Well, it has been 36 hours since

[bugslsu9]

my last cigarette. I know I have posted in here about quiting in the past, but, they didn't take. I now have 2 very good reasons for quiting... 1. my wife and I are going on a Disney Cruise (if anyone says anything about Disney or Disney cruises, I will bite your head off, remember, I am a bit edgy) 2. We want to be smoke free for 6 months before we start trying to have a baby. We set sail 7 months and 3 weeks from today!

All of your good vibes, especially to my wife who is having a bit harder time than I am would be appreciated!

[ewagner]

1. I know it's hard

I have not smoked in 23 weeks now.......still occassionally reach for my old pipe but most of the nicotine cravings are gone. My motivation is easy...if I go back smoking again, I'll die....

Your motivation is far more noble.

Good luck and best wishes to you and your wife....

[bugslsu9]

2. Thank you!

Hey, BTW, are you going to the convention next weekend?

[ewagner]

3. Yep!

Looking forward to meeting all you "guys".....

[izzybeans]

4. Good luck! My motivation for quiting was the same-minus the cruise.

It may be hard before pregnancy, but when that comes I'd bet it will be easy. There is always a reminder as to why you are making this change. I decided to quit as soon as we found out she was pregnant. We weren't planning to have a child and I wasn't planning on quiting-at that time.

I went through a period of about two weeks where I felt like I was spinning. If you can make it through that brief time in the beginning you'll have an easy time of it thereafter. You might tell your boss or coworkers what you are doing...my work got a bit sloppy during this period. I forgot about a lot of things and read words in ways that I wouldn't normally.

If I got a craving, when that was still happening, I laced up my running shoes and made like Monty Python. "Run Away! Run Away!" I ran as far away from it as I could. When I got back I no longer felt like smoking.

2.5 years now and going strong. I still enjoy sitting among friends while they smoke. The smell is enjoyable. The taste from what I remember is dreadful. I have no thoughts of going back and lighting up. I don't miss the heavy lungs and the periodic headaches one bit.

My wife smokes on ocassion, but she has this uncanny ability to keep things under control. She can go out with friends and smoke away in a drunken stupor, come home and never think about it. I however would turn into that toothless guy with 50 cigarettes in his mouth in an instant if I tried it again.


Good Luck...again!

[bugslsu9]

5. We just want to make sure that we aren't smoking when we start to try

From what my wife has heard, women who quit once they find out they are pregnant typically go back once they have the child. We do not want that to happen to us. So that is why we are quitting a while before we try.

It also gives us the chance, if we slip to go back to not smoking.

I am actually having a fairly easy time of it so far. She is not thought, that is for sure. But, hey, it is not an easy thing to do.

[izzybeans]

10. It is tough and you are doing the right thing. We wish we could

have planned it the way you are doing it.

I can't speak for mothers but for this father it hasn't been hard to not go back to smoking. I had to get to the point where I no longer found it enjoyable or comforting before I could say that however.

You should keep checking in to update on your progress and of course slip ups (which aren't the end of the world when they happen, a simple fact hard to remember at that particulr moment).

Are you using any "aids", like the patch or gum?

I found the patch to be not helpful with cravings but helpful for psychological reasons, which is probably the most important part. I used regularly but only found it as an excuse to get me through rough spots. "Well I've got the patch on, so this will end eventually." and it did.

Best Wishes!

[bugslsu9]

11. No Aids

I have tried using the patch, the gum, all of them, but they made me sick to my stomach. I am going cold turkey! The only thing I have helping me is regular Dentyne Ice. It makes me want to keep my breath fresh, if that makes sense.

I am now in hour 38, and I am fine. I hope my wife is feeling the same, but, somehow, I doubt it.

[BikeWriter]

15. Good luck to you. I quit cancer sticks 30 years ago...

My kids were small, and I did not want them to smoke. The ex didn't quit and they have all smoked...

[AllegroRondo]

6. You are doing all the right things

quitting with someone else, setting a goal date, planning a reward when you reach the goal, all are big psychological boosts that will help you quit.

[bugslsu9]

9. I hope so

Thank you for the encouragement!

[sexybomber]

7. Good for you!

Are you doing a Christmas cruise? That sounds cool.

[bugslsu9]

8. We are taking a 10 day trip

We leave on Thursday, January 26th and are spending 2 nights in Disney World. Then we go on a 7 day Western Caribbean Cruise. Man I cannot wait! The only problem is, we will both get really sun burnt, because we will be going from Wisconsin, in winter.

[Blue Diadem]

12. Sending good vibes!

Sounds like you have many good things to look forward to, all extra incentives to stay off the nicotine. I think it just came out yesterday that the cig. manufacturers altered the cigarettes to more easily addict women. I didn't hear what they did, but I wonder if that's why it is harder on your wife.

Good luck! Enjoy your cruise!

[bugslsu9]

13. Thank You!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. Good for you and your wife! What you're doing is so very hard, and

so very worthwhile! You WILL succeed, and your child will be so much healthier for your success...Let me tell you a cautionary tale. As far as I know, this is a true story:
There was a pregnant lady, who was also a smoker. Her MD was trying to get her to quit, w/o success. Finally, he got her to come in for an ultrasound. So there she is, and they can see the baby on the monitor. They can see it moving, and the heartbeat. So the doc says, go ahead and light up a cigarette, and draw deeply on it. The lady does as requested...Suddenly, they see the heart stop beating. They stare, and wait...and wait...Then the heart resumes beating. The lady takes the cig and throws it out the window. She stopped smoking at that moment. End of story...Keep up the good work!

[bugslsu9]

17. Holy Jeebus!

That is scary as hell.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

26. It's meant to be scary! That will motivate you and your wife a lot, I

hope. Sometimes you need the negative to provide motivation. Not smoking when there's a child involved means that your baby will be so much healthier! That's the positive side, and that's important also. My mom smoked when she was pregnant with me, and I suspect that some of my health problems stem from that. I'd like to see you two miss the problems associated with smoking.

[bugslsu9]

27. My mom smokes, and did when she was pregnant with me and my brother and

sister. I did not have any type of the normal smoking related stuff, just one thing that was genetically ingrained in me. It was completely unrelated to my mom smoking though, as one of my relatives had the same thing

[MissMillie]

16. bugslsu... keep up the good work

:yourock:

Yeah, it difficult, but I promise that you will NEVER regret it.

[bugslsu9]

18. Thank you Miss Millie

I may have missed it, but how are things going with your man? My computer decided to crash last week, so I was off line most of last week.

[MissMillie]

23. haven't heard from him

except for one email he sent (and it was a chain e-mail). His son came home from college for the summer, and Jay disappeared. He says he's "busy" w/ his son.

I have two boys at home and I work a full-time job (he doesn't)... I can't begin to wonder what is taking up all of his time. Either he's not interested anymore, or he is terrible at time management. I'm betting it's the former.

[bugslsu9]

24. I'm Sorry Miss Millie

You need one of these as much as I do :hug:

[Debbi801]

19. Good for you!!

Congratulations!

And i love Disney World, so you won't hear anything bad about Disney from me. :-) I'm envious about the cruise. My family keeps vetoing that. We are going back to Disney World though in 2006. Only 379 days to go. Not that I'm counting or anything. LOL

Debbi

[bugslsu9]

22. How old are the people?

Everyone will enjoy it

I leave in 238 Days!!! :woohoo:

[Zuni]

20. 16 days for me!!!!!!!!!!

good luck. I am still not out of the weeds, but it does get better

[bugslsu9]

21. If you need help, PM me!

[Qanisqineq]

25. Good luck! I wish I could do it

Especially since I found out I have a disease that often causes heart attacks and strokes in women in their late 30's! Ugh!

Have fun on the Disney Cruise! I won't make fun, I am a hopeless Disney fanatic. :D

[bugslsu9]

29. You can do it!

Don't let yourself say you can't. I know that you can. If my wife and I can, so can you!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

28. Thank you for thinking about your baby....

when making your decision to quit smoking. :)

I was raised in a smoking household and it was sheer misery for me growing up. I was born with allergies and the smoking around me made them that much worse. Today, my sensitivity to smoke is off the charts. I thank the gods I live in a town that has strict smoking laws.

You are doing your future son/daughter a HUGE benefit -- they will thank you some day.

Continued good luck to you and your wife! :hi: