Stop Smoking Support Thread
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LOL....Judi, honestly it was NO biggie! xo
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O.K. April485 ..... I feel better now. MinusTwo, I don't have an excuse of "chemo brain" but it's just old age.
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Judi - of course you can use the excuse of chemo brain. You can say you "caught" it from me if you need a proximate cause. That ought be good for a laugh - catching a non-contagious condition over the internet - just like all those nasty viruses & worms that infect our machines.
LisaMarie - how was your meeting? Hope you got some quality time with the kiddos this weekend.
Bosum - just wanted to say HI and we're thinking about you.
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LOL...although I did not have chemo, I am pretty sure you get a lifetime pass for using it as an excuse...at least you do in my world! xoxo
Bosum, Happy TG!
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Oh MinusTwo and April .... you girls can sure make a girl laugh. This is what I love about this thread. Wish all the others who disappeared, showed up again. Come on girls, we all love you!
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Hi Ladies , I am so sorry .. I typed to you all yesterday and never hit submit ,,,lol anyway just working .. and not smoking yeah for me ... Other than that things are ok .. I did make my meeting and that always makes me feel better .. hope everyone is having a great weel xoxoxoxo
lisamarie
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LisaMarie - so glad to see your post. For some reason I was worrying about you this morning. Sounds like all is OK & you're just busy.
I'm off to have a CAT scan, with of course no results for a couple of days. Trying to ignore the worry by eating copious amounts of See's Candy - peanut brittle last night & English toffee later tonight. Happy days ladies.
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Minus, here is a boatload of good wishes for a clean scan!
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For any lurkers (or anyone else), I am still offering a free PDF copy of my book, "How to Win at Quitting Smoking" to anyone who asks. It has been completed revised, professionally edited and formatted, and will soon be in print as well. Send me a PM with your email address.
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My angel Aubrey Emma sends morning smiles to you all. My son was cooing at her and she actually laughed out loud at 6 weeks old! She is so adorable. (Proud Grandma!...lol)
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April ... just beautiful .. that big SMILE made my morning ... off to work ... hope everyone is doing well Minus, Judi, Beckers, VJ, seaside , and yes yes my wonderful friend Bosom ... sending everyone warm happy thoughts ..
Just for today I will not smoke ....xoxoxoxo
Lisamarie
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Hi had to jump back in .. just got a couple photos .. and I thought id share ... one is my granddaughter Brianna 4 years old and the other is my granddaughter Isabella 1 year old .. enjoy all
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Guess it only allows one at a time lol
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Oh, sooooo cute! Both of them are just adorable. I can' wait until Aubrey is old enough to enjoy Santa and all of the holidays. Will nbe soooo fun!
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Thanks for sharing the grandbabies ladies. Always a treat.
Has anyone tried "drunken raisins" for arthritis? I think I'll mix up some & try for neuropathy pain. What do i have to lose?
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April and Lisa, I love the pics .... absolutely adorable. LisaMarie .... at the right age for Santa and April, your turn will come soon enough. Enjoy your time with these precious children .... love it. MinusTwo, I've never heard of "drunken raisins" - to you have to put them in "drink" and then eat/drink them .... if so, love the idea!
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Judi - The "recipe" has been around for a long time now. Some people swear that arthritis pain in their hands & joints goes away after doing this for several weeks. It's possible because juniper berries are an anti-inflamatory and I forget the other stuff. Just put a box of golden (white) raisins (not the regular dark raisins) in a shallow dish & cover w/gin (must be a gin made w/juniper berries & not just the flavor of juniper). Cover w/cloth to keep out dust. When the gin is absorbed & evaporated, eat 9 per day. I have golden raisins on my grocery list. Always have gin on hand. There's a commercial company producing them now and they add honey & cinnamon.
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Hi everyone .... early morning as I'm getting my hair cut today and party tonight. MinusTwo, how's the arthritis .... is the drunken raisins working? I sure hope so .... I know what pain can be like, and that's one I don't want to experience again. LisaMarie ..... are you stilling hanging in tough? April .... hope all is well with you! Beckers .... are you finding some peace yet? Enjoy the day ladies!
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Judi - fortunately I don't have arthritis, but am planning on testing the raisins on CIPN - chemo induced peripheral neuropathy. So far I've only researched the gin to determine which brand has real juniper berries in the mix - and all 3 kinds in my house do have berries. Next I have to buy the raisins. I'll keep you updated, but since i have a colonoscopy this week I won't be shopping or eating much - LOL.
Hope everyone has a good weekend. I'm planning on getting the Christmas presents wrapped & packaged for mailing. Unfortunately no one lives anywhere close, so everything has to be shipped. You'd think since there are no little kiddos that I'd give it up and send gift certificates, but I haven't quite made that transition. Although last year at least one of the packages cost more to ship than the gifts inside. So...if I can stay from under my quilt & quit reading my book, I'll start wrapping.
Thinking of you all and the others who have walked this path before us. WebWriter started this thread 6 years ago come January.
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Hi Ladies , a day off here .. i am still so sore .. my lower back pain is the worst .. last night I took ibuprofen and used a heating pad and that eased it up a bit. As for Christmas shopping anf gifts this is going to be a tough year . I got 1 gift for each grandchild so far .I am still not smoking ... that is always a delight ... still hanging in there .. I had court because the last job denied my unemployment so I took her to court and she did not come .. she had called and asked for a new date and they told her no.. so the judge says I will be reciving a letter in mail on her secision if I won or not .. and could be up to 2 weeks... My thyroid ultrasound was cancelled and they gave me a new date for Dec 9 so I will keep everyone updated . I think im gonna buy a tree today ... maybe that will bring happiness ...
April , aubry will be enjoying Santa before you know it .. times flies .. enjoy the cuddles now
Minus ... never heard of drunken raisins either but good luck with everything .. big hugs
Judi, I hope you had a nice time getting your hair done and the party
Bosom .... I am missing you my friend . I sure hope all is well .. xoxo
XoXOXOXOXO
Lisamarie
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Lisamarie-- have you ever used Salonpas? I'm addicted to these pads. I pulled a muscle in my neck almost a year ago - I've tried the chiropractor, physical therapy, muscle relaxers but the thing that has helped the most is the Salonpas pads. I go to bed with several on my neck and shoulder and it eases everything up. Congratulations on staying smoke-free- what a wonderful present that is to yourself. And the best present you can give your grandbabies is your love.
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VJ - I looked up Salonpas. Sounds great. I'm going to get some for my neck if the Lymphadema therapist says OK. Heat is not good for lymphadema - no hot tubs & she even talks about taking only brief showers. Where's the fun in that? I never even got to have a 'hot stone' massage.
I'd be happy to trade today & tomorrow with anyone. Fasting today - clear liquids - for a colonoscopy tomorrow. In another hour I'll have to drink the first batch that horrid clean-out stuff. Second batch is 3 hours before appointment so I'll have to get up at 4am and choke down another litter. Yuck. What - no takers for my trade offer? No surprise.
I did get the packages mailed to all of the out of town locations but one. The shipping charges were more than the gifts in several cases. Wish I could bring myself to switch to gift cards or money but I think even "old" kids need something fun under the tree to open. Ooooo, I still get to figure out what I'm buying for myself from Santa. Hmmm. It will NOT have anything to do with medical stuff and it won't be a oil change & tire rotation for the car either!!!
Hi everyone. And to top it off - JUST FOR TODAY I WILL NOT SMOKE.
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Bosum - NEVER be embarrassed. Quiting is a LONG process. We've all been there. Everyone will be so glad to hear from you!!! We miss hearing about your doings.
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Let go of any embarrassment, guilt or shame about smoking. Shame, the feeling that there is something wrong with me, and guilt, the feeling I'm doing something "wrong" are feelings that keep smokers locked into smoking. These are emotional consequences of our behaviors but if you just look at the "behavior" (ie smoking), it is no different than other behaviors such as chewing gum. The difference is the physical outcome of the behavior - that it is physically harmful--it is the physical outcome we want to avoid.
So the feelings of embarrassment, guilt or shame come from knowing about an outcome we want to avoid but continuing the behavior---this is called ambivalence --- and ambivalence is the first step towards changing any behavior. It means that our behavior is causing us a problem. (if there is no problem with our behavior, we don't change. I would never have quit smoking if it were a harmless behavior). Ambivalence is the love/hate relationship we have with our cigarettes.
Think of a bad marriage/relationship --it didn't start out bad but loving and enjoyable (even if our friends warned us it was the wrong guy for us). Over time we start to see the problems but we stay anyway for many reasons, change is hard, the good things out weight the bad. Even when we make the decision to leave the marriage, we can backslide and give him another chance thinking it will be different. We can stay for a very long time even if there are problems before we actually leave for good. Even then there is a transition period where we question - did I make the right decision to leave, after all it wasn't ALL bad. During the transition period from marriage to being single again, (from being a smoker to being a non-smoker), there are many changes a person goes through. Think of how long it takes a married person to actually leave a bad relationship, get divorced (the process of divorce is like going through withdrawals), and finally leaving that old baggage behind to being a single person ready to date again.
The next step after ambivalence is deciding that becoming smoke-free (being single) is better than continuing to smoke (staying married). But even after that decision is made, Now the complexities of leaving, then going through a divorce and all that entails starts. Oye vey!!!!
As long as there is ambivalence you are on the road to change and let go of any preconceived ideas of how long it should take or what it should look like - stop "shoulding" on yourself. The trick is concentrate on the benefits of being smoke-free until they are so much more important than continuing to smoke that it compels you to act. Until then it is an uphill battle. Everyone here will tell you that until you WANT to quit, you won't. But it's not the quitting you want but the benefits of being smoke-free--they are different things.
Not sure if I explained my idea right but hopefully you get the idea. Just my 2cents for today, VJ
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VJ - well put & great examples. Thanks for posting those thoughts.
I never did 'want' to quit though. I finally quit because my bone density was getting worse & worse from smoking & cokes and I didn't want to end up in a nursing home w/broken bones (one of my worst nightmares since I live alone). So quitting for me was a trade-off. Which is worse?? Which is can I live with long term?? Even so it took a couple of years until the next DEXA scan was even worse for me to finally get off the dime.
All this was 4 years before cancer. Oddly I always said I'd be the first one to buy another pack if I was ever diagnosed with a life threatening disease. Somehow I didn't go back. Guess I'm waiting for the 3rd cancer recurrence before I break down. Oh no - I remember - we get to have one cigarette when I'm 80. Or anyway that's my long term rationalization.
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Bosum, no need to fret about all of this .... you smoke, you smoke. We are here to cheer you on, no matter what the day brings us. Keep positive thoughts and we miss you terribly. We struggle when you struggle. So don't go away from us. Today is a huge storm .... snow day! I hate this weather and I didn't go to work today. On the other side of the coin, my Christmas decorations are up, house almost 100% clean (bathrooms still to do) and now it's nappy time. I just had a tequila shot and I'm sleepy!
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Judi - I'd like the tequila shot (or two) & I'd like my house clean. Not happening. But I am getting my first hair trim tomorrow. And all long distance presents are mailed - 98% of all gifts. Only a few left to wrap for local people. And I did get the oil in my car changed today & the tires rotated. Slowly but surely.
I saw the snow in upstate NY. 20" for one BCO member. Wow. Guess you are just as bad or worse Judi.
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I smoked for 20 years and I quit via e cig . You can control nicotine intake down to zero. I never thought I could do it. And it replaces the hand to mouth routine. Trust me I am only posting cause it works. Good Luck.
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Bosom, I am glad to see you .. as you can see we care .. and yes quitting is a Long process ,, and in your own time you will do it ... I know you will...
I was trying to catch up.. Minus I hope all your tests went well.. I have not gotten any packages yet for my out of town family ...
but hopefully soon ... may be late .. but I did manage the Omaha steaks to my mom .. VJ yes the Solon patch .. One of the ladies that I clean for said they work great . I will def need to try ..
Judi hope you arent snowed in ... we had a little bit and its gone already but 24 degrees today BRRR
well off to the shower than to work
xoxoxoxoxo
Hope everyone has a great day
"Just for Today I will Not Smoke "
xoxoxoxo
I think im going on 3 months smoke free .. maybe lol
Lisamarie
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DSW - someone else quit w/the help of eCig. I think April?
LisaMarie - Tests results were good - no polyps for the first time ever. Guess the awful chemo was good for something unplanned & unexpected.
Thinking of everyone on the West coast with the storms there. Hope you're OK Bosum, and Beckers - your daughter.
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