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Hello again to all our newcomers! We’re thrilled that you are here, and we are ready to stand by your side as you give nicotine the heave-ho! The first days and weeks of quitting might be rugged. Some folks breeze through this time, and maybe you’ll be one of those people. If so, hooray! But for others - especially those of us who were heavy smokers for decades - the first few weeks might be stressful. I ended up naming my weeks as I went along: Week # 1: Hell Week (White-hot, white-knuckled, relentless withdrawal.) Week # 2: Wailing Week (Shock wore off. A deep sense of loss and longing set in. I felt utterly bereft without my smokes.) Week # 3: WTF Week (Major brain fog. What now? Will this ever get easier? What has gone wrong with my head? Why has my IQ suddenly dribbled out the bottom of my shoes? How long have I been staring blankly into space? I’m so sleepy. Will I ever poop normally again?!) Week #4: So-Bored-With-My-Coping-Mechanisms Week (This could also have been named“Terribly Tired of Prunes Week.”) After that, though, the miracle began to happen for me. There were still cravings and triggers. But the times in between them got longer. They grew weaker as I grew stronger. It started to sink in that I could finally, truly be FREE. Actually, I was already free, the moment I took smoking off the table. I just didn’t trust it, but should have. Fears that the cravings would overwhelm me or that I’d be incomplete without smoking were addiction-fueled hogwash. I don’t need nicotine, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, ammonia and carcinogens to “fulfill” or complete me! I just needed to stay busy, stay committed to NOPE, and give myself time to adjust and recalibrate to a life without nicotine. Veterans on this forum told me this beautiful tipping point would happen. I secretly doubted - I thought I was a lost cause. But they were right. Freedom from nicotine is our birthright. It is there waiting for all of us to claim as our own. To those of you grappling with cravings in the early days of your quit, hold on! Stay strong! You are not alone. Some anxiety and discombobulation along the road is normal, but TEMPORARY. You can do this. Your quit matters, and life is really sweet on the other side. Let us know how you’re doing, where you’re feeling vulnerable, and what your coping tactics are.

Nope

I am not going to smoke today. NOPE.

NOPE

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.

NOPE!

NOPE!

NOPE!

NOPE!

This is another key to staying quit; looking for the positives from quitting rather than focusing on the challenges of the early days.

Thank you for this post @DenaliBlues, super helpful! The below sentence really stood out to me. Great idea naming the weeks! I may start doing this so I can compare them and see the improvements!

That sounds very famliar to me, what you said about forgetting to replace your patch. I think I was on day 2 and took my patch off to have a shower. I forgot to put it back on and when I remembered, I thought ... hummm, maybe I'll just see if I can do this cold turkey now. Why not get the nicotine outta my system right now. It worked out fine for me in the end so yes, it's very doable. I also agree about staying connected to the forum. I was never a social media person but I was pleasantly surprised how much hanging with a bunch of quitters was in helping me though the tough days. Stay the course @SD2026 and you'll make it to freedom!!

Thanks for the welcome! @DenaliBlues Overall I'm doing better than I expected but I won't be fooled into thinking it'll always be like this Day 3 and the morning of Day 4 has been the toughest so far. The morning of Day 5 I removed my nicotine patch as my arm was sore and itchy from the patch. I meant to replace it in a different area using half a patch but got distracted with work and since then, I haven't put a patch on! I have half of one ready just in case of course! I agree that being active on this forum and checking in daily really helps! I can see you're 3 years quit! That's fantastic, well done!

NOPE for today!

NOPE!!

NOPE!

NOPE…

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.

NOPE

I found making notes also really helpful. In the beginning you do not notice the change from one day to another. All days seem to be a challenge. But looking back you can see the improvement and progress made. Yes, looking for the positive: saving money and no cold feet in winter! Boy have I suffered from cold, numb feet. No matter how many pair of socks, type of boots. Not anymore

Your doing great …I believe in you if I did it after 52 years , I know you can Keep focused and your eye on the prize

Yes 2 days now! Thank you! I have thought about smoking a few times but not wanting to do it. I brushed it off and got stuck into doing something else. Hopefully this will continue!

Thank you @DenaliBlues If a tiny octopus in a top hat believes in me, I certainly have to believe in myself too!

Hi SD2026, so you are now a couple of days without nicotine? Very good!! Now patience comes in play: it will gradually going better. Have faith in yourself: you can do this!!

Glad you are doing well! For me, I kept a mini NRT lozenge handy to protect my quit in “emergencies”… that way I had more control over the timing of having nicotine in/out of my system. But I was soon able to leave the lozenges behind, as well. The first days were the hardest, for sure. But after that, things turned a corner. The cravings dissipated. Each and every time you feel like smoking and do not, your quit is growing stronger. Stay determined and you’ll soon taste sweet freedom!

NOPE

N.O.P.E.

NOPE

NOPE for today!

Gday Quitings a journey. One step after another. It’s just a simple task then. Looking back at all times and would be, if could be’s is a waste of energy. Same with looking ahead. That will happen anyway without you worring about it. Your task is simply to live now. You don’t need me to wish you good luck cause you’ll do this.

That's exactly it! I'm around 48 hours nicotine free now (on Day 7 no smoking) and if you told me at the beginning that I'd leave my patch off the first week I'd laugh saying no way! I'll see how it goes but will always be wary of any hiccups!

Excellent post @DenaliBlues and spot on. The beginning can be a nightmare but it definitely gets better, so hang in there newbies, all will be fine!

How’s it going @SD2026? It’s great to have you with us - participating in the daily NOPE pledge, the games, and other posts. Over time, we see that active forum participants tend to have the most successful quits, so it’s great that you’re involved from the start! I, too, used NRT (patches and gum) temporarily to stabilize my initial quit. It helped me build some “quitting muscles” before I then went cold turkey. Everybody’s experience is unique, so let us know how this first week is progressing for you. We’re here to help!

My goodness, a lot of you were young. I didn’t start till I was about 23. My chain smoking mom had already died from cancer when she was about 46 and I started about 2 years later….in 2011 I had an operation to remove cancer from my large and small intestines and I smoked on the way home from the operation….. But the big question of why did I start???????? To celebrate my divorce………..Bassman

NOPE

bees make honey

Welcome aboard @mm34. We’re glad you are here! The initial withdrawal sucks, no two ways about it. But if you can make it through the first nasty stretch, it gets better. I promise! I 100% agree with what others have said about how rationing your smokes ironically extends and intensifies your withdrawal, preventing you from getting past it. Cutting back just doesn’t work for most people. Your brain has become addicted to nicotine, and right now it is throwing a big ol’ tantrum about being denied its fix. When you first quit, the cravings will be intense and you may feel very edgy and miserable for a while. Stay strong in your commitment to quitting - this phase passes. Until then, read all you can about addiction. And remember that cravings are not commands - they are just loud obnoxious commercials for junk you don’t wanna buy. Change the channel! Stay busy and distracted. And when you feel the strain, post here on the Train. We’re here to help!

Hey @mm34! Good decision to quit, in fact, the best one you'll ever make! Now stop playing around and torturing yourself by smoking a couple or a few a day. That is not a viable quit strategy. Just make up your mind that you want NEED to quit and do it! Yes it's tough for a while but you just gotta rely on your commitment to yourself and power through those moments when you feel you can't go on ... you CAN go on and we're here to help you. What ever method we have used and what ever method you decide to use (other than cutting back) we all go through the same crap early on. No one is special, we all have to do the heavy lifting for ourselves with support & advice from other quitters but the ultimate reward is 100 times worth the short period of challenges. Every quitter here will agree with that so let's get you quit

Gday JustKay mention this in her post. Started me thinking. Not ready for an answer just yet When did you start? Is only the beginning of the questions. Why. What was the world you lived in. Could you afford to smoke. Could you not smoke due to per pressure. Why we started has nothing to do with why we quit. Or does it

Good thing is the shame part is in the past……the positive is in front of you right there for the taking…..Bassman

I was 17 when I started regular smoking. Had tried it a few times when younger with friends but never took it up on a regular basis. Now I wish I never did when I was 17. At 17 I was hanging around with a guy who smoked so I bought a pack and began smoking full time. Had to hide it from the parents for awhile but I think they could tell from the smell. They both were smokers at one time. The why is tougher. Didn't give it much thought at the time but I suppose I was influenced by my peers and I also suppose I saw it as an adult thing to be doing - right of passge into adulthood perhaps? Of corse the following decades it was because I was an addict and kept denying all the bad stuff that was coming out about long term smoking. That bad stuff only happened to other people right? Isn't that what an addict does? Deny, deny, deny?

Thanks so much for your advice and the cinnamon sticks are a great idea! I love cinnamon. I'll be checking out the forum as can see there are lots of tips and support here. You're right, we can all do this! Thank you so much for your support, much appreciated!

I think I may have been 9 or 10 when I smoked my first cigarette. It was with a friend of mine in the neighborhood who stole some cigarettes and a lighter from his dad and we, and a couple of other friends, each smoked a cigarette in the local neighborhood park. I felt so sick that I thought I was going to throw up. It was a truly disgusting experience. I did not smoke again (despite having smoking friends in high school) until my first weekend in college when I smoked my second cigarette. Maybe it was the freedom of being away from my parents or some belief that it made me feel part of the crowd but I slowly started smoking "socially" my first year in college. I went home that summer after my first year in college and did not smoke a single cigarette. But within a month of coming back to college my second year, I was buying packs of cigarettes and smoking on a regular basis. Never set out to become a nicotine addict but it happened. I smoked for 20 years. In the early days, I knew a lot of smokers (although I had a lot of non-smoking friends who tried to discourage me from smoking) but in my last years as a smoker, I felt a lot more isolated. What was once a "social" thing became an "anti-social" thing as the smokers I knew I driefted awayfrom or just quit. For me, maybe what I quoted from Cbdave is accurate. In the beginninng, it felt like a social thinng but in the end, it felt like a solitary thing.

@Cbdave I don’t know how anyone can afford to smoke in Australia, they are the expensive in the world

Gday I was 13 or 14 looking for exceptance in a little country town. Most adults smoked everwhere. Inside buildings in homes at work no one would dare to ask you not to smoke. My cig of choice Winfield blue, .40c a packet of 25. TV adverts by Paul hogan ( in black and white) so they must be good. Deceided to join the navy and see the world. So I gave the cigs away to get to my best fitness to get exceptance into the navy. Once in I discovered everyone smoked. It was part of the culture. And it was encouraged. Cut price cigs on the bases, duty free on a ship. So I smoked off and on from then on. Ends up the world changed when I got in my 50s. I became expensive and inconvenient to smoke. No exceptance in this new world. No one would dare to smoke inside, if someone complained you would not dare to say anything. Stage was set for the final quit but I’d always quit for periods before knowing I could always go back to smoking. The trigger was a cold then pneumonia. I was a pretty sick puppy.i asked my doctor for champix and he said No, wait for 2weeks to heal. I was back in 2 weeks determined! Well I made it. A few complications along the way cancer, strokes, COPD all survivable because I didn’t smoke. My old Doc passed away more proud that I’d given away the cigs than survived other things. He didn’t have many patients the did give the cigs away I’m determined to say NOPE every day. I reminds me I’m still that addict and I’m only ever one puff away from 20 a day. Im pretty happy in my own skin these days. Exceptance? I except life has been what it’s been. Don’t need to tell people that I used to smoke and gave it away. The form says Smoker or Non Smoker I’ll tick the Non Smoker without a thought.

why did i start? probably because i thought it would make me somebody i wanted to be. it didn't...but i didn't figure it out before I was addicted. but isn't that the way marketing for cigs works? make you think that everyone else will think you are one of the cool kids? but we all know who we really are deep down. the genius of the marketing isn't to fool us into thinking we will be someone else, it's to fool us into believing we will fool everyone else into thinking we are some different, but to everyone else we are still the same ol' idiots we always were with the addition of looking more stupid with a cigarette hanging out of our mouths. then after you mature enough you realize that there are no such thing as the cool kids, we are all weirdos of our own brand but isn't that what being 'cool' is all about? yep...we all got faked out but when you can appreciate the genius of the lie you can heal your own ego and walk away from it. no shame in getting fooled, only shame is in staying the fool. congrats all you quitters and happy new year.

A Great honest post @DenaliBlues Your reasons for starting as a kid …reminded me I also was running away from stuff …I try and keep forgotten … I totally get it …

A good set of questions to reflect on @Cbdave. I smoked my first cigarette when I was 8 years old - a mere child. I remember it vividly. It was wintertime and -20 F below zero. I stood outside in the snow, behind the wood pile, my hands shivering while I was trying to light a match. My fingertips went numb. I puked afterwards. I saw stars and my head hurt. But I went back for more, like we all did. I was hooked by the time I was 13 and was up to a pack per day by the time I was 17 or 18. Why did I start? It's so complicated. In part I was rebelling against a mother who hated smoking and mirroring an often-absent father who loved smoking. But on a deeper level, I think I was mostly trying to numb out trauma and avoid feelings I didn't otherwise know how to cope with. For me, smoking was not about peer pressure from other kids. It was internal. Unconsciously, I think I was trying to scorch out tough feelings, to escape, and to fast forward to adulthood. My brain was too young to appreciate the consequences of my actions, but it certainly did like the dopamine hit. So of course I got addicted. Smoking eventually became a strong part of my identity, as a rugged individualistic "outsider." That made it even tougher to quit. Because there were chemical and psychological factors all tangled up together. I absolutely could not afford to smoke. There were plenty of times that I had to ration how many packs I would buy in order to make rent or have enough food. But you know addicts, we'll always find a way to maintain our habit. In some ways I think that quitting can call us into a kind of reckoning with our inner selves as well as our outer behaviors. Why are we drawn to smoking? What do we think we're getting out of it? What stories do we tell ourselves about it, and how does that compare to the reality? Achieving abstinence from nicotine is certainly a big milestone. But I think one of the reasons my earlier quits didn't stick was because I stopped with just abstinence. I never was willing to attempt a deeper RECOVERY. I didn't examine the injuries I incurred from smoking (physical, mental, spiritual), or work to understand addiction, or become accountable for the ways that my smoking hurt others, etc. I'm working on all of those things this time. It fundamentally alters how I experience the desire to smoke. And that change is part of how I know that I have finally found my forever quit, here on the Quit Train.

I was 17 and in high school and my friend and I bought a pack together. I didn't smoke a lot in the early days and didn't think I would get addicted, boy was I wrong. I smoked until 2009, (smoking 2 pks a day) when I quit for 6 years. Unfortunately, I went back to smoking and here I am 2 1/2 years quit again and for the last time!!

Hi Dave I was a 11 yr old kid . Who started to hang out with older kids who smoked I wanted to be as big as them … I took my turn to have a puff in the circle Soon got hooked