I Have A Confession To Make

[Wifeofdano]

I have a confession to make to everyone.
I am totally disappointed in myself.
After all the support you all gave me,
after I truely thought I had it licked,
I started smoking cigarettes again
a few months ago.
I really am embarassed to tell you,
but I can't lie. My Mom would beat me.
So, I'm going to try again this year.
I do better with a set date, although there
is no time like the present.

[LonnieB]

Lisa,

Smoking is an addiction that is very hard to overcome. Some people try for years with no success, my mother is one of them. Keep trying, never give up, and remember this;

We are still your friends, and we still support you. If you truly want to quit, you can do it.

[ronstan]

I smoked for about 40 yrs. I stopped in 1998 by using acupuncture. You might want to look into it. I never thought it would work but it did. At the price of a cartoon today I could be a millionaire You have to have good support to make it.

[simonsrf]

Hypnotism worked for me.

I gave up the habit of smoking for the habit of not smoking..worked for me. I still think about it all the time, and have had the misery of waking and thinking I had smoked in my dreams!

Best of luck, you'll love yourself for quitting.

[ols1932]

Lisa,
You can do it! So what if you had a relapse. There's nothing to say that you can't start over. You know you can do it because you already have. Some people need some type of crutch like nicotine gum, nicotine patch, etc., but I believe cold turkey is the best method. That's what I did 48 years ago. I tried rationing the amount of cigarettes per day; tried taking two puffs and putting the cigarette out; any method available but none worked except cold turkey. My wife put carrot and celery sticks in a glass of water in the refrigerator for me and after one month, the BIG urge had gone away but not the desire. The habit of reaching in my shirt pocked gradually disappeared and everything was okay.

REMEMBER, YOU CAN DO IT!!

Orv

[snfexpress]

We both quit February 1st, of this year. We asked our physicians to prescripe this: www.CHANTIX.com

It worked well for us, although my DW still wants a cigarette now and then.

Hang in there and try again when you feel it is the right time...

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

I have heard that many people have to quit more than once before the "kick the habit" takes 100%

Don't beat yourself up, just give it another shot. Save the energy you are spending beating yourself up and use it to work on stopping.

You go girl, you can do it!

[Ozz]

I am sorry you had a relapse, thanks for sharing it with your on line family here, we all are pulling for you. I haven't smoked, but I do know that it is so very hard to quit.
You can do it gal!
Take care.

[Parrothead]

Lisa, I, like you, have quit numerous times. Try again. I need to, also. I totally undertand and I'm in total support of you.
Hugs
Happy trails......................

[Glenn and Lorraine]

I forget who to credit but someone once said "It is easy to stop drinking. I know it is as I have done it a thousand times". For most smokers it should read "It is easy to stop smoking. I know it is as I have done it a thousand times".

Lisa don't despair.
I know from personal experience how hard it is to quit. T smoked my first cigarette at 8 years of age and after nearly 50 years of smoking I quit a pack and a half a day habit using Nicoderm patches when I was 58 years old. After 6 years you would have thought I was a successful example.....NOT.
I have spoken to doctors and a psychiatrist and they all said the same thing.."be 100% ready or there is a 90% chance you will not be successful.
I tried cold turkey, used Nicorette and yes even hypnotism. They all worked for a short period but none ever work completely as I was never 100% ready. After getting off of them using Nicoderm at age 58 and after 6 years the thought of how good a cigarette would taste never left me. It had nothing to do with nicotine or any other drug. It had to do with being ready and apparently I never was. The urge became overwhelming and I tried just one smoke last winter and today I am back to a pack plus everyday.
Next week I have a doctors appointment and I will ask about the drug Chantix. If she prescribes it for me I will absolutely give it a try but from previous experience I have my doubts as to how well it will work.

quote:So, I'm going to try again this year.
I do better with a set date, although there
is no time like the present.

Yes but not if you are not 100% ready.

Guess I'll go light one up.............

ON EDIT...For Lorraine's health I never smoke in the trailer, or in the truck and I always ask for non-smoking when we go out.

[2golfers]

The chantix has worked for me, although I did have a short relasp over the summer. I started back on it and quit again, I still have urges espicaially after meals. The medication does have a lot of side affects and I did experience more than one. The most common in the beginning, is vivid dreams, mine were in color. Good luck

[bsmeaton]

I smoked since I was 16 years old. Still puffing at 49 years old this last June when the Cardiologist sent me to the Pulmonologist because I couldn't maintain 83% Oxygen on the treadmill. A few tests later and I'm told I have Stage II Emphasyma and will be on Oxygen 24/7 for life.

I set the smokes down right there and haven't touched them since. Nothing cures the habit more effectively than being told I smoked one too many and none of this can be fixed. If I continue smoking I die a rapid and miserable death.

I think back a lot about all of the times people warned me to quit smoking. If I only would have listened. Now I watch my 12 year old son help me carry oxygen cylinders to the Montana so we can go on a trip. I go nowhere without it. Forever - (I can take it off just about long enough to take a picture like the one below. Note the Liquid Oxygen dewer below the slide on the Montana - nowhere without it!)

I either didn't listen well, or I didn't understand. I get angry when I see people older than me still smoke and they don't need oxygen. I wonder why me. I always thought I could stop before anything bad happened. Not true, the damage starts the moment you light up. How fast it kills you all depends on that DNA string you carry.

You did so well!! Don't give up! Ask your doctor for an oxygen canula and try it on to see how you look. Make a list of things you would have to give up to be on oxygen such as swimming, dancing, sitting near a campfire...... Spend some time in the waiting room at a hospital that specializes in pulmonary diseases and watch the people. Chat with them - imagine yourself............

YOU CAN DO IT!

[ARJ]

I don't know if this will help but when I decided to quit I saved some half smoked butts. When I got crazy, I would have a couple of puffs and put it out. Did that for a few weeks and then I was OK with not smoking. Almost 3 years now.

[bncinwv]

Lisa,
More testimony, I quit smoking Feb. 26th a year ago with the assistance of every nicotine replacement aid there is, patches, gum, lozenges. Managed to substitute cinnamon gum for the nicotine gum for about five months and in a fit of weakness, picked up a pouch of chewing tobacco (reasoned that at least it wasn't cigarettes). Managed to quit that after a couple of months, and am still chewing nicotine gum (A year and a half later). It will be and is a life-long battle, but YOU can do it. Go get some gum to wean off of the nicotine, use the patches, lozenges, prescription aids, whatever you have to. BE STRONG and if you decide that now is the right time let us all know and we will support your efforts through a strong prayer chain. Good luck, go for it, and adopt a strong will to succeed. ?I am still battling, but I WILL NOT pick up a cigarette again!!!
Bingo

[Wifeofdano]

I am at a loss for words except for "I love you all"

[JH Sechelt]

4 years ago, I had to take Dawn via a ferry to Vancouver (6 to 8 hours per day). 5 Days a week, for 6 straight weeks to the BC Cancer Clinic to get radiation treatment, so they could burn a tumor out of the back of her throat. That was enough to stop both of us from Smoking. She was one of the lucky ones, It worked.

J&D

[adelmoll]

I quit three years, three months and five days ago... I gained 20 pounds and still want a cigarette every single day.. Last week I climbed (practically crawled at the top) but I made it to the top of Clingman's Dome in the Smokey Mountains. Six years ago I couldn't get 1/4 of the way up....That was a big reward for me and I will never smoke again.. But Lisa, I will stand close to you when we meet next week and just get a good whiff if it's OK with you.

Helen

[Just148]

Lisa,
I have read most of these posts and one stands out, Ols1932 "I believe cold turkey is the best method" In order to quit you would have to be ready to quit. Setting a date is bad, because you are not ready. I woke up one morning 27 yrs. ago and though about how much it cost to blow smoke out of my mouth (45/50)cents per pack. I decided to save that money in a jar, after a few years I bougth some CD's. I know it will take a lot to quit for some but if you keep busy for 21 days you would have it licked. Never give up a quitter never win.

[sreigle]

It took me a lot of years, a lot of different methods attempted, and a lot of tries. Smoking is both a physical and a psychological addiction with different people experiencing different levels of each type of addiction. What I found is that I could not quit and stay quit until I was truly ready to quit, mentally. Once I reached that point I was able to "kick the habit." It was still not easy. I used the Nicoderm patch to feed, but slowly wean, the physical need while I kicked the psychological addiction. Even after quitting, my doctor suggested I keep a few of the smaller patches around and throw one on when I felt I was about to give in. I did and it helped.

Just don't get down on yourself. This is not a failure. It's a setback. And one you can overcome when you are ready to do so.

Good luck.

[rrheik]

Lisa don't give up. As long as you keep trying you will beat it. Forunately for me, I was smoking at 21, for about three years, and then went to visit my father-in-law in the hospital with lung cancer, he died a few weeks later, and it a lasting impression on me. I quit then. Of course it was easier for me because I was only doing 3/4 pack a day and had been doing it for only three years. We sure wish the very best for you, and when you feel like lighting up, get on the net and talk to us instead. Take care care and do like Brad said, get an oxygen capacity test.