| Author | Message | ||
     Wendyn Supporter Username: Wendyn Post Number: 1433 Registered: 9-2002 |
You go Brett! And Brett's girlfriend! Greenetree, so sorry to hear about your mom. Your support during this difficult time means the world to her, I am sure. My mom who is around the same age and a 45 year smoker went to a doctor a few years ago who said "your lungs are remarkably clear for a smoker". I told her to switch doctors. Now she is manifesting early signs of Alzhiemer's which runs in the family. So our trip to see her this weekend will be marred by our badgering her to get to the doctor. She doesn't want to go because she doesn't want to know. Can't blame her. | ||
| exwoodgirl Citizen Username: Exwoodgirl Post Number: 33 Registered: 4-2004 |
Great for you Brett!! I quit 13 years ago (YIKES)! It was difficult at first. Now, I don't miss it at all. In fact, I am one of those intolerant non-smokers. Hate the smell, etc. And, I'm OK with that. It's OK for you to criticize me for my harshness with smoke. It's OK for you to tell me to "lay off smokers". I won't--I lost my Dad to lung cancer. I can take anything. Greentree--my prayers are with you. Once my Dad was diagnosed, we got many more good years! I hope each day brings more hope! | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 3961 Registered: 5-2001  |
Thanks, all. Luv- frankly, I would really like to say "f-you" (the Evil Administrator has disallowed this word), but that was my mom's attitude pretty much up until she left the doctor last week. She hasn't has a cigarette since. Best of luck to you. I just hope you don't have kids. Brett- keep hanging in there. Do something else in the car instead - take a trip back to your teen years - have sex & hope no one catches you.  | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 5708 Registered: 1-2003  |
luv2cruise, I'm surprised and amazed to think that you've read this thread and believe it is a bashfest on smokers. greenetree, I'm very sorry about your mother. I wish you all peace and strength. | ||
| bklyntonj Citizen Username: Bklyntonj Post Number: 321 Registered: 7-2003 |
luv2cruise is known for "unwarranted" comments. take them with the same size of luv's brain, a grain of salt. I stopped 12/31/04. Happy New Year! | ||
| Phenixrising Citizen Username: Phenixrising Post Number: 462 Registered: 9-2004 |
Congrats to all who've kick the habit! I send you well wishes and encouragement!  | ||
| Joan Supporter Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 5078 Registered: 5-2001 |
Brett: Way to go! That's two smoke-free days down and a whole smoke-free life ahead of you. | ||
| Just The Aunt Supporter Username: Auntof13 Post Number: 645 Registered: 1-2004  |
Greentree- About 5 years ago my sister in laws mom was dxed with lung cancer. She had been a smoker since she was a teenager. Five years later she's doing great. I'll keep your mom in my prayers. The day my SIL's mom was dxed was the day my brother quit. He had tried to quit numerous times but didn't last more then a few weeks, until now -it's almost 5 years!. | ||
| Duncan Supporter Username: Duncanrogers Post Number: 3946 Registered: 12-2001  |
Congrats Brett!! 6 years for me this summer. My dad died a slow, ugly death from emphesyma and that still wasn't when I quit. It is an evil drug and you are well rid of it. Hang in there keep talking about it and tell everyone you know that you are quitting. That way no one will give you one when you are jonesin'  Seriously...good luck with your dad and with you. It will turn into one of the best things you ever do in your life. Greentree..I am so sorry. Been there done that. threw away the T-Shirt  | ||
| Brett Citizen Username: Bmalibashksa Post Number: 1506 Registered: 7-2003 |
So it’s been about 114 hours. This sucks. What a crummy weekend. What do non-smokers do when they drink coffee in the morning? The two of us just couldn’t get out of a funk created by not knowing what do with ourselves. Can’t go to a bar, we’ll smoke. All available friends were smokers. So we cleaned. ALL WEEKEND. The place is spotless but it didn’t help our mood. We’ve also deduced that the amount of energy produced by the two of us chewing gum could power a small city. BTW: Did anyone experience an excess sweat issue? I had to bring another shirt to work today. | ||
| SoOrLady Citizen Username: Soorlady Post Number: 1833 Registered: 9-2003 |
Brett you nut! It was a beautiful weekend.. get outside.. walk, run, go up and watch the "activity" at the res. Better still, head south - we love the shore at this time of year. Or - do you like antiquing? Go to Lambertville, then cross the bridge into New Hope, PA and see those shops. Do not stay home... it's nice that your house is clean...but go out and breathe some fresh air!! | ||
| Lizziecat Citizen Username: Lizziecat Post Number: 532 Registered: 5-2003 |
It might help if each day you put the amount of money that you would have spent on cigarettes into a jar. Count it at the end of a week. Multiply by 52 weeks. You'll be amazed. | ||
| ronzio Citizen Username: Ronzio Post Number: 98 Registered: 7-2002 |
Brett, May I suggest taking the train into the city and having dinner, or going to a bar? At least since NYC is smokefree, you can have a night out and not be (as) tempted. Good luck. | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 3968 Registered: 5-2001 |
Keep the faith, Brett. It ain't easy but it's sure as hell worth it. I found that doing new things that weren't (for me) associated with smoking helped. Do something fun and corny, like going to Paintin' the Plates. Just don't make an ashtray..... | ||
| Dego Diva Citizen Username: Fmingione Post Number: 286 Registered: 12-2003 |
OK - I TOTALLY understand where you're at right now Bret - both my husband and I have been there. The funk you were in is totally natural - you're going through a physical and emotional withdrawal. Hang in there - you can do it, and it WILL get easier with time. First of all, hate to say it, but you're best off NOT hanging out with your smoker friends for a while. Stay in touch with them on the phone, via email, just don't go out with them for several weeks. Trust me, it WILL be too much temptation, and they'll understand. Second, you and your girlfriend need to get some pen and paper and start making lists: things to do on the weekend, things to occupy yourselves while driving, things to do while having the morning coffee, etc. Post them on the fridge, it your car, wherever. Sounds corney, I know, but you need to re-train yourself into new habit patterns. Think of Pavlov's dog - your reaction used to be "Pour a cup of coffee, light a cigarette." Now you need to find a new reaction. Keeping a list of acceptable "reactions" nearby will make the change easier. In an earlier post you mentioned that the two of you didn't know what to do during your drive. You've identified one of the hardest things to overcome, I think, yet, one of the best results of quitting cigs. Now you and your girlfriend have to WORK to find other things to share with each other - current events, hobbies, books - and that's a good thing! Keeps your relationship interesting and evolving. I promise you Bret, the step you've taken will lead you to many benefits - just give it time. | ||
| Walker Citizen Username: Fester Post Number: 78 Registered: 4-2003  |
One thing that helped me was whenever I had a craving I just reminded myself that I never wanted to go throught the process of quitting again, especially the withdrawls. | ||
| Joan Supporter Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 5101 Registered: 5-2001 |
What you need is a hands-on hobby. Busy hands, busy mind - less opportunity to pick up a smoke. You would have been welcome on Saturday at the Maplewood train station and later at the Main Library where we made knit and crochet blankets for babies with HIV/AIDs. The project started at 9AM and went until nearly 4 PM. That's nearly an entire smoke-free day. Other hands-on hobbies include playing a musical instrument, gardening, sculpting, doing jig saw puzzles, etc. The list is endless. Just think of all the time you have now to explore new horizons. | ||
| Brett Citizen Username: Bmalibashksa Post Number: 1509 Registered: 7-2003 |
Tonight at about 10:00 pm I will have quit smoking for 1 full week. This is one of the least comfortable things that I have done to myself in a long time. It’s amazing to have something lingering in the back of your mind through most of the day and not being able to do anything about it. It’s very strange that when I get the urge to smoke it’s followed by a brief bout of sadness like I lost a friend. The little panics are mostly gone, they were pretty severe over the weekend. I would kind of stop what I was doing for a second and look around trying to take my mind off of it. Food didn’t help, candy didn’t help, I just had to fight through it for a little. I don’t feel any better yet, which is unfortunate. Oddly enough I’m coughing more. I read that this was my lungs healing themselves but it’s pretty annoying and a little gross. I was hoping that the day after I quit smoking I would wake up ready to run a marathon, have a full head of hair, and be 10 pounds lighter. Instead I woke up with a huge urge to smoke. Changing my daily routine has helped. Waking up a little later, showering straight off, and skipping the coffee. I tried singing to myself in the car, but I think I’m torturing myself enough so that stopped. I was going to try greentrees suggestion, but with my girlfriend in Chicago, I’d be doing it myself and that’s just not right. I’m still avoiding the bars and smoker friendly places, I wonder how long I’ll have to do that for? I did call a friend and met in the park to walk his dog. He withheld having a smoke for an hour and I resisted asking him for one, or out and out mugging him. One thing that did help was the cleaning last weekend. All ashtrays were tossed (save 1), closest cleaned out and aired out (It was nice to have a 60 degree day this week). All remnants of smoking are gone. We both also went to the dentist for a cleaning and whitening. So on to another week of hoping this gets easier. | ||
| Duncan Supporter Username: Duncanrogers Post Number: 3954 Registered: 12-2001 |
Brett. A week! Congrats. BUT THROW OUT THAT ASHTRAY RIGHT NOW. I have quit everything you can imagine (and some you cannot) and having anything in the house that will let your mind reel back to "the good old days" is DEADLY. Please as soon as you see this post, whether you like, hate or ambivelant about me cause of my posts, trust me on this. Having that ashtray is like someone coming off heroin keeping one hypo in the closet. YOU DO NOT NEED IT ANYMORE. Friends who come over now, should go outside to smoke, give them a coffee can. But please, for your own sake and so that you do not relapse. GET RID OF THAT ASHTRAY. I am sorry to sound shrill, but I have sober for 14 years and I still do not keep any kind of liquor in the house. If we have a party or BBQ sure we will provide some, but then I send it home with friends. You just do not need that icon to smoking in your house. It is a ghost that will haunt you. What I would suggest is that you smash the thing to pieces (if its glass) or flatten (if not) as an means of venting the frustration of quitting. It was, among all the things I quit, the hardest. The Nicotine. So realize that your body chemisty has to rewire itself, the endorphines you used to release when you inhaled are gone, so you have to release them another way. Exercise is great. In the first few weeks after I quit I would drop and do 20 pushups when the urge struck. In rehearsal, backstage, in the backyard, right next to the car before getting in for a drive. Pretty soon, your brain will get the point and start producing what you need. THe psych part...thats a bitch. You do have to retrain your habits. My mother quit 35 years ago and still once in a while smells one on the streets of the city and says to me...ooooo I would love one of those, and then its gone. I do too. During tech week of a show, the most stressful times in an actors life, I usually wish I had a butt, but then I think about the TREMENDOUS changes in my life since I have quit. Man, politicallly we may be nothing alike, but I am here 24/7 to make it easier. Sounds like you are gonna be ok, IF YOU GET RID OF THAT ASHTRAY. The nicotine stays in your system for about 72 hours so after that its all habitual. Just lose the ashtray and drop and give me 20!!!! Good luck man... I know its hard. I know what its like. And I know it sucks. I am pulling for you hard. cheers. | ||
| drewdix Citizen Username: Drewdix Post Number: 849 Registered: 7-2001 |
Brett just imagine how your body is reparing itself. That helped me alot(11 year heavy smoker). I always thought that if our lungs were visible (i.e. outside our bodies), NOONE would smoke. Relapse is unthinkable- but if it happens, don't get crushed- put them down again, and think positively about the smoke free time you just had, and that you're going to do it for good this time. |
