thank you all re smoking

[Guest guest]

thank you for your help. I am right now trying very hard to .........quit. :-)

starting by cutting back severely. Cold turkey did not seem like I could do

that......not yet.....but I am trying VERY hard.

thinking of getting little finger cymbals to play with with my hands, LOL.

wonder what everyone will think when I am clanging them instead of smoking?

LOL.

[Guest guest]

Dreamer, I hate to hear that you are having a hard time quitting smoking,

and hope you can resolve that challenge.

Yes, smoking is expensive. My niece has only basic motor control from a car

wreck before she was born, so she needs care 24 hours a day. The nurse she

has is a heavy smoker and her husband is, too. She told me one day that they

spend more than $450 a month for smokes! And she won't quit until she can't

afford them.

In 1987, just before Christmas, my wife and I were pulling tree stumps from

the hill we planted blueberries on. She would wrap the chain and I operated

the tractor. Suddenly, she sat down and said she couldn't move. I got her

back to the house and checked her to see what the problem was, but couldn't

find out anything. A trip to the ER showed pneumonia and had her admitted

immediately. She was smoking 2-3 packs a day, but when this happened to her,

she never wanted another cigarette. It was amazing because I kept telling

her we had to stop smoking. She always replied, " I'll quit when I want to! "

So, now she has quit without outside help and I was left with the habit of

about 1 pack a day. When I got her back home, I had to remove the wood stove

we used to heat the house and had to smoke outside. Of course she's hounding

me because she quit and I didn't. It took me about 2 months to quit and I

never regretted it.

Maybe a big bout of pneumonia will help you quit, although I wouldn't

recommend it. Good luck with your cessation program. You can do it, it takes

a willingness, and a little hard-headedness doesn't hurt. ;<)

Dennis

[ ] thank you all re smoking

> thank you for your help. I am right now trying very hard to

> .........quit. :-)

> starting by cutting back severely. Cold turkey did not seem like I could

> do that......not yet.....but I am trying VERY hard.

> thinking of getting little finger cymbals to play with with my hands, LOL.

> wonder what everyone will think when I am clanging them instead of

> smoking? LOL.

[Guest guest]

Try chewing gum. That's what I did when I first quit smoking, and now

after 12 years, I still like to chew gum. Sugarless gum, since I have

diabetes. It keeps my mouth busy.

You think you cannot quit, but you can. I had smoked for about 34 years

and was up to at least three packs a day. I quit cold turkey the first

time I tried. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it happen for

you, but that's not possible. I can only offer encouragement. You just

have to believe that you're stronger than the nicotine. Visualize the

way it will be when you do quit. You will be so free. After a few days

of going without the nicotine, your body will stop calling for it.

Knowing this helped me persevere. Think how much healthier you'll be.

It will be like saving your own life.

I wish you luck. You CAN do it. We're all pulling for you. Keep us

posted.

Sue

On Wednesday, April 5, 2006, at 09:07 AM, dreamer_plus wrote:

> thank you for your help. I am right now trying very hard to

> .........quit. :-)

> starting by cutting back severely. Cold turkey did not seem like I

> could do that......not yet.....but I am trying VERY hard.

> thinking of getting little finger cymbals to play with with my hands,

> LOL.

> wonder what everyone will think when I am clanging them instead of

> smoking? LOL.

[Guest guest]

never could chew any kind of gum, even as a kid. it makes my jaw and teeth hurt

and gives me a headache. tRied hard candie,s I choke on them. I hate mints.

Tried lollipops, but began to chew them and broke a tooth. LOL. tried

toothpicks, got a splinter in my tongue. was thinking maybe I could carry

around a ballon and blow it up instead of puff a cig?

Tried zyban, but I am bipolar and got psychotic manic. tried a patch it gave

blisters and burned and itched. tried hyponosis. did not help.

I am not even gonna say how expensive it is at our house for smoking. more than

the house payment. and we are both on disability soc sec already.

I have never had pneumonia, never get colds or flu, have always been sturdy and

never got any bugs going around. no allergies. no sore throats, no nothing

like that.

In spite of smoking prbably 3 packs a day and sometimes 4 or 5 packs a day for

the last 35-36 years. Might be easie rif I did get sick, if I did get sore

throats and colds and pneumonia etc.

My mom died in Nov and my MIL died and my best friend who was 35. all 3 had

lung cancer. My husband has emphysema. Everyone continued to smoke thru it

all.

Working Hospice it was mind blowing to see how many people die and are still

smoking while they die from lung cancer.

It is not unusual.

Thats the hard part. even being outcast for smoking. all of it. I cannot

explain why my mind still wants to smoke. why my mind still says I like to

smoke. I know it makes no sense. no sense at all.

But, I am trying and am cut down severely today, hanging in here. Instead of

already being part way thru a second pack today, I have had 3 so far for the

day. (I got up at 5 am and it is 2 now) I know to many people that is not good

enough. To me that is incredible good. It is a start.

I looked up the finger cymbals. LOL maybe I just love being abnoxious? LOL.

Maybe I can play with finger cymbals instead of smoking. AT least I won't be

polluting anyones air with smoke, even if they do not like the noise? Maybe it

will keep my hand busy. Knitting won't work cuz I only use one hand to smoke

while my other hand goes about my business, typing, cooking etc. something that

only uses one hand is better for me, I think. Besides, I did knit while I

smoked, too.

I am working on it. I am trying. but it is weird to me.like remaking me

totally, not sure how I feel about altering my entire self image quite that

much......feels scary to me. No more smoking and no more RA symptoms? not sure

how I will feel about such dramatic change. Yes, I know that sounds SUPER

weird. But I have sorta gradually settled in to how my life is right now. Doc

tells me it will be thousand times different. Kinda spooky sounding. I kinda

thought I liked myself just fine.

- In , Sue <marysue@...> wrote:

>

> Try chewing gum. That's what I did when I first quit smoking, and now

> after 12 years, I still like to chew gum. Sugarless gum, since I have

> diabetes. It keeps my mouth busy.

>

> You think you cannot quit, but you can. I had smoked for about 34 years

> and was up to at least three packs a day. I quit cold turkey the first

> time I tried. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it happen for

> you, but that's not possible. I can only offer encouragement. You just

> have to believe that you're stronger than the nicotine. Visualize the

> way it will be when you do quit. You will be so free. After a few days

> of going without the nicotine, your body will stop calling for it.

> Knowing this helped me persevere. Think how much healthier you'll be.

> It will be like saving your own life.

>

> I wish you luck. You CAN do it. We're all pulling for you. Keep us

> posted.

>

> Sue

>

> On Wednesday, April 5, 2006, at 09:07 AM, dreamer_plus wrote:

>

> > thank you for your help. I am right now trying very hard to

> > .........quit. :-)

> > starting by cutting back severely. Cold turkey did not seem like I

> > could do that......not yet.....but I am trying VERY hard.

> > thinking of getting little finger cymbals to play with with my hands,

> > LOL.

> > wonder what everyone will think when I am clanging them instead of

> > smoking? LOL.

>

[Guest guest]

And this is not enough to give you motivation?

Yeah, I know how it is. Actually I had a bad case of the flu when I

quit. I just stayed in bed all weekend. I didn't smoke in bed.

My sister won't quit even after our aunt died of lung cancer.

Nobody can do it but you. You have made a good start.

Sue

On Wednesday, April 5, 2006, at 03:16 PM, dreamer_plus wrote:

>

> My mom died in Nov and my MIL died and my best friend who was 35. all

> 3 had lung cancer. My husband has emphysema. Everyone continued to

> smoke thru it all.

> Working Hospice it was mind blowing to see how many people die and are

> still smoking while they die from lung cancer.

> It is not unusual.

[Guest guest]

Hello Dreamer!

Your fight is a tough one that I know all about. I smoked for over

30 years and finally quit when my MIL had part of her voicebox

removed in 1998. I mostly did it to support her in her efforts to

stop smoking. Unfortunately she died about a year after from lung

cancer.

I did quit cold turkey but I used a couple of tricks. First, I

carried a post-op picture of my MIL (face up) slipped in between the

cigarette pack and the cellophane. Also, I continued to smoke away

at those cigs and had one anytime I wanted EXCEPT, I never lit them.

In my opinion, aside from the habit forming tobacco additives, the

entire process of smoking is an oral fixation. So try " smoking "

without lighting: carry around your cigarettes and ashtray and go

through all of the motions you would normally do while smoking -

just don't light. What the heck - give it a try.....

Good luck!

e

> >

> > > thank you for your help. I am right now trying very hard to

> > > .........quit. :-)

> > > starting by cutting back severely. Cold turkey did not seem

like I

> > > could do that......not yet.....but I am trying VERY hard.

> > > thinking of getting little finger cymbals to play with with my

hands,

> > > LOL.

> > > wonder what everyone will think when I am clanging them

instead of

> > > smoking? LOL.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

All the best.

It won't be one of the easiest things you can do.......But you can do it..

in oz

[ ] thank you all re smoking

thank you for your help. I am right now trying very hard to .........quit.

:-)

starting by cutting back severely. Cold turkey did not seem like I could do

that......not yet.....but I am trying VERY hard.

thinking of getting little finger cymbals to play with with my hands, LOL.

wonder what everyone will think when I am clanging them instead of smoking?

LOL.