In need of prayer, please...
- Thread starter Farmgal
- Start date
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Oh, didn't know you smoked cigarettes. So did I - 50 years, from age 5 to 55. (dad owned a grocery/meat store - and it was easy to 'purloin' from all the open packs laying around, and all the kids smoked). Smoked cig's and smoked meats growing up, then went on to meat cutting w/chain stores, then on the road as a supervisor, and so on; 2-3 packs a day. And I was an inveterate smoker, too - dedicated to it wholeheartedly. Quit? Naaaa....
But, by 55, I had an older customer come in when I was a store manager at RadioShack (long story, hurt my back, had to change jobs, etc.) who stated to me, "Oh, you smoke.... my wife smoked. Died from it. She wouldn't NOT smoke... I stopped smoking years ago, became a non-smoker..." He could smell it on me - my clothes.
I said, "You quit, she didn't..."
He stated, "I never said that. I became a non-smoker. There is a world of difference. You can't just 'quit' smoking. If you quit something, there is a void, a gap, a desire to fill that void. The most logical answer? Start smoking again. That is why most 'quit smoking' logistics fail and fail again and again. You have to 'ascend' to something higher, something greater. To become a NON-smoker.. That was my goal. In 3 days after stopping smoking, you lose the physical dependence on the drug. From there, it is an emotional dependence only. First, set a date you will stop smoking. Then smoke all you want up to that date. Change your brand to what you hate and smoke lots of them. Until you get sick of smoking them - you are breaking that strong bond. Announce to yourself the day you will stop smoking, 90 days away. (I picked Christmas Day). Set a financial goal; if you stop smoking you can afford this... Then, finally, indulge in something you really like... a candy, a sweet, something you can carry around where your cigarettes used to be. Try it. It works!" and he left the store with his purchases.
I tried it. I set a date of Christmas day. I changed brands. I was a Marlboro smoker. I changed to a lite. Then I changed to an ultra lite, then an ultra lite Virginia Slims Menthol. And I smoked them profusely, until I thought I was going to puke. It was like sucking on a straw.
I asked my family to give me bags of sugar-free candies for Christmas. And I bought my wife a GPS. At the time, it was expensive - $550 expensive, and put it on a RadioShack card I opened. It was $27 a month. My cigarettes were over $80 a month. I gave it to her on Christmas day, explaining that if I become a non-smoker we could afford it (money, as always, was exceptionally tight... like barely $5.00 a month without falling behind). So, I had a financial commitment, too. And, the timing was right, too. The week after Christmas was termed 'the thirteenth month' - we did as much business in that week as we would do in a normal month. So I didn't have time to smoke anyways!
I loaded up my pocket with candies and extra bags in my lunchbag and went off to work. Instead of the usual 3 cigarettes on the way to work, I had sugar-free candies. WOW! They tasted so much better than the dismal cigarettes I'd forced myself to smoke! And I didn't have to go outside in the freezing cold, either! But, I'd learned from previous candies not to digest more than 5 or 6 per day or they would give you a very bad digestive result, so it caused a craving to wait it out until I could have another one..... a craving like I did with cigarettes....and I stopped smoking. I'd become a NON-smoker! And have not had one single puff of one ingle cigarette since, 11 years ago! I was happy, my wife was happy, my kids were happy. Try it!
But, by 55, I had an older customer come in when I was a store manager at RadioShack (long story, hurt my back, had to change jobs, etc.) who stated to me, "Oh, you smoke.... my wife smoked. Died from it. She wouldn't NOT smoke... I stopped smoking years ago, became a non-smoker..." He could smell it on me - my clothes.
I said, "You quit, she didn't..."
He stated, "I never said that. I became a non-smoker. There is a world of difference. You can't just 'quit' smoking. If you quit something, there is a void, a gap, a desire to fill that void. The most logical answer? Start smoking again. That is why most 'quit smoking' logistics fail and fail again and again. You have to 'ascend' to something higher, something greater. To become a NON-smoker.. That was my goal. In 3 days after stopping smoking, you lose the physical dependence on the drug. From there, it is an emotional dependence only. First, set a date you will stop smoking. Then smoke all you want up to that date. Change your brand to what you hate and smoke lots of them. Until you get sick of smoking them - you are breaking that strong bond. Announce to yourself the day you will stop smoking, 90 days away. (I picked Christmas Day). Set a financial goal; if you stop smoking you can afford this... Then, finally, indulge in something you really like... a candy, a sweet, something you can carry around where your cigarettes used to be. Try it. It works!" and he left the store with his purchases.
I tried it. I set a date of Christmas day. I changed brands. I was a Marlboro smoker. I changed to a lite. Then I changed to an ultra lite, then an ultra lite Virginia Slims Menthol. And I smoked them profusely, until I thought I was going to puke. It was like sucking on a straw.
I asked my family to give me bags of sugar-free candies for Christmas. And I bought my wife a GPS. At the time, it was expensive - $550 expensive, and put it on a RadioShack card I opened. It was $27 a month. My cigarettes were over $80 a month. I gave it to her on Christmas day, explaining that if I become a non-smoker we could afford it (money, as always, was exceptionally tight... like barely $5.00 a month without falling behind). So, I had a financial commitment, too. And, the timing was right, too. The week after Christmas was termed 'the thirteenth month' - we did as much business in that week as we would do in a normal month. So I didn't have time to smoke anyways!
I loaded up my pocket with candies and extra bags in my lunchbag and went off to work. Instead of the usual 3 cigarettes on the way to work, I had sugar-free candies. WOW! They tasted so much better than the dismal cigarettes I'd forced myself to smoke! And I didn't have to go outside in the freezing cold, either! But, I'd learned from previous candies not to digest more than 5 or 6 per day or they would give you a very bad digestive result, so it caused a craving to wait it out until I could have another one..... a craving like I did with cigarettes....and I stopped smoking. I'd become a NON-smoker! And have not had one single puff of one ingle cigarette since, 11 years ago! I was happy, my wife was happy, my kids were happy. Try it!
Farmgal,
I too smoked for 47 years, from 13 years old until 60 years old. Started out light for a few teenage years.
Then I smoked about a half a pack of Pall Mall when I went to Vietnam, and came back smoking between 2 & 3 packs a day. Over the years I tried Tapering off, Tried smoking real heavy until I got sick of it, Tried the Patch a few times. None of this worked. With the breathing problems I was having, I figured I already had Cancer, so why bother quitting.
Then I went to a DR for the first time in 17 years, because I had a Chest pain. They took X-rays & found a dark area in my chest. So they set up a Cat-scan, and it turned out the dark spot was an Aortic Aneurysm. Then they put me through a whole mess of tests, like MRA, Ultrasound, Nuclear Stress Test, etc, etc, and found absolutely No Cancer!!
So I quit smoking Cold Turkey the next day, because I figured "Since I don't already have Cancer, I might as well avoid getting it". I was 60 years old at that time & haven't smoked in 9 years.
I've got all kinds of Heart, Aorta, and Lung problems, and thanks to a Bungling Dr, bad Kidneys (CKD), but NO CANCER.
To me that's the one I don't want !!
So it seems to me that "Fear" could be one of the best motivators. Fear of getting Cancer.
Hang in there girl !! Take good care of that Boy, and We'll keep praying for you both.
Bear
I too smoked for 47 years, from 13 years old until 60 years old. Started out light for a few teenage years.
Then I smoked about a half a pack of Pall Mall when I went to Vietnam, and came back smoking between 2 & 3 packs a day. Over the years I tried Tapering off, Tried smoking real heavy until I got sick of it, Tried the Patch a few times. None of this worked. With the breathing problems I was having, I figured I already had Cancer, so why bother quitting.
Then I went to a DR for the first time in 17 years, because I had a Chest pain. They took X-rays & found a dark area in my chest. So they set up a Cat-scan, and it turned out the dark spot was an Aortic Aneurysm. Then they put me through a whole mess of tests, like MRA, Ultrasound, Nuclear Stress Test, etc, etc, and found absolutely No Cancer!!
So I quit smoking Cold Turkey the next day, because I figured "Since I don't already have Cancer, I might as well avoid getting it". I was 60 years old at that time & haven't smoked in 9 years.
I've got all kinds of Heart, Aorta, and Lung problems, and thanks to a Bungling Dr, bad Kidneys (CKD), but NO CANCER.
To me that's the one I don't want !!
So it seems to me that "Fear" could be one of the best motivators. Fear of getting Cancer.
Hang in there girl !! Take good care of that Boy, and We'll keep praying for you both.
Bear
Wow... I feel so blessed to have just joined and yet I have already received so much encouragement and so many well wishes! What a great group to be a part of! I thank you each from the bottom of my heart. Truly do!
I've been smoking for years...40 to be exact, and I ain't braggin' about it either. I wish I'd never started, but in true smoker fashion, I just do enjoy em a lot, as I'm sure all of you who have managed to quit did as well. I'm gonna try to cut back. I'm already on the ultra lights, have been for years, so going in that direction ain't gonna help, however, I am gonna go to the shorts instead of the 100's and taper down at a proactive pace. I've quit before, but it never lasted past six months. I think the idea of rearranging my thinking from "quitting" to just being a non-smoker may actually help, so thanks a bunch! I'd like to quit and never miss it a day...and my prayer is that the good Lord will just take that urge away and I'll be successful. With Him, I can do all things!
My boy is feeling much better! So very thankful for that! He is eating now, and eating sensibly, which is something I could never get him to do before. I think this has jolted him into reality, and believing that all things happen for a reason, I am no longer looking at this disease as the beginning of an awful life ahead of him, but instead, am now looking at it as a NEW beginning...where he can beat it and live a much healthier lifestyle. I think sometimes we just have to step back and see what good can come of it when things like this happen...after all, If God is with us, there is no enemy big enough to cause us to fail, right?
Again...many, many thanks! I fully believe that all of the prayers for us have gotten us this far, and with continued prayers we will be just fine. <3
I've been smoking for years...40 to be exact, and I ain't braggin' about it either. I wish I'd never started, but in true smoker fashion, I just do enjoy em a lot, as I'm sure all of you who have managed to quit did as well. I'm gonna try to cut back. I'm already on the ultra lights, have been for years, so going in that direction ain't gonna help, however, I am gonna go to the shorts instead of the 100's and taper down at a proactive pace. I've quit before, but it never lasted past six months. I think the idea of rearranging my thinking from "quitting" to just being a non-smoker may actually help, so thanks a bunch! I'd like to quit and never miss it a day...and my prayer is that the good Lord will just take that urge away and I'll be successful. With Him, I can do all things!
My boy is feeling much better! So very thankful for that! He is eating now, and eating sensibly, which is something I could never get him to do before. I think this has jolted him into reality, and believing that all things happen for a reason, I am no longer looking at this disease as the beginning of an awful life ahead of him, but instead, am now looking at it as a NEW beginning...where he can beat it and live a much healthier lifestyle. I think sometimes we just have to step back and see what good can come of it when things like this happen...after all, If God is with us, there is no enemy big enough to cause us to fail, right?
Again...many, many thanks! I fully believe that all of the prayers for us have gotten us this far, and with continued prayers we will be just fine. <3
It was caught very early on we believe. So far, he is doing really well with keeping it down, but it's very early on the whole change of lifestyle thing too, so I'm sure things can change. The good thing about the type of diet our doc recommended is that he can do a high protein meal plan, and that is a lot of meats, which he likes. This mornin' his fasting blood sugar was 101. I think we will be ok as long as he continues to stay the course. He has lost way over 30 lbs thus far, which is good, but he lost it by being too sick to eat, which ain't so good. Either way, he says he is determined to reverse it. If the Lord will bless, it's not impossible. He just has a lot of work ahead of him.
Bamazav
Newbie
Praying for you all. You both make sure that you are getting in some legit exercise, the walk to the mailbox doesn't count, though better than nothing. I have had clients come off of or seriously be cut back from meds for High blood pressure and diabetes after we get their nutrition and fitness lives straight. It amazing what a couple hours a week of exercise and good food, especially smoked meat, can do for you.
Thanks for the bump Richie! We will take all the prayers we can get!
Went back to the doctor yesterday and his blood pressure is lower, his blood sugar is doing great, and he is putting forth a good effort as far as diet and exercise goes. Blessed, for sure! The spleen is still enlarged, but that is common with mono, and they want a repeat ultrasound in six weeks to make sure it is going down as it should. I've not thrown down the cigs yet. So def put that on your prayer list! But I am trying to get off of the soda (Pepsi freak right here!) and drink more water. I'm trying to watch for the smoker that I want to come on sale so I can get at it and he can have beef jerky and good wholesome things to snack on...high protein snacks that will stick with him and not raise blood sugar.
Y'all are great, and I feel blessed to have been placed in this group. God is always good!
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