Hi Jenny,

That's a rough three year anniversary you have coming up.  I'm so sorry about your sister.  Definitely don't smoke!  But maybe instead you can go to some Alanon meetings or maybe an open AA meeting where they have a speaker and then sharing. Talk to some people at those meetings about your loss and your grief process.  They'd be glad to help you.  We get relatives of alcoholics every so often at our "open" AA meetings (the "closed" meetings are only for drunks) sometimes those relatives are experiencing pain and grief, but always they're there because they want to feel better and I've never seen anyone walk out of a meeting feeling worse.   

I'm sorry for your loss and I hope you can get through February and March without smoking!  

Hi Jenny, & All

I said I'd get back to you. I read every post for Jan and find many similarities in yourselves and me. I feel I'm in the right place. I stopped delay the quit today. I had been preparing the lasting permanent quit long enough. There is a good likelihood I may have lapses of communications not only due to the pile on my plate right now, but the fact that I know from previous attempts to quit I get real tired the first week or two God Bless all of you Good Night Mike

God be with you Mike! You are in my prayers. Take it one moment at a time. Good night.

Jerthie,

maybe struggling with the the urge is part of what I’m running into problems with. I like to think I acknowledge it and choose to do something else, but sometimes I don’t. I get stuck in thinking about it and have trouble letting go. I need to write that advice down and staple it to my forehead.  Thank you!

Jenny

Erika,

thank you! I hadn’t ever thought about seeking out an AA meeting for support around what happened with my sister, but it’s bringing tears to think about it. I’m sure there would be healing from attending one. Thank you so much for the idea. It would certainly be better than deciding to smoke!

Jenny

Mike,

Thank you for your encouraging words. I’m so happy to hear you’ve stopped delaying. Will be thinking of you and even send out a prayer. 
I’m doing better the past 2 days. Just moving on from thoughts of future days, which is easy-ish some times and seems impossible others.

You’ve done so much to prepare for this, you can absolutely make it!

Jenny

Nothing better than realizing you're in the right place, huh?  That's awesome, Mike!  Good luck and godspeed.  Really good point about the restorative sleep as part of the first two week slog.  Praying for ya.  

This is day 30 of being smoke free for me and I am loving it.   First doctor appoint the other day and my resting heart rate was 66 and my blood oxygen concentration was 100%.  Usually my resting heart rate is much much higher (like 90+) so I am amazed at the health benefits already. 

The daily NOPE pledge has been a game changer this month and I am so grateful for the new perspective and the support from this site.  My previous quits have been painful and rocky--obsessively looking for stray cigs in my car or in my coats or wherever.  I would just try to log in a few weeks clean time, and then pounce on a cheat cig ASAP, spend a few weeks trying to smoke 3 or less a day and then give up, as always.  My heart was never in the quit because I never viewed myself as a non-smoker.  It seemed too hard to accomplish.  But that's because I was making it hard.  This month I haven't looked for cigarettes at all and wow it's amazing how the cravings must've been tied to those obsessive searches.  Doh!

I'm not getting cocky by any means though!  I still get cravings sometimes and for the time being I'm treating those with 2mg mini-lozenge but it seems like the cravings are decreasing in intensity and frequency. So I'll just keep logging One Day at a Time and saying NOPE.  In any case I'm totally jazzed about being an ex-smoker and that is 100% because of this forum.  Thank you!!!

You are doing amazing!!!!  I actually had some previous quits like you and they were very painful (and unsuccessful).  When I changed my mindset and took it one day at a time, it really made a difference.  And that's awesome that you are already seeing the health benefits!!!  Keep up the great work and so happy that you are here!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! YOU DID IT!!! You have shown yourself that you are a Quitter....well done.  You are going to love your new smoke-free life.  Hang onto it with everything you got.  There will be temptations from time to time, but, knowing what you now know, you have what it takes to overcome them.  Always remember, NOT ONE PUFF - EVER, cause even one puff, will put you back into awful addiction and you will have to fight twice as hard to get back to where you are today.