RE: Quitting smoking support thread (Full Version)

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stellaluna -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/6/2008 2:47:17 PM)

An anecdote:

Over the weekend I was running camera for a theatre event that had two intermissions. During the first intermission, someone sitting near me went outside to smoke. I don't know who it was, but they were close enough that it was a very strong smell. By the second intermission (45 minutes later), my eyes were watering, my nose was running and stuffy, I was trying desperately to hold back sneezes and not shake the camera...it was terrible.

After a year and a half smoke-free, this is how cigarette smoke makes me feel. I was led to repent shortly after I quit, for inflicting any health problems on anyone--especially children--during the years I was smoking. But situations like this weekend make me feel guilty all over again.

(I'm still looking for real medical research on hypersensitivity to smoke in non-smokers, but I haven't found any yet, in case any of you guys come across some.)

I sincerely pray that everyone I know (you guys) that are still smoking can quit and stay quit. It will change your life for the better, I promise!



bettymackII -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/6/2008 3:32:18 PM)

That was powerful!,stelluna



Roberta_ -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/8/2008 2:00:55 PM)

There is a part of me who really wants to unsub from this thread. Those of you who have quit and those who are offering support are wonderful. Those of you who are still trying to quit are so courageous. I want to quit and need to quit, but I'm too lazy to battle out the cravings.



JimboFletch -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/8/2008 2:07:03 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: DenimDiva

There is a part of me who really wants to unsub from this thread. Those of you who have quit and those who are offering support are wonderful. Those of you who are still trying to quit are so courageous. I want to quit and need to quit, but I'm too lazy to battle out the cravings.

Roberta, I was where you are at your age. I kept putting it off because I knew those first few days would be rough. It was another eleven years before I decided to do it - following a lay off and getting a new job at a third less pay (not exactly a no-stress time to quit).

But that realtively short period of struggle was well worth being free of nicotine and having over $3,000 (so far) in my pocket that would have gone for tobacco.








[Edited to add an "a" to Roberta's name]



Roberta_ -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/8/2008 2:16:33 PM)

Jimbo- it changes everything about me when the "a" is left off of my name. LOL! [;)]

Thanks for the encouragement.

How is your mom?



stellaluna -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/8/2008 2:18:18 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: DenimDiva
There is a part of me who really wants to unsub from this thread. Those of you who have quit and those who are offering support are wonderful. Those of you who are still trying to quit are so courageous. I want to quit and need to quit, but I'm too lazy to battle out the cravings.

There is no magic formula or pill or patch or anything else. The key to quitting is simple choice. Every time you want to smoke you choose not to. But I think as long as you have the attitude that you will hae to "battle it out" you are hindering your quit through negativity. Why not rejoice every time you have a crave? That is one less cigarette that you are smoking and one more crave toward being tobacco and nicotine free!

(I'm hoping to help you, not make you feel bad.)



JimboFletch -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/8/2008 3:01:18 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: DenimDiva

Jimbo- it changes everything about me when the "a" is left off of my name. LOL! [;)]

Sorry. But I want you to know that I typed "Roberta" in my head. It's my fingers that played the trick on us.
[sm=icon_smile_blush.gif]






I shoulda taken typing, I shoulda taken typing.
[&:]



garsyt -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/8/2008 3:01:51 PM)

Hang in there Roberta! I'm on the outside - I don't know more then what I've seen my hubby going through. I don't know really how hard it is. I can only imagine.

BUT I do know how much better he feels. I do know that it seems like my youngest ds's asthma attacks are fewer and farther between and are no longer as severe. Hubby didn't think his smoking around our little boy was having that much of an affect until he saw the improvements in this child's health just over the last month or so - August and September are typically bad months due to harvest season in our farming community - but he's had TWO attacks since the end of JULY!

Blessings,

Garsy



JimboFletch -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/8/2008 3:03:52 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: DenimDiva
Thanks for the encouragement.

How is your mom?

You are always more than welcome for any encouragement.


Mom is doing wonderfully well! Thanks for asking.



Roberta_ -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/8/2008 9:20:16 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: stellaluna

quote:

ORIGINAL: DenimDiva
There is a part of me who really wants to unsub from this thread. Those of you who have quit and those who are offering support are wonderful. Those of you who are still trying to quit are so courageous. I want to quit and need to quit, but I'm too lazy to battle out the cravings.

There is no magic formula or pill or patch or anything else.


So you're saying that I need to take my own advice: I can't tell you how many times I've shaken my fists at the skies or pleaded with Him to just let me move on. Just because recovery isn't going as fast as I'd like, doesn't mean that it isn't happening. I have found that even steps backwards can be turned to steps forward if you learn from them.

Many of God's greatest miracles were not instantaneous. He spoke the world into existence, but took six days to do so.



bettymackII -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/8/2008 9:30:02 PM)

Thanks for the good news about your mother, Jimbo!



bettymackII -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/8/2008 9:44:28 PM)

Roberta: Please stay with us!

I must confess that I have never smoked, but I am struggling to get on the
"right" diet. And yes, it is so easy to keep up my bad "habits' of eating just
one more chocolate cookie, just more .......each of us can fill in the blank.

I love your honesty!! You should be very proud of your self for not being like a hypocrite. I am!!

Roberta, I am sure there is someone who is reading this thread and is saying
I feel the same way as Roberta...and I am going to pray with her friends on this board and see how she deals with this habit. And maybe this lurker
will get brave enough to join this board and say guess who was the biggest influence to get me to quit smoking...a poster named Roberta!!

We are all for you,Roberta...In your time you will be a winner too.
And I am praying that I will be a winner in my battle of the bulges which
needs to be reduced!!

Say, we will love and pray for you every time you posted on this thread!!



stellaluna -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/8/2008 11:40:07 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: DenimDiva

quote:

ORIGINAL: stellaluna

quote:

ORIGINAL: DenimDiva
There is a part of me who really wants to unsub from this thread. Those of you who have quit and those who are offering support are wonderful. Those of you who are still trying to quit are so courageous. I want to quit and need to quit, but I'm too lazy to battle out the cravings.

There is no magic formula or pill or patch or anything else.


So you're saying that I need to take my own advice: I can't tell you how many times I've shaken my fists at the skies or pleaded with Him to just let me move on. Just because recovery isn't going as fast as I'd like, doesn't mean that it isn't happening. I have found that even steps backwards can be turned to steps forward if you learn from them.

Many of God's greatest miracles were not instantaneous. He spoke the world into existence, but took six days to do so.

Basically, I'm just saying it sucks. [sm=icon_smile_blush.gif]

I prayed for a long time for God to take away my cravings, thinking that if He did His part, then my part would be easy--with no cravings I wouldn't smoke. I just didn't work that way for me. I came to the conclusion that God wasn't putting a cigarette in my mouth every hour, it was me. And I realized the only way to not have a cigarette in my mouth was to not put one there. Not ever. No matter how much I wanted one or thought I did. THEN...when I needed God to help...He was there every single time. That doesn't mean it was pleasant or easy or any other nice word. It still sucked. [8|] But here I am a year and a half later and it was worth every struggle to not have to worry about an addiction anymore. [:)]



Silverstring -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/9/2008 2:57:57 AM)

Roberta:

We know. I KNOW!! In my gut, in my experience. Failings, caves, getting really fed up.

But I know one more thing from experience: It takes ONE successful attempt. 3 absolutely horrid days with barbed wire nerves, two very restless weeks, and then a little bit better and better.



bettymackII -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/9/2008 9:51:10 AM)

Thanks, Stellaluna and Silverstring

Those are the facts and anytime we are trying to break any habit
it will be a struggle ( with me dieting and etc).

Pressing for our goal and enduring (struggling) for a time
we will be success in due season.

I think, we must "want" to quit a habit first
does it help to think what the benefits will be when we quit?
and if we do remind ourselves of "why" we are quitting this
habit....for me lower blood pressure and better "score" on the
bath scales!

Roberta, we hope to hear from you!
We are all pulling for you and the
ex-smokers KNOW what you will
be going through but you can reach
the SAME goal too.

You can do it!!

Love, hugs and prayers!


P. S. It has been said before "Is the pain worth the gain(goal)?



myckey -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/9/2008 2:36:17 PM)

WOW!! I can't believe I started this thread almost 2 years ago. The past 2 years have really been a time of trial for me. I have also been addicted to alcohol most of my adult life. I can now praise God that I have been free from the slavery to alcohol for 61 days!!!!!!!

Now, He has put on my heart that it is time to put away the idol of smoking. I have been actively "trying" to quit again for the past 2 weeks. It seems I re-joined this conversation right at the right time for me. I have been expecting instant results. After lots and lots of prayer and crying yesterday, God showed me that it's just not gonna be that way. I have to go through the next few days/weeks/whatever of pain and suffering and miserableness. He won't just snap His fingers and take all my cravings away and make everything all better. If He did that how would I ever get better at trusting Him?

So, I crushed and destroyed the cigarettes I had left this morning. I smoked my last one at 9am. I am fully leaning on and pressing into God this time.



stellaluna -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/9/2008 2:39:17 PM)

You did the right thing. And you can do this.



JimboFletch -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/9/2008 3:00:33 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: JimboFletch - 12/29/2006 2:39:44 PM

I once smoked about a pack a day for about 5 years and quit cold turkey. Then, after more than a year of being clean, I caved and found myself once again hooked.

Now I'm 218 days off tobacco and 121 days nicotine free after about 30 years of use. (I did nicotine gum for 97 days.)

I've learned that 1) I am a nicotine addict and 2) I can never "just have one" ever again. I also have learned that I cannot quit forever, a year, or for a week. I can only quit one day at a time. (In the first 5 days without nicotine, I literally quit one hour at a time.)

I will never "be cured" and I will always be one cave away from slavery again.

That was my first post in this thread and the things I learned then are still true. And even at 121 nicotine free, I still had rough moments but I had started this journey by first CLOSING THE DOOR on tobacco.

Now, about the only time I think about tobacco is to encourage others to stay strong because I know that the craves get less intense and fewer until you are FREE from the Nicotine Slave Master's control - as long as you remember you can't play with tobacco.

Another thing that I've learned is that nicotine does not solve any problems or make any of them easier to deal with. I've dealt with some very serious problems since I quit very well without tobacco. The only thing nicotine does is feed the beast that controlled us.

One crave, one hour, one day at a time to FREEDOM!

Day 771 nicotine-FREE, Day 868 tobacco-FREE



Roberta_ -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/9/2008 4:08:35 PM)

Hi Diane! I haven't seen much of you lately!



Silverstring -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/9/2008 4:53:54 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: myckey

WOW!! I can't believe I started this thread almost 2 years ago. The past 2 years have really been a time of trial for me. I have also been addicted to alcohol most of my adult life. I can now praise God that I have been free from the slavery to alcohol for 61 days!!!!!!!

Now, He has put on my heart that it is time to put away the idol of smoking. I have been actively "trying" to quit again for the past 2 weeks. It seems I re-joined this conversation right at the right time for me. I have been expecting instant results. After lots and lots of prayer and crying yesterday, God showed me that it's just not gonna be that way. I have to go through the next few days/weeks/whatever of pain and suffering and miserableness. He won't just snap His fingers and take all my cravings away and make everything all better. If He did that how would I ever get better at trusting Him?

So, I crushed and destroyed the cigarettes I had left this morning. I smoked my last one at 9am. I am fully leaning on and pressing into God this time.


Thank you for starting this thread. The contents of it made the difference to me!



myckey -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/13/2008 5:05:40 PM)

Well, I haven't done so great. I bought a pack on Friday morning. I was smoking way less. It took me until last night to finish one pack. I bought another one this morning but have since thrown it away.

JimboFletch, I want to thank you. I have gone to whyquit.com and have printed up a bunch of stuff to read in the next 72 hours. My quit date and time was today, 10/13/08 at noon.



Roberta_ -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/13/2008 5:13:24 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: JimboFletch

quote:

ORIGINAL: JimboFletch - 12/29/2006 2:39:44 PM

I once smoked about a pack a day for about 5 years and quit cold turkey. Then, after more than a year of being clean, I caved and found myself once again hooked.

Now I'm 218 days off tobacco and 121 days nicotine free after about 30 years of use. (I did nicotine gum for 97 days.)

I've learned that 1) I am a nicotine addict and 2) I can never "just have one" ever again. I also have learned that I cannot quit forever, a year, or for a week. I can only quit one day at a time. (In the first 5 days without nicotine, I literally quit one hour at a time.)

I will never "be cured" and I will always be one cave away from slavery again.

That was my first post in this thread and the things I learned then are still true. And even at 121 nicotine free, I still had rough moments but I had started this journey by first CLOSING THE DOOR on tobacco.

Now, about the only time I think about tobacco is to encourage others to stay strong because I know that the craves get less intense and fewer until you are FREE from the Nicotine Slave Master's control - as long as you remember you can't play with tobacco.

Another thing that I've learned is that nicotine does not solve any problems or make any of them easier to deal with. I've dealt with some very serious problems since I quit very well without tobacco. The only thing nicotine does is feed the beast that controlled us.

One crave, one hour, one day at a time to FREEDOM!

Day 771 nicotine-FREE, Day 868 tobacco-FREE


Jimbo- do you think that you would have had the sucess you've had if you hadn't used the gum?



JimboFletch -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/13/2008 5:38:29 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: DenimDiva
Jimbo- do you think that you would have had the sucess you've had if you hadn't used the gum?

I honestly don't know.

I could remember well how difficult it was to quit that time I was clean for a year and kept putting off experiencing that first week. And I forged a LOT of triggers and associations with tobacco over the 30 years after I caved. I think the gum helped me break some of those associations.

But I won't kid you, when I quit the gum I experienced full-blown withdrawal symptoms including difficulty in concentrating, crankiness, and the "mind fog."

I think I was ready to quit but the gum was crutch that may have temporarily assisted me.



bettymackII -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/14/2008 7:13:19 PM)

Any news ?

Jimbo, how is your mom doing?
We are praying that she will
soon have a full recovery!



JimboFletch -> RE: Quitting smoking support thread (10/15/2008 7:34:04 AM)

Mom is doing very well. Thanks for asking.



Today is Day 777 nicotine-FREE (a very biblical number) and Day 874 tobacco-FREE.



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