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

NOPE!

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NOPE for today!

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NOPE!!

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

Hi @Muddled Quince. It’s great to read a little more of your story - thanks for sharing. Quitting is a wild ride at first! Our bodies need to detox, and our addictions throw a tantrum. Blood sugars, digestion, sleep, emotions, etc. can all go a little wackadoodle for a while. I love your strategy of having a list of projects/tasks to check off. Staying busy and distracted absolutely helps, as does exercise. Hydration is important. Curling up into a fetal position and hiding under a blanket is also legit, LOL. Don’t be afraid to use whatever tools you need to navigate the early days of withdrawal. I was a heavy smoker for 40+ years and I used mini-lozenges and gum to support my quit at first. I disliked both enough that long term dependence was not a big risk. But they did help early on, when my quit was still new and fragile. Remember that cravings are NOT commands. They are just loud, obnoxious commercials trying to sell you junk that you don’t need or want. You have the power to mentally change the channel, push the mute button, or walk away. Like you said about Next Thought. Each time you do that, your quit muscles get stronger. I remember early in my quit I used to shout, “Begone!” or “NOPE” (Not One Puff Ever) to banish the urges. It drove the cats bananas. The thing about owls is that they can see in the dark. By yourself, you may not yet be able to see through the darkness of your withdrawal struggles. But your owl can. It sees the lightness and the freedom that awaits you as a nonsmoker. You CAN do this! Find your inner fierce and protect that precious quit!

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Seeing that owl was really cool and definitely a sign. I'm sorry to hear about the dizziness, I sure hope you can get some relief. But I do know smoking won't help that! Glad to hear you have strong support at home as well as here, I know he is so proud of you. Keep posting. Stay strong...you can do it! KTQ

I did go back and read your May posts and I had to smile, as yes, lol, same thing here. Since I am dizzy, the one thing I thought of was it is similar to Vertigo, which I had a few times in the past. So I am going to Walmart in the morning and get the Meclizine patch and try that when I start again. It cannot hurt and it might help with the dizzy and if it does not....I have decided to just hole up in my little room for 72 hours and get through it. The gum....prefer not to, but if it keeps me from going to town, I will do the 2 mg. and chew for a few minutes, then spit it out. You did make me smile, tho....which I needed!! I may end up with a post that simply states.....3 hours, then reply 4 hours.......whatever it takes....

Oh golly, Not sure Doreen which would be worse....being dizzy or not sleeping!! I am sleeping very well, but the last two nights, smoking or vaping or something smoke related has been in my dreams. I know full well....this is where that saying on....one minute feels like an hour, so one day feels like forever. I may be a gum girl for a bit, as that has to be better then inhaling all of the chemicals and stuff. I well remember back in March where I almost made it 3 days and I remember high anxiety, brain fog and dizzy, plus I was not fully committed to it, but I did not want to let the family down and I felt that I should be stronger and able to do this. So I took a break from quitting, then tried again and again and I finally made it 12 hours. Took a few hours break, then made it to 14 hours. And at this point, almost made it 2 days. A few of those times, I did use anxiety med, which did help, although I would prefer to not take any drugs, at this time. I contribute this last attempt to an owl. Right before this last quit, I went outside and walked in the woods to try and not think, as sometimes, not thinking, then answers appear. I was standing there and I looked up and there was an owl, not very far from me. That Owl actually scared me, as he was staring at me. So I googled seeing an owl in daylight and it said, that sometimes owl's are just out through the day, as they have babies to feed and sometimes, they appear when you are trying to make a decision. So, I deduced, seeing the wise old owl, was my sign to get this done. We do follow the almanac moon signs when planting garden and stuff, so if one followed that, in 2 days, the signs would be right again. So....seems like tonight will be a good night to get quiet again, rewatch Joel's videos and decide on straight cold turkey again with the....suck it up buttercup attitude or use the gum, to just keep from inhaling smoke and maybe the moon signs. Thanks....think I needed to ramble on for a bit.

Congratulations @Kdad on a half a year smoke free!!! You are doing great! We hope you come back on to celebrate. Onward to 7 months!!

You will get through this @Muddled Quince, We are all pulling for you!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!! One day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time, and even one second at a time!!! I promise you, and we all can, the withdrawal symptoms DO GO AWAY!! PLEASE stick with it!!! PLEASE!!!

.......I do believe some "junkie thinking" just entered, between my last post and sorting the laundry. Junkie thinking, as planning on when to throw away the smokes now, later today or in the morning. Might be the first time I have saw it that way. I may be bat crazy before this weekend is done!! I told myself....if no dizzy, then you got this.

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Congratulations @Kdad. I remember all your struggles… so glad you have found your quitting groove!!

I didn’t suffer any dizziness , I couldn’t sleep for weeks , sometimes I was here 24/7 … everyone is different . I can tell you all your feeling is Temporary A good few people here quit using the gum Don’t beat yourself up … Just get yourself to Freedom any way you can

I will keep trying but I am reaching a point that the dizziness is driving me bonkers. The dizzy will let up some if I chew a piece of 4 mg. gum, which I did this afternoon, but that is still nicotine, which I am fighting, so...... What I do know, is once this heat wave here lets up, I can go out and walk farther and work in my flowerbeds. We are in the 100 heat index stage with high humidity, so few more days of that, I hope!! Cinnamon stick did not work. So I read a lot on here today.

You're doing great @Muddled Quince! The first week is the worst of it. Your entire body & mental chemistry has been thrown for a complete loop! It's not wonder we feel like we've been hit in the haed with a hammer and our body is also rebelling. Goes to show just how damaging all the crap in cigs is!! Weaning of all that crap is no picnic but we all get through it by sheer determination at times. Keep looking for and forcing yourself to think about the positives you're already seeing (saved $$ from not buying smokes!!). Soon you'll start to notice other things. The toughest part is having to keep saying NO to those withdrawal cravings in the early days and even weeks. The craving do eventually go away and they get fewer and fewer as time goes on and they become less strong and are eventually just fleeting thoughts. Hang in there and stay strong! No matter what you have to deal with, quitting won't kill you whereas the alternative has a much darker ending. You CAN do this. Remember to treat yourself along the way as you get over hurdles; day 1 done; Yay! that's worth a small treat for yourself. Be kind to yourself because you deserve it

Ohh I'm sorry @Muddled Quince Yup, that's all it will do is get you dizzy and give you a dry mouth. First thing, you must get rid of ALL smoking paraphernalia!! That is a given! No lighters, matches, cigarettes, ashtrays around at all. You must do that because otherwise you are going to be even more tempted. You will get through it! The beginning is really really hard, I know, I was climbing the walls, but if you stick with it, I promise you that the withdrawal symptoms go away!! They really do and everyone on this board will tell you the same thing. This is my 2nd time quitting, first time I quit for 6 years. This time is my forever quit because quite frankly, I do not want to go through those withdrawal symptoms again!!! I know you can do this, just take our advice and you will get through this!!

We all know exactly what you are going through, but time will definitely take care of the horrible withdrawal. Why don't you give the cinnamon sticks or the straws a try? They really helped me. The longer you stay quit, the less of the withdrawal you will get. I promise you, it does go away, you just have to give it time. When you get an urge drink a big glass of water, go for a walk, do anything but smoke!! I know you can do this! Stay close to the board because we can give you the support you need!

Feel sorry for your body right now … it’s been so used to having hundreds of chemicals administered so many times a day … it’s confused … It has to adjust to the …New You . This is why we call it a Roller Coaster Ride It all in the healing … Stay strong and remember it’s all Temporary …

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Congratulations on 6 months smoke free @Kdad Keep up the great work!

I found this online, here. A message from your body. (Repost) By tahoehal on November 03 2007 at 4:39 pm Insert your own name ......... and days of being smoke free x. Dear .......... It has been x days since you have quit smoking. You probably don't recognize me since you have been real busy for about x years. I am your body and I wanted to have a conversation with you. There are some things I need to tell you and share with you. You may need them now that you are recovering and I for the first time can express them. I am your lungs, your heart, your eyes, your liver, your blood, your skin and your mind. For x years, ......., you have been smoking and I have been unable to talk to you. It's not that there were times when I did not try, because I did. I sent you all sorts of signals to let you know I wanted to talk to you and you were not able to hear me. You passed it off as a morning cough or dizziness and whatever you were doing for all those years was too strong for me to fight. I have been waiting for this conversation with you for years. I must first tell you that we don't miss the smoke you filled us with. There were days when you were out, having a good time in the summer sun and I was too. I like the warm air and I even like the sun. But, ........, even on those wonderful days you would take the time to fill my lungs with smoke, my blood with carbon monoxide and my brain with nicotine. Every time I thought things were getting better and I was ready to talk to you there would be a burst of all these chemicals and I had to spend all of my energy, and YOUR energy, ......., on trying to keep you alive. I think you get the point now and I don't want to sound critical although I may have come off that way. What I really need to tell you is that for the past x days I have been working hard with the rest of your body ,to heal from a lot of years of neglect. I guess I want to say THANK YOU. Thank you, ......., for having the courage and the strength to quit smoking. If you have ever done anything right for me, by not smoking you have given me a new life. I need to tell you that it will take time for me to heal. You know how long you smoked, ........ It will take a bit of time to work with the lungs and the brain and the heart but IT WILL HAPPEN. Every cell in your body congratulates you... .... I need to warn you about something. One of the drugs that the brain thought it liked was Nicotine. That's a bad drug. It fooled me into thinking that I needed it. I never picked up a cigarette in my life and you made me addicted to Nicotine. Hey, I know it was not your fault! But there will be some difficulty the next few days and months. I, too, became addicted to that drug and it will take some time before I get rid of that. But I have a promise that I want to give you now that I can talk to you. If you promise to not smoke and to give this your very best shot, and I know how hard it is for you, I will reward you with more than great health, ........... And in time you will not only feel better but I will give you something that you thought you lost a long time ago. Remember your self-esteem and your image? Well I know who you are and I want you to know that I LOVE YOU. In time you will feel better and be so proud of what you accomplished-This I promise you. By the way! In this process of getting better we will be doing a lot of work inside. So please feed me and water me like you would if you were taking care of a beautiful Rose. It's time that you started to look after yourself with love, understanding and compassion as well; we like that too. Everything you give to me during this process I will reward you with tenfold. I believe in you, ....... I AM YOU. I KNOW you can do this. I don't want to have to wait another x years to have this conversation with you. Know that I love you and know that it is unconditional. It seem at times like I am working against you but know that I am working with you, .........., to heal US. Just for Today, ......., please do not smoke. Thank you for listening to me. I love you! Sincerely, Your lungs, heart, liver, blood, mind and skin and every living cell in you.

I found focus a really big issue, like foggy or fuzzy head, for ages! Drove me mad. But it sounds like it might be a body re-adjustment from what you say. I've just said it somewhere else but remember to hydrate properly. We miss a lot of cues as a smoker and one of the major causes for headaches or dizzy feeling is often thirsty. x

I am not sure if this is the same but my number one issue whn I first quit was my dizziness. It was scary because I did not know it was related to my quit . I remember almost falling down in Macys. At the same time, my body and sense of touch was tingling or something. I assume now that it was more blood and oxygen getting into my system.

I have a neighbor and her and I have son's close in age and so we have become quite close. Well, I just got some goats from the County Fair that were going to be auctioned for slaughter. And they are staying in her pasture right now until this weekend. Which requires me being over there every night for the next few nights. So tonight, I head over there. And I'm feeling a little worried cause we sit on her porch alot and smoke and talk and just chill out. And as I walk in, she hands me a cigarette for us to do our normal routine. Now this is the place where I have relapsed SOOOOO many times. I took the cigarette, walked outside and put it in the ashtray. I never lit it and I didn't smoke it. And it sat there. She smoked and I didn't. So she finally says to me "am I the bad guy now?" And she basically just tried to talk me into smoking just that one. I didn't really know what to say. It messed with my mind. I could almost taste her cigarette. I had to come home and brush my teeth just to get it out of my mouth. I know that's mental but it was so real. So we walk out into the pasture, as I have to feed and water the goat and I asked her very gently if she could not give me anymore cigarettes. I told her that I really wanted to quit this time. And what she said back to me was "if you ever want one, you know all you have to do is come over." I just thanked her. I was a little disappointed that she said that but then again, I have relapsed so many times, I can kinda understand why. Part of me is so proud of myself that I set it up for her to respect my quit. But then part of me is a little weirded out. Somehow it seems like a finality. I don't know if that makes sense or not. Although I am glad I am quit again, I do have a little sadness about it. I associate smoking with so many things, so many emotions. It's amazing how much power I have given to a cigarette. Day 3 starting tomorrow.

Hi, We have just returned from the hospital ,Tony's first appointment for a 12week course of pulmonary rehabilitation...... It was so gentle......he was told to sit down and stand,a few times then rest......5minutes on a very slow walking machine....stretching his arms ,then his legs.....then he was done in....had to sit down and get monitored..... He was with a group of folks ,all on oxygen.....struggling....... I sat at the back.....taking it all in......and.... Thinking....thank god I've stopped smoking for good,and have my quit friends..... I did drop a tear,for all these nice folks who are suffering..... Smoking sucks......keep the quit.... Hugs x