Stop Smoking Support Thread
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Please tell Karen I luv her and am praying for her .. I hope all the best for her
Jo woo hooo pocket party fun ... cannot wait .. we got these awsome cookies here called tates choc chip im bringing them .. Hugs
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Beckers,
Going back just a pinch further, I see your surgery date is Aug 9th... I will be out of town with no access to a computer but will mark it on my calendar and be thinking of you on that day......
Babsbrink....
Not sure how i missed your post the first time I checked this thread! Just soooo proud of you as you should be of yourself!!
At times bring smoke-free will be easy and other times it can be really hard BUT, it get's easier as you go, until, if you think about it at all... it's just a fleeting thought.... That's where I am... I'll get a pang of craving every so often but it comes and goes quickly... Can no longer imagine myself acting on that impulse...It does get easier... I promise!
One more interesting thing that I learned early in my quit... Early, as much as you think you are constantly thinking about smoking (and geez are you ever in the beginning) eventually while you may still feel like you are thinking about it all the time, in reality, the amount of time spent thinking about smoking combined with the time spent actually smoking is greatly reduced.... A point that was driven home to me when I made myself go outside to smoke and would do nothing else at the same time.... What a large amount of time I dedicated to smoking!! And what a bundle of free time I had on my hands when I quit.... Made sure to 'bank' some of the extra time to do something nice for me!0 -
Thank you for the update on Karen!!!
Karen sending you prayers and gentle healing hugs!
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Healing thoughts for Karen. We're holding your hand. Seaside - thanks for the update.
Babs - so good to see you back. I agree with Seaside. There are still flashback times I think I want a smoke 5 years out, but probably not even once every month or two anymore. It really does get better.
Jo - hope everything goes well Monday. We'll be waiting for your report.
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Seaside, thank you for letting us know about Karen. Did she have surgery recently? Infection is so scary! Tell her I am thinking of her and we can't jump in pockets if we don't know ahead of time :-) my surgery is the 9th. 2 1/2 weeks....yikes!
Jo, I will bring the chocolate raisins and licorice on Monday! Ha!
Good luck to the girls who are still trying to give them up. Don't be too hard on yourself. A day will come and you will just do it.
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hello mlucas, I have the same issues..........diagnosed in January, in chemo treatment now and still smoking , but not more than 3 daily.sometimes nothing, sometimes just one. I'll stop ...hope very soon. I want this very much , but.........
have a nice day
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Ashley and mlucas, I think the fact that you came to this thread shows you are getting your mind ready. That is the starting place. Just be getting things ready to quit, e.g., patches, ecigs, etc. Read up on the evils of smoking as you get in the right frame of mind. The first days are hard. Get ready for that and tough it out because it gets easier. I'm 6 weeks out today....probably just a baby at this quitting smoking thing...but....I can tell you how I did it. One day at a time. You can do this. Sending you positive thoughts and hugs!
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I had a craving yesterday but did not act on it. I just get the occasionaly craving, but I can still imagine myself acting on it, so I get worried every time it happens. Quitting smoking is damned hard to do, and you really have to want it. Sometimes I want the cigarette more than I want to be quit, but then I remind myself this is a passing thought and if I give in to it, it will just make it harder to fight the next thought. So far, so good. I have stayed quit. No slips since the last one I posted. I don't know how long ago that was. It amazes me that it continues to have such a hold over me, when I didn't even enjoy it when I did smoke. I figure I probably need to take some deep breaths when I get cravings. For many smokers, the only time they take a deep breath is when they are smoking.
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Dunes, good for you that you made it through that one!!! How long do you have quit?
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I don't know Beckers. LOL. I started my quit on February 11th, but I had a few, approximately three, slips. It has been at least a couple or few weeks since any slips.
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Good for you to be hanging in there. I thought I remember someone saying you and I are about the same time out. Are you on anti hormonals? I have to go on those after surgery. I think risk of stroke if I smoke with that one so another reinforcer.
Then last night I read sugar feeds the cancer? Drinking alcohol....not good. Maybe I can sit in meadow with cows and chew on alfalfa!!! Whats left to do? So many lifestyle changes. Heavy sigh...0 -
Becoming smoke-free is a process, not a one time event. You didn't learn how to smoke over night and now it's a re-learning process of learning how to live tobacco-free. Most start as a teen, so count up the years you've smoked and the number of cigarettes per day (I smoked 21 years (x 365 days), x a pack a day (20) = 153,300 cigarettes I have smoked in my lifetime.
Now realize that each cigarette is about 10 puffs (x 153,300 cig. smoked) = 1,533,000 puffs I have had in my life time. Can you think of something else you have done this many times? Each puff is like an injection of nicotine into your brain, conditioning your brain to think you can't live without smoking.
I've quit for at least 3 months, one time for a year, at least 9 times before I was successful and this is "normal"--it takes an average smoker 6 to 9 practice runs before many are able to finally wean off of nicotine.
Shame and guilt are two common emotions with those trying to quit smoking--shame because they think there is something wrong with them that they "can't quit" or guilt because either they really don't want to quit but they "should", or guilt because they haven't figured out what works for them.
With either shame or guilt--we beat ourselves up until we realize that it's not our fault--nicotine has hijacked your survival instinct and it takes a while before you will feel normal without nicotine in your brain. Before we actually quit, often we beat ourselves up because we keep saying we want to quit and then don't--often that is because you are getting ahead of yourself in the process--trying to go from A to Z in one step.
But there is a lot of preparation we could be doing BEFORE you have a quit day, so that you are working towards your goal without the intense pressure to actually quit-now, instead--you will gain confidence and motivation by moving through the process instead of trying to leap ahead of where you actually are, which is just anxiety producing.
My tip book takes you through the whole process A to Z, it's easy to ready and I'll send anyone, who on this site, a free PDF copy, I just need a regular email address. No strings, I just want to help. Have a joy-filled day, VJ
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Very well said, VJ!!
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While I not posting much these days, I want you all to know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. Wishing all of you well and Seaside, please send healing thoughts to Karen.
Good luck on those in the throes of quitting!
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Thank you VJ!
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Hi ladies havnt been on for a while.........still smoking unfortunately cant seem to get down passed 5 a day until last thurs, i have only had 3 sin ce then in total........now i see my plastic surgeon on thursday and am scared he wont give me tram flap surgery, you would think that would be my motivation after so many problems. how long do you have to be smoke free, does anyone know??....................hope everyone is doing well....thanks Laies, B:)
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Hi bevdurrant. You seem to be moving along, so don't despair. You have tried really hard and seem to be succeeding. I would let him ask the question before you bring it up. Some doctor's do surgery with smokers and other's don't. I guess it depends on the doc. Hang in there, you will succeed.
Jo & Karen, hope all is well!
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bevdurrant, I read that they want us completely nicotine free for a month before surgery. I was using nicotine lozenges when I read that and was only 2 weeks away from surgery. I stopped the lozenges and stayed nicotine free for the couple of weeks before surgery and at least a month after surgery. I did not have any problems. I did not tell my PS either.
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thanks ladies, dunesleeper what surgery did you have? thanks for your support B:) JudiH is it not dangerous not to tell the PS??? i dont want to end up with infection again? thanks B:)
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I had a mastectomy with reconstruction. The nicotine was apparently an issue with the alloderm that is used in the procedure. Apparently, the alloderm can die off as a result of nicotine. I don't remember too much more than that.
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Hi girls. My 2 year old granddaughter has been hogging the iPAD so I haven't been on in a couple days. How's Karen?
6 weeks!!! Woohooooo! Had a rough time tonight though and that stress is such a trigger for me that without thinking I put my flip flops on to go outside. Stopped myself. Wouldn't have anything to smoke when I got out there with my big ol' bad self! This sucks sometimes.
Hope everyone's hanging in there. And wishing the best for those trying to muster up the courage to give them up.0 -
Bevdurant, I'm having DIEP flap reconstruction on august 9th. I'm 6 weeks out from quitting. My PS said he would not even do surgery on a smoker. I will be a good 2 months smoke free and I got the impression he wanted me further out still. My BS said some PS actually test for nicotine before surgery so best to be honest.
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Nicotine constricts blood vessels which is why they want you to be smoke-free, especially for a DIEP flap (which is what I had).
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Hi all, just a short note as I am on MY DD's laptop and as you can see am not real good on it and I end up frustrated as all he*^. I am in the hospital with a breast infection thhat they are having some trouble turning around as I am allergic to penicillin's. Think they have found the right combo, so maybe a day or two more in here. Am feeling good enough now to read our thread so I will be reading but probably not posting till I am on my familiar dinosaur at home. I do know it's a good thing I quit, as I did not plan on this extended stay in hospital and would have been crawling the walls instead here with you all and all your fantastic support I am I think at 17 or 18 mos. quit. hugs to all, Karen
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Prayers for you Karen and kick some butt on that infection!
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((((Karen)))) Healing hugs and prayers heading you way!!!
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Praying for you Karen!!! Just takes time darn it. Glad they found the right drugs. You gotta get better cause you are coming with me on the 9th....remember? Take care!
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Karen - Sending prayers and healing hugs.
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My BS just left, he feels it is an infection that women with large breats who get radiation get, and due to the density of the tissue it takes a long time to heal, and I may be on antibiotics for weeks in pill form before it is fully gone. It definitely is not IBC because it is responding to the medication and my WBC count was high showing infection and is now in the normal range. So I feel better since IBC and MERSA were both mentioned in Batavia, so glad I followed my gut instincts and came up to Rochester General, since all the specialties were here and my BS,who I trust implicitely and MO are here. thanks for all the hugs and prayerrs,have to close,typing is causing my iv line to ring, hugs and i'll be there beckers!!
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Karen, so glad to hear that you are coming around. Glad to hear that it was not IBC or MERSA! You must have had a big sigh of relief. Gentle hugs are being sent to you from Canada!
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