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

[Walleye_GFA]

I chewed (Cope and Kodiak) since I was in middle school... when I tried to quit (at 30), I used those patches, they sent me for a loop (too strong).... I can only imagine what smokers are going through to quit... since smokes apparently have more nic than chewing...

FYI, what helped me was the whole one day at a time bit... ESPECIALLY when you want to have just one... I had to stop chewing twice because of JUST ONE (dip)...

The second time stopping was worse than the first since I knew I did not HAVE to go through it the second time...

Just think of the extra time you will get with your family and friends... I quit because I did not want my grandkids (if I lived that long) to have to talk to the grandpa with no lower jaw...

I tip my hat to the people here taking positive steps in their lives. When you think have to have it, just resolve to go a little longer... 5 or 6 years without for me and just the otehr day I almost bouggt a can "to keep me warm"... arrrggghhhh

Wally

[Rick]

Congrats Wishing for Walleyes and Ebass!!!!

Stay "HIGHLY MOTIVATED TO QUIT"

That's your best defense to staying quit and and kicking those cravings in the butt. They do go away.

After that first day it just keeps getting easier to stay quit.

[Muskienut]

Well Shoot....After 4 days on Zyban, I started feeling like crap. Had trouble breathing, and was loopy/dizzy for 2 days.

I am not giving up though. Going out today to get patches...

I spoke to my brother inlaw who quit and he told me it is all mental. I have to think and say NO....Easier said than done. I know this site will help me.

I did cut back from a pack a day to about a 1/2 pack. Maybe little tiny steps will be all I need.

I will let you know how it goes....

[EBass]

Day one sure sucks. Trying this cold turkey and I'm close to biting peoples heads off.

I was about to walk out the door to get some smokes, but I stopped and went back to my desk. Day 1 sure is a beast. Work stress isn't helping any, but I'm still hanging in there.

[wishing for walleyes]

You can do it EBass.Its been 46 hours for me. My girlfriend jumped on the wagon this afternoon also.Halloween fits right in here lol lots of candy.thanks everyone for the support.

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Dan

[wishing for walleyes]

Muskienut.this will be my second time quiting.When i quit the first time i was a pack a day smoker.I quit for 3 years.Now i have been a 2 pack a day smoker for the last 12 years.My first time quiting i used a fake cig called easy quit.Worked great to get rid of the cravings.Try just taking a deep breath ..holding..then exhale...that alone takes my cravings away this time.I still have my easy quit fake cig from 15 years ago.I think all it is is peppermint extract in it.When you in hale it its like you just had a puff from a menthol cig. Kinda tricks your system. When I`m around another smoker and the smell of their cig drives me crazy.I ask them for a puff.What i do then is inhale a nose hit only of that cig and your cured for wanting anymore of it.Good luck..you can do it

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Dan

[Pherris]

Hang in there ebass it will get easier but not for awhile. Try to keep yourself busy and if possible avoid situations that you used to smoke. For me I had to stay off line because I always smoked then while I was quitting instead I cleaned the kitchen after dinner instead of checking out the latest posts on FM and having a smoke. That sure made the wife happy!! It does get easier and you will start to feel better about it too. Hang in there!!

[Rick]

EBass,
believe me, you've already done the toughest part. It gets ever so slightly easier each day that you're strong enough to say NO to the smelly brown round things.

When you have a craving take a couple deep relaxing breaths then get up and go take a drink of nice cool clear water.

Cold turkey for me, my sentiments are why prolong the inevitable...Quitting the addiction one craving at a time.

It's not painful, but it sure does require a strong commitment to quit.

[irvingdog]

It's easier than dying!

Way to go!!! The first step really is the toughest. Diversions, diversions, diversions. Take your mind off of it. Buy a game-boy and play with it every time you feel a craving. Take up juggling. Something. Anything. Just don't light up, unless it's your fish-house heater.

BTW, that really is the only down-side to quitting. I can't ever start the bonfire any more! No matches!!!

[This message has been edited by irvingdog (edited 10-31-2003).]

[Paul Rohweller]

I found out that I used my lighter for alot of stuff, not just smoking..I probably miss my lighter more than the smoking. That familiar kaching opening of the zippo is no more tho.. I used it for lighting my torch at work, all sorts of stuff around here, I reach for it alot still...... Paul

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

[Good Time Ranger]

Minneman:
Congratulations!!!! I was a solid 4 pack a day smoker and a 6 night drinker. I gave both up cold turkey 21 years ago. I was blessed and only had a few weeks of irratability (sp). 6 months after I quit smoking I went to the bowling alley for our league and when I was done and smelled what my clothes smelled like from the smoke, I knew I made the right decision. Keep up the good work.

[minneman]

Yea, my sniffer is working good too now days, I now know that one of my kids friends is a smoker. its been a while since ive had that smell in my house. Im dealing with that.

the lighter isnt in my pocket, but its in the truck. they do come in handy.

I think I owe a BIG Thank You!! to all you FMer's never in my mind did I think this thread would be here this long, its great to see that there are others that realy want to be done with smoking, and are benifiting from this thread, I know I am! Lets keep it up!!

EBass, we are all pulling for ya!! you can do it!

[irvingdog]

Alright new quitters. Check in and update us. Talking about it is important. Keep it at the front of your mind. Not that you are quitting. That you are an ex-smoker.

[Rick]

Closing in on 4 weeks for me.

It's a done deal...I'm a NON-SMOKER

[Aquaman01]

Congrats Rick!
As FMers we all get so used to thinking that you're the Big Steel Wheel and not a flesh & blood human like the rest of us - that ain't so. You've done a good thing for your lil' girls here, sir.
Good job, man. You kicked it's a$$ all over the prairie and back.

Irvingdog -
This quote sums it up -
"It's easier than dying!"

'Nuff said!?

The entire month of October was a smoke-free one for me. I'm creeping up on 6 weeks, and that is my longest stretch ever, I think.

My cousin, Jimmy, from NYC was a junkie. Mainline smack shooter since he was 12. He died at age 43 of Hep C, but flatlined twice in the ER during his career as a junkie.

He never smoked a cigarette in his life. He did every buzz-drug you can name (existing prior to 2000) and always said - since I was 15 in 1981, "Why would I ever smoke? No buzz and certain death!? Where's the sense in that?"

Hmm. Makes sense to me now.

Anyone else think the time is right to pitch the bi***?

Rob

[This message has been edited by Aquaman01 (edited 11-01-2003).]

[wishing for walleyes]

Day 3 here without smoking. My girlfriend has been sneaking outside.Its her first time trying. I think its harder the first time you quit.

[upnorth]

Congrats to all who quitting smoking and freeing themselves from cigarettes. To tell someone who has never smoked that you have not smoked for 3 days, 4 weeks, 2 months or however long it has been, it means very little, but to someone who has also quit it means something. I know how tough it can be sometimes. But I also know that as time passes it gets easier and easier. I can't remember the last time I had a serious thought of smoking.

I don't know if the 1st time is any harder than the following times? I have only made 1 stab at this and that was 6 + years ago, and I haven't smoked since. I made up my mind that I did't want to smoke anymore, made a plan to get through the rough times and quit.

I think the people that quit over and over again are people that are not really convinced deep down inside where it counts that they want to quit. Quitting is tough, you really need to be convinced all the way to the bone that you want to quit. If think you should want to quit but really still want to smoke you are gonna have a hard time.

Hang in there guys it gets easier as time goes on You will also smell better

[mistermom]

I am not an anti-smoking nazi by any stretch of the imagination; but they have so taken over the debate (if there even is one) that I find myself looking scornfully upon smokers. I don't feel that way; but its like I've been brainwashed I should.

Anyway, it is an awful tough time to be a smoker these days. Millions of good reasons to quit. No good reasons to not. Keep it up gang!

mm

[Guest]

One day at a time is all you have to worry about! Tomorrow look back at what you accomplished and each day after reward yourself by putting the money you would have spent on cigaretts in a big glass jar ! Think about it !
$2.50 (1 pac) X 365 days = $912.50 ??? Canadiad vacation ??? FREE !!!
$5.00 (2 pac) x 365 days = $1825.00 ???
$1825.50 divided x 12 = $152.12 ???
Snowmobile/4 wheeler payment ??? FREE !!!
$7.50 (3 pac) x 365 days = $2737.50 ???
$2737.50 divided x 12 = $228.12 ???
Just think what kind of toy you could buy ??? NEW BOAT, NEW MOTOR, HOUSE RENOVATION, KIDS COLLEGE ???
I have been SMOKE FREE for 10 years plus ! I smoked almost 3 pacs a day before I Quit COLD TURKEY ! Now the moral of this story is "I feel much better" and in 1996 I emptied that big glass jar and rewarded MYSELF by paying CASH for a 161 Pro Mag Smoker Craft. This may sound a bit selfish, but I would have just burned the money up any how !!!

Good Luck Guys and Gals !! Any time you need a little help getting that monkey off your back, besides being "MORE HEALTHY" open up that dream book and put the cross hairs on your "REWARDS" ???

"SMOKING"
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, NEVER AGAIN !!!

Richard

[fishface5]

This thread, no, you guys are amazing! I don't know what the longest running thread on this site is, but you guys have got to be giving it a run for it's $! Life, what a good cause! Keep up the good work! First ice is coming fast, It would be fun to get all us ex smokers together for a first ice non-smoking outing, how about Buffalo lake first safe 4". Think of all the ice fishing S--- you can buy.

[minneman]

YEEAAaa BABY! It only gets better!

[Rick]

Hey all
I'll tell you this...if you smoke, you have a Monkey on your back, no more like a 900 lb gorilla on your back that's going to kill you.

It's not easy to quit unless YOU ARE DETERMINED to kick that 900 lb gorilla off your back.

Once you are absolutley determined, it really isn't that hard to make a tiny little monkey and then fresh air out of that 900 lb gorilla.

I have to stress, it is YOUR WILL TO QUIT that is the deciding factor on how easy it is to quit.

Each day gets easier once you start and STAY committed.

This is my third time quitting for a significant time period. I know it's very easy to get back to the smelly brown round thing habit. NO STEEL WHEEL HERE!

I also know complete commitment to quitting is the key. No little permissions to bum a cigarette. After all it's just one little cigarette....NOT!!!!

I'm committed to quitting and I'm telling all of you I'M COMMITTED to being a non-smoker.

It's very rewarding KNOWING I'm done smoking forever. You see, I've made the total commitment to quit and stay quit.

I hope you can tell all of us the same thing about yourself.

[irvingdog]

"I'm committed to quitting and I'm telling all of you I'M COMMITTED to being a non-smoker.

It's very rewarding KNOWING I'm done smoking forever. You see, I've made the total commitment to quit and stay quit."

When a Man says that, then that is all it takes.

I could never figure out why people would punish themselves by taking smoking back up again because they lost a loved one, a job, whatever. Things are bad enough. Why make it worse?
There is a cold running through my house lately. I've got it. It feels just like what it used to when I smoked. Phlegm. Coughing. Out of breath. Good times. Good times.
I also remember smoking while having a cold. Crazy.

And yeah. I may sound like a righteous ex-smoker. you'll start to sound and feel that way also when you lift the fog off of your head. I never thought I would. But believe me. I sympathize, empathize, and root for you all.
P.S. I'm 2 1/2 years an ex-smoker. The monkey is so small now that I just laugh at him. The 20 extra pounds however......

[upnorth]

I hope that no one is taking my posts as being hoity toity about smoking or not smoking. I smoked from the time that I was 11 years old to 39 years old. I am definetly not looking down my nose at anyone who smokes, how could I when I did the same thing for so long? I hope that no one has taken any offense to anything I have posted, because none was intended!!

I am only saying "it doesn't have to be that way" when it comes to smoking. When I say it is a dirty smelly habit it was my habit for about 28 years. I lived it, I can talk about it with some knowledge from both sides of the fence on this topic.

Those of you who are quitting good luck and hang in there, those that are thinking about it, I hope that you can find the determination to quit.

[This message has been edited by upnorth (edited 11-03-2003).]

[metrojoe]

Stick with it guys. Like Rick posted, if your determined and stay committed, you will make it.

I smoked for 20+ years and in about a month I'll have been smoke free for 2 years.

More proof that quitters do win.

[This message has been edited by metrojoe (edited 11-03-2003).]

[tightlines]

Check this web-site out. I found it helped me a bunch a few years ago when I quit.
http://www.quitnet.com/?redir=
Lots of great ideas and a forum to talk with other folks. I especially liked the gadget that kept track of days quit,amount of cig's not smoked and money saved..

[Paul Rohweller]

Been 32 days here now, other than a cold I'm feelin great!! Cant help but wonder how nasty this cold would be if I was still smokin.. Kinda the way I'm looking at it right now is that Im a recovering smoker rather than an ex smoker, I think it needs to be treated like any other addiction. What I find odd is that I still love the smell of smoke, I know I can never have another one myself...weird..
Been off the patch for quite a while, Other than the first few days I didnt really have the need it seemed..The monkeys are going away slowly but surely, To the new guys, it does get easier so hang in there, cravings are beat in your head not in your lungs so cowboy up!! Paul

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

[chunkytrout]

Day 2 GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Man this gum! Got to be careful not to get addicted to IT! Went three days then a bad relapse to which I could but will give no excuses cause there are none. "Well I wanted to breathe but I decided to smoke instead." So on to day three. COLD TURKEY? Maybe if I had 12 cold turkey sandwiches tied around my neck (like those candy necklaces). Man I'm hungry! Keep it up guys! Not only are you helping your self but your helping alot of other people that need the support!

chunk

[Paul Rohweller]

Yer doin it chunky!! One day at a time, one hour at a time or for me on several occasions its one minute at a time, you can beat it but ya gottawanna..... Hang tough!! Paul

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

[Aquaman01]

You can do it Chunky!
IT GETS EASIER. IT REALLY, REALLY DOES! HANG IN THERE! DO WHATEVER IT TAKES!
If you're hungry....eat! I KNOW I'm gaining weight - but I don't care too much. I figure the 4-8 beers a day I'm not drinking provide me with a calorie debit to draw from. I know it will be easier to change my eating habits after this is smoothed out.

Great deals on candy right now, too!

It's okay to trade addiction for addiction - plug a less harmful habit into the place smoking used to occupy.

I'm revisiting my horror-movie addiction, reading anything I can get my hands on, and my wife is quite pleased with my appetite for another activity I have taken to with increased frequency.

Peace,
Rob