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Joe's Quit Story


jillar

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joe

Quit Date: 11/20/2013

 

Posted April 5, 2014 

 

Just thought I would share ...In a nut shell, quitting smoking isnt as hard as you may think....its all about knowledge and commitment...the first step is quitting......

 

Looking back on my smoking "career" I wish I knew then what I know now....I CAN quit smoking!

 

   I think from the first cigarette i smoked as a 15 year old kid I knew that I shouldnt be doing this and that it would eventually kill me.(I think we all knew this)..how-ever, at the time everyone I hung out with smoked, so I HAD to also. My friends changed as I grew up...and most of my new friends didnt smoke...but...now, I HAD to.

  

  In my early 20's my Mother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer..I told myself that I should quit....but, I also knew I couldnt!...so why try. I continued to smoke. I met my wife and in '84 we were married (30 years coming up :) ) We now have 4 daughters..i dont, nor ever did smoke in their presents. I always smoked in the detached garage while working on my old mustang...(I spent alot of time in that garage 😞 ).So now, with daughters of my own...and my mother dying as a result of smoking, I really should quit....but..i heard it was hard, so I dont think I can..better not even try.

 

10/29/1990 My Mother dies (49 years old)...I should quit smoking but, again, I dont think I can.No sense in trying...maybe some other day.

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 06/09/2000  My father dies (59years old) from a blood clot after minor surgery.  I think to myself, that I should quit smoking so my girls dont have to lose either of their parents at a young age...Wont quit today, but I will think about it...(I heard its almost impossible)

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I should note, both of my parents were smokers...  😞

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  Fastforward a lot of years. My girls have all graduated high school, 3 of them have gone on to graduate college...2 with a masters degree and the 3rd working  on hers. The 4th daughter chose to raise a family instaed and so now I am about 50 years old 3 of my daughters are married and I then had 4 granddaughters..Non of my girls smoke and I am SOOO happy for that. I tried their whole life to not smoke around them...I didnt hide the fact that I smoked, instead I let them know I was embarresed that I did and it would some day kill me and i didnt want them to ever start.... I really should quit...

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  move forward to the fall of 2013 and I have made the descision to retire from my job.. I have the time in i need to start to draw a pension, so I make plans to retire effective Jan.1st ,2014...(I am too young to totally retire (52 years old) I plan on getting another job, and re-investing my retirement check each month)..At this time, I am not officially retired, but I do have about 2 months worth of vacation accumulated that i need to use before the end of the year..so, The months of Nov. and Dec. i spend "on vacation" (sitting at home)...before I retire, I have a few 'medical" concerns I want to get answers for so i make an appointment...nothing major, as it turn out I am getting old and arthritis is my biggest problem...While at the drs. office the "normal" questions include "do I smoke'..of course I say yes ..and he asks if i ever thought about quitting? DUH...doesnt EVERY smoker THINK about it? He perscribes Chantix and an injection in my shoulder to help with the old age crap...lol...When I get home, I consider filling the perscription, but want to know more about the side effects....so I get online and start reading...one page leads to another....alot of side effects that concern me...I dont think i am going to fill this perscription...but I DO continue to read...thankfully

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   i " stumble" onto whyquit.com... click on different links and find myself watch Joels Library for 1/2 a day...or more...In the middle of a video, the dogs start "bugging" me, so I figure it would be a good time to take them for a walk...besides, I "needed" a cigarette anyway...

.

As soon as we hit the back yard, I reach into my front coat pocket and pull out my pack of smokes and light up...but, damn!..i only have 2 left...gonna have to go get some.....wait.........I have an idea.......why dont I just QUIT NOW!...what a concept!

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 I worked with some guys that I always said that they worked HARDER at avoiding work than they would have if they just did their job...so, I adapted that way of thinking to my quit...instead of quitting being hard, I was going to make smoking hard...for the next couple weeks, i spent as much time in areas i didnt smoke as I could...in my house....my wifes car...out to eat...shopping....in the shower (I was REALLY clean ;) ) ...sleeping...I was making it hard to smoke..

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That was Nov.20,2013....the day i smoked my last cigarette...I look back at the last 35+ years and realize that I was making quit smoking harder than what it was...once I got in the frame of mind that in order to quit, all I had to do was....quit.....it became easy!..

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A few weeks after my Drs. visit, my wife was headed to the drug store and asked if I wanted her to fill my Chantix perscripition....I told her no....she asked if I descided to not quit smoking....i had to inform her that I quit nearly a week earlier  :) ..cold turkey......and they said it couldnt be done  ;)

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 Dont get me wrong...we all know there was cravings and withdrawls, but i found with the knowledge i gained from my reading and Joels videos i knew how to deal with them..the biggest hurdle is ACTUALLY QUITTING...just stop...period...NTAP....NOPE..

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On Nov.29th my 5th granddaughter was born and sometime after the first of the year (daughter#2) informed us of granddaughter #6 joining us in May...who knows...maybe I will stick around to see them grow up...somebody has to screen the boys they will want to date....

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And on a sad note, my younger sister was diagnosed with lung cancer in Jan of 2014...She has endured Chemo and radiation trreatments the whole month of March...she is strong and has a good spirit...

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my daughters all live a few hours away, so they were  not around to pat me on the shoulder (dont get me wrong..they are extremely happy I quit)..and my wife works a strange schedule (12hr shifts and every other week-end), so I didnt get a bunch of support at home....so when i found a message board for support to help stop smoking, it was a huge help...imagine, a (virtual) room full of others who was also starting out in their quit...its like they knew what i was going through....lol...I firstt joind when i was 2 1/2 months quit, and came to THIS board in my 4th month....

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So...any newbie who has endured my suspect writing skills and read this to the end, i would encourage you to make the descision to quit and use the resorces here to experiance the freedom you can feel by finally quit smoking......

 

Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/252-my-quit-story-sorry-its-long/

 

Edited by jillar

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QuitTrain®, a quit smoking support community, was created by former smokers who have a deep desire to help people quit smoking and to help keep those quits intact.  This place should be a safe haven to escape the daily grind and focus on protecting our quits.  We don't believe that there is a "one size fits all" approach when it comes to quitting smoking.  Each of us has our own unique set of circumstances which contributes to how we go about quitting and more importantly, how we keep our quits.

 

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