Thanks for the bump! Danielle, Bilingual Health Educator

bump [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]1/28/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 376 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 15,040 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $5,264.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 45 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 48 [B]Seconds:[/B] 57

John, I've had some serious problems with the endorphins during my quit. Exercise helps, like a walk or swimming. Breaking dishes helps. Go buy a CD of a group you haven't listened to in years and sing at the top of your lungs. A nap, a funny movie, any Friends episode. A "me" day where you just allow yourself to sit on the sofa and watch TV. Those are some of the things that helped me along the way. The best thing I found was playing golf or just simply getting out in God's beauty (mountains, beach, etc). I hope this helps. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/1/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 755 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 15,100 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2,642.50 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 68 [B]Hrs:[/B] 4 [B]Mins:[/B] 53 [B]Seconds:[/B] 44

John, Rewards! Anything you find pleasurable for that matter. Exercise also helps as it releases endorphins, another type of "feel-good" chemical. Danielle, Bilingual Support Specialist

That explains a lot Lady, Is there anything we can do (short of smoking) to re-open these receptors? I am feeling a bit cranky today. Would like to crush something with a monster truck! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]5/3/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 84 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,100 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $294.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 12 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 51 [B]Seconds:[/B] 46

Lady, In my humble opinion the best post on this site. Thanks Lady and Shevie of course! :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]2/13/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 528 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 15,840 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �3,960.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 84 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 42 [B]Seconds:[/B] 26

THANKS LADY, I am always glad to see you have posted. Seems like it is just what I need to hear. This was really a good one. How long do you think it will take our brains to reach a real normal? Normal reward center and normal dopamine release. I guess I'm always looking for how long when I already know it is day by day. Anyway keep those post coming. [color=Blue]BLUE CLOUD[/color] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/4/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 21 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 420 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $84.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 21 [B]Mins:[/B] 56 [B]Seconds:[/B] 57

Lady, Thank you for reposting this! Danielle, Bilingual Support Specialist

Thank you Lady for sharing this informative post. I found this post early in my quit and learning about what was happening to me as I was beginning my journey as a non-smoker helped me a great deal. Boxerfan [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/28/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 119 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,380 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $595.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 10 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 31 [B]Seconds:[/B] 27

This post is from a quitter that helped so many along the journey when I quit. I have copied his words below. I am quoting Shevie here because I think it may help some of you. There have been some questions concerning rewards lately. I've been doing research (actually, more like rooting around) into the neuropharmacological aspects of nicotine addiction and thought I'd share a bit here. It's a bit long so if you want the bottom line, just skip to the colored part and start there. When you experience something pleasurable, certain areas of your brain called reward centers activate by releasing dopamine. The presence of dopamine is what causes the pleasurable feeling, the enjoyment, the �ahhh�. Smoking causes an increase in the dopamine levels. The actual mechanism is debated, but fMRI studies confirm the increase occurs. As you continue to smoke, the dopamine levels remain high and the brain starts shutting down some of the reward centers in an attempt to return to normal. This causes the smoker to require more, which raises the dopamine levels, which causes the brain to shut down even more reward centers. A balance is eventually reached, typically at the point of a pack per day (about 20 mg of nicotine). This also applies to users of chewing tobacco and snuff. So now a balance has been reached. The nicotine has raised dopamine levels and the brain has shut down reward centers to compensate. Heroin and cocaine users also reach this maintenance level where the fix no longer causes pleasure, but simply maintains �normal�. When the dopamine level begins to drop (30 � 60 minutes after the last smoke) the smoker begins to feel �the need� and has another fix which re-establishes the dopamine levels. When the smoker quits the levels of nicotine fall rapidly, as do the dopamine levels. After three to five days the nicotine is out of the system. The brain, however, does not recover as quickly. Without the constant smoking stimulus, dopamine levels are far below where they were. Since reward centers were long ago shut down to compensate for the increased dopamine levels caused by smoking, the (now) ex-smoker is operating at a �reward deficit�. As a result, the ex-smoker feels depressed, ill-tempered, and sad (cries a lot). Those who use sleep as an escape mechanism will tend to sleep much more. Another effect of this �reward deficit� is that ordinary, everyday rewards don�t seem to work anymore. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/1/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 754 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 15,080 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2,639.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 68 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 20 [B]Seconds:[/B] 7