This time its for good
Hi All
Just wanted to share my story. I've been a packet a day smoker for 21 years. I have tried to quit at least 5 times are year for the last decade. I only once ever made it to 6 weeks and that's the most I have ever done. This time it feels different to every other time. I started this quit journey 4 weeks ago and I feel awesome. I have been feeling really run down with no energy and generally feeling down. I was also drinking everyday of the week. I was having a smoke on the Easter Sunday and was half drunk and a voice inside my head said. What are you doing this for?? I couldn't think of 1 good reason, and it was in that minute I decided to quit. So I started to cut back how much I was smoking, on the Tuesday I went and bought a packet of 24mg patches, it was a 2 week packet. They are not cheap, so I decided to cut each patch in half. I have found in the past a whole patch would always makes my arm hurt and gives me bad dreams. cutting the patch in half worked for me and I don't even noticed I got it on. I didn't tell anyone I was quitting. I always felt a lot of pressure when ever I let the cat out of the bag and told people I was quitting. But this time no one knew and I felt no pressure to succeed. Heck I'm doing this for me. I also decided to not drink for a while. So for the first week I did not have any smokes during the day at all, as I was quite busy at work and it kept my mind off it. but I would have about 5 smokes a night. After the second week I decided I would not buy any more smokes as if I didn't have any I couldn't smoke. So its been 2 weeks now and I haven't had a smoke. It hasn't been easy. I think about smoking quite a lot but they are not cravings they are just thoughts. My sense of smell is better then ever and when I tell you I feel awesome I really mean it. Last week one of the guys at work said to me, have you quit smoking? I instantly started to feel pressure and got really worried, but then everyone started praising me and told me,they are really happy for me and I started to feel proud of myself. Today I feel like I have quit, I know its only the first few steps in a long journey, but for the first time in my life I know where I'm headed, and it feels right and this time its for good
Go you well done , i also noticed some pain and itchy skin around the are i put the patch on , but it's a small dis-comfort compared to what we are doing to ourselves by smoking. also when i ordered the quit4good strips, i asked the guy if i can get a discount for them , he said, "their are people out that who suffer illness and damage from the effect of smoking , "they would pay millions for a cure", i mentioned this cause at first i too thought that the patches were expensive but really they are the price of 2 packets of smokes, the strips turn out to be about 10 packets of smokes, and they are a one off if done properly , i will keep you all updated on these strips.
Good on you, that's so awesome! I'd say the drinking every day also had a lot to do with your lack of energy & feeling run down. I was in that same boat trying to deal with life's challenges & I got stuck in a horrible vicious circle. It doesn't let you get the quality sleep your body needs to keep going. A good sleep pattern is essential. I've managed to get to day 18 but not without it's trials, however, I feel absolutely awesome too. Let's keep up the good work!
Yeah I agree on your comments about drinking everyday 100%. I also cut back on the coffee as well. It’s amazing how with just a few healthier choices one can totally feel amazing. I'm feeling on top of the world. Well done to get to day 18, it's awesome. We are all going to hit some bumps on our way, but stay focused. If we are feeling awesome today imagine in a month’s time what we will feel. Imagine a years’ time from now. So we got to stay on track cause everyday going to be more awesome then the one before!!
I'm so happy you're feeling so good. Yes, we shall stay on track, here's looking forward to a healthier, happier future with more money in our pockets!