Bump for the newbies and a gentle reminder to those who posted.... look how far we have come PrincessC :) x

[IMG]http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m180/princessceleste_2006/thbrwishes.gif[/IMG] Im on day 31 week 1 - i cried, i shook, i sweated, i tossed and turned, i laid there in silence, grinding my teeth, headaches, muscle aches, jaw aches everything ached!, i rambled, gas, i ranted and raved, heart pulpitations, racing heart, my brain was foggy, stomach aches, went from insatiable hunger to not eating at all. the withdrawls were awful, dam awful. All those visions of a "junkie" in rehab - that was me - well thats what it felt like. i thought god help me im going to get through this even if it kills me! Those first 2 days were horrendous, smoking was ALL i could think about. Most of the first two weeks are a blur though seems like it was a long time ago. I rested, posted, rested. week 2 - sweats, stomach aches, gas, really hungry to no apetite again, headaches, sore throat, tightness in my chest, congested, sinus nfection, ear aches, clenching my teeth still, manic. Still thinking about smoking a lot but easier to dispel than in week 1. Remember being elated coz i reached 14 days :) Started with an exersize regeime and started eating better foods. week 3 - much much better, occasional stomach ache, gas, eating thing evened itself out, occasional headache, still congested. Severity of cravings have lessended, i keep reiterating to my sub concious NOT to listen to the junkie thoughts. week 4 - wow week 4 lol. Mainly irritated coz every now and then the murderer will walk passed me, his foul smelling breath and ugly rotting yellow teeth smiling through his black disease ridden mouth. He is a persistant retchid so and so. Am working on week 5 now. Im not well at the moment so and the murderer if aware of this weekened state and its like shark waiting for the moment to pounce.... ho hum, but im smarter than it so im not so worried, ill use my breahting exersizes to get through those. My strength is a mountain, the crave a pebble, everytime a pebble is thrown in my path i crush it with my mountain with that the pebble is turned into dust and becomes one with the mountain until one day there will be no pebbles left to crush. PrincessC :) x [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 7/11/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 32 [B]Cigarettes Not Sm

I forgot about those too Mistymoon, the skin tingles, my upper lip tingles, the skin thing, i had the bladder infection for about a week and a half grrr, my kidneys ached and nothing i took helped. I had the bloating about a week ago so yea about the same time as you i felt really errrk. I gave up years ago for 3 years and maybe it was either coz it was a long time ago or that i wasnt as addicted back then but i really dont remember it being this uncomfortable. May i just forget! I dont know lol PrincessC :) x

1 of April I stopped smoking. 2th of April I realized that it it was all in the mind. From that day on, I've changed my life. I did everything different than I was used to and that helped me. I didn't have cravings, I didn't feel anything but relief. I am so happy that I do not smoke anymore. I just changed my mind and my life. Now I am so completely done with smoking that I'm surprised about that...lol. Anyway, I'm glad to be a non smoker. Love Fini. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/1/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 134 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 3,357 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �395.3 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 18 [B]Hrs:[/B] 11 [B]Mins:[/B] 24 [B]Seconds:[/B] 16

Hi Stickintoit, the survey guru. :)Well after 60 days smoke free I still think about it under these circubstances. My best friends smoke, so whenever I see them the thought of smoking enters my brain, let me explain: not me smoking now, but the thought that I used to smoke with them. Everytime I do something for the first time as a non-smoker I think ah I used to smoke here, so I figure that when I revisit all the places as a non-smoker I'll be ok. Today I went to the hairdresser and after he put the goo on my head he says '' Ok you can go for a smoke now (outside) come back in 5. Here it comes: I of course replied: but I don't smoke where did you get that idea LOL I got a high five...So it gets easier and some days it's harder but nothing compared to the beginning. Smoking is not an option for me, I know it, and now I'm training my subconscious mind to realise it also. One day at a time, have a great weekend :)Marie [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/13/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 59 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 899 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $236 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 7 [B]Hrs:[/B] 21 [B]Mins:[/B] 46 [B]Seconds:[/B] 57

Stickintoit I forgot to mention pain kicks in whenever I go down on the patch' I guess I wanted to forget it cause it's coming up soon. I just hate withdrawel symptoms so much it hurts real baaaaad. Ok forget it now Marie it's not today, today is what counts. :)Marie [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/13/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 60 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 909 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $240 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 7 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 47 [B]Seconds:[/B] 2

Penitent thank you for that post, you explained it very well, it's not a craving it's a thought. :)Marie [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/13/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 66 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 999 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $264 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 8 [B]Hrs:[/B] 18 [B]Mins:[/B] 54 [B]Seconds:[/B] 58

Penitent I reread your post and I was thinking, Ok I don't have cravings for nicotine ( defined by the body is asking for it) this is all over with, the cravings I have now (once in a while) is for the habit cigaret, like sitting down with my smoker friend and smoking. I still miss that part, but my desire to quit is stronger than my desire to smoke, smoking is not an option for me. I got the part about (the elite group) it's normal to feel worried or even a little bit scared when you see a 6 month to 2 year smoke free person write that they still crave. But it passes and also helps prepare us for the future, we know what to expect,can't look at the world through pink glasses all the time! What is also difficult is communicating with writing, the emotions can't be delivered the same way as they would be verbally. This being cleared up for me anyway, I hope you read my post and continue to encourage me in my journey, as I so much need everyone's help on this site. Sincerely Marie :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/13/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 66 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,000 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $264 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 8 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 3 [B]Seconds:[/B] 14

I am at I dont know around 9 weeks? Just passed 2 months. The first few days - i was concentrating on not smoking. Really concentrating. But it was ok, craving wasnt too bad for me. By end day 3 it started to kick in days 4 - 5 I thought I was going mental. Or my head was, but I was determined not to give in. I then found days 8-9 hard, from there it was on and off. By week 3 I was really doing better. Not thinking about it all the time. I still have triggers (like when I am socialising and drinking) In fact I almost cried when I realised that i could choose to drink -but i could never ever choose to drink. How awful it was that i was addicteed and now my choice was gone forever. At first I needed to use a lot of mental will power and trickery. I read and posted here often it really got me through. I also visualised everyone from this board stood directly behind the person that I was seeing smoking, and I told myself not today maybe tomorrow. It was like learning NOT to smoke. just like I learnt TO smoke. I am still learning. It still takes willpower sometimes. but its much less often. Today I was driving to work, and I noticed how shallow my breathing still is - in previous quits I would have said that I was glad that I should go back to smoking - hey my health isnt better. Today I am different today I think well if my breathing is still that laboured, i hope I just hope that one day it will recover and I will get better. Thank god I am not smoking and making it worse. I barely think about smoking. Hardly ever. I never think about smoking when at work, or really at all in the week, its just at weekends. I do still think maybe I could - just for weekends, but I know that is ridiculous. Then its Monday again and I no longer smoke and am so glad I didnt smoke. The severity of my cravings beginning were 8 By week 2 they were 10 By week 3 they were 6 Now they are almost always 1 if that - sometimes 0 no cravings at all. They are certainly not severe merely just a thought. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/12/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 66 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,656 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �495 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 10 [B]Seconds:[/B] 28

I truly believe my craves became worse at about day 50!!!??? I don't know why, except I began to think of myself not smoking [i]permanently[/i] and went into a panic! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/23/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 81 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,085 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $648 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 8 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 42 [B]Seconds:[/B] 43