state of being/Q’s
I have a Q for you guys with some time under your belt.
I an not what I term depressed but I am not in a good state of being either.
Not happy not sad, more blah, like what the hell does it matter. I am on no
meds, other than for my RA. This is a different state than what I have
ever experienced or can remember experiencing. Is this part of my quit or
is it life in general and I am blaming my quit?
Next Q. When does my digestive track get ok again? I am 3 months into my
quit and still have major digestive issues. I went to an internist, his
laymen’s term was…..my intestines are in knots.<G
words and I have these somewhere but for this email the gist is, He blames
the lack of nicotine and my poor brain not compensating with the correct
firing of chemicals, so my body is not working correctly.
He suggested I am among the 2% that have real difficult with physical side
of this. I am not sure of that but he is the doctor.<G
posted about his a few weeks ago or I read it in the archives.
I have gained 18 lbs, I understood and had been forewarned about the
weight gain as a matter of metabolism changes. I have been very careful
about not replacing food as a non-smoking supplement. I use the online Nat
tool to watch my caloric intake. I have added some calories as I am
actually eating instead of smoking away hungry. I have added fruits, juices
and water to my diet, eating much healthy foods over all. I think my
inability to exercise ( the arthritis) is part of the weight gain issue
also. I am looking for a water aerobic group, as that is something I can do
without causing joint pain/damage.
With all this whining about my mental and physical state<G
having terrible cravings or urges to smoke. My biggest triggers I have
either learned to stay clear of or ABC to another response. Its more a
matter of enjoying life. Am I expecting too much too soon with the
physical/mental issues? Is this Warren whispering in my ear, smoke and you
will be happy again? I am confused with this to say the least.
Karen N.
Memphis, TN
oboegirl@…
January 29th, 2005 at 10:04 pm
Jan,
I have no problem accepting this may be “quit depression”. I have a lot of
stressors on my plate right now as well as doing my quit. When I saw the
internist I questioned him if my mental state could be depression. He was
so busy blaming everything on “uptakes” and “retakes” blah blah, I really am
not sure he was even aware “I” was the room. He was just too busy showing
off IMHO. I was not impressed with him so admit I just tuned him out after
his monolog began, if he agreed or not, I lost that in the conversation.<G
For the record I do not have much faith in western medicine. Long story
short after dealing with MD’s for 10+ years with RA they are just not into
healing the body but pushing meds that are more toxic/damaging than the
disease. At one time I was taken 3 meds for my RA and 5 to counter the
sides effects of the other 3. Geeeeesh no wonder its called the “practice”
of medicine.
I will start a herbal anti-depressant supplement and see if I have a better
outlook on life.
Thanks for your input.
Karen N.
Memphis, TN
oboegirl@…
February 1st, 2005 at 5:29 pm
Hi Karen, I don’t know about others but I didn’t really start fully
appreciating the physical and emotional rewards until about my 3-4th month.
Then with the warmer weather (I quit March) and activity in the yard I
started to see a big physical difference. After month 3 I started an
excersise program, starting with 1/2 mile on treadmill, and also started a
diet. Every month after that I felt better about myself.
I still have a ways to go recovering the lung capacity, but am going to go
back to water aerobics too and practice holding my breath!!
You may also just be feeling the fall blahs as summer draws to a close. In
any case if you checked with a doctor and it’s not depression, it just may be
time to get up and do something!
Remember to smile at people, it drives them crazy wondering what you are up
to!
Bobbie