Stop Smoking Support Thread
Comments
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Thanks Jo! I will look again tomorrow. If you say they're working for you, I'll definitely give them a try.
Keep up the good fight!
Love,
Aza
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Jan, good to 'see' you! Congrats on 11 months!! Jo and Aza, keep up the good work!
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well ladies I have to apologize that I have not taken time to check in lately (haven't stopped in since the 5th...)
welcome to all newbies!!
congratulations to all on anniversaries!!!
my dad is now in rehab but may be released on Monday, he still requires dialysis to try and jump start his kidneys, but he is no longer critical.
i have my appointment set for my exchange on Sept 7th. Because my PS is not participating in my company's new insurance he's trying to help me out by scheduling all 3 phases of the exchange (implants, nips and tatoos) all on the same day. He said this will put me out of commission for 10 days but I won't have 3 separate procedures. however, I do still have to pay him up front and pray blue cross blue shield pays me...
yesterday was my 1 year anniversary from my diagnosis, very weird feeling...
the other weird feeling was my house shaking in NJ from earthquake in VA!!
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Kal - Well wishes to your father for a speedy recovery.
Congrats on your one year anniversary.
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YAY Jan.... Always good to hear from you!! I know how sometimes things just get hectic!!
Congrats on 11 months!! Isn't it weird how you reach a point where you just really don't think much at all about smoking anymore!! Something everyone SAID would happen eventually but, I really didn't believe early on.... in fact I wanted to just smack the people who said it but, turns out, they were telling the truth!!
Sorry to hear that the healing has been going not as fast as you would like but, are you happy so far with the results??
Enjoy your trips!
Miss ya!0 -
kal,
Glad to hear that your Dad is making progress. Sounds like he still has a bit of a rough road ahead but, good to know that things are at least improving. Last I knew they were thinking gallstones or pancreatitis. Did they ever get to the bottom of what was going on?
Will be thinking of you on the 7th! Sorry to hear that your insurance is making things difficult but good thing that your PS is able to work with you to make it happen!!
That 1 year since diagnosis was a strange day for me as well.... I thought I would be super happy but, really wasn't.... I know many celebrate that day but I was thinking it was one of the worst days of my life and I would just prefer to forget it... I choose to celebrate the last day of treatment.... Kind of the anniversary of where I said 'Kiss my Butt cancer!! I am DONE with YOU!' Lol..... but everyone is different!!
Many people felt the quake here too! Mother nature has really been misbehaving this year!! Very strange weather.....0 -
Jo,
Mmmmmm that cake looks REALLY good!!! Hope all is continuing to go well for you!0 -
OK O2B......
Getting a bit worried that we haven't heard from you in awhile.... I know you were going through a bit of a rough patch but, please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers!
Thinking of you!0 -
Seaside - Thanks for asking - I am still smoke free and working hard to get off the few pounds I have put on. Have lost some but have about 5 more to go.
I am happy to report my assistant manager quit smoking today. She said she was tired of not breathing well and smelling bad all the time. She is planning on going to Ohio next year for a family reunion and wants to be smoke free and many pounds lighter.
I had given her my Filtrim program and it has worked for her. I am also helping her out with some sugar free hard candies and some of the spray I have been using for my cravings. So we are helping each other out. I am so proud of her.
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Jo,
SO glad to hear that you are doing well!!
Good news on your assistant manager quitting! I am SO proud of, not only your accomplishment, but also how you are able to, fairly early in your quit, offer such a source of encouragement and guidance to those just starting out!!
Bravo!! You definitely have my admiration!
Keep up the good work!0 -
{{JO}} Way to go and recruiting another! We can ALL do it!
Whew, I am in Tulsa for work and outside is like a blast furnace. Yikes. I thought FL was hot at 92 every day all summber.
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(((Jo))) you are doing great! Already recruiting and encouraging others become non-smokers
Thanks for the shout out Seaside...sorry I haven't been posting much, I just don't have much to say. Life is good, I am enjoying the extra time off but struggling with the loss of income. My DS is turning 17 on Friday, we really haven't been able to do much for birthdays over the last few years & this year is not any different. I guess I am sad because I only have one more birthday before he becomes an adult and then he'll probably want to hang out with friends
This year I am doing a shout out on FB to invite his friends to a local ice cream shop for a treat. I did threaten to call all his teachers and make sure they sign Happy Birthday on Friday but for some reason he said he would disown me...0 -
Michelle,
Glad to hear you are OK... No worries on not posting.... It's just my Mom genes start kicking in when I don't hear from some of the regulars in awhile... lol
I know what you mean about our kids getting older... My son (my youngest) just turned 18 just over a week ago.... If it's any consolation, both he and my daughter who has just moved back home after 4 years of college (God help me), still don't mind hanging out occasionally with Mom and Dad...
I am a firm believer in that, in the long run, our children won't remember the 'things' we gave them but they will remember the love we shared with them!
Good to hear from you!0 -
thanks everyone!
Seaside - the final diagnosis for my Dad was pancreatitis. They were able to remove the gallstone and they still need to remove the gallbladder but he needs a little more recovery time. In the meantime, he is going home Monday with a very strange diet and no more than 4 cups of total liquid consumption a day until thos kidneys get going again.
Jo - you are such an inspiration that your Asst Mgr is attempting to quit too, that is fantastic! I hope your DH is taking notice. It sounds like you are also winning the stop smoking weight gain battle too, good for you!
Did I tell you that I walked a Breast Cancer 5K on Long Island over the weekend? I was 5th from last, but I completed it. I also ran into 2 old friends while I was walking (DH and I grew up out there before moving here to Jersey); 1 was volunteering and the other was a runner. The event was pretty well run but they could have used more water stations. The route was through a neighborhood and some folks had sprinklers turned on and pointed into the street, I couldn't thank those people enough...
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Kal - The stop smoking weight gain issue has been hard. I did not have this much trouble getting it off the first time.
Sounds like you had a good time in the event. Can't seem to find anything like that in deep South Texas.
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Jo - that's a shame you don't have any breast cancer events close to you. i was very emotional crossing the finish line with a couple hundred people looking on. there was about 490 runners/walkers. however, it does seem that the same participants travel from event to event because the announcer was familiar with most of the top award winners. i really do have to laugh that the oldest participant almost finished the entire race in a faster time (23 mins) than my average mile (18 mins) LOL!
well, now I have to go batten down the hatches for the hurricane that's coming up the coast. the governor is requesting a voluntary evacuation right now for the coastal counties and the roads, food stores and hardware stores are starting to get crazy. as far as i'm concerned i have wine, vodka and bloody mary mix-i'm ready for Irene!
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Kal - Stay in and be safe. Anyone else on here that lives on the east coast - you gals do the same.
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Kal,
That pancreatitis is SO painful! I think I mentioned before that my Dad went through that 2 years ago.... It took quite a bit of time on a fairly strict diet before he was back to normal.... He hasn't had a problem since and is doing well! I hope the same is true for your Dad...
Congats on the 5 K!!! Doesn't matter how long it took to finish.... The great part is you FINISHED!
Sending prayers to you and ALL of our Southern and Mid-Atlantic sisters, that Irene changes direction and passes out to sea!!
Stay safe!0 -
Robo47 - I am now 6 weeks smoke free and feel great inspite of the fact that DH is still smoking. I smoked for 40+ years and had all the lame excuses for not quitting. We all have to pick out time and we know when that is. I was determined to not use any of those nicotine replacement products since nicotine was one of the things I wanted to get rid of. I used a combination of 2 natural products and am now down to using a homeopathic spray and lots of sugar free hard candies. Since you are down to a few cigs a day, this spray may be just what you need. If you are interested you can send me a PM and I will give you all the info.
The gals here are sooooo supportive. They have really helped me to stay smoke free.
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Welcome Robo47!!
You are right in saying everyone here GETS why you still are smoking because we all did it!! Every 'lame' reason you have had for smoking, I'm POSITIVE someone here has had the same reasons and maybe even a few you haven't thought of...lol!
You are already doing great being down to that few cigarettes, especially since you are still in active treatment (big-time stress!)....
One thing that helped me tremendously was a book called 'The Easy Way To Stop Smoking' by Allen Carr... I read it when I was just about where you are now! Had cut back to just a few cigarettes a day but, couldn't quite bring myself to take the next step! The book takes every reason why we say that we smoke and, one-by-one, shows you how, all of the reasons we say we smoke are just an illusion caused by the nicotine... Sort of the 'cure' (the cigarettes) is what's causing the problem!
Better yet, in chapter 1 he said I could and should continue to smoke until I finished the book (Yippee)! I must admit, my intention was to read reeeeeeally slow but, by the time I was half way through I was really excited to try!
Now, don't get me wrong. I don't necessarily agree with the title of the book at all. Quitting smoking typically, isn't easy but, the book made me see smoking in a way I had never looked at it before! It prepared me, mentally, to finally take that final step to quitting!
Also, if you are interested, one of the ladies who posts here occasionally is a smoking cessation specialist as her job. She has written an excellent workbook (of which I have a copy) that has TONS of information and tips on all stages of quitting, including sections on how to access readiness, coming up with a plan, what aids are available to help, if you desire... All the way through quitting and remaining smoke-free. She offers this free of charge to anyone from this thread that would like it.
I can dig up her e-mail address from this thread and re-post it if you'd like....
Whew.... Long post...
Hope you will join us... Lots of info to be gained even before you quit!,
Edited to add: Just passed my 1 year, 7 months quit-aversary on Aug 18!! Something I thought I could NEVER do!!0 -
It's me that has the free workbook. Just send me a PM with your email address and I'll send you a PDF copy. No strings, nothing to buy, just want to help. Have a joyous day, VJ
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Thanks VJ!!! Saved me having to go back and find your e-mail address!!
Always glad to hear from you! Hope things are going well for you!0 -
Dear robo47, I used the ecig to quit, it gave me all of the ritual of smoking and comes in different levels of nicotine, so you wean yourself down to smoke free. I was a 30yr.+ smoker and never had even tried to quit before, had convinced myself I couldn't do it, this was my first attempt to quit and am now 7 mos. a non-smoker. All the ladies here are a strong ally in your quiting strategy, you can do it if I did. Karen
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Karen - Which e-cigs did you use? If they were different levels, maybe I can get DH to try those.
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Karen,
Thanks for jogging my memory! I knew someone here had done the e-cig but couldn't remember who! One of my friends i think is VERY close to giving quitting a try! She has mentioned wanting to try the E-Cig....
If she takes the plunge, I'm sure I will have lots of questions!0 -
Hello Ladies:
In the process of weathering IRENE which is moving up the coast. Seaside, I thought of you immediately and I hope you will stay safe.
Jo:
My DH uses the e-cig but not sure which one he uses. I'll find out for you. However, he did admit the other day that he thinks he's 'addicted' to the nicotine (ya think??). He only uses 3 mg in his e-cig which I guess is good (I'm not really sure how they work). I'm just glad he's not getting anymore tar and chemicals. I guess it's like getting addicted to nicotine gum.
I hope ALL of you will stay safe from the hurricane!!!
All the best,
Jan
PS: Seaside: I'm healing much better all of a sudden (go figure). And yes, don't you just hate it when they can now say 'I told you so"
Jan
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Jan - That would be great. I talked to my DH about the e-cig and I told him HE needed to get on the internet and check them out. I tried to tell him at least he would not be taking in all those nasty chemicals and would stop stinking up the house. I had he watch a short video done by a pulmonolgist who said that is a person is going to smoke then the e-cig would be a much better alternative. Either way - real cigs or e-cigs there willl be that nicotine addiction. And if it helps him to finally stop smoking, then so be it.
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Jan,
They keep moving the track from Irene and based on 'the news of the hour' we will either be right in it's path, or, crossing my fingers, it might pass to the east of me and the affects, while we will feel them, may not be as bad!
Saying prayers that you all on the coast, in NC and all up the eastern seaboard, will come out of this unscathed!!
Glad to hear the healing has accelerated!! Sometimes, just when we think nothing is going right with our bodies, things sudddenly turn around and we get a nice surprise!
Stay Safe!!!!
Jo,
I think that may be a good idea to have your DH maybe check things out a little on his own... May make him feel a bit more like it's his choice and not someone 'making him do it'.... I think you may be right in that maybe, for him (and for many), it's more important to get the not smoking thing under control by whatever means necessary even if it means using some of the nicotine replacement tools. Since he seems a bit worried about trying, the little extra help may serve as the safety net he needs to just give it a try!
I was with you in that, if I was going to do this I didn't want to have to give up the cigarettes and then have to deal with getting off of a nicotine replacement product later... BUT that was just ME... For many people those aids are the difference between success and not! I say, use WHATEVER means necessary... ANY method you choose is a step in the right direction! If it isn't the perfect solution, then you try another and then another until you find what works for you!
So happy that you are doing well!!! 6 WEEKS! Can you believe it? I know it was around that time for me where I counted the days and couldn't believe my eyes!0 -
SeaSide,
I totally agree with you. DH has to make his own decision to quit and apparently he is not there yet. I told him he needs to search the internet for something. We already know that the patches and gum just do not work. I really think the e-cigs would work for him. He needs that hand to mouth fix. And I also told him about the videos I found from medical professionals that basically said if you are going to smoke the e-cigs would be a better alternative - they don't have all those chemicals but there is still the nicotine. I don't say much to DH. Don't want to sound like a nag. I still let him know that my car is a smoke free zone.
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Hi Jo, the e cig is not inexpensive, don't know what DH is paying for cigarettes. The initial kit comes with cartridges but it is the cost of subsequent cartridges that is high - $74 for 4 boxes of same. I was already down to 6 - 8 cigarettes when I quit and was strongly motivated to quit, so I got by with only 1 reorder. It comes in different strengths of nicotine, 8 mgs. and 4 mgs. I found it on-line at www.directecig.com. Alot depends on how many cigarettes he smokes per day, I was using one cartridge for almost 3 days, but if he is still at a pack a day, he will using one cartridge per day. There are a number of electronic cigarettes available on-line, I cannot comment on their effectiveness, I do have a friend who used another but she was unsuccessful, her level of commitment to quiting wasn't as strong as mine either. Hope this helps. Karen
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