Quit smoking ideas

[daemonicusxx]

I just kind of thought about this and wanted ya'lls input. ive smoked since i was 18, and have tried to quit over the years with no success. i was kind of thinking about starting something at the ambulance company i work at. i know there are alot of smokers where i work and i figured if we all came together and attempted to quit smoking together, that it might work, even if its just a few of us.

has anyone ever worked at a place where this has worked? maybe a fire station quitting together?

maybe make it a competetion, see who can last the longest. i understand that everyone would have to be honest with themselfs and the rest of the quitters on wether they had smoked or not.

i was just looking for some ideas, or if anyone had heard of an idea like this before, im sure im not the first person to think about it.

any ideas??

 

[DOCMEDIC]

To be honest... I have seen group quitting be a disaster! For lack of a better explanation, have you ever seen 5 -6 people going through withdrawls at the same time in the same room?? It's not pretty... Some of the guys at a fire station I worked at tried that... It got ugly QUICK!~

There are some new Rx's out there that are having huge success..

CHANTIX™ (varenicline) is covered by most insurance and has little to no side affects.

--Don

 

[firecoins]

I quit smoking cold turkey. Don't ask how I got started smoking cold turkey to being with.

 

[Onceamedic]

Hey there.. I quit smoking one year, 11 months, 7 days, 13 hours and 11 minutes ago and I hardly miss it at all....

Seriously tho, this is my second quit.... I once stopped for 7 years and started again.... smoked for another 10 before I quit again. Let me tell you, its a tough thing to do. People that have never smoked have no idea.... and its a lot harder for some than for others...

This time around was a lot easier than the first time. I prepared for it by talking to my doctor and researching a lot. There are a lot of great resources out there. I used Welbutrin also. It helped a great deal. I am very grateful to be cigarette free. Good luck to you. Its so worth it.

 

[emtkelley]

My mom's vascular dr. prescribed me Chantix. I am getting it filled very soon! Without insurance, the pills cost as much daily as a pack of cigarettes, the dr. told me.

The thing that got me to want to quit smoking is my mom's struggle with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Over the last few month I saw her leg deteriorate dramatically until she was in so much pain they had to operate (she is not a good candidate for surgery of any kind at this point). She is 85lbs soaking wet and has sh** for a vascular system. Her leg turned cold and she lost her pedal pulses. The dr. connected her femoral arteries together so the bad one could fed off the good one. We were uncertain as to whether she would keep her leg and to be honest, that is still very much a contant fear with us.

To top this off, she has Alzheimer's and I quit my job to take care of her and to give my elderly father a break (he quit 30 years ago and is very active). Somehow I will juggle Paramedic class and taking care of them. She requires 24 hour care so when I am not there, my father takes care of her. She is wheelchair bound and in diapers now. She is also in constant pain and doesn't remember having surgery. We have had a home health nurse come in as she developed a huge blister on her leg along with an ulcer. Sh has been wearing a uniboot for compression to keep the swelling down. My father refuses to put her in a nursing home, bless his heart.

Because of her smoking (she hasn't smoked in 6 years now), I have decided not to put my daughter through this and I am going to help myself now, before it is too late. Seeing first hand what smoking does and how it effects not only myself but my family is enough for me to quit. I don't want to end up like my mom.

 

[Guardian]

My mom's vascular dr. prescribed me Chantix. I am getting it filled very soon! Without insurance, the pills cost as much daily as a pack of cigarettes, the dr. told me.

The thing that got me to want to quit smoking is my mom's struggle with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Over the last few month I saw her leg deteriorate dramatically until she was in so much pain they had to operate (she is not a good candidate for surgery of any kind at this point). She is 85lbs soaking wet and has sh** for a vascular system. Her leg turned cold and she lost her pedal pulses. The dr. connected her femoral arteries together so the bad one could fed off the good one. We were uncertain as to whether she would keep her leg and to be honest, that is still very much a contant fear with us.

To top this off, she has Alzheimer's and I quit my job to take care of her and to give my elderly father a break (he quit 30 years ago and is very active). Somehow I will juggle Paramedic class and taking care of them. She requires 24 hour care so when I am not there, my father takes care of her. She is wheelchair bound and in diapers now. She is also in constant pain and doesn't remember having surgery. We have had a home health nurse come in as she developed a huge blister on her leg along with an ulcer. Sh has been wearing a uniboot for compression to keep the swelling down. My father refuses to put her in a nursing home, bless his heart.

Because of her smoking (she hasn't smoked in 6 years now), I have decided not to put my daughter through this and I am going to help myself now, before it is too late. Seeing first hand what smoking does and how it effects not only myself but my family is enough for me to quit. I don't want to end up like my mom.

I'm sorry about your mother. She's very lucky to have a daughter like you though.

You made some really great points in your post, especially about the PAD. PAD is one of those very common and devastating smoker's disease that nobody outside the medical profession seems to know about. I think there needs to be more public education about it. I’ve seen people in their 40s and 50s with it. Maybe it would get more press if they named it the leg rot disease.

 

[emtkelley]

That is exactly what my mom's dr. said. That her veins were rotting. She has had so many complications with her vascular system and yet she kept on smoking, even after she had major surgery on the other leg about 25 years ago. During that surgery, they discovered an anyurism behind her lung. She spent 23 days in ICU on a vent.

I am ashamed to say I am angry my mother didn't take care of herself. She got to the point where she was purchasing cigarettes and hiding them from my dad. The few times she did get caught, my dad threatened her wth divorce if she didn't stop. Now she is paying the price. Sadly, the once vibrant woman who enjoyed dancing with her husband of 61 years now sits in a wheelchair in a diaper wanting to die.

 

[babygirl2882]

Wow that kinda thing is never told in schools, I mean were told that you'll get lung cancer and all that but they never tell you just how bad it is. My grandmother died from emphysema before I was born so I grew up with my aunt telling me about her and how she went from an active wonderful person to a grumpy mean old lady, her last words to her were "Dammit leave me alone, I'm fine." She did die on a day that was perfect for her April 1, smoking needs to be seen as a sick disgusting thing before we will get kids to stop smoking, instead of them saying, "Oh its just a stress reliever I only do it every once in a while." They can be show exactly what it will do to them, Ok sorry for my rant and I hope I didn't offend anyone.

 

[emtkelley]

No offense taken. Your words are the truth and it is so heartbreaking to watch a loved one die at their own hand.
I appologize for my rant though. I am discouraged and torn apart inside.

 

[emtwannabe]

My grandmother had lung Ca that had mestastisized(sp) to her brain and her spine. She went into a hospice just after Christmas 2000. She was stable up until January 16th 2001. Then she literally fought for 3 days to die. She was a long term smoker. It was one helluva thing to watch. My dad has been smoking for 45 years, and he is a diabetic w/ a hx of CVA. I am 99.9% sure that he is gonna wind up the exact same way.

This sucks major.

 

[VentMedic]

This week my avatar is in memory of the famous women who have smoked. Many of whom have died with some form of COPD or lung cancer. Sophia Loren, my avatar earlier this week, quit early in her career and claimed to smoke mostly for her movies.

Spending any time with someone who is suffering from any respiratory disease is an eye opener. It is hard to discribe and comprehend what it is like to not be able to "catch one's breath". I often have RT students just starting out run up several flights of stairs and then tell them to imagine that breathless state during all of their waking hours, which there will be many if you can not breath. Sleep will not be easy. Many times when a patient is given high flow oxygen, some mistake "hypoxic drive" for just plain exhaustion. Their oxygenation needs are met for the moment and they can relax often into a very sombulent state. Yes, they may need to be on a ventilator, but some long term COPD patients will actually ask to be intubated to get some relief.

I, too, smoked in my younger days working in EMS. When I started working part time at the Veteran's Hospital as an OJT Respiratory Tech, I was introduced to a whole world that previously I would only see once in awhile for a few minutes on my ambulance. Trying to keep several patients comfortable with their breathing for 12 hours is vastly different from doing "life saving interventions" for a few minutes and then dropping off at the ER. Imagine being in the respiratory ward, with patients all around you begging for your assistance to breathe easier. Imagine being in a room with 20 trach patients, many with with recent radical neck surgery (which isn't pretty). To watch patients hack up their lungs with sputum flying out in all directions, is a little unnerving, even today after doing RT for many years. Not so surprising, many patients still want to have a cigarette. Some not because of the addiction but admittedly have lost all hope and want to hasten their death

You can get some idea of this the next time you do a routine run to a sub-acute that warehouses 20 - 100 ventilator patients and just as many non-vented trach patients. Some are there for their end stage COPD. Those that can talk may be able to give you some advice you can't ignore. Just ask the RTs there to direct you to such patient.

One of my both favorite (usually healthy bodies compared to my usual work load) and least favorite chores at work once a year is spirometry/lung function testing on the local firefighters/paramedics for their physicals. I can usually "see the future" of who will become a regular for the RT service in a short time. Usually it is the smokers. Some are still in their 30s. The hospital will provide smoking cessation counseling for these men and women also. Some accept it, some don't. The next year, I'll print out a trend report for those that don't with a message that their lung function clock is ticking.

Usefull links
http://www.lungsandiego.org/tobacco/article_dont_give_up.asp

http://www.yourlunghealth.org/

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/

Yahoo Groups (and others) have scores of online communities. Most are private to reduce spam, since cigarette smokers are targets for such advertisements. Registration though usually isn't a problem.

If you live close to a teaching hospital or medical university, you may be able to volunteer for a new product on the market. Besides medications, many behavioral scientists may sponsor groups for their research purposes. You may feel like a human guinea pig, but you will have access to information and therapies that would be costly if self-pay. So, there are options.

Good luck to those that have already quit or are planning to take the first step into being a nonsmoker.

 

[emtkelley]

Anyone want a ciggy?

 

[brassguy]

CHANTIX™ (varenicline) is covered by most insurance and has little to no side affects.

--Don

The only side effect I have noticed that I DO NOT LIKE is abnormal dreams!! When I was taking it (thinking about taking it again) I was having some really weird dreams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[VentMedic]

http://healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=606934

Cigarette Additives May Make It Tougher to Quit
More than 100 are deemed potentially harmful, study says

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- More than 100 of 599 additives that might be in cigarettes are potentially harmful, with some making cigarettes even more addictive and others making it difficult for people to detect tobacco smoke in their midst, a new study contends.

Trade secrecy about the ingredients in cigarettes makes it impossible to know how many of the additives that appear on a 1994 list are actually in tobacco products today. Still, there's plenty of reason to be alarmed, said study lead author Dr. Michael Rabinoff, an assistant research psychiatrist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"They're making people less aware of tobacco [smoke] and making the cigarette more addictive," he said. "There is so much going on with these additives that it's an uncontrolled experiment on billions of people around the planet."

Contrary to what smokers might assume, cigarettes aren't simply tobacco rolled up in pieces of paper. "They're highly engineered by the industry to smoke in certain ways and taste in certain ways," said James Pankow, a professor at Oregon Health & Science University who studies cigarette smoke and tobacco additives.

http://healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=606934

 

[BossyCow]

I quit 12 years and nine days ago. I realized that while quitting was difficult but doable, the really hard part was not starting back up again. We had a respiratory therapist teach the 'Freedom from Smoking' class at a hospital where I worked. Very informative, with a lot of hints about what to do to minimize cravings and avoiding replacing one bad habit with another. Also a good list of strategies for identifying your smoking triggers and overcoming them.

I agree about the group quitting thing being a bad idea, because when the first member of the group gives up, it makes it easier for the next one to do the same.

 

[dschambers3]

Quit!

I have told you to quit numerous times, dingleberry!

 

[akflightmedic]

You are right. Nonsmokers do not know how hard it is to quit smoking, however just because we do not smoke does not mean we do not have other highly addictive and equally devastating habits.

First I will rant and then I will share...lol.

Yes, smoking is bad and it kills, not only those CHOOSING to do the habit but many of those around the smoker as well. For the most part, I have found smokers to be very rude and upset when their "rights" are impeded upon.

Whenever I mention this attitude, the smokers around me always say "oh not me", but I know it is not true. They tell of how courteous they are to others, etc but then it does not take long before I am able to observe them being the inconsiderate smoker they are.

But I fully support and encourage anyone who recognizes this hazard and wishes to discontinue it. It takes a very strong person to do so.

First, you have to want to quit. No magic drug, pill, procedure is going to make you stop. Same with weight loss, you have to WANT to do it. You have to be in the right frame of mind. Until you get to that point, you are only setting yourself up for failure. You can not make excuses. It is something you just have to do. Otherwise, regardless of what interventions you are doing, you will find a reason to justify a relapse.

For me, I say just set your mind and go cold turkey. If you say you are not going to do it, then don't do it. Yes, there will always be days where you can smell, taste, whatever...but you have to resist. You have to have a diversion and your diversion should be something positive, not a twinkie or ice cream.

I do not think this feeling will ever go away. Years later, the urge could suddenly strike you and you just have to resist. This is all part of being an addict.

It involves many lifestyle changes. You will now have to change routines. As humans, our nature is to establish a routine and follow it. Now because you are removing something you have done for years. your entire daily routine is off balance. You must find a new balance. No longer do you have that morning cigarette and coffee, post coitus smoke, stressed out smoke, whatever. No longer should you take a break every hour and hang out with your buddies outside puffing away. If you follow them, you will smoke again. Everything in your life is now different. Change is ok, but you have to make the right changes and accept them.

I find the weaning off routine is a waste of time. To tell yourself you will keep cutting back until you are at nothing is a silly idea. Again, cause you will find reasons to smoke extra or reward yourself for whatever reason and next thing you know, you are back to your old ways.

Just quit and use medication as an adjunct, but just do it!

Now for my story....I am a gambler. Just as devastating and it affects other people. In my situation, it did not affect their health, but it did affect our quality of life for many years. I fight everyday not to gamble. It is amazing how it sneaks up on me. I will think about it and get those old feelings. I have to divert my mind and focus on other things.

I am an addict and will always be one. I just no longer practice my habit and it is a struggle. Some days better than others, some days not so much. I had to change my life completely around. I had to avoid certain websites. I had to get new friends as I was in a circle that supported and condoned my habit. I had to inform friends and family of why I was changing and how they could help me.

So no, I dont know what it is like to quit cigarettes, but I do know what it is to be an addict and I do not believe the struggle and feelings are any different as I could go gamble at any time. I miss the feelings, the sensation but I remind myself how I am making my life better for me and those around me.

Best of luck to any of you that are quitting or contemplating quitting. I truly hope you succede and look forward to the day when we are all able to breathe cleaner and not be forced to inhale or smell secondhand smoke, especially our children who have no voice in the matter.

 

[daemonicusxx]

I have told you to quit numerous times, dingleberry!

i quit for a while, just for you. I thought it would be a good idea to get everyone to quit JUST FOR the attitudes and moods that would be going around. maybe give dispatch a taste of their own medicine.

 

[DFDEMS]

To be honest... I have seen group quitting be a disaster! For lack of a better explanation, have you ever seen 5 -6 people going through withdrawls at the same time in the same room?? It's not pretty... Some of the guys at a fire station I worked at tried that... It got ugly QUICK!~

There are some new Rx's out there that are having huge success..

CHANTIX™ (varenicline) is covered by most insurance and has little to no side affects.

--Don

I have tried the chantix twice. It made me want to peel skin off of people with a potato peeler I got so angry while I was taking it. There are actually some side effects to it, I cant remember the site that goes into some of them but if you Google it I am sure you will find it.

As far as ideas to quit I don’t have any, if anything I need some ideas to quit myself. Goodluck!

 

[medman123]

Don't use any Rx (at 1st); Try a simple approach, a RUBBER BAND! Put a rubber band around you wrist and every time you have the urge to smoke, snap you’re self with it. Remember..... Rx=$$$$$$ rubber band=next to nothing. It can’t hurt to try.... well maybe a little.