Maggots - We need your support...

[shera]

Please. I don't know exactly how you can help, but we need help. Maybe just a lot of happy thoughts...

Duph and I quit smoking (cigarettes). The last couple of days we scrounged butts to get a fix. Sorry if that totally grosses you out, but we're addicts. Today should be a completely clean day though - hopefully the first of many.

I've only been smoking for a year now, this round anyway. So I like to think I can handle the quitting. But it's unbelieveably hard. Duph has been smoking for years and years. He is suffering bad.

Thanks for anything you can offer.

Mir (and Matt)

[sandytheskier]

I don't know if this will help, but I'll tell you a gruesome story that I wish I hadn't had to live through.

Death by cancer:
It had started growing out of control before he knew what the malformations were. Within weeks the chemo failed and he had no hair. His friendly demeanor had dissapeared and all he looked to feel in the future was pain and sadness. He starting depending on drugs for comfort and begged for them by the hour. It was hard to look at him with without feeling an extreme torturouse pain in my heart.
He died within a few months.
This was not a cancer started from ciggarettes but cancer is a leading death from ciggarette smoke.
He did have the cancer spread to his lungs though and so went through the same thing a addict smoker would have. Sucking on a tube constantly, having it push airated drugs down his throat. He was always hoarse, unable to talk and when diagnosed he already was to winded from movement to enjoy life as he once had.

[DaveTV]

This is the deal: If you have the mindset that you are DEPRIVING yourself of something, eventually you will cave in and "reward" yourself. You have to adopt the mindset that you are "freeing" yourself of something. Been there. My two cents..

[teledave]

Glad to hear that you're getting that monkey off your back!
I know nothing about quitting smoking, but my best wishes and vibes go out to you. Hang in there, I've heard it's a long road but I'm sure it's one you can navigate successfully.

[GT40]

I believe you guys can do it.

My dad smoked for 25 years, and it was very hard for him to quit. But he did. He was then able to hike and excercise like he was 20 years younger. Quitting really improved the quality of his life.

Just think about how good the mountain air will smell.

[lemon boy]

Best of determination to you two.

A friend of mine was a heavy smoker and the thing that was the key to quitting for him (quitting in the macro, long term sense) was the knowledge that a craving is like a wave in its intensity and a storm in time. While they started out small but frequent they over time became larger but less frequent and eventually small and infrequent. Redirection on the upslope helped him a bunch.

Good luck.

[IBISguru]

A close friend's dad just had his second stroke.

These strokes are a direct result of his smoking for the majority of his life. He just retired and is now laying in a hospital bed partially paralysed and unable to read as his vision is shot.

Possibly another reason to give up the cancer sticks.....?

[verbier61]

I quit many years ago, just have a technical suggestion. Biological addiction is very hard to overcome if you switch from - say - 20 to zero. If you progressively reduce cigs, it should be MUCH more easier. I reduced to 5, than to 3, than to 1/day, and after one month at 1/day it was REALLY easy.....at least for me. Good luck!

[snowsprite]

When you get that crazy urge...stick some gum in your mouth. Or post here. But don't do it! Hang in there and good for you both for quitting.

Sprite

[ulty_guy]

my dad has worked in the tobacco industry all his life. through hard work, and the value of a good stock, he made himself some good money. at 60 years old (last fall), he suffered a massive heart attack and stroke, almost completely attributable to his smoking. although he's still alive, he certainly isn't enjoying his days like he thought he'd be.

good luck, dark chocolate is especially good for the cravings since it activates the same dopamine center of the brain....and it tastes great.

[Arnold Babar]

John Barth puts forth the philosophy of maintaining the habit of breaking habits. It helps you recognize when you are stuck in self defeating ruts. It widens your world view. If it is a constant conscious project, your main habit becomes stronger than all the habits you decide to break, and even the most damaging entrenched habits are secondary and weaker than your main habit, which is the habit of breaking habits. Your life then becomes more spontaneous, and less habitual, because your only habit is that of breaking habits. John Barth is a lunatic.

[gonzo]

1. My best buddy's dad died of lung cancer last week.

2. You have to stop some time, or it will kill you. If you don't stop this time, the next time you try will be harder.

3. Any time you convince yourself that you "deserve" one or "you have made it this far so you should have one" etc., etc., etc., that is the addiction tricking you into caving. Don't do it. You have to stop some time and having another butt is not stopping. It is smoking.

I quit butts and dip cold turkey 16 months ago after trying several times to stop. Once I really realized that I had to stop some time or my mouth was going to fall off or my lungs would die, I kept repeating #3 to myself. I still get cravings to this day (I would love a fat plug of skoal straight in my mouth right now) but I know that once the craving passes, I will be psyched I didn't cave, and if I were to cave, the minute after the craving was satisfied I would be pissed at myself for letting the addiction get the better of me and pissed that I would be back to square one.

Plus, you guys hike all the time! How the fuck can you smoke butts and do that shit?

[gonzo]

Originally posted by Arnold Babar
John Barth puts forth the philosophy of maintaining the habit of breaking habits. It helps you recognize when you are stuck in self defeating ruts. It widens your world view. If it is a constant conscious project, your main habit becomes stronger than all the habits you decide to break, and even the most damaging entrenched habits are secondary and weaker than your main habit, which is the habit of breaking habits. Your life then becomes more spontaneous, and less habitual, because your only habit is that of breaking habits. John Barth is a lunatic.

I really really like that. I am going to look him up. The past few years that has pretty much been my philosophy.

[3o3]

Go back up and read DaveTV's post again. Then, get the words tatooed on your foreheads.
I smoked for 20 years and quit 8 years ago. I used the patch for the first week to take the edge off and haven't had so much as a drag since.
You have to REALLY want to quit and do it because you're ready to improve and lengthen your life, or watch your kids grow up, or be able to live without an oxygen tank strapped to you at 55, or whatever it is that finally clicks that switch in your head that makes you HAVE to quit to IMPROVE your life.

[A-wreck]

toothpicks and smoking other things that may not be quite as detrimental to your health helps................toothpicks help a lot
________
CB750K

[Endlessseason]

I completely understand. Well, not completely I guess--as I've never smoked--but, I've had other addictions to kick in my life.
I do have some information that I think can help the two of you.

It's weird. I just witnessed one of my brothers go through this last month. Three of my brothers and one of my sisters were hooked on cigarettes all through their teens. They all eventually quit at different times of their lives, each for different reasons and through different methods. The one thing they all agree on about the whole smoking experience is that quitting was the best (but the hardest) thing they have ever done.
My one brother, for some inexplicable reason, started smoking in April again after 20 years. He called me in a complete panic last month to tell me how he had started and was trying to quit. He had only smoked for a couple weeks and said he was now hooked harder than when he was a teen.
This bro has been through a lot in his life. He has quit drugs, a bad marriage, overcome learning disabilities, etc. This last time with smoking though really scared him. He said it freaked him out how he could make a pact with his friends and his word meant nothing. He felt he was quickly losing control of everything because he just could not quit.
After trying pills, tapes, constant surveillance, vitamins, etc., he tried the patches out of desperation. He was on a full patch for a couple days, half patches for a few, and then that was enough for his strong will to allow him to get over the hump. He hasn't smoked for two weeks now and feels he's back in control. He's convinced they make cigarettes stronger than they did when he was a kid. He said he will NEVER, under any circumstances, take another puff from a cigarette in his life. He could not believe how fast and hard nicotine grabbed him this time.
It is so cool to see him so proud and strong about getting out from under that evil burden. Cigarettes are pure evil.

You can do it. You will feel so good when you do.

[xboat]

this week i am celebrating my 2 year anniversary of quitting chewing tobacco (kodiak) cold turkey. used to smoke too, before the chew. the first couple weeks suck, but it does get better. if you haven't been to the dentist for awhile, go. get your teeth all cleaned/scraped up even if you have to pay out of pocket. yellow smokers teeth are nasty and you need to think about that to help get over it.

the green ORBIT gum is what helped me through it and i feel fucking great for quitting.

good luck mir & matt!

[ddsnake]

You started smoking a year ago????????what ?!?

are you 14yrs old? If not,....did you think you'd just try 1 or2 to see what it was like because it smelled so good?
So assuming you're an adult ,why did you start smoking 1 yr ago....you must have known it's addictive, causes cancer,etc. what made it so attractive to you?
Good luck (scrounging for butts).....I guess,.....but seriously ,I could think of far better things to support than someone who decides to start smoking as an adult.

[CantDog]

Shera, my grandmother smoked all her life and died from lung cancer when I was very young. It would have been really nice to grow up having a grandmother around. So please stop, I know it has to be really hard, but your grandchildren will thank you.

[Viva]

Think about hiking for turns. Continue smoking and soon you may not be able climb the mountains anymore.

[divegirl]

SheRa, duph...

Here's hoping your day of quitting turns into two and three days of quitting, and then a week of quitting. And here's hoping your week of quitting turns into a month, and then a few months, and finally, a whole year. And then, beyond that. Good, good luck.

I tried smoking, and smoked for about 2 months once. Luckily for me, when I broke up with him, I also broke up with the cigarettes. It was that easy...but I understand your situation, because I actually have my own addiction problem with sweets. I know it sounds silly, but it's very hard to kick, and I haven't kicked it. Granted, it won't literally kill me (unless I get overweight), but it's an addiction within itself.

Good luck, stay strong, and here's hoping I can use your willpower to increase my own.

[iceman]

Tippster says that that "Smoke-Away" thing they sell in drug stores kicks ass...costs like $50, but that's cheap if it works.

[DaveTV]

You started smoking a year ago????????what ?!?

are you 14yrs old? If not,....did you think you'd just try 1 or2 to see what it was like because it smelled so good?
So assuming you're an adult ,why did you start smoking 1 yr ago....you must have known it's addictive, causes cancer,etc. what made it so attractive to you?
Good luck (scrounging for butts).....I guess,.....but seriously ,I could think of far better things to support than someone who decides to start smoking as an adult.

J_O_N_G !
I don't believe what she needs is a lecture from you cowboy..

[Ubersheist]

My advice: Replace smoking with other habits, like heroin, cocaine or straight party line voting at elections.

Best wishes for quitting. Your house will smell better for it.

Its surprising that Duph's trying to stop, too. What made him want to stop?

[hoarhey]

SheRa and Duph!

I just quit smoking 3 months ago (not the first time), but I believe the key is to never give up.

Using the patch helped me overcome the physical nicotine addiction part, while being able to get through the day without the ritual of smoking. That helped me a lot.

There is no single solution, of course, just my two cents.

Positive vibes for the two of you!!!