The Giving Up Smoking Thread!! Part 2

Sue-UU

larmy16 wrote: »

Chew on a biro! If only I had I would not be carrying an extra half stone!!!!!!

Thanks for that real giggle larmy, you really made me laugh out loud. Keep chewing! :rotfl: Whatever it takes is so worth it if it keeps you free from tother things though!!
Sue

kyssyn

Thank you for the quick replies Also, thank you for the pm Sue. I'll definitely try some of the suggestions out.

Even though I have cravings at times I feel really positive about quitting, I've 'tried' loads of times before but this time it's like I know I won't go back. I can't really explain it, but as long as I stay vigilant against weak moments I'm positive I'll succeed this time.

I think I will update here though, I've already told everyone I know that I'm quitting but it's always nice to get a little extra support

Sue-UU

kyssyn wrote: »

Even though I have cravings at times I feel really positive about quitting, I've 'tried' loads of times before but this time it's like I know I won't go back. I can't really explain it, but as long as I stay vigilant against weak moments I'm positive I'll succeed this time.

Don't worry kryssyn all of us who are determined to quit know exactly what you mean with all you say above. It's good to hear how positive you are!

kyssyn wrote: »

I think I will update here though, I've already told everyone I know that I'm quitting but it's always nice to get a little extra support

Play it as you think best with those who know you, you have so much support here anyway and you can always surprise your friends and loved ones later!

Keep strong at all times!

Sue

penguin83

Hi all, Sue thank you for your answer last week when I was struggling. Pleased to say that today is mine and OH's one month anniversary of quitting. He seems to have found it much easier than me and he was the heavier smoker and had been smoking for much longer than I had. V bizarre the way it all works!

Havent relaxed though as last week shows how easy it could be to be caught out so I am taking my inhalator everywhere with me - I had stopped using it because I felt I didnt need it - probably too soon, good luck to everyone who has just quit x x xx

Sue-UU

Congratulations to you both on such a great accomplishment penguin!!! :T You've done so very well to get there and deserve all the praise possible.

Men? Well, they are a different breed to us and ....always seem to find it easier :rolleyes: but then they don't have PMT with hormonal fluctuations etc! Never mind penguin, you show your DH that you too can still reach that finishing line...and that's what matters! Keep going, you CAN do it!

Sue

kezzae

:o Morning All

Well having a really bad day today, Im feeling so depressed and finding it really hard.
My head is all over the place, I can't make a decision about anything. I spent most of lastnight in tears feeling sorry for myself and thinking what a bad wife and mother I am. Im bursting into tears at the slightest thing. My poor hubby has left for work this morning thinking I dont love him and dont want to be with him anymore and probably wondering if Il be hear when he gets back. I love him so much it hurts, so why am I being like this? Ive never felt so sad and lonely. It was so easy at the beginning, why is it getting harder the longer I go on? You think when you stop smoking it's for a better life and it will be easy, but I feel like my whole life is falling apart.:o:o

allthatmularky

Kezzae - I won't worry too much about it, just your body and mind adjusting from the addiction - everyone gets a little tetchy at times, probably nocotine's attempt to find a chink in your armour.

Get out and get some exercise - even a brisk walk and you'll realise all the benefits your body is starting to realise from stopping. It will take your mind off smoking and the fresh air will calm your mindset.

It does become a lot easier - I honestly can say that the thoughts of cigarettes are alien to me now and wonder why I ever put my body through it. None of the cravings or 'just one' thoughts - rather feel sorry when I pass someone in the street smoking.

Just think - the first couple of weeks are usually the hardest, so its all a nice glide downhill from here.:D

Sue-UU

Hi kezza, as soon as I read that I could have cried too! You sound so low, but allthatmularky's right it's all the adjustments taking place - and - are you at a vulnerable time of the month? It makes so much difference. If it is then you'll soon get over today and be as happy as you have been. Your little ones are so fortunate in having parents prepared to quit for the good of the healthy of all of you and I've no doubt that your DH knows just how dearly you love him.

Do as allthatmularky suggests and go for a good, brisk walk. Even if it's raining, it'll still do you a power of good. Then when your DH gets home, tell him all you've said about him above, though I doubt he needs you too anyway. Hang on in there kezza, all will be ok and you'll be elated you got passed this stage. Treat yourself to something that really appeals to you. Whatever you do, keep very strong and surround your family with all your love, but don't worry, they know the "you" that is the normal mum and Wife!:D

Love and best wishes, Sue x

larmy16

Kezzae don't forget that we have used smoking to suppress our feelings for many years, so it's no wonder that you are having an outpouring of painful stuff.

This is a good thing! Explain to your hubby what is happening to you - I am sure he understands. You have "lost" what used to be a very effective crutch - even though it might end up killing you.

This is not a time to be hard on yourself. Never forget also, that the addiction will be trying to give you an excuse to light up. Poor me, it will say, things were never this bad when you were smoking, let's face it you need to smoke or you will spoil everything with your crazy moods. Ignore it. In fact get angry with it. Take out your anger on nicotine.

Grab a pillow, punch it, smash it against the bed and then weep into it if you so desire.

We have good days or bad days whether we smoke or not.

When we don't smoke though, we are really raising our self esteem, we don't smell and we are triumphing over a truly disgusting substance.

Big big hug to you.

vapourA

Sorry to gatecrash this wonderful thread, I hope some insight into the chemistry of smoking and its addiction may help understand what is going on. Some excellent research is going on. I have been working extensively in smoking cessation and smoking alternatives, with a view to suggesting improved therapies.

A research team from the CNRS and the College de France directed by Jean Pol Tassin, director of research at Inserm has to prove that nicotine alone is not enough to sustain a state of dependency among smokers. Other compounds in tobacco are needed to reveal the addictive power. This discovery also explains why nicotine substitutes used in smoking cessation do not entirely overcome cravings, panic attacks and mood swings.

Without being associated with certain components of tobacco, nicotine is not particularly addictive. The main result from the research conducted by Jean Pol Tassin is a further step towards understanding the mechanisms of drug dependence.

Over the past two years, this team of researchers has shown that drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines, morphine, alcohol or even lead to a separation (or "decoupling") between two sets of neurons, noradrenergic and serotonergic. The first set is to develop external events, the other to control impulses. Dependents feel environmental stimuli in a more intense (including the desire of the product) and lose the ability to control their impulses. Under normal circumstances, these neural circuits control each other. But the disconnect between the two leads to an imbalance that seems responsible for the process of addiction, the dependent person can no longer restrain his attraction to the product.

It is that nicotine, unlike other drugs, does not decoupling. To try to understand why smoking has, however, a very strong addictive potential, researchers are interested in other compounds. In this new work, scientists demonstrated that the combination of nicotine with other products in tobacco, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), which leads to this decoupling. Specifically, they show that MAOIs can be addictive properties of nicotine because they nullify the action of natural protection that serotonergic neurons have vis-à-vis the nicotine: the serotonin receptor 5-HT1A . The effect of nicotine on the release of serotonin is so intense that happens in fractions of seconds a "feedback control", which then blocked the release of serotonin. This phenomenon of "retro control" is possible only when the 5-HT1A receptors play their protective role. Without this protection, serotonergic neurons are activated by nicotine, they decouple and trigger the process of addiction.

Among candidates for quitting smoking, chewing gum and patches etc are very effective at the beginning of treatment, as the effects of persistent MAOI. But after a few weeks of weaning the absence of tobacco (and thus WAMI), permits the return of natural protection. Nicotine alone is not enough as a substitute and the true withdrawl process occurs. This is why suddenly many ex smokers using NRT find a second hurdle to overcome.

NOW THE GOOD NEWS

It means that, when you experience this phase the smoking is truly becomming part of your past. You made it this far and this is the final battle of the war. DO NOT GIVE UP GIVING UP AT THE LAST HURDLE! You have come a long way, congratulate yourself for reaching this stage and embrace it as the death throws of a filthy disgusting addiction that is about to collapse.