Just contemplating a smoke free life....

[angelsamongus71]

Well I just saw the advertisement on a billboard today coming home from getting my hubby at work. I came to this site obviously because I know I need to quit and I have tried several times with no success. My mom has quit for 2 years now after about 45 years of smokin and a lady who was never sick a day in her life has now become sickly alot since quitting... She just had a left kidney removed that they found was full of cancer (Thank God we found it). But her doctor honestly told her that she had never been sick in her life until she quit smoking and that for the 1st time in his life he thought maybe she should start back so she could get well. This scares me about quitting because I have had 3 back surgeries in 3 years and finally they fused my back but with degenerative disc disease I will have several more. I have a disabled 19 year old still at home that i will care for till I am no longer able to, a hubby who smokes (not just cigarrettes but has another addiction) and also he is an alcoholic. I do not drink or use recreational drugs but have always said if smoking is my worst habit the im doing fairly well. WRONG! I know better...I am overweight also and my breathing as I get older is more labored and I know I need to quit, I want to quit, but I am scared to quit! It is like the only thing I feel i do for me everyday and although it is unhealthy it is still the only thing I do for me, the only money i spend on myself, ect.... So therefore the thought of giving up my security blanket (which I think it is) it a very scary thought for me. Please give me all the input you can and I promise I will read it and consider what I am told but, I know this is gonna be a long hard journey but, it needs to be done so i can enjoy playing with my grandson! Thanks and may God bless each and everyone of yall!

[JonesCarpeDiem]

Wow. I can't imagine a doctor thinkin quitting smoking would CAUSE cancer.

Does he do voodoo tootoo

you came to the right place.

Its about deciding and honoring your decision from that point on.

We can help you get into that mindset

Read

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Blog

ask

[Thomas3.20.2010]

whyquit,com 

quitsmokingonline.com

Read the blogs here by folks who have successfully quit smoking like Dale Jonescarp, James, hwc, aztec, and Peggy! You will learn a lot from them about a NEW PERSPECTIVE! Only when you change your attitude about nicotine Addiction will you be able to quit successfully! 

Ask anybody with  more than 5 months quit if they regret their DECISION - N.O.P.E.! Ask anybody who smokes if they wish they could quit - Yes! The time to quit is NOW! If I can do it then you can too!

[onelasttime]

If i was your Mom I would have walked out of that doctors office, could it be that all the years of smoking caused the cancer? Just because we quit the damage we have already done remains. Please educate yourself on nicotine addiction the more you learn the clearer the path to freedom from this addiction becomes. If you are already having breathing problem they will only get worse I smoked for 35+ years over a pack a day I will reach my one year free in January and it was the best move I ever made in my life. I can breathe again and have been able to go off some of my asthma meds. whyquit.com is a informative site to . Please read up on the addiction and decided for yourself what is best for you....Much success...Deb

[_m_11]

Hello,

  Go to for the http://quitsmokingonline.com web site information. It was recommend to me.  Read all the pages.  Keep reading even if you don't agree with the text or wording.  You can even smoke while you read if that help you.  It makes since when you reach chapter 4.  

 You need to fight the urge that cigarettes make such an impact in your life.  Smokers attach meaning and comfort to smoking. It is not what smoking a cigarette does for you -  It is about how you allow it to be meaningful.   

 When I have the urge  to smoke.  I tell myself,   " I am stressed". 

 I am stressed,  not because I want to smoke.   I am stressed because of something else.

 Maybe, I want to smoke because I am unhappy or lonely.

 I stop myself and think -   "How will smoking a cigarette really make me happy or lower my stress."

 I will stay happier longer and feel less stressed if I don't smoke.  I find great  joy in knowing, I can help myself.  I know cigarette doesn't really help. it ends up causing more stress. 

Good luck.  

[daisy6]

Time for your Mom to get a new Doctor! Time for you to quit smoking!!! It is possible to be happy in your quit. Go to why quit.com. I highy recomend reading Jame's blogs he taught me that it is possible to be happy in your quit. God bless.

[beverly19]

AHHH...I said that myself, That my smoking was mine...it was all i had that belong to me and just me.But now I say the same thing about my quit..It's all mine...! Nobody else's...I'm gonna make myself a healthy person...and the strength I feel from my quit is better than any cigarette that I have ever smoked.   I am gaining weight but its not from the quit its from not being able to breathe and exercise before my quit...Now I feel like I could walk a mile...and cannot wait for the weather to cooperate ( -6 here right now)..You have to let all others handle their own things (your husband)...and everybody else. You want to be around for a long time to care of your son..(your probally like me, and don't want anyone else to do it)..Or just simply get to were breathing is so difficult, you can't do anything..(was there not so long ago),....

Do this for you. ! It is the best gift I have ever given myself...It truly is as easy or as hard as you make it. Don't get me wrong I have my bad days..But I am a determined old girl !!!

whyquit.com I go there and read..read..read...I blog  and read blogs....and I have learned so much !!!!!! 

You can do this my friend...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[toby7]

Beverly is right. Quitting is as easy or as hard as YOU make it. Go to quitsmokingonline.com to learn what we are talking about. It has to make sense to you. Some of the instructions sound a little rich but stick with it and once it clicks for you quiting is much easier. Breathing easier was one of the first things I noticed when I quit (within a matter of a day or two). I no longer have to "clear my throat" when I go to bed. Keep checking in here, the support is great and good luck!!!

[angelsamongus71]

Maybe I wrote what I ment wrong..... the doctor didnt think it caused her cancer cause she quit he was just telling her that she was never sick befire the quit and she is constantly sick since the quit. they laughed about it but she would never start again and is on me all the time to. I would have tremendous family support if I did but it is getting in my mind that it is what I want and something good for me. My life and the choices I have made shows how well i am at doing things for me that are healthy. I want to quit I do but you have to move your feet to take steps to get there and that is where my problem is. I wish for a day I was bewitched and could twinkle my nose and it be done! LOL.... I'm good during the hard times or stressful ones either. I appreciate all the input and encouragement! I know I can do this it is just convincing my hands they dont need to go to my mouth all the time too! I have just lost 55 pounds and do not want the weight gain from quitting at all, I have battled with my weight all my life. I did not lose it the healthy way of course, it was all through stress but I would like to keep it off! I can do this and I will do it.....Just have to get my head and heart in the same place!

[jojo29]

 hi, all i can say is i use to think like u, as far as smokin for a long period of time and gettin sick i some how agree with that, in a way..Well iam a smoker 40 yrs 2-3 pks aday, with copd so if ur having breatin problems now, i strongly advise u to read whyquit.com and reli try ur hardest to quit. now i have noduels on my lungs and went for ct scan every yr.i stoped smokin for a lil bit went back to smokin this was 8 yrs ago, dr said watever im doin continue on, everything looked good, ohh but he didnt no i was smokin eaither. so accordin to me, well, im good woohoo i can smoke, NOTTTTT!! i havent had a ct scan 2 yrs,my breathin is alot worse, my mother now who quit 15 yrs ago, she got lung cancer this summer and died 5 weeks from her finding out.i asked her dr HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN!!! well she smoked also 40-45 yrs from the time u stop u have all the chemicals still floating around and it takes 10-15 yrs to reli get rid of. now iam 42 days quit after 40 yrs and i wonder am i gona get sick too, but i cant breath and i might , but not as fast as if id keep on smoking, besides i have alot more energy now that i dont smoke and im luvin that part. u have so much to gain from not smokin ,and u also gain control. even i got weaker in my age but hello, im super women in my house now LMAO IF U MAKE IT A GOOD QUIT U CAN BE VERY HAPPY WITH URSELF, well, good luck and ur at the right place. hope u stay with it.ohh yea and u no wat. the best way to have an easy quit is to never start reli.  well get tuff n stay smoke free. u will not be sorry. look who ya talkin to. the lady who smoked 24/7 :))))

[Mary155]

Sorry for those woes, Know you can do this, believe in yourself, do it for yourself, be good to you.  All the best,

One day at a time & Welcome.

[jeannie2]

Welcome to the quit world. Glad you are thinking you want to quit. If you really want too you can. If you justify it or make excuses to smoke you will. Its simpy a choice to get ready to make. I hope you choose to stop smoking and we all have been there. We all have gone through things but dont blame smoking.......i smoked happily for no reason good or bad and now i dont smoke the same way.         You are worth it and your health and breathing does improve

[Strudel]

Welcome to the site! Glad you cleared things up about your mom and the doctor.  I'm sorry she is ill.

Congrats on your decision to quit and also on your recent weight loss! For me what worked was lots of reading - blogs here, the web site - http://quitsmokingonline.com, and Allen Carr's book - The Easy Way to Stop Smoking. (The book also addresses avoiding weight gain.)

The support here is great - you can do this!!

[dixiechick]

You say it's the only thing you do FOR yourself-you need to get out of that mindset, because in reality it is among the worst things a person can ever do TO themselves. You are worth so much more than that and I hope you take your life back and quit.

Dixie

N,O.P.E.

[laurie37]

I came to this site 12 days after I quit smoking. Quitting smoking and coming here were 2 of the best things I ever did for myself. I quit 132 days ago and if I had known it was THIS doable, I would have quit a long time ago!!! You CAN do this! We're here to support you! And wait until you discover that you will have LESS stress!!! It was so amazing to me as it was one of my big worries about quitting; "How will I handle the stress?"

(((HUGS)))

[AutumnWoman]

I'm going to second dixiechick's comments.  One of the things I had to change in order to quit successfully was to get out of the abit of viewing smoking as a "reward".  I used to smoke every time I completed a task, and because I thought it was an incentive to move on to the next thing.  Sit down for a few minutes and think of things and activities you enjoy that don't involve smoking.  When the urge to smoke hits, pick something from that list instead of a cigarette.  Just remind yourself that poisoning yourself is not a reward.  Look around for life affirming things to do.

[angelsamongus71]

You are all right and I thank you for your comments! I made a deal with myself lastnight that this morning instead of getting a smoke first thing I was gonna make myself wait and I DONE IT! I waited for 2 hours after I woke up to smoke and then I got upset that I even picked the 1 up cause now I got the whole day! I did make my goal and do it so now I'm just gonna make small goals and see how long I go everyday before smoking and try to beat it each and everyday till i can go all day! Just something I thought about and I know I want to quit I'm just really struggling with HOW? I know I cannot go cold turkey and with the meds I take daily I cannot wear the patches so im just gonna have to take it one day at a time and see if I can go longer and longer each day without one and then eventually get down to where I can stop completly.

[gypsy6]

Hello and welcome.  Keep reading and blogging and hopefully you will make up your mind to quit.  This is a great group that will help you on your journey, and if times get really bad they will carry you!!!  How do I know, oh I'm just a person that used to smoke a pack a day for 36 years.  With the help of this group I'm working on 66 days without a smoke, who would have ever thought it possible.  If I can do this, you can as well.  You deserve it, give yourself a chance.

Sylvia