Stories & experiences

Wow, Storm, What a awesome achievement you have achieved.
You just needed to believe in yourself, and you have done this
with awesome results..
All the very best for 2019.

Hi Jenno211058
I remember you so well from the early journey
Seeing your name always put a smile on my face, and i remember just how much your support assisted me in those first few months thank you,
I don't check in as much anymore but i often think about the early days and the names that appeared so often I hope everyone is still leading a smoke free life and to you, all the best for 2019

Congratulations and Merry Christmas Storm. I just finished reading your journey. It is funny how a single idea from one written can be contemplated by another quitter and be the centerpiece of a journey and help to make the quit easier. For you it was the word "Addiction". I feel that in order to achieve the mindset which makes it easier to quit, we need to acknowledge that smoking was not a habit, but a very ugly word...Addiction., as legal as it is. Understanding how we fell into its trap , how nicotine works, gives you a better idea what you are up against and how you can beat it. It also drives home the NOPE mantra. (Not One Puff Ever!) Indeed we are addicts, and do not ever think otherwise!

Another key phrase for you was about contemplating a cigarette when under stress. You also realized that having a cigarette would not make the situation or stress go away.

It was interesting how you seemed to find it easier while carrying cigarettes (although some may not be strong enough in their minds to do so) because you didn't want to think of it as quitting the cigarettes, but rather CHOOSING to be a non-smoker. Good for you for figuring that out . That one view of the quit makes it sooo much easier. I am quit about 50 days now and still have cartons of smokes in my drawer.

You mentioned a time where your health declined, and i just wanted to assure newcomers that the majority of us feel beneficial energy and overall improvement in breathing after a few days.

I would be interested in knowing that if you had to do it over again, would you change anything? Would you do champix again or recommend ? Maybe you could answer your own question here as how it was coming off of champix. I did my quit cold turkey and would not change that. I was fortunate and had the desire to quit, did a few days cutting down using the 4 D's , changing behavioural links to smoking, and took up my time on this site as well as researching how to eat better and gain overall better health.

My husband also smoked for my first two weeks quitting and he is also quit a month now. I hope your hubby regained his health and stayed quit as well. Your story is an inspiration. Thanks for sharing. iCanQuit is the best site i have found, and i am glad it is available as an instrumental tool in becoming a non-smoker!

Hi Happiness
congratulations on 50 days smoke free, what a wonderful achievement and to have your husband on the journey with you must be great support
Champix worked for me , I know some people have problems with the medication and i had a few but in all honesty the reason i started this was due to my health and without the Champix i honestly believe I would not have succeeded,because as much as I knew I had to stop I didn't really want to.
My concerns about stopping Champix at the time was pure fear and in all my head by the time I came off the medication, my head was in the right place, and i realised if I had a Cigarette i would have to start again and i wasn't about to do that to myself after I had worked so hard to get to where i was
Looking back on my journey I wouldn't change anything, but i won't be doing it again, I honestly believe I will never smoke again, i know even though I am smoke free I am still an ADDICT, so i can never have a cigarette EVER
My husband has his health back, we get his specialist report in a couple of weeks but are expecting good news. He is still smoke free and although he still has fleeting cravings he will never smoke again, he knows that it was the cigarettes that caused his problem and overall he feels better living a smoke free existence as most do.
You are right this is the best site around for support, i wish you and your husband well you are both doing great, keep posting your stories, you never know who you may help

Hi Storm. Congratulations. You truly have weathered the "storm" ... One common thread in so many messages is that we don't want to have to get through day 1 EVER again. At that time we could only try to imagine that day 2 would be even harder. So wrong. Who would have thought, oh so many days ago, that day 1000 would be relatively a breeze? By the way, I still have my 1/2 carton of Dunhill Blue and 1/2 pack Davidoff duty free cigarettes. No pressure. One day may put them on eBay or donate to a museum... Good to know you are still here and doing so for the long term. Take heart that the likes of you, Dobbin and others of those days oh so long ago also "saved" me. Thanks and look forward to your next post of next milestone. I doubt if any of us would dare fall off the wagon.

Well done Storm ☺️

Hi Storm. Wow and well done. Great to see you and sounding so positive. Yes the early days were tough but it seems a lot our peers have survived and won through. I often pop in to see who is around and it’s so encouraging. Keep up the great work. Dobbin