Moral Support Needed

[TracyP]

I have been a smoker since I was twelve years old. I have quit several times for a few years at a time. I have now been faced with a new challenge in life. I have always had sinus problems and now I am faced with major sinus surgery on the seventh of April. I am going to quit this time for good due to the healing time required after the surgery. If I do not quit, the healing process will be quite lengthy which I am not too fond of. I need to heal quick and get back in the shop. I may post from time to time asking for encouragement and support as well as a kick in the @#$. I have one pack and a half left and do not intend to purchase any more. Nor will I bum from anyone. The LOML is not looking forward to the withdrawal as I tend to be a little grouchy during the first few weeks after quitting. Wish me luck and any kick in the @#$ will be well received and appreciated.

Tracy

[JackLeg]

Tracy: From a former smoker (began at 14, quit at 38, 1 1/2 pack a day) and the "fortunate survivor" of 2 heart attacks, here's my advice:

Take the pack and a half you have left, and drop them in the trash can NOW! NOT TOMORROW, NOT AFTER 2 MORE SMOKES, NOW!!! BUT BEFORE YOU DO, TEAR THEM INTO LITTLE PIECES!

I had my first heart attack at 38 and my cardiologist back then told me "You can't name one good "real" thing about smoking." He was right.He told me that I could "Carry a little extra weight, have a couple of drinks per day, try to exercise, but above all, DO NOT go back on those cigaretts! In my humble opinion, the only way to quit, is JUST QUIT, COLD TURKEY!

You've gotta decide what it going to control your life, buddy, and it shouldn't be tobacco. You've got a lot of living left to do, if you take care of yourself, and this is the first step!

Good luck man, from one who's been there. And God bless.

[FuzzWuzz16]

Tracy,
From one former smoker to a soon to be other, let me offer a bit of "encouragement" . I'm pullin' for you to quit and stay quit.

I know you didn't ask for advise, but I'll try giving some, anyway. Don't smoke the whole pack-and-a-half. Dispose of at least some of them to help you kick it.

Best of luck!
Jim

[Bryan S]

Good for you. Its one of the hardest thing you'll ever do and I speak from experience.

[Travis Porter]

I have been a smoker for a little over 20 years and have been running 2 1/2 packs per day. I quit January 1, and want one every day, all the time still. Love to smell them, sometimes just stop and stare at people smoking until I realize what I am doing.

Chantix did help me get over the hump. It really slowed my intake down, but I had to quit taking it after 6 weeks. It caused me to have trouble sleeping, and when I did sleep, I had WIERD dreams. Nothing enjoyable, but wierd, waking up in a sweat wierd. IF it helps, take or do whatever you can and Good Luck!

[Ncdawgs1882]

Awsome!!! I have been smoke free for 2 days now!!! Its great to have a buddy to quit with I know some days are harder than others!!! but just gotta stay busy & I found out coffee is not good when your trying to quit just makes me want a smoke even more I've been a smoker since I was 18 & I'm 26 now figure its as good as time as ever to quit plus saves alot of money that I can put toward the shop! I'm on the patch so the best of luck to the both of us!

[TracyP]

I have decided that the official quit time will be on Sunday the thirtieth of March at 12:00 AM regardless of the cigs left in the packs. I will throw them away then. I will need all of the support you all can muster as I have been smoking for 34 years off and on. I am going to succeed at this come @#$% or high water. TIA for all of the support I know I will receive from my family here.

Tracy

[Bas]

Tracy, if I wore a hat, I'd take it off for you. Quitting smoking is easy. Staying quit is hard. Telling people, either in person or by posting on-line is a great way to get that boost when you need it. Because you REALLY don't want to tell people you started smoking again.

Find whatever works for you. Some people have had great success with Chantix. Some use the gum, or patch, or hypnosis, or acupuncture. Others quit without any aids. Allan Carr's book is quite popular. Some turn to a support group, either local in person or on-line, e.g. alt.support.stop-smoking. Whatever works, use it!

I smoked for 18 years. I have been smoke free for a little over ten months now, and it gets a little bit easier every day. One piece of advice has helped me stay quit. Even when I smoked, I suffered withdrawal. Long meeting, air travel, visiting a friend's house. There are always times you can't smoke. I still have cravings, but they pass. And they're much less than the cravings I had when I was a smoker. So, all things being equal anyway, I'd rather not smoke!

If you need to vent, post or PM me. Or go out and buy a new tool. For every dollar I didn't smoke, I decided to spend three dollars on tools I'm a little over budget, so I hope they hurry up and raise the prices on cigarettes

Oh, and don't be grouchy the first few weeks. Don't let it control you. Pretend everything is fine, you're feeling great, lie to yourself. It works wonders. Just think about how you justify buying a new tool, and apply that to quitting.

[Tarhead]

Tracy,

As a former smoker and smoking cessation counselor it looks like you're heading in the right direction. Try not to focus on what you're giving up but on the positive things you will get. Set a quit date and try to slow down prior to that date by practicing what we called the 4 D's before each cigarette:

Deep Breathing...One of the things you do when smoking is deep breathing. This helps relax you and loosen up that tight fist in your belly that happens when you need one.

Drink Water...Something to do with your hands, helps flush out the kidneys, etc.

Do Something Different...If the cig is an automatic one (like after a meal, coffee, driving, talking on the phone, etc) think of something different you can do instead of smoking right then (like drink the coffee left handed, go for a walk, help with dishes, stand on one foot while on the phone, go a different route, etc). The distraction will help keep your mind off of it.

Delay 10 more minutes...Remind yourself of a few positive things that not smoking means to you. The urge will pass whether you smoke or not. The farther out you go from your quit day the milder the urge and the longer it takes to come back.

Once you stop, keep doing the 4 D's each time you have an urge.

It's hard and you have to want to stop. This will make some big physical and social changes in your life. The physical are all good except for the increase in cough you may see for the first week as your cilia in your lungs come back to life but the social changes are subtle. Hanging out with your smoking buddies when you have an urge is just asking for problems. It's important to let them know you're going to go through with this and request their support and forgiveness for not hanging out in the smoking area. It's hard enough without the temptation. Alcohol is another thing to think about as it can lower your willpower and can be a strong trigger for a cig. You have worked real hard and practiced thousands of times to develop your skills as a smoker. It will take work and persistence to kick it.

Hang in there and good luck.

Mark

[dick541]

Tracy, Wish I knew you wanted to stop smoking about 2 months ago. I stoped 7 years ago after after 40 years. It toke about 2 months but I just stoped a few at a time till the last pack lasted about 3 weeks, I don't use anything but will power to not take that first one each day. I feel better, but did gain about 40 lbs.
dick

[Jim Kunzweiler]

Get you a box or two (dozen) toothpicks. It'll give you something to chew on and something to fiddle with. Worked for me several years ago (long before patches and such). I must have spent two or three years chewing on toothpicks. All I had to worry about was termites and dry rot.

Seriously, good luck. Cold turkey is the ONLY way.

[ebarr]

Tracy,

I wish you all the best in the world. I hope you have success this time quiting.

I was unfortunate enough to lose my father when I was 11 years old from lung cancer. I will rally around anyone 100% that wants to quit.

Best of luck to you.

[Canuck]

Tracy,

Been there, done that!! I smoked for better than 30 years. Had a lung go down - collapse (3 times) on me about 3.5 years ago, Unfortunately/fortunately that was my wakeup call!! Was it easy. Heck no!!!! But, I managed to do it pretty much cold turkey. I had a patch while I was hospitalized and after the last lung surgery I started using Commit lozenges and took up woodworking. Guess what! IT WORKED!!!! (I have to admit. I still have 1/2 a pack of smokes stashed away in a an old toolbox. Bet they are pretty ripe now,but they are a reminder of how bad I felt when I was on 'em )

Hang in there and the urge will pass!

Please, please look here and post any time that you need a wee bit of encouragement!

You have definitely taken the first step!

Wayne

[TracyP]

Originally Posted by ebarr

Tracy,

I wish you all the best in the world. I hope you have success this time quiting.

I was unfortunate enough to lose my father when I was 11 years old from lung cancer. I will rally around anyone 100% that wants to quit.

Best of luck to you.

I too lost my father just last year, only 17 days till the one year anniversary of his passing. We had just started to get close after a long time of indifference. He died from heart disease due to smoking. He smoked as many as three packs a day at one time. It was a miserable death and I do not want to put my loved ones through that misery that we went through watching him slowly die from the results of a habit. Please keep the posts coming hot and heavy as I will need all of the support that all of you can muster. You guys and girls are the best!!!

[Bigdog72]

I smoked for 23 years. When I quit I was smoking 3+ packs a day. I have been off them for 21 years (in Nov). Still have the urge for a smoke every now and then. Just have to deal with it. If you need help, give me a call.