Reserved for Suzie
(Quit Smoking 01/06/2002)
"Old Fogey2"
I quit smoking cold turkey after 27 years on January 6, 2002. I honestly don't remember what it was like not to smoke.
The reasons for quitting are many but there was one that got my attention. I watched my Mom die of cancer. It was not smoking related but it sure put life into perspective for me.
I decided to turn things around & live a healthier lifestyle. I had been doing yoga & the thought of doing all that deep breathing & stretching & feeling so good, only to light up a cigarette afterwards was absolutely absurd. That's where the shift in my thinking began.
So I quit. How hard could it be? Ah, words that haunted me every day. The first week was exactly what they call it "Hell week". I was being tortured by own body! Traitor!! Once the nicotine left my system I thought I had it made. WRONG!! The mind stepped in & took me on the ride of my life. I realized everything I did in life revolved around a cigarette. How on earth was I going to survive? I literally "itched" with the discomfort of not smoking.
Tears, anger, depression, the feeling of loss were just a "few" of the feelings I was dealing with. Cigarettes were my first and last thought of the day. Life was just not fun anymore. What was the point in existing without smoking? Sounds pretty stupid now but that is the nature of the beast.
Through it all though, I kept my resolve to not smoke. IT WAS SOOO HARD!!!! Then one day it dawned on me that I had not thought of smoking for a few hours! This turned into more hours, a day, then more days, until I hardly thought of it at all.
Life is fun now. I walk 5 miles a day & still do yoga but breathing is much easier now. The senses of smell & taste amaze me. I had no idea that food tasted so good and there are flowers & trees out there that I didn't know had a smell. That's only the tip of the iceberg! It's wonderful.
Once in awhile I will get a passing "niggle". Can't call it a craving really. I acknowledge it & let it go.
In the early days of my quit I found Blairsville. Oh, the joy in knowing there were others out there suffering with me! I sat on the sidelines because of a bad case of stage fright & also limited dial up internet(drat), but I learned a lot & got a lot of comfort from reading posts. I still pop in now and then to catch up & I see the new quitters struggling as we all have before them. It really can be done, no matter what your mind & body are telling you.
It's a battle like no other but you'll never regret it. Just hang in there & DON'T SMOKE!
Thanks for listening,
Suzie
I stopped smoking.
And I owe a great deal of my success to this place. I rarely posted; but I was here every day, most of the day ...reading. It was so damned wonderful to find a group of people who were going through the exact same things that I was. You all helped me succeed and for that I thank you.
I also want those of you who have been quit for one month, or one week, or one day, or only one hour..to know that there is light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
I was super bitch for a while.....had to lock myself in the bathroom once or twice at dinnertime & have a good cry for no apparent reason. Sheesh, I laugh at those times now....but it wasn't very funny back then. I ate my way out of my entire wardrobe. And I didn't really care that much at first. Hell, I was getting a wonderful tan from the bulb in the refrigerator! I was afraid to go places and/or do things that I associated with smoking (which basically was everywhere/everything).
But all that passes...
And I no longer have those emotional roller coaster rides. And I have lost the weight that I gained (well, maybe not all of it...but most).
And I guess that I feel what all addicts feel when they conquer their addiction; the most incredible sense of freedom.
And that makes it all worthwhile....
Not to mention the 9,172 cigarettes that I have not smoked nor paid for.
So once again thanks to Blairsville, and don't ever stop believing in yourself and your own strength.
Sandy.
AN OLD FOGEY!!!!!!! woohoo
I still check in when things get hard, and I see the brave strength of the new folks sweating out Hell Week, and more. It really does get easier. The challenges do change. The only way through it is through it, and it's so worth it!
Anyway, thanks to all of you. Keep working the quit - I know I am!
Peace
Carol_S and
All I can say to the newbies is hang in there. The fogeys are right when they say that the cravings pass and things get better. My life today is like it was when I was young and before I began to smoke. I don't even think about cigarettes. I have joined a local service club to keep busy and taken up judo to get some exercise. Don't worry about the initial weight gain. I gained 15 pounds in the first 6 months but now, a year later, I actually weight 25 pounds less than when I quit. (That's right, do the math, I lost over 40 pounds since August when I decided to change my diet and get some excercise).
One of the issues that confronted me when I quit was a severe deep depression. I got help from my doctor. He told me that because I had smoked for so long, my brain chemistry was messed up. I did get prescriptions for anti-depressants and they have been like a lifeline. I guess my message is if you find you are suffering depression (especially after quitting the zyban), be sure to tell your doctor. You do not have to suffer with mood swings, angry outbursts, etc. that are associated with quitting smoking.
My goal now is to convince and help my wife to quit. Her Mom passed away from lung cancer (mastesized (sp?) from breast cancer). Her Mom never smoked a day in her life. My wife knows she is at high risk for cancer. Hopefully she will quit this year.
Since I will not have access to a computer for the next several days, I wanted to drop in tonight and say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
I have chosen not to smoke for 11 Months 4 Weeks 8 Hours 47 Minutes 37 Seconds. Cigarettes not smoked: 9059. Money saved: C$2,717.75
I never tried to quit smoking until I was pregnant with my first child, that was 17 years ago and I quit during my pregnancy. But as soon as I was able to get my butt to the corner store after he was born, I was smoking again. Then with my second baby I quit again, and my husband at the time was a real freak about smoking, I remember for the 5 years that I was married to him I hid my smoking from him. I wanted to smoke so much more than I wanted to listen to him tell me I could not smoke. So after Sean was born 12 years ago I was back at it again, and smoked straight up until I quit a year ago. I remember one year I asked my kids what they wanted for Christmas and they both said “Mom, the only thing we want is for you to quit smoking.” Needless to say there were presents under the tree that year, it was a lot easier than quitting smoking.
But last year after my 43rd birthday I was feeling really old and run down and was starting to get some pains in my chest. I told my husband that I was going to try to quit smoking, and he said Ok I will quit with you but he wanted to wait until after his birthday which is Feb. 10th. So that is what we did, we quit Feb. 11th 2002.
I have to say that if anybody would have told me a year ago that I would not be smoking in a year I would have laughed at them and told them they were nuts. But look here I am a non-smoker for 1 full year. It is amazing and wonderful.
Being a non-smoker has changed a whole bunch of things for me, I am no longer smelly, I no longer get out of breath when I walk up stairs, (Now I can actually run up stairs). My whole lifestyle is much healthier, I never thought I could sit in a pub and drink a beer without a smoke, but I can. I can even visit with people who smoke and I don’t get a craving, only smelly clothes –Yuck.
I would like to say a Great Big Thank you to all of my new wonderful friends in Freedom Village and Blairsville who have helped me get to where I am today. Believe me I know that I would not have made it to one year without all the great support from all of you. This is one of the best things that has happened to me and you were all there for me in so many ways. I could never express how much I appreciate all of your friendship and support.
Thanks to everybody including my family, I am an official Fogey. Love you guys.
Janice1