TVCH FORUMS HOME . JOIN . FAN CLUBS . ABOUT US . CONTACT . CHAT  
Bomis   Quick Links   TOPICS . TREE-VIEW . SEARCH . HELP! . NEWS . PROFILE
Archive through January 06, 2004

The TVClubHouse: Archives: 2004 January - Arpil: Who wants to quit smoking with me? (ARCHIVES): Archive through January 06, 2004 users admin

Author Message
Tabbyking

Sunday, January 04, 2004 - 11:23 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
don't forget to google the 'what happens when you quit smoking' pages. you will love knowing when your carbon monoxide level is normal and when you will stop that cough and when your risk of heart attack decreases, etc.
http://www1.umn.edu/perio/tobacco/whathappensafter.html

Halfunit

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 7:58 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
1029 ½ hours!


Sc00p - I am the wrong person to answer your dosage question, so listen to the others! I have a bad habit of mixing things up to work for me.

At first, I was using the 4mg lozenges according to the schedule provided, which was 1 lozenge every 1-2 hours. Well, it took me an hour and a half to disolve the dang thing, so I had to alter the schedule to fit my sucking pattern , lol.

I have just passed the 6 week mark yesterday. Last Friday, I happened to be in the pharmacy section of my local discount store and noticed they had the Nicorette gum on sale. I bought the 2mg gum.

Since Friday, I've had roughly 8 lozenges, and 20 pieces of gum.

( With either method, I am still in the "One piece every 1-2 hours" stage. Week 7 begins the "One piece every 3-4 hours" stage. If you do the math, I don't follow directions very well.)

They tell you not to use any other smoking cessation aid while on another. I really shouldn't be using the gum while using lozenges. Now, I don't put them in my mouth at the same time, but I have started alternating. When I went and saw a 3 ½ hour long movie Saturday, I popped a 4mg lozenge in the theater. After a meal later that evening, I chewed a piece of 2mg gum.

Probably not the right way to do things, but I have to do what works for me. At this stage, sometimes a 4mg shot is too much, sometimes it's what I need.

Bottom line: don't listen to me!


Llkoolaid

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 1:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Scoop, just do what works for you, I think everyone here has had a differant experience quitting. We can only tell you what works for us and you have to try them out and use what works for you.
Hope today is going as smoothly as the first 3.

Kristylovesbb

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 2:00 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I have decided to quit smoking after 32 years and two packs a day. I wanted to do it Jan 1st but dh was home on vacation and he smokes to. So today be went back to work and today I start my journey.

I couldn't decide if I wanted to post in here for fear of embarrassment if I fail and I don't want to let folks down who will be pulling for me and supporting me. I realize I can't do this alone so here I am asking for your help and encouragement.

I had a few asthma attacks last year, first in my life. and I get short of breath easily. So I know I must quit now.

My mother and grandfather both died from emphysema so I know I am genetically predisposed.

A friend of the family died Friday from lung cancer. She went to the doctor 2 months ago with some pain in her upper back and they discovered she was stage 4 lung cancer. She owned her own business, a huge home here and a huge home at the ocean. Daughter just started her first year of college and now her mom is gone from her. So very sad.

I made this a hung it up so I could read it when I feel weak.

Cigarettes Cause

LUNG CANCER
HEART DISEASE
STROKES
THROAT CANCER
ASTHMA
EMPHYSEMA
SHORTNESS OF BREATH

Plus they stink, make you wrinkle, cost a lot of money, and ruin you clothes and home.


God I hate those damn things!! They are evil, vile, and deadly!! They kill us, they suck the very breath from of us. I want to quit so badly before it is too late.

Ginger1218

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 2:35 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Kristy you can do it. I smoked for 30 years 3 1/2 packs a day. I was an insane smoker. I smoked everywhere, even if it was illegal to smoke there. I refused to go anywhere that I could not smoke. I developed polyps on my vocal chords and the throat surgeon scared me, my mother had COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) I watched her gasp for breath all my life and that still did not stop me. But for some reason this struck me and I decided to stop. I stopped cold turkey the morning of the surgery. I lasted for 11 months and then got cocky and started having an urge for a smoke, so I decided to have ONE cigarette at midnight on New Year's Eve. Big mistake, by the next day I was smoking over 3 packs again. I smoked like a chimney for 4 months, during which time I got 3 colds, bronchitis, my throat started to get bad again and I said - What am I crazy? I finished my last cigarette before I went to bed (I had none left - I had planned it that way) and from that day on I have not smoked. It is going to be 9 years in May. I realize that I am like a recovering alcoholic, I am a recovering ex-smoker, I can never touch one cigarette, one drag and I will be right back.

Well to get to the point, sorry for blabbing, but, baby, it is easier than you think. It is all mind control. Just put your focus somewhere else. 3 days after stopping I was playing poker with 8 people who were chain smokers and I did not pay attention, I refused to think about it. I refuse to run away from smoke, my BF smokes, I pay no attention to it.
9 years later I still get urges occasionally, I just take a deep breath and it passes. The physical part is only 3 days, after that is is purely psychological. If you need any help Kristy, just email me, I will give you my number if you want, and you can call me.
One of my closest friends died 4 years ago of lung cancer, she was 47 years old. I know this heartbreak

Landi

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 3:18 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
i'm a patch girl - i started on my birthday (also the great american smokeout) and even though the patches make me nauseous as hell... i have to use 'em. whenever i'm nauseous i can't smoke. it's probably how i was able to go my entire pregnancy without a single cigarette. i was nauseous the entire 9 months! i started with the step 1 patch... then after a month i tried step 2... well... i'm not ready for step 2. it wasn't enough. it also hurts that my husband is a smoker. thank goodness the house is off limits! but i see the packs, and the lighters, and then i think about it... and think about it... then rub my patch and i'm okay ... for now. every single day is a challenge. i'm 41 years old. i started when i was 21. grew up with a grandmother, mother, and aunt who smoked. i'm want now to be a NON-smoker. i know what you mean about one drag. i don't trust myself with that either.

Bronxie

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 3:42 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Kristy, your family history is your motivation, your innate intelligence is your strength.

As Ginger stated, cold turkey is really the quickest, and believe-it-or-not, the easiest way. Common now, who is stronger...you, or that dirty dincher?
............your emphysema ciberSis, bronxie

Ginger1218

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 3:47 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Also patches and gums just draw it out longer, it keeps nicotine in your system. Cold turkey gets it done quicker. I have tried them all and none of them worked for me, except cold turkey.

Kristylovesbb

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 4:41 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thanks guys, cold turkey is they way I am going. I have tried the patches in the past and I feel they draw it out.

This time I am determined, I am tired of watching people around me die from these dirty devils! I want to breathe long deep breaths without coughing my head off. I want to breathe without hearing wheezing. I want to walk across the house without getting out of breath.

I can do this, I know I will. I WILL NOT FAIL!!!
This is too important, it is a matter of my life or my death and damn it I AM TAKING CONTROL of my own life. THESE CIGARETTES WILL NO LONGER RUN MY LIFE! You may have owned me up til now but it's over buster, I am stronger than you are!

Ginger1218

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 4:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
(smile) Good luck Kristy

Llkoolaid

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 5:20 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Just keep up that positive attitude Kristy and you will make it. Stay here, don't be afraid of failure, we have all been there and will be here to support you. YOU CAN DO THIS

Kristylovesbb

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 5:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I just finished supper. God it was good, I ate two plates full! DH is smoking right now and it don't bother me one bit. They stink, and they are nasty, uk!
DH is going to try to quit first thing tomorrow morning. He didn't know I was going to quit and says he needs to gear himself up for it and start fresh in the morning. He will do it because he has tried several times to get me to quit with him and I wouldn't commit myself to it.

Hey you guys I already feel better!!!!!

Kristylovesbb

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 5:54 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
By the way, which day was the hardest for you guys? I need to know what to expect.

Maris

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 6:09 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I can remember two bad days, one was around day three and the other one was about six weeks later. The one six weeks later was the killer but once I got past that day, I stopped thinking about cigarettes every day.

Juju2bigdog

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 6:23 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
You've got the right attitude, Kristy. That is exactly what it takes. When you get right down to it, it's either the beast or you. Which is it gonna be? It IS a beast and you CAN beat it. One day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time if you have to. Every minute you don't smoke is one more victory for you.

Go Kristy!!!

Hang in there, Landi. I'd guess you are at about six weeks now? That is a major victory. Just keep on keeping on, and one day you too will be FREE AT LAST!

Llkoolaid

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 7:36 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Kristy for me it was 3rd day and 2 weeks. 2 weeks was the worst, I was miserable for the whole day but when I got through it I felt better than ever about myself. Just take it an hour at a time when these days hit and you will get through them. After that you will have cravings but they get less and less and get easier and easier to dismiss.

Landi, I had to laugh when you mention rubbing the patch. I once quit for 6 year, yes I said 6 years and showed off and had 1 cigarette and within a couple of weeks I was back to a pack a day. Anyway about the rubbing, everytime I got a craving I would rub my patch, when I got off the patch I wore a band aide for a while just so I had something to rub if a craving came. Hey, you do what you have to.

Landi

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 7:59 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
thanks for the good wishes... llkool, i thought that was my thingie about rubbing my patch! i do that every time i get a cravin'!! thanks for the idea about wearing a band aid since they have them about the same size as a patch. i can't wear my patches on my arms i wear 'em on my chest under my bra strap. i tried my hiney, but then my rear end itched! at least here it looks like i'm just fixin a bra strap! the things we women do!

Kristylovesbb

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 10:02 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Hey Landi, that is great! I will be so glad when I get to where you are now, very proud of you!

Well you guys it has been almost 24 hours now and I have been doing GREAT!!!!

Every time I want one I take a look at the poster of doom I made and the desire for a puff subsides.

I feel so happy because my first day has been so easy.

Juju2bigdog

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 10:42 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Yay, Kristy, your first milestone!

Landi, the patches itched me like crazy, and I had big red circles all over my body. I had to keep moving them around a LOT.

Babyruth

Monday, January 05, 2004 - 11:13 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
JujuBigRedCirclesDawg
ditto

Ginger1218

Tuesday, January 06, 2004 - 9:58 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Kristy, you sort of have to self hypnotize yourself into totally not focusing on it. The more you think about it, the more you will torture yourself. The first 3 days are the worst, because you feel the physical effects. After than it is psychological. It may help you to take a straw or something to hold in your hand and your mouth. The thing that people miss is the hand to mouth action. So if you hold a straw and suck on it, it sort of helps that need. Just really try to not think about it. It is the only way to get through it. :)

Juju2bigdog

Tuesday, January 06, 2004 - 10:01 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
LOL, Babyruth. Now, you know that dog is an English Bulldog, right? They are very smart but very dangerous dogs to have. They have an innate desire to kill other animals, and they will. That is the breed that Princess Anne owns that just killed the Queen's Corgi. AND bit the maid the next week. If you get one of those dogs, they can be a very rewarding pet, but you have to be very, very sure you know what you are doing. This has been a Public Service Announcement of the royal Kennel Club.

Babyruth

Tuesday, January 06, 2004 - 11:20 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Juju, when I quit smoking, I would have bit the maid, if we had one. I was a tad crabby for a few days.

Oh, and maybe Princess Anne's dog who quit smoking and who has the red circles (pictured above) was so distressed he mistook a c-o-r-g-i for a c-i-g-a-r (easy to scramble around the letters when distressed) and took a chomp because he misplaced his royal cigar tool, and he didn't mean to kill the corgi, just smoke him. You never know until you ask.

Bronxie

Tuesday, January 06, 2004 - 11:40 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Kristy, Ginger is right (again) about the hand and mouth temptations. Try to keep your hands busy: knit, crochet, play solitaire, or go for a quick walk, or someplace that doesn't permit smoking. But it seems to me you've already licked it...your determination is to be envied....bronxie

Urgrace

Tuesday, January 06, 2004 - 1:33 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Kristydaughter, I am very proud of you and your decision. After quitting cold turkey, I'm at 9 months 21 days 15 hours and 10 minutes! Two days ago it hit me real hard. I must have smelled the chimney going from across the street and it triggered a craving. I just kept drinking large glasses of water and put a tootsie roll pop in my mouth! It's still not easy but it's worth it.