Is Air Overrated?
Jan 11 '06 (Updated Dec 08 '09)
The Bottom Line WANT it. DEMAND it for yourself. And know that if this "professional smoker" can quit, so can you!
This is a story. I'd like to tell it as such.
A week before this past Christmas, I became ill. In fact, everyone in my home did--Influenza A. I now know that I had actually never had the flu before. Because I'd remember this.
A few days of shivering, shaking, sweating, hacking, and sniffling left me not really wanting to smoke. I wasn't quitting, I just had a tight, scratchy throat and it didn't seem like smoke would feel all that good. I was temporarily abstaining.
Next day, I woke up and got out of bed. And then got back in bed, because I couldn't breathe. The exertion of standing up was enough to leave me gasping for air. After a few minutes, I tried again. I made it to the door before I was panting so hard that I felt I would either pass out or (excuse the bluntness) pee myself. I slid to the floor, struggling for each breath. After a few false starts, I decided to wait until my son could bring me the phone. I waited approximately two hours.
Called hubby, couldn't even speak. Literally, ONE word, then deep, tortured breaths. Next word. You get the picture.
Got to the clinic, and my blood oxygen level was hovering around 85%. In my long (26+ years) career as a smoker, I've seemingly dodged many bullets. My lungs have always been clear as a bell, my blood pressure has always been good, and my blood oxygen level has always been outstanding. Until now.
Doctor listened to my sad, sorry breathing, told me I had pneumonia, and then asked if I was a smoker. With no forethought, with ZERO planning, I said, "Not anymore." Because, the way I see it, I just got a freebie preview of COPD, and you know what?
It sucks. It sucks beyond imagination. When you cannot get air, NOTHING else matters. I can't even begin to describe the horror of attempting to inhale and realizing that you're not really breathing. And I don't ever want to feel like that again.
Took some fancy gasping to talk the doctor out of hospitalizing me over Christmas. Wouldn't that have been a wonderful gift for my son?
That was three weeks, 18 hours, 9 minutes and 26 seconds ago. That is 1087 cigarettes not smoked, saving $152.24. Amazing, no? Yes, cold turkey.
How do I feel? Well, I can breathe. Of course, that's after a couple of weeks of levalbuterol with a nebulizer and steroids. I still have no voice, but that's a result of contact laryngitis from the levalbuterol. But how do I FEEL?
Pretty danged good. For all the yelling that cold turkey is TOO HARD, it's HELL, it's IMPOSSIBLE, fact is it really isn't that bad. I'm not saying it's easy, but considering all I've heard and seen, it's not any tougher than doing it with an NRT. For me, of course.
Now don't mistake me--I've had some raging cravings. But something I've learned about cravings--they're gonna pass in 3-5 minutes whether I have a smoke or not. So why have the smoke?
Some things that have helped?
Coffee Nips Don't know why, but the flavor is very soothing.
Halls Vitamin C Defense drops Fruity, a little zingy, keep my mouth occupied.
Carrot sticks Crunchy, filling, good for me, help satisfy the munchies.
Grapes Like carrot sticks, a healthy alternative to shoving chocolate down my throat.
Chocolate Because I'm not perfect, and sometimes chocolate is absolutely required by me.
Exercise I've started a 40 minute a day recumbent bike work out every day. Hey, I never could smoke and exercise at the same time, so working out is a good thing on so many levels.
New Hobby I took up cross-stitching. Why? Because it's something I never mastered smoking during. So look for things to do that you've never smoked while doing. That way, you won't have a routine set up that includes smoking.
NO SMOKES! Get 'em out of the house! I actually made it 2 weeks with a carton in the house, but I'm weird. Most people would really suffer for that, so get the smokes gone, and pack up any of your old smoking accessories. Out of sight, out of mind.
A Quit Meter Sounds silly, but you know what? It really is motivating to have a meter showing you how you're doing. Here are a few of them--I use the SilkQuit: http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/quitmeters/
SUPPORT! I hang out on the About.com Smoking Cessation forum. I've hit other forums, but find many of them wayyyy too strident for my taste. Some people like or need that, but I need something a little less in-your-face, yet still supportive.
Humor! This is gonna be tough. Not impossible, not overwhelming, but tough. So when those urges blindside you, when you find yourself drooling at the folks in the smoking section, LAUGH! Laugh at yourself, recognize how crazy this all feels.
Treat Yourself! Hey, you're saving money now. Treat yourself, give yourself a present every payday. And remember, there's an automatic treat every minute of every day--you're not smoking. Things smell better. You feel better. You breathe deeper. Things taste better.
When you quit, you're going to have things to deal with. Cravings, learning to do things differently, learning new sleep patterns. I look at it like an exercise routine or an involved, very important project. Or perhaps like learning a new, difficult skill--after all, we are learning how to be non-smokers. So rather than panicking or giving up when things get tough, when the cravings hit or temptation overwhelms you, look at it as part of a learning process. And remember that the cravings pass whether you smoke or not, so why smoke?
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Here I am, at 2 years, five months and change, and there are some things I feel I need to tell you all. See, when I quit smoking, I was just one member of a big, smoking family. Two weeks after I quit, my husband quit. Four months after that, my sister quit. The day after that, my mother quit. That's four people who've quit (and stayed quit) because I got pneumonia.
I've talked about breathing easier, feeling better, all that fun stuff. But here's another BIG bonus--with the money hubby and I save from not smoking (about $6,000 a year), we can suddenly afford all these totally cool vacations! The first year we were quit gave us a ten day vacation to SoCal (with my sister's two kids included). Last year we took a 2+ week vacation to the east coast and Canada (with my sister's kids). This year? A 21 day vacation (also with my sister's kids)! We were always SO broke, and it was a real eye-opener when we realized just how much money we were actually spending on SMOKING!
****Update****
Just a little note to let you know that, at 1 month, 2 weeks, and 1 day, I'm still smoke-free :-)
****Update****
Four months, 2 days, not one smoke. Cravings are so diminished, rarely even pop up, and I feel wonderful.
****Update****
Six months, 3 weeks, four days. I feel fabulous, am a month into a new exercise program that is working marvelously for me, and have adopted a much healthier diet. Overall, I feel GREAT!
****Update****
Nine months today. Pretty amazing :-)
****Update****
Eleven months today. It's such a breeze now, it's rarely even on my mind. If I can do it, anyone can :-)
****Update****
A year and almost two weeks. A year! If I can do it, ANYONE can!
****Update****
A year-and-a-half today. It's a done deal. I hope I've helped or inspired someone. Just DO it.
****Update****
Two years, one month, and three days. No, I don't keep a running tally, but I do glance at my quit meter now and then :-)
****Update****
Two years, five months, one week, 19 hours, 9 minutes and 53 seconds.
****Update****
If my math serves me, I'm at 3 years, 8 months. Don't miss it a bit, best, smartest thing I ever did was quit.
****Update****
Just a hair shy of 4 years now. Merry Christmas to me!
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