My Quitting Smoking Diary - yours too!

Sue-UU

A very good morning to all on another lovely day! :j NO rain!!!

shellsuit wrote: »

Thanks Chrissy & Sue!

We're off to a family BBQ this afternoon, which will be a novelty as we won't have to stand in the smokers corner haha! x

You're welcome, shellsuit. So, we both had family BBQs yesterday! Delicious food cooked by our lad & his wife and a lovely family get together for us all. I hope you enjoyed yours without being slaves to the fags! :grinheart

Sue x

Hi JD, have a safe journey and you make sure you have a wonderful time. You're so right about food tasting so much better after giving up the fags...another plus so long as folk don't go overboard!!

Sue x

Keep staying strong everyone and just keep assuring yourselves that you WILL succeed! We can all do it!

Sue x

jinty271

This is my 10th attempt at stopping, in the last 25 years.

Feeling fine at the moment. I seem to manage the first 4 days ok, then fall on Day 5. I need to plan in advance for this, this time.

Will read back through all the posts, they are very helpful.

Sue-UU

Hi there jinty :wave: and so very good to see you back and all ready trying again! I'm so proud of you because you NEVER just give up trying! :T

Before we go any further though, remember, another time a different approach and you just keep on going on Day 4 through to Day 6, 7 and so on and forget what the past has been like. You're older and wiser now and this time may be just the time you've longed for!!

Plan to do something really adventurous or anything that will truly keep you so very busy or just so happy..or as happy as you can be. Look to your interests, the ones you love best and put every ounce of you into doing something you love and can really enjoy.

Or clear off into the country...the beach...anywhere where your interest will be wholly captivated by what you're doing.

THIS TIME jinty! Please come back IF and when you experience the first pang of a problem and get all your feelings out. Don't forget to use a pillow to scream into to vent your feelings, you shouldn't hopefully need one though with using patches.

I wish you all the very best of all that's needed to free you from fags for good, jinty!!! Well done on the hours already gone!

Sue xx

calicocat

Hi folks,

Just a quick post before I go to sleep after night shift.

Still managing , can't say I don't want a ciggy , but the cravings are less with the zyban.
I am working this week with another girl who is trying to quit , so that is really good in one way , but also means we talk about it and smoking a lot.
I have said that if we still are fag-free by thurs night we should get a chinese as a treat.......but not allowed one if either have smoked.

Good luck Jinty ! It's hard isn't it , I have smoked for 30 years , so I guess I can't expect 30 yrs of habit to go in a matter of weeks. Hope I do it this time for good though.

Will post in a few days......or before if I wobble.

Money_maker

Hang in there, Calico, you can do this. Just think how you will feel so proud if you can get that chinese on thursday as a treat.

Perhaps it may help if those quitting said that they have quit smoking rather than attempting to stop. Get into the mindset of a non smoker and tell everyone around you that you have stopped to make it harder to give up on yourself. Don't forget that after the first few (really hard) days, if you slip up then this will set you back days again as you create a new 'need' for nicotine.

Stop when you can make the choice to, not when you have to for health needs.

rizla01

Just to add my boast. Somewhere around 10 PLUS Months now on pure will power.

Unlike a lot of you, after 45 years of roll-ups I still get the occasional reminder but I treat it as a cruel joke.

We should be very grateful to the efforts made these days, into helping us all to quit i.e. No Ads, limited sponsorship, Etc PLUS Smoking being banned in most public places, (which I resented at first and I did defy the ban once or twice), but it has helped us all, long term.

That and the amazing efforts of the lovely Sue-UU who has ceaselessly offered lots and lots of support, advice and very kind words of encouragement.

Gets my vote for MSE'er of the year hands down.




Hey there Calicocat.

You knew it wasn't going to be easy but it doesn't get harder - you just weaken if you allow yourself to.

After the first Week, then 10 days, then 20 days, then 30 days, then a Month, then 3 Months Etc Etc. it gets easier and easier and the more milestones you pass it makes it SO much harder to go back.
Keep it up and very well done so far.

Sue-UU

calicocat wrote: »

I am working this week with another girl who is trying to quit , so that is really good in one way , but also means we talk about it and smoking a lot.

I have said that if we still are fag-free by thurs night we should get a chinese as a treat.......but not allowed one if either have smoked.

Hi calicocat and VERY well done on being on Day 8!!! Your first week, and a bit, FREE!! :j :T :j

Just be sure to keep it going no matter what your friend does. Sometimes it's good to have someone else quitting at the same time - as long as you're both really strong-willed and will work together to quit no matter what the other one does!! However, if she's the type to keep you from going back then stick with her.

As you've both now come into a fresh life it really won't help to be talking about fags so much; be honest and tell her it's not helping you (even if it's not strictly true) make a pact with her to not do so anymore, but to look ahead to Thursday and proudly enjoy your meal.

Those who are usually the most successful are the ones who just forget about their lives before and move on; they're the ones who soon come back and say "I find I no longer even think about them or that I was a smoker!" That statement comes so quick too! Have your treat on Thursday, then renew that pledge to not talk about it, but perhaps have another Chinese again next week. Keep looking ahead!

However, IF she caves in, PLEASE don't allow her to make you do the same, you are your own person and CAN do this, her too if she stays strong...like YOU!!!

BTW, take a look at, and always bear in mind, Money maker's final sentence! Stay strong, stay FREE.

Money_maker wrote: »

Stop when you can make the choice to, not when you have to for health needs.

Sue xx

Really great advice, Money maker!!! You're quite right with your thoughts, I'm sure calicocat will keep her eye on the ball though no matter what. You take care, and it's so good to have your help here.

Sue x

Sue-UU

rizla01 wrote: »

Just to add my boast. Somewhere around 10 PLUS Months now on pure will power.

We should be very grateful to the efforts made these days, into helping us all to quit i.e. No Ads, limited sponsorship, Etc PLUS Smoking being banned in most public places, (which I resented at first and I did defy the ban once or twice), but it has helped us all, long term..

Hiya rizla!!! :grinheartLovely to see you back so soon...keep it up!
You know you're so right about all the help that's out there now, it's not forever in folk's faces as it used to be, especially on TV! :mad: Your right about the smoking ban too, bally marvellous that!

See you soon rizla and many thanks for some sound advice! Brilliant news about the time free too! Nearly forgot! :eek:

Sue xx

calicocat

Thanks everyone for all the positive encouragement.
I totally get the not talking about it thing , which is a reason I didn't want to post on here each day as it would focus too much on the 'no( smoking' rather than just assuming I was a non smoker now. I think my friend is having it a bit harder than me at the minute and is thinking abbout smoking a lot , so she says when she is having a craving and we talk about it for a few seconds then move on to something else. She brought her electric fag in last night.
The longest I have stopped is 5 months and that was with alan carr book , can't even remember why or how I started again now, but I really want this time to be the successful one. I may ask my GP to allow me to stay on zyban for 3 months to give myself that bbit longer with the dopamine uptake changed, I am hoping she will go with this .

Thanks again guys , and stick in jinty.

Post soon.

Sue-UU

Hi again, calicocat, I don't know a great deal about Zyban, but you will and so will your GP, so if she thinks it really will help and is ok for you to have, then I'm hoping she will let you do so and tht all will be well.

All best wishes, caliocat, and brilliant work so far! Enjoy that meal on Thursday!

Sue x