Smokers/ExSmokers

[minneman]

For you Smokers,Last Wed.Am I had a real I opener, 6:am sitting right here, cup of coffee, havin a smoke, reading the best fishin info around, I feel kinda clammy/hot. I reach up behind me to open the window. after opening I feel as tho I pulled a muscle in my chest. nothing major, just irratating, 10 min. later its more of a heavy feeling, I go lay down next to the wife to strech it off. NOT!
30 sec. of that I wake her with the Scarriest words to ever come out of my mouth.. "I think you should take me into the hospital, "I think im having a heart attack??"

With pain that feels like an elephant standing on my chest we get to emergency and although relieved to be there, I still am in pain. 2 little sprays of nitro and the pain is gone. the next day im shipped to Fargo for an angiogram, and ultimatly angioplasty and a stent for the blockage they found. lucky for me there was only minor damage to my heart, the blockage was not in a major artery.

Here is the thing, Im male, 42 yrs young, and there is no heart disease in the family, None. my Cholesteral level is 164, Im not over weight, 6'3" 205lbs, and am phisically active. My downfall is that ive Smoked for 26 years! !!Quit Now!!

Ex Smokers, please share with me the ways you found things to do to avoid the urge, I havent smoked since 6am wed. and am doing the patch, so far so good, but today I return to work (selfemployed const) and in this biz smoking is the norm. Yes, they will all get an earfull!!

Thanks for your time! I have a totaly new outlook on life now, and sharing this is part of it, hoping that atleast one of you great people will Kick it!! Ted

[Seabass77]

The patch worked well for me. Another big thing is to avoid places and people that will make you crave smoking. For me, it meant not seeing a few friend of mine for a couple of weeks and avoiding the bar.

Get two weeks under your belt and then three, four, etc will become easy. The first two weeks are the hardest.

Other tips
- Keep reminding yourself of how good you feel.

- Keep the equivalant money, of what you would be spending on cigarettes, in a jar and count it after two weeks. You will be even more happy with your self.

- If you relapse, don't give up. Quiting smoking is really hard.

- spend lots of time with the family, it will keep you motivated to stay quit.

[Finns]

The patch worked for me.

After 30 yrs. of smoking up to 3 packs a day I made the fortunate mistake of asking my wife "What do you want for our wedding anniversary". "I want you to quit smoking!" That was 6 years ago. I don't ask what she wants anymore, she gets what I give her.

In my profession I have been doing more and more EMS calls and can vouch that smoking is not good. Please try and quit.

Finns

[upnorth]

Minneman or anyone else thinking of quitting.

I smoked from the time that I was 11 to 39, 2 packs a day, yes I was hooked. I have not smoked for 6 years now and have not even given it a serious thought

I used the patch, and that helped, but to be honest that hardest thing about quitting was to make the actual decision that I was going to quit. Once I did that, I made a list of all the things I disliked about smoking and the things that I knew would be better after I quit. Once you make that list read it often.

It also helps to make some simple changes in how you do things. If you smoke after a meal don't go sit on the couch and think of how much you want a cigarette, do something else you enjoy, talk a walk, go tie some tackle, just don't sit there and think about it. There are other triggers that bring on the thought of smoking and when they do read your list again. If you sit around and think of how much you want to have a smoke you will just get miserable and probably smoke again.

Don't know if that will work for you, but it did for me. Good luck with quitting You will not regret doing this for yourself and loved ones

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 10-13-2003).]

[MNice]

I smoked from 16 until I was 26. Quit cold turkey and I'm 45 now and feeling great!! I have NO urge to light up again, I guess I'm one of the lucky ones in that respect. My wife is a nurse practitioner and she always preached "you only have one body and you better take care of it!"

Good luck with your health.

[Granny]

I can't put myself in a smokers position, but I finally made the decision to stop chewing. Its been almost 2 months but feels like years. As mentioned before, try to distant yourself from your normal routine. I went through bags of sunflower seeds, jolly ranchers, and lots of gum. It also helps to have someone cheering you on and tell you no. I personally wouldn't do the patch because you are still holding on to the craving by a string. Cut the string and go cold turkey. It feels so good to say, "no thanks, I quit".

Does anyone else have dreams of chewing and/or smoking since they have quit? I have one about every other night. Feels good when I realize it was only a dream.

Good luck to all!

[davev]

Minneman
Hang in there and it will get easier. It's been 13 months, 21 days, and 11.5 hrs. since my last cigarette. Your mind will tell you that there is always a good reason to have a cigarette. But YOU know better!
I used the patch for ten days, but I was allergic to it. Big red rash in ten spots on my body. Not too pretty.
Every day I had to tell myself that I was not going to smoke "today". Take it one day at a time. Tell every one that you have quit and need their support.
Keep on quitting

[IFallsRon]

I had a virus about 15 years ago that lasted about six weeks. I was having dizzy spells, lost weight and felt like dump. If I had a smoke, it would be worse. I pretty much quit then. I still feel like having a smoke just about every day. I've had one out fishing with the boys and could probably start back in with no problem. Instead I grind up a lot of toothpicks. Keep after it, you've already taken care of the hardest part.

[Guest]

Zyban works very well..

Good Luck

------------------
Mille Lacs Guide Service
651-271-5459
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[B-bear]

I was what you call a Chronic smoker for 15 years. That last year I smoked I must have tried quitting 20 times. I haven't smoked in 4 years. I tried the patch several times and tried Zyban.

I don't want to influence you away from something if it works for you but be careful with Zyban. It had a negative psychological effect on me-- yup, I freaked out. Maybe its cause I'm a little loopie to begin with but I can tell you it sure wasn't fun loosing control like that. I've never been that scared in my entire life.

What did work was the patch along with some of the lower milligram nicotine gum. What this did was gave me the small spike of nicotine with the gum that you are used to getting from smoking that you don't get only using the patch becuase the patch is a constant steady amount of nicotine. You may want to consult your doctor on this since I don't know how safe it is. My doctor said it was OK for me because I did not have any heart problems.

Another thing that worked for me was constantly chewing sunflower seeds. Give you mouth something else to do.

Most of all don't give up on quitting. If you fail start over again right away. Too many people wait months to start again. Like I said I tried quitting tons of times and one time it just clicked and I was done.

Oh and by the way my fishing has improved alot. I think it is because of the smell of cigs on my hands-- the fish could smell it? Not sure but it sure seems like it.

[BarryG]

When I quit smoking it was just a promise to myself that I made and didn't tell anyone about. I promised myself that I would quit the day I found out my wife was pregnant, I found out on May 27th 1987 and only smoked 2 cigs after that at a Memeorial Day weekend picnic where we consumed 3 half barrels of BUD. Like I said it was a promise to myself...and if you can't keep a promise to yourself who can you keep one too?? It took about 8yrs before I finally stopped reaching to my pocket for a smoke, but I decided that I
WOULD BEAT THEM! Now I just consider my fishing vacations as being paid for out of the cig money I would have spent. I've been to Canada fishing 11 of the last 13 yrs and I've been to Wis and MN fishing for 4 of the last 5 yrs. Ain't bad considering I don't have to smell like a dirty ashtray and don't have to paint the house as much anymore and to top it off I feel tons better! My brother died 3yrs ago of a heart attack...he smoked 3 packs aday for 30+ yrs. Now I just have to lose some weight!!!! GOOD LUCK and remember you CAN beat THEM!

[Guest]

I QUIT COLD TURKEY, WITH CHEWING GUM FOR A SHORT TIME. I HAD SMOKED 2 1/2-3 PACKS A DAY FOR 16 YEARS. MY MAIN REASON WAS MY 4 YEAR OLD AND A NEW BORN DAUGHTERS & MY WIFE. I WISH IT WAS AS EASY TO LOOSE A FEW POUNDS AS IT WAS TO STOP SMOKING. HANG IN THERE AND YOU'LL NOT REGRET GIVING THEM UP.

[Valv]

I tried few times to quit, Zyban was good and bad, first time used it did feel like cold turkey, it was very hard. Then I got back smooking again after 2 years, tried Zyban again and it was just like I never smoked, I was very impressed..... too bad I started smoking again after 1 year, I am very motivated now, I would like to try the patch, does anybody have any suggestion which brand ?

Oh....one more thing, I swear this will be the last time I try to quit, I want it to last... :-)

[upnorth]

Valv,
I don't remember the brand that I used, but it was the one that allowed you step down to a lower level of nicotine as you went further along. Kinda allows to ween yourself off of the dang stuff.

I liked the patch because it allowed me to mentally get used to the not smoking part of quiting before dealing with no nicotine part of quiting. I think it really helped.

If you want to stay quit, don't forget the reasons that you quit in the 1st place.

Good luck

[husker4u9899]

Hang in there, as everyone has said each day will get eaiser. I smoked 3 packs a day forever and finally quit 8-15-85 at 1:00PM (see you will never forget when you quit) No urge at all except on a nice foggy morning with a lake like glass and no one else around having a cup of coffee. Really you'll make it I used the gum in those days, mixed with Dentene to improve the taste. If you get the urge to light up, come back to the board we'll all help you over the hump.

[wallyH]

I was in a similar environment to you where my friends and co-workers smoked which made it very tempting to have a cigarette. When I first started quiting I would have one now and then that would usually lead to smoking full time again.

What eventually worked for me was when I promised myself "never again". No more take a drag off a friends or have one with my buds. I know it might sound simple, but if you don't have the first one, you can't have the second or third.

Good luck, it's a wicked habit to break.
Wally H

[Aquaman01]

Ted -
USE US!!!!!! Don't be afraid of 'over-posting' on this thread & issue! Heck man, I'd love to see this thread top out at over 100 pages if it helps people quit!!
I've quit about 6 times in the last 10 years for periods from a week to 9 weeks.

Something always trips me up.

The most successful one was 6 weeks, and I made the first week CT by being up in a farmhouse by myself and when the urge would get insanely overpowering - I'd take my 9mm out back and take it out on some cans. A Del Monte massacre.

Zyban (Wellbutrin, if you want your health insurance to pick up the tab) gave me hives. Big nasty ones. My eyes swelled shut once. The gum gives me a sore throat.
The last quit was 2 weeks and I don't know what set me back...oh yeah - I had two pre-schoolers by myself for 3 days.
This next time - tomorrow, oddly enough, I'm lucky enough to have a cold, so I'm already short-tempered and scattered - my loved ones won't know the difference!

Oh yeah, and sometimes this thought gave me strength -
Most cigarette manufacturers put extra nicotine and other garbage in the product to make sure they can 'set the hook' in us. That makes us willing prey.
Are we willing prey, Ted?

Rob

[minneman]

Willing prey...No More! I know this is a bit early to say but the mindset I have today, yesterday and back to wed am of last week is that, that money is mine now! heck at near 4 bucks a pack x2 per day, $230.00 a month, that to me is a new boat, or 1/2 my monthly truck payment. And to think that if I were just 16 yrs old now and got hooked, in the 26 years that I smoked at todays prices I'll have spent $71760.00 What was I thinking when I started???

I want to thank all of you for your insite and experiances, and look forward to hearing more!!

I know this is a fishing site.. but, this is realy important to me now.
Ive emailed/called all my friends the news and have had a mix of reactions, some want to quit now, and even another said that she probly wont cuz when her dad died of lung cancer after quiting 20 yrs ago, the Dr said he probably got cancer bcuz he quit..Can you believe that? The rational that smokers can get into just to justify this nasty habit.
The worst was one friend said that another friend (forgotten) had been complaining of feeling weak and just plain "I cant, I dont feel good" when ever asked to do anything. after 3 stents were put in for blockages in 2 different trips to the dr, they finaly did a triple bypass, now he has no energy after 1/2 hr and then he's done for the day due to the damage done.. and he was younger than me.

Aquaman, im not real sure by your post but sounds like your still in the process of quiting. it also sounds like you have the willingness to do so but forget the reason thats most important, like upnorth mentioned. if you quit im happy for ya!

To hit 100 posts, that would be cool, especialy if there were others that quit because of this thread. In the 3-1/2 years ive been here, I cant think of any thread that could keep you in your boat longer!

Ted

[mrmillelacs]

its hard real hard. I quit 13 years ago, stayed off em for three years and started again. been smoking again for 10 years ago. my problem is getting started quitting. I set a date and then put it off. I bought the patch, put it on 3 different times and took it off the same day and started smoking again. My next goal is this coming friday. My wife finally got me to go and get a complete physical. Our doctor really harps on smokers and so i havent been to see him in 3 years. Now thats dumb, especially at my age, 53. Anyway i am going to try it again and God bless you previous posters. I dont want to be the guy sitting on shore who cant go on the boat because hes hooked up to the oxygen tank

[fishinphyl]

Do it for your kids! My dad was not as lucky as you. He died 3 days before I graduated at the age of 42 and I still miss him. My mother also died from heart disease from smoking. I have never smoked and you better not even think about smoking in my house or vehicle. I know how hard it is to quit because I have seen my friends try.

One friend told me that the only way he finally quit was to stop doing everything that was associated with smoking. If you have a smoke after your coffee in the morning - switch to OJ. He said his worst problem was making bids on the phone for his business, so he got a cell phone and called from his vehicle. (Not sure that is a real great idea). He stopped going out with his regular friends on Friday nights that smoked. We talked a lot about how he quit and he told me he had quit many times, but this was what finally worked. He said he forgot about the nicotine after the first day, it was the habits associated with the smoking that he had to change. I also know one guy that would keep a pencil between his fingers because he just needed the feel of that cigarette.

I wish you all the luck in the world. I know we now pick our places to go and our friends by the "no smoking" sign. I really, REALLY hate the things. I am so glad I never even tried them.

------------------
Phyl

[irvingdog]

Normally, I'd write off hypnosis as some hippie-voodoo-shamenistic bullcrap! It could never help me quit smoking......But then, my son was born.

My parents never smoked. I, on the other hand, smoked heavily for 20 years. Add pot into that mix for probably ten of them, and you've got some tough mileage on the ol' lungs.
The day my wife told me she was pregnant was the happiest and scariest of my life. She quit smoking then and there. I decided I'd quit when he was born. And then, his first birthday came along, and I found myself depressed and scared. So I called around, and decided to go with this guy who had actually had clients go through appendectomy's using no anesthesia other than his hypnosis. I tucked into the back of my mind the fact that a common sense, no B.S. woman I knew ( a good friends mother) was also hypnotised after 40 years of smoking, and it worked for her. So I put a few hundred bucks in my pocket, and off I went.

When I left the guys office, I felt like I could do it; survive as an ex-smoker. So the next thing I did was HIT THE GYM!!!!!! I worked out, and I believed.

I believed in me, hypnotism, aerobic workouts, and the fact that my boy was gonna get a good arsewhooping if I caught him burning a heater.

He'd better look out. His fourth birthday is around the corner.

God bless. Good luck. Believe in everything that is good that can come out of this. Fight smoking. It will kill you if you let it. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight.......

[irvingdog]

P.S. Cravings last exactly one minute, thirty seconds. Can you keep yourself occupied for that long until the craving passes?
Good.
I knew you could.

[upnorth]

Something that not everyone is aware of is that smoking has 2 addictions. You have the obvious addiction to nicotine and you have the mental addicion of the action of smoking, you know actual putting the dang thing in your mouth and sucking on it In my opinion that is the part that we found/find as soothing, cause since nicotine is a stimulant that in itself would not be soothing in times of stress.

That is the reason I kinda advocate the patch. It lets a person deal with each addiction seperately, and is a little easier on a person as far as the stress goes. I used it for about 6 weeks until I let go of that too.

Hell I chewed gum like a madman for almost 4 years after I quit, you need to replace all that stuff with something.

Reading what some people have written, kinda re-inforces for me the fact the hardest part of quitting is making the decision to quit.

If you are on the fence or on and off again, an actual written list of why you are doing this and keeping it with you really helps. Don't forget why you are doing this for yourself and loved ones.

[Aquaman01]

Ted -
Doing alright? I'm wrapping up day 1. No big babboons on my back yet - just little monkeys. Wanna be quit partners? [email protected]

Rob

[minneman]

Rob, Im doing great!and Id be happy to!!

Give the Mental Middle Finger to those monkeys!!

Im on day 8, and the little monkeys for me last about as long as a blink, their there, then their not.they are very scattered out too, I guess they are related to times when I would have smoked, but im forgetting about those too.
Im on 21mg. patches and Ive been tempted to try a day w/out. only reason is that I remove them b4 sleep and when I get up I make coffee and sit right here like always and yes the little monkeys show but then they go very quickly, I dont usualy put the patch on till just b4 I head out the door. And I fill my pockets w/sugar free hard candys, to have something in my mouth, I havent gained a lb yet (knock on wood)

The wife says she cant believe this is as easy as I make it seem. I do have my moments of loosing my cool at times and the family has been warned about those possible times, they are willing to deal with those, but I really have time to rethink my actions b4 I do anything in rage.
I hope Im not making this sound easy but for me anyway, Im having a blast being a non smoker!! Im proud of this feat! and im not afraid to tell anyone. I,(WE) WILL WIN!!
[email protected] 218 849 7545 call anytime!

[fivebucks]

My wife and I quick reg. cigs several years ago but would smoke clove cigs on occasion. Well you guessed it, we got hooked on those (still tobacco in them). I rationalized that I was smoking fewer of them, about a 1/2 pack. To make a long story short my family has a history of heart disease (6 out of 9 uncles and my dad have had by-passes) and I just had some fluid in the lung that brought me to urgent care - everything is fine. So me and the wife are on day 2. It ain't easy but I fiqure you just have to change your thinking. For each pack I don't smoke I get another evening out bowhunting or fishing. That's a pretty good trade-off. Good luck to everyone quiting and BE STRONG!