The Giving Up Smoking Thread - Part 3

Sue-UU

Hi CompBunny, your partner's symptoms could well be due to the patches, but you also say you're both finding it difficult to take a proper breath and both could also indicate that you're finding it a little stressful, and anyone could see why that would be a problem. You're both bound to be feeling a little low and 'missing' something..a little like grieving which is so very natural. Try to get him to try the patches again tomorrow, but don't wear the patches at night, have them ready to put straight on in the morning. Meanwhile, drink plenty of water and when it's possible go out for a walk and don't concentrate on your breathing, just walk and take in everything you see so your minds get taken onto other things, that's when your breathing will become normal and you'll be far less stressed. If you still have the PM I sent, read it through, if you wish I could always send another. Best wishes to you both and try to get a good night's sleep. You've done well so far and will soon be half way through your first week!


Good for you, slugger, I hope you can come up with some great things to do to help!

Hi JD, busy as ever then, well done. Your DD has a point don't you reckon! Isn't it a wonderful feeling though when you get it all together, very therapeutic...every quitter should be doing the same in that very fresh Scottish air! You're doing wll JD, time's going by quickly too! Have a good week.

Sue x

topsyturphy

1 month 2 weeks champix

hi everyone

still not smoking, can I just ask how long does it take for you to feel like you have lots more energy. I seem to have really good days then feel drained again next day. I want each day to feel like I have more energy, but it's not quite happening yet. I am eating more fruit & drinking cranberry juice too, don't like the taste if the water here though. I did buy my running stuff and been out twice last week, building it up slowly. I have been out walking everyday with dog too.

Thanks to Sue & everyone else for keeping me motivated. Well done to everyone that is suceeding.

Take care

ps does anyone know if sally had her baby?

jammy_dodger

topsyturphy wrote: »

1 month 2 weeks champix

hi everyone

still not smoking, can I just ask how long does it take for you to feel like you have lots more energy. I seem to have really good days then feel drained again next day. I want each day to feel like I have more energy, but it's not quite happening yet. I am eating more fruit & drinking cranberry juice too, don't like the taste if the water here though. I did buy my running stuff and been out twice last week, building it up slowly. I have been out walking everyday with dog too.

Thanks to Sue & everyone else for keeping me motivated. Well done to everyone that is suceeding.

Take care

ps does anyone know if sally had her baby?

hi topsyturphy

sounds like you are doing ALL the right things diet and exercise wise , dont be too tough on yourself and introduce exercise gradually maybe pushing yourself too hard build up slowely , your body has gone through a lot of changes redding itself ogf all those nasty life taking toxins . dont think there is a "magic" light switch that turns itself on ( none that i have found anyway:) I see my new regained body as a dimmer switch that gets brighter and lasts longer than a regular 100w maybe am taking rubbish but you will reap all those lovely benefits of being a none smoker ..happy times ahead keep it up
JD xx

not heard a word on the sally front but am sure all our good wishes are with her x

hardworkingmum40

cleggie wrote: »

Hi Slugger,
do you have any hobbies? Do you go to the gym? Maybe its better for you just to change your Friday night routine a bit, so you get out of that "its friday night i'll have a ciggie" mindset? I know i found Friday nights really hard when i quit. As soon as i sat on the sofa i instantly wanted a ciggie, so i didnt sit on the sofa on a Friday night for a few weeks and hey presto that craving disappeared.

Slugger, I was going to say something similar. Just changing what you do when you get home on a Friday can make all the difference. Coming home from work was a trigger for me, sit down with a coffee and have a fag. Now I dont have that coffee and I walk the dogs instead. That made all the difference.
Dont beat yourself up though. You have done amazingly well, just that last hurdle to get over. You will do it. :T

cleggie

slugger09 wrote: »

Thanks all for your help, so this Friday I need to change my routeen a bit, I've got all week to work out how I'm gonna do it and figure out what exactly it is thats triggering me of every Friday

Good luck Slugger. Maybe have a nice hot bath, listen to some music, do housework, go out etc..anything to change your routine.

CompBunny wrote: »

Just checking in...

My partner has found today particularly difficult I think. He feels queasy and has had to take his patch off because he thinks it could be the cause which sounds right.

We have both been having a lot of cravings today. Its like we haven't been able to catch a "proper breath" for days, which defies all logic because the truth is our lungs are breathing air for the first time in years instead of poison! We have tried some deep breathing this evening (which made us crave more bizarrely) and haven't known what to do with ourselves really. Trying to keep busy, but feeling a little sorry for ourselves!

But on the positive side, we haven't given in to temptation and I haven't been throwing anything around!!

Hi Comp Bunny- Have you heard of the terrible 3's? Its the 3 day, 3 week and 3 month experience, where it seems to get slightly harder for a week or so, then better again (in regards to cravings i mean)?
Not sure if i am allowed to post links- if not i am sure the following ones will be removed:
http://talesfromthequit.com/the-terrible-threes

topsyturphy wrote: »

1 month 2 weeks champix

hi everyone

still not smoking, can I just ask how long does it take for you to feel like you have lots more energy. I seem to have really good days then feel drained again next day. I want each day to feel like I have more energy, but it's not quite happening yet. I am eating more fruit & drinking cranberry juice too, don't like the taste if the water here though. I did buy my running stuff and been out twice last week, building it up slowly. I have been out walking everyday with dog too.

Thanks to Sue & everyone else for keeping me motivated. Well done to everyone that is suceeding.

Take care

ps does anyone know if sally had her baby?

Hi topsyturphy- It took me about 6 weeks...may seem like a long time, but i can reassure you its well worth the wait!! As well as having more energy, you have the lung capacity to keep up with the extra energy!

Here are a few links for you all to have a look at if you would like?

http://www.woofmang.com/tales/index.shtml This is a fab one that really helped me in the first few months and is still interesting to read now.

http://www.whyquit.com/joel/Joel_03_21_blood_sugar.html this one is about blood sugar levels when quitting

Have fun everyone!

Triciaxx

Kiwi I really like your 'rage busters' :j:j The old fashioned idea of a milky drink last thing at night really does help so I can see how these things would help calm us down at other times - not just when we're quitting. Thanks for that.

Slugger :wave: Welcome to our merry band. I do agree with the advice you've been given. Habit plays such a huge part in smoking that changing things even slightly can help. You may have to experiment with different things before you hit the right one but once you get it right you'll be :j:j. Good luck.

Cleggie :hello: Thanks for looking in and responding to Slugger so quickly. It's really heartening to hear of people further along the journey.

Pen Thanks for the long and thoughtful post. Although I'm forgetting about cigs most of time, I think having a bit of a think every now and then helps me keep on top of it and Nasty Nic doesn't have a chance to creep in when I'm not looking.

Good luck for another week to all you lovely people.:j:j:j

CompBunny

Thankyou determined new ms, and yes we have been walking lots! We took the dogs out for a forest walk this morning and and another one in the afternoon for relaxation...and will do another one before bed. I try and do lots of frequent gentle walking anyway to try and help myself get better, and having dogs helps too!

Thankyou also Sue! Think you have hit the nail on the head there with the grieving thing. Sometimes you can read all around the issue of quitting smoking but not recognise something for what it is until someone points it out in relation to you...make any sense? My partner has made the bold decision to come off the patches completely, and is doing suprisingly well considering he is no longer getting any nicotine at all! He is finding it difficult being unemployed at present, but the one positive is that it has given him the opportunity to focus on quitting instead of the stress of work interferring with his quitting efforts like has happened numerous times before in his old job - which was very high stress.

I do have those PMs still, or rather hard copies! Before quit day I printed your pms out along with some links that another poster had sent me! It sounds a bit sad but its like a "tool kit", instantly accessible words for when I'd rather stick my head into a fire than live without cigarettes!

Cleggie, hi! - hehe I liked that article, really nicely written. I was secretly hoping that I'd be different and that by 3 months smoking would be a distant bad memory...but its best to realistic and prepared.:o

My biggest challenge today has been eating. I haven't fancied anything at all, because food doesn't "fill that hole" and my relationship with food has been unhealthy in the past. I think depriving myself of cigarettes is telling my subconscious to deprive myself of food again. But because of the blood sugar thing I have been trying to graze, carrot sticks, dried apricots, cucumber and a little hummus...not because I want them but because i should. I've been feeling more depressed today too, but my partner is somehow buoyant today!

Sorry for the long post. I always thought quitting smoking would be difficult, and in some ways its much easier than I thought it would be. But in others way, WOW I really am impressed at how all of you have managed to quit! You really have done such a big thing and you all deserve medals! Not only have you managed to stop, but you are also at the point where you are strong enough to help others:eek::T

cleggie

CompBunny wrote: »

Thankyou determined new ms, and yes we have been walking lots! We took the dogs out for a forest walk this morning and and another one in the afternoon for relaxation...and will do another one before bed. I try and do lots of frequent gentle walking anyway to try and help myself get better, and having dogs helps too!

Thankyou also Sue! Think you have hit the nail on the head there with the grieving thing. Sometimes you can read all around the issue of quitting smoking but not recognise something for what it is until someone points it out in relation to you...make any sense? My partner has made the bold decision to come off the patches completely, and is doing suprisingly well considering he is no longer getting any nicotine at all! He is finding it difficult being unemployed at present, but the one positive is that it has given him the opportunity to focus on quitting instead of the stress of work interferring with his quitting efforts like has happened numerous times before in his old job - which was very high stress.

I do have those PMs still, or rather hard copies! Before quit day I printed your pms out along with some links that another poster had sent me! It sounds a bit sad but its like a "tool kit", instantly accessible words for when I'd rather stick my head into a fire than live without cigarettes!

Cleggie, hi! - hehe I liked that article, really nicely written. I was secretly hoping that I'd be different and that by 3 months smoking would be a distant bad memory...but its best to realistic and prepared.:o

My biggest challenge today has been eating. I haven't fancied anything at all, because food doesn't "fill that hole" and my relationship with food has been unhealthy in the past. I think depriving myself of cigarettes is telling my subconscious to deprive myself of food again. But because of the blood sugar thing I have been trying to graze, carrot sticks, dried apricots, cucumber and a little hummus...not because I want them but because i should. I've been feeling more depressed today too, but my partner is somehow buoyant today!

Sorry for the long post. I always thought quitting smoking would be difficult, and in some ways its much easier than I thought it would be. But in others way, WOW I really am impressed at how all of you have managed to quit! You really have done such a big thing and you all deserve medals! Not only have you managed to stop, but you are also at the point where you are strong enough to help others:eek::T

Hi CompBunny,

It's really hard to describe the feeling at 3 months..its like smoking wasn't QUITE a distant memory yet, but it still felt MUCH easier! The way that i thought of it was that i smoked for 15 yrs, i cant expect my mind and my body to overcome that in the space of 3 months.

For those of you who are going CT (Cold Turkey) the actual nicotine is out of your bosy after 72 hours (3 days). After that, its just a bhaviour thing that needs retraining. Thats why i advised Slugger to change her routine...its just a behaviour that needs changing.

CompBunny, i have struggled with various Eating issues over the last 10yrs or so, so can 100% relate to that feeling of depriving yourself of nicotine can feel the same as depriving yourself of food...but what you must realise that when depriving yourself of Nicotine, you are doing it to HELP your body be as strong and healthy as possible, and depriving yourself of food (in the form of an eating disorder, or otherwise) is to deplete your bosy of what it needs to function.
Your bosy DOES need food to function (Obviously), but does NOT need nicotine to function (Obviously!!).

Anyhow, i really hope this helps!

cleggie

Lol, i meant BODY, not bosy!! Sorry!

topsyturphy

1 month 15 days champix

Felt quite good today, had a lie in till just after 9am as it's half term. Had a lovely suprise this evening, met my dh from work for a drink with ds2 & woofer and about 5 mins later my ds1 walked in, he had sorted out his visit as a suprise with my dh who is his stepdad. He is staying with us till Thursday.

Jammy Dodger - thanks for your advise, at least I know I will get energy eventually.
Cleggie - thanks for the links, will do a bit more reading.
Kiwi - how are you doing with your fitness programme? I have decided to slow down a little, got ds2 off school for half term so will start again properly next week.

Well done everyone, take care.