Quit smoking support group

Well, I woke up this morning feeling pretty good having not smoked for 12 hours (even drank two beers last night & still didn't HAVE to smoke a cig).

But I kept trying to log on to SportsJournalists.com from my laptop and it wouldn't load (what's up with that, BTW? anyone know a fix? Delete cookies?). That made me a little pissed, but I'm still smoke free.

 

Never had the problem that I can remember at least. Might have just been a problem with the site. But good to hear you're still smoke-free. I'm working on my sixth week. It was tough at first, but it gets easier every day. Keep up the kick-ass work everyone.

 

heineken - i never could quit for myself nor mrs. petty, ever. me loves me smokes, period. and i'm not gay enough -- not that there's anything wrong with that -- to put a pic of my kids into a pack while i i'm trying to quit, but, it's not impossible to look into the heartbreakers' eyes every day before i leave for work.

i'm immensely bitter concerning what i'm about ready to go encounter starting in a couple of hours, but i was good with it last time around. i realize it's about something more than immediate personal pleasure. if you need someone to chat up, please feel free to PM me.

 

I was jonesin' last night. I have to remember to be more cautious about things. I skipped lunch and then had to hit a ballgame. I grabbed only a bag of M&Ms as a replacement drug and went to the game. By the time it was over, I had the shakes and just felt like the world was going to come crashing down. It's a strange feeling. I tried to deny what was wrong. But it wasn't working. I knew that I didn't want a nap or a sandwich or a soda or anything but a smoke. So I popped in handfuls of M&Ms. I made it home and fixed myself a salad. The shakes passed at some point, and I went to bed.

The coughing is about over. I think my lungs are just in the process of clearing out some of the crud. I'm feeling pretty good. In two days, I'm leaving for a 70-mile solo hike that will take four to five days. I'm not taking a pack with me, of course. So I'll make it two weeks if I can manage to get through the next few days.

Kokane, how are you doing? MU...you still going? Kokane, PM me if you're having a wrong time or just post here. We're all rooting for you.

 

Doing good. Of course I'm only going into my second day. Hate is fueling me. I get antsy and stuff, but nothing I can't control. I took at short walk at work last night when I had a craving. I think this weekend will be the big test. We'll see. Thanks for the support.

 

focus the hate.

 

Haven't smoked since Monday, Feb. 26. I'm in my late 30s and smoked, albeit never heavily, for 20 years. Time to quit pushing my luck. I've been eating a lot since then. Haven't been drunk or had a very stressful event since quitting. That'll be the real test.

 

if you know that to be fact, go buy two silly puddys right now, squish them into a ball the size of something you'd golf with, set it off to the side, and have some kind of backup.

 

I had a little stress this morning. I'm still not completely over it. But I'm wondering, Tom, whether you can turn that putty into a submachine gun.

 

I've been waiting to post on here because last year when I tried to quit it blew up in my face. I felt in part that I jinxed myself when I posted it (last year), but in all honesty, I wasn't ready.

I'm glad people have been opening up on here. That was my intention when I started the thread.

So I guess I'll take my turn.

I haven't had a cigarette since the day before Lent. No, I'm not Catholic, but it was the day my fiancee had set aside for her quit date. The two days prior I didn't smoke until 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively, so I thought I'd have a good shot at it. I've done a pretty good job, with the help of some cinnamon toothpicks (www.thursdayplantation.com) and a lot of support. Obviously, having my better half not smoking has been the biggest thing. We together averaged more than two packs a day when you included our going out nights that sometimes included three packs smoked between the two of us in a matter of hours). So far, we've saved somewhere in the neighborhood of $90. In two weeks.

The Web site I posted at the start of the thread (whyquit.com) was a good motivator. If you haven't checked it out, there is a forum on there for those looking for support. You have to be nicotine free for 72 hours before they'll let you join, and know in advance that it is a group of people who don't use the patch, gum, etc. You won't get much help there if you start talking about needing those "crutches." It just so happened for me, and if you quit, it's up to you anyway, so don't let anyone judge you.

The hardest part for me hasn't been not smoking. I smoked for 8.5 of the last 10 years (I'm 27 now), and I chewed tobacco for two years before I ever started smoking (and continued to chew until I was 21). I started smoking Newports during spring break of my senior year of high school, smoked two packs a day of Marlboro mediums while I was delivering pizza my freshman year at Kansas and have pretty much smoked Ultra Lights since I was 23. Again, though, cutting all of that out of my system hasn't been the hardest part.

The tough part, for me, has been controlling my emotions. Whoever said earlier that someone thanked them for not being a dick -- well, that isn't me. I've had moments of rage, not to mention extreme frustration and irritability. My fiancee and I have fought more in the past two weeks than we probably have in the past two years. I feel like shit because of it, and it never got worse than last night.

I had to cover a baseball game across the state and stopped in to see a few buddies. We had a couple beers, and when my fiancee called me, we ended up getting into a bit of a tiff. For no reason, I threw my phone, causing the top half of the flip phone to quit working. I looked at it, and even though I knew I had just caused this, decided to continue my rage on the phone. I ripped it into two pieces, seperating the flip from the base. After the $50 deductible, my fiancee and I have now saved 40 bucks.

I was obviously upset, so I got in my car and drove the 2 hours back to where my fiancee lives. I crawled into bed, told her what I did and still don't feel much better, nearly 12 hours since I went Shawn Merriman on my phone.

I got about 3 hours of sleep last night, so yeah, I still feel like shit.

Someone please tell me this emotional unrest will pass.

 

Dude, I've been there. It sounds silly, but trying counting to 10, deep breathing. If I was at my house, I'd go sit on my bed and just meditate. Sounds silly, but it really calmed me down. It held off a lot of arguments with my then-girlfriend (which was all for naught anyway).

Since your fiance is quitting too, she should better understand the mood swings you're going through. You have each other to lean on. And, whatever, you do ... don't go to bed angry.

 

Just remember all the progress you've made since you've stopped smoking. If it's a day, a week, a month or whatever you've already come a long way so why turn back and regress? You're all kicking ass. Keep at it. I'm now on five weeks and two days. Went out and got toe up last night and didn't even think of having a butt. And MU it's totally understandable to have those kinds of moments. The goal is to limit them to things that really matter. When I'm about to go postal I always think if it's worth it and it's usually not.