Post by judyb on Aug 26, 2004 11:03:46 GMT -5
From my extremely thick quit file, some great advice:
In July of 1996, my father passed away and left me staring straight into
the face of my own mortality.
You see, he smoked a pack to 2 packs a day for 55 years. About five
years before his death, he quit. At that point his weakened blood
vessels had caused two annurisms, the second of which left him
paralyzed. His second heart attack was the one that killed him. Dad
was a very healthy guy otherwise. He exercised regularly and was always
in great shape.
I'm not. I smoked 2-3 packs a day for 20 years. I began to think about
missing my daughter's graduation and wedding. I realized I could barely
breath by the time I had walked to my office from the car. Many of you
know what I'm talking about. You have to stop and catch your breath
when you get in the door. I was convinced I wouldn't live to see 50.
In December, I decided I was going to quit. I set a stop day. January
3rd of 1997. I didn't want to stop on New Years Eve because I know how
tempting it is to smoke at the big party. I've tried that before and it
never worked.
I got the gum, because I had heard about being able to measure your dose
by chewing. I had also heard about the psycological advantage of
tearing up your last pack of cigarettes and flushing them down the
toilet.
At 3:00 am on January 3rd, I smoked my last cigarette. I stood over the
toilet and tore up a little better than a pack of cigarettes. I didn't
just tear them up, I attacked them. I blamed them for everything wrong
in my life and I took those feelings out on that pack of cigarettes and
watched them swirl down the basin when I flushed them away. It was like
I was flushing away the problems in my life. (I wasn't of course, my
problems still exist but it made me feel really good about what I was
doing)
Afterward I sat down and cried for a few minutes and then I went to bed.
The next morning I woke up and immediately thought of my cigarettes. I
grabbed my gum and started chewing. That first day was tough. The
second was worse. No one I knew believed I could quit but they were all
very supportive of my attempt. My wife got rid of all the ashtrays,
lighters, matches and other smoking material in the house.
By day 4, I couldn't stand the gum anymore. My jaws were tired from
chewing all the time. It really does taste terrible. I switched to
regular Wrigley's gum. That lasted about 3 days. Finally I gave up the
gum altogether and went cold turkey. Let me tell you, those first 10
days sucked. They were the worst experience of my life. I wanted a
cigarette all the time. There was never a moment when I didn't want
one. Then things gradually started getting better. This NG helped me a
lot. I would sit and read the posts and cry. I felt all the same
things you people are feeling. I didn't post. I just needed to know
that other people went through the same things I did and made it. I
needed their suggestions for getting through tough times. It helped a
great deal.
Some of the worst things about quiting:
1 The first 10 days are pure hell. (but it gets better)
2 After about 3 months the little hairs in your throat start growing
back and it itches. You cough as bad or worse than you did when you
smoked. It makes you feel like "if I'm gonna cough this bad I might as
well smoke." (But it goes away.)
3 When you've been working with your hands, where you can't smoke.
You complete the job and you reach for a cigarette. You don't realize
it but you feel that cigarette is like a reward. When its not there,
you're VERY disappointed. Its depressing. (But that goes away too.)
4 You really wonder when the day will come when you will go a whole
day without thinking of having a cigarette. (For me it was some time
during my second year.)
5 You still want one every once in a while, no matter how long its
been. The cravings just come further and further apart.
I mention all this not to frighten you but so that you can prepare
yourself for it.
As time went by, I realized why the non-smokers are so offended.
The first thing I noticed was that people who smoke stink. I mean
really, we smell. As my sense of smell returned, I would have people
walk into my office who smoked and I could tell the minute they walked
in the door. The odor of the smoke permeates their clothes and body.
That helped. Then I started to be bothered by smoke when I was eating.
Not at first. In fact it was several months. But now it bothers me.
Not terribly. I decided I would not become one of these fanatical
anti-smokers when I quit and I haven't. I no longer allow it in my
house or car because I don't like the smell. But I don't mind sitting
with people who smoke in a meeting, or being in a smoke filled bar. In
fact, during the first few weeks of my quit, I would hang around smokers
because the second hand smoke would seem to satisfy my cravings.
That was one of the things that surprised me. It has never bothered me
to drink around people who smoke. It never made me crave a cigarette
(even the first time on day 4) and it has never bothered me to have a
beer with a smoker.
To sum it up though it has definitely been worth while. I can breath
again, my blood pressure is way down, I don't cough all the time, I can
walk to the office from my car without gasping and I think I'm gonna
live another twenty years at least. (I still need to lose some weight
and I smoked a long time but I'm getting better.) I'm happier. People
don't avoid me at parties or make me stand outside their house to
smoke. I got a promotion I don't know if I would have gotten if I still
smoked. And most of all, the people who never thought I would quit,
gained a tremendous amoumt of respect for me. Especially, the smokers
who know how tough it is.
To give a new quitter some advice, here's what helped me. It won't
necessarily work for everyone.
1 You can't quit for anybody but yourself. If you're quitting for your
wife or your girlfriend or whomever, forget it. Nicorette and Nicoderm
are expensive. Save yourself some money and quit when YOU'RE ready. It
doesn't work unless you really want to quit.
2 Get some support. Use this NG. Get your wife and coworkers to
help. Call a friend who has quit. Talk to somebody.
3 Make yourself a quit list. Write down every reason you have for
stopping. It helps to run through them once in a while.
4 Don't smoke your last cigarette. Tear them up and flush them. It's
a tremendous psycological advantage.
5 If you're really tempted to the point of giving in, go sit with some
folks who smoke. Breath the second hand smoke. Enjoy it. BUT DON'T
PUT ONE IN YOUR MOUTH.
6 This one is the most important. You have to realize that you have
an addiction to nicotine that lasts a lifetime. An alcoholic doesn't
stop being an alcoholic when he's not drinking. A heroin user can't
have "an occassional fix." When you flush that last cigarette, you must
realize that when you smoke just one cigarette, you can be hooked
again. You have to commit to the fact that you can never pick up a
cigarette again as long as you live. After you go through those first
10 days, believe me, you won't ever want to do that again. So don't do
it. Don't smoke another one, even years later.
I realize that I'm not done quitting. I have to maintain my quit every
day. I have to deny the nicodemon every time he tries to come back into
my life.
But every day it gets a little easier. Every day I feel a little
better. Physically and about myself.
It's worth it. Good Luck.
Keith Hendrick
kahen@icon-stl.net
Smoke free 1 Year 9 Months 4 Days 22 Hours
40435 cigarettes unsmoked. $3,032 saved.
In July of 1996, my father passed away and left me staring straight into
the face of my own mortality.
You see, he smoked a pack to 2 packs a day for 55 years. About five
years before his death, he quit. At that point his weakened blood
vessels had caused two annurisms, the second of which left him
paralyzed. His second heart attack was the one that killed him. Dad
was a very healthy guy otherwise. He exercised regularly and was always
in great shape.
I'm not. I smoked 2-3 packs a day for 20 years. I began to think about
missing my daughter's graduation and wedding. I realized I could barely
breath by the time I had walked to my office from the car. Many of you
know what I'm talking about. You have to stop and catch your breath
when you get in the door. I was convinced I wouldn't live to see 50.
In December, I decided I was going to quit. I set a stop day. January
3rd of 1997. I didn't want to stop on New Years Eve because I know how
tempting it is to smoke at the big party. I've tried that before and it
never worked.
I got the gum, because I had heard about being able to measure your dose
by chewing. I had also heard about the psycological advantage of
tearing up your last pack of cigarettes and flushing them down the
toilet.
At 3:00 am on January 3rd, I smoked my last cigarette. I stood over the
toilet and tore up a little better than a pack of cigarettes. I didn't
just tear them up, I attacked them. I blamed them for everything wrong
in my life and I took those feelings out on that pack of cigarettes and
watched them swirl down the basin when I flushed them away. It was like
I was flushing away the problems in my life. (I wasn't of course, my
problems still exist but it made me feel really good about what I was
doing)
Afterward I sat down and cried for a few minutes and then I went to bed.
The next morning I woke up and immediately thought of my cigarettes. I
grabbed my gum and started chewing. That first day was tough. The
second was worse. No one I knew believed I could quit but they were all
very supportive of my attempt. My wife got rid of all the ashtrays,
lighters, matches and other smoking material in the house.
By day 4, I couldn't stand the gum anymore. My jaws were tired from
chewing all the time. It really does taste terrible. I switched to
regular Wrigley's gum. That lasted about 3 days. Finally I gave up the
gum altogether and went cold turkey. Let me tell you, those first 10
days sucked. They were the worst experience of my life. I wanted a
cigarette all the time. There was never a moment when I didn't want
one. Then things gradually started getting better. This NG helped me a
lot. I would sit and read the posts and cry. I felt all the same
things you people are feeling. I didn't post. I just needed to know
that other people went through the same things I did and made it. I
needed their suggestions for getting through tough times. It helped a
great deal.
Some of the worst things about quiting:
1 The first 10 days are pure hell. (but it gets better)
2 After about 3 months the little hairs in your throat start growing
back and it itches. You cough as bad or worse than you did when you
smoked. It makes you feel like "if I'm gonna cough this bad I might as
well smoke." (But it goes away.)
3 When you've been working with your hands, where you can't smoke.
You complete the job and you reach for a cigarette. You don't realize
it but you feel that cigarette is like a reward. When its not there,
you're VERY disappointed. Its depressing. (But that goes away too.)
4 You really wonder when the day will come when you will go a whole
day without thinking of having a cigarette. (For me it was some time
during my second year.)
5 You still want one every once in a while, no matter how long its
been. The cravings just come further and further apart.
I mention all this not to frighten you but so that you can prepare
yourself for it.
As time went by, I realized why the non-smokers are so offended.
The first thing I noticed was that people who smoke stink. I mean
really, we smell. As my sense of smell returned, I would have people
walk into my office who smoked and I could tell the minute they walked
in the door. The odor of the smoke permeates their clothes and body.
That helped. Then I started to be bothered by smoke when I was eating.
Not at first. In fact it was several months. But now it bothers me.
Not terribly. I decided I would not become one of these fanatical
anti-smokers when I quit and I haven't. I no longer allow it in my
house or car because I don't like the smell. But I don't mind sitting
with people who smoke in a meeting, or being in a smoke filled bar. In
fact, during the first few weeks of my quit, I would hang around smokers
because the second hand smoke would seem to satisfy my cravings.
That was one of the things that surprised me. It has never bothered me
to drink around people who smoke. It never made me crave a cigarette
(even the first time on day 4) and it has never bothered me to have a
beer with a smoker.
To sum it up though it has definitely been worth while. I can breath
again, my blood pressure is way down, I don't cough all the time, I can
walk to the office from my car without gasping and I think I'm gonna
live another twenty years at least. (I still need to lose some weight
and I smoked a long time but I'm getting better.) I'm happier. People
don't avoid me at parties or make me stand outside their house to
smoke. I got a promotion I don't know if I would have gotten if I still
smoked. And most of all, the people who never thought I would quit,
gained a tremendous amoumt of respect for me. Especially, the smokers
who know how tough it is.
To give a new quitter some advice, here's what helped me. It won't
necessarily work for everyone.
1 You can't quit for anybody but yourself. If you're quitting for your
wife or your girlfriend or whomever, forget it. Nicorette and Nicoderm
are expensive. Save yourself some money and quit when YOU'RE ready. It
doesn't work unless you really want to quit.
2 Get some support. Use this NG. Get your wife and coworkers to
help. Call a friend who has quit. Talk to somebody.
3 Make yourself a quit list. Write down every reason you have for
stopping. It helps to run through them once in a while.
4 Don't smoke your last cigarette. Tear them up and flush them. It's
a tremendous psycological advantage.
5 If you're really tempted to the point of giving in, go sit with some
folks who smoke. Breath the second hand smoke. Enjoy it. BUT DON'T
PUT ONE IN YOUR MOUTH.
6 This one is the most important. You have to realize that you have
an addiction to nicotine that lasts a lifetime. An alcoholic doesn't
stop being an alcoholic when he's not drinking. A heroin user can't
have "an occassional fix." When you flush that last cigarette, you must
realize that when you smoke just one cigarette, you can be hooked
again. You have to commit to the fact that you can never pick up a
cigarette again as long as you live. After you go through those first
10 days, believe me, you won't ever want to do that again. So don't do
it. Don't smoke another one, even years later.
I realize that I'm not done quitting. I have to maintain my quit every
day. I have to deny the nicodemon every time he tries to come back into
my life.
But every day it gets a little easier. Every day I feel a little
better. Physically and about myself.
It's worth it. Good Luck.
Keith Hendrick
kahen@icon-stl.net
Smoke free 1 Year 9 Months 4 Days 22 Hours
40435 cigarettes unsmoked. $3,032 saved.