Thanks guys, I'v been waiting for your posts inpatiently. Well it's time to get to work, actually it was time half an hour ago. I am dragging this morning, God help me. I did not call sick today, because we had lot of work to be done, also I am thinking maybe work will take smoking of my mind for a while. I need some break from thinking about smoking all the time, or so it seems. Isn't today supposed to be better than yesterday? Well, it is not. I think yesterday I was living of the nictoine intake of the day before, but today nicotine is almost depleted and it is much more needed. I think I pissed off my wife when I said that cigarette has been with me much longer than she has. If there is a good time to be stubborn mule, it's now. I hope I could keep this atttitude long enough to get over this. Now I am so spaced out I cannot locate the towel to throw it in; Good, isn't?. After work tonight, I think I'll hang in the public library, It is easier for me to be smoke free over there. Buy for now..

Hello I am Adam Last night, Sat March 25th, I went to bed as a smoker. This morning, 9:00AM, I walk up as non-smoker or ex-smoker. This time, I remembered the resolution I made the night before to quit smoking. I ran to my wife and informed her of my decision and asked her to gather all cigarettes, ashtrays, and lighters and put them out of my site, thinking you can't smoke what you don't have. Well, now it is midnight, It's been 15 hours. While I am writing this, out of habit, I reached on my right for the cigarette, but my hand came back empty. I said sh...., This happened so many times today. What a day it's been! I really practiced today how to draw stength out of weakness; just when I was about to blow up and As I started to loose it, I took a deep breath and faked a total attitude of gratitude, a 180 degrees turn, surprisingly my mind also went for it; instead of asking my wife to retrieve the hidden smoke, I found myself giving her a speech about the tricks that the mind of an addict play, or repeating some information about smoking that I have read here and there. If tomorrow was as bad as today or worst, I'll just have to be as stubborn as I was today or more. I'v learned things today I'd read about and never really believed or undestood before; Like I learned that my biggest weapon in this is stubborness; Be stubborn in this, a more educated term is, have 100% conviction, or total resolve. This should go a long way in cutting the debate in the mind very short, thus saving the quitter from the stress and wasted energy due to the mental struggle. Also time, time is my other weapon, time is to my side; with more time passing without smoking, I am getting stronger and the addiction is getting weaker. Also have an attitude of gratitude, It would make all the difference, do it enough times, You could replace smoking with a new habit which helps you in dealing with people, situations and things. This is double prize, loose a bad habit and acquire a healthy habit which leads to success. I am grateful I made it this far today. I do not know how tomorrow is going to be like, I only know one thing now, I know tomrrow is going to end up like today, no smoke no matter what! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/26/2006 [B]Smo

Hi melofga Thanks for the encouragment words, your stat speaks for itself, I envy you. I am twice shameful, I started fantastic as I was told, I had the right frame of mind, I was very keen on this. However, the craving kept relentlessley eating out of my will. I think the craving had me cornered, especially that I was fixed on the idea that I will not give up anything except smoking, so I held on all the things I used to do, have and enjoy with the smoking, which are called triggers. On the other hand I refused to use any patches or drugs except a herbal detoxant. Also I stopped taking mystress medecine, Zoloft and Xanax. So you could imagine, tidal waves of cravings kept coming, while I stood there completely disarmed of everything except some fixation on quitting... and nature took its course. I learned a lot, I learned to audit my abilities, I learned to acquire all weapons possible for the battle; It's not heroic, nor smart, to dispose of your arms before the battle begins, I learned it is not how you fight that matters, but wether you win or lose. Most of all, I learned that acting invincible, does not scare the cravings off; Also, I learned that who goes against the laws of nature will lose sooner or later. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/26/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 8 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 241 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $36 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 18 [B]Seconds:[/B] 59

Hi Parola, Thanks for the kind encouragment. I know anyone who can afford to abuse his job and his family while enduring the rough ride of clean quit will eventualy succeed. But can you afford it; I already missed one day and had couple other missfalls at work, because of the last four sleepless nights. my wife is pleading with me to do something. "I should be quitting smoking not my job" she said. I don't know what to do anymore; Running out of the stubborness I used so far to stay quit. Here a new week will start tomorrow morning, and I am nowhere ready for it, Already running out of fuel. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/26/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 7 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 236 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $31.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 39 [B]Seconds:[/B] 47

Healer, Carlos thank you. Healer, You made a lot of sens. The funny thing is what you said came down onto me like it's the first time I hear it, although it's not new at all. I'm allright for now. Yesterday, my wife asked me the hardest question I had to answer, she asked: "Do you think you'r gonna quit?". "I don't know, I am watching this unfold, just like you are" I said after pondering a little. Isn't that so weird? I don't know who's running this show anymore! but whoever doing it, is doing a lousy job of quitting, because he has not quit in the complete sense, also done a lousy job of smoking because he has not smoked for 5 long days. See what I mean by weird...schyzophranic...or simply an ADDICT, a long time customer of PHILLIP MORRIS. I paid that company over the years enough of my money and health to own a good part of it; somehow, the'r not buying it, go figure!!! thanks...Adam [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/26/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 5 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 161 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $22.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 12 [B]Seconds:[/B] 10

Thanks a lot guys. Here is five days now. no light at the end of the tunnel, not even the headlights of speeding train. Maybe this is not a tunnel, maybe it is a grave. I am between a rock and hard place. I chewed more than I could bite. I quit cold turkey after 30 years of pack and half a day. Now 5 days later, I am about to run out of gaz; it has been one long craving. I keep piling patches, wellbutrin and other cessation aids, but I cannot make myself use them to help pass this. I think If I use them, it's an admission of relapsing after going cold turkey for 5 days, which makes me feel I am falling back instead of advancing. If I stay going cold turkey, either I or my wife is going to go mad, it seems; My wife is more tired for me than I am, she thinks. I was doing better cutting back on cigarettes till I was down to 10 cig. per day, then I got all hot about quiting cold turkey, after reading some article about the benefit of stopping cold turkey vs the pain of constant withdraw of cutting down. Now I think I was set up by Joel Spitzer. I feel, I really got a problem. I cannot distinguish between what's junky thinking and what's resonable thinking at this time. Hell of addiction, I really believe someone has to do something to deligitimize the sales of tobacco and stop this lethal smoking entrapment which being pushed down our throats by tobacco co.

Hello everyone In an hour, it'll be 3 days in quitting, the longest since probably 15 years, and the second longest in 30 some years of smoking. They say, in 72 hours, all Nicotine would'v been out of the body, the physical addiction will subside, The hardest days are over. Is that true, from where I am sitting, 71 hours in quit, it does not look like it's going to be better soon. Oh! Well! we'll see.

Hi Adam, how are you doing? We both are in the first week - and the obsession of smoking took my sunday almost. But time... people tell that it will help, and heal ... time with a clear mind. stay strong. Parola [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/28/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 5 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 107 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $32.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 38 [B]Seconds:[/B] 47

Adam, please do not fight - just let it happen, it is the most humiliating - I realize myself. do not hope for feeling better, not sleeping is very difficult - probably you should take the pills what you mentioned - probably it is not possible to stop with everything at once. I think the most difficult part of quitting - of the real addicts, at least - that we are to forced to realize the kind and the background of our addiction. Face it, probably you become a more humble person, but never mind, a big ego is no use of anyway:) take care, Parola [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/28/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 6 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 126 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $39 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 1 [B]Seconds:[/B] 2

Hi, Being stubborn - that helps - as Adam said. I have question about a previous note here. If nicotine goes out in 3 days, than why we have to use nicotine patch? I tried to quit before without patches - but I was not strong enough. Now I am usin patches. congrats for Adam with his 3 days!!! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/28/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 23 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $6.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 2 [B]Mins:[/B] 59 [B]Seconds:[/B] 33