Quit smoking support group

I just had a pathetic addict moment. The good news is it wasn't as bad as it could've been.

I ran out of nic lozenges the other day but my cravings have been minimal so I didn't bother spending $40 on another pack. So of course I just had a huge craving ... the biggest since I've stopped a month or so ago ... when I remembered that I dropped a lozenge beneath my car seat and the floor board a few days ago.

Yup, I dug that puppy out, rinsed it off and put it in my mouth. Much better now.

I guess I need to get another plan B for the next big craving.

 

That's a riot. I've ripped through trash cans for a smoke, but never for a lozenge.

Tonight is a big test for me. I'm having a few beers. I can thinking that something is missing, but I've managed it well so far.

 

Never been a smoker, but I hear these (which I chew all the time) are a possible quitting aid.


http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=5311

Australian tea tree-impregnated chewing sticks. Toothpicks (softer wood than a regular toothpick), with a very intense minty-sort of taste to them. Suck on one for a good five-10 minutes, and your breath will be better. Chew on one, and every bite brings more of the oil out, which is a fun little rush to the bloodstream.

 

I'm the rare exception that when I quit smoking, I drink more ... which isn't a problem because I virtually stopped drinking five or six years ago. Now instead of looking forward to cigarettes I look forward to drinking a beer or two when I get home. It calms me down and makes me happy. For some reason it doesn't make me want to smoke.

 

I think drinking is intertwined with smoking for me because the two went hand-in-hand when I was in college. I believe that's probably the case for a lot of folks.
I'm on No. 5 at this point, and I had a brief moment not long ago. But I'm doing well, and I'm about to drop a few drips of Tabasco on my Hawaiiaianaianaiiaaain chicken before bringing it in. As you can see, I have trouble spelling the Pineapple State, which might not be accurate, either. Did I mention that I'm on my fifth Tucher? I don't drink much, so this is momentous. However, I'm not sure it's what the Missus had in mind for the finale of her wonderful Mother's Day.

 

Why do I find it hard to believe that a poster named HeinekenMan doesn't drink much?

 

OK, Mr. Kokane.

 

That's how I got started on the smoking wagon. Drinking and then I started smoking, like an idiot. I'm reminded on this "holiday" that I quit for two months, cold turkey, in 2004. Then, almost on the anniversary of my last ciggarette I get a call telling me my mother had a stroke. I made it two hours into the emergency drive before I stopped and got a smoke. I wasn't going to make it if I didn't have something to keep me occupied. My mother died five days later and I've been unable to stop ever since.

God knows I need to.

 

Tommy, sorry to hear that you lost your mom. I'm sure Sunday was tough on you. But you know she'd want you to quit. And mother always knows best.

 

Keep it up guys.

 

Big thumbs up to the folks behind Chantix.

I'm a little over three weeks without a cigarette and never had much of a problem. No headaches, no pissy attitude, no real bad cravings. There were a few occasions in which I wanted a smoke, but those were pretty easy to fight off. Basically, as long as I wasn't thinking about not smoking, I was fine. The few cravings weren't much different than the way you might crave a piece of chocolate -- you want it, but it's not an addiction-type want.

I'm telling you, quitting smoking was actually EASY.

 

The thing about quitting is, you have to really want it. I mean most smokers will say they "want" to quit, but I'm talking about a real want. It's something that only the ones who have quit seem to understand too. It's like a light switch, once it's on, it's on.