Well i did it!!!
 

I did it, today is my first day of not smoking, feeling good today.. it was a little strange this morning, all out of my routine, of smoking 4 smokes before Micah got up... but i'm pluging along here, the patch is helping alot, but making me kinda dizzy. oh well i guess its better than smoking, my doctor also called in a perscription for wellburtin, but i don't think i'm going to use that... i have if i need it. but these darn patches are so strong my damn arm is numb..

Give your body time to get use to it. Most of all...try not to think about it and when you do...do something different even if it's walking to the bathroom or walking around your desk. Just do something different so your mind will switch to something else.

Keep going....you can do this!

oh Janet, this morning was ruff, it was like i was so confused, like for example i was getting Micah ready, i forgot his socks, had to go back to his room to get his t-shirt, and he didn't want to get ready this morning, oh my,,, but i got thru it, i kept singing itsy-bitsy-spider, that's the first thing that came into my head that early..LOL...
i got my big old water bottle on the second one, ate a banana, some coffee and sucking on pretzel sticks.. im hanging in there, one day at a time...

and i have to get NOPE in my head!!!
NOT ONE PUFF EVER !!!!

I'm doing this for Micah.... Wow i just can't believe how gooooooooooodddd i smell...... i don't stink anymore!!!! YAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

I think i'm just high on this patch!!! wow what a buzz.. i feel like i'm drunk or something....

Thank you Judy,, i know i can do this... its just so stange today, i keep reaching for one, guess its just habbit, sucking on pretzels is helping... but im trying to keep busy, i got up this morning and the first thing i did was change the bedsheets, nice clean sheets tonight, i'm going to take a long bubble bath when i get home... i'm just going to take it one day at a time.. that's all i can do....

You can do it, Haley! We'll be your support group. Get online at home and we'll be here for you!

OK - I haven't chimed in before, but I stopped smoking Memorial Day 2004, after smoking for 26 years. I somehow developed pleurisy and that caused my lung to collapse. I went to the doctor on Wednesday, the doctor on Friday, the ER on Sunday, and the doctor on Tuesday when she escorted me directly to Intensive Care, where they put huge tubes in my side to drain fluid, but it wouldn't drain because it had turned to gel. After two days at that hospital, they transported me to the Methodist Hospital where I had lung surgery. Yes, like open heart surgery, they pulled my ribs open on my back, took my lung out, scrapped it clean, and tacked it back inside.

I was in Pulmonary Intensive Care Unit for eight days and while I loved pushing the morphine button, I was aware of other patients in the unit with me. There was a woman who had a lung transplant and her body was rejecting it, so she was swollen hugh. There was a man who had emphezema so bad he was literally drowning, his lungs were so full of fluid and his extremeties were decaying from lack of oxygen. There was another man who coughed continuously, even on oxygen.

Haley, my condition was not related to smoking, but from Rheumatoid Arthritis. Everytime I think of a cigarette, I remember the smells and sounds and extreme pain and I know that I do not want to be back in that place. Most importantly, I know and commit that I will not put my loved ones in danger from my smoking.

Bless you for making this committment!

Haley, I'm sure that today is going to be tough to get through and sometimes you may have to tell yourself that you just need to get through this minute, but you're a strong and determined woman and I know that you can do this!! You're doing a wonderful thing for your son, actually, your family!!! Keep us posted so we can give you lots of encouragement!!!

Wow Sandy, i'm glad you quit also, i know its not going to be an easy road to go down, i went thru this before, but i have a very good reason for quitting this time. i have Micah!!! with his allergeries, i don't want to add to it by smelling like smoke around him, and really i don't want him to remember that i was ever a smoker.. i don't know how to explain it, i just feel great today, i thought this day would be horrible. but the patch is really helping me.. i'm just a little confused today, keep reaching for something that i know is not there.

I have a clip of an anti-smoking commerical i saved on my computer, its a little 3 year old boy and his mother in a train station, and the little boy lost his mother and the little boy is in tears, crying cause he can't find his mother and the ad says
"This is how your child feels after losing you for a minute. Just imagine if they lost you for life." actually in making this commerical they really did pull his mother off the set so they are real tears. I thought that was a little mean to do to a 3 year old. but boy did i get the point!!! scared the hell out of me..

Thanks Diana, i will, i already joined an on-line support group, there all so wonderful to me, i joined last week,,, so i'll be on here and on there site also. Nice to have friends pulling for me.. i know the cravings are going to be tough, but im strong and i know i can do this....

That's a good idea to Sandy, i'll have to get online at home, i'll try to make my name the same it might be like haley123 or something like that so you all know its me from home.... or i can put haleyhome...

I'm proud of you Haley!!! You can make it through this, we're all supporting you! :)

You don't have to change your name when you get on a different computer. All you need is your user name and your password and.............voila!! You're back on!!!

Way to go Haley. I've never smoked so I don't know what you are going through - but I hope you can do it!

Congrats!

Haley, congratulations, girl!!!! You are soooo awesome. You're an ex-smoker now!!! Isn't that fantastic!!! After 3 days cold turkey, they say you are over the nicotine adiction, the rest is habit. Not sure about how this works quitting with the patch. Maybe this helps you overcome the habit while reducing the nicotine and then you can just quit the patch and in 3 days, you are done for good. We're all soooo proud of you!!! I have tears in my eyes for you. So, so happy!!! :cheer::cheer::cheer:

Day % !!!!!!!!
 

We'll im on day 5 here without a smoke,,, i can't believe what my body is going thru i fell like crap!!!!! coughing up a lung over here, miserable... but trying to stay possitive.... i have 5 days under my belt and i'm not going to let this get me down... it's just my chest feels like an ashtray!!! :( I forgot about all the side effects you have when you quit... all the withdraws are terrible...
But i have to keep thinking about the reason that i quit in the first place:

my health
my teeth
my son
the price for a pack of smokes $5.45, 2 cartons a week almost 120.00 a week almost 480.00 per month, almost 5,000 a year.

Every 3 months that i quit i'm buying myself and hubby a 1,000 CD. so i'm saving for our future!!!! i keep that in the back of my head...

i just need to get thru this day.. i'm going to go and try to find some tylenol right now....:rolleyes:
ps Mike is doing good he's down to 3 smokes a day, he said when he's done with his pack that will be it...

That would be a good idea, if i can remember my password??? :rolleyes::rolleyes:

AWWWW Thanks Marilyn, and thanks everyone for your support... i'm just having a bad morning today... :( Maybe i'll feel better after a couple cups of coffee, i don't know why i'm coughing up a lung over here.. just feel terrible today.....

Haley, sounds more like alergies or something than withdrawal. Or maybe your lungs are trying to help you clean them up.

Hang in there!!! You are doing great!!! Your strong, you've shown that to us several times on here. We know you can do it!!!!!! :cheer::cheer::cheer:

Thanks Marilyn, i'm hanging in there, i just had a bad morning it will get better, Micah was pushing my buttons this morning, he didn't want to get ready and i was running late, i just needed a good cup of coffee and i'm chewing on some nuts. i'm starting to feel better, it's just my chest feels so tight today, i don't know what the hell is going on.. my nerves maybe???

I'm sorry that you're not having a good morning! It almost sounds like you're coming down with something. I'm so proud of the fact that you've gone 5 days without smoking!!! That's quite an accomplishment!!! I know that it's hard but I know that you have a lot of determination and can do this!!!! You go, Girlfriend!!!!!

im feeling better now Diana, eating my lunch a grilled chicken wrap and a side salad. i went on a diet also when i quit smoking. so i think i'm stressing myself out, but i'm eating much better than i did...

Haley, I'm really proud of you! Sounds like you're doing all the right things.

Do your best to stay away from smokers, at least for awhile! You'll be so tempted to "bum" a cigarette when you're around another smoker. You'll think "just one", but that breaks the process. I was very lucky that my DIL and one SIL quit smoking when I did. To my knowledge there are NO SMOKERS in my immediate family. A few weeks back, we had some septic tank work done. I almost flipped out when I saw that one of the guys had left butts back there.

I wish i could stay away from smokers, but there all around me,,,, at work, my dad still smokes... that's ok, i'm going to bingo thursday they will be all around me, that will be a big test for me.. but i have my patch and my water and gum to take so i'll be ok....

Day 6
 

working on day number 6... on my smokers website we have a smoking meter here's what mine says :


5 days - 4 hours - 50 min.. im a non smoker
208 cig.s not smoked
$ 56.68 dollars saved....


:bravo::cheer::cheer::cheer: you go girl !!!!!!

ok just patting myself on the back... needed that for today....

You are AWESOME!!!!!!! Way to go, Haley!!!!!!

:bravo::congrats::cheer::cheer::congrats::bravo:

We are all soooooo happy for you and your success!!!

Thank you Marilyn, i also joined the YMCA yesterday,( with the money i saved from no buying cigs. for Mike and I.. :) and put micah in daycare there also, so i can workout after work, they offer so much more for Micah also, then where he is at now, the activities, and crafts, i think Micah also needs this.. so i will be working out also a couple days a week... All i see what daycare does with him all day is watch tv and i can't stand that!!! he don't even do that when im home, were outside. or doing something, i don't want my child to watch tv all day.. so i had to move him....

ps: i got my first DOT on my smoking forum also, you get a dot for a reward for every week that you are smoke free, another reason to be proud of myself today!! :)

Haley, it is quite an accomplishment to quit smoking. It is so wonderful that you are using your savings to benefit you, Mike, and Micah - that is so great! It sounds like things are going well!

getting better everyday Gayle, there were other issues dealing with Micah and the daycare i had him at, i had to move him fast... before i killed the woman!!! but that is a long story,, still thinking about reporting her:mad: Talk about wanting a smoke MOnday, almost didn't make it thru that day!!!!!... But my son is safe now... and everyone at the YMCA are wonderful.. so Micah will have fun there.. lots to keep him busy.... and i will be working out.. so that will keep the extra pounds off, from eating jelly beans... are first time fees were waved and my husbands membership was free, cause of where he works, The company pays the memebership under his wellness program.. boy was i happy.. so i saved over 100.00 yesterday... so another plus for me.

Work still stinks, still down to 4 days a week... and still looking for another job, but other than that i'm just plugging along... one day at a time...

I think it is really important to have Micah at a day care where he is engaged in stimulating activities. I have a 2 year old granddaughter and she LOVES TV - so much so that my daughter has to limit her exposure to it - she only gets to watch about 1 hour a day - two shows.

It is so important, as you mentioned, that children are in stimulating activities where they get to play and things to DO as opposed to watching things, also that they are moving and engaging with other adults and children, rather than the TV.

You've taken so many positive steps!!! :)

You are fantastic Haley! Keep up the good work. This support groups sounds like a good thing. It makes it fun. WW is like that. You get prizes, and other people are doing the same thing.

The coughing and so on is very common when you stop smoking. My Dad had bronchitis after he stopped! I didn't have too much of a reaction like that. Hopefully, yours wont last long.,

I bet Micah is having fun. It is so important for them to learn and do things, rather than just sit in front of a TV. Has he made you a picture yet to be hung on the fridge?

Thanks Judy, i'm hanging in there, its such a crappy day outside, raining all day so far, bringing me down.....
But they say you'll get worse before you get better, its just my chest feels like an ashtray, but again i did smoke two plus packs a day.. were allowed to smoke at work.. so i puffed all day long.. home was harder cause i went outside or down in the basement, cause of Micah...
but i just reward myself everyday with a nice long bubble bath... and think about how nice i smell... been bleching my teeth too there finally getting whiter :D

Be careful with the bleach. Jessie did it too many times and now her teeth are sensitive to hot and cold.

i don't think it matters with me Judy, my teeth were always sensitive i have to brush them in hot water, the cold water kills me, and my gum line is so messed up from smoking, my dentist told me years ago to stop, but i chose not to listen.. so there already screwed up from me! bleching them is just making them look better.. i have another dentist apt thursday again!!!!! oh boy!!

Sorry I haven't been here much....Haley, I'm so proud of you. What you are doing by quitting the smokes is one of the best ways to love yourself and show your family how much you love them. It will get easier...

Thanks Janet, its stressful at times, i just keep Micah in my head, i don't want to smell like smoke around him anymore... and my nice bubble bath a night, and sometimes a glass of red wine also helps :) that's how i reward myself everynight... i made it almost thru day 7.. joined the YMCA so i'll be working out again.. can't wait... just hope this weather gets better what a crappy week, been raining almost everyday... I want to get outside with Micah again.... we got some bubble guns i want to test out ... LOL

Just checking in real fast, its been 15 days for me, smoke free,,,, feeling good...
:59::59::59::59:

Keep it up Haley.....so proud of you!!!

Aww Thanks Janet... i'm trying... seems like its getting harder... should be getting easier.. but i'm trying to get my frustration out at the gym.. i can tell already that im gaining weight.. but i'll work it off.... i just got to stop muching on things. and go back to one meal a day... been chewing so much gum it feels like my jaw is going to fall off !!! LOL

Keep up the good work, Haley!!! You're doing great!!!! Fifteen days is quite an accomplishment!!!! Remember, you're doing this for a good reason!!!