smokefree

Welcome to "Smoke Free" My Story

So you have read some of the facts that I have collected from reading articles. So what do you think? Are you ready to take the plunge?? Don't know if you want to quit or not? Why not ask your body!! Ask your kids or your pets!

So now it is August 16, 2002. It has been three months now that I am SMOKE FREE! I do believe I am going to make it this time. I am going to be updating this page again in a few months. Will keep this an open page with updates ever few months as to how we are doing.

So my story goes like this. I started smoking after I joined the Army. Why? Good question. Everywhere I went there was smoke in the air. I did love to smell cigarette smoke in the open air. Still do! I guess I just got curious as to what they tasted like. So one evening I went downstairs in the barracks where I lived at the time. There were candy and cigarette machines there. I put my money in and got a pack. I chose the one called Salem (menthol). No reason as to which one I chose, just liked the ads I saw. Then I lit one up and took a puff. Let me tell you it was nothing like "spring time". I coughed and choked for a while, but kept working on it. Next thing I knew, I was smoking. WOW!! Just like all the others out there. Hooked and did not know it. I was 28 or 29 years old when I started.

The most I smoked was about 3 packs a day while in the Army. As the years went by and I grew older nothing seemed wrong. I did not notice any of the problems that you would hear them talking about on the television. Seemed like they were really cracking down on the smoking thing though as the years kept going by. Still I noticed no problems.

Back about 12 or 15 years ago I had tried to stop. My husband and I both threw out our cigarettes and lighters on the way home from work one evening. I think I would have made it back then IF, where I worked did not make you take a break at a table with everyone else at the same time. Talk about something on fire, nothing but a huge cloud of smoke where everyone was at. So my attempt to stop lasted one month. Then I started again. This was my only attempt to stop smoking at that time.

I still had not noticed any problems to speak of. But, I am here to tell you that the problems will not walk up and smack you in the head, and say, hey, stupid, you are killing me!! No, it is a nice and slow thing that creeps up on you. You will not notice anything until many years later. That is when all the damage is done. The time of your life when you should be able to retire, slow down, relax and enjoy the "golden years". HAHA That is when your body pays you back for all the smoking you did when younger. So you can't enjoy your golden years, because you are too busy trying to take your next breath of air. IF YOU CAN'T BREATHE, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS! Think about it for a bit. See how long you can hold your breath.

My heart has always been a little funny. As I remember in my teenage years, I was to memorize a poem for school. I spent lots of time reading and re reading the poem trying to memorize it. That night I lay in bed reciting the poem over and over. Then all of a sudden, my heart felt like it had enlarged in my chest. The feeling I got was like a "fluttering" in my chest as the heart was trying to beat. I say "trying" because it would beat real fast, then nothing for a long period of time, then maybe two or three beats, then nothing for a bit, then beat real fast again. This went on for about five minutes or so. During the time when my heart felt like it was not beating I grabbed my wrist and felt for a pulse, there was nothing. Then my heart went back to regular beating. Like nothing had happened. There was no pain during this time. Over the years, I have noticed this happening with my heart when under lots of stress from work or what ever. Once it got so bad, I was short of breath and could not get my breath. I ended up laying down on the floor in the greenhouse where I worked at the time, until it passed. My heart felt like it was going to explode in my chest. Still no pain during this time. To this day my heart still does this crazy beating pattern. It does not take much to set it off. Now tell me this. Why would anyone in there right mind start smoking???? Does "STUPID" come to mind???

I think this woke me up!

Over the last few years I have noticed some shortness of breath. Then this April, my younger brother had a heart attack and died. Six months earlier, in November he had a heart attack. He had open heart surgery where they placed 4 stints in his heart. He seemed to be doing fine was back home and recovering. My younger brother started smoking and drinking when he was a teenager. He was three years younger than me when he died. I was only 54 at the time. I did not think of my self as middle age or old until this happened.

So this got me to thinking, we are getting no younger, I told my husband that I wanted us both to stop smoking. He said ok. So as of the 16 May 2002, I started the patch. My husband is stopping on his own. He is down to two smokes a day now. I went on the patch for the length of the program and now I am happy to say I am SMOKE and PATCH FREE. For those out there that don't think the patch works. WRONG! The patch helps and the other part is yourself, You need to take control of your body again. THE PATCH DOES WORK!

I miss them, I won't say that I don't. I have had my moments when I could kill. But, I am a fairly stubborn person and always have been. The thought of not having one at times makes me have "hot flashes", this is not funny!! So I ate M&M's til I drove my husband nuts. I have now switched to tootsie pops. They work better, they last longer and it gives my hands something to do. heehee I do get up and go outside a lot, cause that is where I smoked. I did not allow any one to smoke in the house. So now I find myself feeling stupid wandering around outside with nothing to do but suck on a tootsie pop. I busy myself with working on the computer and my web site. If I get tired of that I work on my quilting. I go for walks with my three dogs or sometimes just do nothing and walk outside and just enjoy taking deep, deep long breaths of fresh air and just relax and marvel at how the human body can heal it's self "IF" given a chance.

At this point in my life, I can only pray and hope that nothing "bad" shows up health wise as the years go by because of smoking.

Please go to the check in dates below to read about my progress. See how I am doing without smoking.

GO TO: CHECK IN DATES

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