Stop Smoking Support Thread
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kal_1865 and erica31,
Just noticed that you both very new members to breastcancer.org.
Something I didn't know about at first was that you are limited to a maximum of 5 posts per day until you reach 50 posts. I found it to be frustrating because in the beginning is when you need the most help. I guess it was necessary because they got hit with a really bad spam attack that almost shut down the site.
You can still send a personal message (PM) to anyone by clicking on their name and then clicking on send a PM on the right side of the screen that comes up. That message DOES NOT count toward your 5 and will only be seen by the person you sent it to (doesn't post).
If you need help and are over your limit, feel free to PM me.
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VJSL8: Perfectly put. I loved smoking but I love being smokefree even more. There's a freedom and a lightheartedness that being smokefree gives you that is just indescribable.
I think I made a mistake not visiting this board for a few months. Then I had my surgery, and things went well and now I find it inspirational - a daily shot in the arm. Anyone who is new and limited to just five posts a day is free to PM me - I will share my list of things I love about not smoking.
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I love the freedom as well. Espcially on this last trip I took. Californians are vehement about not smoking so I really didn't miss trying to find a place to smoke where I wouldn't get dirty looks. Also didn't miss having to freeze my behind off smoking outside in Raleigh.
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Hi Ladies, just have been reading posts lately as I have been dealing with some family issues that I wish had not come up again. I also have been having 1-2 cigarettes a day and enjoying them. I was not told that I could not smoke for stage II but I bet I am not suppose to be smoking but the thought of my son going to jail (DUI) at Christmas and when his daughter is coming from Texas to stay with him and I is just heartbreaking. I know he made a stupid choice and just pray he does not need to start his time when she is here. I know this is why I am choosing to smoke and do not seem to care but still want to keep most of my quit except those 1-2 cigarettes a day.
Welcome to all of you newcomers. I am so glad to see the roll call with so many ladies at different stages. Not sure where to put me anymore with my smoking. I guess I have not quit. My stage II is January 10 and that gives me less than 4 weeks to get the nicotine out of my system because I am concerned about how the nipples are connected to the breast and where that blood supply comes from to keep them alive. If any of you ladies know how that happens would you please PM me.
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Dutchy: Awhhhhhhh, I am so sorry. Life can be tough, but you can get back on track, one or two is not too bad of a slip, sorry that I cannot help about the nipple surgery, hopefully someone can, Hang in there.
Barbara A, Oh yes, on a trip, especially flying trip, racing thru the terminal to find the smoking lounge, or the outdoors, then having to go thru security again and almost miss your flight, while your husband is standing at the boarding gate looking disgusted, oh, those are days that will never happen again, I pray. Nightmarish. We recently did a road trip as well to visit family and friends, most of them no longer smoke, so I spent alot of "quality" (not) time alone outside, I felt like an outcast, and smelled like one too. But Oh, I did like to smoke or rather as VJ puts it I loved the dopamine rush smoking gave me.
1 week, 1 day, and ladies it's not easy, but I am plugging away at it still. VJ, using your notes making my lists, keeping a diary about this ride too.
Any cooking or baking is not working out too well for me these past few days, so I will find something other to do to keep hands busy.
I forget who it was that emptied the dishwasher after breakfast to get the mind of a cigarette, I had to laugh as I AM the dishwasher, I use my straw first, then the inhaler, have found I can use the cartridge 3-4 times before it's all gone, it helps me, I function anyway.
Have a great sunday
dsgirl
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dsgirl--I've never said quitting would be easy, only that with some planning and the right tools, it can be done and the important part is THAT YOU'RE DOING IT!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!
It will get easier and easier as time goes on. There will come a day when at the end of the day you realized that you haven't thought about smoking all day!!!! Keep on focusing that --that day will come and what a blessing it will be!!
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Dutchy:
I'm so sorry for your problems and that you are smoking a little. I'd hate to see you have issues with your stage 2 so I will be praying you have the strength to get through it with flying colors. You are a strong woman and you can do this!!! I will also be praying for your family. Hoping good outcomes!
Jan
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HUGS to all my sisters trying to stop. I am still trying to as well. I am one puff away from starting again. DUCHY, you can do it. Just take it a day at a time.
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sweetaerobabe,
When you are ready to quit for YOU it will happen. You are doing well, being down to just a couple! I was not ever able to do that. Guess it's all or nothing for me!
Going through chemo is a VERY stressful time and may just not be the right time for you to have a good chance at success.
But it isn't a bad time to prepare for the day that IS right for you. Take this time to go over the information in VJ's work book and start to put together your plan for the time when YOU are ready to quit for YOU!!
We are pulling for you!
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Kitchenwitch,
"the pleasure was only a moment or two. Then it was over and the stress was still there, and it was compounded by the fact that I was doing something so terrible to myself "
SO, SO TRUE and beautifully worded!!!!!
Added your info to the updated roll call that I will post soon!! I think you may be a few days short. I count 13 days if you quit Nov 30th (although I did have a couple glasses of wine today so my count may be off!). Congrats!!!
It's funny that you mentioned feeling more balanced since you quit smoking. Since I stopped (after some time went by) I know I am MUCH calmer than I was. Even my husband has said this. I think it has to do with the fact that, in between cigarettes, you are going through constant withdrawal and it kind of leaves you in a constant state of high anxiety.
Cheering you on and hoping that you get your Hanukkah/Christmas wish! You are setting a VERY good example and hopefully your husband will follow your lead!!
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dsgirl,
This was my first (early) Christmas get-to-together with my family since I quit smoking. I know exactly what you mean about feeling like an outcast in the past and spending what time we had together, alone, outside smoking.
I will say this year was SO much better! Got to see what I had been missing out on all these years!
One thing that has really amazed me since I quit (after making myself go outside to smoke for a few months before) is how much time I WASTED smoking.
One reward that I did give myself early on was to take some of that time (just a rough calculation) and do something nice just for you!
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OH {{{{{Dutchy}}}}}}!
I am so sorry that you are having to go through this!!! I have found that no matter how old our children are, it JUST BREAKS YOUR HEART when they fall! Right around the time my dog died this summer, my daughter had a brush with the law. It was a minor offense but, I know what a terrible time that was!
Your son made a mistake and I'm sure he feels awful! The situation remains the same whether or not you smoke. Now, IMAGINE for a moment, how he would feel if he discovers that HIS mistake has led to YOU going back to smoking! I think he would feel terrible. I have found that our kids worry about us ALMOST as much as we worry about them!
I DO pray that he will be able to be home to spend time with his daughter and that his sentence will be light.
This is a bump in the road! I know it's HARD, but I hope you will get back on track with your quit! I am putting you as around 4 months and holding on the roll call because I BELIEVE that this is just a momentary slip!!
You are in my thoughts and prayers, sister!
Jennifer
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Ok Ladies.... Here's the updated roll call!
If I have missed anyone or have someone's information wrong, please let me know! For the girls who I couldn't figure out your quit date, if you want it included let me know! Also, if you would prefer to NOT be on the list, let me know (either here or as a PM) that as well. I hope to update this from time to time and would not want to have someone on the list who didn't want to be on it.
Maureen813 - thinking about quitting and getting a plan in place
sweetaerobabe - thinking about quitting and getting a plan in place
erica31 - date set 1/1/11
ladym13 - just starting out
Kitchenwitch - Nov 30th quit date, 13 days
dsgirl - Dec 4th quit date, 1 week and 1 day
kal_1865 - Sept 28th quit date (at 10:00... lol), 2 months and 2 weeks
jan508 - 83 days
Bama - 4 months on 12/10
Dutchy - Around 4 months and holding
Barbara - 6 months and 1 day
Seaside - Jan 18th quit date (at 11:01 pm.. lol), 10 months 3 weeks and 3 days
O2B - 1 Year, 7 months and 1 week +
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Hey seaside, I stopped smoking 22 hours ago. So, Im gonna keep going. Withdraw not bad at all today, I have to confess, the past few days before I quit I was getting back up there with the amount I was smoking. Im going cold turkey.... I asked my boyfriend to be patient and not to get on my nerves. lol. So far, he has been a gem.
Im just gonna keep pushing on.
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This update is for YOU sweetaerobabe!!! And yes, from what I have heard, the amount smoked has a tendancy to creep up on you!
Maureen813 - thinking about quitting and getting a plan in place
erica31 - date set 1/1/11
ladym13 - just starting out
sweetaerobabe - 22 hours!!!! You GO!!!
Kitchenwitch - Nov 30th quit date, 13 days
dsgirl - Dec 4th quit date, 1 week and 1 day
kal_1865 - Sept 28th quit date (at 10:00... lol), 2 months and 2 weeks
jan508 - 83 days
Bama - 4 months on 12/10
Dutchy - Around 4 months and holding
Barbara - 6 months and 1 day
Seaside - Jan 18th quit date (at 11:01 pm.. lol), 10 months 3 weeks and 3 days
O2B - 1 Year, 7 months and 1 week +
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Ha, I just realised I quit on 12/11/10.... that should be easy to remember. Im doing surprisingly well. I think about it sure, but not going nuts about it, I just remind myself I am a NON SMOKER now and that the urge will pass. I really hope it sticks this time. I just cant allow myself to give in, that is always my problem.... thinking I can have just one. I know now that I cant do that anymore.
VJ, it's funny, I was outside smoking the other day, and thought.... I need to write a goodbye letter, and thought what it would say, then I come in and your workbook is waiting for me suggesting the same idea.
Coming up on 36 hours without a smoke.
Kristy
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Hi Seaside: I'm still smoke free since November 4th!!! I've stopped using the patch. Most days are easy, others, not so much. But I refuse to give in!
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Kristy and Linda:
Congratulations!! Things will get easier as the days go on and when you get that urge (and you will) you can now handle it!!!
Very proud of you both....
Jan
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sweetaerobabe,
12/11/10 WILL be an easy one to remember!! Hope things are going well for you!! Pretty picture of you as your avatar!
Linda603,
Thanks for giving us an update! Was wondering how you were doing! I have added you to the roll call list!
You guys in NH bracing yourselves for the weather coming our way? Updated report says we, here in upstate NY, will be getting anywhere from 3-5 inches per day, every day from now until Thursday! Have to pick up my daughter from college on Wednesday. Not looking forward to driving in that weather! At least we have been spared the terrible weather they are getting in the mid-west!
Maureen813,
Hope you all in western NY are not getting it too bad this time around with the lake effect snow!!! But, like my husband says, western NYers are a tough bunch!
Jan,
Forgot to ask you yesterday how your husband is doing with the e-cigarette. All going OK there?
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Hi Jennifer
Things are good for DH on e-cigarette. Hopefully he can give that up soon. Nice he doesn't stink like cigarettes anymore...
Had another fill at PS today and cleavage looks really good....moving forward....great feeling!
Jan
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Im just checking in before treatment this am. Still going strong over here.
Kristy
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I'm amazed I quit 13 days ago. I have had a moment or two when I missed it but mostly I feel joy and relief. It hasn't been all stress-free, either. I'm dragging myself to a job every day (temp only) that I don't particularly love. My sister, my cousin and I are having a stupid 3-way argument. My older son is still autistic. The house is still pretty messy. But.... smoking was never going to cure any of that. Amazing. Even in a low moment, not-smoking is really cheering me up!
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Here is a big hug for all the sisters! Today is 6 months and 12 days. Wow! Hard to believe.
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Kitchenwitch: WTG, that's the attitude that will get you through. Smoking doesn't help anything, it's just one more thing to deal with. So with it our of your life, that is just one less stressor.
Barb: I think you are our fearless leader with 6 months? Does anybody have longer?
Everybody hang in there.
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Jan,
So happy to hear that things are going well for BOTH you and your husband!! I know what I was spending when I was the only one smoking. Must have been crazy expensive with 2 people smoking!
Glad that, after an early setback, things are going smoothly on the reconstruction front!! How many more fills will you need?
Love the daisies in your avatar! They remind me of summertime. We have been soooooo cold up here the last couple of days!!! My parents leave for Florida tomorrow and can't wait to get where it's warm. Although I think even they are battling this latest blast of cold weather!
Jennifer
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sweetaerobabe,
So glad you checked in this morning and just SOOOOO happy that you are still hanging in there!! Hope your treatment went well today and that any side effects will be minimal!
Sending you a BIG HUG!!
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Jennifer:
Yes, things on the smoking homefront are going well, thank goodness. 87 days for me...on the 17th it will be 3 months, Can you believe it?????
My fills are going really well but they haven't told me how many more. I can tell you my 'B' cup bras are now snug Whoo Hoo!!! I am at 260 cc's and he fills 100 cc's at a time so I don't know.
Love daisies...It's been really cold here in NC too. I'm hoping for a slight warm up (Ha ha).
Talk soon
Jan
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Kitchenwitch,
When you said, "Even in a low moment, not-smoking is really cheering me up!" I could have cheered myself!
Usually when I look at a list of problems that I am having it has many things on it that I can't control ... Sooooo frustrating! Whether or not I smoke is something that I can control COMPLETELY!!
Not smoking really has become my "calm in the sea of chaos" that life can sometimes be.
It took me quite awhile to get to that point! I know it DEFINITELY wasn't in the first couple of weeks of quitting! You do have a lot on your plate right now BUT you are doing SO well!!!!
Keep it up!
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Jan,
There is something about that 3 month mark that is really special (at least it was for me)! I know that when I do stop to count the time that has gone by since I quit I still get that "I can't BELIEVE I am DOING this!!!"
BUT WE ARE!!!
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Hello again, checking in, still using the inhaler, not to the point where I can use it less yet, I have been busy though, that always helps, but eventually I'm bushed, and then I sit down and look for you know what, then remember and reach for the inhaler instead.
We are spending Christmas at home for a change; 6 years ago we retired and moved south for warmer climate, and every year but one we have been visiting relatives at Christmas, don't get me wrong, it was nice, but it's also nice to be at home. So I have been shopping, wrapping, sewing, baking and candy making and today managed to get it all mailed out. Whew, I can now relax and contemplate Kitchenwitch's slogan: "Even in a low moment, not smoking is really cheering me up." I want to add that to my accomplishments real soon. Thanks for quoting it SeasideMemories.
Jan, I love the daisies in your avatar too, they used to grow "wild" in the grass where we lived before retiring, and I had several areas where mowing was prohibited so I could enjoy the daisies.
Hope everyone posting here is doing well,
dsgirl
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