Congrats on quitting! I'm quitting myself, as well. Mark Twain once said something along the lines of: "Quitting smoking is easy. I should know, I've done it a thousand times." If only he had a vape pen, lol! :P
You SHOULD be proud of yourself. My experience with e-cigs was pretty much the same as yours (hospital not included), but fortunate to find a very helpful vape store to patiently walk me through everything. Walked out with basic vape gear almost 3 years ago, put the smokes down and haven't had even one since that day. Be proud of your accomplishment and stay the course. You won't regret it.
I smoked two packs of cigarettes per day for 33 years and I loved my cigarettes. I put in a few half-hearted efforts to quit for my dad by using the patches, gums and medication. The first two gave me a nice buzz and the drugs were turning me into a paranoid homicidal maniac who only slept an average of 3½ hours per night for a month due to the outrageously fantastical nightmares in which I played the starring role! The sad thing is that I never even felt bad or disappointed in myself for failing because I never wanted to quit in the first place!
Anyway, a few months ago I noticed that various friends of mine kept asking if I were sick because I wasn't chain smoking throughout our visits. (You KNOW you are a hard-core smoker when friends think you are ill if you don't light another cigarette almost before the last one is out!) I hadn't even been aware that I had slowed down until the questions kept coming so I realized I had some thinking to do.
A couple of years ago I bought a generic e-cigarette type mod because I was at spending all day and most nights for three months at the hospital with my brother who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and almost died due to complications from a mistake the doctor made during the surgery for the placement of his feeding tube. I planted myself in his room and became the guard dog who growled and questioned every action taken by the hospital staff because I was going to make sure that he became healthy enough to receive chemo and have a fighting chance at beating the demon. I used the cig-a-like but in reality it didn't come close to even putting a damper on my nicotine cravings - much to the doctors dismay! 😉
So 63 days ago I was running errands and passed by a vape shop. I decided to drop in and see if the technology had improved since my last experience. I feel blessed to have chosen that particular shop because after two hours of undivided attention from several employees, I walked out the door of that shop a non-smoker and haven't had a cigarette since! I never had any cravings or any desire to smoke a cigarette. My nicotine habit was being met so there was no pain whatsoever.
When people gush about how proud they are of me I kind of feel like a fraud! I mean it feels like I cheated or something because I put zero effort and work into quitting and I never went through the withdrawals that I know some friends had struggled with. Luckily I've learned how to soak up the compliments and am now even very proud of myself. 😆 YAY ME!!
Proudshamrock reacted to peachy_kleen in WOO-HOO! Day 63 and counting!
Proudshamrock got a reaction from Kimsmm in WOO-HOO! Day 63 and counting!