The Giving Up Smoking Thread!! Part 2

pretzelnut

Thought I would say hello.

I thought i would come in here beforehand and tell my story, cos i think its important to express how you feel before you quit as well as on the day and the days after that.

Im preparing myself to quit on wednesday. Yes i no its not a normal day to quit, but wednesday is my DF's first day off, and i'll need his support.

I have been smoking since I was 13 im now 28 nearly 29.

I have quit several times before. The first time was when I was 17 and was house sitting for my friend whislt she was on holiday and whilst i was looking after her beloved dog it died. So I reached for the fags. Then I tried again, someone else died, Then a few years later i tried to quit again and someone else died.

Then i quit again but i ended up seriously ill and on some serious mediaction and the fags were the only thing that kept me sane.

I am always being asked by the doc if im ready to quit again yet, to which i reply, im not in a good mental place right now, OK he says, thats as good a reason as any.

Ive known for some time now that im ready to quit again, I HATE smoking, i dont enjoy it ever, its purely just an addiction now.

But what really was a lightbulb moment was when i was cleaning the house yesterday and i walked into a room and it stank, i turned to my DF and said this is discusting it smells like and old man has been smoking 60 cigars a day in here.

I feel in a really good place in life and in my head - IM READY.

I have bought my patches ready to go on wednesday morning.

I know its not going to be easy, but i have managed 6 weeks before, and i know with patches and will power i can do it again.

I worry that me quitting smokling will mean someone will die. I know that sounds ridiculous, its purely coincidence and someone has already said to me that if i dont quit I WILL DIE. Which is very true. But it doesnt stop me wondering who next.

I start college soon, and I want to be fag free before I start, I want to spend every minute of my time focussed on my college work, I want to pass with a distinction and not just scrape through cos I was thinking about having a fag or spending too much time outside having one.

It sounds daft but im really proud of myself for getting to this point, im not quitting cos i cant afford it etc, im quitting because i want to, which must mean that i have some control over this addiction, which to me makes me feel a lot better about doing it, cos i know the hold cant be that strong if its allowing me to think about not doing it anymore.

Another thing that has really brought it home to me is that my brother has a been with a girl for a year now and she has 2 children from a previous relationship and the eldest one has cystic fibrosis. He'll really ill on a daily basis, will need a lung transplant at some point, but there are hundreds of others illnesses associated with it that never even crossed my mind, right now hes been in hospital for 4 weeks, he didnt choose that. 4 weeks of being hooked up to a drip and not going outside. 4 weeks of not being allowed to be the little boy he should be.

Yet here I am damaging my body freely, whilst he lays there - wondering why him.

SO i suppose all these things have aligned at the right time and helped me see the light.

Im waffling on now, sorry, but to make sure i dont put myself under extra pressure, i arent tellling anyone apart from my DF and kids that im quitting. If any of my friends offer me a cig, i will say no thanks, but im not going to make any big announcements that im quitting, once ive been cig free for a week i might tell people depending on how i feel. The reason im not telling people is due to past experience.

I have found a lot of people to be UN supportive - especially the smokers, i found they wound me up more, taunting me, offering me fags more than they normally would, willing me to fail i think, or seriously testing my will power. So if i keep quiet they wont be able to do that to me.

Roll on wednesday :T

larmy16

Princesswoo. What an amazing story. I shall certainly be here, in your corner cheering you on. Roll on Wednesday.

I was like you in that I never enjoyed smoking, well apart from that first puff to relieve the craving, and it drove me to despair and tears that I could not seem to get a handle on it.

Well you have come to the right place for support and encouragement.

It was this thread that finally got me to see my desire through. That was to gain the upper hand over nicotine.

It can be tough in the first few days and weeks but the day comes, when you get up, get ready and eat breakfast without a thought of nicotine - it is then that if dawns on you - Yipeeeee.

I think you are wise to not tell all and sundry. In my view, it takes away your personal power and conviction.

Best of luck. You can do it!!!!!:T

dazco

Good luck Princesswoo, you seem ready. At least you recognise that it is an evil dragon with it's claws into you.


As for me, I ran out of fags last night. I find m mind saying "fag time" but then I remember I do not smoke. No panics yet. I have been up since jut after 6am, I would normally have had about ten by now.

Sue-UU

Hi everyone, it's good to be back with you all again. I'm much better now so I'm hoping to be back here with you far more often, though it seems many of you have been doing so very, very well! Congratulations to you ALL, you've really made yourselves so much healthier as a result. Keep it up, it's so worth it.

Great news IWRS, you have done marvellously! :T Thanks so much for coming to tell us, please keep us updated as it's good for moral.

Congratulations on a YEAR free Puzzled, now that's what I call quitting!!!:T:T:T

Hi and a warm welcome princesswoo. You didn't waffle at all, you got a lot of sensible things out of you and onto paper which I think is going to help you a great deal whilst stopping smoking. It seems to be exactly the right time and what you're wanting to be able to go forward from here. I'd suggest you copy and paste the above post so that you can keep reading it and letting yourself see how far you've gone. As you rightly say, the death part that 'appears' to relate to you giving up is simply a coincidence, and you need to hang onto your friend's words about it...she/he is quite right. Apart from lately due to surgery, I and most of us are here to try to support you so please drop by and chat whenever you wish or need. Others here quitting are great ones to be able to motivate each other and will be a great help to you. Your thoughts about Wednesday with your DF sound just right and if that's how it feels to you then it's the correct thing to do. All the very best with Uni, you have so very much to look ahead to so all the best in saying goodbye to the horrible habit and getting on with life. Don't hesitate to get in touch with your GP if you need to, he so obviously wants the best for you, a great chap!

A warm welcome SanFran, I'm so very sorry to hear about your problems with emphysema, and chronic asthma, but if you can quit smoking then, bit by bit, you'll soon have your lungs and bronchial bits working much, much better...and be able to look ahead to seeing your children AND grandchildren grow up! I have asthma as a result of smoking, though it isn't too bad, but I dread to think what things would have been like IF I hadn't stopped. Please give it all you have SanFran...the light ahead after smoking is truly fantastic!! With regards to the Allen Carr audio, listen to it whenever you feel the need, whenever you might have a weak moment. I wish you well SanFran...do it for you!

Well done dazco, you really are doing well.

Thanks for helping everyone larmy, you too jammy!

Where ever you are with your quitting everyone, please always remain strong if you reach a weak moment. See them through and they'll get less in numbers and in strength and you'll be so very, very happy that you did...that's how to succeed. Have a lovely Sunday all.

Sue

dazco

Who wants a fight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Been on the beer all night and got pretty peed off to find myself alone for seven minutes in any half hour.

My brother told me it was because he did not want me to be exposed to smoking. But I found out he just wanted me to save his stool

Thrifty_Pixie

dazco wrote: »

Good luck Princesswoo, you seem ready. At least you recognise that it is an evil dragon with it's claws into you.


As for me, I ran out of fags last night. I find m mind saying "fag time" but then I remember I do not smoke. No panics yet. I have been up since jut after 6am, I would normally have had about ten by now.

dazco wrote: »

Who wants a fight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Been on the beer all night and got pretty peed off to find myself alone for seven minutes in any half hour.

My brother told me it was because he did not want me to be exposed to smoking. But I found out he just wanted me to save his stool

:rotfl: Well did you survive without the fags?

dazco

Thrifty_Pixie wrote: »

:rotfl: Well did you survive without the fags?

Yes I did.

And I was out all day yesterday too , and I spent most of that time in the smoking shelter.

Not a cigarette has touched my lips :T:T:T:T

415SanFran

OK I am going to do this!
I move house on the 2/3 of next month, in just a few days and as it happens I rented a house that does not allow smoking, that was the plan as I thought smoking outside was at least a good start.

But, I went to the Isle of White at the weekend, it was a beautiful day and without smoking it would have been ssssoooo much better, there were street that I could not even think about walking up because they were too steep for me, there is a garlic farm on the island that I wanted to visit but found out that after you get off the bus it is a 1/2 mile walk, and I cannot do that,,,,,,,,,crikey, all my life I kept telling myself that if ever the DR said you have 6 months I would stop,,,,,,,well without the time scale he HAS said that!!! What am I waiting for?
I know what I'm waiting for, to wake up one magical day as a non -smoker,,, I have FINALLY come to the understanding it does not happen from a chest infection (when you just want it to go away so you can enjoy smoking again)it comes from a relatively short time as a "giver uper" and that will be ME next week.
When I go back to the Isle of White next September, I WILL have enough lung capacity to walk a steep hill, and I WILL get to see the garlic farm. I will laugh at a mere 1/2 mile the way I could not so long ago. I'm 46 not 96!

larmy16

Book in the post V. You are right, smoking does spoil days out - it spoils most events for the smoker as they are never fully relaxed to enjoy whatever is going on!

Dazco that is amazing. I wondered if you would crack with the booze and the football result but you did it well done!:T:T:T:T:T

dazco

larmy16 wrote: »

Book in the post V. You are right, smoking does spoil days out - it spoils most events for the smoker as they are never fully relaxed to enjoy whatever is going on!

Dazco that is amazing. I wondered if you would crack with the booze and the football result but you did it well done!:T:T:T:T:T

Cheers Larmy, another day gone another fag not smoked