Hello, new to the site..

Hi PB, I don't believe in coincidence - so YES! It was definitely time to quit! Good luck as you begin this journey... you can do it! Sammi [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 8 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 251 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $24 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 42 [B]Seconds:[/B] 34

Hello, new to the site..

oh, and by the way, I'm using the patch, and it's working great for me. :)

Two Weeks! - Woo Hoo!!

Congratulations Tessa! w0000000t! Two weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!! You've made it through the hard part, the rest is a breeze in comparison! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 35 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,073 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $105 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 18 [B]Seconds:[/B] 40

THREE Weeks Today!!!!

Congratulations, Jan! You are doing SO great! This time is the last time... we know WAY too much now to ever go back, huh? Woohoo, we're nonsmokers, how cool is that!! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 33 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,008 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $99 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 54 [B]Seconds:[/B] 32

ONE THOUSAND cigarettes I didn't smoke!

I watched this stat creep up and it was almost as exciting to me as the ONE MONTH mark! At an average of oh, say six minutes per cigarette, that's 6,000 minutes... the equivalent of 100 hours or 4.17 days! If I were still smoking I would have WASTED four whole DAYS! I have this mental picture of a thousand cigarettes in a big pile... yikes! That's a lot! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 33 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,008 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $99 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 55 [B]Seconds:[/B] 36

I'm at a month :), no need to reply

Congratulations Marie!! You're doing SO great! Woooohooooo!!!! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 33 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,008 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $99 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 55 [B]Seconds:[/B] 48

ending a bad relationship

Anna, I just wanted to let you know that I so related to this post. In fact, I was thinking about it in the car today, and it really did help to give me perspective, when I used this train of thought to create an analogy from my own life history. About nine years ago, I got into a serious relationship with a guy who was charming and charismatic, had a killer smile, and a hot bod. He was fun and he got along great with my children � he seemed so perfect. After a few months, though, I began to realize that he was not without flaws. He had some serious mental and emotional issues and though he was never physically abusive, he was threatening, controlling, manipulative, and frightening. Because he was in therapy for his issues, I tried standing by him, but as the situation became more and more difficult, I started to realize just how unhealthy the relationship was for me � and for my children. His dramatic over-the-top angry outbursts were turning our lives upside down and though I was deeply in love with the man, I eventually had to cut him out of our lives. In the weeks after I broke up with him, I missed him. I missed his companionship and his humor, but I knew I had to stay away from him. He was not the kind of guy that I could stay friends with � if he were in my life in ANY capacity, he�d turn it into chaos. No, I could not give him an inch, no matter how much I missed him. This had been such a difficult experience that I didn�t really want to see anyone else, so I didn�t date at all for about six months after we broke up. I missed the physical closeness we�d shared and hey, I�m human, so there were times that I had thoughts of calling him just for that. But I pushed those thoughts away! No way would I succumb to THAT particular craving � the fallout from it would be disastrous. He�d be back in our lives in a heartbeat and we�d be right back in the middle of his angry, messed-up, unhealthy world again. No thank you! Okay, I know this was really long, but ya see the analogies?! - Cigarettes are threatening, controlling, manipulative, and frightening. AND they are physically abusive. - I can never go back to having cigarettes in my life in any capacity. - I know if I did, we (my whole family) would be right back in the

I can do it this time...

Welcome Cheryl, and congratulations on your ten days quit! You [i]should[/i] be proud, you've made it through the toughest part! I quit twice before, for six months each time, and yes, those other times I, too, ended up missing my "friend." I have SUCH a different outlook on my quit this time because I found this site! I have read so much and learned so much! For thirty years I partook of a substance that I really knew very little about. Now that I know what I know, I can't unknow what I know, and what I learned really drove home what Lady said: [size=4][color=red]Cigarettes are definitely not friends.[/size][/color] Beyond the general info, there is SO much great advice here about how to ride out a craving and protect your quit. Hang out, read, and post often so we know how things are going! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 32 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 960 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $96 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 2 [B]Seconds:[/B] 22

I can do it this time...

Oh, and I forgot to add... yeah, the Quit Meter IS cool! I first found this site when I was 7 days into my quit, and I remember seeing all these posts from people who were 30, 60, 90, 180, 360, 500 days quit!!! I wanted my quit meter to have bigger numbers and omg it seemed to take forever for my meter to creep into the double-digits! Then, before I knew it, I was at two weeks, then three... and now I can't believe I'm over a month! WOOHOOOO! The days pile up and it is SO gratifying to see it in black and white on the screen! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 32 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 960 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $96 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 2 [B]Seconds:[/B] 50

Has anyone had this happen?

Wow, Interesting described it exactly how I've been thinking! That "it's time for a treat" thought pops up and I'm vaguely disappointed that I don't get one (a treat). Yet, I don't WANT that particular treat at ALL. I see how instituting "rewards" can be such an important component of a successful quit! I've had thirty years of conditioning my mind to think "every thirty minutes you get a treat." Even though that's faulty thinking (feeding an addiction to get relief from withdrawal is far from a treat!), it was still the way I thought of it. At first I thought about smoking/notsmoking constantly, but lately I've actually gone two to three hours without thinking of smoking, which I'm really happy about! I have found that hanging here and reading posts makes me think about NOT smoking a lot, which is in the neighborhood of thinking about smoking... but has a totally different effect! Reading posts here do NOT bring on craves, quite the opposite. Interesting! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 31 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 954 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $93 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 6 [B]Mins:[/B] 34 [B]Seconds:[/B] 8