Stop Smoking Support Thread
Comments
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OK (drum roll) SIX months and 4 days!!!! YAY!
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Yeah!!!!! Congratulations
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Jan- congrats 75 days- that's great. I will be able to say that in 73 1/2 days, lol.
Seaside - I was puzzled about the quitmeter, so many choices, and many warnings, etc, I decided not to do anything about it for now, I think I first googles just quitmeter smoke, didn't like the approach required, tried others, same worry, glad now I did not "join" anything yet, some could be purchased as well. I will try to make my own in windows excel program, gives me something to do today.
Have a great day
dsgirl
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dsgirl: I use quitnet.com. You can "join" or just use their site as a non-member, which is what I do. They still will send you emails for a couple of weeks, everyday, with tips, a quit meter type day count. Then they send it, I think, about once a month. I get emails still, just can't remember the frequency.
Barb: Congrats! And glad ya'll are having so much fun in N.C.
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Hi friends, I'm not doing so well. I try everyday to quit and wake up and smoke within an hour of waking up
I'm disgusted with myself and really down. Stressing over the last A/C treatment tomorrow, husband out of town for the week, kids, etc..etc... no excuse but how do I overcome all this stress, I need a plan and motivation to move forward, I'm crying all the time. Went to see a shrink and she reminded me of Hilter. Her first response, WHAT YOU haven't quit yet? Well duh, I wouldn't be here if I didn't need help. so HELP PLEASE0 -
Maureen I know exactly how you feel. I made it 4 days and slipped, and Im still slipping. I wont buy them, but I make my daughter bring me a couple. Im loosing my hair really bad now and trying to work up the courage to shave it tonight. (I will have to leave my house in the morning for treatment with something covering my head for the first time) I now LOOK like a cancer patient, and Im having a really hard time with that! I hope my daughter gets here soon.
I seem to do OK, as long as I dont buy them, if I buy, I smoke, at least my daughter keeps me under control. and if I dont see her, I CAN go days without a smoke, but I allow myself to give in to easy, because I enjoy smoking. its my time out time. So I went from a pack a day, to just a couple every few days.... that is a huge leap for me.
All you can do is keep trying.
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Yea Barbara A!!!!!! Whoooot! Yippee!!!
Maureen - Wanting to quit and being ready are two things...when you are ready to quit for you, not everyone else, you will succeed. In the mean time we are all here to support you and help you take that first step. I know 111 pages is a lot reading, but there are some great tips in many of those pages. I used the straw, blowing bubbles and Doublement gum. Those are what worked for me. I had tried everything else from the patch, inhaler, gum, hypnotherapy, Wellbutrin just to name a few... I have been smoke free for 1 year, 7 months and 1 day
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Maureen: Damn shrinks, doctors and others don't know what they are talking about if they've never fought an addiction. I wish there was some way to cull out the never-smoked and find a doc who used to smoke that might actually have something constructive to say besides "why haven't you quit?" Try not to let it get you down, just keep on trying. Never give up!
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Maureen: I know it's hard and you need to take a breath and do this for yourself WHEN YOU ARE READY! Don't beat yourself up - I did and it really just makes things worse. Just put one foot in front of the other and take your time and take your quit 1 minute at a time if necessary. Just think between cigarettes you are a non smoker...try extending the period between smokes. We are all here for you and you will get some great support and advice from the wonderful ladies on this board.
sweet: Best of luck with your treatment - it souds like you are going through a tough time. You are a strong person and will do fine. Going to a couple of cigarettes every couple of days is a huge leap for anyone....you will do fine I'm sure. Keep posting here for support.
Jan
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Maureen813,
Wow! You are really at a tough point in your treatment right now so PLEASE do not be so hard on yourself! AND please, please, please DO NOT be upset with yourself for not being able to quit just now! Get through your last chemo, give yourself a bit of time to heal and gather some strength and THEN give quitting another go! Those doctors sure can do a number on you as far as laying out the guilt factor! Unless they have been there THEMSELVES they do not know how tough it is! The girls here have been through it. We KNOW how HARD it is! We also KNOW how GREAT it feels when you are done with smoking and will be here to help you through WHEN you are ready!
My advice would be.. Go back through this thread, when you have some time, and look for tips of what worked and didn't for different people.
Also a while back, our friend VJ posted her e-mail address where you could ask her for a copy of the workbook that she uses for her stop smoking seminars. She has offered to e-mail it to ladies on this thread at no cost!!! LOTS of really good info in there. Including an assessment of "how to get ready to quit, different methods to help you quit, etc. That may be a REALLY good starting point for you right now.
Look at it as I may not stop right now BUT I WILL think about it and PREPARE for the day when I DO!!!
Sending you a really BIG hug right now! Hang in there!
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sweetaerobabe,
Just want to let you know that I am thinking of you and sending you prayers tonight. Losing your hair really is difficult. As I have said before, be kind to yourself! You are going through ALOT right now!
Cutting back to just one (or a couple) is a HUGE step!! It may very well be where you are meant to be now!
Post when you can. We are here for you!
Edited to add: Just wanted to say how awesome I think it is that, in the middle of all you are going through, you have found time to support others!! That says volumes about your strength!
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Thank you. I am going to try my hardest NOT to call my daughter tomorrow to bumm a smoke.
And yeah, I wish the Dr's would lay off. Told my bf and I smoking decreases the chemo and increases the risk of reoccurance, so now the bf is really on me to stop. Although, I must say, since I have only been bumming here and there, he hasnt said much.
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Sweet: Be kind to yourself - you are in the middle of everything now like Jennifer said.
Take it one day at a time...
Come back often for support - we will be here.
Where in NJ? I was originally from NJ.
Jan
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South Jersey..... Washington township area....Turnersville....
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I knew the Renshaw's of Turnersville. I'm from Northern NJ (Bergen County)
Small world, huh?
Jan
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(((HUGS))) to all my sisters having a hard time. I still can't believe I did it. For those newbies, I did it with auricular stimulation. Go look it up. I was a diehard smoker...LOVED smoking and still do. That's why I know if I take one drag, I'm done. It worked for me, it really did and it was not that hard.
Love to all and a big "YOU CAN DO IT!"
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Random thoughts again:
Every method to quit smoking, will work for some smokers, NO method works for everyone. That's one reason why it's so difficult to quit, is finding out what works for you--not what worked for someone else. Often times, it's trial and error to figure out the best method. But often times we will try a method that worked for someone else (could be anything--medications, hypnosis, acupuncture or e-cigarettes) and it doesn't work for us--so instead of realizing it's a method failure, we blame ourselves---"What's wrong with me?"
Finding a health care professional (HCP) that is a former-smoker, often isn't the best choice either---have you ever met an ex--smoker that has the attitude--"If I can quit, anybody can quit, This is what I used--so it should work for you!" (but every method will work for some but nothing works for everyone). What you really want to look for is someone that has been trained in smoking cessation (and very few have). Often I know more that doctors on how to help someone quit. When talking to doctors etc., you might want to download a copy of the-- 2008 Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, a clinical practice guideline published by the Public Health Service (you can google it or send me an email and I'll send you the link VJSL8@CS.COM). It's written for Health care professionals in language they should understand, it they take the time to read it. Often what HCP's think works-- is trying to motivate by nagging, shaming and blaming--or by hitting you with the biggest stick they can find--"Don't you know that...", that way doesn't work. I do trainings for HCP on the correct way to motivate smokers and how to talk to them to be effective instead of discouraging but most think they know it all, instead of thinking, they might learn something. but after hearing my talk, there is a total paradigm shift in their attitude.
It's not unusual to make 6 to 9 serious attempts at quitting before you're successful. Think of these are "practice". Learn what works for you and what didn't work and also what was it that caused you to pick up that first cigarette? Often it's --availability--they're there. If you live with a smoker or have close friends that smoke, you might want to practice having a pack right next to you and not smoke for a period of time--set it up to not smoke for 3 or 4 hours but have the pack right next to you or you may want to start with 1 hour and build up--what this does is lessen the impact of just "seeing a pack" and reaching for a cigarette--it's an automatic response. Whereas if you're not around other smokers very often, it can be less of a problem if you can simply avoid being around it.
Again, offering a PDF copy of my workbook that I use with my clients (free, no strings, just want to help), just send me your email address and I'll send you a copy. VJSL8@CS.COM
Have a joyous day, VJ
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Hello everyone
3 1/2 days, and struggling for sure, but not smoking. Found the quit.net.com, Thanks Lady Bama.
VJ, I sent you an e-mail, would appreciate the PDF copy of your workbook.
Ladies, this is hard work, not smoking, used to smoke up a storm while on the PC, so can't stay here too long.
My husband noticed right away that I am not smoking, first noticed the ashtrays missing around my favorite places to sit, then pretty soon just asked did you quit again ? he does smoke but at least it's not cigarettes, he smokes cigars, and I have tried one of those once when I was in the quitting process, and do not want to try one of those ever again, so that helps me. I am crocheting an afghan, and it's really getting a work over these past few days, keeps the hands busy.
So many possitive ladies here that have managed to quit, it's great to be here.
Thanks
dsgirl
PS I googles auricular stimulation and got 427000 possible links in 10 seconds flat, lol. I dont think it would be available in a rural area where I live anyway, but may look at it later.
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Great job DS girl! It will get easier. I think the nicotine is out of your system in 3 days and I'm sure VJ's workbook will be a great help to you!
Keep up the good work!!!
Jan
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DS Girl! Once you get past the 3 days, you are dealing with habits not addiction. Keep it up!!
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BarbaraA--I must disagree that the nicotine addiction is over in 3 days.
Withdrawal symptoms can last 6 months. The half life of nicotine is 2 to 4 hours, which means that all of the nicotine is out of the body within about 3 to 5 days but that doesn't mean that the physical part is over with. fMRI studies have shown that the alpha4/beta2 nicotinic aceylcholine receptors can stay active for up to 6 months--so when we talk about nicotine addiction--it's these changes in the brain to this receptor that we are talking about. and as long as those receptors stay active, a person can experience physical withdrawal symptoms.
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VJ:
Thanks for the info - I, too, thought the nicotine was gone after 3 days.
Jan
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Yes, the nicotine leaves the body fairly quickly but it leaves behind changes in the brain structure and that is what causes the physical problems.
It's the delivery system (inhalation) that is partly the cause for these changes--it's how fast nicotine enters the brain and this is also why most NRT do not have the ability to cause a physical addiction--because they enter the brain so slow. (except inhaler and spray, which is why they are prescription only). Think of cocaine--you can drink coca tea and not get addicted, in the 70's it was thought that snort cocaine was not physically addictive and then with rock cocaine--that you smoke--it is highly addictive. Same substance but different physical reactions--all to do with how fast the drug gets to the brain. Inhalation is the quickest way to the brain--faster than mainlining heroin, 2.5 heartbeats or 10 seconds.
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WOW! I'm glad I don't smoke any longer! What about those electronic cigarettes that everyone is now using to quit?
Any info on those because my DH has been using them.
Thanks
Jan
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Here's a link to an article I wrote about e-cigs, might be a little technical but it is factual. The real answer is --we just don't know enough about e-cig's yet. Duke university is doing a study sponsored by a tobacco company, so that it can be labeled as a cessation device but currently, e-cig's can not be advertised as a way to quit smoking--only as an alternative means of getting nicotine. So what the manufacturer really wants is for you to quit smoking but stay addicted to nicotine but through their product instead of a cigarette.
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Interesting, thanks! Actually Duke is about 2 hours from me.
I would think that eliminating the chemicals (except nicotine) from a cigarette would be a plus for those trying to quit.
Jan
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Eliminating the other chemicals is better for a person's health but it really doesn't help in quitting--it's all about the nicotine. If cigarettes didn't have nicotine in them, almost nobody would smoke them.
It's very political--about the advertising--if e-cigs are advertised as a way to quit smoking, then the FDA can regulate them as a "medical device", just like they regulate NRT. So to get around that e-cigs can only be a substitution for continued nicotine use. It would take a couple of years to get through all the regulatory hoops to get them approved by the FDA, which is what I believe Duke is trying to do??. The FDA tried to stop e-cigs from being imported but an appeals court just ruled (this week) that the FDA can't stop the importation but it can regulate them as a "tobacco" product--which means that the FDA would have to sue the manufacturers again to get them to conform to FDA regulations but cannot ban the product--just like cigarettes--the family Smoking and Protection Act gives FDA the right to regulate cigarettes but cannot banned them nor can they totally eliminate nicotine--great lobbying by the tobacco companies!
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Hello again,
Yes I can testify to the brain structure thingy, the nicotine may be out of my system, but gads, my "system" is in such a mess. I feel dimwitted, I am so clumsy, can't seem to concentrate on one thing for even five minutes, today has been a real awful day, nothing seemed to go right, thought for a minute that I would just start smoking again to clear my head, the head with a headache, I could actually smoke for 5 weeks for what the inhaler costs for a month, but sanity prevailed, I went and turned in the prescription for the inhaler and tomorrow I go and pick it up, like I said nothing went right today, but I will be able to get it tomorrow.
I received the work papers from VJ, thanks, I need a clear head for it to soak in, therefore I think the inhaler is better than going back to smoking cigarettes, as my wish is still to stay smoke free, but need to function on some level of normalcy, and I am hoping the inhaler will help me do that for the time being.
Hanging in there with the rest of you
dsgirl
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You keep moving on DS. Iit's not easy but I know you can do it! We are very proud of you for being smoke free. Keep up the good work.
Jan
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dsgirl: Me too on the fuzzy headed-ness when I quit. I hadn't realized how much nicotine was pumping up my brain cells. I did the nicotine patch for several weeks, which really helped to gradually get out of the fog. Hope the inhaler will help you do the same. The good news is, it does get better. Your brain does return to "normal," whatever that is!
Hang in there everybody.
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