This may sound strange, but my quit was FUN! Why? Because here on this site I found a group of extremely positive people on a virtual magic cruise. These people were not only ALWAYS positive, but also supportive and very creative. We posted for each other daily, and as our story was being written we each had our chapters to write. We had a couple shipmates who faltered a bit, but found their way right back on board and both have now celebrated the 100 day mark and more. We were all quit buddies, and even though I may be the only one still here on a regular basis, we are in contact with each other, still being positive, still QUIT! Did I have a few rough days? You bet. But not many. Did I have a few wants and cravings? Yeah, probably, but to me it�s like giving birth...you forget the pain after a while and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Did I follow the program and do all of the reading, and have my basket of diversions, candies, mantras, etc? No. Not once did I suck on a straw or breathe deeply. I ate chocolate. Did I reward myself with each milestone achieved? No. I just quit smoking. I did use a quit aid (Chantix) for a while and considered it to be just that...an aid. Could I have done it without the aid of Chantix? Yes, probably, but why make it harder than it has to be? Would I suffer a headache and not take an aspirin? Chantix was worth a try. It wasn�t nicotine replacement, so after three days I was nicotine free! I see many who have trouble stepping down on the patch or who become �addicted� to the gum, but to each his own. Whatever you expect to work will work, but it still comes down to individual willpower. You have to want to quit more than you want to smoke. Over and over on these boards we have debated easy quit vs. hard. Mine was easy. I won�t apologize for that. For those whose quit was hard...I am truly sorry you have had a rough time and I don�t know why it�s that way for some and not for others. I do know that if you expect it to be hard, it will be. Nothing I can say or do can make it any easier for you. I can�t say I expected mine to be easy...but a positive attitude sure beats feeling sorry for myself and whining about how hard it is and wondering if I can do it. Sure I can do it! And I had fun with the others on this site who shared their positive attitudes and lightened things up. A lot! It�s all in the attitude, people! Do I still think I could smoke just one cigarette and maintain my quit? Yes, I do. This was my second quit, and I blew my first one with that same junkie thinking. Will I chance it again? No! Smoking is very inconvenient, not to mention expensive. I have given myself a wonderful gift. I have inspired both of my daughters to quit. I have proved to myself once again that I am strong and can do whatever I set my mind to. I had planned to die (early) as a smoker...and honestly, if I were told today that I had only weeks or months to live, I would probably buy enough smokes to sit on the porch and smoke all day long. But unless that day comes, I will not smoke. N.O.P.E. Remember that it�s a journey, a road under construction. A temporary inconvenience leads to a permanent improvement. Nance [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]2/14/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 155 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,650 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $751.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 21 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 36 [B]Seconds:[/B] 49

I came to my quit prepared, used Chantix to help, found this site, which also helped tremendously. I knew is was going to be a struggle at times, so I was pretty much prepared. I think my quit went smoother than I anticipated even with the nights that I cried myself to sleep. I do think that the more I read on here, the more I knew what to expect the better I was. So no I don't think we give the newbies too much info. It also depends on how much the newbies read, some read a lot and some just read a little. But I think the more info the better off they will be. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 140 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 3,500 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $700.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 14 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 48 [B]Seconds:[/B] 24

I didn't read. I didn't prepare. I just became tired of smoking. Fed up with the social difficulties of being one of the only smokers in the group, with the smell in the house, with the taste in my mouth, with the fact that smoking dominated so much of my mental space. The engineering of opportunities to smoke, the expectation of the reward of a smoke after any endeavour, the anxiety about did I have enough cigarettes in the house to last till tomorrow, the driving out to the petrol station at 11 p.m. just to make sure I had. I knew for months that I wanted to stop but could not imagine how I could. It was all tied up with having had to stop drinking. Then one day I just knew the time had come. I didn't want to use any sort of nicotine replacement. I just wanted to stop. So I did. I was scared, lost, missed my old but difficult friend. Used this site as a crutch and although sometimes I have felt like a complete outsider I came here every day possible and there is not a single doubt that if I hadn't had this link I could not have done it. Now. At this moment. On this day. I feel I will never smoke again. Not that I won't think that I want to and no doubt I will be tested but my confidence is high that I will resist temptation. So. What was quitting like for me? Really? I suppose, if you read other stories, it has been easy but not without tears. Gen [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/28/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 113 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,808 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �565.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 14 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 54 [B]Seconds:[/B] 33

Gosh..... I'd love to answer this right now....but alas....I got to go to work Catch you all later. Be prepared!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mercy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]1/21/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 179 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 3,580 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $800.13 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 23 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 26 [B]Seconds:[/B] 53

duffis my brother I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has been" run out of town" and censored to death. LOL The only thing we missed was the "the tar and feathers".Do you think it has anything to do with our age :quest: I figure we got about an hour before the mods get us again ;p [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/20/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 121 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,178 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1,210.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 27 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 5 [B]Seconds:[/B] 54

Good one LL. In one way quitting is like leaving home for the first time into the real world on your own. That smoke is not there and it's always been there before. It's exciting, liberating, stressful, painful, uncomfortable, intimidating, and scary because of the unknown that lies beyond. Are you up to this and what if you're not? The fall back is not the comforting and safe arms of someone who loves you; it's the death grip of something that owns you. This is definately not for the faint of heart. You've got to want it more than anything. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/15/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 126 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,520 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $529.20 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 20 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 4 [B]Seconds:[/B] 19

LL you could have said "what is quitting really like?" but then we would have missed your point. As many here have written "Knowledge is power", I would say that you can never understand your quit until you go through it and win or lose. Many are like Pen, Bear, Golferman, myself who just quit and can't quite understand why others can't just simply do the same. Others go through the world of hell that only they can understand. I have been "chased out of town" so to speak because of my sharp posts, the mods have chopped my posts to saint hood, yet I still keep posting on this subject. I will go on record again saying that men do not have the same problems that women face in the quit process. Put yourself in a 24/7 enviorement of screaming children, balancing the household budget, keeping house, dealing with the change of life in some cases, and for some reason a great deal of depression. This is life and dam if I had to live that I'd sure give in to a smoke every now and then. There are some women who like us just quit and never have problems, at lease on these boards. Every person who quits smoking has his or her social and emotional change of life styles. What ever that entails is up to each individual and who can really say what is strong or weak other than that person trying to quit this nasty, life threatening habit. Learn to help your self and then if you wish, help others where you can. Staying around this site after you have won your personal victory over the terrible addiction is just another way of saying thanks and reinforcing your own purpose here. Good post LL Duffis [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]2/13/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 886 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 26,580 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2,658.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 192 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 1 [B]Seconds:[/B] 46

Well, like Aloha, the physical withdrawal was relatively easy in that although it was harsh it was gone within days. The mental thing has been a lot harder and more unexpected - I thought I'd be pretty much out of the woods once the physical withdrawal was done - WRONG!! I don't physically want a cigarette anymore, but I do think about them a lot in situations I face each day. This has lessened to a degree and I imagine as each activity formerly associated with smoking becomes associated with not smoking they will continue to diminish. This site has been a Godsend I have to say - this is what keeps me going and knowledge I think is a great weapon. I really want this quit - nobody's forcing me - that is also a big and important factor. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]6/21/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 28 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 420 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �70.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 53 [B]Seconds:[/B] 32

Well Mr Lamplighter.My quit was a bit of a disappontment so far. By comparison ?? my quit was a walk in the park I did'nt have a whole lot of cravings and my withdrawel from nicotine was no big deal. Don't get me wrong there still was some uncomfortable times but nothing like other people have experienced.Perhaps thats why I get so impatient with other people who are having a bad time :blush: I did'nt have a whole lot of expectations as you know and was quite indifferent to the whole idea of quitting smoking and perhaps thats why I feel disapponted . I don't feel like a new person just the same Old Bear that does'nt smoke anymore !!! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/20/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 121 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,178 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1,210.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 27 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 26 [B]Seconds:[/B] 59

Lots of questions there, LL For me, quitting was much easier that I expected this time. Only one time before was I ever able to go 24 hours, and that was because i was out in the wilderness and unable to access cigarettes. This time I took chantix,and actually planned to quit, looked forward to it. Nobody was making me..I wanted to do it. I think that played into the success so far. That the things I am dealing with as a result of quitting has lasted so long is a surprise to me. I thought it was just a matter of getting the nicotine and chemicals out of my body. I didn't realize how I used the cigarettes to reward myself, to calm myself down, to avoid dealing with unpleasant situations. Now I do, so now I am dealing with all those things. I think that is why I am staying so closely attached to this site. This dealing with addictive stuff is new to me in terms of ackowledging me as the addict, so I think I have transferred the addictive behavior to here. Healthier, but still not the best in terms of living my life to the fullest. i am still a hermit, I tend to avoid social situations unless I am doing my work, and then the roles are clearly defined, and I am clearly the one in control. So, in terms of the physical, this quit has been a dream, but in terms of lifestyle and emotions....many many surprises....despite some uncomfortable moments, i believe that i am letting go of the crutch of cigarettes and loosening up my walls of defense so that I can truly be the best aloha i can be very very good thread, ll....going deeper -aloha [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/22/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 119 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,760 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $809.20 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 16 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 28 [B]Seconds:[/B] 43