This is so encouraging Cindi. I am not at a quit with the lozenges yet, but I feel good reducing to 6 a day from 12 a day. Some days I have 7. Some days I have 5. But I am  averaging 6 a day. I don't know if I will ever be home free, but my anxiety has really gone down now, so at this point I am really happy!

Hi Jerthie,

You're doing great.  Going down from 12 is a huge accomplishment.  I never tried lozenges but it has to be better than smoking with less of the harmful chemicals.  Keep trying to reduce when you can.  You may have posted this already, but have you talked to your doctor about the anxiety?  Maybe they can recommend something to help you with that.

Keep up the great work.

Stay strong Jenny. It's worth the effort. The nicotine is out of your system in 3-4 days.

Paul

Cindi, thank you so much for your insight. I think that’s probably why my husband doesn’t give a lot of support. He really is amazing in so many ways and very much so doesn’t want me to smoke. I was confused by why I can’t get him to even check in every night about my quit, but it makes more sense now. I know it’s disappointing for me when I lose a quit, so I’m sure it is for him, too. 

I made it through day 3!

Thank you Cindi. Like I said, I feel pretty good. I do see a psychiatrist who prescribes medication for my bipolar disorder. The anxiety is not so much illness based, but due to my relationship life. I am seeing a relationship counsellor soon. I have a consultation tomorrow morning. I do need help. Closing the door temporarily on a relationship that was causing the amxiety has helped. Going for walks has also been therapeautic! Day by day. This forum helps me a lot too. Thank you again for your kind words!

Ginger, I’m so happy to hear cross stitch worked well for you! I do hope it both gives me something to do with my hands and keeps my mind off unhelpful thoughts. I had carpal tunnel surgery in August on both wrists, so this will be my trial run for how good my hands are. I wouldn’t have even been considering trying it 3 years ago, so I’m excited! I got everything set up yesterday and will start stitching today  

Jenny

Jerthie, thank you so much! I’m always happy to see your messages. I love that I can come here to get a pat on the back when needed. Emotional stuff is so hard when quitting, since anything can be an excuse to give up. My quit last November had me try to use the excuse of my lasagna noodles being over cooked. I had to laugh when the thought occurred to me, so I wasn’t really in danger over it, but it sure reminded me of how much I can use cigarettes as a comforter. 
I hope your day is going well. 6 lozenges is so much less than 12, so I hope you feel some amount of victory with that!

Jenny

Paul, thank your for that reminder. Today is day 4 and I’ve definitely thought of getting a pack a few times already. I plan to stay home today so I’m less tempted. Getting it out of my system will definitely be nice! I was pretty cranky the other night when my daughter decided she was decorating for Christmas.

Jenny

You'll have fun and accomplish a work of art. Here's something that might keep you from starting up again. What they say about cigarettes causing WRINKLES is true. Too late for me but not you

That's awesome!  It's great that you are just taking care of YOU!  My daughter is going to school to become a psychologist so she is opening my world a bit to being more informed about our therapy options.  Keep up your great work.