<p>Barnard Mom:</p>
<p>A couple more things.</p>
<p>Since you’ve successfully made it nearly two months, you obviously have an effective bag of tricks at your disposal for getting thru the craves. Don’t forget to use them as necessary. Whatever you did to overcome those brutal early craves will still work to overcome the smoking trigger moments you encounter from here on out!</p>
<p>At two months, you haven’t really started to feel the big payoff for quitting, but I can tell you from personal experience that being a non-smoker is better than being a smoker in every imaginable way. From the little things, like being able to go to a movie and not feel drug withdrawal before the closing credits. Or being able to just chill in my seat during intermission at a concert instead of needing to find a way outside for drug fix.</p>
<p>I thought sinus headaches were just something everyone had. Gone after I quit smoking. Now, the only time I take ibuprofen is when I’m sore from hiking.</p>
<p>Speaking of which… the absolute best payoff for quitting smoking is getting physical fitness back. Sure, I’ll always pay a price for 38 years of destroying my lungs, but smoking robs you of your ability to be physically active. I had reached the point where I got winded walking to the mailbox. One of the three fitness goals I wrote down was to be able to walk a mile without getting winded.</p>
<p>Those are payoffs that you can look forward to over the coming months! Being a nicotine junkie is a horrible way to live.</p>
<p>Great gift to yourself and family, BarnardMom. </p>
<p>Things that kept me motivated -
- not telling myself that I had to quit forever, just for today. Sometimes just for this hour.
- telling myself that the last week/month/hour whatever was worse than the next one, and each one gets slightly less bad, so that if I started back smoking, I’d have all the worst stuff to go through again. That was more than I could/can face.</p>
<p>Unexpected side effect - we each have only so much will power. You can gradually build up more through some long term discipline, but not at once. Using up all my will power to not smoke meant that some other things started getting less controlled, like spending. I was young and didn’t make much at the time, so the spending didn’t cause a huge problem, although it more than offset the savings from not smoking for over 6 months. I decided that was an acceptable side effect, and it gradually faded.</p>
<p>Congratulations BarnardMom! Just take it a day at a time. We watched as my 44 year old SIL died from lung cancer that had metastasized to her brain before it was diagnosed. No one diagnosed her severe back pain correctly; it was not until she suddenly started having involuntary arm movements and twitches that her brain, and then lung cancer were diagnosed. She started smoking at age 15. It was a very painful, horrible death and my older kids still remember how she went from a very beautiful, young-looking woman to looking like a 90-year old in a very short time. It made a lasting impression on them and they still say the best deterrent to smoking is to see someone go through that process. I have never smoked and really can’t stand the smell. My husband smoked for a couple of years when he was living overseas in the 70’s and the cigarettes there were very inexpensive. He quit once he moved back to the US, mostly for financial reasons. I tell him I would not have married him if he had still smoked.</p>
Yesterday was four months and it is really getting exhausting to fight this battle every hour of every day. I have gained 40 pounds. I am getting very frustrated that this is not getting easier yet. I know deep down I’m not going into a store and buying cigarettes. My resolve is quite strong but it really is exhausting to feel this level of stress daily. I don’t know how to get relief other than sleep when it’s finally time for bed at night.
I don’t know how long it will take, but I do know you will get to the point where it doesn’t even cross your mind. Or if it does, you can easily dismiss it as something you used to do. Hang in there. You’ll get there.
I am ready for that time! I’ve reached the 9 month mark and still have at least 2-3 really strong cravings every day. I still find it exhausting to fight this but I haven’t given in and I’m not going to. I would really just like one day without a craving. One day. I still go to bed when it’s getting too bad at the end of the day and I can’t take it anymore. I wish I had some idea when it was going to be better.
Wow. Good for you for fighting on despite your cravings. I’m wondering if you’ve seen a doctor lately. Maybe they can offer suggestions. They will certainly be very happy you have quit and offer lots of positive reinforcement!
I quit long ago and by now it smells so dirty to me that it is naturally unappealing. You’ll get there!
Honestly, the doctor just noted how much weight I’d gained…lol. I said “But I quit smoking!” You just can’t please doctors.
Go see a pulmonologist, they will jump for joy!
Have you seen a nutritionist?
Identyfying when you have cycles of low blood sugar might help.
And if you have substituted something like flavored toothpicks, or worry beads, instead of just taking something away.