Too old to quit?

My hubby quit at 62....you wouldn't believe the improvement in his health since then (about 4 years)...he quit coughing....he quit snoring like a freight train....he can BREATH....he can walk and do strenous work without huffing puffing and trying to cough up a lung. I am in amazement of his improvement!!! it truly is NEVER too late to quit! Katy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/4/2002 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1468 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 58,753 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $8074 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 191 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 6 [B]Seconds:[/B] 16

night time cravings!!!

distract, distract, distract.....don't let yourself just sit there and "think" about smoking! You can't make it go away while you are "thinking" about it. While watching tv, get up and move during the commercials.....plan distractions for while you watch....the sweets are good....an icey glass of water or tea? with a straw to play and fiddle with? change the place where you sit...espcially if it was where you used to sit and smoke.....lie in the floor....do leg lifts while you watch.....or tummy crunches. You will find what will work.....and this spell will pass. Most of us go through a period at about this time where we question our decision to quit.....we are "letting it go" so to speak. check out your stats and then plan a few rewards for yourself....you are doing Great!! katy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/4/2002 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1468 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 58,753 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $8074 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 191 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 7 [B]Seconds:[/B] 3

could use some advice

if you followed the program for the patch you should pass through this final withdrawal fairly quickly.......and remember, we have bad days "with" cigarettes......you are a nicotine addict....physical withdrawal is only the beginning in beating this addiction. Most of us also have to face a mental struggle with the demon. Just hold on and don't smoke....no matter what. Things WILL finally begin to improve....everyone who quits finally reaches a point of feeling great about this choice......and YOU too WILL get there. put to use your coping skills and continue to distract yourself from thinking about smoking. Letting the thoughts take over your thinking will only make things worse.....YOU take the control away from the addict. hang tough keep kicking katy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/4/2002 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1476 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 59,057 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $8118 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 192 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 55 [B]Seconds:[/B] 34

Coping with Cravings

Twist the tables on the cravings to smoke.....do some stretching and breathing and visualize yourSELF as the one in control.....You take out the demon! He doesn't get to call the shots.....he screams for a fix and you stretch and say a resounding NO! Let this feeling of "control" build in your mind. YOU are the one running things.....by saying no you are tromping all over the junky!! and don't forget to reward yourself in small ways all the time!!! katy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/4/2002 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1476 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 59,057 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $8118 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 192 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 56 [B]Seconds:[/B] 15

questioning my quit

I think this is a question that almost every quitter asks at some point. and the resounding answer is YES IT IS WORTH IT!!!! You can't believe the sense of freedom that will finally come with NOT smoking. Having a slip is also a common thing....not everyone does but many do.....it does NOT mean that you have failed....you have NOT lost the time that you didn't smoke.....it is still there!!! Don't let yourself be dismayed by a setback....at least don't let yourself "dwell" on it! Take to mind the HOW and the WHY of the slip....put plans into place that keep that from happening again. Then just begin looking "forward" and not back. if your addiction can get you to feeling down and out, you will be much more likely to smoke......the junky in you knows this! Beware of this pitfall....keep yourself busy and work hard at distracting. (((hugs))) now onward with you!!! Put a stop to this thinking about screwing up.....you are not smoking NOW and that is what counts.....do the NOW....the rest will follow. katy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/4/2002 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1476 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 59,058 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $8118 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 192 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 58 [B]Seconds:[/B] 2

Anybody Else?

as the time I quit, there were many posts about quitters and hot flashes and flushing. I have no scientific facts about this, but it does seem to be something that a lot of quitters experience. probably due to stress and a feeling of panic that leaving this junky behind brings on. hang tough.....whatever the symptom.....I promise you no one here has died from quitting LOL katy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/4/2002 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1476 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 59,058 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $8118 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 192 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 58 [B]Seconds:[/B] 22

HELP! for G---

[i]G--- 1/19/2006 11:04 AM Posts: 1 Joined: 1/5/2006 254146 I made it to 15 days....I'm so depressed. Yesterday I bought a pack of cigarettes. I've been having horrible anxiety tacks. Something that I've never had in my life. I couldnt' take it....needed to function between working and school. I couldn't concentrate. Cigarettes finally calmed me down so I could think straight. Has anyone else gone through this? I think I'm going to need to try some Zyban to help me through this.... [/i] Realize that the only thing having those smokes did was give the junky in you a 'fix'....and that in turn gave you the false feeling of calming the stress and finding a solution to a problem. The stress and anxiety you were feeling was CAUSED by the nicotine addiction. You HAVE to fight your way through those initial withdrawal symptoms in order to get in control of this addiction. If you are truly having anxiety attacks then you need to talk to your doctor....perhaps NRT of some sort would benefit you. PLEASE don't give up at this point and think that you will be unable to quit....this is a trick of the addiction....if it can get you to give up and think it hopeless, then you will continue to let "it" run your life. quitting IS possible. My whole family were such Horribly addicted people, and yet here we are, all of us FREE of nicotine running our daily lives. Once again, throw away the smokes and go talk to your doctor. (and if he isn't helpful...talk to 'another' doctor...until you find one that understands what is going on here) {{{{{hugs}}}}}} Just don't give up.....we all understand where you are coming from! katy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/4/2002 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1476 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 59,058 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $8118 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 192 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 59 [B]Seconds:[/B] 33

Not getting support from my husband :(

I have to say that I agree with Joe....it's just that he needs more diplomacy in putting in words what you surely have to all see is true.... .....a nicotine addict may be quite caring and 'show' it....or they may be a complete butt about the threat they feel from a quitter. how they react to the quitter actually may have nothing to do with their feelings.....the ADDICTION is the one in control! Some of us feel a lot stronger about the delimia that faces a quitter who feels no support from a smoking spouse. all of you....make consessions for each other.....we are ALL heading the SAME way......don't let yourself fight! it plays to the addiction of the new quitters. We all have to be able to state our opinion Kick some butt!!! Katy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/4/2002 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1476 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 59,058 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $8118 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 192 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 0 [B]Seconds:[/B] 54

Never thought this would happen

whoohoooo.....that's positive thinking for ya!!! katy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/4/2002 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1476 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 59,058 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $8118 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 192 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 1 [B]Seconds:[/B] 0

Smoking and Pain

As addicts, we have learned to associate the nicotine 'fix' with relief. The relief it brings, however is only to the clamoring of the addiction......and that addiction actually causes us MORE stress than all the problems, pain, sorrow, etc could ever hope to create. When you begin a quit, this addiction screams...it's been cut off....it slams you with every emotion and tries to 'reason' you into seeing that having the 'fix' will cure ALL the problems. In reality all that is cured is the craving for nicotine....it enters the blood stream and the beast calms....and WE associate that with it solving our problems and relieving our pain and stress. It's all just a big fat lie. I know that getting through the withdrawals is tough....it's really hard to hang on, when we have spent years conditioning ourselves for an opposite reaction. It's like denying yourself something that you have come to think you 'need'. and you are sure right....."knowing" all this doesn't make the feelings of loosing it go away! it's hard to "reason" through a crave. What worked best for me was physical action when the craves set in. Can you manage to take walks? Easy stretching perhaps? Water exercise if it's available?? Depression is also a real thing for a quitter.....so if you are prone to it anyway, you are now more likely to experience it. Activity also helps combat depression. Can you possibly make your life more "busy" for a while :) New hobbies, new projects, etc? I wish I had a perfect answer that would make it all better....but one thing I do know......smoking will not help it! The gut reaction that it will is really a lie......so don't give in....no matter how hard you have to fight....it WILL get better at some point. Hang close to this site....soak up the support that is free for the asking. in your mind, grab our hands.....we will hang on to you and help keep you smoke free. Katy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/4/2002 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1477 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 59,110 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $8123.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 192 [B]Hrs:[/B] 18 [B]Mins:[/B] 6 [B]Seconds:[/B] 49