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Give and get support around quitting

Jenhen
Member

Hospital release day 2 of quit

I was diagnosed with COPD about 6 weeks ago.   Last episode put me in hospital Tuesday night and I'm being released today.   I'm trying a new approach telling myself I'm allergic to cigarette smoke and that exposure will cause a severe reaction putting me back in the hospital.   (Not far from the truth). Since being in here have banished partner, his cigarettes and ashtrays to the shed.  I am feeling more determined than ever.  I'll keep reading on working through cravings and such but would also appreciate first hand advice.   Thanks in advance!

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5 Replies
sweetplt
Member

Hi and Welcome to Ex’s...

It’s time to tell yourself anything so as not to smoke...for me, reading and planning my quit helped tremendously  at My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX ... coming here and giving encouragement to others in this journey and getting the help and support I needed was important...Changing up my habits to healthy things such as drinking lots of water, walking, exercising, working puzzles, organizing the house, etc., all this is possible if we start to fear the smoking more than fearing quitting.  You can do this...we are here for you and this journey together...take care of you...~ Colleen 318 DOF 

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YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

Search in the upper right hand corner if you need more ammunition about quitting when you learn what COPD can become if you keep smoking!!!  Just search for "COPD" with the magnifying glass.  You can greatly slow its progression by stopping NOW!

The important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. You can search for it online or at your local library. If you do nothing else to get ready for your quit, please do give this a read.


 You should also read the posts here and perhaps go to the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com, quitsmoking.com and livewell.com for the good information contained there. @https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.

After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort after you have tried to delay and distract.   I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another.  You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch does by decreasing the dose contained in them..  For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum.  For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for four reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion,  3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire and 4) you can become addicted to that and 5)  it is been proving to be unsafe .
 

The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to smoke so the view is different. Buy your gas at a different station. Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.
 
You need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game.  Keep a cold bottle of water with you from which to sip. Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time.  You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits.    Get busy!  Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of smoke if you need some fresh ideas:
 https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...
The conversation in your head in response to the "I want a cigarette" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?"  Then DO it.  You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.

Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!


 Nancy

maryfreecig
Member

Welcome to Ex. You have come to the right place for support 365!!! Stay strong in your resolve, read, learn and share here at Ex. Because it really is about taking this one day at a time--not spinning off into next month, next year or forever. Below are a few blogs about quitting which I hope you take the time to read.

/blogs/Marilyn.H.July.14.14.-blog/2019/09/30/its-bound-to-take-time-to-relearn-life 

/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2019/08/05/give-this-the-time-it-takes 

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/newbie-quitters/blog/2019/01/27/one-of-the-greatest-tools-... 

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/thread/6753-dopamine-the-double-edged-blade 

  Sincerely, Mary --6 years and counting of smobriety

marciem
Member

Hi Jenhen‌... WELCOME!!  I'm glad to see you doing whatever you have to do to quit smoking. 

Especially since COPD put you in the hospital.  It is nothing to play around with.  You ARE allergic to cigarette smoke and it will exacerbate your COPD symptoms plus cause your COPD (a progressive disease) to get worse.  The only way to slow, or possibly stop, the progression is STOP SMOKING.  100% .  Good to know your partner's cigarettes and smoking and all smoking materials are banished completely from your airspace and temptation space.  Hopefully out of sight, out of mind to some degree, though the initial stages of withdrawal can make that sometimes impossible (the out of mind part).

Keep up the good work!!!  It really is a life or death decision once you have developed COPD at any stage.

elvan
Member

You can do this and it is so worth it,  it's great that you have made rules about no smoking in the house.  It makes it easier when it is really inconvenient to find a cigarette.  I have been quit for over 5 1/2 years and I, too, have COPD.  I quit smoking when I got pneumonia and I realized there might not be any more chances to quit.  I do not regret quitting, EVER.  Stay close to the site, I came here every morning and every evening and whenever I had a chance in between.  I did all of the recommended reading and I read blog after blog after blog hoping that someone would say something that hit home with me.  I was astounded at how many people were on this journey and making it.  This is a wonderful site.

Welcome aboard.

Ellen