Welcome Wishing, Casey said it perfectly, but you will also get alot of other support and lot's of advice. Congratulations on your first day. You said you have been on the site for awhile and are just coming forward now, that's great because it means you have put alot of thought into this. I'm sorry about what the Dentist said, but tomorrow is a new day and quitting smoking is the first step in getting control of your health again. Beating this addiction isn't going to be an easy journey as Casey put it, but we can help you over the bumps in the road. Lot's of people know what you are going through and help you along. Read lots and post often. I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 11/7/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 34 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 767 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $187 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 50 [B]Seconds:[/B] 52

Wishing, I can only speak for myself and my failed past attempts to quit. I would get to two weeks, and still be having major craves...and I would think it was never going to end....I did not have the knowledge that the SSC has given to me. You have to fight the craves today...you have to fight them tomorrow, next week, next month and in six months...they may even pop up in a year. The point is, you were exactly right. You can't give into the craves EVER...not one puff ever again. That is where I failed...I thought I would have just one to make the crave go away, but having one feeded the craves. One day at a time wishing....this is the best thing you can do for yourself and you won't regret it. Kaiti [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 11/7/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 35 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 777 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $192.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 2 [B]Mins:[/B] 48 [B]Seconds:[/B] 56

I wish you all the best - wishing. This place is a great souce of strenght and inspiration. You're in the right place and I'm glad you're here. I have to say that I don't agree with your statement "People that quit for some time and pick it back up were not really ready to quit, only perhaps needing an excuse to smoke once again." Perhaps you feel this way, but for me - after 11 years into a quit I wasn't looking for an excuse to smoke. At what point in the 11 year quit would you have defined me as "ready to quit"? This nicotine is a monster that waits for an opportunity to pounce. I used to consider myself an ex-smoker. From here on, I believe I will refer to myself as a smoker, not smoking. I've quit more times than some people start. My 11 years was a solid quit. I figure that somehow I should be able to quit for at least 11 more years since I did it once already. But "lordy don't those wheels turn slow". One step at a time. Welcome. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 11/19/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 23 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 237 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $115 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 4 [B]Mins:[/B] 36 [B]Seconds:[/B] 45

Welcome Wishing.. We're all here for you :) Do a lot of reading of previous and present posts and also post often. We're here for the good the bad and the ugly.. unconditional support and encouragement! (((((((((hugs)))))))))) Monica58 [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/31/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 42 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 853 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $378 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 4 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 47 [B]Seconds:[/B] 9

Hi wishing :) Welcome to the SSC forum! There are lots of friendly folk here who will be happy to help your on your way. It really helps, not only to get support from others, but to give it too. Every time you post it is a positive affirmation of your own commitment to staying a non smoker. I'll look forward to seeing you here. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 11/16/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 25 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 776 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $125 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 51 [B]Seconds:[/B] 21

You know, I think Phil had one on each cheek for a while. Got a great hit every time he sat down. peteg [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/30/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 50 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,527 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $275 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 8 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 21 [B]Seconds:[/B] 45

Aw shucks, Bobby, it was nothing, but thanks. Now let's take a closer look at your quit meter!! Dude, were you seriously at almost 3 packs a day, or is my math way off?? If my math was right, then we need to give you more than the next five minutes!! It's a concept from the emergency management community, okay? We've learned that when people endure a disaster (natural, technical, intentional... doesn't matter), all they want to do is "return to normal." They don't realize that "normal" doesn't exist for them any more; they have to create a new "normal" with whatever they have left. Bobby, I can't see how you can succeed with this quit without a new "normal" for yourself. Dude, if you were at 3 packs a day, that means everything you did got done with a cigarette, and now suddenly, NOTHING gets done with a smoke in your hand and mouth?? That needs a new definition of normal! This could be a tough quit, but it's definitely doable. It's all about making a new normal, Bobby; the old "normal" is burnt up and gone. Sorry, dude. It's never coming back. You have to make a whole new "normal" for yourself. We've all done it and can maybe help with the mechanics. I say "maybe" only because the new normal has to be completely yours -- one size does NOT fit all, and cut-and-paste doesn't work, we've learned the hard way. You have to make a new normal for yourself, but here's the good news: a ton of really cool people are all standing by -- at your very beck and call -- to help you whenever you ask. Day 3, dude. This is a big one: the nasty nicotine goes away on Day 3; give yourself that much, okay? You deserve a nicotine-free body to see what it feels like. (Uh Oh -- Hang on!! NOT a statement about our very good friends who are getting rid of the nicotine in a different way -- my own VERY good friend Dunedad among them!! We LOVE the patch, the inhaler, the Whatever it takes to get the cancer sticks out of our mouths, right?) I was just trying to give our new Bobby a reason for surviving Day 3. We're all still friends, right?) peteg [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/30/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 44 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,248 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $242 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 7 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins

Way to go, Bobby! Day 2 down! I would like to have replied to a much earlier post about other people, but am just getting in after finishing the night job, which happens once I finish the day job. But I will say this: if you poke around this vast site, you'll see tons of posts from people who quit and then started smoking again. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about what caused the re-start; I'd look much more closely at the fight and determination they bring to us all. It comes down to a basic tenet of this group: to be successful, your desire to quit has to be stronger than your desire to smoke. Period. In my own life, that translates something like this: the desire to be free of that miserable addiction is stronger than my (very strong!) wish for a smoke right now. The desire to smell like a human being (as opposed to a stale chemical discharge plant in the rain) is stronger than my (very real and urgent) desire to smoke. Guilt is a lousy motivator -- my wonderful friend, the great Monica and her noble Hebrew heritage notwithstanding -- peer pressure isn't too effective, either; our addiction will not be brow-beaten by anyone or anything. Our only effective weapon is ourself. The people on this board are cheerleaders and work-out partners, telling us we can blow off that crave, and we can go five more minutes without lighting up. And we can, if we choose to. All you need is those five minutes, dude. Take them, and you'll find the next five easier to grab when you need them. Take the tools and techniques here seriously, and you'll soon find that those critical five minutes are hours and then days apart. We're all here for you, but we can't do it for you. I hope we can convince you of the value of the next five minutes. Hang in, Bobby. pete [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/30/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 44 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,244 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $242 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 7 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 34 [B]Seconds:[/B] 30

Hey Bobby -- so glad you're here! You'll want to maybe spend a couple of days or so wandering around this site to see who's around and active. There is a huge diversity of people here -- some are bound to connect and click with you and help you make this quit your last. peteg [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/30/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 42 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,144 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $231 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 7 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 6 [B]Seconds:[/B] 27

Whoops, but I forgot to mention. Wishing don't make it so, dude. If all we needed to do was "wish" we could quit, this site would not exist, would it? Here's where we help each other with the god-awful, hard work of the quit. No room for wishes here... just back-breaking, soul-challenging, sucks-to-be-me hard work. (HA!! You should see my Christmas Letter!!) Like tons of people before me, I put lights on a Christmas tree tonight for the first time in 40+ years without a cigarette. Oh my God, it was enough to make me a athesist, and I'm a friggin ordained Anglican! (Um, but not so much into the whole sex thing that seems to have captivated our entire faith tradition, much to my horror) Here, we don't wish; we make it happen. And it sucks every single time we beat that craving back into the ground. But we continue to beat, and we never stop. It's what we do here. Welcome. pete [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/30/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 42 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,144 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $231 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 7 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 8 [B]Seconds:[/B] 26