The Giving Up Smoking Thread - Part 3

Sue-UU

Hi everyone! I've had a few problems with my arm/hand but am in less pain now so I'm back. Lovely to be back again and see you all doing so well, many congratulations on the journeys that many of you have already come, especially DNMS, Tricia, Kiwisaver, and especially to you splishsplash you've done terrifically!! :T:T:T:T

Very well done to you Erme, keep on battling on with it and you will succeed just like so many others of us. Joining a gym would be a great idea as soon as possible as it would help you with stress and give you a real boost and certainly take away any desire to smoke. Good luck with that and join as soon as you can.

It's good to meet you landybabe and very well done on giving up the dreadful weed! Well done also on being in your second week, for anyone who has smoked just over a week is a long time for them so you've done very very well indeed. The jigsaw puzzle and DIY jobs are great ideas keep yourself focused on things like that and I'll be so much better. All best wishes with your journey.

spider_girl wrote: »

Hey guys
I must admit i've not read the whole thread :eek: but just want to say 'keep it up guys'. I'm wanting to quit smoking and have decided NOW is the time! I'm hoping that the prospect of coming on here and admiting my 'failure' to quit will keep me going.
I'm stocked up with nicorette inhalor and gum so heres hoping.
Just wondering if there is anyone on here that has managed to quit who has had a partner who is still smoking? That seems to be my down fall every time, having them readily available!
Any advice would be appreciated!
Many thanks
Oh and i'm planning on putting my daily cigarette spend in a sealed tub and saving!

Hello spider girl and a very warm welcome to the thread. Yes, we have had people who has successfully stopped smoking yet still have other halves who do smoke so great news there! I think the main thing is that the OH always smokes outside so as not to be to cruel which it says if you smoke inthe other person's company!! I'll send you a PM to help with tips and hope very much that you'll be able to fulfil your dream as it's such a great achievement to do so. Do take the time to read through the thread as you'll find many useful posts from others in the same boat as you. I've been stopped smoking now for well over 12 years and am thrilled to bits! It's a brilliant idea to save all the money that you would have otherwise spent on smoking so have a look at my ciggie and think about saving your money with less Sealed Pot Challenge also to be found in "DFW diaries", read through post 1 on page 1 and see what you think then if you wish to join as just ask on the latest page. All very best wishes to you.

I've only is the lightly over the pages so please forgive me if I haven't mentioned anybody that I should have done. I'll check later to make sure.

Keep hard at it folks, you know you can do this just ignore Nick and keep fully focused with huge determination and you will get to your goal at your journey's end!

Sue XXX

Triciaxx

:hello: It's just a quick post and run, I'm afraid but just wanted to say it's good to see so many new folk starting on this adventure. :T:T

The other thing I wanted to say is that there is no right or wrong way to quit. We are all individuals and somewhere there is a path for everyone.

You can all do it - I did after over 50 years of smoking.:j:j

Sue - nice to see you around and hope the pain goes completely soon. :kisses3:

Erme

Well I got at risk on Thursday I was that down so went back to cigs for 2 days...Now back on the reduction plan but starting where I started last week and like reducing by 5 once a week. So that'll take me about 6 weeks but the slow hoarse wins the race ...

So yeah....just about to feed the boys and then go and buy smokes from the cheapest place I know - Mr A...:money:

E

Sue-UU

Hello Tricia :hello: and thank you so much. Unfortunatelyvthetrauma after the accident has now brought on frozen shoulder, very painful, but....all part of life. The hand will take 9 months to get back up to being better and pain-free. I have a brilliant Physio though, a lot to be thankful for!

I do so hope you're back to 'normal' now after the holiday which got the thoughts being processed again. Tricia, I truly understand what you mean about the feeling of loss at sch times, I had plenty of those at times of excitement - yet never at times of stress! Almost as though, at a time when we should be experiencing pleasure and relaxation....we can't have a ciggie to compliment it and relax!

Fortunately Tricia, it does not last too long, I promise and I haven't connected smoking with holidays, or anything else, for years! :j Best wishes, Sue x

Bad luck Erme, feeling low has a habit of rocking the boat when we're most susceptible, but you'll get there with time, pererverance and lots of patience. Be kind to yourself, it'll happen. All the best.

Very quiet here, I'm thinking it has to be a great indication that everyone's having a peaceful weekend and relaxingly chuffed with how well they've done so far. Keep it up everyone!

Sue xxx

joehoover

New to this thread, but just completed first week smoke free so thought would check how others are doing. I'm going cold turkey although with some help, I woke up a week ago with a huge hangover having smoked about 40 fags the previous night and drinking til the very earl hours that I was too ill to even contemplate a cigarette, next day I was fine but had no craving for a cigarette, and after learning I could need 4 teeth removing due to infection (probably caused by cigarettes!) I thought it was time to quit. But a day later I was hit by a sudden illness, I had such severe stomach cramps and nausea that I was bed-ridden for 24 hours and have found it hard to eat as stomach still sore a few days later. Has anyone else encountered this? I read there can be side effects to quitting but it didn't mention being this extreme. Anyway, over the worst of it but being in such pain meant a cigarette was so far from my mind.

Last night I drank for first time since that fateful night a week ago, had 5 pints, but didn't smoke once or even crave it despite being in a beer garden with 5 smokers the whole time. Struck me as really bizarre that it had no effect so very pleased but still aware it is only early days. What was noticeable was how much more energy I had even when drinking, I was engaging in more conversations with my friends and strangers and more lively than I usually would be.

Will be saving the money I would have spent on fags, though it will need to go on dental treatment if I can rescue my teeth, but so excited about what I can do with the money after that. Shame it took the thought of losing so many teeth in one go to shock me into it, but it can be so much worse, you could learn it is cancer and then it is surely too late, act now, you may be surprised you can control the addiction more think, keep up the good work everyone

Triciaxx

Sue-UU wrote: »

Hello Tricia :hello: and thank you so much. Unfortunatelyvthetrauma after the accident has now brought on frozen shoulder, very painful, but....all part of life. The hand will take 9 months to get back up to being better and pain-free. I have a brilliant Physio though, a lot to be thankful for!

I do so hope you're back to 'normal' now after the holiday which got the thoughts being processed again. Tricia, I truly understand what you mean about the feeling of loss at sch times, I had plenty of those at times of excitement - yet never at times of stress! Almost as though, at a time when we should be experiencing pleasure and relaxation....we can't have a ciggie to compliment it and relax!

Fortunately Tricia, it does not last too long, I promise and I haven't connected smoking with holidays, or anything else, for years! :j Best wishes, Sue xSue xxx

Sue - You sound very positive about your hand and shoulder! I'm not sure I would be with a 9 month plan to get working again! I hadn't thought before that it is not the moments of stress that are the triggers. That bears some thinking about as the idea of 'should be experiencing pleasure and relaxation....we can't have a ciggie to compliment it and relax!' is a bit scary. I think this is more of the complicated psychological issues at stake here. :eek:

I'm relieved to hear that it doesn't last.

Erme

Sue-UU wrote: »

Bad luck Erme, feeling low has a habit of rocking the boat when we're most susceptible, but you'll get there with time, pererverance and lots of patience. Be kind to yourself, it'll happen. All the best.
Sue xxx

Saturday didn't go well. Was so tired from a week of barely sleeping I didn't last long on the reductions. However I slept for 15 hours on Saturday night and now am back on the reductions and it's going okay :t...

I just wish I could find the 101 things I've lost the past few days :rotfl: and get on with the chores tee hee...

E

elsiepac

Hi everyone

I wondered if I could have a bit of encouragement please - I just found this thread. I had my last cig on Saturday about half 8 in the evening.

I'm really struggling - I'm at work and it's where I smoked the most - being at home isn't an issue.

I keep trying to remind myself why I don't want one, but the ONLY reason I'm not having one is because of the money, that's the only reason that is actually stopping me. I'm at the point where I'm saying **** it to the other, probably more important, health reasons.

I had a quick read of some other posts and you all seem to be so strong and I feel like such a failure for feeling like this. I know I don't want one, I just miss the habit, and right now probably the nicotine, but I'm still struggling for some unknown reason.

I have a NHS StopSmoking thing on my desktop that I keep looking at because it gives you nice things about not smoking and it has a timer of how long you've not smoked for, but apart from that I'm not using any tools. I'm not a heavy enough smoker for NRT and I don't want to keep a nicotin addiction when I don't believe I smoked heavily enough to need it.

Anyway, just wanted to rant a bit, sorry, as feeling a bit down. Plus it's a really busy day and I just cannot concentrate

Lee-anne x

Sue-UU

Hi joehoover and a very warm welcome to the thread. You seem to be doing remarkably well and have taken full advantage of being so poorly, some self induced (!!), some not so. It does indeed sound as though the stomach cramps could well have been due to stopping the fags, especially having had so very many the night before you were ill. Still, all things are meant to be and this is fate playing its hand - so keep on going and never looked back! I take it from reading your post that you're a guy and all too often fellars find it far easier to give up so another reason for you to push on and quit now before your teeth become really bad, and believe me it can easily get to the stage where you have to have a lot out or major surgery which will cost a bomb!!!

From your last paragraph it sounds like you've been doing a lot of thinking and all you've written down is very very true so keep thoughts like that in your mind if ever you should be tempted! All the very best Joe and you know where to come should you need any help. It's not very often that there are some people here to listen to you and to help or advise so use as if you need it.



Hi Tricia, little option really but to face it all with a smile and be as positive as possible. 9 months is for the hand alone, Heaven knows how long the shoulder will be, but from what I've heard it could be an awful lot longer than that so far best to be positive.


Hello there Lee-anne and a very warm welcome to the thread to you also! It really is good to see you over here and having a shot at this awful demon. I know sometimes it can be difficult to think about things other than the prime reason you're quitting for, but do please have a look round at all the harms that face smokers and try to think about your health....it's of greater importance to us than we sometimes remember it to be and is all too often lost if we fail to take notice! I know right now you're feeling a little low, but do try hard to think how marvellously you've done so far! Anyone who has smoked for quite a while will know full well that just half a day or even a few hours is a long time for someone who's smoked for quite a while, and therefore everything to be proud of!!


Focus hard on your work and not the habit that went hand-in-hand with work and look forward to home hours and the lack of stress from fags they bring you. Habits are easily formed - but with determination they can be broken as is all too evident from people here...including me! :j One thing's for sure, you know what you can do with your money that you would normally has spent on fags , either that Lee-anne or why not start a 2nd pot so that you can count up your smoking savings separately and give yourself a real buzz that way. Come on here just as often as you wish/need, it does us all good to be able to write down exactly how we feel and whether it's good or bad it's fine - we can easily put up with anybody's rantings, so give vent whenever you need to, and in time let us know just how pleased you are at how far you've come - which should be by the end of today or tomorrow, all being wel as that really will have been a long time! Don't forget Lee-anne, be sure to treat yourself as that too will do you feel good and make you feel so proud of your achievements and why not, you'll deserve it! I'll send you a PM with some tips in for now all best wishes on putting up a great fight to rid yourself of this evil habit. BTW, encouragement is given out here by the bucket load!!

Good to see you again Erme, I love the way you're facing it all with a great sense of humour and taking life as it comes but doing your best to combat the blasted flags. Keep it up Erme, success comes to those who stay in the race and it looks as though you're doing just that!


Okay folks, another week is well under way and today's another day closer to your journeys end. Whether you've stopped smoking for several months or for just a few hours it really is marvellous and you should be so proud of every step you take!


Sue xxx

Erme

Cig reduction is now a curse word....sleep is very attractive ...Might forgo the free tea and just crash...it seems SOOOO attractive

Och and don't even mention eBay. It seems like if it's a bag without a designer label it just won't sell and even if it's O.....and LEATHER...It still won't stupid sell :mad:
E