Non-Smoker In Training, Daily Journal

my own personal Hell | 21OCT03 | King Prout

[King Prout]

A net-buddy of mine was recently diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancer in the upper lobe of his right lung: stage 3a, locally metastatic, possibly operable, possibly terminal. His odds are not good. He is 53, married. He has been a 2-pack/day smoker for 30 years. I -and others- have begun sending him surplus cash to help him and his wife keep beans on the table and a roof overhead as he pursues treatment. Something about the situation struck me as beautifully symmetric: I smoke, spending about $30.00 every two weeks on cigarettes; I intend to send him at least that amount every two weeks. In order to do so, I have decided to cease purchasing cigarettes. De facto, this means I am quitting. I have smoked for some 12 years. This will be interesting. I'll be posting daily notes here as this goes on. Today is Day 4 of no cigarettes.

[NewHampshireDuo]

Another plus from stopping smoking is that you can smell things again, you get your taste buds back and you really begin to feel more energy after a short period of time.

[Maigrey]

Hang in there! According to my mother, after about the first 6 days, the "Kill idiot" feeling abates.

She quit cold turkey 6 months ago, and is still going. She smells better (I don't smoke) and feels better. ('cept when she was sick twice in the first month, after getting all the crap out of her lungs.)

That $60/month will certainly help your friend. Good of you for doing such.

[CaptRon]

It's supposed to be some sort of herbal mixture that clears out the nicotine and takes the edge off. I was prepared for it to be ineffective, but it really worked. By the 4th day, though I wanted a cigarette, I didn't need one. My father had the same experience.

[4mycountry]

YOURS!

LOL

[gtech]

You will be an EX-smoker not a NON-smoker. No sanctimony required. :)

Actually, it's the same thing. It's too bad the smoking nazis with a willing nanny-state have made "non-smoker" such an abrasive word. I too value a free country over being controlled for "my own good."

[T Minus Four]

I don't think herbal tea contains nicotine, or does it???

[T Minus Four]

Hmmm, now you've got me wondering. I smoked menthol, can't remember if I do the same in my dreams, LOL! I'll have to make a note to myself to pay attention next dream :-)

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Sorry to hear this about your husband. My dad died when I was in my teens, at a young 60, having his first heart attack seven years earlier. He smoked a pack of Camels every day for over 30 years.

[King Prout]

I am constantly resisting the urge to backhand those who commit the inexcusable crime of saying "hello"
True idiocy makes me itch to strangle and crush heads like eggshells.
I have decided to disarm and lock up my guns for the duration. Not that I'm really worried I'd actually DO something, but... if I'm irritable and irrational, and get into an unfriendly situation, the odds of escalation are much higher than I'm comfortable with.
I ought to get a t-shirt with the text: In Nicotine Withdrawal... Maintain Safe Distance

[King Prout]

End of Day 4.
Someone mentioned the laxative properties of nicotine, and the constipation associated with withdrawal.
Well... umm... how to put this?
The dam just burst.
ICK. I mean, IIIIICKKKK!!! Seen "Trainspotting"? Then you understand. And that's all I have to say about that, except that the improvement of my olfactory sense that others have been extolling as a benefit... is a mixed blessing.
And that really is ALL I'll say about THAT.

Otherwise, let's see:
I have the munchies. Bigtime. Brought a box of Raisin Bran Crunch in to work, ate the whole durn thing during the day. Oh. Wait. That might have something to do with the above. Um. Might want to switch to a different foodstuff tomorrow.
Mental state: Tired and cranky. Jumpy. Irritable.
Physical: My reflexes and balance and coordination appear to have bottomed out and are now on the rebound. The headache is receding. I seem to have run out of lungbutter for the moment. My throat and chest are sore from all the coughing, but I no longer feel like I have inhaled a pair of Tribbles.
Craving: Oddly enough, very mild. A bit more insistent immediately after supper. Not bad at all now.

Updates will follow.

[Old Professer]

We'll know when you have made it when you start chipping in on the smoking ban threads telling everybody how bad they stink and what a disgusting, filthy habit it is and how you wish that every cubic centimeter of air on the planet was smoke-free and all the smokers were in prison and their clothes all burned and how glad you'll be when tobacco is outlawed and the Cubs win the World Series.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Somebody steal your Marlboros ?

[King Prout]

Well, then, I guess I'll never truly quit, 'cuz I'll never do that.

Of course, smoking IS a disgusting, filthy habit... Smokers DO stink like unto a battlefield on the third day... But I have said that quite frequently while lighting up a Marlboro. I'm honest about my vices.

OTOH - if someone wants to commit suicide slowly, painfully, stinkiferously, and expensively that is entirely their business - and the Nanny Staters need to cry me a river, STFU, and buy themselves a friggin' gasmask, the damned nattering crybabies.

[King Prout]

AdminModerator: I don't know if the site rules allow me to do this, so if this is taboo let me know and/or yank this post.

---

All,

Many of you have offered your condolences and prayers for my friend Dean. I dropped him a link to this thread, and I think your moral suport made him blush. Thanks to you all.

Almost as a side note: If any of you wish to send beans-and-bread support to someone you don't know, here's how:

PayPal
deancshaffer@yahoo.com

I cannot blame you if you choose not to - I myself would probably not elect to send money to some complete stranger.
However, Dean could use any help he can get, so I set it out before you.

[bjcintennessee]

Change your routine and make certain you have something else to occupy your time during the times you most enjoyed smoking. My best cigarettes are after a meal, so when I quit smoking, I immediately kept busy by cleaning up the kitchen.

I was one of the stupid ones though. After three years without a cigarette, I thought it would be fine to smoke with a friend. I am now back to a pack-a-day ultra lites. Sometimes I really want to quit, most times I don't -- and I know that I have to really want to quit to be successful.

[King Prout]

I made that same error some years ago (read down the thread, it's in there)
when you decide to quit, may it be a final choice.

[bjcintennessee]

when you decide to quit, may it be a final choice.

Yeah, well my life seems to full of obstacles -- events that just wouldn't be as enjoyable without a cigarette. Things like:

My morning coffee while watching the news shows I taped the night before;

Fishing. I love to fish, but they always seem to know when I am "baiting them", and they never bite, so I have a lot of enjoyable "patient" time and cigarettes in the fresh air, out on the lake with my husband at the trolling motor -- they just go together.

After meals I've already mentioned.

Waiting -- for anything, a cigarette helps to pass the time.

Any minor crises demands a cigarette.

My computer and FReepers -- usually a night-time thing, and cigarettes go well with my peach brandy.

Geeze -- I'm really hooked, aren't I. But still wishing you the best. Hang in there and there will come a time when you will observe someone smoking and maybe catch a whiff of their smoke, and you'll wonder how you ever used to do that. (Just don't get self-righteous on us - lol)

[dyed_in_the_wool]

Good luck.
Been smoke free for 7 years. Cold turkey. It wasn't easy. Remember the 'threes'. Three days. Three weeks. Three months. Three years. Make them your goal.
Pick up where you 'need' a cigarette and diagnose it as a 'want'. Proceed from there.
Get a thorough cleaning of your truck, clothes and teeth. A full dental cleaning will really put some space between you and smoking.
Hang tough. I'll post more impertinent wisdom if I get a chance later.
I am, however, pulling for you.
Remember, of the 206 chemicals in cigarettes, at least 7 are non-toxic!

[CheneyChick]

Best wishes to you and prayers for your friend.

I'll never forget the sound and sight of my uncle coughing his lungs out into the kitchen sink from the horrible emphyzema that finally killed him. That would scare anyone.

Hang in there.

Cheers, CC :)

[BunnySlippers]

Good luck ... it is really achievable. I quit many years ago by tapering off. Toward the end I would keep the cigarettes in the freezer to keep them fresh. Then, I just didn't need them. I knew I was "there" when a whiff from someone else's cigarette smelled foul.

A few tips if you are tapering. Make vows not to smoke in certain areas ... like the office, the car, the bedroom, the living room, etc. But mostly, hang in there.