's possible to want or crave anything. It just so happens that this particular belief - that smoking can improve one instant of life - is an error. Understand this, and you will find freedom. Smoking does not end withdrawal; it causes it. The end of withdrawal comes from someplace else. Understand where, and you will find freedom. The nasty feelings that we call withdrawal are the same things the rest of the world calls stress or anxiety. Smoking doesn't help with these things, relaxation does. And no, smoking doesn't help with relaxation, either. In truth, it only makes it harder - and at the same time causes those stress symptoms that make relaxation all the more necessary. Smoking doesn't provide energy, or a 'pick-me-up.' It does make our bodies work harder for a short time, resulting in being more run down, not less. Avoiding smoking helps. Moving our bodies a little helps more. -Smoking does not help with weight loss, and quitting does not cause weight gain. The cause of these errors is the belief that eating can end craving for a cigarette. It cannot - only ending the belief that smoking can make things better can end craving. Movement burns calories. Whether that movement is the result of the jitters of smoking or the result of living a full life makes no difference. -Smoking is not capable of providing enjoyment. No thing is. Enjoyment resides with the person doing the enjoying, which is why I enjoy things that you don't, and vice versa. You simply need to change your understanding about smoking. Think of the first cigarette you ever smoked. Nasty, wasn't it? Cigarettes never changed, but you changed your beliefs about them. The time has come to change those beliefs back. -The change from smoker to non-smoker happens when you change your beliefs from those of a smoker to those of a non-smoker. This change happens in three easy steps, repeated whenever the urge to smoke is noticed. 1) Feel the urge. Don’t fight it, because that only adds to the stress, giving the smoker-mind another battle to fight. Don't accept it, thinking that it's something that must be endured or tolerated. DO learn from it. Paying careful attention, figure out what your smoker-mind thinks smoking will improve, and in what way. 2) Accept that your understanding of how smoking will improve the situation is an error - just plain wrong. Recognize that in this one small way, you are simply an idiot, and have a laugh at your own expense. Finding the humility to admit you are wrong about something might be the hardest part of the quitting process. 3) Understand that smoking does not, cannot, and never did make this situation or feeling better. Strive to understand what it was in past, similar situations that really did help. Was it relaxation? A mental break? A moment to move, stretch, or to breathe deeply? Chatting for a few moments with a friend? Permitting a short daydream? Taking a moment to switch gears? The power of these things cannot be overestimated. Smokers rarely think of them, because they wrongly give credit to the cigarettes instead. Non-smokers rarely think of them, because they are simply a part of life. -Beware of willpower. Sometimes the brain just won't work, and then willpower is a necessary tool. Recognize that the enemy is not some unstoppable force, but only a false belief. When the crisis passes, take time to find the source of that belief and correct it. Using willpower too often means you are shortchanging the healing process. - Saying "I will always be an addict" is the same as saying "I will always believe this lie." Does that really make sense? There is danger here, because it shuts down the only process that can provide real freedom - working to correct the lies and errors. You are an addict only as long as you believe the lies, and your beliefs are entirely in your control. Unfortunately, there are groups that prey on addicts, and find it useful to leave them with a sense of powerlessness. That phrase is part of their venom that has seeped into the public consciousness. Instead, try "I am still an addict." It reminds us to be vigilant, but also reminds us that there is work to be done and freedom to be won. This is not a forever thing. -I don't know if this makes sense to you or not. I know I struggled to understand early on, and took longer still to find the words to explain it. Ultimately, any words fall short - you have to live it to prove it. Have patience with yourself and with the process. This freedom is worth it, and especially, so are you. Peace to all, Dan (aka DanL1) 1000 days, 2 minutes and 39 seconds smoke free. 20000 cigarettes not smoked. $4,250.00 and 5 months, 2 days, 18 hours of your life saved.