Archive through January 20, 2003
TV ClubHouse: Archives: 2003 January:
Who wants to quit smoking with me? (ARCHIVE):
Archive through January 20, 2003
Fruitbat | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 06:21 am    
Yes, that is clear! Thanks. It said shipping could take 3 weeks but that
is good. I don't want to stop on our vacation. The nature of the trip is
not the best of circumstances for me. I know I may be cranky or edgy so
a car trip with my husband is not ideal. I have to be able to take a walk
or remove myself should this occur. The timing is right. Did
anyone here quit and not gain weight? I quit once years ago for 5 years
and did not but I was younger and that may have played a part. |
Llkoolaid | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 06:23 am    
Sia, the book is available in Canada. It is carried by Chapters. You can
also get it at Coles. For those that don't know Chapters and Coles are book
store chains. They have a website, my husband found it, I want to get a copy
for my mother. I imagine if you just look for "Chapters" you will find it,
if you don't I find it for you. You can order online from Chapters, so hopefully
we will soon have a copy on its way to you. |
Llkoolaid | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 06:30 am    
I didn't gain weight when I quit Fruitbat, I drank tons of water instead
of picking at food. Now that I have read the book, I realize that I just
didn't have to do anything, just not smoke. It is as simple as that. |
Fruitbat | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 07:21 am    
Oh that is good to hear. I was concered about a metabolic change. I have
control over eating or not. Whooooo Hooooooooo! I am ready. |
Rissa | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 07:38 am    
Grooch. I am no expert but this is my understanding. Once you have smoked
for awhile your heart-rate is increased in between smokes and lowered when
you have a cig. That's why people say it's relaxing or have a smoke as a
reaction to stress. It isn't really calming you down, what it is it that
the increased heart-rate is actually a withdrawal symptom which obviously
lighting up stops. Smoking also slows down or reduces the amount of food
which is absorbed by your intestines (which is one of the reasons it is a
diet alternative... that and you can't eat while puffing). FRUITBAT!! This
part is for you. LOL This is why people gain weight when quitting, your intestines
clear up and more food makes it into your blood system, rather then passing
on through. Your appetite also increases because you will be more aware of
your hunger triggers plus you are figgety. LOL LLkoolaid's water idea is
a great one but keep in mind that the consensus is that quitting smoking
equals 5 pounds. If you are expecting it, then you don't beat yourself up
about it... there will always be time to handle the weight issue AFTER. No
need to put two demons on your back at the same time. I
also found that being sleepy was a MAJOR withdrawal symptom for me and I
just went with it. Was in bed by 8. LOL That's 3 hours not spent in front
of tv or computer arguing with myself about having a smoke or hunting down
pringles. LOL |
Fruitbat | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 08:02 am    
Thanks Rissa. I certainly get it that some extra weight is preferable to
smoking. The issue with me could be going back to smoking if I see the scale
go up. I know myself well and I have to cut way back on food and expend more
energy during this time to avoid this. |
Dahli | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 08:11 am     LOL Bat, who ELSE would control it?... you big silly! |
Rissa | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 08:18 am    
Hubby is home today, sleeping off a non-stop drive from Ontario to Alberta
(that's 36 hours btw plus 8 spent in St. Paul, Minn. waiting for shop to
open after tire blew), so I am hiding in my office and trying not to wake
him. LOL Forgive me my ranting, going hunting for answers for Grooch and
Fruitbat: >>>>The benefits of quitting are clear. Just
20 minutes after your last cigarette, your blood pressure and heart rate
start to return to normal. After only a day, the risk of a heart attack begins
to diminish, the lung association says. >>> >>>"Typical
physical symptoms following cessation or reduction of nicotine intake include
craving for nicotine, irritability, frustration or anger, anxiety, tension,
difficulty concentrating, restlessness, sleep disturbances, decreased heart
rate, and increased appetite or weight gain. Not all symptoms necessarily
occur in any one individual.>>> Sounds bad but the good
news is that in around 72 hours your blood will be completely cleared of
nicotene, that is when the physical symptoms have peaked and begin to wane.
Eww, while searching I came across this page: COURT CASE,
it's too long to post but if you search down for 'weight gains' you will
find a very interesting paragraph released from a Phillips/Morris study done
way back in 1971. Actually everything from that point down is interesting.
LOL |
Rissa | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 08:21 am    
I am with ya Fruitbat. The scale is the reason I went back to smoking so
many times too. Finally just gave up on it, as quitting was adding 5 pounds
but restarting only losing me 2. LOL |
Dahli | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 08:42 am     Oh my gawd - Rissa that gave me the shivers, it's amazing the evil among us ain't it... |
Fruitbat | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 09:02 am     Dahli, I meant that I can control what I eat but have NO control on how my intestines work or a metabolic shift. |
Webkitty | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 09:27 am    
I am ready to quit too. Like Fruitbat, I will wait until after the Key Largo
get together, I would just be setting myself up to fail if I tried now. That
book sounds interesting, but I have had success with the gum in the past.
I used it for about a week until the physical cravings stop, then I am ok.
Maybe its just all in my head that the gum works because I want it to. I
don't want to muddy the waters by reading a book that says I will fail with
the gum method, but I am open to anything. I didn't start smoking until
later in life, and then in starts and stops. I never considered myself a
"smoker" until recently. I am. My big problem is that I always
go back to it because my husband smokes and its really hard to be around
that when trying to quit. He has always been gracious enough to "pretend"
he's quitting too, so I can get past that first week, but I know he smokes
when he's out of the house because I can smell it on him. Gradually,
he will start smoking at home again, he confines it to one room, and I resist
as long as I can, but its there, does anyone understand this? One
time, I was able to do it for a whole year, I felt great but started up again
on 9/11. I know, no excuse is a good one, but I had extenuating circumstances
that day and the cigs were right there. I haven't stopped since. For me, its 99% addiction. I don't want to smoke, I really don't get that much pleasure out of it. Also, I tend to eat MORE when I'm smoking. It gives me heartburn and I feel the need to eat to get rid of it. One
thing that helped was getting out of the house to the gym first thing in
the day and exercizing vigorously. I would start to lose weight from that
and I didn't want to start smoking again and get the heartburn and eat. Then,
in a moment of weakness I would pick up one of my husbands cigs and it was
all over, once again. He would always say, hey! you don't smoke! Give me
that! You told me not to let you smoke! lol. (sometimes this works but mostly
not) How does someone stop when there is a smoker in the house?
Does this book address this issue? This is my biggest problem. I think it
makes it harder. He keeps saying he will quit for good one day, but I'm tired
of waiting. PS: He has agreed to quit with me when I get back from
Key Largo, because it alarms him that I smoke, but I know he won't really
give it the same effort I will. (this sounds very screwy to me as I type
this! lol) |
Babyruth | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 09:40 am    
A cardiologist I used to work with once told me an average person could
gain up to 75 pounds after quitting smoking and STILL be improving their
cardiovascular health by quitting. I quit my 15 year, one-pack-per-day
jail sentence 15 years ago, and gained 10 pounds in the 2 months right afterwards.
My problem was that my favorite smoke was after a meal. Once I didn't have
that anymore, I prolonged the meal to avoid the pangs...haha... and thus
ate more. I shook that by adding a regular exercise regimen (walking)
and paying more attention to what I was doing at mealtimes. I also drank
more water. Walking felt good and made me feel healthy, and motivated me
to maintain my new non-smoking status. I kept a particular stop-smoking
pamphlet in my purse at all times and it became my talisman. When I wanted
a smoke, I would pull out that booklet instead and say nope nope nope to
myself til the urge passed. Somehow, it all finally worked for me. I feel confident that you all will be successful in your efforts, too! |
Babyruth | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 10:13 am     Webkitty, I
was married to a smoker when I quit, plus I was working fulltime with only
one other person and he was a chainsmoker. I was around smokers 24/7, it
seemed. I asked them both to not smoke indoors anymore and they
both agreed. I asked they not leave their cigarette packs lying around and
they complied. I requested we sit in non-smoking areas when out to dinner,
etc. They both wanted to quit someday too, and had no problem supporting
my efforts. The rest was up to me. Every time I had the urge, I
chose to deep breathe, drink water, whatever it took to get past it and remind
myself I was now a non-smoker. Gradually the urges lessened and I felt my
own power increase. As for the heartburn, I had that too, and it decreased significantly when I quit smoking. |
Webkitty | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 10:44 am     Babyruth, that is one accomplishment, I have to hand it to you My
husband has conceeded to not to smoke in restaurants and has agreed to step
outside for a cig, but somehow always ends up smoking back inside, ummmmm,
lol. He's a great guy so hopefully this will all work out in the end. Fruitbat,
I am interested to hear what you think about the book after you get a chance
to read it. We are coming from the same place right now, still smoking but
intending to quit. Since the gum has helped you too in the past, I would
like to know how the book conflicts with this. I just feel like I need the
gum, but like I said, I'm willing to try another way. This book seems to
have helped many here. |
Dahli | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 11:19 am    
Webkitty, the point he makes about the gum is the same one you have just
made, it doesn't work very well ...the fact that you're still a smoker speaks
to that, so even if subsituting one form of the drug for another works in
the short term it's the long term forever we're talkin' here... Eliminating
the mental addiction to nicotine is what this method does, and when that
happens the body is only too happy to follow. The best way I could
explain what the reaction is to people who smoke around you once this clicks
is a little like this - if they were lying on the driveway sucking on the
exhaust pipe of their car - would you say mmm yummy I think I'll go start
MY car! (Believe me you just don't want it anymore.) It is
also combined with a little bit of sadness, when I watch my mom hunch over
a match to get it going to get her fix or see anyone for that matter standing
outside in the wind or cold pulling poison into their bodies with all their
breath it's like the feeling watching a drunk suck on the last of the bottle
or a drug addict plunge the syringe in - extreme distaste, pity and sadness.
|
Denecee | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 11:37 am    
Just checking in. It feels so good not to smoke. I have noticed that I
have alot more time on my hands so I go for more walks and think about how
good it feels not to be smoking. I was kind of a closet smoker, in that
I would not smoke in public or around my kids, so I spent quite a bit of
time out in the garage. The garage is a dark cold place, scary! I don't
stink! My hair smells good! Yipeee! |
Ginger1218 | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 11:44 am     I am sure some people will disagree with this, but what the heck. I
smoked 3 1/2 packs a day for almost 29 years. I started when I was 12.
I was a rabid smoker. I enjoyed it, loved it. I would not go anywhere where
I could not smoke. I even sneaked cigarettes in movie theaters and on the
subway. Needless to say, I was a sick addict. Then about 9 years ago, I
developed polyps on my vocal chords. (Non cancerous thank God), but for
some reason the doctor scared me. I had been told all kinds of things for
years, but I didn't care. This doctor scared me. So, I had the first surgery
and stopped smoking cold turkey on the morning of the surgery. (I had another
surgery 3 months later). I did not smoke for 11 months. Then I was having
mad cravings, so I decided in advance that on New Year's Eve, I was going
to have one cigarette. (HA) I waited till midnight and had the cigarette.
I almost cried, it was so good. By the next day, I was smoking 3 packs
again. I continued to smoke for 4 months, and then I started to feel all
the effects that had stopped when I stopped. My throat started to act up,
and the coughing started, and I got 3 colds in 4 months. I just said I can't
do this anymore, and on a Tuesday night smoked the last of my cigarettes,
I timed it so that I had none left when I woke up Wednesday. The fist 2
days were a little rough, but, by the end of the week, I was playing poker
with 8 heavy smokers. On May 24th it will be 8 years. Ok, now how
did I do it? All I can say is that I think I self hypnotized myself. I
realized that it is all a matter of focus. If I got an urge, I took a deep
breath and it went away. I actually enjoy the smell of it, so it does not
bother me, my boyfriend smokes, my friends smoke, and I refuse to tell anyone
they cannot smoke. I lived with that harassment for years. If
you constantly think about it, you will fail. You need to put focus elsewhere
and it really works. I had tried everything for years. Accupuncture, patches,
hypnotists, gum, etc. I think they are all useless. It is in your power
to do it. Nothing else. Also, as said above, the physical part is only
3 days, after that it is out of your system and becomes psychological. Don't
get me wrong, I am still an addict and if I took one drag, I would be smoking
3 packs. I recognize this. I also say, that if I found out I was dying
and the world was ending all I would want is a cigarette. But life
without smoking is so much easier. First of all it is so much cheaper.
NY prices are $7 a pack. You cannot smoke anywhere here. It is like a Nazi
state. So, I don't have that aggravation. Also, I used to get colds constantly.
Since I stopped I have not had a cold in almost 5 years. Ok,
I will stop ranting now. If anybody ever needs help or support, please let
me know, either by email or my folder. I will gladly help anyone who needs
it. It is so much easier than you think if you do it right. |
Dahli | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 12:27 pm     Wow Ginger, you've said it well, and the truth is the monster does come roaring back to life with just one. Congrats! |
Northstar | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 12:39 pm     Ginger, you may be seeing notes from me in about 2 months!! |
Tashakinz | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 12:46 pm     An addict's diary - day 9 Day
7 Well, let me tell you about the neighbor. He pissed me off so much Saturday
night I invited him to leave my house. You don't say "want a cigarette?
Have a cigarette." to someone who's quit. I don't care if you're just trying
to get their goat. If you can't be supportive, then leave. Hubby agreed
with my motive, but thought I was a little harsh in inviting him to leave.
Have I mentioned what an absolute idiot this guy is??? He makes me want
to move. All of this was after my scale told me I'd gained 2 lbs. in 7 days
even though I've strictly stuck to my diet and not cheated at all.... Day
8 was a good day. Only thought about lighting up 3 dozen or so times. Even
managed to sit at the computer for a few minutes. (One of my big smoking
hangouts - so been avoiding it). Day 9 - Today has been a bad day.
Work has been stressful. I keep telling myself that I need to find a new
way to deal with my stress besides a)smoking and b)hitting someone/thing.
I need to restart TaeBo. I've added 30 rows to the blanket I'm crocheting. At this rate it will be done in a month. lol How is everyone else doing?? |
Denecee | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 01:49 pm    
Tash, today is day 20 for me and I have to admit that I have not been the
easiest person to live with. My family says they would rather put up with
me like this for as long as it takes than for me to start smoking again.
Your neighbor guy sounds like an absolute jerk. Keep on posting! We can
do this! |
Dahli | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 02:21 pm     YAY!!!Denecee - you are doing great and yay for your brilliant family too! |
Lumbele | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 02:31 pm    
Holy smokes (pardon the pun)! This thread has never archived this quickly
since I have joined. You go away for the weekend and when you come back there
are a few new nicotine buddies. Welcome! The more the merrier. At the
moment I don't have enough time to read every post thoroughly, but I noticed
that everyone is hunting down THE BOOK. The exact title is "Only Way
to Stop Smoking Permanently" by Allen Carr and is still available at Amazon.ca,
"usually ships within 24 hours" $CDN 16.99 (which is not bad for you Yanks
since your buck goes a lot further up here). My new specs are now on my nose, so hopefully I will find the time to stick my nose in it tonight. If
it is decided to start typing it here, I will help, too, but the copyright
issue really should be clarified first. Neil has had enough trouble already
in that department, we wouldn't want to give him another headache, right? Tasha,
to anwer your "how-goes-it?" - Slowly! Good thing they make the crochet hooks
in plastic now, a metal one would be glowing by now. But the fingernails are still dug into the waggon's back rail. I am determined not to give up. Sooner or later.... |
Juju2bigdog | Monday, January 20, 2003 - 02:34 pm     Yay Ginger, Yay Denecee, Yay Tash!!! Denecee
and Tash, keep up the good fight. It really does get easier most every day.
You just have a bad day, as you have seen, every now and then. But both
of you should almost be over the very worst days by now. Webkitty,
let us know if you decide to go for it, IF you want to. I think you should
just blithely go along with a belief that the hubby is really quitting.
If he backslides, be as firm as you can about not having smoking in the house
anymore. Tash, I agree the neighbor was a super jerk, and he is
lucky you did not kick his sorry butt all the way up the street and back
down the other side instead of just throwing him out. He is a loser. Lose
him. Edit: Oops. Lumbele was posting at the same time as me. Yay Lumbele!!! |
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