Over six weeks without a pipe

[Njguy1977]

Glad you’re on the mend and you have a speedy recovery. I tend to have maybe 1 bowl on the weekend when weather permits or when I have the time to enjoy. I can go weeks to months without any craving. It’s difficult to beat as I used to be a cig smoker as well. I find that I get more enjoyment out of the calming effect it brigs as I enjoy the moment rather than the nicotine. Moderation and mindfulness helps me not have th cravings for more, and not go back to where I was with cig smoking.

Larry

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

If you think you need to moderate but don't want to quit, if you can pack 4 pipes in the morning and only smoke those 4 pipes you win. Of you have to cheat then think on it harder.

I haven't used a sinus pouch in almost three months. I dropped my usage before the last pouch but I want a pouch after almost every meal.

I wish I still smoked iny car but that may make me a two pipe a day smoker. Nothing serious.

 

[deafficianado]

Congratulations on your successful abstinence. There will come a point in every man's life when they think enough is enough and choose a different path. I wish you continued good health.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Is it all starting to feel a bit more settled, Phil? I noticed a couple of Pipe Of The Day posts from you. Seems like you're starting to separate "fix" from "fun". Or maybe that's just a bit of rare optimism on my part

 

[luvmysuper]

Is it all starting to feel a bit more settled, Phil? I noticed a couple of Pipe Of The Day posts from you. Seems like you're starting to separate "fix" from "fun". Or maybe that's just a bit of rare optimism on my part

It is a little better. Have not made a final decision just yet, but it feels like at the moment at least that I can enjoy a couple of bowls a day without being sucked right back up to where I was.
If I can maintain that, great!
If it feels like I'm getting sucked back in, I'll have to make that call later.
I'm good for now though!

 

[AimlessWanderer]

It is a little better. Have not made a final decision just yet, but it feels like at the moment at least that I can enjoy a couple of bowls a day without being sucked right back up to where I was.
If I can maintain that, great!
If it feels like I'm getting sucked back in, I'll have to make that call later.
I'm good for now though!

Good to hear! And it also sounds very familiar too.

If I "treat" myself to the occasional pouch of rolling tobacco, it definitely feels like a relapse. I won't be able to stop devouring it till it's gone, and then I have a difficult few days to face afterwards. The pipe feels so much easier to regulate for me, but I am careful not to make it an everyday event, so it can't get its habitual claws in. I don't think two to three bowls a day would be a wise thing for me to try.

Three or four bowls a week is a very comfortable level for me, where each bowl feels like a free choice, rather than satiating a need. At that level, I am in control. Full control. Even to the point where I can comfortably put the bowl aside for a few hours, or even finish it tomorrow... or finding I never finished that bowl I started three days ago... I ought to clean that pipe out. Smoking a full sized bowl in one go, even smoking it slowly, feels like eating a whole cheesecake in one sitting these days. Too much.

Some days I will smoke multiple bowls, but not very often, and I probably won't want anything the next day. It did take me a couple of years to comfortably settle down to that though, and being a stubborn git did help.

By stubborn, I mean I decided that I was never going to become a habitual smoker again, but nor was I prepared to live in fear of ever having another smoke again. I can strike that balance with a pipe, and only smoke when I don't "need" a smoke. Sadly, that's not a balance I can easily strike with roll ups.

 

[luvmysuper]

I've been limiting myself to a single bowl a day with pretty good results, usually in the morning. I have stopped feeling as if I have to have another right away, and that is good.
Once I get into the groove of a single bowl a day and feel completely comfortable with it, I will permit myself a second, perhaps an evening smoke.
I can live with the concept of eventually having two or sometimes three bowls a day, that seems reasonable to me.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I've been limiting myself to a single bowl a day with pretty good results, usually in the morning. I have stopped feeling as if I have to have another right away, and that is good.
Once I get into the groove of a single bowl a day and feel completely comfortable with it, I will permit myself a second, perhaps an evening smoke.
I can live with the concept of eventually having two or sometimes three bowls a day, that seems reasonable to me.

Phil, I'm joining with you in severely restricting my pipes. Not because of the diabetes possibility, though that's important, but because it does seem as though my wind has been reduced somewhat when I work out recently. I need to take off for a while and see if things improve!

 

[luvmysuper]

Phil, I'm joining with you in severely restricting my pipes. Not because of the diabetes possibility, though that's important, but because it does seem as though my wind has been reduced somewhat when I work out recently. I need to take off for a while and see if things improve!

I don't have any issues with getting winded or tired. Before my hip replacement I walked a LOT, even though it was very painful due to the joint deterioration. Now that the hip replacement is done, I am walking again and improving distance as I heal up and the muscles allow. I'm 4 weeks after surgery and walking without a cane again.
My sole purpose in limiting myself in the number of bowls I smoke is to establish that I control the amount I smoke rather than just letting the amount I would like to smoke control me.
Before the pre-surgery stop, I was smoking at times 8 bowls a day, which is an almost continuous use of a pipe during daytime hours.
Even I knew that was a lot, though I enjoyed it completely.
I want to have my 2 or 3 bowls a day be something I look forward to, relish during the smoke and afford me the opportunity to really consider the selection of the pipe, the choice of pipe tobacco, the packing of the bowl, the ritual of lighting the pipe properly, and then pondering the flavors and nuances of my choices.
I didn't really do that when I was smoking so much, as it was really just a blur of moving from one bowl to the next.
But if I were in a position where even one bowl caused me to be winded during moderate activity, I suppose I would also consider options as you are.
I did not, and do not inhale when I smoke a pipe, so I am uncertain how smoking a pipe would contribute in any real way to my becoming winded during exertion.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Phil, I'm glad to hear that you are improving, and that you didn't have any wind problems earlier. My issue may not actually be that. Today I was able to do my minimum one mile, 75% walking/25% trotting, as I call it. Less than ten days ago I was easily able to trot 40% of that same distance, and I usually do 33%. Now it might be the fatigue symptoms of the Type II manifesting themselves that way.

I don't inhale either. But I suspect that a little something may get into me via my nose. Or it may just be age! I'll work out tomorrow a.m., and if things are better, I may treat myself to a short or half bowl after breakfast.

 

[Columbo]

I've been limiting myself to a single bowl a day with pretty good results, usually in the morning. I have stopped feeling as if I have to have another right away, and that is good.
Once I get into the groove of a single bowl a day and feel completely comfortable with it, I will permit myself a second, perhaps an evening smoke.
I can live with the concept of eventually having two or sometimes three bowls a day, that seems reasonable to me.

For your particular situation, have you also contemplated ...

Filters. 🫣

 

[luvmysuper]

For your particular situation, have you also contemplated ...

Filters. 🫣

Naw...
Don't really care for them, and it's extra stuff. For me, benefit doesn't equal the hassle!

 

[Columbo]

Naw...
Don't really care for them, and it's extra stuff. For me, benefit doesn't equal the hassle!

I don't either. Nor do many other traditionalists.

But they are purportedly more 'healthy'. And Mrs. C smiles more when I infrequently consent to one.

I think if you're holding at or under 3 a day, you're doing superbly.

 

[luvmysuper]

I don't either. Nor do many other traditionalists.

But they are purportedly more 'healthy'. And Mrs. C smiles more when I infrequently consent to one.

I think if you're holding at or under 3 a day, you're doing superbly.

Doing pretty good. Right now, I'm less than one a day as some days I get busy and forget.

 

[FarmerTan]

Convinced I didn't have a stroke or heart attack because I took up pipe smoking. Was 50 at the time working a high stress job in hospital revenue cycle operations. The pipe enabled me to calm down, relax, and shed the stress.

I have no doubt cigarettes saved my Dad's life. He smoked a pipe with Prince Albert, and Pall Mall unfiltered, about a half a pack per day. The pipe maybe a bowl per day. Definitely steadied his nerves.

If I could have been as moderate in my tobacco consumption I never would have quit.

 

[Merchant Seaman Z]

My current “work” is normally 120days without a pipe. So it’s mostly cigars due to work. Home is pipe and relaxing
, until the “list”.

 

[never-stop-learning]

During my "conspicuous consumption" days, I'd have ~20 cigars/week and God knows how much whisky. Let's just say that, when I quit drinking, the GDPs of Scotland and Ireland dropped precipitously.

In one of my few acts of moderation, I now have 2 cigars/week and 4 - 5 drinks/year.