I think the patches only help but the main part of giving up is your own state of mind. I have tried in the past to give up with patches on and yet I've still taken them off and had a cigarette after a day or two. This time I haven't. I just won't let myself. Today I went down to step 2. Well done peteg :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 11/7/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 13 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 339 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �71.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 7 [B]Seconds:[/B] 56

PS Spend that $50 on fine wine for you and the wife rather than a bit of material you slap on your butt each day!!! ck Your butt??? Is that where it goes?? Someone said "ARRG" the other day, so I assumed it was a pirate thing and stuck the patch over my eye. Kept walking into things. I may try the whole patch thing again -- on my butt this time! So like, every time you sit down, do you get a major hit of nicotine?? And what happens when well-meaning souls ask if they can see your patch?? (Hmmmm... I can see Dunedude getting excited all the way from here. Down, tiger.) peteg

Glad you're back, Dunedude. Me, it's just plain sucky. I knew week 3 was a challenge (people losing their energy to fight), but whoa buddy, it's taken a toll on me! All I could do to say hi to a couple of new people... God, I hope that what people say is true, that after Day 21 things get noticeably better. I actually almost caved the past couple of nights. But I'm hanging in as best I can -- peteg [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/30/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 18 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 915 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $99 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 4 [B]Mins:[/B] 59 [B]Seconds:[/B] 7

Okay, no biggie, I'm sure... but... went to step down from 21 mg to 14 mg tonight for tomorrow, and I live in the sticks; only one store has Nicoderm, and they didn't have 14 mg. 21 mg was 50 bucks!! (I swear I don't remember paying that much for it 2 weeks ago!) I couldn't bring myself to pay 50 bucks for the patch, so I'm going solo tomorrow after 14 days on 21 mg. (Dag! After all those consults with the doctor and pharmacist and everything, too!) It should be fine, right? I think I'm ready to suck it up and deal. If not, what's the worst thing that can happen? I run screaming into the nearest drug store where I work (in a larger city) and pay my $50 to protect the quit. But I hope it won't come to that. Here goes nothin --- peteg [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/30/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 13 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 694 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $71.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 18 [B]Seconds:[/B] 9

Hey, Everybody -- Just checking in at about 12:30 or so in the afternoon (EST) -- feeling really good, considering that it could be recklessness or classic hubris (ha! Or miserliness!) that's keeping me away from the patch, but it feels good to be rid of it. I just want to nicotine out of my system once and for all, and am willing to face some discomfort to be completely "drug free," so to speak. If I start to feel too vulnerable, I have some gum I bought when I got the patches, not realizing you weren't supposed to do both simultaneously. But I'm hoping not to use it. Thanks for all the support -- I'm really grateful. peteg [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/30/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 14 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 725 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $77 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 0 [B]Seconds:[/B] 53

Gotta say that the bra strap just wasn't holding the patch down for me! LOL! Hey, Everybody -- Greetings from the almost-end of a really stress-filled day with potentials all around for slips and some serious butt kicking on two fronts. But life is good. One day last week, I forgot the patch, and went into a complete panic and drove all the way back home from work to put it on rather than risk life without it. And then I'm like, "Hello? Does this sound vaguely familiar??" I was trading one nicotine delivery system for another, albeit a more socially acceptable one. NOT speaking for anyone else, and most definitely NOT putting a value of any kind on this, it's just the way my own personal quit seems to be evolving. What I've done to my poor body over the last 40 years is shameful, but suddenly, I've given my body a voice, and it's not afraid to use it. It just wanted to be done. I have nicotine gum in my car, at my job, and at my house. I will most definitely use it, or return to the patch, if and when it becomes necessary to maintain the quit. It just doesn't feel necessary right now. I'm more amazed and speechless than anyone. And oddly, even though it's only 2 weeks, I have zero desire to smoke (well, except when spouse inadvertently bought a really good bottle of wine to go with the celebratory dinner --- but it was a fleeting thought!) and smell up my environment and body again. But that's just me. I give humble and hearty thanks for the brave souls who went 70 days and more... and then slipped. My sin is ever before me, and eschewing the patch has nothing to do with false pride or a sense that I'm out of the woods. I know I never will be; a wise spiritual leader once told me that some conditions are simply not healed in this life; my addiction is one of them. The best I can hope to do is manage it. It will never go away, and that's okay. Kind of like the embarrassing auntie you can't do anything about. She's a part of my life and existence, but she's not allowed to tell me what to do any more. "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I reasoned like a child -- [I made excuses like a child] -- when I became an adult, I put childish things away." Thanks. peteg [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/30/2006 [B]Smok

Well, everyone is different of course, but with me, the question was if nicotine was out of my system in 72 hours, why keep pumping it in? I knew it needed it to buy some time, but I wondered how much time I needed to buy. In hindsight (20-20), I should have stayed on longer, but I have gum for emergencies. I think the idea of freedom from the patch was worth the discomfort; now at Day 21, I'm thinking I HAVE to be through the worst of it. Thanks for asking --- peteg [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/30/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 21 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,075 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $115.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 18 [B]Mins:[/B] 24 [B]Seconds:[/B] 18

Thanks -- it's okay. Just wasn't ready for that 3rd week meltdown. (I guess I never made it 3 weeks before.) Spent my Friday night at the local fire and rescue academy helping new community volunteers -- that's always cool. But I'm still in a perfectly foul mood -- I have a heck of a weekend ahead of me, so this better pass quickly. No slips yet though -- "still erect and taking nourishment," as they say. Just feel like kicking something hard. (Dog, cats, and spouse are all hiding under furniture waiting for the sturm und drang to pass.) Hmmm. So am I. peteg [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/30/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 18 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 944 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $99 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 26 [B]Seconds:[/B] 52

Pete, sounds like it is going along like it is supposed to. Isnt it great to be able to be a bit crabby and have an excuse?... I am doing way better, but I am always on the lookout for when that sudden drop is going to happen (and I know it will). I am starting to notice improved health already. I think I am sleeping better...My daughter noticed that I dont snore anymore, yeah, I guess she heard me from her room! :blush:...who me? I never! So I think my wife and whole family is sleeping better as a result. What I am going to say next is kinda gross. But I am proud of it kinda. The last few days I have hacked up some horrendous spaceballs! I mean this stuff must've been in there since Oingo, Boingo was rockin the house, Flock of Seagulls were runnin...and david lee Roth was on good terms with the van halen bro's. and one more....here it is Def lepard was drumming with .....ahh you know . Anyway, however gross it is, it is a positive effect of quitting! Have a good weekend bro....It does get better everyday! Your quit meter is getting impressive! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 11/7/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 10 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 218 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $46 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 12 [B]Seconds:[/B] 26

Glad to hear it Pete! Sounds like your day isnt going as bad as anticipated. I guess the coping skills learned, and the fact that you at this time have re-trained your triggers, is helping. Congrats Pete, your accelerating to another step closer to true independence. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 11/7/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 6 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 134 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $27.6 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 53 [B]Seconds:[/B] 27