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Share your quitting journey

If I can do it so can you!

jewelie4
Member
0 10 31

I was in the hospital for 3 days. I have heard that the first 3 days without a cigarette is the hardest. I decided that if I made it over that hump I might as well stay off cigarettes. I gave my last 1/2 pack to a smoker I know. I found out that it's not only the first 3 days that are hard. It's been 52 days now and I still crave cigarettes sometimes. Not as often as I did at first , but enough to know that I'm an addict. I can't promise that I'll never smoke again but having quit for 2 yrs about a decade ago I learned a very important lesson. This lesson is and individual thing but the last time I quit I had some heavy stress. After 2 years smoke free I made the mistake of having ONE. Well for me the old saying applies, "One Cigarette is too much and 10 packs are not enough." That ONE is what put me back into the chain smoke mode. I can only do this one day at a time.

 

If anyone is reading this I will say what so many others have said.  I smoked 2 packs a day, sometimes more. If I can quit, anyone can. It is rough at first. I didn't use the gum or the patch because the first time I quit I became addicted to the patch but IT WORKED! If you need some kind of quit smoking aid DO IT!!! I promise you it's not cheating. I decided not to do the patch etc because I had my 3 day withdrawal in the hospital. I almost got the patch but somehow rode out the cravings.There are times I can climb the wall.  A craving only lasts a few minutes. I chew gum when I really want one. Regular, not nicotine gum. A few times I over did the gum and got sore teeth and a jaw ache but heck, it beats the alternative. The alternative being nicotine stained teeth with ick breath.

In my case, if a craving came I thought of something very shallow. I thought of how much better my mouth feels without cigarretes and how much money I am saving. I should have thought about the fact that I'm a diabetic and that oxygen flow is extremely important. I say what ever works for the individual is best.

I don't wake up with the usual morning hacking cough which sounds like my lungs have turned inside out but I will admit that there is a feeling of something lingering on my vocal chords which I'm sure will diminish with time.

 

YOU CAN DO IT! What ever method you choose is YOUR method. What ever reason you have to quit is YOUR reason. If you slip up you can always get back up. Don't let one send  you back to your addiction. Don't beat yourself up for being human. If this was easy there would be no smokers on the planet. Who on earth would choose an expensive and horribly unhealthy addiction.

You are not alone! Please stick with it! YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!

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