I'm 61 years old, a widow, and retired. The days are long. At this precise moment I have 57 days nicotine-free. And that's what I want to talk about. Nicotine.
From September to December last year I used a vaping product. I didn't consider myself quit yet, I was just preparing myself by ridding my life of actual cigarettes, ashtrays, lighters, etc. It just so happened that I ran out of nicotine pods for the e-cigarette on Christmas Eve. And I was out of town that week.
So I spent the 3 days of detoxing from nicotine away from home. Sure, I was emotional. And I could have simply walked to the corner store, but I would have disappointed myself and my family. So I didn't. I took deep breaths. I played with my grandson. I talked about it with my daughter. I survived.
And then I came here, and found ya'll, and learned a lot about addiction. I also learned a lot from the WhyQuit.com site and its sister Facebook group. They are very different from the EX community, and that's okay. EX is super supportive, loving, caring, and social. The other site is more information focused. And they're quite rigid. A lapse is a relapse, and there is no good reason for one unless you want to die.
I do worry for our friends using the patch, because any use of nicotine at all just keeps us addicted and in a constant state of withdrawal. It prolongs the agony.
I may lose those friends now because I'm saying this, but addiction needs to be confronted head on.
So my question is: What's your timeline? How long do you want to be in withdrawal from nicotine?
