Stop Smoking Support Thread
Comments
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Suersis - we must have been posting at the same time. Welcome & congrats that you've quit. Thanks for sharing your method & issues.
Judi - Nope - in the US the DEXA scan is only paid for every two years unless some doc says it's "medically necessary" and then we can fight with the insurance or Medicare to get it covered.
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SVG - way to go. CONGRATS ON 3 WEEKS!!! I like your list. Thanks for sharing. Sorry I don't know the answers to your circulation or NRT questions.
Problems on the site since the maintenance. Can't send private messages & can't use the preview selection again. Urgh. I did notify the Mods.
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Hi Ladies ,
I had no internet service at Moms .. I got back to NY yesterday .. Long story ...my moms boyfriend is 10 times worse than any man I know .. anyway he said I was no longer able to stay that I had to leave .. so Mom got me plane ticket back ..I cried so hard . I cursed him out .. like who the Hell is he to tell me how long I can visit my mom for ... I knew how he was before I left but , I hoped that things would be different .. same as my living situation I keep coming back expecting different results = Insanity ... I like to think I am strong but really I am not .. so I am back at the bf house in hopes that everything will change .. he has been seeing a doctor for his anger and they are giving him meds so hopefully with help from prayers and God maybe he can change his ways .. I know I am rambling but shit is crazy ... While in Vegas the meeting mom said was there is no longer there. I called the AA hotline and every place they sent me to was too far or closed down.. so I tried to rely on my phone for help ... My moms BF is a drunk he drinks from the moment he wakes until he sleeps .. crazy huh .. and the smoking was so bad I could have died .. my mom smokes like a chimney lights one after the other ,, in the house too .. so I have no clue how I did not smoke or drink .. but I did not .. I know I am rambling on and on .. anyway sorry im back '
I tried reading all the back post .. Bosom , im glad that your test looked ok ... still love ya girl keep habging in there ..
Hello to all the new ladies and I am sorry I cant remember names ... I do want to say I used the chantix and it worked for me .. I think like minus said all the differrent ways to quit depend on how each person reacts to any one thing and to find what works best for you .. I did do chantix and held onto that morning smoke for a bit until I couldnt understand what the reason was so I stopped ,, ive been quit over a year now and am aso grateful
.. oh my quick txting makes me mess up ...
love you all ..
Lisamarie xoxoxoxoxxo
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Oh LisaMarie, you are one strong, brave, woman. Life can be so bizarre sometimes, we don't know up from down sometimes. Keep hanging in there. It will all turn around for you!
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LisaMarie - sending more hugs my friend. What do you mean you're not strong? I don't know one in a hundred people who would not have succumbed to either smoking or drinking or both in that atmosphere in Las Vegas. You need to not only pat yourself on the back but you deserve a HUGE medal. Sorry the roll of bad luck seems to have continued, but girl - you're still standing & you're NOT smoking or drinking. I sure do hope the anger management treatment & meds will make a lasting difference in your BF. Fingers crossed.
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Hi Ladies between yesterday and today I have filled out a million job applications .. for anything and everything ... please pray for me I need the work .. xoxoxoxo love ya all
Lisa Marie
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LisaMarie - got your back!! Hope something breaks soon on the job front.
SVG - did you have any luck finding circulation answers? I'm guessing that yes, nicotine is a major problem and that's why so many docs won't do surgery for smokers. I know for sure that all the little capillaries don't work as well, so the skin will not heal. Here's a link to the NIH that discusses reduced blood flow. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3566346 How are you doing w/o the patch?
CBWitt - another week?
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LisaMarie, you will be o.k. Out of a million applications one has to be the "one". Sometimes it is good to sit back and think about what you really what to do. It may be the farthest thing that we are trained for, but maybe it is time to regroup and go for something out of the ordinary!
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Judi , You know I was thinking I had been in healthcare all my life , but since my son passed away , I had this calling so to speak to do work in substance abuse area.. maybe helping young kids you know so other parents don't have to go through what I did ..
Minus thanks so much .. so far I have gotten 3 interviews both seasonal, both UPS .. one is a driver helper the other package handler .. I guess at this point any work is work and pay ..
Love you Ladies for always listening ..
xoxoxoxoxo
Lisamarie
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Bosum - so glad to hear the pain is diminished. Great news. I saw on another thread you got a hair cut. So if the curls didn't work, how about a pixie? I guess maybe I've decided to settle for short hair. I thought sort of like Annie Lenox, but haven't had to nerve to make a commitment to THAT short. My ears and my neck are always cold, and winter hasn't even started yet. Every night as I turn out the light I reach to unfasten my barrette since my hair isn't down around my shoulders. Oops, not there.
Woke up the other morning in the middle of exhaling. In my dream I had just inhaled a huge "toke" off a cigarette (the regular kind) (probably a Benson & Hedges). I woke up blowing out the smoke but there was no taste. Weird.
Just for today I will not smoke.
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Ladies...I fell off the wagon
I smoked for several days. I'm starting back quitting in the morning. I don't know why I sabotage myself. I was over a month quit. I feel like a big fat loser. Please pray for m
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MinusTwo, I've now read articles about how nicotine causes most of the issues, and others that say the nicotine dispensed via NRTs don't pose as much a circulatory threat. No matter what, it can't be good - so I have stayed off the patch and it hasn't seemed to make my quit more difficult than it already is. So yay! I'll hang onto all these patches for my DH to use.
I remember hearing that smokers have a worse time with colds and it takes longer for smokers to get over them. Despite undergoing chemo, I managed to whip my way through a cold in 3 days and I can't help but want to give credit to not smoking.
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cbwitt1970, please take all that self-directed negativity and redirect ALL of it toward those rotten cigs. Don't be ashamed and don't give up. Something will need to be different this time though.....do you know what triggered you?
We all support you & we don't judge.
Hang in there.
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CBWitt - SVG is exactly right. No Guilt, No Mea Culpa. You are NOT a loser. You are fighting the most powerful thing most of us ever encounter. I bet if we took a poll about how many tries it took for all of us who are not currently smoking to get there, most of us tried 5 or 10 or 15 times before it stuck. I actually quit for more than a year one time. I KNOW without a doubt that if I have even ONE cigarette, I'm toast. And if I remember, your DH smokes so you have to overcome that influence too. It ain't easy girl, but we're here for you - smoking or not. When you're ready to try again, get your ducks in a row & go. We're always sending hugs.
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CBWITT .. never ever put yourself down.. I am the biggest offender of that .. and each time I slipped and smoked again .. I too said oh I am a failure I can't do this .. but remember when the time is right you will succeed ... I live with a smoker .. and it is very hard to do in the beginning but now I just shrug it off .. why do that harm to myself ... I can remember my early quit days so if you need anyone to talk to im here .. its been a year now for me and never thought i'd get here .. but one day at a time ...xoxoxo Hang in there ... Love yourself ...
xoxoxox
interview number 1 this am ...feeling nervous ...
xoxoxo
Lisamarie
at least I wont be going in there smelling all stinky lol ...
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From my book, "How to Win at Quitting Smoking" (free PDF copy available to anyone on this list, just send me a PM with your email address)
If you quit but have relapsed. Congratulate yourself for completing a "practice run". Don't view this "practice run" as a failure but a learning experience. By reframing this attempt as a "practice run", you will discover where the weakness is in your Plan. Besides you did have a success − look at how many cigarettes you didn't smoke and how much money you saved. (20 cigarettes per day is 140 cigarettes per week or 1400 puffs avoided!)
Look at everything you tried that did work. Look at all the tools you did develop which did help. Don't reinvent the wheel but refine it. Decide if you need to add more tools to your quitting toolbox or if you need to replace what didn't work. Finding out a particular method doesn't work for you helps to lead you to what will. Evaluate the different areas to see where your strengths lie and where you need to improve on your Action Plan: social, physical, emotional, environment and/or thought patterns.
Look at the circumstances that led to that first cigarette. What happened? Where did you get the cigarette? What rationalization did you use to give yourself permission to smoke? Did you follow your ICE plan? If not, why not? Are you willing to write your "pre-commitment" check or did you not make that pre-commitment? (See page 73).
Decide whether you are ready to set a new Quit Date now or if you will try again later.
Start this book all over again. What didn't you do that could have helped? What advice did you ignore? Appendix H (see page 162) is a list of Activities in this book. Which ones did you not do? Resolve to do them for your next effort.
Talk to a Tobacco Treatment Specialist to revise your Action Plan. As specialists in behavior modification, a professional can help you to uncover what is missing in your quitting puzzle. Call 1-800- QUIT-NOW for your local state quit line.
Finally, reassess your desire to quit. Be honest with yourself. Do you really want to "Become Smoke-Free" or were you doing it for someone else or because of outside pressures? There is no right or wrong answer; the purpose is to find out where you need help. Often it is only by looking back and examining the situation that you see what you couldn't before. Hindsight is always 20/20 vision.
Learn what does not work:
- Relying on willpower alone. Nicotine has hijacked the survival instinct part of your brain which is stronger than the thinking part of the brain (willpower).
- Mentally beating yourself up or scolding yourself. Let go of both shame and/or guilt. It's not your fault. Becoming Smoke-Free is HARD work.
- Thinking there is something wrong with you. It's not uncommon for a smoker to quit many times before being successful. The blame belongs to how cigarettes have been manipulated to be as addictive as possible.
- Not trying one more time.
"Never, never, never give up."
Winston Churchill
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CBWitt, this is a JUDGMENT free zone! We've all been there. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start over. All you can do really. No use in blaming anything other than the lousy cigs!
LisaMarie, hope it went well today! xoxo
If anyone is down, take a look at this photo of my granddaughter's first Birthday that was at my house on Saturday. There is no way to look at this and not smile!
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April, I love the pic of your granddaughter! You are so right, one look you smile but your heart also melts. She is beautiful!
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CBWitt and LisaMarie, I posted the above for both of you! You go girls!
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Hello again ladies , My interview went well ... now just wait for the background check and a phone call .. ho hum..
Bosom , I know what you mean people get judged for everything .. not just smoking ,, I have a body that is totally full of ink and boy do I get judged .. when the BF took me to get interview clothes I was kind of glad I am interviewing in the cool whether so I could cover them all up ... of course you are labeled trouble when you have tattoos ... and I have 29 of them .. I can remember having my mastectomy and some intern doctor came in to my room the next day and said hello, i am so and so and i was there when your left breast was removed and we had so much fun laughing and reading your tattoo's .. so i did the nest best thing and turned him in ... ah just a story ..
and I think each and every one of you are wonderful amazing women and I know that you will all be ex smokers in your time .. so like April says pick yourself up dust yourself off and keep on trying ,,, Hey Rome was not built in a day .. xooxx
April ssoooo Beautiful .. I love that age so fun .. give her a big birthday kiss from me ... Hope you had a blast .. one thing I cherish every moment of is my Grandchildren ..xoxoxox
Judi , ty for the picture .
xoxoxoxoxoxo
"just for today I will not smoke "
Lisamarie
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LisaMarie, yay "new clothes". Every woman loves new clothes. Good luck on hearing back from the interview!
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April - I can just imagine the next picture when the cake hits the mouth!!!
VJ - thanks for the good post.
Bosum - I wore braids until 9th grade - my Mother's choice - & then never shorter than shoulder length, so a pixie is a novelty for me. It's not my normal hair, but I'm not 30 anymore either. People keep telling me I look 10 years younger w/short hair. I'm not sure if they're just being nice, but I guess I'll keep it short until I see how cold my ears & neck get in the winter. But how can you toss your head w/o long hair? Let us know if you do the spiral perm.
LisaMarie - hooray for the first interview down. Fingers crossed!!
It was a treat for me to discover a full work day that I didn't have to find time for a smoke break or worry over how I smelled when I came back in.
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Someone was nice enough to send me this fight club survivor package. So sweet. I wish I knew who sent it?0 -
What a mystery CBWitt! I love your front doors..and your porch that is peeking through the window with the rocking chair on it...and your beautiful floors too. Looks like a fine Southern gem of a home from the photo....
For you MT!
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Thank you April485. We just built our home last year. There's a view from the outside0 -
CBWITT , beautiful home .. I love it .. I always wanted to build a log home .. and you are Beautiful as well.also enjoy the fight club package
April ... I love it love it love it
Judi , Thanks ..
Xoxoxoxo
Oh yeah I have a pixie MT .. Everyone also says I look so much better with short hair .. besides it only grows to my shoulder and then stops and its so fine and straight like baby hair , I got a perm last year and it I was just a frizz ball then .. lol Hair .Of course this last photo is of my mom and I .. when I was just there ... It' growing out .
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
Have a great day Lisa Marie
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What a beautiful smile you both have on your faces LisaMarie! You are so pretty lady. Hoping things are going well with the BF and if not, just walk again. You don't need him as you found out recently. Loving someone who mistreats us is not always such a good thing but people can and do change and I am hoping that your time apart made him realize what he has in you. The baby is wearing a rainbow tutu her Mom found online cause the party was a "rainbow theme" since she always makes her Mom read her the book with the rainbows in it and she loves colors. She is wearing pretty much all of the colors from that frosting...LOL
CB, WOW, what a gorgeous home! Dreamy...like being on vacation forever. Lovely.
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suersis - welcome. Did you tell your smoking story earlier & I missed it? Glad to have you join us.
April - thanks for the cake face picture. She will hate you if you share it with her friend when she's 16.
LisaMarie - any more interviews?
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Ladies, for those who posted pics of yourself and/or family and your home .... all beautiful. CB love your home and I agree with April, your front porch is to die for. Suersis, great name but my legal name is "Judith". My family is Irish and decided not to give me the Irish form of Judith. Thank god because my middle name really sucks ..... Myrtle. Named after my grandmother whose name is Rebecca Myrtle. I always asked my mom what was wrong with "Rebecca"! Like really!
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