posted on March 1, 2001 10:05:16 AM
YAAAAAY!!!
THIS is what we have accomplished ALREADY:
We have no more smoker's breath.
Our blood pressure has returned to its normal state.
Our heartbeats have stabilized.
Oxygen level in our blood has increased.
Mucas has begun to clear out of our lungs making breathing easier.
(From NY State Smoker's Quitline)
Right now some of us may feel like this but soon we will feel like this
Rocker
[ edited by nycrocker on Mar 1, 2001 10:07 AM ]
posted on March 1, 2001 10:20:25 AM
Takes lots of showers and get some GREAT smelling soap. Your body will be sweating out the nasty nicotine and other things---
posted on March 1, 2001 10:21:45 AM
Hi Boots!
I cut a bunch of straws in half and I chew on one cos it is close in size to a you-know-what. This helps somewhat.
MyBid, I didn't like the Nicotine gum either, it was nasty and gave me a sick feeling in my throat and stomach. So I am eating Gummy Bears like crazy. I have tons of Double Bubble and After Dinner Mints cos they make your mouth taste fresh.
Rocker
posted on March 1, 2001 10:25:20 AM
You are all sooo cool, You are so BOSS
you don't need those stinkin weeds and you
aren't going to be making those SOB's rich..
the money is for you to do something FUN!
Lots of ice water...kiss them kitties, hug your best friend, take a nap...walk in the sun,Don't worry be happy
Seriously, you will have a hard time making
decisions about some minor things...because
you are distracted...I remember when I quit
someone asked the hard question, "Where do you want to go to lunch?" I said, "can I get back to you on that?" Would have been the same if they asked me my name. This too shall pass.
[ edited by zilvy on Mar 1, 2001 10:28 AM ]
posted on March 1, 2001 10:25:59 AM
Hi Zazzie - Good idea. As a matter of fact I am going to get in the shower right now. I'll be back later.
Hey I quit at 4 a.m. today -
***IMPORTANT*** Can everyone list their time please so I can put you all on my QUIT METER WITH ME???
What date/time did you quit?
How many packs a day had you smoked?
How much did a pack cost?
(I smoked a pack a day and they were anywhere between 4.15 and 4.80 a pack! Jeeeeez that was one of my biggest reasons to quit!)
Rocker
posted on March 1, 2001 10:29:14 AM
Hi Zilvy - Yes the money is for something FUN!! I am going to put 4.50 in an envelope right now, cos that is what I would've spent today on cigs.
Okay off to the shower cos I can't sit at the computer anymore and be okay right now!!
posted on March 1, 2001 10:32:24 AM
Cut straws? That sounds clever. In a different thread I promised rosiebud that I would try to take control of my weight. I considered that when I decided to quit smoking. Today I have quit smoking so today I have also given up cream and sugar in my coffee. I now use equal and coffeemate lite. I drink ice water instead of soda. I was using dum dums for the oral gratification, but the cut straw thing has no calories. See...I did have a point...it just took FREAKING FOREVER TO GET TO IT!!!
posted on March 1, 2001 10:47:49 AM
Good Luck to all of you! There are going to be lots of tough times, but please hang in there. You have lots of people here who want you to succeed...not to mention love ones close by.
nycrocker...$4.50 per day = $1,642.50 per year!! That's even better than a tax cut!! What will you do with all of it...a nice vacation maybe?
posted on March 1, 2001 10:48:45 AM
thanks boots, I'm here!
I do have a bone to pick though (and then I will get my cranky butt outta here)...
You guys said I would smell good. When exactly does that start? As if I hadn't taken three showers already today.....sheesh!
zazzie: Your body will be sweating out the nasty nicotine
why didn't you warn us about that?!?!?
I knew I'd be cranky but...
serious road rage going on here!!!
posted on March 1, 2001 10:51:10 AM
You will find that some people now get along with you who could not before and were not free to say why. I have real bad allergies to tobacco and perfume besides the usual hay fever in the spring and fall and if someone was a smoker I could not even sit close to them at work because the smell never went away between breaks outside to have a smoke. I would get itchy eyes and raw tingling nose that would start running and after awhile my throat would catch and I would have a hard time swallowing and speaking. A lot of people probably thought I did not like them because I would get away from them as fast as I could. I learned not to say anything because you never knew who would really rip into you if you told the truth that it made you sick to be near them. Quite a few would not believe it.
More power to y'all - go for it.
posted on March 1, 2001 11:05:56 AM
I quit 9/14/99...but, who's counting?
The first time I quit...made it 3 months...cold turkey. A HUGELY overweight friend...my very BEST friend...and I exchanged vows. My husband joined in. She would diet...we would quit smoking. We would all help each other live. She called me (lives on the other coast) one day and said...oh no...my diet lasted only a week. I was so PISSED, started smoking again that very day. So did my husband...and we had it LICKED! Arghhh. Three months down the tube. How stupid can you get? I had smoked maybe 25 years, at the time.
The second time I quit...I did it for my marriage. My husband had already stopped and was nagging me unmercifully. Rather than just kill him and go to prison (or the chair), I tried the patch. All I could think of was the patch...and cigs. It itched...I thought of cigs. It showed...I thought of cigs. I took it off at nite...I thought of cigs. Put it on in the morning...you get the picture... I smoked with the patch on...I thought of death...lol. Lasted about a month and started smoking again...full time. I had smoked 30 some odd years.
The third time I quit...I really didn't want to. An online friend asked for my company on a quitting smoking thread. I really like her so I said okay...I'll keep you company for a while...but, no way I can do it. I had smoked for 39 years at the time.
I couldn't lie to her...so I did it for one day...told myself, that will be it. I'll buy some tomorrow. She was doing okay! I thought...all right...I'll just do it this one more day...buy some tomorrow. I just couldn't let her down, you know?
To make a way too long story shorter, I hung in with her...she started again. By that time, I had over a week invested...cold turkey...and just kept it up. Kind of the AA thing...one day at a time...without any kind of plan at all. Never thought I could. Just kind of DID...by accident.
That's just me though. I'm terrible with rules and structure. This business of "I'll have my smokes tomorrow" worked for me. When I told myself..."I'll never smoke again," I actually managed to rebel against MYSELF.
Sick puppy, huh? This is hardly inspirational, but I gave my word I'd tell my story. Whew. I hate typing...
Every day, I am amazed and pleased that I'm not smoking. All the total asses that gave me gratuitous lectures about my health are saved from my further and future abuse... Trust me...with my proclivity for invective...the world is a better place, now.
posted on March 1, 2001 11:08:52 AM
Hi all, I'm hanging in there. I'm so glad that I have such a big lace order to work on. That's really helping me.
Just wanted to pop into the new thread and wish everyone continued luck. Is the old thread going away now? I hate to lose all the good stuff there. Instead of having two different threads about the same thing how about if we post a link to the other thread here so that we don't lose all the help that was there. That way if it does go away it'll still be handy from here. Did that make sense? BLAH!!! My brain isn't working well enough to do that right now, so maybe someone else can do it for us. Zilvey is right... I'm focusing hard to remember my name right now. Rocker I'll post my quit stats later. Can't think aobut it right now. My meter says 11 hours but I think it's been longer than that. I'm sure it has so I must have entered the info wrong. I'll be back after while.
posted on March 1, 2001 11:14:20 AMToke I didn't see your post before I posted mine. Thanks for sharing that. Everytime I hear another person say that they actually made it it renews my hope. Maybe the trick is not to think about this as forever. But to just promise myself I won't smoke "today." Thanks!
You're welcome. For what it's worth...no one that knows me...or my pleasure in smoking...can believe I actually stopped. Truly. If a hedonist such as I can quit...YOU can. No one I know matches me for self-indulgence.
posted on March 1, 2001 12:03:59 PM
Wow, I wish I had looked in the other thread ealier. I started taking Zyban November 16, 2000 and my stop date was 12/1/2000. Before then, I had smoked 3 packs a day for 23 years. The only exceptions to my ability to smoke, for a total of 27 months (9 for each child) because during my pregnancies, smoking made me physically ill.
I tried everything to stop smoking ~ cold turkey, patches, gum. But it didn't work. I even tried to limit my smoking to just outside... and it worked at first, but eventually my body acclimated to the heat/cold and I went right back up.
My husband is a non-smoker and absolutely hates it. My body hates getting bronchitis every year. My children hate the fact that I'm allowed to do this "drug".. *hey, blame the DARE programs.. lol* It wasn't until my youngest came home from school after one of the DARE classes and looked at me with his big brown eyes and said "Momma smoke, no die, please" (he has CP and has a severe speech delay).. and it finally hit me that I'm effecting their lives and since they complete me, how can I possibly kill myself by doing this? I'm sorry, the way I want to die is at the age of 120 and in bed *doing what? Use your imagination!.. lol* So, it broke my heart, my son doing that to me... and you know what? He was the worse nag I've ever encountered. Perhaps it was his innocence that made it impossible for him to understand that it's just not that easy to stop.
But eventually I went to the doctor and told him what I wanted. He prescribed a combination of Zyban and the patch, since I smoked so much. It was a lot easier than I had expected and I found myself weaning myself from the patch much sooner than what the drug companies recommended. By December 20th I was off the patches .. and I went through considerable stress at Christmas time .. all without wanting a single cigarette. (In addition to regular christmas stress I had my father here, and there was a massive ice storm and we lost power for a week).
By New Years Eve, I stopped taking the Zyban. (Truth be known, I wanted to drink on New Years and was upset that I wouldn't let myself since I was on the Zyban.. lol).
I spent 6 weeks on Zyban and stopped taking it as soon as I could.. (not because of side effects or anything like that). And best of all, I don't regret doing it, nor did I have any problems doing it.
I still use my little cheats............ A nice big deep breath once in awhile, especially when I get aggravated. Pick up a piece of dentine to chew. Listen to some serious music when I'm in the car and just "sitting" for long periods.
Is it worth it? Yea, my youngest son is proud of me.. and he gives me a look that kinda says.. "mom, you were so full of BS when you were saying it was hard". My husband told me a month ago, that I smell better than I ever had before....... (and you know what? Sex is a lot better because he's not afraid to get close and kiss you more because you smell like cigarettes). So far, no sign of Bronchitis this year.. and I had gotten it every year for the last 10 years. I'm not freezing my tush off by smoking outside....... and this summer, I don't plan to sweat it off by smoking in the heat.
Anyhow, the best of luck to all of you.. I hope it goes as easy for you.. as it did for me. Don't get discouraged when you find your self pacing... or you suddenly find yourself taking deep breaths for no reason. Just keep doing what you're doing.. one hour at a time.
posted on March 1, 2001 12:22:38 PM
OK, I really smell like nag champa, my silverware drawer is organized, I've brushed my teeth enough, my packing supplies are organized, the floors are mopped, my African violets are deadheaded, AAARRRGGHHHHHHH!!!
posted on March 1, 2001 01:10:14 PM
To all of you with kids--your kids LOVE you for quitting. I am sure they love you anyway...but I swear, I have been begging my mom for my whole life to quit. The 9 months when she quit while she was pregnant with my sister were pure bliss.
You will get sick so much less, and so will your kids. You're not only saving money by not buying cigarettes...you're also saving money by not having to buy so many over-the-counter cold medications, and not as many doctor visits...the list goes on and on.
Every time I visit my mom and spend any length of time there, I get sick...no fail. If that's what it does to me after a couple of days, imagine what you must be doing to yourself by living in it!
To all of you who are quitting--I am EXTREMELY proud of you. I know how hard it is to quit by seeing so many other people fail at it...but not because they couldn't do it--because they weren't committed to quitting.
Take it one day at a time. If that's not good enough...one hour, one minute, one second at a time. Ask yourself, "Can I not smoke for this second? How about this one?" That's all it takes...just take it as it comes.
Oh, and I suggest getting a nice, big, clear jar or something of the sort to put money in--all the money that you are saving by not spending it on cigarettes. As you see that pile of money grow, you can feel more and more proud of yourself, and use it as a visual chart of your progress.
posted on March 1, 2001 01:29:30 PM
Hi Oddish I know I can speak for Rocker on this one... come on in!!!!
A good jump start for quitting is to check out the link that Bootsnana posted on the other thread.... just look above this post to where she added the Hey Rocker Link and it'll take you to that page. The link to the stop smoking web-site is on the first page of that thread. It's got some great info and also a quit meter that helps you keep track of how much $$ you save, etc.
I hope that all makes sense. I've got a terrible headache. I think it's a head rush from oxygen finally reaching my brain for the first time in 30 years. LOL
I'm going back under the covers. I called my lace lady and told her the order would be tomorrow. It's too much stress to worry about a deadline today. Besides, how can you have a lace emergency? LOL
Everyone keep hanging in there... I swear I think I'm really sweating nicotine. Is that possible?
HI Hi It's great to see you. I'll go follow those links. I have the willpower of a knat so I don't know how good I'll be able to do with this but you know there comes that day you are just soo sick of being a slave to the damn things you'll try anything. I think I'm almost there.
posted on March 1, 2001 01:40:29 PM
Hi Oddish If you have the willpower of a gnat then we definitely have something in common. LOL
But, I'm with you. I'm sick and tired of being a slave to nicotine. The more I'm feeling the withdrawal then the more I'm trying to channel that feeling into anger at the tobacco industry. But, I don't do anger well... it's exhausting.
You'll find the most fabulous support here that you could ever hope for... so, please do join us!
posted on March 1, 2001 01:53:36 PMmybiddness: you cracked me up with the lace emergency. I envisioned some poor soul on the other end waiting desperately for her lace. Why did it have to happen to her on March 1st the day SHE decided to quit smoking? LOL
posted on March 1, 2001 02:09:24 PM
Forget the patch, go to you doctor and get a prescription for the nose spray. I'm on my 60th Day today WOOO HOOO!!!!
The nose spray lets you control the amount of nictone you want. It's just like a cigarette to your system. It smells like a dirty ashtry, makes your nose run and it burns.so believe me you don't use it very much.
I used zyban for about 2 weeks but couldn't take the side effects.
Without the spray. I would have never made it this far.
[ edited by bnwilk on Mar 8, 2001 06:10 PM ]
but soon we will feel like this 
[ edited by nycrocker on Mar 1, 2001 10:07 AM ]
Don't worry be happy
Trust me...with my proclivity for invective...the world is a better place, now.