~Susan~
Pearl Clutcher
You need to check your boobs, mine tried to kill me!!!
Posts: 3,259
Jul 6, 2014 17:25:32 GMT
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Post by ~Susan~ on Oct 24, 2014 14:12:53 GMT
My mother smoked for over 25 years. I would beg her growing up to quit, but she would never even try. Right after she turned 46, she was diagnosed with a 99% blockage of aorta where it branches off to your legs. She was in ICU for over a week and they worked on that blockage everyday, all day long to save her legs for a week. She survived with her legs intact. She hasn't had a cigarette since 12/6/96.
I went to her house while she was in the hospital to get rid of all the ashtrays and to air it out. While that helped, the smell didn't go away until she replaced her carpet and washed walls. It was nasty seeing all the nicotine on the walls.
She said it took a couple of years for the really bad cravings went away, especially after she ate. She would even dream about it. She said the cigarettes would be about 3 feet long in her dreams, lol.
She can't stand to be around cigarette smokers anymore. The smell nauseates her.
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Post by Katie on Oct 24, 2014 14:34:23 GMT
Congrats to all of you who have quit...I sympathize with you. I've never smoked but I have other bad habits (food!).
DH smoked for 21 years until last last summer when he switched to e-cigs. Then this Spring he went off those completely. YAY, until 2 weeks ago when he went back to regular cigs because he was so stressed with his new job. I was disappointed but I can't say a word - it's his way of coping and I know it's a fifficult struggle. He did say he hates how his hands smell, so he's going back on the e-cig this week.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Oct 24, 2014 14:36:13 GMT
I was relatively young when a family member died of late stage emphysema. It was really, really awful, and made a huge impression on me. One of my aunts had the toughest time quitting. She tried and failed a few times. She tried to quit after her BIL died of lung cancer. But even then it didn't stick. A year or so after he died, his wife, who had never smoked was diagnosed with lung cancer. Watching her die from second-hand smoke, scared her enough to finally quit. With two kids at home, I suppose fear of killing herself wasn't enough, but the realizing that she was impacting her kids' health helped her kick the habit. Kudos to all of you who have conquered the cravings.
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Post by genny on Oct 24, 2014 16:49:12 GMT
I started smoking around friends when I was 13, smoking for real when I started driving on my own. I'm 40 now. I finally quit for the last time in Feb of this year after my mother in law was living with us while battling lung cancer. I cared for her in our home, around our kids until she died in a hospital bed in my living room in April.
I had stopped (again) in Oct '13 (so did DH). But slowly started back again, smoking only when my kids weren't around. DD (then 14) caught me smoking one day and said with a red, pissed off face and tears in her eyes 'mom, i cannot watch somebody else I love die in front of me like grammy is, why would you do this to me?' I opened the almost brand new pack and broke every cigarette in front of her and stuff them in the trash. I had no words - I was embarrassed and ashamed. I have not had a cigarette since and don't want one. now I HATE the way the smell -- and to be honest I didn't even smell it before.
No, I didn't quit cold turkey - even with all those factors I am not that strong. I started using, and still use, a vapor cigarette (hookah, some people call them). I swear I couldn't have done it without that thing. I started out using tobacco flavored vape juices at a really high nicotine level - it really did the trick. I have slowly cut back my nicotine level and when I stopped the tobacco flavored juices and moved to the fruitier flavors it was a red flag day for me. I still use it everyday, but am still working my nicotine level down. One day I'll be free of the vape too, but for now this is fabulous for me. I get the 'act' of the habit and the nicotine my body turns me into a raving bitch for without burning all the carcinogens straight into my lungs. Enough study hasn't been done of the vapor juices yet to say if that won't have long lasting side effects either - but it's got to be better than a pack of cigarettes every day. And it's a stepping stone.
So yeah, I know they stink and how bad they are and all of that - but it's a hard ass addiction to break (especially when you are stressed about anything and I feel like I am ALWAYS stressed anymore). Big hugs to all the peas who have quit and those trying to quit or supporting someone trying to quit - it's a tough road.
As an aside - my 77 year old dad quit 5 years ago this month cold turkey after smoking 2 packs a day since he was 14. THAT is a HUGE deal! I'm so proud of him!
Genny
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Post by genny on Oct 24, 2014 16:50:09 GMT
Oh and I STILL love those candy cigarettes - I buy them any time I see them. I swear they are my favorite candy! LOL
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scrappyesq
Pearl Clutcher
You have always been a part of the heist. You're only mad now because you don't like your cut.
Posts: 4,069 
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Post by scrappyesq on Oct 24, 2014 18:19:01 GMT
I used to smoke and I LOVED it. Marlboro ultra lights were my faves. I quit only because I got married and DH let me know he wouldn't marry a smoker, so I quit cold turkey. But then I got him to agree to let me light up while I was studying for the Bar exam, but only during class houra. When I passed I had to give it up completely. Its been 5 years but I still long for a cigarrette sometimes.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Oct 24, 2014 18:58:39 GMT
This thread scares me that my loved one who in the middle of quitting is going to have a hard time for years and will wax poetic about smoking years down the road provided he actually survives quitting and doesn't give in. I don't really understand the love for smoking mentioned here. Smoking is an addiction. People use cigarettes to feel good, or to at least feel less bad. So it stands to reason that for many, the memories associated with smoking would be pleasant. You can logically hate something and know it is bad for you, but your emotional response to it doesn't match up with what you know to be true. This is so true for me. I hate that I smoke. It tastes nasty and I hate that I smell nasty. Yet, it is a huge stress reliever for me. It is a mandatory break in the middle of hectic, anxiety filled days. It is not easy to find something else to replace it. I can't even equate it to anything else. |
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Post by sisterbdsq on Oct 24, 2014 19:02:48 GMT
I can't believe only TWO of us admit to smoking pot.
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