by DanTheMan 50 Replies latest jw friends
Hi Dan, I surely empathize with your struggle and wish you all the best in your efforts to stop. For a generic but much more indepth response to you and all others who smoke, take a gander over here.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/14/95852/1634705/post.ashx#1634705
Dan, don't forget that those so called "withdrawal symptoms" are actually nothing to do with craving niccotine.
The discomfort that smokers feel when they try to desist is actually caused by the rising oxygen level in the blood. Smoking reduces the oxygen carrying capabilty of the bloodstream by around 20% by loading the blood with the poisonous carbon monoxide. After a few hours of quitting, the oxygen level begins to rise back to where it should be. This causes a feeling of restless tension and irritabilty. It wears off in time. It's also the reason that patches are such a waste of time. Your body wants to get back to the state it's used to, and if that involves taking in carbon monoxide then so be it.
I've lost count of the number of would-be smokers who tell me that they started smoking again after an anxious period in their life or even a big row with someone, one that they often subconsciously initiated in order to justify them starting to smoke again.
Englishman.
Good luck. I've never smoked cigarettes, but everyone that I know that has quit, said the same thing you just said...That they were ready to quit. Here's wishing you sucess !
Lisa
Good on you, Dan-O, and good luck. I'm almost to the "ready to quit" stage myself. I wake up and cough, I clear my throat all day, and if I can't get to a cig for 5 hours, I start to "need" it. I don't like any of that. (And I understand some studies suggest they kill you. That's something to consider as well, I suppose. LOL)
Thanks for the unwitting encouragement, hopefully we'll both put it behind us. (As soon as I use up this one pack, of course. And I may have a pack stashed in the car. And there's a little pipe tobacco left I'd hate to just throw away. And....)
Dave of the "ever-tightening vice" class
Hey Dave, welcome back!
Good luck
It's also the reason that patches are such a waste of time. Your body wants to get back to the state it's used to, and if that involves taking in carbon monoxide then so be it.
Interesting E-man...I've tried nicotine gum before and it didn't satisfy my tobacco cravings, perhaps this is why.
Dave, you crack me up as always...nice to see you posting a little more reg'lar lately.
Thanks again to everybody for the encouragement. I'm having a pretty intense nictotine craving right now, not fun...
I don't think talking about it is particularly helping...would it not make you focus on your cravings all the more?
Talking or doing whatever to keep myself busy is really the key. If I were to go lie around and do nothing I'd never make it. I'm keeping tabs on this thread, but I'm also doing a crossword puzzle and reading other threads so I'm not just sitting here saying "OK, it's 11:22, I've made it through another minute without a cigarette" lol
Tell you what Dan - I won't smoke today either.
