Hi Mercy, You sound so miserable and I can feel how sad you are right now. So much of what you're feeling right now is from the quit. You're doing such a great job and I know you're strong enough to hang on until these horrible symptoms pass. I know it's not all from the quit. You're down right depressed from being in physical pain. It gets sooo old when your joints to ache so much and to the point that you dread being active at all. Let me ask you this.....Have your joints started aching more SINCE you quit smoking? I've been meaning to get with you to ask that question because mine have. I didn't know if it was just coincidence or what but now, I don't think so. I think my metabolism has slowed so much and I've gained 10 lbs. now that my joints hurt from carrying the extra weight. It's hard to get that extra weight off with a slowed metabolism. It may be a coincidence but let me know what you think. Okay? At any rate, exercise is the answer. You ARE at that 90 Day "bump in the road" too!! All weekend a lot of us at the 60 Day mark and several at the 90 Day mark have hit that bump really hard. Blew out tires in fact!! LOL It will pass, Mercy. I was asking myself the same questions the other day about my life too....wondering if I'd lived it without purpose and thinking of ways to change my life....If in fact it's not too late. Well, it's never to late to change things for the better. I know that. But now that I'm passed that "bump in the road" I realize that a form of depression hit me when I hit that bump. I realize now that my life has been pretty darn good. Oh, we can always improve on our lives and you know that. But looking back, I know I didn't do a bad job....Maybe not perfect....I may not have reached all of those goals but it's not too late. I'm still here, I'm able to get into a vertical position, and I'm still taking in oxygen. LOL Stay Strong and Keep Your Faith, Tutti [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/18/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 64 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,919 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $229.76 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 56 [B]Seconds:[/B] 44

Oh Casey, Thank you for always being there! Mercy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/21/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 92 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,857 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $411.24 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 12 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 57 [B]Seconds:[/B] 36

Thanks for your replies. It is only 8pm...but maybe I will get my little dog and go to bed and watch tv. Thanks Lady and chicknoodle(what a cute name..where'd ya get that from) Guess all days can't be wonderful. I am an upbeat person by nature...but it was a bad day. My joints and muscles ache and after tons of meds and lots of specialists I see a autoimmune specialist Wednesday. So that has me down too. I led a VERY active life (like hiking, camping etc...and lately just doing my usual yard work leaves me hurting. Besides that...it began to thunder and lightening tonight. Now that shouldn't mean piddely pooh...but...thunderstorms are a trigger....so I had a work trigger..and a thunderstorm trigger..ALL IN ONE DAY!! :gasp: Let's hope day 93 is better. Oh chicknoodle....it has been an issue with me for a LONG time too. Life isn't about money or where you should be at.....but where you want to be. Mercy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/21/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 92 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,856 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $411.24 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 12 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 55 [B]Seconds:[/B] 27

Hi Mercy, I agree with Lady! Our old coping mechanisms don't work anymore and until we put new ones in place, it's really hard to know what to do. Hang in there and continue to stay strong. You and I both know that a cigarette wouldn't have made you feel a darn bit better, right? My guess is that it would make any of us feel much, much worse. You are doing the right thing, taking the dog for a walk! Maybe even turn in early this evening, rest the soul. Honestly, Mercy, I don't know too many people who have used all their days on this earth with purpose but I certainly feel that it is NEVER too late to make purposeful changes in our lives. I think that getting older has given my life much more purpose. Sorry, didn't mean to ramble but this issue is something I've been dealing with for a while now. You hang in there Mercy. You know what to do! I can tell by your meter! Congrats on a beautiful 92 days! Debbie [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/26/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 179 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 3,596 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $671.25 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 17 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 19 [B]Seconds:[/B] 42

Hang in there Mercy. Smoking has been your coping mechanism for years. It's time to find a new one. Walk the dog is good. Pop a peppermint in your mouth, go grab some starbucks, do a puzzle, read a book... anything that will take your mind off of smoking. Go for a walk and enjoy all the new smells you can recognized from afar. You are doing great and what you are going through is perfectly normal. Don't ever be afraid to vent here. That is what this place is for. Yell, scream, punch a pillow, break dishes, whatever it takes... Just don't smoke. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 7/1/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 661 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 13,235 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2313.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 59 [B]Hrs:[/B] 17 [B]Mins:[/B] 51 [B]Seconds:[/B] 52

Hi everyone, I really do try and write positive. But.. today was a rotten day at work. A supervisor trying to tell me how to schedule hours when he knows absolutely nothing about the department (nor does he even ask). I felt so angry and fustrated. I have 23 years with the company...and this guy is such a jerk. I swallowed it all. It was towards the end of the day and my first thought was..."CAN'T WAIT TO GET OUT OF HERE AND RELAX WITH A CIGARETTE AT HOME." ..... ... then the next thought was..."WHAT..WHAT.. YOU DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE!" .......the echos in my head said...."IT'S EASY ENOUGH TO CHANGE THAT ...AND FEEL BETTER....awe...GO AHEAD AND GO FOR IT" I swear I started to shake and get the sweats. I came home and did some bible reading outside. I walkded the dog and ate an early dinner. I still feel very agitated...yet extemely tired at the same time. I don't mean sleepy tired...almost trance like tired. In a dizzy kind of way. Walking through a cloud with no direction. Mentally tired beyond rational. I'm pretty sure I will make it. I have that pre feeling you get when you have gone without a cigarette for awhile. Sort of that butterfly feeling in your stomach and chest...and a dizzy foggy brain feeling. I just needed to vent. I hope I did not discourage anyone. Maybe I should take another walk with the dog. Did you ever feel that you didn't use your number of days on this earth with purpose? Life doesn't allow do-overs.....but is it ever too late to change it? Mercy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/21/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 92 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,855 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $411.24 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 12 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 43 [B]Seconds:[/B] 48

Laughing, That lyme is serious stuff. I buy that front line for my dog too. I have lots of woods around my house. One time I let her run free in the woods to see if she would stay close to me or be naughty. (you guessed it...she was big time naughty!!) The little pooper ran through the thickets and didn't she get a tick!! A big old brown one. I had her tested later in the summer. I was also tested for lyme. I didn't know lyme was out your way. I thought it was more a northeaster thing. Mercy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/21/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 97 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,954 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $433.59 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 12 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 11 [B]Seconds:[/B] 54

Hey Mercy... I don't where you live...or anything...but..I live in the US in the central part...where TICKS abide...for the last three weeks...before i quit smoking my joints were hurting me terribly....last year..my daughter who is very active...started complaining that she was achy and had no energy...i had her tested for lymes..and viola...that's what it was!! My own dog, who I love, but who is a tick magnet...had lymes now...had it last year...my daughter sleeps with her..and I pulled like...20 ticks off of her in one week...now..i've gone big and gotten the frontline...expensive stuff..but hopefully that will keep the ticks off of her...and I had a lymes test yesterday. The results won't be in until next week..but the doc started me on an antibiotic just incase... Just something to think about... [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/19/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 9 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 234 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $40.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 34 [B]Seconds:[/B] 52

Thanks stormy, The morning started out the same for me as the past couple of days. But very surprisingly the afternoon and this evening have gone much better. The past three days of been yucky.....and it is like someone shut the craving faucet off. (finally) It was such a pretty day here. I wish I didn't have to work tomorrow. Tuttie, little by little I am getting use to being outside and doing my usual yard work with out smoking. Not easy....but the more you do it the better. It is almost like you have to force yourself to do everything on purpose without cigarettes to get it out of the way. The more we do not smoking the more we will learn how to do it not smoking. The biggest help for me is taking the dog for a walk. Somehow it melts the crave away. The worst time is returning home from anywhere. That is my worst trigger. I would enter my house...grab the cigarettes and go outside and smoke. Tuttie.... you are doing so good. I am finding out... doing good isn't judge by stat numbers....but mental commitment and attitude. Yours SHINES... Mercy Mercy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/21/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 96 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,937 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $429.12 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 12 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 29 [B]Seconds:[/B] 1

Tutti & Mercy... Both of you are doing so well and as I sit back and watch your stats grow with each day, I say to you both, "Great Job". You both have shown strength, positivity, and sprinkled with a touch of humor. I find your posts refreshing and I can plainly see that even with the bumps along the way, still you both keep plugging and pushing ahead. Way to go. Proud of you both. (high fives) :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 7/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 284 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,276 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1065 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 31 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 51 [B]Seconds:[/B] 13