I quit today, having a baddie!

[Segafan]

[anne]

Segafan <cha...@webtv.net> schreef in artikel
<25081-35...@newsd-153.iap.bryant.webtv.net>...
> Boy, I'm really glad I found this group. I'm sure there will be many
> times that I will need some encouragement. I quit smoking at 3:30 PM
> Monday Sept 7th. My wife has quit too.
>
> It's not been THAT awful bad today, actually..... but it's steadily
> getting worse. This is my third time around. I pretty much know what to
> expect and I'm not lookin' forward to it. I'm just hoping that my wife
> can hang in there. Every time we quit, she ends up smoking again. I
> can't blame her really, it is SOOOOoo hard. It's almost like a little
> voice is on your shoulder all day constantly tempting you to smoke just
> one more cig. I usually give in not long after her.
>
snip
I keep feeling like I am going to fail. I have failed all previous times
> and on one occasion I had been smoke free for almost five months! I am
> scared of dying. I don't want to get cancer.... this is what is really
> driving me..... the fear. I hope that I can hold onto it and that my
> addiction doesn't talk me into to thinking that I can smoke for a
> "little while longer" before I would be at any risk.
>

Hi Nick and welcom.

I'm also a former two pack a day smoker ( for 23 years) and yes IT GETS
BETTER.

Maybe you could try to add a few other things to your quitlist besides the
fear. I don't know about you but if I only stopped for fear I definately
would not make it. I would go:" I can get hit by a truck tomorrow etc."
What helped me was trying to think of the positive things of stopping
smoking. You're not deprived of something when you stop smoking ( although
it sometimes feels like that in the beginning) you're depriving yourself if
you continue to smoke.

Better breathing, feeling fitter, looking better, regain of smell and
taste, more money to waste on nice and useless things, and the sense of
freedom ( that's awesome to me)and acclomplishment.

The sooner you stop the better. Get yourself a nice reward at the end of
each smoke-free day,just keep an eye on the positive sides.

Hope you'll be well.

Anne

[Shakes]

Nick...you're having very natural thoughts and feelings about quitting smoking.  One of the things I found helpful was to keep going over my quit list...my list of reasons why I wanted to quit.  I would pour over it for hours, imagining my chest not feeling heavy and my clothes not smelling badly and so forth.

 

Good luck!

 

Jen P.

I haven't smoked in 1 Month 1 Day 15 Hours 5 Minutes 13 Seconds. Cigarettes not smoked: 1305. Money saved: $146.83.

 

 

Segafan wrote in message <25081-35...@newsd-153.iap.bryant.webtv.net>...

Boy, I'm really glad I found this group. I'm sure there will be many
times that I will need some encouragement. I quit smoking at 3:30 PM
Monday Sept 7th. My wife has quit too.

It's not been THAT awful bad today, actually..... but it's steadily
getting worse. This is my third time around. I pretty much know what to
expect and I'm not lookin' forward to it. I'm just hoping that my wife
can hang in there. Every time we quit, she ends up smoking again. I
can't blame her really, it is SOOOOoo hard. It's almost like a little
voice is on your shoulder all day constantly tempting you to smoke just
one more cig. I usually give in not long after her.

I can't really say that I quit last time. I just switched from smoking
to dipping Skoal. I thought it would be easier to get off the Skoal than
it would be to stop smoking. Boy, was I wrong! I got really addicted to
the Skoal. That stuff must have a TON of nicotene in it because I could
FEEL the rush going through my body as I put it in and I learned to look
forward to that feeling of relaxation.

I keep feeling like I am going to fail. I have failed all previous times
and on one occasion I had been smoke free for almost five months! I am
scared of dying. I don't want to get cancer.... this is what is really
driving me..... the fear. I hope that I can hold onto it and that my
addiction doesn't talk me into to thinking that I can smoke for a
"little while longer" before I would be at any risk.

Last night, I woke up coughing. Every time I would breathe in, I would
feel like my lungs had too much air in them and I would involuntarily
cough. I coughed for quite a few minutes before my lungs relaxed. I get
this way when I have smoked too much in one day. My body lets me know
it. I've had it happen for the last few years. Last time I quit this
went away. I think the Doc said it was reactionary asthma. He said that
I need to quit smoking. I did for about 4 months.

I've been smoking since January of 1987... that's almost 12 years....
that's 12 years TOO LONG!

I hope that I can be successful this time. I am trying to take one
minute at a time, but the minutes that lie before me look like they will
never get here, let alone pass by me. Time is ticking so slowly and all
I want to do is pass time and get to the point where the cravings aren't
so bad.

I am starting to think the tobacco companies have this drug down to a
science. It is almost like a "smart drug".... it knows you, it knows
your weaknesses and tries to exploit them! I keep feeling like I should
be doing something. Like I want something and I need to get up and get
it. It is driving me nuts!!

But basically in the end..... I feel like the rest of my life is going
to absolutely suck because I can't smoke. I feel like I am going to feel
like this forever and that I won't ever be able to enjoy anything ever
again because my mind will always be totally absorbed with wanting a
cig. I feel like I am being tortured. In my heart and mind, I know that
it will get better, as I said, I've been through this before, but I just
can't seem to grasp it, it just doesn't FEEL that way!!!

Can someone please tell me that it is going to get better?? I am used to
smoking at least 2 packs a day, and if someone else who was doing that
also could tell me it's going to get better, it would help. My mind is
so obsessive over this. Do you ever stop thinking about it?? HOW???

I REEEEAAALLLY want to quit, so please don't get me wrong. I wouldn't
have made it this long if I didn't want to. I just feel like I am going
to fail and that if I AM going to fail, I should give up now and not
torture myself any longer.

.... Of course this could also be the little tobacco drug dude that
likes to sit on my shoulder and tempt me too. His logic is just SO good!
I hope I can resist him!!

I just want to say that I really appreciate you guys letting me vent.
I'm going through a baddie right now!

Nick
Smoke-free for 10 hours, 7 minutes and 12 seconds. 28 cigarettes not
smoked, saving $2.96.

[Carol D.]

>>I feel like the rest of my life is going to absolutely suck because I can't smoke...

 

Nick, we've all felt that way and that's why we're here.  Turn that statement around to read "I know the rest of my life is going to absolutely suck if I continue to smoke..." 

 

Why?  Here's a few of things I can think of.

 

(1) Because I will end up one day having a breathing tube stuck up my nose and unable to walk anywhere without being followed by an oxygen machine (like my mother in law now in a nursing home because of emphysema from smoking).  Ask how many people here in this ng are currently watching a family member die from this.

 

(2) I may get a cancerous growth that spreads through my body eating my healthy tissue.  Ask how many people here in this ng are currently watching a family member die from this.

 

(3) Everything I do 24 hours a day is guided by when I can get my next nicotine fix.

 

(4) Whether or not I realize it, my home, my car and my clothing smells of stale, acrid, smoke.

 

During the first week or so of our quits, I bet each and everyone of us here felt that every quitting minute felt like a day.  But look how many posts now say, "Wow, it's been a week, I can't believe it!"  It's hard, very hard, and you are definitely at that time when you feel it the most.  Breath, suck on candies, exercise and read and post.  You can do it, Nick.  Look for that inner strength in you.  You have so many options except for one - don't smoke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ROSIE]

dear nick,
you have found the right place...............
sooooooooooooo, sit down and get to our website and read, read, read!
make you list of reasons to quit and keep it with you at all
time...................

BE SURE TO VISIT OUR WEBSITE!
alt.support.stop-smoking
http://www.swen.uwaterloo.ca/~bpekilis/as3/as3.html

read and post everyday, it’s a commitment to yourself!
rosie

[nw...@nomail.com]

cha...@webtv.net (Segafan) wrote:

>Boy, I'm really glad I found this group. I'm sure there will be many
>times that I will need some encouragement. I quit smoking at 3:30 PM
>Monday Sept 7th. My wife has quit too.

(snip snip snip hell of a lot of good stuff pouring from the heart and
fingertips of Nick)

>
>Can someone please tell me that it is going to get better?? I am used to
>smoking at least 2 packs a day, and if someone else who was doing that
>also could tell me it's going to get better, it would help. My mind is
>so obsessive over this. Do you ever stop thinking about it?? HOW???

Allright! Hang on tight. You think your at least 2 packs a day is
bad and stupid? Well, I have the dubious honor of being twice as
idiotic and stupid as you have been doing.

I averaged about 4-5 packs a day. For the calculations here I used
that lower figure.

My friend, I kicked Old Nic cold turkey, because I was too stupid to
find if there were any new aids since nic gum. The gory details of my
first few days have been known to the folks here.

I fucking felt that they lied collectively that it gets better later
on. I returned that favour by lying back to them that I believe them
that it gets better. Those days of that first week were so agonising
that I was glad my wife left town on a business trip to Australia. I
was alone with as3 people only to witness and comfort me through those
tortured moments where time crawled.

Then in the weeks that followed, I found out that they are right. It
does get better later on. And better. And better.

The gnawing desire for that ciggie subsided. It became more and more
as an itch. Do not get me wrong, there are times that Old Nic throws
a low one at you. Give that bastard some fucking respect, but no need
to fear that bugger.

I repeat. It gets better. Even when you think I am lying to you, you
will find out it does get better.

>I REEEEAAALLLY want to quit, so please don't get me wrong. I wouldn't
>have made it this long if I didn't want to. I just feel like I am going
>to fail and that if I AM going to fail, I should give up now and not
>torture myself any longer.

You got it in you! You will make it this time. Stay easy and relaxed
for the fight. We, the folks and loonies of as3 will be more than
your friends. We are your allies for your fight. We have been
through it all and we known how it was to have failed.

Buckle in for the ride of your life, and for your life.

Saikaku

I have kicked Old Nic for Three wonderful weeks, six luvly days, 15
bloody hours, 27 misc minutes and 48 odd seconds. 2211 stinking
ciggies not smoked, saving HK$3,317.25. Life saved: 1 week, 16 hours,
15 minutes.

[nw...@nomail.com]

[Chris Cortez]

S --

You've quit before, you know the routine, you read the posts, so I'm not
going to repeat stuff you see all the time, but..

Here's what kept me going on my longest successful quit to date (8
months) and what's been keeping me going on this one (1 week + now),
which will last the rest of my life:

The hardest thing you'll ever have to do related to quitting smoking is
not smoke for one day. You have to do it every day, and every day it's
easier. That's it. So don't smoke today -- that'll be hard. Then
don't smoke tomorrow -- that'll be somewhat less hard. Then keep it up
until you're 115 years old or so, then, if you want, you can smoke all
the cigarettes you want, because not even anybody on this ng is going to
tell a 115 year old what to freakin' do ;-)

Keep at it!

Chris Cortez
c...@zilker.net
1W 1D 12h 212 ns

Segafan wrote:

> Boy, I'm really glad I found this group. I'm sure there will be many
> times that I will need some encouragement. I quit smoking at 3:30 PM
> Monday Sept 7th. My wife has quit too.
>

> Can someone please tell me that it is going to get better?? I am used to
> smoking at least 2 packs a day, and if someone else who was doing that
> also could tell me it's going to get better, it would help. My mind is
> so obsessive over this. Do you ever stop thinking about it?? HOW???
>

> I REEEEAAALLLY want to quit, so please don't get me wrong. I wouldn't
> have made it this long if I didn't want to. I just feel like I am going
> to fail and that if I AM going to fail, I should give up now and not
> torture myself any longer.
>

> .... Of course this could also be the little tobacco drug dude that
> likes to sit on my shoulder and tempt me too. His logic is just SO good!
> I hope I can resist him!!
>
> I just want to say that I really appreciate you guys letting me vent.
> I'm going through a baddie right now!
>
> Nick
> Smoke-free for 10 hours, 7 minutes and 12 seconds. 28 cigarettes not
> smoked, saving $2.96.
>

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

[Rian]

> You got it in you! You will make it this time. Stay easy and relaxed
> for the fight. We, the folks and loonies of as3 will be more than
> your friends. We are your allies for your fight. We have been
> through it all and we known how it was to have failed.
>
> Buckle in for the ride of your life, and for your life.
>
> Saikaku
>

you're so kewl, saikaku, i love your posts.
congratulations on your 4 (count em, 4) WWWWs.

rian
1m,2w,5d

[chick...@webtv.net]

Hi Nick, you just keep hanging on there because it is going to get
better. I was not a 2 pack a day smoker but my boyfriend was and he
will be hitting his 2 month mark on September 11th. I think he had days
when he smoked closer to 3 packs too. It's been hard for both of us but
we are both doing fine. We've both had some different symptoms here -
he's been cranky, I've been crying. It just gets a bit easier as each
day passes.

He did to the patch for 3 weeks and has been on his own ever since. I
did cold turkey but was smoking under a half pack a day by the time I
quit (I used to smoke a lot more but did the old cut down method). The
cut down method works but it can be torture.

Good luck to you. Hang in there. You can do this and it is sooooo
worth it.

Kathy
Smoke Free Since 7/6/98

[nw...@nomail.com]

Rian <rianam...@earthlink.net> wrote:

Ah yes, your remark made me turn my eyes to that little bar at the
foot of the screen. And I can see that 4 Ws.

And it feels so nice!! :-)

Saikaku

I have kicked Old Nic for Four wonderful weeks, 40 misc minutes and 57
odd seconds. 2242 stinking ciggies not smoked, saving HK$3,363.33.
Life saved: 1 week, 18 hours, 50 minutes.

[Piyusha Singh]

Excerpts from netnews.alt.support.stop-smoking: 8-Sep-98 I quit today,
having a baddie! by Seg...@webtv.net

> But basically in the end..... I feel like the rest of my life is going
> to absolutely suck because I can't smoke. I feel like I am going to feel
> like this forever and that I won't ever be able to enjoy anything ever
> again because my mind will always be totally absorbed with wanting a
> cig. I feel like I am being tortured. In my heart and mind, I know that
> it will get better, as I said, I've been through this before, but I just
> can't seem to grasp it, it just doesn't FEEL that way!!!

Nick
I totally understand this, this is exactly how i felt the first few
days of my quit. Even now sometimes i think "it would be so nice to do
[insert anything here] with a cig." I find this particularly painful
right now because i loved sitting out in the evenings with a cigarette,
especially in fall and spring... BUT, what helped me is that i have made
a deal with myself. I told myself that if after a year none of the
things i do are fun, i'll *consider* smoking again...so essentially i
just have to go through one fall without smoking, one spring, one new
years eve and if i can't enjoy any of these then next fall i can smoke.
Maybe this is really warped, but its whats getting me through.

>
> Can someone please tell me that it is going to get better?? I am used to
> smoking at least 2 packs a day, and if someone else who was doing that
> also could tell me it's going to get better, it would help. My mind is
> so obsessive over this. Do you ever stop thinking about it?? HOW???
>
> I REEEEAAALLLY want to quit, so please don't get me wrong. I wouldn't
> have made it this long if I didn't want to. I just feel like I am going

YES, YES, YES it definitely does get better. I'm only at day 11 and
already its beginning to ease up. I can actually see myself having fun
w/out cigs. in fact i am already having fun without cigs.

piyusha

[Katie]

On Tue, 08 Sep 1998 12:10:48 -0500, Chris Cortez <c...@zilker.net>
wrote:

><snipped>.............................................................Then keep it up

>until you're 115 years old or so, then, if you want, you can smoke all
>the cigarettes you want, because not even anybody on this ng is going to
>tell a 115 year old what to freakin' do ;-)
>

Bwahahahahahaha...and then LOL some more! Hey, maybe instead of
having my meter count my smoke-free days, I'll have it count the days
till I can smoke. Let's see, 77 years x 352 days....only 27,104 days
to go!

Katie :-)>