The Giving Up Smoking Thread - Part 3

Sue-UU

hattiefats wrote: »

Thanks sue! I am a cpn and have filled a big water bottle and put two satsumas in my bag! I'm also out with a non smoking student nurse tomorrow so am prepared. Class was great tonight. Have been going since September but I swear I felt less breathless tonight!!!!! Fingers crossed for tomorrow. Wishing everyone a smoke free day xx

I thought so, Hattie, it sounded that way from what you wrote yesterday. I'm so pleased you're taking both water and satsumas, and was delighted at how you enjoyed your exercise class, it's just amazing how soon we become less breathless. :j I know that losing the wheeziness and being able to go easy up a flight of stairs so soon was fantastic for me, almost unbelievable! ..it's lovely to see people here really trying hard to help themselves.

grandmasam wrote: »

Feeling a nasty old bat today :eek: so have been for a loooong walk ,muttering under my breath :free, breathe caz..free breathe and breathe again..: well it worked so will do this again

The ice pops are lovely especially when I sit and watch telly in the evening, will definitely get some more.

Thank you all for your support and advice, It's like my hand is being held on my journey to becoming smoke free.

Caz

Thanks for the image Caz....I could picture it beautifully, but again you're pushing yourself onward and doing wonderfully!!! Not much else to need to say to you...you've done it all yourself from the highlighted quotes above. I just LOVED your last sentence...it brought tears of joy to my eyes, truly and I could visualise ALL of you hand in hand on a long, long walk..........the journey of the freedom from fags!!!

Hi Mat, you've got the Title bar bit perfectly, thanks! I'm pleased your flat mate just might be amenable especially in warmer weather - tell him to stick an overcoat on or take a heater outside, you might also tell him that my dear friend in BC, Canada still sends her DH outside and sometimes it's -30c!!!!! As I've said to others, if you get up in the morning and feel a little wobbly, alter your routine a little, different drinks, grabbing a walk, shower etc at slightly different times or the other way around. Especially making the very first normal thing slightly different or in a different order it's surprising how it can work for you.

Oh dear jinty, :rotfl: I had one hell of an imaginary picture in my mind at that story of yours, you painted it so well and I giggled so much, thanks a bunch! Any one ever tell you you're NOT supposed to swallow gum - put it this way, I wouldn't in future! Very well done to you both and as you rightly say, another hurdle overcome! :j

Ross has quite a way with words at times, Nym..he grabs the nearest to mind. Any ex-smoker can have their CM (carbon monoxide) levels measured by a Cessation Nurse at your local GPs, it comes from amazingly high readings down to 0 at times, but usually down to 1 due to traffic pollution etc. Welcome aboard, Nym, sorry no nite for previous niceties, but what with people everywhere on 2 threads, it's hectic at present, but good to see you here and congratulations on having quit!!! [Edit - I reply off-line from 1st to last posts, then find things are already covered! I see you know all the above the, ah well, I'll leave it on for anyone else.]

Heck Ross, you're pushing things a bit, all the best with your dissertation. I'm glad I'm passed all that, I love languages and learn them at will ....oh what a joy to be able to! BTW, just because I love em doesn't mean I'm that good but I can get by and we have a Daughter fluent in both German & French...and a Son fluent in Rubbish! He's a marvel though - a shop manager too and we're so proud of them both. I just wish with all my heart he'd quit the fags! Who's fault is it though eh?! Yet he didn't start until he was nigh on 18. One day!

All of you here are a credit to yourselves and what you want out of life - congratulations to each and every one of you, you're terrific!!!

"You are always only one choice away from changing your life"

Love, Sue x

determined_new_ms

Morning fellow quiters (or should I say gainers? :cool:) Sue we've obviously 2 ends of the spectrum! I'm an early bird and clearly you're a night owl

So day 4 I am proud to say and its just occured to me I am no longer addicted to nicotine :j although the slight urge is still there...

Feeling a bit better today (well at least I slept some of the night - anyone else suffering from night sweats? Am boiling all through the night ) so am about to jump in shower and get myself into gear. Will be a challenge today as first day back at work & several ppl I work with are smokers...

However I have resolved today I will not smoke :j Planning to go for a run straight after work & then going to a friend's (non-smoker ) for dinner and a much needed catch up/gossip/laugh.

I wish you all a happy and smoke free day :T

Mat_Lock

gahhh woke up this morning..no urges but my throat is sore and I'm coughing loads. A good sign or someone has given me the swine flu haha.

debie_2

Hello everyone and thanks for the big welcome back.

I am on Day 2 now and feeling really proud of myself. I bought some Cranberry Juice last night and houmos for the munchies and am drinking loads of water.

I am coughing my guts up and have the Halls Extra Strong mints for long tube journey to work and back. Looking forward to seeing my friends tomorrow evening and saying I have quit the terrible weed.

When I got in from work last night I wanted to light up but think that the habit, cravings don't seem too bad today.

Good luck everyone.

D

Triciaxx

Hello everyone and a big :T to everyone from the beginning of the first thread right through to now. Your experiences have really helped and I don't think I would have got this far without you - even if you didn't know I was looking over your shoulders.

I decided towards the end of September that I wanted to get rid of the filthy cigs. Reasons?

1. I am the only one in our family who smokes now so it is no longer a 'social' thing to do.
2. If I don't stop now, I never will. I hit my Biblical sell by date this year when I hit 3 score and 10. :eek:
3. My excuses to myself for blocked sinuses, a persistent cough and lack of breath going up hills, began to sound weak. The hills aren't really steeper now than they were.
4. Cost. When I was working, I was smoking between 12 and 15 a day (more if in social situations with other smokers). Since I retired, that has [STRIKE]crept[/STRIKE]galloped up to 30. According to my Quit Meter, I've already saved £141. With the current interest rates, my savings are not really keeping up with inflation.:(

I've said in the title "patches (sort of)". I stocked up with 21mg patches on special offer but didn't think it through. Since the beginning of October, I was cutting back and was down to less than 10 a day. My quit day wasn't actually planned. I lit up and 8.30 a.m., took a couple of puffs, looked at the cig, decided I didn't want any more and stubbed it out.

I slapped a patch on and within a couple of hours had a racing heart and felt all spaced out. Eventually, I realised I was probably ODing on nicotine so took it off again. Since then, I've cut them in half and worn a half in the day and taken it off at night.

I'm not saying it has been easy but it has been manageable and I feel confident enough to post on here. The novelty has worn off now and I've had a couple of those 'I could have one to see what it is like now' moments so I reckon my need for support will be greater in the next few weeks than when it was a shiny new quit.

They say quitting won't kill you. I nearly broke that rule by tripping on the stairs to rush to my laptop to see my Quit Meter click over the 1 day mark. Am I daft or what?

:T:T:T to all of you for sharing your ups and downs

PS. This is my first post on any MSE thread, though I've been a long time lurker.

Mat_Lock

Welcome along Triciaxx you have to come to the right place for help and support. We're all a friendly bunch too. Congrats already on the length of time you have quit too.

SmellyOldSock

hey still going strong! only had 1 cig related thought, and that woz on the way home from work, ooh how nice have a cuppa and cig, then realized i have none in the house, so came in had a glass of orange juice and prepared dinner! lol

am feeling very pleased with myself at the mo

well done everyone, aren't we doing well lol x

Sue-UU

Hello all you fresh, no-smoking, lovely people...it's so good to see 3 happy quitters in progress rearing to go [Edit] 4 now! Do we have any higher bids than four?!!:D Ok then, maybe not Mat rearing to go from the sounds of it, but at least he knows the score. So another day for everyone...and another challenge and a little further ahead on that journey to a new, sweeter-smelling and refreshed you.

If you're using a computer at 6.59 in the morning then yes, you have to be a morning person, determined new ms. I can do early mornings and love em....just not too many in one go ...unless on holiday then they're ALL the way. Hubby used to be a Herdsman (with a 3 am start!!!!!)...but then I had to get up early in those days (not THAT early) with the kiddies, these days the urgency isn't there. Still, most of my housework's done for today, so here I am.

Well, unless you've hit an age of life where night sweats are more of a problem DNMS, then I think it's your body cleansing itself of all the muck and rubbish associated with having smoked for a good while, no question about it. Again it's one of those things that some folk are affected by, some completely untouched - just what's in your make-up. I'm glad you've exercise planned in you day, a good evening to look forward to as well, it helps a lot. Keep up the water, especially after the exercise though I doubt you need me to remind you of it. You're so right with your words "I am no longer addicted to nicotine", you just have what most of us (not all by any means) "the slight urge is still there" which is just what's left in your head, but that too will pass and become just occasional 'feelings' of 'something's missing but being unsure what it is'. Keep going with those until they gradually peter out of your life as you lengthen your quitting time. You now have a wonderfully healthier life to look ahead to - and don't forget to reward yourself with some of that money spent, even if it's only a little extravagance, it rewards the pride you feel - and rightly so!

Hi Mat and you're quite right with thoughts of your sore throat being all a part of the stopping the fags, you're not lining it with smoke, chemicals....need I say more? No! Ok! No urges though so fortunate there, but then you're a fellar and they so often have it easier! Do we woman mind about that........?!!! With luck it won't last long, though you may get some 'coughing up' depending how long you've been smoking for. I see on your signature you have a great holiday to look forward to - what a present to reward yourself with later!!!


Hi Debie and why not a big welcome back?...at least you've come back to try again - it's the ones who don't that I feel sad for, though in time they may well do. Well done with getting the Cranberry Juice and healthy houmos in for the snacking on, a handful of nuts is good to nibble on and lasts a while too for anyone looking for healthier munchies, but not really salted ones. Almonds are great, or Walnuts - most of them in fact, just leave the salted peanuts as they're fattening and too darned salty which isn't too healthy for anyone! Well done on drinking loads of water!!! I know people get fed up of me banging on about it, but it really is so beneficial - filling too to help keep away too much extra foods. If the Halls Extra Strong mints will help on the tube journey, or at any other time, debie then good for you and well done on thinking around what's best. It's so good to hear that pride you have, hang onto it as for most of us it acts almost like a personal trainer within! Be so very proud of yourself and your achievement to date when telling your great news to your friends tomorrow!!! You're in great company here this time debie at that also helps vastly!!


Hello Tricia and a very warm welcome, also you're making a momentous 1st post on this great thread for such a great reason, very well done! I'm always conscious that folk are watching the threads..some just waiting to get the courage up, some just like you - with us and possibly quitting, but not coming on board. It's all so good to know or suspect, it's made this thread so vital - congratulations to Jo the original starter of the very first one!!! She still pops on now and then and is still free from all the rotten things about fags!!!

Anyway, back to you, Tricia. You sound almost ancient at 40? :huh: - good Heavens above, not much hope for me then!!!!! I know very little about patches, but from what you've said I think I'd agree on you ODing on the ruddy things! Still, you got your start and have at least done what you intended and stopped!!! I believe you're supposed to take some sort of medical advice (Pharmacist at least), but you seem to be doing ok, so keep up the great work!! Just never, ever be tempted with one of 'I could have one to see what it is like now' moments..they are NEVER worth it and can cause so much distress!!! I haven't highlighted that to 'get at you' just purely to hope everyone sees it and takes notice as we've lost many an ex-smoker due to those thoughts..so very sad. You say you're daft, Tricia, but you're possibly in great company as I certainly am on occasion and we did have a gum chewer here last night who had a bit of an 'incident' - go careful with your trips!! Those hills will become so much easier, possibly already have done! Chat to us Tricia as not only does it help you, but everyone's stories and journeys help everyone else here - please share them! Terrific news on your quit so far and congratulations!!!

Just edited to say:

Very well done indeed, SmellyOldSock!!!! You've got it, just change things around a bit, for now, you can go back to a nice cuppa when you come home later when you've got a grip on things. For now, you're doing wonderfully!! Are you a guy or gal? Off again for a while now.

Keep up the amazing work everybody!!! See you later.

Sue x

Triciaxx

Anyway, back to you, Tricia. You sound almost ancient at 40? - good Heavens above, not much hope for me then!!!!!

*Whispers* Not 40 - 3 score and ten is 70.:D Don't tell anyone.

Thanks for the welcome.

Tally-Ho_2

Hi,

My first posting on this thread. I packed in on New Years Eve (conveniently I had run out of cigarettes anyway).

I had some patches from a previous attempt, so thought, why not give up again. So the first patch went on am New Years Day (Jan 1st).

As I miss something to do with my hands, I also have an empty inhalator to 'smoke' with whenever the mood takes me (which was decreasing).

I must admit days 1 to 3 went quite well, no major stresses etc. Day 4 back to work, again no stress, so was fairly easy.

Today, I feel dreadful, I seem to be craving despite having the patch on and using the empty inhalator. However if this is the worst I will feel, I can get over it (I just wish it would be sooner!!). I keep telling myself tomorrow will be better - I just hope it will be as I seem to be wavering a bit.

Everone seems to say the worse days are the first days, well my worst has started on day 5. Trust me to be different!!

Tally