~Strategies and Skills for Quitting~

I have been Smoke Free for Exactly 5 months!
If you're envious of my success thus far give this some thought:

In less than one month it will be another New Year ~ Traditionally this has been a time to make resolutions to improve one's life in some way.

One of the most popular New Year's resolution is, of course, to Quit Smoking.

In an effort to help anyone who has a desire to conquer their smoking demon this New Year I am going to dedicate the month of December to the preparations a smoker may want to take prior to quitting.

When you plan a strategy for quitting tobacco, one I like to recommend is the U.S. Surgeon General's five keys to quitting: get ready, get support, learn new skills and behaviors, get and use medicine, and be prepared for relapse.

I will outline each of these steps next week beginning on Monday 12/7 and running through Friday.

I guess it is important to add the disclaimer that I am not a doctor, I've researched this subject, however nothing I write should be intended to replace advice from your own doctor or qualified professional.

(And if you read past post you know I highly recommend the use of prescribed drugs in your quit smoking endeavor).

Stay tuned and I hope to see you Monday... FJW

~ My BFF Barb ~

We’re getting to the age where we don’t just visit the doctor – everything has to be a “procedure”.

I got a call from my best friend in the world this week – Barb from Florida. She was having one of those.

Early in the morning the day of her procedure she started hacking away with her morning ritual -- the smoker’s cough. The anesthesiologist stops things, announces to the OR “we have a smoker” and orders a breathing treatment.

The doctor then tells my friend she’s not going to give her a lecture on the hazards of smoking since she (Barb - a nurse) should already know better than most.

Apparantly, this interaction was enough to provide Barbi with A 'Teachable' Moment of her own.

Although aware of the multitude of negative effects smoking causes, Barb was less than aware of the coughing and wheezing she was experiencing on a daily basis. Let’s just call this the denial of an addict.

We’ve all been there – I know I have. I may have been one of the worst. I was taking hits of my inhaler before and after each cigarette. It was just to the point of being ridiculous. I don’t know who, if anyone, has been following me for the past five months but if you have you may remember that “ridiculous” was my word for the month for July.

(~Re-Born on the 4th of July~) “As for my own struggle with this powerful addiction
the one word that keeps coming to mind is ’Ridiculous” … basically, I’ve spent
nearly 30 years killing myself, as my hypnotherapist put it; “on an installment
plan” … which defies all common sense reasoning.”

It’s a bit ironic Barb called me with this story this week; I told her beginning this Saturday I was going to dedicate the rest of the month of December to “Preparing To Quit:” a countdown to the New Year.

Once again I am encouraging Barb (and anyone else with a desire to finally become smoke free) to follow along here and hopefully I can inspire her to quit and we can be support for a better life for each other.

There's nobody in this world I love and adore like

my BFF Barb

and I want us to be
Best Friends Forever

-- for a long, long time.

~ 150 SMOKE FREE DAYS!!! ~

The struggle, anxiety, discomfort, et al are all starting to pay off.

150 Smoke Free (and cheat free) days and I am still going strong -- in fact, I am stronger than ever.

There still are times I think I might like to have a cigarette, but that is not the same as craving one.

Let's face it, after nearly 30 years addicted to smoking, the constant coveting of the next smoke break is pretty well ingrained in my personality.

This weekend, 12/5/2009 I will be Five Months (22 Weeks) tobacco free. After so many attempts in the past, I am not yet ready to call this my second longest time, but if it's not, it's darn close.

I know my longest time is just under 11 months. I will wait until after the New Year to claim this to be my second longest time.

Of course, my ultimate goal is to make this my last as well as most successful time!

Let me know how you are doing.

FJW

Happy Thanksgiving ~

... to anyone who happens to visit my page today.

* 145 Smoke Free Days ... & Counting *

Thanks for your comments and support.

FJW

Cold Turkey Defined ~

As you prepare you Turkey Dinner for the Holidays here are some thoughts about leftovers ~ or at least thoughts about the term
"Cold Turkey".

There appears to be two acceptable and viable origins of the term;
Cold Turkey.
One being without preparation -- like a left-over turkey dinner. First used as far back as the 1920s in relation to heroin or cocaine addiction. A left over or ‘cold turkey’ dinner is one that requires very little to no preparation - hence, doing something ‘cold turkey’ took on the meaning of actions being taken abruptly … without preparation.

The second most communally accepted origin comes from a reference to a to the physical attributes an addict may take on after stopping a powerful drug such as heroin immediately and abruptly.

When an addict decides to give up heroin with out any sort of support or drug replacement the body has a tendency to react by turning cold and clammy; sweaty and goose bumped much like that which resembles the appearance of a cold, unprepared turkey.

There is a third possibility; that of ‘talking turkey’. To talk turkey with someone is to get down to business straight away … blunt, straight forward speaking. It is plausible that the allusion is to the direct, no nonsense approach of giving up narcotics, alcohol or tobacco indicated by the 'plain speaking' meaning of the term ala Harry Truman.

19 Years Ago ~

This past weekend I reached the 20 weeks (140 days) smoke free mark!

Additionally, my oldest son turned nineteen; he was a Thanksgiving Day Baby. It was a GREAT Holiday that year! Doesn't seem all that long ago.

Unfortunately, 'Junior' now thinks it's okay for him to smoke cigarettes. Although he doesn't smoke around me I am still deeply hurt by his decision. He is a man now, he can choose to do as he wishes, and who am I to say after I stupidly began smoking myself at the age of just fifteen.

What hurts the most now is not just his decision but the absolute cruddy, poor and despicable example I set for him and all my kids most of their lives.

All I could really say to him was that he is an adult now, if that is what he wants to do I can't really stop him. However he should take a really good look at the long, arduous struggle I've endured and the fact that I've probably done irreparable damage to my health.

The best I can hope for now is that he can see the example I am trying to set in becoming and staying smoke free!

If any of my fellow recovering smokers out there have suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Great American Smokeout; American Cancer Society Ad ~

Hope. Progress. Answers.

Need Someone to talk too??1-800-227-2345

Great American Smokeout; Going Cold Turkey ~

If you're a pack-a-day smoker, this means going from 20 to 0 cigarettes in the matter of a day. With the cold turkey method, you completely stop your smoking all at once, relying on your will power to fight your nicotine addiction.

This is the most popular, yet possibly the most uncomfortable, tobacco reduction or cessation strategy. It involves setting a reduction or quit date, and simply reducing or quitting on that date without any prior reduction, preparation or nicotine withdrawal.

The "cold turkey" approach can cause mild to severe nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Drastic reductions in tobacco use will result in withdrawal symptoms that can include irritability, fatigue, headache, insomnia, constipation, sweating, coughing, poor concentration, depression, increased appetite, and cravings for tobacco.

Quitting cold turkey is extremely difficult because most of us have lives that require us to function as somewhat normal human beings for most of the day. When you are suffering through the initial five days of craziness without nicotine, you will feel more like an angry, rabid bear than a human, and you will be about as fit company for other humans. Here are some things you can do to make quitting cold turkey difficult as opposed to impossible:

* Smoke until your last day of work or school, and then begin quitting on the weekend (or whatever days you have off).
* Indulge in other things you like, to the point of foolishness if you feel like it, during the first few days; sleep a lot and watch a lot of TV.
* Avoid situations that frustrate you – you won't deal with frustration very well.
* Avoid any place where people will be smoking.
* Call people whom you know well enough to impose upon and complain to them about how lousy you feel.
* Keep a lot of your favorite non-alcoholic drinks on hand. You will probably feel very thirsty, you'll want to replace the oral gratification of cigarettes with something, and drinking fluids helps to flush the nicotine out of your system faster.
* Have something to do with your hands and/or your mouth. If you like chewing gum, chew it, if you like ripping apart action figures, do so.
* Remember that you're one cigarette away from failure.

These hints apply to some degree to every method of quitting smoking, but if you quit cold turkey you need all the help you can get

Great American Smokeout, 2009 ~

It's Almost Time ~ Just One More Day

Great American Smokeout; Bare Facts ~