Day 32: 1 month, 5 hours since last cigarette

My car broke down.. I’m dieting, I’ve been going a bit crazy lately.. but after the first few minutes of a craving, it’s OK.

It’s very odd… I sit here and hear all of these stats…

“8 out of 10 people who quit smoking go back within the forst year.”

Ew. Camille, I got your comment. Thanks for reading! I hope this has helped you thus far! The purpose of my post from here on will be to explain my method of quitting and why I feel it has been the best for me thus far.

I quit COLD TURKEY. I just quit. Stopped completely. Never went back to it. E, my Fiancee, quit by the WEENING OFF method. She has been quit for around 2 weeks now. I’m proud of her.

The patch method is very scary, as your body is still remaining addicted to the nicotine. The day that you take that patch off, it’ll be a little hairy. I actually recommend just taking the patch off now. It’s mind over matter… You’ll be able to do it!

Good luck, and feel free to comment!

Day 26: 25 days, 17 hours since last cigarette (Advice for Quitters)

Okay, I’ve been lazy with the posting here…

Mainly because.. I’m not craving anymore!

:cheer:

Happy New Year to you all….

This may mean we’ll get the new years resolution people here today… if you’ve quit smoking as your resolution, I’m going to give you 10 very simple tips to quit. If you can work these 10 tips into your daily life, you will be smoke free before you know it.

#1) Once you have quit smoking, you may NEVER taken another drag. No matter what. If you do, you’re screwed. Trust me. Once you have quit, you need to move on. There will be MANY times you want one. You just need to remember, NEVER TAKE ANOTHER DRAG! I know I sound cultish here… but trust me on this one.

#2) Tell EVERYONE that you quit, but don’t expect them to be there for you as much as you want them to. By telling everyone that you quit, you really set up the fact that others are watching you, and then you’ll deal with the awkward question.. “I thought you quit?”

#3) Take your quit one moment at a time. It’s not “I want to quit for the next 4 months….” You want to quit now. You want to quit forever. Don’t become complacent ever, thinking that you can let your guard down. One of my close friends quit for a year, and had a victory cigarette.

he’s hooked again.

#4) It’s not as hard as it seems… especially after the first week. Once you’re not doing it habitually, you start to not think about it. Your mind stops equating things with smoking. For instance, I can drink coffee and alcohol right now, and not want a smoke. I can drive to and from work without thinking about smoking. Once you really STOP thinking about it, it’s amazing how much time flies.

#5) Your coughing and allergies will get worse before it gets better. With all the damage we were doing to the cillia in our lungs, we never realize what it’s like to breathe with the cilia in tact. When it’s in tact, all of the impurities we breathe in are caught by the cillia, causing us to cough and weeze. In other words… give yourself time to get acclimated.

#6) Don’t give up. The second you light up that cigarette, you give up on yourself, Don’t do it. You can handle whatever comes your way without the crutch that you have made for yourself.

and that leads us to 7….

#7) Buy a specific candy in bulk. TRUST ME. I purchased Sweet Tarts and Spree. Whenever I had a craving, I popped a candy. The problem is… after a while, you get very, very sick of the candy. You don’t want to crave because you don’t want to eat the candy. It’s weird. It worked for me.

#8) Expect weight gain, but it won’t be too much if you can just control yourself. I gained 7 pounds. For a guy, it’s not a big deal. I didn’t gain 50. I’m ok. You all will be, too.

#9) Get a quit counter. It’ll tell you how long you’ve been quit for. How much money you’ve saved. It’s a motivator.

#10) Find a friend. If you need someone to lean on, e-mail me. I’ll be here for you. Seriously.

ldigeorge@gmail.com

Good luck, my friends.

Day 18: 17 days, 14 hours since last cigarette.

17 days. That’s a considerable amount of time. During this Holiday season, I have much to be thankful for, so I may as well start now.

Thank you to my friends on GL and Scum. I know I haven’t been around too much lately, but thank you for everything. You guys are non-judgemental and always wonderful. I appreciate it.

Thank you to my family. You guys, although quite pigheaded at times ( ), I couldn’t have asked for anyone much better.

Thank you my friends, without you, my life wouldn’t be complete, and my quit wouldnt be so easy.

Thank you E, for being the most wonderful girl in the world.

Thank you everyone who I don’t know reading this blog… I hope that you have the inner strength to quit, too. I had it this entire time, and I didn’t know it.

God Bless during this season of love.

Day 13: 12 days, 1 hour since last cigarette.

…and the cravings are fewer and fewer between.

It’s just so odd. I feel like if I would even consider taking another cigarette, I would be hooked just as bad again. I wonder if that’s a normal feeling. It’s fucking scary.

I won’t ever take another cigarette. Before I know it, I’ll be quit for a month, then 2 months, then I’ll be getting married, and a shade over 6 months quit. Christmas will soon come, and I’d celebrate my year anniversary from being free from cigarettes.

I understand why people feel a “loss” when they stop smoking… it’s because the cigarettes will always be there. As long as you keep on buying them, they’ll be there for you, since you set you mind up to “help you console”.

It’s very odd, and somewhat sad.

Day 9: 1 week, 1 day, 15 hours since last cigarette

No cravings or cigarettes…

One of my co-workers, a smoker, mid 50’s, broke down crying today.

Lymph Nodes were found in the stomach area. Spots on the lungs were found…

on her daughter’s lungs.

The daughter is 31 years old.

Day 8: 1 Week, 14 hours since last cigarette:

# of cravings: 0
# of cigarettes: 0

Today was a mental health day. I decided… midway through getting dressed… I wasn’t going to go into work today. So, I called up work, called out, and slept until 10:30. I am now refreshed and ready to go. I feel excellent. I caught up on my sleep.

Dear fellow co-worker:
I thank you for your idea of sleepytime tea. It works nicely. I felt awesome and ready for bed last night when I went. It was excellent.

Signed, Smokefree friend across the hall.

This blog may begin to get boring. I’m not craving anymore. I wonder if that’s normal, or just really good stuff? It’s possible that my quit has just been easier than most. Maybe I’m a fortunate one.

Thanks for all the support.

Day 8: 1 week and 1 hour since last cigarette.

# of cravings today: 0
# of cigarettes: 0

To all of my friends, family and my future wife-

Thank you so much for your help this past week. I am now starting my new life as a non-smoker. I have made it a week. It’s tough, but i’m getting through it. I appreciate the help.

To all of you who may (or may not be) reading this, and trying to quit:

Keep with it. Don’t give up on yourself. Keep on working and making yourself quit for good. Life’s a bit different when you’re a non-smoker. Time goes slower. You have more time in a day… People smoke to pass the time, but all that really makes you do is die quicker.

Regardless, a fellow teacher recommended “sleepytime tea”, so I bought it and drank a glass. Wow. It’s yummy and soothing.. and.. i’m definately ready for bed.

Thank you all for being here for me and helping. Here’s to a million weeks as good as this one.

Day 7: 6 Days and 11 Hours since Last Cigarette

# of cravings today = 0
# of cigarettes smoked = 0

In 12 hours (and 40 minutes), I will have been quit for a week. That’s really, really nice. I am, however, having a major problem, and if ANY of you are ex-smokers, and could attest to this issue, please help me solve it ASAP.

Sleeplessness. I cannot sleep at night, and cannot sleep for long periods of time. My body NEEDS the sleep. I’m waking up exhausted and going to bed exhausted. I’m having issues napping during the day (where, prior to the quit, i could nap for hours, and sleep at night)

I woke up at 7:15 today. I need to be AT work at 8. So, when I left my house at 7:30, it was pot luck. I was either going to be just on time (if everything broke correctly), or I could be upwards of an hour late.

Normally, this would be a cigarette time… but I didn’t even think of having one. Instead, I listened to Mike and Mike in the Morning (ESPN Radio), laughed a bit. Without coffee, however, and a relatively sleepless night, I don’t know how I got to work today. I don’t remember crossing the Van Wyck Expressway. Not even a little. By the time I reclaimed my senses, I was ALREADY off of the highway.

Now, I’m glad my car and mind seem to have autopilot. But is there any way I can kick the sleeplessness habit?

EDIT: 1/2 Hour Later – I nearly got my car towed because I parked in front of someone’s driveway. I just had to move it during cmy teaching day.

Day 7: 6 days and 3 hours since last cigarette.

Number of cravings – 2 or 3 for the day.
Number of cigarettes smoked = 0

1:30am, not quite ready for sleep. Haven’t been sleeping all that well lately. I don’t understand.

I hope my blog is helping people. I want people to be able to quit also and look for support here. To know that everything is attainable. If you read this blog and find it helpful, link your blog. Tell a friend. Spread the word. I just want to help others as much as possible here.

“What does he know? He’s been quit for a week now? That’s not long enough to offer advice.”

I can answer that question very simply. I am NOT going to smoke again. I have NO desire to smoke again. Now that I have quit, I will stay quit, as I will not put nicotine in my system again. I’m still perfecting my ways, but that’s the purpose of the blog. I’ll tell you what works for me, and what doesn’t.

What do I know about quitting? I know, as of 6 days and 3 hours ago, I became an ex-smoker. Now, instead of classifying myself as an ex-smoker, I’d rather calssify myself as a non-smoker.

It’s hard sometimes, but if I can remain strong… I can accomplish anything.

Reader, so can you.

Day 6: 5 days, 19 hours since last cigarette.

# of cravings today = 3
# of cigarettes smoked = 0

Scary moment today.

When to get an oil change, dropped off the car, and was told it would be 20 minutes. “No problem!”, I replied, and stepped outside to wait for my car.

I reached into my pocked, unconciously, looking for my cigarettes. Being that pocket was empty, my other hand looked in the other pocket. It took a total of 2 seconds to realize… I’m looking for a smoke.

I called E right away, I wated her there to talk me through (and the gas station is up the block from her house), by the time she got there, the craving was gone…

For all of you who are quitting with me:

Your cravings sometimes may be triggered by something absolutely inane, but something your body associates with smoking (for instance, an oil change). Those are rough and forceful cravings. Keep yourself busy! Go indoors, go to the bathroom, go dance the damn hula. Just don’t pick up that cigarette.

Now that I broke that trigger, it wont bug me again.. at least I don’t think.

By this time tomorrow (guve a few hours), I will be quit for a week.

I don’t miss smoking nearly as much as I thought I did. I’m worried, though, that day 7 has the 2nd most craves in one day (the 3rd day is the 1st), then, it’s a slow decent. I can do it. I know I can.