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

[irvingdog]

So was smoking the "Valv-closure" or was quitiing closure for Valv?

<bad pun drives him from the room>

[Valv]

I don't get it, but for me is quit smoking.

No more, end of it, hasta la vista, ciao....

[irvingdog]

Ya see....the valves in your heart.........they uh..start to get hard and close up......if you smoke and uh.......Oh, never mind. Congratulations buddy.
Here to help if I can-

[Paul Rohweller]

Glad to have ya on board valv!
I'm surviving just fine! You will too. I've been awefully hard on the tootsie roll suckers but that will come to an end too..I've already lost track of the days. something like 10 or 11 anyways it dont matter, I just know I can never burn one again...Good luck and were all pullin for ya!! Paul

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Paul Rohweller
Pine to Prairie Guide Service
218-962-3387
N.P.A.A. 425
http://fishingminnesota.com/pinetoprairie

[minneman]

Well, one more day and I made it a month!

I did have to break down and get the next batch of patches however. I could see that I get too edgy w/out them, thats just not fair to people close to me. But Im still hangin in there! with no plans to give in!

Lets Win this battle!

Congrats Valv on the decision!! that alone has to be the hardest part of quiting.

Loose the Monkey!

[Paul Rohweller]

Congrats Ted!!!

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Paul Rohweller
Pine to Prairie Guide Service
218-962-3387
N.P.A.A. 425
http://fishingminnesota.com/pinetoprairie

[Aquaman01]

FREEEEEDDDAAAAAHHHHHHHMMMMM!!!!!!!
Glad to have you 'round, Valv. Nice work, everybody! Closing 18 days, myself.
Kids were getting to me while we drove to Mpls - I wanted one of my old breaks-on-the-sly.
"Kids - gotta check the (insert dumb lie here). No - you stay in the car...it'll only take a 4 1/2 minutes."
I pulled into the convenience-store
(!!Q!!- How come convenience stores can sell cigarettes, but not Nicorette!!?!!) to 'fix' somehow.
I came out with 1/2 a dozen coffee stirrers to chew into Springy Spit Snakes...for free!
Whatever it takes, right!?

Ahhhh - turned every "are we there yet?" into a "thanks for not killing yourself, Dad."

Peace -
Rob

[Rick]

One week down for me.

I'm done with them. It's that simple.

We all talk ourselves into the fact that it's too hard. Bottom line is, you just really have to want to quit bad enough.

Actually it's really not that difficult. There's no pain involved. It's just a big mental and emotional commitment. Take control over your life.

Do YOU own your own will-power or do the cigarette companies own that?

What do you get out of smoking those smelly brown round things wrapped in toilet paper? Nothing but pain and suffering in the end and it makes you smelly too.

If you want to quit bad enough, don't make a drama out of it, just do it...

COMMIT to it FOREVER.

End of story. End of smoking.

It IS THAT EASY...

from a 30 year smoker who has completed 1 week without and will not smoke ever again.
You can do it to.

By the way..
I'm proud of you Paul, Valv, minneman, seabass, finns, upnorth(great advice), husker, wally, Rob, irvingdog, fivebucks (you CAN do it), coryntrtacy (my wife smokes), granny, Pherris, Come on Fisher Dave join us, scheuney, davev, Jim W, Leaky (ya gotta really want to quit), mrmillelacs(You CAN do it..don't allow yourself excuses..really commit KEEP ON QUITTING, we're here for ya bud), mm, and MT-Net.

Make the commitment, own it, and follow through. Then just keep on making that commitment.

I hope all of you make it and I hope more jump on the bandwagon with us.

Thanks guys for the inspiration

[irvingdog]

"If you want to quit bad enough, don't make a drama out of it, just do it..."

Not everyone is that stoic.
Go ahead. Whine. Cry. Pitch a fit. Blame someone else (kinda like Target Market does). Exonerate yourself from personal behavior and convince yourself that a whole industry put the first and last cigarette into your mouth if thats what you need to do. This stuff IS worse than lots of hard-core drugs in terms of addictive properties. But it's gonna kill you.

So go ahead and weep like a baby because it's so darn hard to quit. And I wont tell anyone. I promise. Because the tears at your early funeral would be much waorse, and more well deserved.

I can't tell you how much I hate these things.........

[traveler]

Way to go guys. Six or eight years from now (smoke-free years) you'll look back at this time and laugh. Or shudder to think about it Either way, you won't EVER want to go back. You may miss smoking forever, I do, but NO way I'd ever go back.

[upnorth]

It is great to hear of all you guys taking the plunge and saying goodbye to cigarettes.

It is a bit difficult in the beginning, but after a while it really does seem the normal way to live.

You will feel better, be able to breathe, you will not smell like a cigarette butt, your mouth will not taste like crap and have that burning feeling, you will save a ton of money, and the biggest thing in my book you will not be a total slave to those dang cigarettes

Hang in there!!!

[fivebucks]

I've been away for a little bit but it's great to see that a bit of support and encouragement from the FM family can get a bunch of us to quit a nasty habit. It's 3 weeks tomorrow for me and it's easier every day. Great to see you on board Valv and Rick and the all the others. We're doing it and it feels great! GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!

[MT Net]

LOL - Springy Spit Snakes. When I quit chewing, I chewed up a lot of McDonaldland soft drink straws as well. It didn't settle the nicotine craving, but it gave me something to concentrate on. Straws and paper wraps all over in my car. Eww, a few soggy chewed up ones. They were almost like a pacifier.

Congrats, good luck!

[Jim W]

I hate to crimp the flow of positive feelings and all, but I caved people! I haven't returned full force, but I have smoked after almost 3 months with out.....no goood!

You should see me try to hide it now!lol

Jim W

[minneman]

You can do it Jim!

sure, I had an eye opener to get the thing rolling. its realy just like everyone has said, you have to be as serious as a heart attack about quiting.

Please dont give up.

I thought about the whole "if I start again, how to hide it thing" there is no way! I can smell a smoker a mile away now. besides you cant Hide it from YOURSELF. remember,.. its all about YOU!

On one of my more trying times since quiting I heard myself saying ..."Im am DIEING to have a smoke!"

then I thought, ...How stupid is that!

[rmh2o]

I havnt been on here for a while but I quit smoking 6 weeks ago and find this post very helpful just knowing I am not the only one struggling to quit these nasty things.One thing that helps me is I keep telling myself it is easier not to smoke then to start and have to go thru the quitting process all over again.Now if I can get those burn marks out of my boat carpet!Good luck guys one day at a time

[upnorth]

Jim W

I wouldn't fret too much, just don't totally give up. If you keep at it you will make it, just don't forget the reasons that you quit in the 1st place. If you keep those in the forefront of your mind you will stand a much better chance of staying quit.

IMO the biggest thing with quitting is motivation and if you forget what motivated you in the 1st place it ain't gonna be long and you will be smoking again. It is just about that simple

I smoked from the time I was 11 to 39 and was at 2 packs a day when I quit. I would get up in the middle of the night to take a leak and have a smoke while I was up, it was the last thing I did before sleep and the 1st thing I did in morning, I was hooked. It has been 6 years and 27 days since I last smoked one of those smelly things.

The reason I made it? I never forgot why I was quitting

[minneman]

How are you all doing?

Im hanging in there, day 32, I do find myself wondering what to do with all this extra time. But Im enjoying exploring new things to do.

have a great weekend all!!

Ted

[Muskienut]

This is one unbelievable forum for smoking help....I am currently a smoker, but at 34 and having trouble keeping up my 2 kids, I have to give it up.

I hate the cough I get, the smell an the fact that it is killing me.

I have Zyban ready to go, smoking gum, and bought a supply of sunflower seeds for when I may have a craving...

I have made up a list of pro's/con's and need to set a realistic date to quit.

Is there anything you can add I may need to do in getting ready to quit?

I am ready to quit!

[irvingdog]

"Is there anything you can add I may need to do in getting ready to quit?"

Yes I can, but you already have it. The support of friends, and the wisdom we're trying to impart, and hope you are heeding. IMHO the most important one to remember is "Cravings only last for a minute or two......" Don't blow it over not being able to put up a fight a few times a day for this short of a period of time.....

[upnorth]

Muskienut

Sounds like you have what you need to do the job. I used gum instead of sunflower seeds, but to each his on that

You won't regret the decision to quit. If zyban don't work try the patch. It is a nasty, sneaky habit, do whatever it takes to beat it.

Good Luck!!!

[B-bear]

Muskienut,
You have most of the bases covered. Like Irvingdog said make it through one minute at a time.
Also try to think of things to do when you would normally burn one. Like "instead of having a smoke first thing in the AM when I get up I am going to go out to the garage and tie a few new bucktails." Find rewarding activities in place of when you would smoke.
Above all don't quit on quitting. Try again-- right away.

[This message has been edited by B-bear (edited 10-19-2003).]

[Guest]

I quit cold turkey after 35 years! At the last I was smoking almost three pacs a day and at the end of the day they would make me gag, but the nicotine devil made me smoke that last one more each day. My DAD taught mem how to STOP !! I watched him die a slow,slow,slow death because his heart failed, due to the fact that his lungs were so far gone, that they would not supply enough oxygen and his heart just gave up !! Dad was only sixty two yuears old when died and the last thing we talked about was MOM and fishing !! Thanks DAD for showing me how not to DIE!!!

Richard Smith (Smitty)

[Granny]

Rick,
I must say that this has got to be the most successful quit smoking/chewing program ever. We are looking at over a 95% success rate so far. I can see it now quitsmokingminnesota dot com. Let us know when the site is up and running.
Granny

[minneman]

any of you experiance headaches as part of your withdrawl symptoms? or maybey its the meds im on..? just been haveing them regularily when normaly I dont ever have them at all.

Just curious..

day 34, the monkey is loosing this game!!

[upnorth]

Minneman, I went through some pretty good headaches and irratible times when I 1st quit. I don't think what you are going through is abnormal, withdrawl from that dang nicotine is a pain, but it is really worth it in the long run. You will wonder why you didn't do it sooner, but as Rick pointed out it is all about motiviation, if you don't really want to quit you won't.

[irvingdog]

Never had a single headache. And if I did, I'd take aspirin, not a cigarette.....

[fivebucks]

Quiting is like riding a horse. Jump back on the non-smoking filly. You can do it. Good job everyone out there. I'm still on board on day 28. Almost a month Yea!! Here is an exerpt from my 50 day Health Partners plan.
Day 18 - "Stopping smoking is a deal you make with yourself, for your own special reasons. It generally won't work if you're doing it for someone else. YOU are the winner. YOUR life gets better. Be strong, and YOU get the prize. It's worth it. (You'll undoubtedly have to stop smoking sometime-why go through all this misery again later?)"

Day 23 - "Remember, if you start smoking again-even if it's just one cigarette, even if it's a year from now or 10 years from now-you'll be back at the beginning of the addiction cycle."

I can personally relate to day 23 as I'm sure most of us can.

Here is something to look forward to:
Day 44 - "By staying smoke-free for a year, you can reduce your risk for heart disease to less than half of what it was when you were smoking."

Hang in there everyone WE CAN AND ARE DOING IT. To the other smokers out there, this site helped alot to get me to day 28. Join in and help yourself to another day on the water.

PS I already saved $115

[Rick]

If you caved and that's not good - FOR YOU.

The addiction cycle just started all over again for you.

List the reasons why YOU want to quit again (It's all about your own personal motivation).

THEN QUIT FOR GOOD...Your own good.

WE want to see you around for a good long time. I'll bet you want to be around to see others for a good long time as well

JUST QUIT THE SMELLY BROWN ROUND THINGS

You're a strong willed guy...you CAN do it - forever.

It's all about motivation and commitment...the more motivated and committed you are to quitting, the easier it is.

I'm right there with all of you. 2 weeks SMOKE FREE. I'm done forever. Nothing wishy-washy about it...I'M NOW A NON-SMOKER!!!!

I'm done with the filthy and physically destructive smoking habit forever.

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 10-22-2003).]

[Aquaman01]

Muskienut -
You'll know when the time is right.
Ted -
Holy crap - we're doing it. Glad you survived that cardiac event so that you could get us into gear.
Rick-
Doctor Stoic- that's you! Ha Ha Nice Nute Rockne approach there, coach! "Let's go...girls." Dang, tough guy, at least my drill instructor let me stop running long enough to puke!

Dig this - 4 weeks ago I quit my fat$$ but empty job to work where my heart is for less $$, and it would seem now it's for a LOT less $$. Predictions for the earnings potential were optimistically inflated by my employer's representatives - to say the least. Money is running out, the kids miss their Mom (now we're a 2 job family) and I think I made the worst mistake I've ever made as a father & husband. There are no visions of getting ahead in the near future, and I think I'll be successful if I don't lose our vehicles, our home, or my family's respect before this situation improves.

2 hours since my last explosive crying jag. 15 minutes since my last Jonez. 28 days since my last cigarette.
I will not take common comfort in easy poison. I will not smoke. I will not surrender to addiction. I will not smoke.

You can take all the psychology, pharmacology, physiology and any other ology you can think of, and it all really does come down to courage.
The ability to feel fear yet do what must be done, despite the pain, adversity or fear. Don't say "I'm not scared of quitting" - b.s. - ALL addicts are scared of quitting. Say "I'm scared - but I can handle it".

I'm done here for now. Thanks for listening. If my wife knew I was starting to fracture - she'd be even more scared than she is now.

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Aquaman
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"The bow is set to distant shore,
then loss is gained and gains once more.
When beach is reached and sails are torn,
the journey is it's own reward."