WHEW!! Made It To 4 Weeks

[cheryl_1-1-14]

It's after midnight so I get to brag that I've been smoke free for 4 weeks!  Not exactly a month yet but I'm sure I'll celebrate that too.  I'll can admit it now.  Every morning I walk into my office and glue a little thumbs up smiley face to my desk calendar.  It makes me happy in an elementary kind of way.  Little victories.  I'll take them.

I'm stepping down to a lower mg patch tomorrow even though I said I would stick to the program and not try to outsmart the system.  I'm just so jealous of all the cold turkey quitters while I'm still leaning on the patch.  I still feel like a cheater.  Trust me, I've thought about ripping it off and not using them anymore but I've made it farther than I ever thought possible and I want this to be my one and only quit.  I can't do this over and over so I'm going with if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  I'll let the patches handle the physical part of the addiction while I work on the mental part.

Thanks again for all the support.  I'll be back to celebrate a proper month in a few days.

Cheryl

[JonesCarpeDiem]

the secret is listening to your body.

don't feel jeaalous. i used the patch and i'm still quit 7 years later.

if you use the patch to start the unlearning process and let it take the edge off, it works wonders.

[GreenThumb3]

Your doing great don't sell yourself short your doing this some 6 % like Dale used it some cold turkey join 6 % club both groups fail and succeed it's all about not smoking and achieving freedom from the addiction keep stacking them congrats on 4 weeks the month club in 2days awesome 

[cheryl_1-1-14]

Thanks guys.  I feel like I'm ready to step down.  Other than a little dizziness, the only issues I'm having are in my head.  No amount of patches will fix that.  I'll just ease off of the nicotine and keep redirecting my smoke thoughts.  I actually laugh at some of them.  I sat down here to blog and for a split second, I looked around for my cigarettes.  I just shook it off and popped a peppermint.  Maybe I'm just crazy.  LOL

[GreenThumb3]

Were all crazy or we would of never started and found each other it's like a happy-mental ward for the ex smoking insane 

[Roxie-1-16-2014]

Congratulations on 4 weeks! That is an accomplishment and you should be very proud of yourself!

I loved the response of all being crazy and finding a mental ward for the ex smoking insane. lol I sure do feel crazy at times and it's nice to know I'm not in the mental ward alone.

Keep up the great job!!

[smorgy8513]

Congrats to you!     And you are perfectly fine (can't determine crazy or sane without a full assessment..LOL) with what and how you are doing this quit.   If you are ready to step down, fine...if not, fine.     Just don't feel like you are "cheating".      I used Chantix and at times felt like a cheater because it took away so much of the "urge".   But I still had to unlearn the habits even after the nicotine was out.    You are learning that even with the patch on.     And, just a couple of weeks ago I went to walk out the door to leave for work and turned back thinking "I need to grab my cigarettes".    Now, that sounds crazy...I'm almost at my 6 months.     But it is habit.

You're doing great....come back in a few days to celebrate the 1 month.    We DO love to celebrate here at the EX!

Sharon

[moody_9-18-13]

Good going!  The insanity of smoking does make us kinda crazy, but thank goodness we're recovering!

[cheryl_1-1-14]

Thanks you bunch of crazies!!  I couldn't have done it without you.  Onward........

[YoungAtHeart]

Hey - weren't we ALL crazy for listening to our addictive minds telling us it was (insert whiney voice here!), "toooooo haaaaaaaard" to quit!

You are doing GREAT!  You should find it getting easier and easier now!  But - do be prepared to travel through No Mans Land!

Nancy

[Magstoyou]

Your doing great

Keep going forward

Mag197d

[katsnroses]

Hey I like the sticker thing, sounds like something I would do. I love stickers, and I have an inner child that comes out often. 

I did an ecig and gum for a couple of weeks and then said screw it and stopped it all cold turkey. That is a very very big step! You REALLY have to be on a certain level with yourself, that I cannot discribe fully, to do something like that. I felt a withdrawal like I had never felt before in all the times I had quit (always using a nrt before.)  It's very difficult. It's a whole other can of worms than what you're dealing with now. I suggest you stick with what you're doing for now. If you think you want to quit using the patch period I STRONGLY urge reading up on doing that. You really need to be educated, and  fully armed. 

Don't rush this!! You can quit either method, or a variety of methods. You can use the method that ONLY WORKS FOR YOU! It's not a race, it's a pace. You're doing great!!