I have not had a cigarette in 25 days until today. I slipped up. I don't know why but I felt the urgency to smoke one. I don't know if it's because of all the stress and stones thrown in my path that I felt the need to smoke.

[kilogram23]

Was all that work for nothing? Or is the time put in still worthy even if I did slip up one time? 

[elvan]

Barbara522‌  Welcome to EX, you have all the tools you need right here to have a successful quit.  Remember, it is a one day at a time journey.  Sometimes, it has to be one hour or one minute.  You can do this, I am sorry about the results of the CT Scan but glad that it is waking you up to what this addiction does.  Many quits have been lost over thinking, I can smoke just one.  My mantra when I came here was NOPE, Not One Puff Ever.  It really worked for me.

Ellen

[Barbscloud]

Barbara522   Welcome the Ex.  We're here for you.  Just reach out if you need support.  Do you have a follow-up CT scheduled?  I just had a nodule on my last LDCT--fortunately it was gone on the follow-up CT.

Barb

[Augustus44]

Hey, 

You remind me of me, last October 20th. I have come a ways since then and looking back I can see how you feel right now. I got a scare that turned out to be only that--nothing really wrong. However, i promised myself that I would quit--no patches, no gum, ( all that is is nicotine delivered another way --so you are still dependent.) There is a great book I read by Dr. Carr, I think--look for his book on this site. It is as plain as can be, and after you read it, you'll start laughing at the triggers that have made you smoke. I hope I have his name correct. Someone here will know the exact title and author--GET THE BOOK NOW--READ IT QIICKLY, AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT.

This site is chuck full of people who want to help--they've helped me immeasurably and I am forever grateful. No one, and I mean no one ever judges you harshly, makes you feel badly, or lectures you--we all know that never worked in the first place. 

Get the book; read the book; kiss the *********who made you dependent on cigarettes goodbye--save your money and buy something for yourself. I just bought a boat, a motor, and a paddle with my cigarette savings. Go get em tiger!!!!!!!!!

[YoungAtHeart]

The book, I believe, is "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking" by Allen Carr.  It made a world of difference in my quit success  It's easy, entertaining and a fast read, and has helped many people here - tremendously.  I highly recommend it, too!

Nancy

[Augustus44]

Yes, Thank you--That is the book. I actually read it after I had stopped--it was kind of ironic that Carr said go ahead and smoke while you read this book. That was a good strategy. That book sort of helped me understand the cycle of addiction I was under. When I got the mindset that I was in a constant renewal of nicotine, that clinched it. Thank you again for identifying the book. 

[SuzyQ411]

Happy you are here, Barbara Barbara522‌ ! I am a relative newbie on the site and have found that the members have each others backs! It's a great place to connect with others who know just what it's like to quit cigarettes. Stay in touch with the site every day- do your pledge not to smoke and read, read, read. Post and let us know how things are going for you as well! If you are tempted to smoke, send out a blog with the heading of HELP and hang on until your supportive responses start coming in. We are here for you~ 

[SuzyQ411]

From my personal experience kilogram23‌, I relapsed and it sucked! You can read my story here: 

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/people/SuzyQ411/blog/2019/12/29/relapse-sucks?sr=search&searchId=...  I took advantage of the time to re-educate and re-commit myself and started my curret quit approximately 2 weeks after. As of today, I am 5 days shy of being quit for 6 months. No slip ups. Followed my quit plan when the inevitable cravings arrived at my doorstep. Please give yourself another chance. It just might be your forever quit!

[RoseH]

kilogram23‌  This post from the old Quitnet.com may help you form a plan to keep your quit!  If you need a quit buddy, I will help you!  Rosemary

By @Grammax s. (Unknown date) from the old Quitnet.com

THE QUIT KIT

This will help you make a plan to KEEP your QUIT...

It isn't a matter of just slapping on a patch or chewing some nicotine gum.  Every behavior you can think of is tied to your smoking.  We smoked because we were happy, sad, mad, hurt, tired, sick, bored... etc.

You need to replace those habits.

Take a day to make a plan.  We call it a Quit Kit.  It can be anything you want.  

Get creative and really think about it.

Some things folks have used is nicotine gum.  You can buy regular gum the same size, color and flavor so you can go back and forth between the two.

If you are using the patch, make sure you have an extra patch in the office, in your purse, or in your wallet, for those days when you have forgotten to put one on in the morning.  It happens more than you think!

Have lozenges available for those high stress / high craving times.

Have some Red Vines to 'smoke'.  Or a cut up a straw into thirds...  especially during high trigger times like driving.  Sometimes it feels good to just hold if you are accustomed to always having a smoke in your hand.

Grab your favorite CDs or tapes to put in your car so you can put one in and sing out loud.

My favorite was dancing and singing at the same time.

Your brain cannot do a 3rd thing, so thinking about smoking just disappears...  🙂

To keep your mind and hands busy, go to a local arts/crafts store and look for things to do.  Buy something that interests you; rug hooking kits, scrapbooking stuff, or Christmas stocking kits for the grandkids.  Or, get some coloring books and colored pencils or felt tip pens.  Stained glass, floral, tropical fish or Native American motif coloring books are available everywhere now. They make you want to do a good job.  LOL!  Dora the Explorer would make me want to scribble on her face...  😮

Make a list of everything that needs to be done, or you want to do around the house.  Go through each room and write down everything from cleaning out drawers and closets to painting, rearranging or redecorating.

Same with the garage and yard work...

Once you have your list, break it down into 5-15 minutes segments so nothing becomes overwhelming.

Make baggies of crunchy foods to satisfy your mouth so they are at work and handy to grab...  Carrots, celery, chex mix, pretzel sticks (you can hold those like a cig), gum, etc.   They need to be ready to just grab at any given time.

This is important!  The 3 Post Rule:  When you are craving and really shaky, post and click the “I'm craving and need some help” box.  Wait for at least 3 response posts before you make a decision to purchase cigarettes or to smoke.  Most times, you will be fine once you read the posts (keeps you from dwelling).  If not...post again and wait for 3 more...

Once you have all these things figured out you will be well prepared to handle anything and you don't even have to think...just look at your list…

Keep 1 copy at work, 1 at home, 1 in your purse or wallet, 1 in the car. 

If you did one day, you can do 2.  If you did 3, you can do one more.

No future tripping. You can't do a darn thing about tomorrow until it gets here. Today is a good time to quit but if you feel you can't, then take tomorrow to put together your Quit Kit and quit the day after.

Don't set a quit date out there for 2 weeks, 1 month, etc. All you do is make yourself crazy in your head by stressing over that date.

[Augustus44]

I really wouldn't count the slip up as some sort of failure. Beating yourself up is never going to help you stay away from the cigs. Why don't you focus on the 25 days you were smoke free and perhaps evaluate the difference those 25 days made. 

Addiction is addiction--and it's tough to break if you think that you are being deprived of something, or if you feel like you're fighting it all the time. Thank of it this way--nicotine in cigarettes is designed to keep you smoking. You have one, and in a half hour your nicotine level drops, so you light up another one, and later, when the level drops again, you light up another one. In short, you are busy doing what those bastards who make cigarettes want you to do--keep buying them, and keep smoking them--keep the level of nicotine up no matter how many cigarettes you need to smoke to keep it there. 

I'm no angel, nor am I holier than thou. I haven't had a butt since October 20th and even now i have urges to just have one. What I've done is save my smoking money weekly--I have put away quite a few dollars--I bought myself a new boat, motor, and paddle with the money I saved. I go to Walmart and look at the people smoking, smell the smoke, and watch how guilty the smokers look. I can smell smokers who are in a car passing me by on the street. These are some strategies I use. 

Finally, the damned things are going to get you--and I mean you are going to get one on many different really bad things that are either going to lay you low, put you into the hospital, or kill you--all because the tobacco companies designed a delivery system that infuses your body with a substance that takes hold and sets you on a collision course for nothing but bad bad news. 

I'm not out of the woods yet, but force of habit is beginning to make smoking a dimmer memory. Get off the ground, get back on that horse, and teach yourself to hate smoking. 

Hope this helps

[indingrl]

 back and keep blogging BEFORE you take thst first PUFF over YOU - when the next crave HITS bite into a lemon and come here and BLOG let us know whats going on and please give us time to HELP - thank YOU