Thank you! It is amazing how not being adamant about something but doing it nonetheless is working out!
Sometimes I'm thinking of someone I care about who beat a real bad drug addiction, cold turkey, no help, just his own determination. And how I admired him!
And then I think, "What the bleep am I whinging about?" This is nothing compared to what he managed to beat! And I also got my patches to ween myself off.
That sort of stuff really helps.

Occasionally still difficult, but right now these patches are starting to become a problem.
I don't know where I can stick them anymore and they begin to irritate more and more. Not so much the bit with the nicotine but the outer ring without that but with glue to keep it in place and seal it off.
The other day I removed it from my abdomen and even broke the skin in several place on that outer ring. I folded in half with pain, it felt like it had been severely burnt.
It is still very sensitive and I have to keep an eye on the wounds to make sure they heal okay.

The only places that still seem to work a little are on my buttocks and hips but if I keep putting them there for another couple of weeks I fear it'll become too much too.
By the end of the day it begins to itch and irritate, no matter where.
Just now removed it from my bum, put it on my forearm as it was a bit too soon to remove entirely. Within TEN minutes it began to itch on my arm and I removed it. Already a red ring where the glue had been :o

I also have this problem with bandaids, I only ever have white bandaids for sensitive skin.
So I'm not sure how much longer I can bear this every day with 2,5 months of it to go as I ween off the nicotine levels...
The red ring is still visible and itchy on my arm, only 10 mins of exposure. Unreal.

So NOT the nicotine part causing a problem, just the glue part.
And not sure if I can do without the nicotine yet...

That's a bummer Crystal. Maybe cut the sticky part off and use your white bandaids to attach them to your skin?

Or put it under an ace bandage and wrap that around your arm, not too tightly of course.

that's the same thing I thought of
Hope you figure something out crystalyou've been doing so well!

Great minds think a like.

i gots plenty of ductape i can send you to hold them in place

Hahahaha, trust you!

I'd been thinking about that too. Bit of a hassle, but it could be a solution.
Thanks!

I came across an interesting article

https://nocamels.com/2015/01/smoking-weight-gain-muscle/

Meditation for strong nerves, workout For strong muscle. Being generally healthy to grow back strong.

The essence of the article is weight gain can be lean weight, and in the case of the article, muscle.

There's another article linked in there on Omega-3 reducing cigarette/nicotine cravings and makes it easier to stop.

Not THAT is funny as I do think I got Omega-3 capsules but keep forgetting, but... I do have smoked salmon and as it is I keep scoffing bits and pieces of that, hihi.
So I guess I'm naturally seeking the Omega-3.
I'll best go through my cupboard to see if I can find the Omega-3 capsules.

http://nocamels.com/2014/11/omega-3-quitting-smoking/

Two weeks of not smoking today :) Yesterday was particularly difficult. I almost bought tobacco 2x. Once I was almost at the counter, then I decided against it and turned around.
I'm glad I did!
Today is a bit easier again. Last night my girl came over and she's such a wealth of inspiration and support! And also very very proud of me quitting. I think if I'd start again she'd be both disappointed and livid hihi.
It does help to have someone close who's so much in your camp on this and who's so adamant I have to go on and not give up.

I do have much more air already, no longer wheezing (that went real fast actually), and when I know do my fitness breath is not an issue anymore.
I managed to do my fitness 1-mile walk just now even though my back is totally out of whack, top to bottom. I'd feared it wouldn't work, but it did.
Happens so often that when i want to get fit my back & neck start to act up. But right now I want to keep moving in order to control weight.
I'm going to phone my osteo for an appointment tomorrow, I hope I won't have to wait long as it is bad in capitals. And I don't want to lose my determination...

All in all I made it two weeks, and today I put money aside for the 2nd time! Me loves that :) I really take a moment to let that sink in. Normally I wouldn't have that money as I'd blow it up in smoke, literally, hihi.

My mum is on day 4 of quitting, also with patches, after some 67 yrs of smoking. I'm proud of her too! She's 77, very easy at that age to not give a toss, right!?

My girl is trying to convince her dad to quit too. He's diabetic since some 8 years so it'd be better. She told him I was doing so well, using the fact that anything positive on me will grate on him to try and get him to do so.
It made me laugh. I do hope he makes the smart decision, as long as he don't he will have my girl on his back for at least a few more weeks hahaha. Knowing her... she won't let up about it, lol.

Sorry, no relevance for this forum, but it just makes me giggle.

Crystal, it does get easier as time passes. The desire slowly goes away. The thing that helped me quit 17 years ago was I read that it takes your lungs 15 years to get back to the shape they were in before smoking started. I feel better and I do not miss smoking, do not desire it and in fact the smell on people's clothes is something I would rather not smell.

Thank you Poetry! It really helps to hear these things from ex-smokers!
So far I think what shocked me most when I did a few puffs last week from the last crumbs I still had, was the foul taste in my mouth. Shocking as when you're a smoker you don't notice that anymore.

Like the hair, and I bet it smells lovely, a couple of years back I bought a smoking hat as it looked a very hippy , it got me wondering why Victorians would put on a special hat to smoke, the reason I found was to stop their hair from smelling of tobacco, you are doing great and over the worst bit

Below a link I posted in the bum implant thread to give you a laugh .
Don't think you went back there



http://youtu.be/Wa-jE4sHdo4

Thank you :)
Very smart to use a smoking hat! Especially in those days as I think they wore powdered wigs a lot then? I guess no way to wash those, hihi.

That clip... I had indeed not seen it. Hilarious, hahaha, but I do feel sorry for that poor animal.

It's really good to notice how much easier I can now do the fitness programme I do a few times a week. Tonight I did a fast, more intense one, and no problems with breath at all!
I doubt I could've done that one when I was still smoking.
I have had a few difficult moments again last night and today, but I'm over it again. That seems to be the pattern right now: okay for a few days, then 1,5 day it's tough, then I'm fine again.
But I really don't want to smoke anymore. I'm guesstimating those tough moments will get shorter and less.

It was day 17 today btw.

you got this crystal!!!!

keep it up

Thank you, Eric! I will!

You can do it!