Hi Mercy,
I smoked on and off for 30 years. My longest quit was nine months and then all heck broke loose in my personal life. I'm a single mom with twin teenage sons. My son studied the circulatory system in school this year, and had to know how everything functions, especially the heart and lungs. It was a horrible moment to see tears well up in their eyes when they shared their knowlege with me. And then they began to ask questions about my health, my death, and what would happen to them...In the meantime, my back was hurting more and more. One morning I work up coughing like heck (had already started cutting back on smoking). What I coughed up one morning REALLY FREAKED ME out! So here I am, 8 days into my final quit. I used a patch on the first day, then switched to gum and an inhaler the next day, then dropped down to the inhaler only (twice a day) since then. It was a challening week with the withdrawals. Additionally, my elderly Mom lives with us now, and she was furious because I quit. She chain smokes (outside)and was worried I would ban all smoking. Fortunately, my sister suggested that perhaps we could set up a smoker's paradise in the storage building outback (was kidding), but my Mom thought it was a great idea. OMG & (roll your eyes back, shake your head. You gotta love her!
Still, I am going to "keep on keeping on" my permanent quit no matter what. There was one thread I read this week that really worked for me; something along the lines of fearing the crave. I'm paraphrasing here, but the message that hit home had to do with: We should not fear the withdrawal systems because of the nicotine cravings. Afterall, we have been craving the whole time we were giving ourselves permission to smoke --- and the cravings were running our lives in the form of that insatible nagging for the nicotine; the next smoke. That thought got me in touch with how contrary that lifestyle is to who I am and the way I live my life. I can not stand to be around people who are nagging and negative so I will be pleasant, but reduce my time with them to a minimum. So why would I continue to use a substance that ruins my health, and nags at me to continue to use more? An epiphany of sorts, thanks to the writing of others. And thanks too, to my sons for sharing their knowlege and their love for me.
Anyway, that 's where I'm at for now. Hope this helps you and others....thanks for reaching out.
QuitMyster
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B]6/1/2007
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 8
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 40
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $12.00
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 45 [B]Seconds:[/B] 45
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Quit Meter
$250,932.00
Amount Saved
-
Quit Meter
Days: 6647
Hours: 5
Minutes: 8
Seconds: 56
Life Gained
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Quit Meter
45624
Smoke Free Days
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Quit Meter
456,240
Cigarettes Not Smoked
