Quitty

[Nellie]

Hello. I’m Nellie, and I’ve been smoking with fierce dedication for more than 40 years. I’ve managed to quit a couple of times, but never for more than a month or two. Recently, I had a nasty cold that settled in my chest. I was miserable, but as usual managed to convince myself that continuing to smoke would get me through it faster. Hah. Anyway, it’s time to do it properly this time. I’ve been on the patch for a week and feel pretty good so far, but I’ve been there before. A couple of weeks in, my brain says “you’re fine. You don’t need those silly things.” And sure ’nuff, back I go. So here I am, hoping this lovely community will help me do the thing. 
Thanks for reading, 

Nellie

[Reciprocity]

Welcome to the Quit Train Nellie!

My Grandmother on my mother's side was also a Nellie. In any case, I understand you situation. It's not unusual because it's difficult to keep focused on quitting long term. There's no magic bullet in overcoming that issue other than remaining absolutely committed to quitting long term. Every time you feel yourself becoming unfocused on a long term quit or becoming too over confident in the status of your quit, you must recognize that and stop yourself, giving yourself a talking to on what's important to you. You KNOW that just one will send you right back to the start again so why torture yourself by going through the early days of quitting again & again? Makes no sense does it?

Try to stay focused on all the benefits of being a non-smoker. Better health, more $$ in your pockets and no longer hiding away several times a day only to satisfy your addiction to nicotine. It's crazy when you think about it in those terms.

You have come to the right place to surround yourself with other quitters how've shared your struggle. It does help! Please take advantage of all the information available on this forum. Watch some of the videos that deal with this addiction and expose just how much of it makes no sense when you look at things practically.

Hope to see you around!

[Nellie]

Thanks for the welcome, Reciprocity. I’ll be exploring. Cheers, Nellie

[GonSo]

Hi Nellie, Welcome to the train. Oh yeah nothing stood in the way of getting our fix; not a soar throat, not a nasty cold, not a splitting headache. Nothing. Smoking was always our first priority.

 

We are definitely here to support you. You can keep yourself busy with reading here and learn about nicotine addiction. Also some great videos to watch.

Keep the reasons of why you quit available at difficult times.

 

I have quit for a bit over 4 months. Early on it is hard, but doable. It only gets better with time and it is so worth it!

You can do this!!

 

[Nellie]

Thanks, GonSo.

nellie

[Reciprocity]

@Nellie There's also a Games section on the site if you find yourself overwhelmed buy cravings and need something to focus your mind on for a bit. Also, we have a daily NOPE pledge section; The Daily Nope Pledge, where some of us like to pledge our daily promise to ourselves not to smoke just for today. In case you haven't heard of NOPE it stands for Not One Puff Ever!

 

There's also an SOS section where you can go and ask for help if you feel you're losing control of your commitment not to smoke. Other members can come to your assistance to "talk you down".

Edited Friday at 06:21 PM by Reciprocity

[Doreensfree]

Hello and welcome Nellie 

Congratulations on taking your seat on this magical Train

It will take you all the way to Freedom, all you need is the desire to get there 100/%

You have been given great information 

already.

Read all you can here , then some 

Knowledge is power , you need this to fight the monster 

Stay Close
 

[QuittingGirl]

Hi Nellie,

Welcome!  You came to the right place as you will get excellent support from our members. I truly believe that the success to quitting is having a good support group. This is the 2nd time that I quit and my last time. Who wants to go through those withdrawal symptoms again, certainly not me.  The first time I quit for 6 years and unfortunately I went back, but this time I have such wonderful support from everyone so it's much easier.

 

You have gotten excellent advice today so I'm only gonna add one more thing.  In the beginning of my quit I would take cinnamon sticks and pretend that I was sucking the air in and blowing it out.  They really did help me a lot, but if you don't like cinnamon, you can use cut up straws.

 

Good luck to you and we hope to see you again! 

Edited Friday at 08:40 PM by QuittingGirl

[johnny5]

Welcome @Nellie  You are doing a great thing in quitting smoking.  It took me several attempts to quit smoking as well but once I got my final quit, things got so much better.

 

You can do this.  I hope you stick around, read up on people's posts in the quit smoking section of this site, and reach out if you are tempted to light up.

 

Life is much better off without cigarettes.  You can do this and it is good to have you here.

[Nellie]

Many thanks to you, Reciprocity (I did the nope thing), Doreensfree (thanks for your kind support), QuittingGirl (the cinnamon trick is worth trying, when there’s a craving. I think I want to avoid any oral/manual substitutes until I can’t stand it), and Johnny5 (thanks for your message). It feels like there’s a good community here, and I’m looking forward to being part of it. 
blessings, Nellie. 

[SD2026]

Welcome @Nellie  Well done on making the decision to quit as hard as it is.  I know you've said you've tried many times which must be disheartening but this can be your final quit!  Yeah smoking when you have a cold is horrible. I had my last cigarette on New Year's Eve and I was determined to enjoy my last one  but couldn't even finish it as I had a sore throat. I felt so cheated lol

 

You've received lots of excellent advice already and I'm glad you're doing the NOPE pledge to take it one day at a time.  You mentioned you're using nicotine patches, are you doing the 8-12 week treatment or doing it your own way?  I started on them planning to use for 3 months but stopped I think after a couple of weeks, maybe 3 I can't remember.  Not because they're no good, they're amazing but I think they were probably too strong for me, the 21mg anyway.  

 

No matter hard things get, remember smoking will never ever make it better! 

 

 

[GonSo]

11 hours ago, Nellie said:

Many thanks to you, Reciprocity (I did the nope thing), Doreensfree (thanks for your kind support), QuittingGirl (the cinnamon trick is worth trying, when there’s a craving. I think I want to avoid any oral/manual substitutes until I can’t stand it), and Johnny5 (thanks for your message). It feels like there’s a good community here, and I’m looking forward to being part of it. 
blessings, Nellie. 

Hi Nellie, I understand that you want to avoid oral/manual substitutes. But you might want to consider vegetables. Vegetables are low in calories and have a lot of advantages in contribute to health. Recommendation is 250 gram/day but trials leaning towards 300 grams. That is a lot!

It is almost impossible to eat that amount in one meal. A solution is to eat them between meals as a snack. There are pre-packed veggie snacks but you can also cut them yourself.

[Nellie]

3 hours ago, SD2026 said:

Welcome @Nellie  Well done on making the decision to quit as hard as it is.  I know you've said you've tried many times which must be disheartening but this can be your final quit!  Yeah smoking when you have a cold is horrible. I had my last cigarette on New Year's Eve and I was determined to enjoy my last one  but couldn't even finish it as I had a sore throat. I felt so cheated lol

 

You've received lots of excellent advice already and I'm glad you're doing the NOPE pledge to take it one day at a time.  You mentioned you're using nicotine patches, are you doing the 8-12 week treatment or doing it your own way?  I started on them planning to use for 3 months but stopped I think after a couple of weeks, maybe 3 I can't remember.  Not because they're no good, they're amazing but I think they were probably too strong for me, the 21mg anyway.  

 

No matter hard things get, remember smoking will never ever make it better! 

 

 

Hi, SD. I’m following the patch directions this time. The strongest ones do make me edgy and give me technicolour dreams, but last time I tried them, I switched to the lesser dose too early and ended up bailing on the quit. So six weeks for the high-octane ones because frankly, the patch side effects are no worse than a lungful of poison, right? 
cheers, Nellie

[Nellie]

3 hours ago, GonSo said:

Hi Nellie, I understand that you want to avoid oral/manual substitutes. But you might want to consider vegetables. Vegetables are low in calories and have a lot of advantages in contribute to health. Recommendation is 250 gram/day but trials leaning towards 300 grams. That is a lot!

It is almost impossible to eat that amount in one meal. A solution is to eat them between meals as a snack. There are pre-packed veggie snacks but you can also cut them yourself.

Hi, GonSo. Yes, veggie snacks are probably a good approach. I’m finding that kitchen activity of any sort is helpful, except that it’s always been my habit to take a smoke break between steps in a recipe. Argh. 
cheers, Nellie

[Reciprocity]

It's a good thing you are recognizing your somking triggers @Nellie, as you mentioned above when making a recipe. By realizing when you habitually smoked, you can prepare yourself for when these triggers may come up throughout your day. Once you realize a trigger may be coming along, you can pay special attention to changing up that routine in some minor way so you don't follow your old smoker's way.

 

I realized after I'd quit that the real job in not only quitting but more importantly staying quit is to become comfortable with little changes to your daily routine so you can overcome those triggers to smoke. It really is just rinse & repeat. Learning to live life again the way it was meant to be lived ... without cigarettes! You'll find that once you overcome each different trigger to smoke once, it's never really a challenge again because you'll know what to do instead of smoking. This is why it really takes a full year of living to really and truly completely quit. You have to face not only daily smoking triggers at least once but also seasonal triggers as well. Social gatherings, special holidays, change of seasons; all those thingsthat your mind will associate with smoking.

 

It's certainly doable if you take things one day at a time. Don't look to far ahead and overwhelm yourself just small steps will get you to your desired goal  

[Nellie]

Hiya. Should I be replying in another thread, or is this one okay?

I agree with the sense of regarding a quit as more complete, in a way, after a year. Because of the seasonal changes and “I always did it this way” kind of behaviours around special occasions and festivals. My mum (now departed) and I used to cook Christmas feasts together every year, and each step of the process was punctuated by “having a little ciggie” on the back deck, before the next thing. I think tobacco is probably tied up with heart warming memories for a lot of people. The trick is to start new traditions, smoke free. 
cheers, Nellie

[Reciprocity]

If you're replying to something said in this thread @Nellie then this thread is the appropriate one to respond in

[Nellie]

Perfect. Thanks. 

[Doreensfree]

Nellie I found changing routines worked best for me , if I used to have coffee with breakfast I changed it to fresh orange

Getting up right away to do dishes, so I would keep busy 

Read all the green pinned posts on the Main Smoking Board , there is loads of great 

information and tips to keep you going 

We are all with you

 

[SD2026]

5 hours ago, Nellie said:

Hi, SD. I’m following the patch directions this time. The strongest ones do make me edgy and give me technicolour dreams, but last time I tried them, I switched to the lesser dose too early and ended up bailing on the quit. So six weeks for the high-octane ones because frankly, the patch side effects are no worse than a lungful of poison, right? 
cheers, Nellie

If the patches give you vivid dreams make sure you remove it about half an hour before you sleep. You'll still have nicotine in your system so you won't miss it.   Yeah the side effects from the patches are preferable,  glad you have a plan in place and remember it can always be amended if needed.  It's all about what works for you. 

[Nellie]

1 hour ago, Doreensfree said:

Nellie I found changing routines worked best for me , if I used to have coffee with breakfast I changed it to fresh orange

Getting up right away to do dishes, so I would keep busy 

Read all the green pinned posts on the Main Smoking Board , there is loads of great 

information and tips to keep you going 

We are all with you

 

Thanks, Doreen. I’m already finding that I’m getting lots more done, seeing as I’m not dekeing out for a smoke every fifteen minutes. I used to do social media in the porch with a smoke. But you know, social on the porch without a smoke is still a nice break. That’s the thing - the behavioural aspects of the drug that getcha. You need a bitty break from whatever it is you are doing. You step out for a smoke. But the trick is to re-wire the brain, not necessarily to erase the need for a little break, but to erase the thing that used to accompany it. 
cheers, Nellie

[Nellie]

1 hour ago, SD2026 said:

If the patches give you vivid dreams make sure you remove it about half an hour before you sleep. You'll still have nicotine in your system so you won't miss it.   Yeah the side effects from the patches are preferable,  glad you have a plan in place and remember it can always be amended if needed.  It's all about what works for you. 

Oddly, SD, I’m finding the wild dreams kind of interesting. But yes, I’ve been taking the patch off before bed. 
It’s tragic that nobody really wants to hear about your dreams, though. “I had a weird dream last night” is fine. But details, not so much. I guess a dream diary would be a thing, but then they’d take on far more significance than they really warrant. 
hey ho, 

Nellie

[SD2026]

12 hours ago, Nellie said:

Oddly, SD, I’m finding the wild dreams kind of interesting. But yes, I’ve been taking the patch off before bed. 
It’s tragic that nobody really wants to hear about your dreams, though. “I had a weird dream last night” is fine. But details, not so much. I guess a dream diary would be a thing, but then they’d take on far more significance than they really warrant. 
hey ho, 

Nellie

Not in my world @Nellie,  Dreams are certainly interesting and as long as you don't take them to heart and understand that it's just a way for us to process our emotions it can be fun to analyse them.   I'm listening if you'd like to share. Or if you'd prefer you could start a new thread and have that as your dream diary and maybe others who are also interested can add to it if you want|? Of course you don't have to share but I'm here if you want to.   I'm glad you take the patch off before bed,, it'll help a little. 

[Nellie]

Good idea! I might just do that.

[FinalAttempt]

Welcome Nellie!

I just joined a few weeks ago and this forum has been great for my quit. Awesome people here with lots of helpful advices.

Stay on, stay strong and let's ride this train together.