Sorry

[Missy]

It will, I promise. The way I deal with it now is by thinking back to how hard it was at the very start and knowing that I'm past that and won't have to do it again.
All you can do is to stick with it. It's a hard thing you're doing, but a good one.
I'm still having the dreams! Now and then.

[Walker]

Missy's right. Hang in there, Blunt, you're doing great! 
The cravings will go away eventually, honest.

[Ed]

Thanks for the support, Jan and Trev

I've really got to be on my guard at the moment - I could quite easily talk myself into going back to it.  I don't want to, though.  I know it would be a big mistake.  Huge.

[Ed]

There's me feeling sorry for myself and not asking you how you're doing, post-op, Jan   Still pretty sore I should think - doing lots of physio?

Hope it's not too bad

[Ed]

Coming up nine weeks tomorrow

Still fucking gasping, though   Very nearly bummed a smoke off a guy at work today.  Still can't really believe I've managed to go nine weeks without even a single drag on one.  My wife doesn't seem to believe me - she thinks I've cheated at some point, which makes me think WTF - I might as well have done.

Do I feel any better?  Dunno really.  My teeth ache from all the chewing gum (ordinary, not nicotine stuff) I've been getting through.  I lose my temper a lot more than I ever used to - things irk me very deeply and very quickly, whereas I used to put up with them when I smoked.  I'm drinking a lot more tea (and waking to relieve my bladder at 4 or 5 AM every bleedin morning).  I don't get out of breath as easily.  I don't wheeze and cough like I used to.

I like being free of the habit/addiction.  But I still feel like I'm missing out.  Weird, isn't it?

[doolols]

But I still feel like I'm missing out.  Weird, isn't it?

I don't think so. You've been smoking for so long, it's been a constant part of your life for years. Like anything that's always been there, to lose it suddenly takes some getting used to. You think about it, think how long it's been, and you're still trying to work out if you feel better or worse, and the changes it's made to you. Hopefully, there'll come a time soon when you don't tihnk about it any more, and your life without them can start.

Summat like that, anyway. What do I know? If you don't suffer from an addiction like that, you don't understand why people just can't stop. My wife has a problem with chocolate (no, seriously). If she has a small piece, she then has to keep eating it, even to the point of buying up to 6 chocolate bars during the day to feed the addiction. She's not an overweight blob, and has healthy eating patterns (pescetarian) the rest of the time. And I just can't understand why she can't have one or two squares of chocolate, and be happy with that.

Great to see you're still on our side of the tracks, Ed. We're still rootin' for yer! 

[deadwrtr]

Coming up nine weeks tomorrow


I like being free of the habit/addiction.  But I still feel like I'm missing out.  Weird, isn't it?

I've never smoked, but I've heard the addiction likened to that of heroin users.  That you have been able to quit cold turkey says a lot about your intestinal fortitude.



Just think, in a few years, your lungs will be tip top... and people sending you images like this one won't bother you a bit.

Keep up the good work, B!

[Walker]

Way to go Blunt!       nine weeks is fantastic!


I know what you mean about the missing out, I still get the odd twinge of that from time to time, but I feel like if I'm expecting it then I'll be ready to deal with it whenever it pops up. So far, so good.

I did try one smoke several months ago, after I had quit for a few months, and I damn near puked. I had the cold sweats, nausea and then a headache afterwards. The taste was so powerful and I could smell it so much that I vowed 'never again', and I haven't.
One thing is sure, Blunt--no matter what, quiting is the right thing to do.

[Ed]

Thanks for the support, guys

One of my mother-in-laws quit a while back, and she said she looks at it like you can't smoke forever, so now's as good a time as any to quit, and if you think about it, you really don't want to go through the sheer hell you put up with in the early stages of quitting - not again.  I think she's got a point.  What kind of a mug starts again?

deadwrtr - WTF is that?  I think I know, but with my knowlege of anatomy it could just as easily be a coal miner's scrotum

[doolols]

I would guess it's a lung, bearing in mind the subject.

But your allusion to the picture being a coal miner's scrotum seems to indicate some familiarity with that particular anatomical presentation. Maybe we should wait until Sharon comes in, and see if she can guess what it is?   

[deadwrtr]

Thanks for the support, guys

deadwrtr - WTF is that?  I think I know, but with my knowlege of anatomy it could just as easily be a coal miner's scrotum

You're right.  It's a coal miners scrotum.  How the hell did you know?

Nevermind...  I don't wanna know!

Actually, it's a diseased lung of a chronic smoker.  The upper lobe is completely consumed by tumors, and in the middle portion, you can see tiny black clusters that contain alveoli (the part that allows CO2 to be exchanged for O2)  In this photo, the alveoli are black with tar from the cigarettes...  I imagine the poor soul died a horrible lingering death, unable to breathe...

Keep up the good work! 

[Ed]

Thought it must be a lung   Good job I don't smoke any more, otherwise the sight of that diseased lung would have worried me so much I would have sparked up and chain smoked for at least an hour.

Dreamt about having a sneaky cigarette last night. 

[Dan]

As someone who's been on/off smoking for years now i can tell you that if you ever smoke again you'll sit there with that fag in your hand berating yourself - and you won't enjoy a single noxious drag. Then you'll feel sick and depressed.

Keep up the good work 

[Ed]

Cheers, Dan (late response, huh? )

I came looking for this topic to see when I stopped, and it's been fourteen weeks now and I haven't killed anybody yet.  Last weekend I went to a party and was talking to a woman who tried quitting with the Allen Carr book, went to the workshops, did the whole nine yards and ended up getting her money back.  That seems strange to me, but I suppose everybody's different. 

I can't see myself ever smoking again, not now - it would be like starting again from scratch, but with the added knowledge gleaned from years of being addicted to the crap.  I still get the occasional strong craving (and I reckon I've put on about a stone in weight) but it's not as bad as it was now.  It took all of three months to get easier, though, as I think Walker said it would, earlier.

[Walker]

Way to go, Blunt. That's just fantastic man! FWIW I'm really proud of you and happy that you achieved your goal. I've been smoke free since last October and I've also put on some weight, but it's still preferable to smoking. I'll bet your family has given you plenty of reason to quit, and plenty of praise for a job well done.