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Another slip at 53 days Cancel The title field is required!

1. ocean

   

   286 posts
   Registered:
   29 Nov 2017
   10 Mar 2018

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   I recovered from a slip yesterday in the late afternoon.  I had a huge craving after work, on my drive home.  I hadn't put a Patch on, (I have to get better at that) and had bought a pack of cigarettes at the grocery store.  I smoked one, and it didn't feel good although the nicotine rush felt great, I hated the smoking part of it.  The smoke felt so thick, and tasted awful.  I promptly soaked the pack under the sink and threw them away.  In a way this is progress beause when I had my last slip on Day 17, the cigarette smoke didn't feel foreign like it did yesterday.  Yesterday's experience wasn't a pleasure, so I know I'm getting somewhere with that new memory.  I have to get my butt whipped to pay more attention in the mornings and get that Patch on before I leave for work, as I didn't have time to put one on at work yesterday.  And I discovered a trigger.  We were looking forward to the March break yesterday, and I felt a sigh of relief and jubilation as I left work.  Maybe it was the sense of something to celebrate that that did me in.  Im feeling strong and positive since the slip.  But obviously I have to get more serious in the mornings!
2. Sisu

   

   3 posts
   Registered:
   02 Dec 2017
   10 Mar 2018 in reply to ocean

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   Ocean, thanks for your post!  I followed your journey, cutting down on the number of cigarettes before you quit.  Way back then I had managed to quit for a couple of months with only a small slip to report.  I don't really know what's up with me lately.  I haven't relapsed but am struggling with slips every couple of weeks.  The thing about it is when I finally douse the cigarettes with water and put a patch on, the comfort I feel is immediate.  I've proven to myself that I can stay cigarette free for weeks at a time.  I guess it's time for me to work even harder to stay focused.  You have good awareness...  There is no pleasure in smoking.
3. jennifer, quit coach

   

   103 posts
   Registered:
   29 Nov 2017
   10 Mar 2018

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   Good Morning ocean,
   
   As Sisu said, thanks for posting this experience!
   
   You've described your slip beautifully and shared such fantastic detail about the insight you've gained from this slip ( needing to pay attention to the mornings, ensuring your put your patch on, and that there may have been an element of celebration attached to this slip), it really demonstrates how slips teach us where to focus our energy and how to be prepared!
   
   Great to see you here throughout your journey!
   
   
4. treepeo

   

   832 posts
   Registered:
   29 Nov 2017
   10 Mar 2018

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   Hi Ocean,
   
   Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us.  I can really relate to how you were feeling.  Unfortunately, that's what happens, because we associate smoking with so many feelings and events.  When I was really happy, I always had a cigarette, and ditto when I was sad.  I always celebrated good things by having a cigarette, most often smoking with my family and friends.  So I am not at all surprised that feelings triggered your slip.  That is how we handled things all our lives.  Now we have to learn how to handle things differently, without smoking.
   
   I am glad you have such good insight into what triggered you.  And it's also great that smoking felt foreign to you.  That is truly progress!
   
   You should feel really proud of yourself Ocean, because you handled this slip so well.  You immediately destroyed the rest of the pack and thought about how to avoid slips in the future.  You are so smart and so strong.  You impress the heck out of me.  Way to go, my friend.  Keep the quit!  You rock!
5. ocean

   

   286 posts
   Registered:
   29 Nov 2017
   11 Mar 2018

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   Hi Sisu,
   Yes, a big part of the confusion is that I won't be craving so I forgo the NRT, and then it comes back to bite me.  If it's that unpredictble I'm going to stay on my Patch for longer.  I remember that you're a few months ahead of me, and didn't you wean down off cigarettes before you quit too?  I just know that in the past I generlly lose my quit in the later days than in the early days, between Day 60 - 100.  So I have to safeguard these days I'm in now.  Try and not get too cocky, but try and wean at the same time.  I'm on 14 mg. Patch and gum (4-5 a day).  But it's when I go a few days without the patch that I end up in trouble, and it's usually a delayed reaction of about 3 days that I get in trouble.  Keep the quit Sisu, I hear you!!