My reward is a bit delayed. It's going to be a 3 day trip to New York at the end of the month. My cousin is who I haven't seen in about a year is attending a conference there. Her and I are going to hookuo for a girls weekend after her conference. The only catch . . . my cousin is an ancologist who also happens to be a heavy smoker . So my reward is abit of a double-edged sword. What will make it tougher is that I'll be totally off the NRT gum by then. I'm going to take a few pieces with me, not that I plan on using them, but I figure it's better to relapse with the gum thean cigarettes if that happens.
It's Tuesday morning and I've just hit the single digits with my NRT gum usage (8 mg.) and I am at work bored and irritated but I will NOT smoke today!
I can't add much more to all the great suggestions everybody has given ,other than the people on this website have been and continue to be a tremendous support to me. Every time I log on and read, I find a new morsel of wisdom. Congratulations on your decision and know that you are not alone.
Absolutely on both of your points! Boy you're right about it being easier to say "no" if the item you want is right there with you. I bring my lunch to work and always bring some sweet goodie for after lunch (usually 0 fat) but I often will say no to it and tell myself I'll have it the next day but if I don't have anything sweet with me I'll definitely go to the vending machine and buy some junkie chocolate bar.
LOL! Thanks Jim. Thank goodness all hotels are smoke free now because watching her have a smoke with a morning coffee would be a deal breaker. Otherwise I guess I just have to look at it a another challenge along the road of this journey. Afterall we can't hide from smokers. We pass them on sidewalks everywhere . . . rain, sleet or snow. I guess that should be the smokers' motto now not the Postal service . . . their unionized so they don't have to be outside in really inclement weather . . . smokers driven by their addiction do!
Much like Jim my finally "I've had it with smokimg" moment was when my mother was told this June that she has high grade invasive bladder cancer as a result of 60 years of smoking. My mother was otherwise a very active, healthy and robust person all her life. This nasty product finally caught up with her. I just spent 7 weeks of going to the hopsital with her daily for radiation treatment and watching her strength ebb away. We won't even know if this traetment did anything until her CT scan in December.
Was stoppimg smoking hard at first? Absolutely. Are there still temptations and difficult moments? Absolutely. However, it's so worth it. I wouldn't even know where to begin as to the number of ways I feel better. I can also tell you from dealing with another addiction (alcohol - sober for over 3 years now) that there comes a time when your substance of choice will hardly enter your mind and ever more fleetingly. Hover, regardless of how many years I don't drink I will always be an alcoholic in recovery. In other words, I can't change the past. I have to forever be vigilant and guard my hard earned sobriety. I can't imagine it will be any different with smoking. In other words, we will NEVER be like someone who has never smoked. Does that mean we should just keep smoking then? Or I might as well drink? Absolutely and unequivically NO!!!! The more time goes on, the more benfits I realize from dropping these addictions. As Working On It said, what a freedom it is not to be driven all day long (and some times at night too) by the desire to smoke!
You're both right. Life happens . . . whether it's boredom, irritability, sadness or whatever . . . and a cigarette won't fix any of it. Down to 6 mg. NRT today and so far so good. Although it's abit of a slow and dragged out withdrawl, it's a lot less intense overall. Having gone down 2 mg. per week has made it a little more bearable.
You should be REALLY proud of yourself Eyja. I'm not sure I could have resisted under the same circumstances. One thing I was taught when I went through a day treatment program when I was abusing alcohol is to avoid, people, places and things that were associated with the addiction for at least the first year after you stop using whatever your substance of choice is, if not forever. I guess the same would apply to cigarettes.
Since I stopped smoking about 8 lbs. crept up on me even though I have been excercising. So last week I increased my level of excercise and decreased my calories. The hard one to let go of is sweets. Haven't lost any of the extra pounds yet but at least I've stopped gaining and I definitely feel like I have more energy and my moods are a little more stable. . . . . so . . . . I will not smoke today. N.O.P.E.
So deeply sorry for your loss Bob and thank you for your motivating and inspirational words. When I waver in my resolve to stay quit I often peruse your threads and help me refocus on the vital importance of maintaining my quit. It;'s worth the effort at any age. My mother is 79 and has invasive bladder cancer but will not quit smoking. The oncologist told us that even at this point it would make a difference because continuing to smoke apparently feeds the cancer cells and accelerates their spread.
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