Time really does fly!

In just 48 days I'll start my 11th year as a non-smoker. Hard to believe but it's true.  I never think of smoking anymore, I never wish I could have "just one", I never miss my cherished moments of drawing a cig from my box of Marlboro 100's red and lighting it with my Zippo, which had it's own appeal. 

I really never miss anything about smoking, it's been so long since I put out my my last Marlboro red.  I do remember well my last day as a smoker. My plan was to smoke as much as possible, lighting a fresh cig from the butt of the last one, non-stop.  Up until 2PM things went well, soon after I was getting nauseous, and I started  slowing down, but never enough to allow an interval to make me really desire a smoke.  I was less manic about lighting one off the other, but did keep a steady pace.  I was close to polishing off my second pack, just a few more to go, I can do this!! Or so I told myself.  After a marathon of 38 Marlboro 100 reds, I just couldn't finish the last two: I crumpled the box that held the last two "buddies", threw my Zippo and crumpled pack into a dumpster and started my new life as a freshly minted non-smoker.

And here I am, almost 11 years quit.

Congratulations - 11 years is so wonderful.  Your health must be almost fully recovered. 

I never miss smoking either, although I don't have 11 years smoke free, I am smoke free and happy about it.

Thanks also for sharing your experience and wisdom on this forum.  I enjoy reading your frank and to the point posts.  

Cheers!!

Hi Douglas,

Congratulations on this incredible milestone! 
You have done an amazing job “paying it forward” too. It’s always nice to see the seasoned quitters here extending a hand to the new quitters. My take off wasn’t quite as smooth as some folks. I will never forget the encouragement and support from you and others that I received here. Having that support and encouragement from you all to pick myself up from my self induced turbulence maintained my flight to freedom and I am eternally grateful. 
I think you told me a couple of years ago that you don’t celebrate much anymore, but I think you should. You’ve accomplished something that so many folks wish so deeply that they could. 
Was there a particular point, like two years, three years, whatever that you really knew you had made it and would never turn back? At 3 years and change, I am certainly at the point that I 100% do not want to, and I’m 99.5% sure that I never will. I’d love that full 100% knowledge on both accounts though. Actually, reading your post and writing this out feels like it just brought me up to 99.8% sure I won’t! So you are still having a positive impact!

Enjoy the day! Congratulations! And Thank you!!! 

Good to see you on the site This is Andrew (candrew) I have read your posts over the past few years. You  are an inspiration to all of us.

I have lost track of how long I have been abasement but as well all know it is not an easy one to overcome. I have gained much from my participation of Delphi.

I too was in the throes of my addiction 2 packs of Marlboro's day in an day out.I can say that if was the best decision I have made my entire life

We all need to support one another. I have benefited from the interaction with others in the same "boat".

My message to all is don't give up. Nothing that is important  is easy but we all know that it will be the best decision to make.

Health is  important as we age. My doctor said  that i have 9 lives. My smoking along with other health maladies landed me in  ICU, Life support and Hospice.

It's been  touch and go the past few years - quitting smoking was necessary.

With  the support of my wife and family I now can say I am on the road to recovery.

Again great ti hear from you.

Andrew

"Was there a particular point, like two years, three years, whatever that you really knew you had made it and would never turn back?"

That's a very good question.  I think that the turning point for me, the one that really turned the tide against the terrible habit/addiction was the complete understanding that smoking is, at the end of the day, nothing more or less than a physical addiction which our overactive brains romanticize into something positive.  This became crystal clear to me after one of my quit failures when I, desperate for the comfort of my "buddy", lit a Marlboro 100 Red, inhaled deeply and almost passed out.  The smoke smelled awful, I coughed, felt dizzy and wanted to throw up. I had been quit for two days and collapsed to the addiction. 

Here's where the revelation came: I desperately wanted the comfort of my "buddy", the warm fuzzy feeling, but the only way to get it again would be to become addicted. The only true pleasure of nicotine is the satisfaction of satisfying the addiction.  Can there be anything emptier than this?  All illusions about the pleasure of smoking disappeared.  This understanding made my quit unbreakable. 

To answer your question, around the eighth month the light went on, I could finally see clearly through all the lies.

As a true buddy on my quit Journey, Steve, never failed to remind us: To quit, just don't smoke.

There it is, simple as that.

Hey All,

As anyone here knows, quitting isn't  for the faint of heart. It's so hard that relapsing is a familiar source of great relief and frustration at the same time.   I remember quitting a few times (max three days) followed by relapses followed by so much relief at resuming the habit and that made it all the more special.  I probably quit more than a few times just to feel the relief of relapsing after a short while.  Allen Carr (author of The EasyWay to Stop Smoking), the nicotine patch and this forum changed everything, empowering me to quit.... and stay quit.

Which brings me to the point of this post.  Our quit group was the 2012 August Avengers, which started very  strong and, as all groups, shed some members overtime.  One thing about these relapses that really stuck with me was that many of the quitters, who had been successful for many, many months would try to resume their quits and fail repeatedly.  It seemed to me that each relapse was more debilitating than the previous. After a while, they had lost all their willpower.  

Seeing this happen to strong quitters was very sobering to me. I knew I would also fall into that trap unless I stayed on the straight and narrow, which I did.

In one month and three days I will start my eleventh year smoke and nicotine free.

Because I quit in a timely fashion, four years ago I was able to donate a kidney to my kid brother who was one week away from dialysis.

If you can quit, for even one day,  stay quit, string more days onto the first one and they soon become weeks, that turn into months that turn into years.

Douglas8845 said:

Which brings me to the point of this post.  Our quit group was the 2012 August Avengers, which started very  strong and, as all groups, shed some members overtime.  One thing about these relapses that really stuck with me was that many of the quitters, who had been successful for many, many months would try to resume their quits and fail repeatedly.  It seemed to me that each relapse was more debilitating than the previous. After a while, they had lost all their willpower.  

First, just wanted to say congratulations on almost 11 years!  I will get my wings on August 1.  My quit group is no longer on the forum.  We started out with maybe 10 people and I was the only one who made it.  Because I was by myself, I was adopted by the Smoke Free Warriors from July of 2018.  LOL.  There were a few people in my group who, as you said, seemed like they were going to make it and were really strong.  One smoker who I really bonded with quit after 5 months.  I really thought she would make it with me.  She came back in October of 2018, but didn't make it that time either and I have not seen her on this forum since.  There was another woman who had also gone about 5 or six months that was in a group ahead of me and the one cigarette lead to the same issue.  She came back to a group a few months after ours, but I have not seen her again either.  That 5 or 6 month time can be tricky.  I almost relapsed at that time myself. 

As much as I sympathized with both of them, I also learned from them.  Having the "one" cigarette can be debilitating for future quits especially after all that time.  I think there is a thought that if you managed to quit for all that time, it is okay to have one.  I have tried to warn people about making that mistake during their first year as it can take several more years after that to try to quit again.    

Hi Molly,

Hi Molly,

A huge congrats on your successful fight to quit one of the toughest addictions out there.  Congrats on not relapsing even as your group faded and fizzled away. At this point you're really making it and it's only yours to lose.  Like you, I know we can't have "just one", it's really just one more in an almost unbreakable chain stretching out until it's time for us to clock out.

You make an incredibly important point when saying that "Having the "one" cigarette can be debilitating for future quits especially after all that time".   Each time we relapse our hope fades a little, our self confidence weakens and the belief that we can do this starts becoming a fantasy.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing the success of your quit.  As we have done it, others can as well. 

Just don't smoke.

I really appreciate you and Molly for taking time out of your days to offer support, wisdom and encouragement. Sometimes I am afraid that I will be one of those serial quitters that never quit. I haven't quit quitting, but I have been thinking lately that I will just resolve to always using these lozenges. I tell myself I am not smoking, but I am still using nicotine, only in the form of lozenges. I don't have a lot more to say, sorry for not being more positive, but I just wanted to check in with everyone to say I am still here, healthy, happy most of the time, whole, in awe of those who have their keys and wings and stars for each month, truly you are all so strong and inspiring!!! And to those who are still checking in on here after many years of successful quitting, know that you are so appreciated! I have a lot going on now in my life, but so do we all. I need to find some new coping techniques. Currently, I am using anywhere from 6 to 12 lozenges a day... Hoping to get back to 4 to 6, then 2 to 3, then 1 or 2, to maybe quitting all of it for good. God bless us all.

Hi Jerthie,

Addiction is a terrible thing, it clouds our judgement, is seductive, damages our health, lowers our self-esteem and more.  Maybe you should take a break from the battle, reset your resolve and when you feel ready tackle it again. 

Make no mistake, you can do this. 

Wishing you all the best