Quit Blogs

Has been ages since I have been on this site and here to let all the new quitters know that it can be done. I am 603 days quit and FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS richer!
Reading these blogs I remember the depression and tears and rage and despair but I also recall the determination I had to get clear of the nicotine.
To all of you in the thoes of the quit take it little bit by little bit and always congratulate yourself on every day clear, each day adds to another..and another and before you know it you will no longer be consummed by the need to smoke.. the tears, despair, rage and depression lift and under it all is a brand new, gorgeous you. Love to you all xxxx

Today i am 57 years old. Holy Smoke. Ha. I have been quit near 1&1/2 years and after the initial depression, life has been better & better & better.
I now have clean clear skin and a respect for this (10 kilo heavier) body that I never had when I smoked. This faithful old body has seen me through 40 years of smoking and is still here for me. Respect.

A post to celebrate being a new person. I feel like I've shed a whole outer and inner layer of crap by leaving the nicotine far behind me.
Words of encouragement for all of you going through the first 3 months..just keep going no matter what your mind throws at you, it dosn't want the death of the habit. Once past that signifigant 3 month mark every now and again a wobbly will be thrown by the ego but it is only the death throes and won't last (even tho it may feel like you're back to day 1 again-it's a trick). Just keep going, it is so fine out here.
I don't crave and I don't miss the cigarettes. I hope this helps xx

15months quit so i thought i would write to say to all of you at different stages on your quit journey- stay with it. I feel so well now. I smoked for nearly 40 years and gave up a couple of times for a while but always went back as I didn't stay quit long enough to grow up (mentally).
I am a different person now, I bought a car and I've learned to drive..so easy for most of you but i had some wierd phobia. I love driving. What an unexpected pleasure. I am painting again after thinking if i couldn't smoke, i wouldn't be able to paint as that is when i chain smoked.. now not only can i paint again but for much longer as without the cigs my head ic clearer and my energy levels are so much better.
After the initial depression of not smoking i now feel moments of joy that i didn't think i would ever feel. Really,folks what i am trying to say is it gets better and better the longer the quit.

Hi all. So good to see so many people quitting. My stats impress even me..14 months quit and I now live in a way I couldnt imagine when I smoked. I remember imagining getting up in the morning and living the day without having to smoke. I couldnt. Yet I now live like that and don't give it a thought. I have also noticed the increased quality of life, I have money to spend on good food,on luxuries and most amazing of all is learning to drive, buying a car and getting my learners licence. I am 56. Astonishing! I am sure it is due to an increased level of confidence and well being as a result of being clear of the cigarettes..

To all the people on here beginning their quit.
Yesterday, after work i visited two old friends of mine that i had'nt seen for months. I sat with them and had a glass of wine, they both smoke..the house was adrift with Port Royal tobacco which was'nt unpleasant.
A few hours later i realised i had'nt given smoking a thought! I had'nt looked at their cigarettes with regret or envy..or anything.
So, there you are. I am over a year quit and really, really over it.

Yes! I am free of the cigarettes.
My mind is no longer foggy and I no longer deal with life by using nicotine.
It's stark out here without the blanket of smoke but I much prefer it.
Thankyou everyone on Quitline, I have found this site invaluable, it has enabled me to stay conscious of my quit, to know why I was quitting and why.
Love to you all.

How about that! 3rd May and it will be a year since I quit. Feeling so much better- quitting does wonders for the self esteem and confidence.
I put on weight but it's managable and going down bit by bit, soon I will be what i have never been able to accomplish before and that is a non smoking thin person.
All you new quitters, stay with it, you will really like yourself for it.

Have to do a little skite too as i am 256 days quit.
So many of us started around the time i quit and so few made it to here yet all you need to do is keep going through the tough days and the good days and not pick up a smoke.It's that easy! And if you think you need a cigarette your mind is tricking you because if you have one it's all going to be a lot worse. So,all you newcomers- just keep going no matter what. It is so good out here. I barely give the cigs a thought now.

I am finding it difficult and after all these 245 days of smoke-free. Well, nearly, i had a cig at Xmas and i do believe it has made it much harder. To all on this quitting trip, not having even one puff is the best way to go if you can manage it. I opened myself up to 'just one won't hurt,' but it does. I could smoke a whole packet if they were here..am shocked as i thought i was way clear..so i am back to being diligent again and back to working through the cravings that have been set up by the relapse.
But, hell i smoked on and off for about 40 years so i reckon it will take me a fair few years clean to feel confident...

Thankyou everyone for your support and kind words after my loss of my old dog. I am slowly getting better and I am relieved to say I am absolutely smoke free, not once did I reach for a cigarette..and now I see the price has gone up again. Oh, but I am so glad i no longer have to have them. My quit thingy says I am 242 days clear and $2025 not spent. For all of you in the beginning stages of the quit, stay with it no matter what because eventually you will emerge, free.

I usually only write when I am feeling positive but not today. Yesterday I took my old companion, my 13year old rotti x dog, Ginny to the vets and held her paw when the vet put her down. I am devastated. I have never felt so alone and I feel that my year has been one of loss. The cigarettes are gone,9 months ago, I havn't picked up a paintbrush for 9 months and I am a painter..now my house echoes around me. Oh shit. I think about picking up the cigs again but I had one on Christmas day and just felt sick. I need time to assimilate the losses I guess...

Hi all, thought it a good idea to show my face and to say Yay. 230 days or 8 months plus, quit. Nearly $2000 saved, no cough, clean teeth and all repaired.. and free...xxx

So good. So glad. Ok now and used to not smoking and don't give the smoking thoughts much time nor take them seriously.
Interesting reading the blogs and i do every day as i take this quitting very seriously.
Only just managing to keep my weight stable as i love food.
Good book to get from the library, a NZ author,Karen Nimmo, the book is "My bum looks brilliant in this" addresses some of the emotional issues around pigging out.
Cheers all and here's to us and our fabulous smoke free selves.

Hi everyone. As you can see i am still going smoke-free strong, still clear, soon i will be able to say 6months done.
Got a shock last night but..i was looking through some papers for a health survey i took part in, blood pressure, cholesterol, weight etc in Jan 2001 and found i am 10 kilos heavier! Ten Kilos! Said nasty word very loud but thinking..bloodyhell..if i had'nt been watching what i eat lately, how much more would i have weighed?
It's depressing, the weight gain but i figure i swallow (ha) the reality of it and see it as a challenge..so i am about to address it again..
But my blood pressure is healthy now, it was high when the survey was done, it's my vaniety about how i look that is taking a pounding..

Hi everyone and hi new quitters,good on you for finding this place and for giving the nicotine the boot. It's hard, real hard for a while but then there is the freedom that i always imagined and i've got it now. I still follow smokers with interest and the smell of the nicotine..but I'm just glad it's them and not me.
Lately I have been at the dentist and the doctor getting my health checked and sorted.My teeth (the ones i have left after the smoking dealt to my poor gums), have been cleaned and my body checked. Amazed that my blood pressure, which was high, is back to perfect as a result of being a non smoker. When i was smoking i really saw no point in going to the doctor, having a check up, because i was killing myself by smoking so what was the point? Bloody hell, she's a rough addiction...so to everyone who blogs on here, thankyou, it has been a life saver..in those early days it was my lifeline, instead of smoking i was reading the words of everyone else going through what i first thought only was happening to me. What i read showed me that everything that i went through so did everyone else. It made me stronger and if others could extricate themselves from this drug then so could i and i have! So thanks xxxx

This morning on the way to work i was approached by a man who asked if i had a cigarette..he had no money and bad cravings, it was written all over him. Poor bugger i thought as i said, no sorry don't smoke.
I imagined waking up with no $$ and full on nicotine cravings, having to get out and beg...

Wow! Need to give myself a pat on the back as I have been going through some shite lately and have been feeling discouraged. I have saved $1025.00..and not only am I a non smoker I am also lighter than when I was smoking. For the past 2 months I have been on a low carbohydrate eating plan..so good on me..

110 days quit. All you new comers, stay with it, get through the first few weeks..one minute at a time at the beginning for me, and you will emerge from the tunnel of the fag.
All those things i so wanted when i smoked i've got now- clear skin, clean mouth, no tobacco smell, $$$, and i can breathe and i can walk fast.
Also i have lost a low level anxiety that was always with me. Always suspected the cigs made it worse and really when i think about it, all that fear over lung cancer and other horrid cig related conditions did my head in..so, stay with it, it is so much better being free. Love to you all.

One kind member gave me this website. For any of you struggling with weight gain this is, in her words, "seriously fantastic".