Quit smoking

[Guest guest]

Hi Jacinta,

In my addiction recovery...I found the help of 12 steps to be invaluable...along

with the support of a few close, non judging friends.

Know that there is a voice inside of us that will be very convincing which tells

us it is okay to smoke. It helped me to know how very, very clever that voice

is...and that I just had to not give in to it for that moment. You can really

really want to quit and that dang powerful voice can convince you otherwise.

I thought of my addictive voice like it was a cockroach...it wants to survive

and had done so many years...but I had the developed the desire, skills and

support to kill it. They say we quit " one day at a time " but sometimes it is one

hour or even one minute at a time.

Also know that giving up on an addiction means going thru' grief and loss...all

your feelings are normal...anger, sadness, frustration, etc. It might be helpful

to remind yourself that thoughts and feelings are different from actions. You

may think and feel a lot of things but you are choosing to not act on the urges

to smoke. It may help to know we cannot control the fact we have these diseases

such as AS/RA but we can control how well we take care of ourselves.

I found healthy replacement behaviors such as taking a bubble bath, going for a

little walk, drinking a glass of cool water, calling a friend, writing in a

journal, reciting a favorite prayer, etc. These things can distract you enough

to get thru' the urge. It is important to know your " triggers " and to remove

them or yourself from the triggers as much as possible.

Know that quitting smoking is an act of healthy self love and that God wants us

to be healthy and happy.

Also know that there is no failure and that shaming yourself is hurtful and

unnecessary because each time you quit you are just that much closer to the

final time.

I will hold you in the light, Jacinta.

in CA

P.S. Jacinta is also one of my grandkids names...I love it.

quitting smoking...

Jacinta AS

[Guest guest]

Jacinta, you have our prayers to help you in quitting. I quit my pipe in late

March/early April and ended up eating an awful lot of oranges as candy was out

of the question due to diabetes.

There is no easy way to quit. Tobacco addiction is tougher to quit than

narcotics a fact researchers have stated.

I do not reccomend trying to quit when under great stress such as upcomming

surgery but it depends entirely on you. Depending on the anesthetic your

surgeon uses, smoking could create lung problems and the fact you smoke is taken

into their choices and does limit what you get.

I wish you the best of luck quitting, it is tough. The best bet, finish the

last cigarette in the pack and toss any unopened packs in the messiest,

grossest, filthiest garbage you can find. Then pray, pray, pray and pray.

Another aid to quitting is the butt jar. Each time you smoke a cigarette toss

the butt into a glass jar half full of water. On a regular basis or when it is

full, put it in the sun with a lid on. After a few days open the jar and smell

the contents. Once you whiff of that gunk, you will have a graphic reminder of

what you are keeping out of your body. Believe me, you do not have to get your

nose close to smell it. I tried that method, did not work at all but others

have had great success. You also have to keep a journal of when and why you lit

up and see a pattern emerge, then you can come up with other things than smoking

a cigarette.

I have found that a combination of things helped me but most of all prayer and

oranges. Big juicy Navel Oranges.

Blessings

+Dave

[Guest guest]

Hi Jacinta,

Quitting smoking is the hardest thing that I've ever had to do and I'm still

battling with it. I'm 44 years old and I've smoked for 30 years. Last year I

was dx'd with Emphysema and, dummy me, I'm still smoking. I've tried over

and over to quit, but just can't, no matter what I do. I was with my mother

when she passed away from lung cancer and she suffered horribly. For some

reason it wasn't enough for me to quit and that was

10 years ago. It's sad that these bad things don't help me to quit.

Some things that I've done to slow down on smoking is I no longer smoke in

the house...I have to either go outside or out on the porch, no if's, and's

or but's about it. Another thing that I've done is smoke only 1/2 (or less)

of a cigarette at a time. I was smoking a pack a day but now I'm down to

about 7 or 8.

To add to what Dave+ said about it being harder to get off of cigarettes

than narcotics...it's been said that it's harder to quit cigs than it is for

a Heroin addict to get off of Heroin. Us smokers know that it has to be

true!!

I wish you luck and just keep on quitting; that's what I do! I have an

article on the fridge about the changes your body goes through when you

quit...it's amazing. If you (or anyone else) would like a copy of it, just

let me know.

Take good care and best wishes to you!

Dawn

RA, AS, IBS, GERD, FMS, CFS, Sjogrens, etc.......

[Guest guest]

Jacinta,

I started smoking when I was 14, 40 years ago and managed once to stop for three

years. I know if I quit again that I must never smoke another cigarette because

I'm hooked within about a week if I smoke even only two a day. In fact I am

helping out my daughter this week who is running the FEMA website and having to

work 16 hour days. I'm watching my granddaugher and keep telling myself that I

have to be healthy to be there for her in the future. I smoked the last

cigarette in my pack this morning and am fighting not to go to buy anymore. I

will pray for your success and would appreciate a prayer myself! Thanks.

P. McKinney, CPA

434-753-3928

703-919-9856 (cell)

---------------------------------

Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

[Guest guest]

I smoked the last cigarette in my pack this morning and am fighting not to go

to buy anymore.

Hi and Jacinta

You both have my prayers and I pray that you did not buy a pack today.

It takes a heck of a lot of will power to get rid of the habit. Heck, I smoked

when I new medically that it was bad for me. It was interesting when I joined

the Canadian Army that we received gifts from the Canadian and Ontario

Governments of cartons of cigarettes. They even had smoke breaks during parade

square drill. I did manage to get rid of the habit quickly. Then 10 years

later in a weak moment, I started again. I did though marry a smoker so I got a

lot of second hand smoke. Back then you did not have the chance to go anywhere

that didn't allow smoking. The last time I decided to quit was 30 years ago,

just managed to do it this year.

+Dave

P. McKinney, CPA

434-753-3928

703-919-9856 (cell)

---------------------------------

Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

[Guest guest]

I had to look in our archives but here is a post I posted to the

group on Sat, 4 Dec 1999 about quitting smoking.

Rick Hahn

Rick@...

http://www.risg.org

When I smoked I never could smell it. I thought that people that

complained about it were just being self-righteous. Now when I get

in someone else truck that smokes... It doesn't make me sick but it

not very appealing. I used a couple of methods to help me quit. One

is I promised God that if he put it within my reach I would do my

part and do everything I could to quit. Wanting to keep my promise

to him help give me more strength. So I prayed allot. Two, I kept in

mind how many times I tried unsuccessfully to quit before and didn't

make it. I knew if I didn't make it this time that I would try again

sometime. That would make all the discomfort I was experiencing at

the time for nothing. Every minute I was feeling the craving I would

have to feel again if I didn't stick with it. It was surprising how

the process of quitting worked. When I first started to quit I would

have a few seconds here and there where my mind was preoccupied and

I didn't feel the craving. As the days went by it would become a

longer and longer period of time. I really didn't realize how much

progress I was making because it was when I wasn't thinking about it

that true success was being achieved. One day I realized that I

wasn't thinking about it at all unless something or someone reminded

me of it. That was when I knew that God and I had won! I'll make a

confession here that I already have in the past. Im sure it's still

in the archives. But smoking was only one of my addictions in the

past. I was a active alcoholic for many years. It's not something

I'm very proud of but a fact all the same. I used the same process

above to quit that also. I'm one that knows that quitting is within

our grasp. It can be done and I encourage anyone on this list to

try. God can and does help. But in my case he expected me to do my

part. Today I have no craving for either of my past addictions. I

know I don't post personal things very often but this is one that

means allot to me. I know the addictions lied to me. They told me

everything I wanted to hear to make it easier for me to continue on

the path that's easiest for me. Stay addicted. But once success was

achieved I began to realize that I was paying money (sometimes

allot) to buy a short period of time without the discomfort of

withdrawal. In doing so I would continue the discomfort of addiction

and the end results that would bring. Make sense?

Rick

[Guest guest]

Rick,

What you had to say about smoking and addiction made wonderful sense. Thanks for

being willing to share your personal struggle with this to help those of us

who're still being fooled by our habits.

in VA

[Guest guest]

Thanks for responding to this thread Rick. I remember the original posting and

have kept that in the back of my mind for all these years.

What I have found is one has to have the will power and strength to butt out for

good. It is hard work, no matter what anyone else thinks. As with anything, a

strong support network both near and far helps immensly.

Blessings

+Dave

Also praying for anyone in the path of Hurricane Ophelia

[Guest guest]

Well...I have one for you...and this is within the last couple of weeks.

This is why I haven't written for some time...

Cigarettes will always be my downfall. I started smoking when I was 14 years

old...silly me. I am now 36...soon to be 37 on the 27th of this month.

Well, this last month started like any other except I had a pretty severe

cold. I still ran my daycare and took care of business as always...through

the Reiter's, the cold, the pain, etc...

This cold too ended and I thought that I was safe. I had a couple of days

reprieve before the lung problems set in. And boy did they set in. I already

have asthma issues and knew that I was getting pneumonia and hoepd that I

could just sleep on Thursday, Sep. 8. So I went through and entire inhaler

just so that I could lay down and get some sleep. Well, sleep I did, just

wake up I almost didn't. My first daycare child arrived that morning and I

was up at 7:30 as usual ready to conduct business, but my first daycare

mother of the day had to get me out of bed. I got up and was doing my job

and felt like everything in my body was going into pain. Things were

starting to feel a bit overwhelming so I called my hubby whom immediately

came home to help ( God bless his soul ). I went back to bed and rested for

awhile. I felt the pain getting worse and worse and really didn't want to go

anywhere. I just wanted to sleep. My hubby kept telling me that we were

going to the doctor and I was stubborn and just wanted to sleep. I probably

would have gotten away with that had I not thrown up all over the bed. My 15

year old son ended up taking me to ER where it only became scarier and

scarier.

By the time we reached ER, my life was fading at an extremely rapid rate.

Unbeknownst to me, I became septic through all of this and was rapidly dying

by the time I was taken into the hospital. I was in septic shock, my blood

pressure was almost non-existent and I had double pneumonia all complicated

by cigarettes and asthma. I actually felt myself dying in there. They were

giving me dopamine to save my life and going through every other life saving

technichque available to them at the time while my poor 15 year old son was

the only one there with me. They threw him out of the room and he was out in

the hall freaking out thinking that his mother was dying. I had a cathater

put in my Juggular vein and another in my artery so that they could get my

blood pressure evertime my heart beat. I was all but dead by the time they

were able to get the dopamine in me. I spent another three days in ICU only

able to lie there with an IV in my Juggular and one in my artery of my right

wrist. Of course they cath you to the bed so you don't have to get up to use

the bathroom and use these REALLY hard bedpans for anything else. All I

could do was lie there wishing I was dead. I tried to pull the catheter out

of my neck because of the panic attacks. I'm sure that some of you have had

stories of bronchitis and pneumonia. When you lie down, it only makes it

worse. Well, lie down was all I could do. I couldn't breath and I was in a

panic attack the whole time. They pneumonia was so bad it was in both lungs

and they weren't sure which was going to kill me, the septic or the

pneumonia. I have never been so scared in all my life. I spent September 9,

10, and 11 in ICU and was moved to PCU 12, 13, 14 and was finally realeased.

I still have pneumonia in my right lung, but it is looking better. The

septic appears to be gone as well now. It will take me months to fully

recover now though and I had to give up my business.

Back to the cigarette thing, I had quit for years before this, but when my

father died, I used that as an excuse to start smoking again. I am quitting

now again. I think I have a whole different perspective on things now

though. My little girl woke me up this morning because she had a bad dream.

My 4 year old baby. Her birthday is on the 29th. She'll be 5. I was so glad

that I was there this morning to protect her...even if it was only from a

bad dream.

I truly hope for all of you that it doesn't' take what happened to me to

appreciated what you really have in life. Laying there not being able to

breath was scary for me, imagine how scary it was for my children. My 4 year

old almost didn't have me to protect her from the big, bad dream this

morning. I will never take another day for granted. God has given me this

second chance to live... and live I shall.

Cigarettes are a crutch, my worst ever. We just have to be stronger than the

cigarettes. Your mind tells your hand to pick up that cigarette and smoke

it. Is that cigarette stronger than you? Can you tell it no? I will no

longer be a weak person. I want to see my kids grow up. The small things in

life that I took for granted really aren't that small. All of those petty

things that I was so disconteted with seem to petty now. I want to live. I

want to live great. I truly hope that all of you do as well. Cigarettes will

only complicate your life. If what I felt lying there in ICU, not being able

to breath is even an inkling of what emphysema feels like, no thank you. I'd

rather find some other way. Maybe it isn't too late for me. I just can't

imagine dying like that. It was the most horrible and painful way I could

think to go.

I hope that my testimonial helps all of you. I'm still bruised and stil have

pneumonia, but I don't see myself ever touching a cigarette again.

Good luck and God Bless everyone one of you. It truly is GREAT to be back on

the message board!

Love,

Jacqui

[Guest guest]

That had to be the most terrifying experience one can have. We are glad you are

back as well. We pray that you stick to the not smoking plan and do not let the

desire for a crutch overcome you.

I quit, and at the moment it looks like I quit too late. Will have an anxious 6

weeks waiting for tests.

blessings

+Dave

[Guest guest]

we are with you +dave. whatever happens.. and most importantly god is with

you too.. talk to us whenever you need to... *hugs

> I quit, and at the moment it looks like I quit too late. Will have an anxious

6 weeks waiting for tests.

>

> +Dave

Kilpatrick

~~~~~~

Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them

and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the

brightest gems in a useful life. Ralph Waldo Emerson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EMAIL: juliette@...

PERSONAL HOMEPAGE PAGE http://members.tripod.com/~LizK

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Guest guest]

To and +Dave,

God Bless you both. Please remember, he is there with you now and he

is the same now as before. How can any of us go wrong with a God like

our God.

[Guest guest]

Dave - If prayers work then your tests will come back negative. I

didn't realize you live in Southeastern Alberta. I grew up in Bowness,

just outside Calgary and after thirty years I'm STILL homesick. Like

Jacqui, I started smoking at 14. As horrible as your experience was,

Jacqui, I hope it makes you quit them for good. Although I keep trying

to quit I don't seem to be able to stick to it. I'm going to put all

my resources into finding a way to do it. I quit once for three years

so I can do it again. But, for those of us who've smoked for over 30

years - quitting may be too late. If you quit now your odds are good

on escaping the worst consequences.

in VA

[Guest guest]

Thanks Nicki on input on smoking - it is an incredible addiction, but I know I

could quit if I just couldn't get my hands on them. I guess heroin addicts say

the same thing though! I imagine that if I come down with a smoking related

cancer my family will be frustrated with me, as well as upset. I'm sure your

Mother would have quit long ago if she could have.

My father and brother are atheists; I agree that it's a very lonely philosophy

and seems to deny something most of us have sensed or experienced.

P. McKinney, CPA

434-753-3928

703-919-9856 (cell)

---------------------------------

for Good

Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Thank God everything work out alright.

I have not been a smoker but suffer from Asthma and know the fear gasping

for air.

I will pray that you do find the strength not to smoke again.

My husband has not smoke for 27 years, and now at 54 seems not to have any

damage in his lungs at all. The energy he has to train on his bike and

swimming etc. he says he could not have the lung power to enjoy his hobbies.

Bye Lyn

[Guest guest]

,

Smoking is a much harder drug to quit than even heroin believe it or not. It

is FAR more addictive, as much as they don't want you to believe that. My

husband made a good point this last time around...seeing as how this is the

3rd time I've been hospitalized because of lung related illnesses. He felt

that my decision to choose cigarettes over my family was reprehensible. My

last time in the hospital was a near death experience for me, but I'm still

vulnerable like everyone else. After my husband put it in those terms, I

think I can permanently lay off of them. You really do have a choice to

make, your family or the cigarettes. As hard as it seems, it shouldn't be a

difficult choice. I hope that you make the right one. God bless and I'll be

praying for you.

Love

Jacqui

[Guest guest]

Jacqui,

You are so young to be having these types of problems, it sure sounds like a

choice between cigarettes or your family. Only we smokers understand how

addictive these things are, but we can quit. My husband and I have been luckier

(?) than you - we have both made it into our fifties and still haven't been hit

by the bullet. It does make it worse for us that we both smoke, although even

that isn't an excuse. I listened to a quit smoking tape on my drive up to visit

my daughter and it became clear as a bell to me that there is no good reason in

the world to smoke. It must seem so obvious to non-smokers. I quit once

before by using hypnosis and I'm going to try it again. I'm determined that it

is a first priority in my life, because even though I'm not as young as you, I'm

still too young to leave my children and grandchild behind. Thanks so much for

your reply. I will be praying for you as well, and hoping you never have to go

through anything as frightening and dangerous

again.

Love

---------------------------------

for Good

Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

[Guest guest]

To all those who are trying to quit

There's not a single day when I get up and light my first cigarette that I

don't think how silly I am to keep on doing so much harm to myself and

others. I've just started acupuncture treatment to help me reduce the pain

caused by AS as well as dropping levels of anxiety. I'm practising yoga as

well.

I'll pray for all of you that are trying to quit and hope that those who are

ill like Jackie have the strength to stop.

Why don't we write to one another?

Jacinta

AS & Fibro 44, Portugal

[Guest guest]

From the bottom of my heart I wish you the best with the stop smoking

program. I know it is very difficult and I admire your decision and

determination to stop.

Please keep us posted on how things are going. I would like to know how

things are going for you.

GA

BTW due to a weird set of circumstances, my husband and I are rarely

together. When we are, I notice a huge difference in my pain level. While I

hope to get business taken care of so we can be together, I hope that he is

able to kick the habit before we are together full time. He has made valiant

attempts to quit and right before we were married he did the Wellbutrin

thing, which has worked for him before. It didn't work that time. It was

awful the second time around. As much as I wanted him to stop not only for

me, but also for him, I was hard pressed not to ask him to stop his program

due to side effects.

Anyway he persevered and though it didn't work that time, he is still

thinking about it.

I am allergic to tobacco smoke according to skin tests done a few years back

and I do notice that my allergies make my pain level soar when I am around

the allergens.

I do wish you lots of luck and any encouragement I can offer.

[Guest guest]

You can do it Jacinta. Get past the first 7 days then things get a bit easier.

I am glad that I quit earlier this year.

Praying for your success.

+Dave

[Guest guest]

Ok. Folks, I guess now it it.

I haven't' smoked for 2 months now, but with the help of patches because my

life is always a terrible mess, and I guess I wouldn't be able to do it all

by myself.

I have a lump under my arm, my head is not very good, but I try to keep my

spirits high through exercise and meditation.

My boys are going through a rough time, though.

I would appreciate any prayers, especially for them.

Love you all

Jacinta

Portugal, AS, 44, single proud mom of two teens

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[Guest guest]

Jacinta, You and your's will be in our prayers. All of us here suffer, so we

do understand. I quit for 6 years (cigs) and picked them back up 3 years ago

like I never stopped. Shows just how smart I am! Marty

[Guest guest]

I've found the temptation never fully goes away. I have been tempted to grab

a cigarette from a couple of my girls who smoke....even after 30 years! It

really isn't worth it. My mother and Auntie died of lung cancer. I was the

only person with my mother at her horrible death. She had quit smoking 15 years

previously. Keep up the good work, Jacinta.

We all are with you. Connie

[Guest guest]

+Dave, How long have you not smoked now? Use patches or anything? Marty

[Guest guest]

, Yeah... I know what you mean. AS,Psa here. Good Luck!! Marty