(OT) any ex smokers out there? How did you kick it?

Congratulation on another day. I know you can do one more. I am pulling for you.

bfunk13 said:

I joined quitnet an anti smoking website.

They have a gadget that you plug in your quit date, and how many cigs a day you smoke. It keeps a tally for you. Heres my current stats.

6 days, 12 hours, 11 minutes and 39 seconds smoke free.

143 cigarettes not smoked.

$36.30 saved

1 day, 2 hours of your life saved.

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Way to go . . . we're all pulling for you . . . as if you didn't know that already . . . but as much as we all hope you are able to stick with it always remember that there are at least three others who are counting on you even more than us to keep up the good work . . . three others who are a lot more important to you and who care about you more than even we do. Keep up the good work.

bfunk13 said:

Thanks piejam!
Nope, still zero nicotine.
Feels really good. I work in an oil field, so i pretty much live in my truck for 12 hrs a day. I was worried about going back to work and not smoking, but no biggie.
I made a mp3 cd with 122 "feel good" songs on it. I crank it up, chomp on sunflower seeds, gum and hard candy and do my work. I am really enjoying not smelling like an ashtray. And yes so is my wife.
Even the smokers at work are not bothering me, its funny now when i see someone smoking i think "what a stupid thing to do".
It also feels really good not being controlled. I never realized after 20 years of smoking how we are trained to make sure we have our lighter and smokes at all times. Checking before we go home if we have enough to make it through the night. Or going out at night to get a pack. Making sure you have at least one for the morning. That is B.S to be controlled by something like that.

I could not say this ever before, but i am actually enjoying quitting. Its like "F - U Marlboro Man" i am not giving in.

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From the short time I've know you here at hearth.com I kind of pegged you for the type of guy who once he makes his mind up on something is willing to stick it out and make it happen no matter what . . . some folks might call that being stubborn . . . I call it being tenacious . . . so yeah . . . keep up the good work.

bfunk13 said:

its funny now when i see someone smoking i think "what a stupid thing to do"

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I remember that after I had stopped for a couple months that people just looked so silly with cigarettes in their mouths.

Your the man! Great idea- the mp3..Listening to toons and singing along releases feel good chemicals in the brain..I know it helps..So, how is it on top of the world?.I'm sure you feel the affection from all who post here! Your family must be thrilled..

Now you have 2 websites to update! Go Bfunk go

You are doing great! I was standing in line at the auto parts store the other day, and heard an old man behind me cough. It was one of those deep, juicy, trying-to-stir-things-up-enough-to-absorb-a-little-oxygen-here coughs--a cough that didn't ask for much--kind of a hopeless cough, if you get what I mean. And I was so glad that this will never have to be you.

Ever seen a picture of a smoker's lungs compared with those of a non-smoker? You look at this delicate-looking pink organ--complex, like a coral reef--and then you see these blackened hard lumps, like overcooked meat (and I suppose that's a pretty good analogy), and you wonder why anyone would do that to such an amazing structure in your body--I mean, think about it--how much we need them--if they stopped functioning now, we'd spend the next few minutes dying in agony. Why risk something so wonderfully made?

Here's a thought-for-the-day from another great website, whyquit.com. I am so impressed by the knowledge the author has to share, and the compassion this man has for smokers. I found the following on this page, and I hope he won't mind that I copied it here (lots and lots of good info on this page, btw, but some very graphic lung images: http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_02_17_smoke_in_lung.html):

When an ex-smoker watches a person smoke a cigarette, he often fantasizes about how much the smoker is enjoying it--how good it must taste and make him feel. It is true he may be enjoying that particular cigarette, but the odds are he is not.

Most smokers enjoy a very small percentage of the cigarettes they smoke. In fact, they are really unaware of most of the cigarettes they smoke. Some are smoked out of simple habit, but most are smoked in order to alleviate withdrawal symptoms experienced by all smokers whose nicotine levels have fallen below minimal requirements. The cigarette may taste horrible, but the smoker has to smoke it. And because the majority of smokers are such addicts, they must smoke many such cigarettes every single day in order to maintain a constant blood nicotine level.

Don't fantasize about cigarettes. Always keep a clear, objective perspective of what it would once again be like to be an addicted smoker. There is no doubt at all that if you relapse to smoking you will be under the control of a very powerful addiction. You will be spending hundreds of dollars a year for thousands of cigarettes. You will smell like cigarettes and be viewed as socially unacceptable in many circles. You will be inhaling thousands of poisons with every puff. These poisons will rob you of your endurance and your health. One day they may eventually rob you of your life.

Consider all these consequences of smoking. Then, when you watch a smoker you will feel pity for them, not envy. Consider the life he or she is living compared to the simpler, happier, and healthier life you have had since you broke free from your addiction. Consider all this and you will - NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF

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and one more piece of info from Wikipedia:

Three men who appeared in Marlboro advertisements - Wayne McLaren, David McLean and Dick Hammer - died of lung cancer, thus earning Marlboro cigarettes, specifically Marlboro Reds, the nickname "Cowboy killers".[11] McLaren testified in favor of anti-smoking legislation at the age of 51. During the time of McLaren's anti-smoking activism, Philip Morris denied that McLaren ever appeared in a Marlboro ad, a position it later amended to maintaining that while he did appear in ads, he was not the Marlboro Man, considering Winfield as the holder of that title. McLaren died before his 52nd birthday in 1992.[12][13]

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I know that I keep throwing the tough stuff at you--don't doubt for a minute that I am 100% impressed and supportive of what you are doing, even if I come at it from a shock-value angle. The reality is that we kid ourselves--denial is one of the hallmarks of addiction--and we have to be willing to set down the denial and face reality to break the chains of addiction. Keeping it real keeps us on track. I know that some days are going to be harder than others, but I promise you these are the ones you will look back on YEARS from now, and be proud and grateful that you made it through.

A couple of insights to share: when you struggle with an addiction like this, you just keep trying, and if you fall, you pick yourself up and you try again. Because this is the simple truth--you never know which time is going to be THE time, until the time you look back and realize you made it (and I think you're right--I think this is it for you). I failed at quitting so many times, fell flat on my face, and just kept getting up and trying again. Until the time that I didn't start again. And (I think I'm repeating myself here from an earlier post, but o well) each time I tried, I learned something about the process, about myself, until one day I had all this information at hand, and it came together and I became free. And it is SO INCREDIBLY AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL that you are doing this, too.

I bet your wife is so happy and so proud of you. You might consider taking her out someplace nice for dinner sometime, and telling her that it's because you got a refund when you cancelled your addiction contract with the tobacco companies.

My wife and I both smoked for years..... She had a heart attack...... She lived We both stopped.... We both were scared shitless.....

Here's another page from that site that has so much good information on it:
http://whyquit.com/whyquit/LinksAAddiction.html

and here's more--double-dog dare you to read all the way to the end:
http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Deborah.html
http://smokinggotme.com/story.html

Even when I smoked, I had some places where I didn't smoke--in bed and in the shower come to mind. So while I was quitting, I spent extra time there. That helped.

For some people, patches and gums and stuff seem to help, but my observation has been that they give away some of their power to that stuff. And this is a battle that has to be won from the inside out, if that makes sense. It's like promising that you'll quit on your thirtieth birthday, or the first of the year, or Monday. Just doesn't seem to work. You either do it now or you don't do it.

The following comes from another page on that site, and it was by a young woman who wrote, "I should have a father, not a broken heart":

My Dad had smoked since he was 13 and never thought about quitting. He was too busy with life. He had a terrible cough for the longest time and until his chest pains grew unbearable, he wouldn't go to the doctor. But when he finally did, they had terrible news, lung cancer, due to years of smoking.

The doctors were quick to say there wasn't much they could do. So from that day on we were living on the edge. It was a rough trip. Daddy didn't get really down until Sept. 2004 and from that point on he would never walk again. He was bedridden and cared for by Hospice nurses, my Mother and me. Until he got sick, my Dad was full of jokes and laughter, but the cancer took that all away and replaced it with pain and tears.

In the last week of my Daddy's life he couldn't even speak and was nonresponsive. Nov. 12, 2004, the night my Daddy died, he was at the hospice. The nurse asked my Mom if she would like to lay next to him. She hadn't been able to sleep next to him in months. She was overwhelmed when the nurse said this to her. My Dad reached up to her and wrapped his arms around her. He died in the early morning with my Mom in his arms. We do consider this a blessing. Others have died in such a more terrible and upsetting way. We know the Lord was with us throughout my Daddy's fight.

Please if you are a parent who smokes, know that when my Daddy died, I was changed forever. I don't have that sense of security a Father gives. My heart was broken. I've seen things throughout my Father's fight that no child should have to endure. It's not fair and could have been prevented. Show your kids you love them, quit smoking. Tonya Church -

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Bfunk

Snowleopard's last post was a grand slam..Right on target woman! Keep them coming. When I originally posted you I was crying..Don't know if you felt the tears between the words..Took one look at those gorgeous kids and my heart sunk. So very much to lose. I know you'll do it this time..If you fall we are here for you!
Your resolve is strong and will be reinforced by all who post here. My story was an extreme case but it does happen. Dh used to say my "grandfather drank like a fish & smoked like a fiend". He survived until he was 95..Oh yeah, wonder what Dh is thinking now.

You already know how wonderful life is. The things we take for granted. I'm here to cheer you on. To enlighten you how much evil one can bring upon yourself and the family.The path to self-destruction has many avenues. Just trying to put up a roadblock, a barrier, to paint a mental picture to keep you and the ones you love safe..Take care...another long post dammit...

Some people may think Snowleopard and I are being tough on you..Believe me those cancer sticks are worse. So happy you are physically feeling better. It will get easier to control. Its like having and angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other!

So glad you did not weaken. You are empowered now and that's the difference. Congrats on another smoke-free day. Knew you could do it! Looking forward to future updates!!

piejam said:

Some people may think Snowleopard and I are being tough on you..Believe me those cancer sticks are worse. So happy you are physically feeling better. It will get easier to control. Its like having and angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other!

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yep--and piejam's the angel :lol:


Congratulations and keep up the good work!

I did not read all the previous posts because I just don't have the time right now but wanted to post this. I quit 19 years ago - 2 packs a day - started when I was 14 or 15. Smoked for 13 years. I hated it, it is much easier to quit when you hate it. I was fed up with letting something so unhealthy run my life from the time I got up to the time I went to bed. In fact it really pissed me off! I wanted to quit for years, but could not find any islands to be on by myself because that is what I thought it would take! A few hours in and I was ready to fight with anyone that even smiled at me let alone said a word. They came out with the patch, I got a script for it, I slapped one on before I went to bed woke up the next day and never smoked again! Used the patch for 2 weeks and was done with it. I did have a script for Buspar and took that for about a month and ate a ton of sunflower seeds. I worked a 12 hr night shift for a tow company and all the drivers smoked around me. I think that helped me. The freedom, health and extra money(every time you would have bought a pack, put it towards a vacation) are all blessings you get when you quit. For you, you will have a better relationship with your children and be a more positive role model for them. Both of my parents smoked and then so did I It is a HORRIBLE, debilitating addiction that is very hard to get a handle on. You have to decide that it is something you don't want in your life or quitting will be a continual negative in your life. Sounds kind of wacky, but you just have to let it go and pray for help and strength to let it go & make it through. If I can do it, anyone can, you just have to decide to do it.

Way to go, man! Keep it up!

I smoked for 11 years. A pack, sometimes 2, of Luckys or Camel filterless a day for a while. I tried to quit about once a year for the last few years I smoked. When my wife was trying to smoke while recovering from pneumonia and having asthma attacks, I decided enough was enough. In the end, I put a nearly full pack of smokes in the glovebox of my truck, and just left them there. Whenever I wanted a cig, I knew they were there, and I could choose not to have one. I felt better every day. I'll never forget laughing like a moron the first time I ran up a flight of stairs without losing my breath. It didn't take long to wonder why I hadn't quit sooner. My dad smoked when I was a kid, and I'm glad I'm not showing my kids the same example. Kudos to you for taking on something this difficult for the sake of your kids.

Bfunk, how are you? What's the latest readout? I'm just passing thru. Still have stories but this is your thread not mine! Had enough public humiliation! Hope I rattled you and possibly other smoking posters..Take care..

Almost two weeks! Bravo~

Awesome. I am speechless..That's pretty hard, alright let's face it..almost impossible to do Yeah Baby..Just sitting here grinning...I always access page 1 first so I can look at your children. Didn't have any...wish I did...

Regards..D

Still going strong . . . how are you doing physically? Notice any good or bad changes?