Hi Everyone!
I
had been smoking since I was 14 years old,I say
had because I have been smoke free for 3 months now, and let me tell you every time I tried to quit it was not an easy task.
When
I was say in my 20's I tried to quit, Why? Because I was smoking
generic cigarettes and I couldn't breath. So needless to say I stopped
that day. ( for about a year) and guess what? I went back. (stupid) I
know.
And then In my 40's I tried again, well this time
I tried it was way more difficult because(I felt so sick), I couldn't
take all the nausea I was getting.( I didn't try any method to help me
quit back then).
Now at least 3 years ago they came
out with the "
e-cigarettes"
(
what are E-cigarettes? E-Cigarette looks, feels and smokes just like a real cigarette, but
has none of the harmful substances found in real cigarettes. It emits a
virtually odorless vapor that simulates actual smoke, but dissipates
quickly in the air and It's battery operated "it is a
cigarette alternative".)
And well I was at our county fair and
there was a vendor the for these
cigarettes and just for a $125.00 I was
going to quit smoking. " I thought wow what an idea you smoke vapor how
cool". Little did I know at the time that you had to still buy the
cartridges for these and that would be ok because I would be tar free. (
Yaaaa!)
But yet again I fell to the old mighty
cigarette, as the
e-cigarette did not taste quite the same as my real
cigarette. Then my doctor prescribed
Chantix for me, well this all
sounded fine and dandy but I'm really skeptical about what I take.
So after reading the side effects I decided not to take it.
"Side effects included Nausea,Headaches,Vomiting,Gas,Constipation,Trouble sleeping,Unusual dreams,or change in taste may occur".
Now this is only the first sentence on list of side effects, to me this
meant I just wasted $35.00 in prescription fees. ( now don't get me
wrong
chantix works for a lot of people, it just wasn't for me).
So here I am 5 years later I went to Florida and came home, my doctor had kept hounding me to quit smoking, and (
yes I knew for years how bad it was for me).
But it's not as easy as they make it sound. (Doctor: just quit smoking)
" Me: OK when I get around to it", this was basically it
no one can tell you to quit, you have to want to.
That's the biggy how big was the
Want to,truthfully it wasn't as big for me at the time, I enjoyed smoking.
But
after Florida I said OK it's time. I went to doctors said OK if you
want me to quit smoking I would like a prescription for the
Nicotine patch, so he
wrote one. And to my amazement my insurance company actually paid for the
nicotine patch "WOW" . He wrote me a script for stage 2 to start, then after so many
patches I think 48 patches, then I was to go to stage 1 (one is a weaker patch).
And here's what happened there. I did the patch for I'd say 4 days (guessing here) but they made me really dizzy. "
I didn't know this at time but that means they are to strong for you".
So
by the 4th day I stopped putting
patch on , and I was semi OK but still
having some cravings. Then I remembered all of those
e-cigarettes I
bought, and they were just sitting in desk collecting dust.
"So I decided to charge that baby up(
e-cigarette) and give it a whirl" and much to my amazement it was
OK.
I was smoking again(Yaaaaa!) but it was just vapor. (No harmful chemicals)
'Now
of course there was a weight gain here "guessing about 20lbs" but think
of it this way ( I'm preserving my lungs, adding years to my life) so I
gain a few pounds I'll be able to take it off later.
So
now it's later "Ugh" it has been 4 months since I have quit smoking and
yes this method of the
patch and then
e-cigarettes does work.
It's
time to work on the
weight loss but let me tell you this "I think that
with the sense of still smoking, (with the
e-cigarette) I'm not grabbing
for something to stick in mouth any more". That sensation has gone
away.
Which means I am ready to start losing weight again.
I want you to know though after not smoking for a while, be prepared for your sense of smell to come back.
"
I can tell when someone else smokes "I can smell it one them, (let me
tell you it's not a good smell) and to think I smelled the same way.
"YIKES" but they say x-smokers are the worse critics, and I am actually
starting to believe that.
I
really think I have this beat this time, I am still smoking the
e-cigarettes mind you, but I am not smoking the real ones ( which
e-cigarettes are a lot less money to buy). I will keep posting as the
months go on, hopefully I can help at least one person with my method .
OK here I am this is month 4 and still no smoking with this method of the e-cigarettes, this was by far the easiest way to quit. I didn't feel sick all day long from not smoking as I did in the past. For anyone out there that really would like to quit smoking, try this method and see if it helps you out.
SO, here is an update on the non- smoking. It is now January 2012 and I am happy to say that I am still smoke free "YA!" it has been difficult I will not lie, and the weight gain you get is very difficult to take off after wards. But I am starting to feel a lot better since I quit, not to mention the money I am saving. I don't know about were you are but here the cigarettes were almost $9.00 a pack, multiply that by 7 and I was spending $63.00 a week to blow smoke. That sounds a little ridiculous but it is true, I could have spent that money on a lot of other things.
Best of luck, and I would like hearing from you if you try this method to see if it worked for you also.
"You can never quit. Winners never quit, and
quitters never win."
- Ted Turner
