Hi Razor, I'm new here too. It looks like we have the same quit date. I quit on 4/3 at 7:15 a.m... After my "last" smoke I gathered all my cigs, lighters and "butt can" and prepared to throw them away.
Then, I had another "last cig" at 7:45 a.m... That time I made the quit stick... why did it feel like I was saying goodbye to a dear friend? Why was I so scared to quit smoking? I consider myself to be a fairly smart person... except when it comes to my almost lifelong love affair with cigarettes. I literally remember sneaking cigs from my grandpa and dad when I was around 9 or so. At age 13 I bought my own pack on the way to school every morning... if memory serves they were around .35 a pack back then. (I'm dating myself here) :)
I quit in my early 20's for several years but for some unknown reason I brilliantly decided that if I started smoking again I could lose those extra 10 pounds I'd gained and then I'd just quit smoking again... Well, that was over 25 years ago... needless to say, that weight loss plan didn't work out. :)
I have to admit most of the time I still feeling very fragile and vulnerable with my quit... like I've just taken a beating... hit by a truck... can't breathe, can't focus, crying for no reason, irritable, *****y, whiney ...WAHHHHHH!!!
Stumbling upon this site has been a real Godsend for me... I'm so inspired by all those who are ahead of me on this journey... and, grateful to find a community of caring people who can truly understand exactly how it feels to fight this monster.
I've seen people here refer to the first week as hell week. Yes, I'd say that's been true for me. But, this is a fight worth fighting and it's one I'm determined to win. Failure is not an option!
Most of my quit smoking ideas are pretty common and I've read them here already but I do have one tip that has helped me. My husband was a smoker many years ago (before we met) and he told me that he mixed 1/2 tsp of cream of tarter with a few ounces of orange juice and drank that twice a day - once in the a.m. and once before bedtime. I was skeptical but it does seem to be a great help with minimizing the nicotine withdrawal. I'm not sure why it works but I accidently skipped my a.m. dose yesterday and I definitely could tell a difference i