Strategies and Skills for Quitting: Step 4

Get and use medication ~

I'm a huge proponent of this.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several medications to help people quit smoking.

You will double your chances of quitting even if medication is the only treatment you use to quit, but your odds get even better when you combine medication and other quit strategies, such as counseling or, as I did, Hypnosis.

These medications also may help you if you use chewing tobacco, snuff, pipes, or cigars every day.

If you are trying to quit try one or more of these medications. Using medications along with learning new behaviors like exercise further increases your likelihood of success.

Nicotine replacement products include nicotine gum, patches, lozenges, and inhalers. You can buy gum, patches, and lozenges without a prescription.

If you've been reading along for a while you know I am an advocate for Welbutrin -- originally marketed as an anti-depressant but was found to have excellent smoking cessation attributes.
(As an anti-depressant it will also help with then anxiety new non smokers feel).

Your doctor can prescribe something suited for you and explain how to use it. It's very important to take the medicines for a long-enough time. (Probably at least 3 months).

Remember, taking medicines and using counseling or a cessation program at the same time greatly increases your chances of success.

Strategies and Skills for Quitting: Step 3

Learn new skills and behaviors~

Since you won't be using tobacco, decide what you are going to do instead. Make a plan to:

Identify and think about ways you can avoid those things that make you reach for a cigarette (Combating Those Nasty Triggers ~ ), or change your smoking habits and rituals. Think about situations in which you will be at greatest risk for smoking. Make a plan for how you will deal with each situation.

Change your daily routine. Take a different route to work or eat a meal in a different place. Every day, do something that you enjoy.

Cut down on stress. Calm yourself or release tension by reading a book, taking a hot bath, or digging in your garden. See the topic Exercise Shown To Powerfully Decrease Cigarette Cravings for ways to reduce stress in your life.

Hang around nonsmokers and people who have stopped smoking.

Go back and read Preparing To Quit: on this blog for additional pre-quiting help and then log back on again tomorrow for more helpful prequel hints.

Strategies and Skills for Quitting: Step 2

Get help ~
You will have a better chance of quitting successfully if you have help and support from your doctor, family, friends, and coworkers. Use some of the suggestions from yesterday when you call your MD.

A doctor, nurse, or mental health professional can help you tailor an approach to quitting smoking that best suits your needs. These people are also good sources of motivation and support during the quitting process.

Tell your friends that you are quitting, and talk to ex-smokers about their experiences during and after quitting. Have a friend or ex-smoker check in with you once in a while to ask how you are coping.

If you live with someone who smokes, let that person know how he or she can support you. Be specific. Talk with him or her about not smoking in front of you. Better yet, ask that person to quit smoking with you. That way you can support each other through the quitting process. Also, family and friends can support and encourage you while you are quitting.

Join a support group for people trying to quit smoking. People who have quit smoking may be particularly helpful, because they know what you are going through.

Get counseling (telephone, individual, or group). The more counseling you get, the better your chances of quitting. Counseling may help you learn to recognize and cope with situations that tempt you to smoke. Counseling sessions can also offer comfort if you have a relapse.

You may want to attend a program to help you quit smoking. When choosing a smoking cesation program, look for one that has proven success. Ask your doctor for ideas. You can also check with your local health department or call the national quit line at 1-800-QUITNOW for help.

Use the Internet. The Internet allows round-the-clock access to information about quitting smoking and to chat rooms that can provide support. These programs are good for people who can't get to a stop-smoking meeting. They also work well for people who don't like group meetings.

Learn new skills tomorrow.

Strategies and Skills for Quitting: Step 1

Get ready ~
Here we are, It's Monday, the start of a new work week and the first full week in the last month of the year. It's a good time to start to prepare to quit smoking and it's never too early for that. So let's 'have at it'.

First things first; Contact your doctor or local health department to find out the kinds of medicines and help available in your area for people who want to quit smoking. Telephone help lines operated by your state can also help you find information and support for quitting tobacco use.

Check with your insurance provider to find out if medicines or counseling are covered under your plan.

Prepare your body and mind for the stress that comes with quitting. Things you can do or begin to do starting today are:

Set a quit date and stick to it. (1/1/10 sounds like a great date too)! This is an important step toward becoming tobacco-free. This is what I did and has been proven to greatly improve chances for success.

Make some changes. Get rid of all ashtrays and lighters after your last cigarette. Throw away pipes or cans of snuff. Also, get rid of the smell of smoke and other reminders of smoking by cleaning your clothes and your house, including draperies, upholstery, and walls. Don't let people smoke in your home. Take the lighter out of your car. You can also begin now creating a smoking journal detailing the 'triggers' that may make you desire a cigarette the most. This could come in quite handy on your official 'quit day'.

If you have tried to quit in the past, review those past attempts. Think of the things that helped in those attempts, and plan to use those strategies again this time. Think of things that hindered your success, and plan ways to deal with or avoid them.

Once you quit, don't even take a puff. Start preparing for this now; after your quit date, don't smoke at all—not even a puff.

Two things I also highly recommend: When you call your doctor ask him or her about Welbutrin and start taking this at two weeks prior to your quit day. (As you know I am a HUGE believer in this!) Also: I used Hypnotherapy my last time around and I really believe it has helped. I encourage you to give this some thought.

Meet me back here tomorrow for Step 2.

~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.