Archive through October 21, 2001
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The ClubHouse: Archives: Who wants to quit smoking with me? (archive): Archives: Archive through October 21, 2001

Llkoolaid

Saturday, October 20, 2001 - 07:33 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Fruitbat, Wargod and Franny thank you so much for joining me, I am so happy this thread has some interest, let's check in here everyday to see how we are doing.

Sunshinemiss

Saturday, October 20, 2001 - 07:45 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
All the very best of luck and I will send positive vibes your way.. you can do it!!!

Donut

Saturday, October 20, 2001 - 11:50 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
you guys are so cool!this is a great thread- i love how so many people on this board are so supportive without being tinkerbells or preachy.
I actually dont smoke but maybe we should start a losing weight thread( i should probably start by changing my poster name!)
My husband smokes and i had thought about a possilbe idea for quitting (if he gets to a time when he wants to) and was wondering what you guys thought of it. ( I think it might be geared for people who arent as motivated as you guys to stop as soon as you are.) Please dont hesitate to tell me if its really a stupid idea. Anyways i was thinking how when you want to lose weight, you are told that the healthy way is like a pound a week or so.( you dont put in on all at once, so supposedly you shouldnt try to take it off all at once) So i wondered if you could do ciggies like that: eg. if you smoke 100 cigs a week cut down 2 a week so that by the end of a year you would have quit with such a hopefully gradual manner that you wouldnt feel it as much ( of course using all the other available tools to help when you needed).
Obviously its better to just do it with a quick clean cut like you guys ( get Kent over here- he managed to do it in that house!!) but i wondered if my idea could be an alternative for some. thanks! If anyone lives in Massachusetts there is a guy called the Mad Russian who has tremendous succes with helping people quit but i dont think he does anything out of state unless he has franchised!. He justs gets people in a room and they dont smoke after that Noone really knows what he does, and really normal cynical skeptical people are the one that i know that quit. Like my aunt went for weight loss and took a friend for support who smoked and had no desire at all to quit and was really pissed because she ended up quitting and had no intention of quitting and doesnt know why she did but she just suddenly couldnt smoke anymore. I am the last person in the world to go for or suggest any kind of hokum pokum stupid stuff but this guy does have an amazing reputation.

Sunshinemiss

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 12:11 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hi Donut, I have seen that guy on TV, he looks strange but hey, if it works! I agree the folks here are great, beats the heck out of anywhere else.

Wargod

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 02:57 am EditMoveDeleteIP
People are different Donut. Some can quit "cold turkey" and others can't. It's whatever works best for the individual. As I said earlier, I have cut down on cigarettes for the past two weeks, but it hasn't stopped me so far. For the type of person I am, I think it's easier for me to just stop altogether. If I don't have cigarettes around, then in those trigger times, which for me is first thing in morning, and last thing at night, I won't be able to get a cigarette. I do know for other people that stopping gradually works best for them. So, whatever will be best for your husband is a good idea. On a very positive note, I just realized that quitting smoking will allow me to sleep in late in the mornings now, since I won't be having that 5:45am cigarette.

Sunshinemiss and Donut, both of you are right....TVCH is a great place to be, with wonderful, supportive people to be with.

llkolaid.....thank you for starting this!!

Llkoolaid

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 08:36 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Donut, thanks for your support, your husbands battle with cigarettes has to be his own, but your support will help. I have tried the cutting down and it works for a while and then before I know it I am right back to where I was, I need the patch or nicorette gum to help the chemical craving part, which is the easiest, the worst part is what to do with the hands and the trigger times. When I quit for six years which has been my best try, I threw out all the ashtrays, lighters, and avoided going to my friends that smoked for a little while, I was also ready to quit which I think you have to be.
Another gradual way that I have heard of is timing how long you wait between cigarettes. You figure out the average time between cigarettes and then for the first few days smoke for example every 20 minutes, whether you want to or not. You add 5 minutes to the waiting time every few days. I know of people who have done this and been successful.
Good luck everybody, this is the last day we will stink of smoke.

Franny

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 08:41 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I refuse to tell my family or friends though. The last time I did I felt I was in a fish bowl. They watch you and I felt like a child, but the worst part was when I slipped I felt guilty because I thought I let them down instead of myself and said the "heck with it and kept smoking". I think if we slip and can say "I made a mistake" and get right back with the program it will be better.

Llkoolaid

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 08:53 am EditMoveDeleteIP
That is so true Franny, people will actually try to tempt you to smoke, when I tell my family it is like "here we go again" and it seems they just sit around and wait for you to smoke. I have to say though that, I was looking for an excuse to say "to hell with it".

No guilt for slip ups, we have to realize that we will probably do that, I think talking about it on here is going to make it easier to get right back on the program. You just have to keep telling yourself that you are doing this for Franny and no one else, my husband knows what I am doing but I haven't told anyone else, the only friends I want involved are TVCH.

Good luck tomorrow Franny, I'll see you on here and we can pat each other on the back.

Donut

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 09:29 am EditMoveDeleteIP
thanks guys!
hey Wargod, the best part of getting to sleep later in the morning, is that you can stay up here later with us!!

Franny

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 10:37 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Well I'll be up at 5:00 biting the acrylic off my nails, but I shall overcome...thank llkoolaid..

Gail

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 11:24 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I quit smoking Mar 3, 1999 and have not had a cigarette since. I will never smoke another cigarette. It was a promise I made to myself when I quit.

When Kady quit I posted quite a few things that had helped me. I will see if I can remember some of them now.

Physically, drink water, drink water, drink water!! Drink a lot of water!!! It will help flush some of the crap out of your system.

I used zyban/wellbutrin and patches this time. It isn't what method you use to quit but your mental attitude about it. IF you are thinking you will have slip ups and they are okay, you are not planning on quitting smoking. Don't even bother trying.

For those of you who are quitting tomorrow - your last cigarette is tonight. Make it memorable and make it count! If you are serious about quitting, it will be your last one. Have a little ceremony to say goodbye. (for those of you thinking about quitting - a great day is in November - the week before Thanksgiving - The Great American Smokeout - this give you time to prepare yourself mentally and maybe see a doctor to get zyban/welbutrin and patches, enroll in a class, etc) Note: Even if you have to pay for welbutrin - the cost for a 60 day supply is not much more then a 2 month supply of cigarettes.

The difference between a non smoker/ex-smoker and a smoker is one cigarette! You can go an entire week/month/year without smoking but if you light up one cigarette, you are back to being a smoker.

You need to tell yourself why you are quitting. (you can tell us too if if helps). If you are quitting to make a spouse/child happy, don't bother. The first time they piss you off, smoking is an easy way to fight back. I had a few superficial reasons for quitting - working in a large military community, I see a lot of retirees. When I go to the commissary, I saw them hauling around those oxygen tanks - I did not want to be part of that crowd. I also see the dirty yellow teeth on younger people who smoke and it is ugly. I see actors/actresses on tv and can tell the smokers - look around their mouth at the wrinkles.

The 2 main reasons I quit though were I was tired of cigarettes controlling me and feeling like an outcast. Here are some examples: Control factor - I would go to a movie to enjoy myself and half way through all I could think about was leaving so I could smoke - I couldn't wait to get out of the theater. Or, maybe you are a passenger in a car and can't smoke, or in a long meeting, or god forbid stuck on a plane on the tarmac for hours and hours. Even the though of flying anywhere scared me because I knew I couldn't smoke for a long time.

The outcast part is when you go with friends to a restaurant someplace fun and then have to leave them to go somewhere to smoke. OR go to someone's house and excuse yourself to go outside for a while and smoke. I got tired of this part of it but the control thing was the major motivation for me.

Now, I don't care if I see three movies in a row - I don't have to go outside. I hear about people sitting on the tarmack for a few hours and figure the smokers were getting pretty crazy (I would have). When I go to seminars, etc where you get a 10 minute break, I get to relax for 10 minutes, have water, a snack, talk to people, use the bathroom, etc - I am not racing for the exit (usually a long way away) to have a smoke and then try to figure out if I have time to go to the bathroom too. It gets pretty cold here sometimes and now, I don't have to go out in 0 degree temps with the wind blowing just to have a smoke.

There is a certain mentality you get after you truly quit smoking. This does not come in a matter of time in terms of months but comes in a change of thinking. I can see the evils of the tobacco industry better then I could before. I get sick when I see kids smoking - I would like to see the assh0les that give them cigarettes punished. I see people smoking when I am out driving around and it looks horrible. I cringe when I think that I smoked for 24 years. I started because in my early days on the flightline in the Air Force, you could not take a break to get a coke, snack, water, etc - but if you smoked, you could walk off and nobody cared. Same held true in basic training and tech school - if you were a smoker, you dropped out of formation and you could relax, have fun, talk, etc - non-smokers stood in formation and silent.

A couple of suggestions - as I said above, drink lots of water!! If you can, use patches or nicorette gum - they help with the nicotine cravings. Zyban is wonderful but not easily obtainable by all. It takes about 10 - 12 days to kick in. (gives you plenty of time to work up to quitting in your mind).

Tell yourself why quitting smoking is good for you. Figure out your reasons. Is it money? Is it control? Is it because you don't like the image it portrays? Is it for health? Why are you going to put yourself through this agony. And, it is agony but it can be done!

If you are not exercising, START! You will gain weight but you can control how much it will be. Exercising is a good way to help slow down the weight gain. Don't start eating a ton of food or little candies. Well, if you can find sugar free candies that might be okay.

Stay away from drinking in excess for a while. If you like to drink 3 or 4 drinks a day, cut way back to 1 or 2. Drinking alcohol and smoking go hand in hand. Likewise, change a few habits - if you like coffee and a cigarette in the morning, try switching to tea for a few weeks. Do things different. If you are used to talking on the phone and smoking, trying talking on the phone and maybe drinking water. If after lunch you go out with friends to smoke, go out and walk around the block.

Get rid of any cigarettes in your house, car, etc tonight! Clean out every single ashtray and give them away or pack them up. Likewise with your lighters. Something you should do in your house and your cars is spray them generously with Fabreez - it is a very good odor destroyer. It does a great job in breaking up the nicotine odors where you have been smoking. Wash out your curtains, etc to help brighten things up and get rid of the smells.

About 2 months after I quit - I went to my dentist to get teeth bleaching stuff. The main expense is getting the plastic mouth trays. (total cost was $200) My teeth were pretty white anyways but this really made them beautiful. Or, at least, get your teeth cleaned sometime in the next 2 - 3 weeks. It kind of helps mentally. The very first thing I notice now about a person's looks is their smile/teeth.

Something else that helped me was chewing on straws. The small kind you find for stirring coffee or in bars with drinks. I actually probably had a worse habit with straws then I ever did with cigarettes. I chewed on them for nearly 2 years. I have finally given them up but every once in a while, have one for old times sake. If you are in your 40's you need to be careful not to break your teeth from chewing too much or too hard. Straws have the added benefit of being calorie free. :)

Did I mention drink lots of water?? :)

If you feel yourself getting in a tense situation, take some slow, deep breaths!! Close your eyes and try to put yourself in another place that is calmer. Remember how when you smoked if things got tense, you would go out and have a smoke to think about it. Do the same thing but with out the cigarette. Distance yourself from the stress, take deep breaths and drink some water.

As soon as you get done eating, brush your teeth. Even if you are at work. If you would normally go outside and have a smoke, go to the bathroom and brush your teeth. Even in your car, keep a toothbrush and toothpaste. Or a toothbrush and some breathmints.

I just went to www.ask.com and typed in Quitting Smoking.

Here is what I got:

Quitting Smoking at ask.com

Lots of resources there, lot of hints, even some support groups you can join if need be.

To me, smoking was a way of life for 24 years. I was not in bad health when I quit so it was a little harder to say I was doing this to be healthy. Giving up cigarettes (or smokeless tobacco which is tougher I heard) is like saying goodbye to an old friend! It is very hard. For you non smokers reading this, imagine never, ever again having a glass of water. Not a single taste! With smoking, there are a lot of smoking friends that do not want to see you quit. Smoking is a social thing. Smokers gravitate to other smokers. That was the hard part of quitting for me. I have noticed if you quit your smoking friends are waiting for you to come back to the fold. If you go to them, they will be more then happy to help you light up a cigarette and come back to them.

One of the very worst mistakes a person can make when they quit smoking is to have "just one" to see what it is like. A good friend of mine quit when I did for 4 months and then did that. When I heard that, I knew he hadn't quit. Sure enough, he is still smoking. Don't set yourself up - Like by quitting today - say well, for Thanksgiving all our company will be here and smoking - I will have one then. IF you think that, you are not quitting!

Tonight, when you have your last cigarette, as I said above, make it memorable. Look at it, smell it, feel it, etc. Then make a vow like "This is my last cigarette, I will never smoke another one again after this one is gone." Look at the flame of the lighter, remember the sounds and the smells as you say goodbye to this so called friend who has been with your through good and bad times. I personally think your last one should be by yourself so you can reflect on it and savor it.

This so called friend is no friend by the way. This friend does not make you cool, rich, popular, beautiful, put you on the back of a horse with a cool hat and coat, out in the mountains by a lake, a hit at the party, etc. Those Virginia Slims will kill women just as fast as Marlboros will kill men. With Tarrytons, that black eye was probably the least damage they inflicted.

I had a "fake" cigarette that I got through my "quit smoking" classes out at the Air Force base ( I think it was through the American Cancer people). Wonderful little tool if you can find one - same shape, size and weight of a cigarette. It even has a vent that you can control the airflow on - so you really feel like you are smoking. I loved using it in my car - it felt like I had a smoke in my hand. If you can find one, do so - it is like a security blanket.

One of the things they talked about in my classes was to try to not let things get to you. One example was in traffic - like if someone is tailgating you or something. Try to give them the benefit of the doubt. Are they really and assh0le or maybe they have a real reason for driving like shit. This actually happened to me a few weeks after I quit. I pulled out on the highway and a minute later I saw someone in a beat up looking car come right up on me with one blinker flashing and rather then put up with his shit, I pulled over and let him pass. Turned out, he was an off duty paramedic trying to get ahead to help with an accident 2 miles up the road. Now, since then I have been tailgated a thousand times and so far, all the rest have turned out to be assh0les. But, I don't let them drive me to smoking (excuse the pun).

I know that I will never, ever smoke again! The only person who can make me smoke is me. It is not the bad driver behind me, or shrew of a boss, or kids acting up or a spouse treating me bad, or too little money in the checking account or the car breaking down on the road. A cigarette will not fix the car, keep the kids behaving, make all the bad drivers behave, or put money in the bank.

As I mentioned above, when you truly quit smoking, you will see it for what it really is. You will see people sitting out by malls or restaurants smoking in the cold and feel good that you are no longer reduced to that. You will find ways to deal with life's stressful situations.

The best piece of advice I got from my class was Even non-smokers have bad days!! Think about it. There are people on this board who have bad days all the time and have never smoked in their life. How do they get by? Certainly not by lighting up a cigarette!! They deal with it.

Another thing that is a good motivator take all the money you save from not smoking and in 6 months, do something nice for yourself. For me, this came in the form of hiring back my housekeeper. She had moved out of town for a year or so and cam back about 4 months after I quit. By not spending the $$ on cigarettes, I had plenty of money to spend on her.

When you quit, there are a few things that might happen. You might have trouble sleeping. Water and exercise should help with this. You might feel constipated for a few days. You will definitely feel restless - I paced around and around in my kitchen constantly. I didn't want to eat - I just couldn't keep from looking though.

I don't know if any of this is helpful to those of you considering quitting or not. To sum it all up:

Drink a lot of water. Avoid large quantities of caffeine and alcohol for the next few weeks. don't stop totally with them, just cut down.

Exercise - even it if is walking. Join us in the Exercise log.

Brush your teeth often.

Find something to substitute - like a straw.

Even non-smokers have bad days.

Find positive rewards for yourself - quitting smoking a a great thing!!

Nobody can put a cigarette in your mouth and light it except you! Be true to yourself! A cigarette will not fix your problem. Do not take the easy way out!!

Lastly to all of you thinking about quitting - it is not impossible but it takes willpower and true commitment to yourself. If you are looking for support, you will find it here on this board and in real life if you look for it. I think Tess was the biggest cheerleader we had! In real life, look for a friend who will support you and help you succeed. Someone who is close enought to help you when you need help. Preferably a non smoker. This is not someone to talk about smoking so much as to let you vent, etc.

Good Luck!!!!

Juju2bigdog

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 12:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yikes! How do I follow that?

Fruitbat wrote: "Juju! you quit several months ago. Great. Can you rememeber how long it took before you felt pretty OK with it? I know it is different for everyone."

No, Fruitbat, when I said "we" all quit with Kady, I meant the figurative "we" that were all pulling for her. I mean, yikes! remember Tess and her daily heaps of praise?

I "quit" in about 1993 when we could no longer smoke in our offices. Then the mother-in-law came to visit for TEN long days, and after that I smoked about seven cigarettes a day for five years. And then in 1998 I went to China and it was just too inconvenient to smoke, so I cut out the seven.

I used the patch, and it did work, although I was weepy almost all of the first day, having to say goodbye to my good friend and all. Don't worry if you are weepy. It is not easy. I went almost the full cycle of patches, which then were prescription and for 90 days. Toward the end, the dang things were itching and irritating so much, that I just quit using those. The cravings were way gone by then.

You will probably still be mad and jealous of others who smoke for a while, mad that they get to enjoy it, and you don't. On the other hand, you will soon feel smug about people who have to rush out of somewhere and smoke, and you don't. How long does it take before you don't think about wanting one? Well, I would have to say with a patch or gum, those really do take the physical craving away. The rest is psychological. If I found myself thinking about it when there was no physical need, I would just mentally slap myself and say hey, I don't smoke.

Anyhow, the experience will be different for everybody. It sucks bigtime (half pun intended) while you are going through it, but there is life after nicotine.

Good luck to all. Kady, get your (ahem) butt back in here. Now!

Merlin

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 12:37 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
<would love to slap juju mentally as a good friend trying to help out>

ummm, Juju. You continue to use that smug routine on some of us. Care to share?

Juju2bigdog

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 02:27 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
<Juju2bigdog smugs for the camera>

Pay no attention to Merlin. He is in his non sequitir period.

Wargod

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 04:08 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I'm tired of running out of the house everytime I want a cigarette. I can remember one night last winter, standing outside freezing half to death, in the cold, cold rain, trying to hurry up and finish a cigarette. I don't want to go through that this year. I've also been adding up the cost of smoking, and can't believe how much money it is. And, I work with older people, and have seen a few of them hauling around the oxygen tanks, and realize if I don't quit, that could be me. I have plenty of reasons to quit, but like I said, cutting back did me no good at all, so I just have to stop all together. I know its going to be just as tough, but I see all the support here and know that at least I have somewhere to come when it gets to be very difficult to stay away from the cigarettes. Thank you guys!

Llkoolaid

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 07:33 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I am preparing for my last cigarette now, I still have half a pack and the hardest thing is going to be breaking them up and throwing them away, I smoked so much today that I feel sick from them, my mouth feels like crap and my eyes are burning and so are my lips, I did this to make myself sick from them so that when I want one I can remember how my last one made me feel. For me I am not going to be saying goodbye to an old friend but to an enemy. My husband will be home from work soon and when he gets here that is the time that I have set for myself to have my last one. I actually hate the thought of having another one but I am going to have that last ritual, I intend to curse every puff of it, tomorrow when I wake up I will feel so gross I won't want one. The dirty things are going in the trash. I found out tonight that my cousin got cyban(sp) and she had her last cigarette last night so we are going to call each other everyday. Reading the above posts gets you pumped so I hope that everyone stays on board with us. Thanks so much everyone. My husband just pulled in the yard so here I go. Wish me luck.

Gail

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 07:50 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Good luck!! Tomorrow - go out an buy a couple of bottles of Fabreeze and take time to get the inside of your car cleaned out really good and then spray it! Find some raw veggies to chew on - I think carrot sticks and celery are both pretty good - celery is probably better - less sugar.

Get some minty gum or some good strong breath mints (some of those really tiny ones. Maybe see if you can find a "meditation" or relaxation tape somewhere. I had one for self hyponosis to help me relax.

tomorrow night, if it is not too cold where you live, try taking a walk around the block before you go to bed. Or take a warm shower or do something to relax you and help you sleep. Or maybe get your husband to give you a hand and foot massage as a reward for getting through Day 1.

Once again, I can't stress enough - drink lots and lots of water! And when you feel a really stong urge to smoke, either take a walk or brush your teeth.

Llkoolaid

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 08:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Well, I took the first step, I had that last cigarette, then I crushed and ripped up the rest of them and I threw them and my ashtray in the garbage can. Now I have to keep telling myself I AM A NON-SMOKER. And I want more than my feet massaged!

Babyruth

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 08:02 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
YAY!!! CONGRATS TO THE NEW NON-SMOKER!!!!

Wargod

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 08:09 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Alright llkoolaid! I have midnight set aside as the time for my last cigarette. And it is fast approaching, Im looking forward to throwing cigarettes away.

Good luck to you.

Gail

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 08:48 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Good luck Wargod!! I will keep my fingers crossed for you!!

Babyruth

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 09:02 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Congrats to the Eastern Time Zone new non-smokers!!!
(and congrats to the others in cental, mountain and pacific, too- I'm off to bed)

Franny

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 10:09 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Two hours to go..I have 3 left..then it's adious!!

Sunshinemiss

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 10:15 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
You can do it! Woo-hoo! Better days are ahead! Keep your eyes on the prize!

Juju2bigdog

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 10:18 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Congratulations LLKoolaid! You can do it!

(wonders if she should go get Tess now?)