Hello. My name is Chris and I've been a smoker for 17yrs.
In that time I have quit 3 times.
1. When I was pregnant with my first daughter. I quit for the pregnancy and 3mos afterwards until some very stressful issues arose and I started again.
2. In 2002, I was struck with unexplained chest pains, shortness of breath, feeling like I was having a heart attack everytime I got up, etc. It took my moron dr. 6mos to figure out that I have severe panic disorder. Since I didn't smoke in the house, and at the time I couldn't leave my house, I quit smoking inadvertantly... as in I didn't plan to quit, it just happened.
Dec. 2004, I started smoking again after having a fight with a coworker and bumming a smoke to calm myself. I hid it from everyone except at work, for about 1yr (only smoked at work, never at home or on the weekends) because I knew my hubby would be disappointed plus I didn't want my kids to know.
3. 2006, I quit for the month of March or April to enter a quit smoking contest where you could win a brand new car. The car was my motivation and it gave me all I needed to quit. I was driving a rusty 91 ford explorer and we had no money for a new vehicle. Honestly I was "embarassed" by it because of the neighbourhood I live in. Everyone else has fairly nice vehicles, and I had a rusty, old, leaky truck.
I didn't win the contest, and about a week afterwards I messed up my back at work and started smoking again.
2 of the 3 times I've quit, were easy because of health issues. The 1st time, i was firm in not smoking while pregnant, had no withdrawl, etc. The 2nd time, I didn't even think of smoking as I was too concerned about dying (even though I wasn't, but didn't know it at the time).
The third time was the only deliberate quit time. I picked a weekend to quit because I wasn't at work. I used the nicotine patch for the first couple days at work and then didn't need it anymore. I also changed some of my habits. Instead of arriving at work early to have a coffee and smoke, I arrived 5mins before I had to be on the floor giving myself only enough time to get my coveralls and boots on. I didn't go outside for breaks, I sat inside and talked to the coworker who didn't smoke. (there was only 3 of us working) I laid off on the coffee and other triggers, and it wasn't too hard at all.
Onto the present:
I enjoy smoking for the most part, and that may be my downfall in attempting to quit. I'm not quitting for a reason, I'm quitting for an oppurtunity. My surgery is on March 17th. I don't have a problem not smoking in places I can't smoke, or around friends that don't smoke. I can spend a whole day over at a friends house and not crave a cigarette. I'm looking at surgery as an oppurtunity to quit. They prefer you cut back, or not smoke prior to surgery due to anesthetic as well as smoking can slow your rate of healing. When I found out I was going to be having surgery, I decided that the day of surgery would be my quit date. Now, when I found out they were doing the surgery I was told it could be a 3-4mos wait for it.... which gave me ample time to prepare myself.
Reason surgery is an oppurtunity: I will be in the hospital on Tues. for a good part of the day. Surgery is scheduled for 9am but I have to be there by 7. I will come home drugged up and in pain...so I won't be smoking that day (aside from the cig prior to surgery).. the day after I will be in pain and getting dressed to go outside to smoke will be difficult... so for 2-3 days I won't want to smoke period.
I got the phonecall with the date, approx. 2wks after my appt. with surgery being about 4 wks away. I felt a little panicked because it was alot faster than I expected. But I put a plan together and this is it.
As soon as I found out the date, I started planning my quit date. My planning includes:
- a list of why I should quit smoking
- monitoring how many cigarettes on average I smoke, for a week
- cutting back 1 cigarette a week.
- week 2 which is this week, I started writting down every time I went for a cigarette and why.
- this is where I am now.
On average I really don't smoke alot when I am not socialising with non-smokers. However if I go to my one friends, I do smoke more because he is a chain smoker. On average, without being around smokers, I smoke 10 per day.
This week, I set out 9 per day. Yesterday I smoked 5.5. It seems like more because I will go out for 1/2 at a time. So yesterday I went outside 11 times.
I did buy some nicotine lozanges a month or so ago, but when I tried one, it made me very jittery. I think that because I really don't smoke alot, even the weakest dose is strong to me... so I will try to only suck on the lozenge for 15mins instead of the 30mins that you are supposed to to get all the nicotine out of it.
I hope ya'll don't mind if I document my journey here, and update this thread along the way. I figure I will use this as an outlet as well, if I need/want a smoke, I will come post instead
Thx for reading.... any tips, advice, support would be appreciated.
In that time I have quit 3 times.
1. When I was pregnant with my first daughter. I quit for the pregnancy and 3mos afterwards until some very stressful issues arose and I started again.
2. In 2002, I was struck with unexplained chest pains, shortness of breath, feeling like I was having a heart attack everytime I got up, etc. It took my moron dr. 6mos to figure out that I have severe panic disorder. Since I didn't smoke in the house, and at the time I couldn't leave my house, I quit smoking inadvertantly... as in I didn't plan to quit, it just happened.
Dec. 2004, I started smoking again after having a fight with a coworker and bumming a smoke to calm myself. I hid it from everyone except at work, for about 1yr (only smoked at work, never at home or on the weekends) because I knew my hubby would be disappointed plus I didn't want my kids to know.
3. 2006, I quit for the month of March or April to enter a quit smoking contest where you could win a brand new car. The car was my motivation and it gave me all I needed to quit. I was driving a rusty 91 ford explorer and we had no money for a new vehicle. Honestly I was "embarassed" by it because of the neighbourhood I live in. Everyone else has fairly nice vehicles, and I had a rusty, old, leaky truck.
I didn't win the contest, and about a week afterwards I messed up my back at work and started smoking again.
2 of the 3 times I've quit, were easy because of health issues. The 1st time, i was firm in not smoking while pregnant, had no withdrawl, etc. The 2nd time, I didn't even think of smoking as I was too concerned about dying (even though I wasn't, but didn't know it at the time).
The third time was the only deliberate quit time. I picked a weekend to quit because I wasn't at work. I used the nicotine patch for the first couple days at work and then didn't need it anymore. I also changed some of my habits. Instead of arriving at work early to have a coffee and smoke, I arrived 5mins before I had to be on the floor giving myself only enough time to get my coveralls and boots on. I didn't go outside for breaks, I sat inside and talked to the coworker who didn't smoke. (there was only 3 of us working) I laid off on the coffee and other triggers, and it wasn't too hard at all.
Onto the present:
I enjoy smoking for the most part, and that may be my downfall in attempting to quit. I'm not quitting for a reason, I'm quitting for an oppurtunity. My surgery is on March 17th. I don't have a problem not smoking in places I can't smoke, or around friends that don't smoke. I can spend a whole day over at a friends house and not crave a cigarette. I'm looking at surgery as an oppurtunity to quit. They prefer you cut back, or not smoke prior to surgery due to anesthetic as well as smoking can slow your rate of healing. When I found out I was going to be having surgery, I decided that the day of surgery would be my quit date. Now, when I found out they were doing the surgery I was told it could be a 3-4mos wait for it.... which gave me ample time to prepare myself.
Reason surgery is an oppurtunity: I will be in the hospital on Tues. for a good part of the day. Surgery is scheduled for 9am but I have to be there by 7. I will come home drugged up and in pain...so I won't be smoking that day (aside from the cig prior to surgery).. the day after I will be in pain and getting dressed to go outside to smoke will be difficult... so for 2-3 days I won't want to smoke period.
I got the phonecall with the date, approx. 2wks after my appt. with surgery being about 4 wks away. I felt a little panicked because it was alot faster than I expected. But I put a plan together and this is it.
As soon as I found out the date, I started planning my quit date. My planning includes:
- a list of why I should quit smoking
- monitoring how many cigarettes on average I smoke, for a week
- cutting back 1 cigarette a week.
- week 2 which is this week, I started writting down every time I went for a cigarette and why.
- this is where I am now.
On average I really don't smoke alot when I am not socialising with non-smokers. However if I go to my one friends, I do smoke more because he is a chain smoker. On average, without being around smokers, I smoke 10 per day.
This week, I set out 9 per day. Yesterday I smoked 5.5. It seems like more because I will go out for 1/2 at a time. So yesterday I went outside 11 times.
I did buy some nicotine lozanges a month or so ago, but when I tried one, it made me very jittery. I think that because I really don't smoke alot, even the weakest dose is strong to me... so I will try to only suck on the lozenge for 15mins instead of the 30mins that you are supposed to to get all the nicotine out of it.
I hope ya'll don't mind if I document my journey here, and update this thread along the way. I figure I will use this as an outlet as well, if I need/want a smoke, I will come post instead
Thx for reading.... any tips, advice, support would be appreciated.