Hello again.

[goalcompleter]

My quit date has come and gone, and I'm still smoking.  I have moved my quit date up to June 1, 2012.  That will give me time to use this and other programs properly.  I have begun tracking my cigarettes again as of this afternoon and am investigating more of what this site has to offer.  I am a former member of Nicotine Anonymous and have lots of literature from them to assist me.  I also have Alan Carr's book, which I will begin reading once again.  I feel if I use the tools of this program and others, I will have a much better chance of quitting for good!

[mikecity]

Congratulations on your quit date !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Never give up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dawn4]

just curious...............what IS holding you back?

[Connie55]

I am curious as to what your reason is to quit smoking. If you are not fully committed, maybe it is because you really don't want to or have not become fed up with being a slave to the cigarette.

Have you been diagnosed with serious health issues? Are you quitting because you family wants you to? Has someone you love died recently due to cigarettes?

Examine and write down your reasons that you want to quit. You will need to refer back to this list often.

[MNJen]

Allen Carr tells people to smoke while they read his book.  By the end, hopefully your desire to quit & his reasons to stop smoking will help you!   YOU CAN DO IT!! 

[goalcompleter]

I have Graves' disease and took radioactive iodine for it 7 years ago  for it.  Apparently, 80% of people who have taken radioactive iodine who are smokers get something called Thyroid Eye Disease, which causes eye bulging and severe double vision.  What's happening is the muscles behind my eyes are growing too large, pushing my eyeballs out of their sockets, causing the bulging and misalignment.  It takes up to three years for the "burnout period," the period when the muscles stop growing.  After that, I will need radiation therapy and three surgeries to correct my eyes.  In order to reach this burnout period, I must stop smoking.  Also, I will not be a candidate for surgery or radiation therapy if I still smoke.  My next doctor's appointment is on May 8th, and he is at the point of demanding that I quit smoking by that time or he won't treat me anymore (he's the best on Long Island).  That's the urgency to quit.  Also, I have other medical issues preventing me from working, and my disability hasn't come through yet, so I have pretty much no income at this time and can't continue to afford to keep spending $300 a month on cigarettes.  That money could be better spent towards my rent or food or car insurance or something much more important that cigarettes.  I feel under great pressure to quit from my family, especially my older sister, who held her own one-person "intervention" and told me if I don't quit, she won't speak to me anymore, and let me know if I end up with lung cancer, she isn't going to take care of me.  All this pressure just makes me want to say "screw you all" and smoke even more, rather than seeing the light and realizing all of these people are right and I should quit.  I must be insane to keep smoking.  My mother died of cancer three years ago and smoked 2 packs a day up until the end.  It's just a sick addiction, and I'm totally wrapped in it's claws.  Rationally, I know the dangers and the financial ruin it causes, not to mention the yellow teeth and smelly breath and clothes, but I still feel partially in denial of these things.  I just ignore these facts to the best of my ability so I can continue to smoke, semi without a conscience.  Thanks for listening.