Topic: Stop Smoking Support Thread

Feb 5, 2018 11:36PM MinusTwo wrote:

mkn86 - Welcome. Glad you have been following along. I haunted many 'quit' sites w/o ever posting but felt at home here. Congrats - one month down!!!

Good that your chemo is done. Hopefully surgery will be easy. Yes cancer adds to our daily stress and it would be so easy to start again. I quit 3-1/2 years before I was diagnosed with BC. For many years I could tell everyone how many hours & minutes I'd gone w/o a smoke. Interesting thing was that I promised myself and all my friends that if I was ever diagnosed with a life threatening condition or disease, the first thing I would do was buy a pack of cigarettes. Somehow I didn't think about it in the mad rush to get this "thing" out of my body. I often thought about having a smoke, but truly forgot my promise to buy a pack until one day a friend said - how come you didn't start smoking again. Whew boy was it lucky that I forgot.

I will always be a smoker. That will never change. I'm just a smoker who is not smoking. And haven't since 7/11/07. Hoping I can continue to hold on. It truly does get easier as time goes by.

Feb 13, 2018 01:20PM MinusTwo wrote:

Yay LisaMarie for back on track!!!

Feb 14, 2018 02:10PM katiec3598 wrote:

New on here. Having a rough time quitting smoking. You would think with all the hard things that I have been through that I could do this right? I feel stupid going to my doctor and saying that I'm still smoking. 

Feb 15, 2018 02:05PM MinusTwo wrote:

Katie - welcome. We hear you girl. It's not easy. If you read through some of these pages, there are lots of ideas and tips. Find one of the posts from VJ. She has offered her book free of charge to BCO members on this thread.

Where are you in your treatment process? When you get a chance, go to 'my profile' and fill in your information. Quit suggestions may be different if you're still in active treatment. For example I swear by Chantix, but it probably wouldn't work with chemo.

mkn - thinking about you as you set new goals.

Feb 20, 2018 04:55PM SimplySammi11 wrote:

Just an update on my daughter. She’s 3 weeks out from her dmx with tissue expanders “NOT SMOKING” and healing beautifully. I am back to smoking more than I should and every now and then she wants a cigarette and I tell her “NOt today Satan” and try to make light of it. Sometimes she’s handles it ok other times she isn’t a happy camper. In the end I pray she’ll appreciate the fact that it was for her own good and recovery.

Bad news however she had 2/2 nodes come back positive so Radiation is a must. Which hit me hard for some reason more than any other treatments she’s already endured.

As for smoking, I’m thinking now my anxiety is better after seeing my PCP NP and her freaking out over my BP and shaking and me throwing up from it all in her office, I am really considering the Chantix route just because I do need to quit.

I hope you all are doing well and hanging tough! Blessings

Mar 19, 2018 01:23PM MinusTwo wrote:

Funny coincidence LisaMarie - we must be psychic. I woke up this morning determined to post. How is your Mom? How is your job? Is your life getting any more settled? I know you must miss your kiddos.

I've been working in the yard trying to get all the plants that froze cleaned up & the bushes trimmed & etc. Yard work is one of those times that I really want to sit & have a cigarette after working several hours. Also have a new toilet - whoo hoo. Sounds weird to be excited but having the extra 2" in height really makes a difference. Not to mention that my son came & installed it and actually stayed for 3 days doing 'honey-dos'.

April - are you checking in at all? Hope you are OK. And Bosum? And...

Sammi - did you try the Chantix?

Happy Spring tomorrow!!!

May 1, 2018 11:53PM MinusTwo wrote:

Wow - this thread is definitely taking a break.

Talked to a neighbor about Chantix yesterday. He wants to quit but said Chantix made him angry. I countered that the entire process of quitting makes us angry - so weigh how much is the drug & how much is your conflicted emotions about quitting. And still makes me angry sometimes even though I'm 10+ years out. Not a month goes by that I would like to have a smoke. The thoughts aren't "urgent" and they pass quickly, but still.

I will always be a smoker. Just one who is not smoking.

I'm going to San Francisco tomorrow for a few days. I REALLY need to see the ocean. The Pacific that is - with the crashing pounding waves, and not the pond of brown water in Galveston. I plan to eat a lot of Dungeness Crab if I can find it. And Sourdough Bread. The bus is $1.00 for seniors with transfers that will last all day. Needless to say I have lots of adventures planned. I will have dinner with my DS and his girl two nights, but their place is too small for guests. No extra bedroom, and one bath is too small for me at my age. I'm staying in a 'motel' that looks like a 1950s motor court, if any of you ever took road trips when you were little.

Hope those of you who were working on quitting were successful. Or if not, I hope you aren't beating yourselves up. It will come when you're ready.

Not Broken - hope you'll have fun with your Mom.

LisaMarie - is Vegas & the job getting any better? How's your Mom? Will you kiddos come to see you out there?

May 15, 2018 06:20PM MinusTwo wrote:

April - HOORAY and congrats. I still hope you will come back to one thread or the other and tell us about your new job & how your life is going.

And Lisa Marie?? And Not Broken?? And everyone else?? I still have hopes for Judi checking in one day.

My support to anyone who is still trying to quit. your time will come. I quit once to go on a Caribbean cruise on a private sail boat. The trip of a lifetime!!! (except I was a royal bitch) Stayed quit for 2 years. Oops.

My congratulations to any of you who are still making it.