Re: TOO ALL

[Guest guest]

Jody,

You can count on my support and prayers for your quitting. You are very

brave and I wish you well with this quest for better health. I'll be right

behind you as I'll be trying again very soon along with my Mother - we are

quitting as a " team " . It is so very hard to quit.

Sending you good wishes, vibes, thoughts and everything else I can muster up

you're way!!

Doris

[Guest guest]

Jody,

Good for you! My sister-in-law quit cold turkey successfully.

You're be in my thoughts and prayers.

Eunice

TOO ALL

Hi everyone,

I need all of your help and support and prayers and good vibrations in a

very very big way!!!

Tomorrow morning when I wake up, it will be the first day of the rest of my

life as a NON smoker. After 33 years of smoking and smoking menthol at

that, I am QUITTING!!!!!!!!!!!!

I decided about a month ago to do this and set the date of May 1, but

decided since I start my weeks on a Monday to change it to tomorrow. I can't

do this alone, I know this, and to be quite honest, I am scared to death,

mostly of failing as I hate to do something I can't finish, so please,

especially the next week, send up your prayers to the Big Man and ask him to

remove my addiction. And if you don't say prayers, positive thoughts and

vibrations are needed and will be gratefully accepted as well.

I will let you know how I make out. I just got tired of smoking and it is

my decision, no one else's. Besides, I have made so many positive changes

in the last 17 months for my health with the help and information I have

received here, I am just going to keep going.

*HUGZ* For you ALL, and Thank you thank you thank you!

Jody

_________________________________________________________________

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

[Guest guest]

Dear Jody,

I smoked heavily for about 10 years, tried to give up about 20 times but in

the end a combination of HYPNOTISM and FEAR seemed to do it for me.

My eyes were quite sore from TED when I was hyper and I didn't even have a

bad case of it. I read up about the link between Thyroid Eye Disease and

smoking, and that really helps you not put another one of those things in

your mouth! Everyone calls them " cancer sticks " I started to think of them

as a " blind stick " - every " heavenly " puff equivelent to years of eye

discomfort.

Without even factoring Graves' eye disease in, they are saying on our quit

smoking ads in Australia that if you smoke, you are SEVEN times more likely

to go blind. I have always had a thing about my eyes, I think they have on

and off been prone to soreness and protrusion making me more aware of the

vulnerability of eyes and sight... it really helped me to quit, to make the

connection.

GOOOD LUCK with it!

Seriously, the hypnotism tapes and sessions really helped me; I was afraid

of it initially as there is room for abuse in hypno... but I bought tapes

and listened to them while I was cleaning the house, decided that there was

nothing scary in them and so did the full on relaxation stuff they recommend

and found it REALLY helped turn off that repetitive chant in my head taht on

other attempts to quit had driven me back to smoking after weeks of the same

preoccupation: " What shall I do now? I know, I'll have a smoke! Oh, I've

give up. What shall I do now.... smoke! No! I've given up! " etc.

Take care

DAWN ROSE

>

>Reply-To: graves_support

>To: <graves_support >

>Subject: Re: TOO ALL

>Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2001 20:41:12 -0500

>

>Jody,

>

>Good for you! My sister-in-law quit cold turkey successfully.

>

>You're be in my thoughts and prayers.

>

>Eunice

>

> TOO ALL

>

>

> Hi everyone,

> I need all of your help and support and prayers and good vibrations in a

> very very big way!!!

>

> Tomorrow morning when I wake up, it will be the first day of the rest of

>my

> life as a NON smoker. After 33 years of smoking and smoking menthol at

> that, I am QUITTING!!!!!!!!!!!!

>

> I decided about a month ago to do this and set the date of May 1, but

> decided since I start my weeks on a Monday to change it to tomorrow. I

>can't

> do this alone, I know this, and to be quite honest, I am scared to

>death,

> mostly of failing as I hate to do something I can't finish, so please,

> especially the next week, send up your prayers to the Big Man and ask

>him to

> remove my addiction. And if you don't say prayers, positive thoughts

>and

> vibrations are needed and will be gratefully accepted as well.

>

> I will let you know how I make out. I just got tired of smoking and it

>is

> my decision, no one else's. Besides, I have made so many positive

>changes

> in the last 17 months for my health with the help and information I have

> received here, I am just going to keep going.

>

> *HUGZ* For you ALL, and Thank you thank you thank you!

> Jody

> _________________________________________________________________

> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Good for you, Jody!

After smoking heavily for 25 years, I stopped two years ago, and am so glad

of it. I'll be thinking of you! You can do it! Remember to breathe a

lot! A LOT!

At 09:35 PM 04/29/2001 -0400, you wrote:

>Hi everyone,

>I need all of your help and support and prayers and good vibrations in a

>very very big way!!!

>

>Tomorrow morning when I wake up, it will be the first day of the rest of my

>life as a NON smoker. After 33 years of smoking and smoking menthol at

>that, I am QUITTING!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest guest]

Jody,

Scarlett started crying the second I got online, so this is quick: when I

quit, I used the nicotine gum. Worked like a charm, a total charm. I

barely felt any withdrawl cravings . . . . good luck!!!!! So many of done

this, you can too!!

B

TOO ALL

> Hi everyone,

> I need all of your help and support and prayers and good vibrations in a

> very very big way!!!

>

> Tomorrow morning when I wake up, it will be the first day of the rest of

my

> life as a NON smoker. After 33 years of smoking and smoking menthol at

> that, I am QUITTING!!!!!!!!!!!!

>

> I decided about a month ago to do this and set the date of May 1, but

> decided since I start my weeks on a Monday to change it to tomorrow. I

can't

> do this alone, I know this, and to be quite honest, I am scared to death,

> mostly of failing as I hate to do something I can't finish, so please,

> especially the next week, send up your prayers to the Big Man and ask him

to

> remove my addiction. And if you don't say prayers, positive thoughts and

> vibrations are needed and will be gratefully accepted as well.

>

> I will let you know how I make out. I just got tired of smoking and it is

> my decision, no one else's. Besides, I have made so many positive changes

> in the last 17 months for my health with the help and information I have

> received here, I am just going to keep going.

>

> *HUGZ* For you ALL, and Thank you thank you thank you!

> Jody

> _________________________________________________________________

> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

>

>

>

> -------------------------------------

> The Graves' list is intended for informational purposes only and is not

intended to replace expert medical care.

> Please consult your doctor before changing or trying new treatments.

> ----------------------------------------

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jody,

Congratulations! I did it 19 years ago--after my baby almost died of his

asthma, both my husband and I stopped. Pretty big motivation, but I'd been

smoking since teenage time, with a few " pauses " . You CAN do it. It's not

easy, and for me, I craved cigarettes for about 5 years before I could

honestly say I was repulsed by them, and I'm now fanatically anti-smoking.

Just remember that the motor-physical aspects of the addiction are also

hard to break. Keep your hands busy, knit, crochet, carve wood, basket

weave--whatever bent your interest takes--because those things are way less

fattening!

Here, it's a lot easier than most places since you literally can't smoke

anywhere indoors in public in California. I was so surprised to find that

there were " smoking sections " in restaurants on our recent trip.

One other reward you'll get is your sense of taste back. I never knew mine

was gone until I stopped having a mouth that tasted like an ashtray all the

time.

I'm not much for prayer, but my thoughts will be with you.

Terry

>

> Reply-To: graves_support

> Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2001 21:35:57 -0400

> To: graves_support

> Subject: TOO ALL

>

> Tomorrow morning when I wake up, it will be the first day of the rest of my

> life as a NON smoker. After 33 years of smoking and smoking menthol at

> that, I am QUITTING!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest guest]

Dear Jody,

You can do it! Many people do!

Are you trying the patches? I quit using patches and pot just

before Christmas. I've been off the patches for quite awhile now, and

I haven't had a puff of tobacco since I quit. This was not my first

attempt, but by trying again and again I finally got some skills and

crutches together and finally it worked. I was pretty pathetic, but

my ex-mother-in-law smoked for 50 years and quit cold turkey her

first try! All the best of luck!

As a person that quit only 4 months ago, I want to tell you that

it is the best thing I have done for myself in a long time. I don't

know about you, but the need to quit was always in the back of my

mind. When I was younger, it was there larger and louder, but i

learned how to ignore it better. But it was still always there. Plus

guilt and self loathing for ingoring it were there, too. Guess what?

All that is gone now and it feels so wonderful! Like a big space of

peacefulness moved in where this conflict was, inside my head.

Jody, how are your eyes? When I saw the eye doc in Feb and he said

GO, I told him I had quit smoking 2 months earlier. He said, " You

couldn't have picked a better time to quit! Graves' is harder on the

eyes of smokers. " Tobacco really sucks! It has so many ADDED toxins

in it, plus the ones it is grown for and they all interact and do god

knows what!

I went to a search engine and found a quit smoking newsletter.

That helped me a little. One guy had written in there that when he

quit he played a mind game that consisted of him remembering back to

the time when he wasn't a smoker and identifying with that version of

himself. I tried it, saying to myself, " I have always been a non-

smoker " , and from the point of view of me at age 19, it is true. A

time tripping thing. It was helpful in an inexplicable sort of way.

I had lots of snacks to eat and gained 20 lbs, so far, but I was

underweight, so I'm at a good weight now. And I don't feel the need

to snack constantly any more, either.

I just passed the 4 month mark and I think about cigs once in

awhile, but i haven't had a craving to smoke one for at least a

month! They told me I would alway have cravings, but I don't think so!

I found that it was very helpful to keep pretty busy.

It will get easier after awhile and you can do it!

> Hi everyone,

> I need all of your help and support and prayers and good vibrations

in a

> very very big way!!!

>

> Tomorrow morning when I wake up, it will be the first day of the

rest of my

> life as a NON smoker. After 33 years of smoking and smoking

menthol at

> that, I am QUITTING!!!!!!!!!!!!

>

> I decided about a month ago to do this and set the date of May 1,

but

> decided since I start my weeks on a Monday to change it to

tomorrow. I can't

> do this alone, I know this, and to be quite honest, I am scared to

death,

> mostly of failing as I hate to do something I can't finish, so

please,

> especially the next week, send up your prayers to the Big Man and

ask him to

> remove my addiction. And if you don't say prayers, positive

thoughts and

> vibrations are needed and will be gratefully accepted as well.

>

> I will let you know how I make out. I just got tired of smoking

and it is

> my decision, no one else's. Besides, I have made so many positive

changes

> in the last 17 months for my health with the help and information I

have

> received here, I am just going to keep going.

>

> *HUGZ* For you ALL, and Thank you thank you thank you!

> Jody

> _________________________________________________________________

> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

[Guest guest]

Hi Doris,

Good luck to you and your Mom. I think the yoga will be very

supportive of your next attempt to quit. I can recommend the patches

that let you titrate yourself down on nicitine. It is a drug to which

you are addicted. Some people just don't do cold turkey too well.

They say most people who quit had to try to quit more than once. We

can do it! However works!

> Jody,

>

> You can count on my support and prayers for your quitting. You are

very

> brave and I wish you well with this quest for better health. I'll

be right

> behind you as I'll be trying again very soon along with my Mother -

we are

> quitting as a " team " . It is so very hard to quit.

>

> Sending you good wishes, vibes, thoughts and everything else I can

muster up

> you're way!!

>

> Doris

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

make sure you have a lot of anti-stress things in place, be it

meditation, exercise, or hiking to a mountaintop and screaming your

brains out!

I have quit three times in the last year, twice before I started my

ATD's and once since. Sadly I started again, 3 a day. It

still sucks though. I will keep trying and trying, and it can happen.

One thing that got me this last time was the fact that I went hyper I

think it was from the mental stress, I just didn't have enough helpers

in place. That and my GD wasn't really stabilized, I had only been on

my ATD's for a week when I quit and I think it was too soon.

I know that the next time I will make it for sure, especially if my

hormones are balanced. It can take several times.

Hang tough! you CAN do it!!! Be aware of the dark moments and be ready

for them, use the gum, it really does help alot, and of course, all my

best wishes and good thoughts for you! And don't forget, we're all

here for you when you need us!

Val

[Guest guest]

Jody,

I will say a prayer for you. My Anniversary was Friday April 27th. I quit

16 yrs. ago when on my wedding day. Because my husband didn't smoke and I

wanted to live a long life with him. For a short period when my GD was bad

and I didn't know what was wrong I started smoking, but very little. The

most 4 a day, mostly would take about 4 puffs put it out until later.

Good luck, Debbie R.

[Guest guest]

Curious to know if anyone had any trouble with the patches and the gum? It

made me feel VERY VERY ill... palpitations. It actually says on the insert

of the ones I bought here in Australia, that they are not suitable for

people with thyroid problems.

Great if you can use them, but if you have a tendancy for hyperthyroidism,

be very careful of anything that can make your heart race I reckon.

Good Luck

DAWN ROSE

>

>Reply-To: graves_support

>To: graves_support

>Subject: Re: TOO ALL

>Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2001 22:11:17 -0700

>

>make sure you have a lot of anti-stress things in place, be it

>meditation, exercise, or hiking to a mountaintop and screaming your

>brains out!

>

>I have quit three times in the last year, twice before I started my

>ATD's and once since. Sadly I started again, 3 a day. It

>still sucks though. I will keep trying and trying, and it can happen.

>

>One thing that got me this last time was the fact that I went hyper I

>think it was from the mental stress, I just didn't have enough helpers

>in place. That and my GD wasn't really stabilized, I had only been on

>my ATD's for a week when I quit and I think it was too soon.

>I know that the next time I will make it for sure, especially if my

>hormones are balanced. It can take several times.

>

>Hang tough! you CAN do it!!! Be aware of the dark moments and be ready

>for them, use the gum, it really does help alot, and of course, all my

>best wishes and good thoughts for you! And don't forget, we're all

>here for you when you need us!

>

>Val

>

>

>

>-------------------------------------

>The Graves' list is intended for informational purposes only and is not

>intended to replace expert medical care.

>Please consult your doctor before changing or trying new treatments.

>----------------------------------------

>

>

[Guest guest]

Go Jody.

The biggest plus I think you have going on your side is you said

this is YOUR decision - you own the goal.

Prayers, positive thoughts and vibrations have begun to roll in for you.

[Guest guest]

Dear Jody,

Good luck! Never having smoked I can't offer you first hand advice but I

do want to offer a quick comment on weight gain. I have a friend who

gained a bit of weight after quitting and as her doctor said, healthwise

the tradeoff's worth it so if it happens don't let it get you down!

You'll still be infinitely healthier, there for your loved ones and, as

Wilma and Betty said, " Charge!!!! "

Fay Young

________________________________________________________________

GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!

Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!

Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:

http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

[Guest guest]

Good for you, Jody! Quitting smoking is the nicest thing you can do

for yourself. I quite last year (Jan 17) after smoking for nearly 20

years. It was the hardest thing I have ever done.

I used nicotene replacement gum (Nicorette), self-hypnosis, an

internet support group, St. 's Wort, and about 2,000 pounds of

cinnamon gum. It can be done!

Good luck, just take it one day at a time.

[Guest guest]

Val,

Ever think of trying pot for those 3 cigs a day? You can pacify

your smoking desires without giving in to the nicotine cravings. I

used this method to stop and my doctor approved of it, especially

since I had been doing so well on it when I saw her and had tried to

stop many times before and never had much success. Now I use

marijuana and I don't even think about tobacco! I think the link is

broken for me and I don't feel in any danger of starting again! I can

always get that smoking behavior if I want it, but the addiction is

gone.

Down to 3 a day? Congratulations! I hope you can shake it.

> make sure you have a lot of anti-stress things in place, be it

> meditation, exercise, or hiking to a mountaintop and screaming your

> brains out!

>

> I have quit three times in the last year, twice before I started my

> ATD's and once since. Sadly I started again, 3 a day. It

> still sucks though. I will keep trying and trying, and it can

happen.

>

> One thing that got me this last time was the fact that I went hyper

I

> think it was from the mental stress, I just didn't have enough

helpers

> in place. That and my GD wasn't really stabilized, I had only been

on

> my ATD's for a week when I quit and I think it was too soon.

> I know that the next time I will make it for sure, especially if my

> hormones are balanced. It can take several times.

>

> Hang tough! you CAN do it!!! Be aware of the dark moments and be

ready

> for them, use the gum, it really does help alot, and of course, all

my

> best wishes and good thoughts for you! And don't forget, we're all

> here for you when you need us!

>

> Val

[Guest guest]

Hi Jody,

Congratulations to you. Both you and your husband (he quit last week) deserve

a big Hooray!

[Guest guest]

Now I'm wondering how many of us are ex-smokers. I smoked for 15 years and

quit 20 years ago. What helped me was calcium and B vitamins.

[Guest guest]

I had that same thought. It sure sounds like a lot of us were. I only

counted one person who said they'd never smoked.

Not long ago a study showed that a significantly high percentage

of people with mental illnesses, including things like depression and

anxiety, smoked tobacco in their teens. Does this indicate that the

cigs caused the mental problems or did the less stable teenager find

something therapeutic about them? When they figure out the answer to

that one, let me know.

---

In graves_support@y..., daisyelaine@a... wrote:

> Now I'm wondering how many of us are ex-smokers. I smoked for 15

years and

> quit 20 years ago. What helped me was calcium and B vitamins.

[Guest guest]

Also, early on, I saw something on Shomon's site about how quitting

smoking was a Graves' trigger. I know that it definitely was for me.

At 09:37 PM 04/30/2001 -0400, you wrote:

>Now I'm wondering how many of us are ex-smokers. I smoked for 15 years and

>quit 20 years ago. What helped me was calcium and B vitamins.

>

>

>-------------------------------------

>The Graves' list is intended for informational purposes only and is not

intended to replace expert medical care.

>Please consult your doctor before changing or trying new treatments.

>----------------------------------------

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hmm let's see.

I smoked in my teens. I was treated for depression, panic disorder,

and the Docs thought I was anorexic. AMAZINGLY,(sarcasm? Nah!) I

had food allergies and GD.

Mentally disturbed? Only in that I was not listened to, I was discounted and

even my own parents washed their hands of me, pretty much deciding

that every new problem that cropped up was just some kind of " phase "

I have to tell you, as women (most of us) with this type of

disease, it's not surprising to me that we have developed some

unhealthy crutches and coping mechanisms. Be that as it is, we are the

lucky ones who educate ourselves and fight our way back to health and

mental clarity.

I believe I had GD for a long time and for all that time wasted, now,

not a day goes by that I don't realize there are hundreds of women

(and men too) who are still suffering alone, not sure of what to do

or how to find help.

I think what I'm trying to say is, for whatever it's worth, we are all

of us, doing great! I haven't met a single person here who isn't

striving for something better, reaching and working their butt off.

Hats off to everyone, and thanks for being here, making me feel less

alone and most of all for sharing your struggles, stories, worries and

solutions.

Phew!

Val

[Guest guest]

Hmm let's see.

I smoked in my teens. I was treated for depression, panic disorder,

and the Docs thought I was anorexic. AMAZINGLY,(sarcasm? Nah!) I

had food allergies and GD.

Mentally disturbed? Only in that I was not listened to, I was discounted and

even my own parents washed their hands of me, pretty much deciding

that every new problem that cropped up was just some kind of " phase "

I have to tell you, as women (most of us) with this type of

disease, it's not surprising to me that we have developed some

unhealthy crutches and coping mechanisms. Be that as it is, we are the

lucky ones who educate ourselves and fight our way back to health and

mental clarity.

I believe I had GD for a long time and for all that time wasted, now,

not a day goes by that I don't realize there are hundreds of women

(and men too) who are still suffering alone, not sure of what to do

or how to find help.

I think what I'm trying to say is, for whatever it's worth, we are all

of us, doing great! I haven't met a single person here who isn't

striving for something better, reaching and working their butt off.

Hats off to everyone, and thanks for being here, making me feel less

alone and most of all for sharing your struggles, stories, worries and

solutions.

Phew!

Val

[Guest guest]

Yes I am sure it was a contributing factor to my hyperthyroidism escalating

so dramatically. I gave up in July when I was subclinically hyperthyroid

with antibodies only just above normal - by September, I was dramatically

hyperT. I am sure that quitting was not the only contributing factor to

this leap, but think it contributed.

at iThyroid has some interesting stuff on this, he thinks that the

connection is particularly in the Cadmium in the ciggies. When I postulated

that quitting smoking might have aggravated my GD or HyperT - he agreed that

several other people seemed to have made the same connection. I had given

up the cigarettes' siblings, beer and coffee,the year before....

This may be irresponsible, but I still say that the happiest and most

balanced days of my life were my beer swilling, cigarette smoking, coffee

drinking days - about a decade from age 22/3 to age 32. I vaguely think

that the combination of YOUTH along with the mineral balances induced by

that bizarre lifestyle which so many people " do " in their twenties,(which

for me included alot of hard physical work) - all conspired to give me some

sort of magical balance (!) that made me very happy. Mind you, I do think

it eventually results in ILL health so I am not recommending it as a

lifestyle to adopt!

Just an idea!

DAWN ROSE

>

>Reply-To: graves_support

>To: graves_support

>Subject: Re: TOO ALL

>Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 22:19:07 -0700

>

>Also, early on, I saw something on Shomon's site about how quitting

>smoking was a Graves' trigger. I know that it definitely was for me.

>

>At 09:37 PM 04/30/2001 -0400, you wrote:

> >Now I'm wondering how many of us are ex-smokers. I smoked for 15 years

>and

> >quit 20 years ago. What helped me was calcium and B vitamins.

> >

> >

> >-------------------------------------

> >The Graves' list is intended for informational purposes only and is not

>intended to replace expert medical care.

> >Please consult your doctor before changing or trying new treatments.

> >----------------------------------------

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Val,

My thoughts exactly...and you said it much better than I could have! I hurt

for those of us out there that are still struggling with trying to get

diagnosed correctly. The more I look back on my life...the more Graves

moments/behavior I see. When you have the knowledge you can then put all the

pieces together.

We are a strong, resilent bunch!!!

Doris

[Guest guest]

I am an ex-smoker too...been free of it for 5 years now, but took getting a

bad bronchitis to get me to quit.

Re: TOO ALL

> Now I'm wondering how many of us are ex-smokers. I smoked for 15 years and

> quit 20 years ago. What helped me was calcium and B vitamins.

>

>

> -------------------------------------

> The Graves' list is intended for informational purposes only and is not

intended to replace expert medical care.

> Please consult your doctor before changing or trying new treatments.

> ----------------------------------------

>

>

[Guest guest]

I admit I smoked as a teenager, not alot but would say it was therapeutic.

I could have been doing worse things. I quit smoking and got pregnant

within six wks. My first ob/gyn told me not to do two things at once, it was

too much stress on the body. After having my first child is when I noticed

something wasn't right. Everyone brushed it off that it was a new baby.

I've regretted not telling my ob/gyn at the time, he wouldn't have messed

around. But, I felt the same way. I was newly married quit smoking, six

wks later pregnant, big change at 28 yrs. old from being single set in my

ways to married. I figured it was the life changes of everything, but the

more I read here the more I see it most likely was the GD.

Debbie R.