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Giving up...
I can't believe I'm saying this but:
I, Kelly Wilson, am quitting smoking
Yeah, I've said it before, and not really meant it, but I could hardly believe when on the way home from work I walked in to the doctor's surgery and asked to see the nurse straightaway (would never have done it if the receptionist had told me to come back in a few hours).
I told her the reasons why, A) I can hardly breathe when walking up even a small flight of stairs, and wake up with awful pain in my chest
and B) The place I'm working at now has a no-smoking policy and you have use the majority of your break walking to and from the smoking area outside of the building.
She took out some forms and filled them in then got me to breathe into this machine that registered how much carbon monoxide was in my system, and she said every time I came back to her she'd have me breathe into it again, to see if I'd been smoking, like a lie detector of sorts.
She also told me that because I smoke roll-ups, when I smoke 20 a day (and that's on a day when I don't smoke as much as normal) it's the equivalent to 120 normal cigarettes, so take into account that I can smoke upto 40 rollies a day, thats upto 240 cigs a day I have to give up
(I'm gonna be needing all the help I can get here!!)
The good thing is though, as I went to the nurse rather than just going into the chemist, I can get my 28 day supply of patches on prescription, so rather than costing me 20 odd quid over the counter I get them for £6.20.
Only problem is, I don't have £6.20 till 17th October, so the nurse said that's fine, just start cutting it down until then, buy them and make an appointment with her for a week after I start on them, so she can assess me.
Anyhow, I've got a long and hard road ahead of me, and it's kinda scary, saying goodbye to what has become a best friend. I'm gonna need all the help and support I can get. If I come across as being a heinous bitca in the weeks ahead, please don't take it personally
I, Kelly Wilson, am quitting smoking
Yeah, I've said it before, and not really meant it, but I could hardly believe when on the way home from work I walked in to the doctor's surgery and asked to see the nurse straightaway (would never have done it if the receptionist had told me to come back in a few hours).
I told her the reasons why, A) I can hardly breathe when walking up even a small flight of stairs, and wake up with awful pain in my chest
and B) The place I'm working at now has a no-smoking policy and you have use the majority of your break walking to and from the smoking area outside of the building.She took out some forms and filled them in then got me to breathe into this machine that registered how much carbon monoxide was in my system, and she said every time I came back to her she'd have me breathe into it again, to see if I'd been smoking, like a lie detector of sorts.
She also told me that because I smoke roll-ups, when I smoke 20 a day (and that's on a day when I don't smoke as much as normal) it's the equivalent to 120 normal cigarettes, so take into account that I can smoke upto 40 rollies a day, thats upto 240 cigs a day I have to give up
(I'm gonna be needing all the help I can get here!!)The good thing is though, as I went to the nurse rather than just going into the chemist, I can get my 28 day supply of patches on prescription, so rather than costing me 20 odd quid over the counter I get them for £6.20.
Only problem is, I don't have £6.20 till 17th October, so the nurse said that's fine, just start cutting it down until then, buy them and make an appointment with her for a week after I start on them, so she can assess me.
Anyhow, I've got a long and hard road ahead of me, and it's kinda scary, saying goodbye to what has become a best friend. I'm gonna need all the help and support I can get. If I come across as being a heinous bitca in the weeks ahead, please don't take it personally
38 Replies and 4576 Views in Total. [ 1 2 ]
Good luck, sweetie. And don't worry about getting angry... we'll understand 
Posted: 11:10 Oct 08 2002 
Good! Good Luck! And here's another body to bitch at on MSN if you're stressed 
Posted: 23:20 Oct 08 2002
Unbelievably, desparately, dying for a cig
I'm on the highest dose they make of patches, and yet I feel like I'm going cold turkey, this is pure hell.
I've been through crying my eyes out, violent tendancies, shouting and balling, and the dreaded eating. Right now I wish I was dead
I'm on the highest dose they make of patches, and yet I feel like I'm going cold turkey, this is pure hell.
I've been through crying my eyes out, violent tendancies, shouting and balling, and the dreaded eating. Right now I wish I was dead
Posted: 21:05 Oct 09 2002
Come on Kelly, you know you can do it!!! Probably not gonna help but...Dieing before your 40? Before doing half the stuff you can do in your life? Not being able to breathe walking upstairs? Prove people wrong, be strong and QUIT!
Do all of those things if it makes you not want a cig
Do all of those things if it makes you not want a cig
Posted: 21:24 Oct 09 2002
She needs to get herself some willpower.
As for the violent tendencies, she'll have plenty of them! I remember giving up smoking for three months and I had some massive rows with people at work.
I'm not gonna pretend its gonna be easy, cos it wont. There are no magic wands (including patches) that are going to make it easy. The only thing that really makes it work is a determination to succeed.
As for the violent tendencies, she'll have plenty of them! I remember giving up smoking for three months and I had some massive rows with people at work.
I'm not gonna pretend its gonna be easy, cos it wont. There are no magic wands (including patches) that are going to make it easy. The only thing that really makes it work is a determination to succeed.
Posted: 21:53 Oct 09 2002
We were talking about this just now.
The other half has been on 20+ a day for about 20 years. I smoked 'full-time' for about 3 years. The strategy we've agreed on for him is NOT to go cold turkey - it never works - just give up one situation at a time.
For instance - we've just moved into a new house - the house is non-smoking, so just by having to go outside it cuts it down. Then, you give up at work. In non-smoking offices, that's easier than smoking!! Then, you pick something else. These days, I smoke when I'm in pubs or under extreme provocation, and that's OK with me.
Kelly hun - hang in there. It's not easy. But if you don't see it as 'quitting', cos that cues all sorts of cravey feelings, it might be easier. Just try giving up one situation at a time. And keep going, it's probably one of the best decisions you'll ever make!
If you want support you can email me, but I won't be around for a week from Saturday...but all the best with it anyway.
The other half has been on 20+ a day for about 20 years. I smoked 'full-time' for about 3 years. The strategy we've agreed on for him is NOT to go cold turkey - it never works - just give up one situation at a time.
For instance - we've just moved into a new house - the house is non-smoking, so just by having to go outside it cuts it down. Then, you give up at work. In non-smoking offices, that's easier than smoking!! Then, you pick something else. These days, I smoke when I'm in pubs or under extreme provocation, and that's OK with me.
Kelly hun - hang in there. It's not easy. But if you don't see it as 'quitting', cos that cues all sorts of cravey feelings, it might be easier. Just try giving up one situation at a time. And keep going, it's probably one of the best decisions you'll ever make!
If you want support you can email me, but I won't be around for a week from Saturday...but all the best with it anyway.
Posted: 22:58 Oct 09 2002 And a fella that doesn't smoke in front of her
by Funky Monkey
She needs to get herself some willpower.
Posted: 23:26 Oct 09 2002 
Funny that, the thought crossed my mind as well
by Teresa
(quotes)
And a fella that doesn't smoke in front of her
Hang in there, Kel
Posted: 09:45 Oct 10 2002
I found that the nicotine chewing gums helped when I gave up - gives you something to do as well......
Posted: 11:48 Oct 10 2002 Giving up smoking is about willpower - nothing else. Nothing forces you to have another cigarette other than your own choice to smoke one. It's about strength of mind.
by Whistler
(quotes)
Funny that, the thought crossed my mind as well
Hang in there, Kel
If she can't handle me (or other people for that matter) smoking in front of her, then she's not going to get very far. On the other hand if she has the willpower to resist smoking despite the fact she lives with another smoker, I think that is a good indication she has the mettle to do it.
Personally I think the best way is go cold turkey and sweat it out.
Posted: 12:25 Oct 10 2002
Kel - Good look - I think it's great that you're trying to quit. As anything though I do think you need the support of the people around you. Smoking in front of you may give you the determination to "show him you can do it" initially, but watch out you don't end up getting cross because 'its not helping'.
I can certainly relate to this on the many no carb diets I've been on. It wasn't so much the fact that I couldn't eat alot of my favourite foods, pasta & bread etc, it was the fact that my partner at the time would buy things I couldn't eat on purpose and sit opposite me and tell me how good it tasted etc etc. At first I was 'yeah yeah goad me all you want. I don't care'. In the end I dumped him.
Anyway, my doctor told me (when I was getting mum to quit) that the actual physical changes that cause a craving occur, its only for about 30-40 seconds. and if you can put it off for that time you're doing well. He said she should eat those lucozade tablets (cos of the not gaining weight thing) or have a glass of water or *something* that takes a couple of minutes to do to keep your mind occupied.
Good luck honey
PS - she went to a hypnotherapist for treatment and it worked! she actually admitted that she didn't feel a craving. However - someone offered her a cigarette one night and she took it out of habit NOT because she craved one.... and after that she was back on the slippery slope. Just a thought if you're getting desperate.
I can certainly relate to this on the many no carb diets I've been on. It wasn't so much the fact that I couldn't eat alot of my favourite foods, pasta & bread etc, it was the fact that my partner at the time would buy things I couldn't eat on purpose and sit opposite me and tell me how good it tasted etc etc. At first I was 'yeah yeah goad me all you want. I don't care'. In the end I dumped him.
Anyway, my doctor told me (when I was getting mum to quit) that the actual physical changes that cause a craving occur, its only for about 30-40 seconds. and if you can put it off for that time you're doing well. He said she should eat those lucozade tablets (cos of the not gaining weight thing) or have a glass of water or *something* that takes a couple of minutes to do to keep your mind occupied.
Good luck honey
PS - she went to a hypnotherapist for treatment and it worked! she actually admitted that she didn't feel a craving. However - someone offered her a cigarette one night and she took it out of habit NOT because she craved one.... and after that she was back on the slippery slope. Just a thought if you're getting desperate.
Posted: 20:59 Oct 10 2002
Well Done Kelly
Small steps
I always do it cold turkey - but I haven't had one for 2 weeks now, and I can't say I've missed it - especially as I've had a bad cold.
Mind you I was only smoking about 5 a day!
BIG HUGS
KEEP GOING!
Small steps
I always do it cold turkey - but I haven't had one for 2 weeks now, and I can't say I've missed it - especially as I've had a bad cold.
Mind you I was only smoking about 5 a day!
BIG HUGS
KEEP GOING!
Posted: 19:00 Oct 11 2002
Oooh! Good luck! S'all I can say, you know why and how great it is you're doing this
Posted: 20:36 Oct 11 2002
Hey hun, Good luck When it gets bad just think of how much better off you'll be for it not just moneywise but your health will improve so much too!
I know its really hard, it helps when you have friends who beat you up when you so much as look at the cigarette machine in the pub
Set yourself a target or something, my mate put away the money she would have spent on cigarettes and saved up for clothes and stuff she really wanted but wouldnt have been able to afford before.
GOOD LUCK **hugs**
When it gets bad just think of how much better off you'll be for it not just moneywise but your health will improve so much too! I know its really hard, it helps when you have friends who beat you up when you so much as look at the cigarette machine in the pub
Set yourself a target or something, my mate put away the money she would have spent on cigarettes and saved up for clothes and stuff she really wanted but wouldnt have been able to afford before.
GOOD LUCK **hugs**
Posted: 23:31 Oct 11 2002
Just quit smoking 2 weeks ago myself, so I understand how hard it can be.
I've quit so many times I can't count, but I'm sure you have way more quitting-power than me so I'm sure you'll do well.
Good luck all round *hugs*
I've quit so many times I can't count, but I'm sure you have way more quitting-power than me so I'm sure you'll do well.
Good luck all round *hugs*
Posted: 01:55 Oct 12 2002
I was bad. I had a few cigs last night, and felt so mad with myself. But I've got my patches back on now and not feeling like having one.
Posted: 14:00 Oct 12 2002 [ 1 2 ]