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7+ weeks in and still craving!

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7+ weeks in and still craving!

17 years ago 0 +0 / -0 406

Dorothy, by the time you get this, I hope the worst is over; but doesn't that just suck?? What's up with almost insurmountable cravings at 8 weeks??? That's just not fair! Just goes to show once again that nicodemon does not fight fair, and that no matter how far we are into our quit, we're never far enough for complacency. I just hate that! But it is what it is. Thanks so very much for the heads-up for the rest of us, Dorothy. (Now go get that broom! It may help us all!) peteg [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/30/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 26 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,346 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $143 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 4 [B]Hrs:[/B] 17 [B]Mins:[/B] 5 [B]Seconds:[/B] 54

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1006

Try to keep as positive as you can - you will be feeling back to normal very soon. Promise! Deli [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/1/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 115 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,737 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �345 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 9 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 39 [B]Seconds:[/B] 13

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 3908

Listen to Rusty this is the second time today I have heard quitters talk of WANTING a cigarette of course you dont that's why you quit! You would like one the way we would all like lots of things but you have chosen not to so stick with it.It will get better!!! Phil [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/8/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 108 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,168 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �567 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 22 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 59 [B]Seconds:[/B] 5

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2838

I love words. Had to look that one up---it sounded dirty! LOL! The third week or so was exceptionally hard for me as well. Felt depressed and sad. It's a beautiful day outside today! Let's go take a walk and think positive thoughts! I enjoyed your posts immensely, Rusty. Very inspirational! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 9/8/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 77 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 3,875 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $616 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 7 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 23 [B]Seconds:[/B] 8

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 8760

Dorothy, Sorry to hear you've been having a rough time. Know that you are not alone in feeling this way and that it does pass. Sometimes all we can do is take a time out from the mental battle. Use distractions and rewards to aid you along. Make this day all about you! Start fresh tommorrow. I know you must be frustrated but you just need to take it one day at a time. Danielle _______________________ The SSC Support Team

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 19

I am nearly 8 wks into my quit and this past week has been tougher than the previous three! It definitely does not seem to be getting easier. I'm going through some increased stress at the job and it seems as if the impending holidays just compound the pressure. The only positve I can find is that there is a definite improvement in my breathing. That is no small thing, but the mental battle is raging on! I'm feeling somewhat discouraged, espiecially when I have friends and relatives who have quit and say that years later they still want a cigarette! I haven't had a day yet when I didn't think about it and I'm really feeling bummed...:( It feels like I'm missing a friend. Is this emotional roller coaster normal this far in? I know the nicotine has been out of my system for a few weeks now... [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/9/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 46 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 928 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $172.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 41 [B]Seconds:[/B] 23

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 19

Thank you Rusty for that thoughtful reply...wow, you really are well into your quit. I'm in medicine and you are way past the time frame to be considered a non-smoker (usually a year)...good for you! How long did it take you to get past where I am now? [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/9/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 46 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 928 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $172.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 44 [B]Seconds:[/B] 54

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 19

Rusty, I need to be thanking you!! Your words and advice have helped me tremendously...we have some similarities in that I've smoked for nearly 40 years and was in a family of all smokers. Except for my daughter, I'm the last hold out...the rest have either passed away from disease directly related to this addiction (my Mom and Dad) or have quit. My sense is that you too had some hard times and I'm actually taking some comfort in that. In any event, I've found your "pontificating" inspirational and feel much stronger now than when I first posted. THANK YOU!!! Dorothy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/9/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 46 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 929 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $172.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 55 [B]Seconds:[/B] 7

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2462

Hi Dorothy, Thoughts of smoking are quite different from the physical cravings and withdrawals we experienced in the first week or two, I'm sure you'll agree. Those physical feelings are something that we can only control to an extent...we have to get through them to get to the other side, but we can develop coping mechanisms to make them easier to bear, sort of like how we women get through labor and birth. On the other hand, thoughts of smoking are like yearnings. Gee, I'd like to smoke a cigarette...but I won't. I don't do that anymore. I'd like to have a lobster right now. But I won't drive to the store to get one. It's not that important to me. Sometimes we continue to have these thoughts and yearnings because we are still romanticizing smoking...we haven't accepted the death of our ex-friend yet...we haven't chosen to see smoking as a negative and quitting smoking as a positive. We are no longer physically addicted to the nicotine and 4,000 other chemicals (like formaldehyde!) that are in tobacco, but we are letting those junkie lies continue to control our thoughts. What can we do to take back control? Some people have had funerals for their ex-friends, to put them in their final resting place. Some people write goodbye letters. Some people have talking therapy. It's sort of a switch that goes off in the brain, the final acceptance and understanding that you are finally free from this awful addiction. I encourage you to forget what others say. Listening to them is like feeding the junkie. This quit is yours, not theirs. I encourage to look at your thoughts about smoking and see them for what they are...attempts by your addiction to suck you back in. I encourage you to use any method you can to make a conscious decision to choose freedom from addiction, to choose clean and healthy, instead of poison and sickness. I encourage you to join us here and post whenever you need to, especially when you are going through tough times. You can do it, Dorothy! Rusty :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 12/13/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 711 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 19,920 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2488.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 97 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 42 [B]Seconds:[/B] 21

Quit Meter

$56,940.00

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 672 Hours: 9

Minutes: 40 Seconds: 33

Life Gained
Quit Meter

5475

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

219,000

Cigarettes Not Smoked

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2462

Dorothy, lots of folks throw around comments like...it takes a year or...I still crave after ___ years. Please understand that there are no hard and fast time frames for any of this. It's either comforting or scary to new quitters, but either way, as I said, every quit is different and how we fare depends on so many personal factors. When I quit, I was thinking that in a week, I'd be done with it. I was completely ignorant and unprepared for all of the mental and emotional work that had to happen. Mine was different from a lot of people because I have a spouse, two sons, a boss and other coworkers who all smoke. I smoked for nearly 40 years. The only way for me to accomplish it was to become as stubborn as I could, grit my teeth and push through, the rest be damned. But doing that also meant that I didn't begin to ease into my quit or relax about until much later. I will tell you...don't worry about tomorrow. It will come in its own time. Focus on today. Make today the best today you've had in a long time. Don't overanalyze your thoughts or feelings...let them come, look at them, and let them go. I read recently that events are not good or bad, they are just events. So let them happen, get through them, and above all, be proud of yourself for what you've accomplished! And, thanks for letting me pontificate! :p Rusty :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 12/13/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 711 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 19,920 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2488.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 97 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 45 [B]Seconds:[/B] 38

Quit Meter

$56,940.00

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 672 Hours: 9

Minutes: 40 Seconds: 33

Life Gained
Quit Meter

5475

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

219,000

Cigarettes Not Smoked

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7+ weeks in and still craving!