Introduction
Hi Jess,
you wrote
“..what a great file section there is set up here, very well done.”
Thank you. The files section is the handy work of Pam, she’s put
together that resource. She’ll be along shortly.
7 Responses to “Introduction”
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May 28th, 2006 at 1:30 am
Hi Jess,
Drinking or smoking? When an addicted smoker stops nicotine or
changes the delivery system, there’s usually a 3ish day adjustment
during which manual dexterity (including typing) is impaired. It’s a
physiological condition that improves rapidly. It usually comes with
brain fog also. If you can’t find your toaster, look in the fridge.
Steve
May 29th, 2006 at 7:59 am
Jess,
I can’t think of a more difficult way to quit than what you’re
doing. You’re suffering all the physical and mental symptoms of withdrawal
by hanging on as long as you can and then lighting up. This won’t get
easier. The longer you continue this hang on/smoke routine, the more worn
out you’ll become.
There are two ways to stop the nicotine addiction with it’s withdrawal
symptoms. Nicotine replacement which gradually reduces your general
nicotine level or cold turkey. As a rule, there is a 3ish day adjustment
whether it’s at each stage of a step down program or off of nicoine all at
once via cold turkey. By the way, those who quit cold turkey report about 2
weeks of brain fog, with the worst of it being in the fist several
days. Nic replacement may reduce some of that fog intensity but stretches
it out over a longer period. Pick whichever appeals to you and stick
with it. But that ‘wait as long as you can before you light up’ method is
guaranteed hell.
Steve
June 1st, 2006 at 3:43 pm
Hi Jess,
The physical part of quitting is fairly straight forward and will
follow your thinking once you’ve shifted gears and start directing the
quit. Toward that end, have you spend a couple of days with your timer
collecting the data from the hourly body checks? If you do that for a few
days I can show you how to use that accumulated info to alter your
responses in smoking situations.
Whenever you’re ready.
Steve
June 25th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Hi everyone. I stopped smoking 11 days ago. The quit came about due to a conversation with a friend over the Internet, who had quit a short while ago and she was nagging me pretty bad (good). Anyway I did finally say ok, I need/want to do this, and did it. It was cold turkey and to be honest, not all that difficult at all. The first couple of days I emerged myself in a project that kept me mentally absorbed and that made it much easier.
But, then things changed. The evening of the 3^rd day into the quit my ankles were swollen. I have never experienced that before. I put my feet up, curtailed fluid intake….I do tend to drink a lot…pepsi mostly, I went to bed and the next am both ankles were normal. But shortly after waking up I had this head/neck/shoulder ache that I had never experienced before. Also, if I sat at the computer for a couple of hours my ankles became swollen. This process went on like this for a couple of days and additionally I started being very sleepy most of the time.
After a few days the ankle swelling thing stopped. I continue to have the weird feeling, but mostly just in my shoulders and the desire to sleep all the time, comes and goes. When I wake up in the am, my eyes are swollen and I kind of wonder if I have bronchitis because things taste like they did when I had it over a year ago etc. When I do cough and cough something up, about half the time it is yellow. The coughing I had experienced prior to stopping smoking is way better. Almost non-existant.
Anyway once I get past all of this, I am concerned about when I feel “normal” and something “triggers” wanting a cigarette….how to handle that…even though I do not understand why after, by that time it is going to be probably 2.5 to 3 weeks. Anyway, this is who I am at the moment. Not a very pretty picture. Actually, it is not a fun thing to have to introduce myself this way.
I would much rather say “Hi. I am 58 years old and I am the mother of 5 of the most wonderful children that ever lived and 6 of the most fantastic grandchildren a grandmother could ever hope to have. The joy they all bring into my life on a daily basis……..ah but alas….here I am talking about yellow stuff and being so sleepy I can’t hold my head up.
Pat (Hanna) Schlegel
(509) 840-1646
27000 Hwy 22
Mabton, WA
August 23rd, 2006 at 3:19 am
Hi, My name is Susan,I live in MD. just joined the group, and quit
smoking on October 14th. I’m 49 (soon to be 50 ack!)
I have now been smoke free for 2 mos. I am using nic. patches, and I
feel they have really been a life savor for me. I am really happy
about quitting and already have experienced so many benefits! (like
being able to breath in the morning - instead of coughing up a lung
lol*)
My biggest problem i’m still dealing with is the urge I have to smoke
when i’m angry or very sad. How do you all deal with this?
Susan
August 23rd, 2006 at 4:56 pm
Hi Suzan (sp??),
I am Suzanne and I quit on Oct. 16th. And I turned 50 on Nov. 29th!
We are very close on several stats, apparently.
I met ddsteve at QuitNet. His behavioral approach to quitting
smoking beats the heck out of the “I’m hopelessly addicted forever
and must rely on my higher power” approach, in my opinion. No one
controls my behavior but me! (Or so I like to think! LOL)
Congrats on your quit and I’m glad you are here. I like QuitNet too,
for chatting with fellow quitters and keeping my hands busy in the
evening, or when I have a ridiculous craving and need to remind
myself that this is my best and final quit.
So, when is your birthday? I’d love to make sure it is acknowledged!
My 50th was wonderful. My fella gave me 50 flowers for 50 years, and
I had several wonderful lunches and dinners with dear friends who
remind me how lucky I am to be alive, not smoking, and not suffering
from some horrid smoking-related disease. I hope yours is just as
wonderful!
Take care, and keep posting. I work too much and don’t always check
in but I plan to become more diligent. Especially if a birthday is
involved!
Suzanne
August 18th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Hello,
Thank you for allowing me into your group.
My name is Dottie, I am 59 years old (60 in May) and I have been smoking
since I was 12 years old. I retired early to stay at home with my 76 years
old husband who has medical problems. I have lupus and emphysema, so these,
along with cost of smokes in our state ($56.00 per carton) are my reasons to
quit.
I have tried to quit a few times in the past with no luck. I am a very hyper
personality and have always used smoking as a tension release.
I have tried the patches, but I am allergic to adhesive. Tried the gum, but
can’t chew those as they stick to my teeth. I tried acupuncture and did fine
until about a week after I finished my treatment. Older son drove me nuts
one day and I caved and lit a cigarette. After reading the files you sent me
I now know I should have kept trying instead of giving up. That is a very
good point in your files. We tend to beat ourselves up if we fall back and
light up.
Has anyone tried the Commit Lozenges? I am curious to see if they helped.
They are so expensive that I thought I would use them as a last resort type
of thing.
The times I have tried quitting cold turkey before never lasted and I got so
hyper it was awful.
I download SilkQuit program and have started with that. I use the program to
keep track of how long between cigarettes, increasing it (the length of
time) each time I have another one.
Years ago I used to smoke a pack a day. Using the meter, I worked myself
down to 10 cigarettes a day and stayed there even to now. For some reason,
this method give me less stress and I can deal with it.
I started the meter again yesterday and have worked myself down to 6
cigarettes since March 12th.
What I am looking for is support in doing this, tips to make the increase in
time easier, and any ideas of what is safe to eat that won’t put mega pounds
on my butt. :))
Dottie