Chrysalis

Oh, Sarah, don't you know the drinker's mantra??!! (Courtesy of the British Empire era): "The sun is over the yardarm someplace in the empire! Time for cocktails!"

I quit smoking 5 months ago today. I'm doing very well and I'm very confident of my quit-- most of the time. The worst challenge I had occurred a few weeks ago when I had to go to Florida for a week to help my mother. She is 92 years old, lives alone, and has some major health issues. Being with her 24/7-- seeing her frightened and suffering and despairing-- pushed me to the brink of relapse. Once I got home, I re-started low dose Chantix. I stopped that after about 2 weeks and I'm fine again. My mother is scheduled for total hip replacement surgery (both the ball and the socket) next week. She may not survive the surgery. If she does survive, the recovery will probably be long and difficult. She may be in incredible pain for quite a while after the surgery. Worst case scenario is that the replacement does not heal properly-ever. So I am starting this blog so I can come here and vent. If history is any guide, I will probably get really aggravated with various aspects of our healthcare system and will need to blow off steam. In addition, my sister and I don't speak to each other but she will be in Florida next week, too, so that's going to be interesting. Basically, I expect to have quite a lot of stress during the next 2 weeks. I have a couple of techniques that I use to release stress and I am determined to use them and to keep my quit. But it may be helpful sometimes to come here and write out my fears and frustrations. I look at this blog as Quit Protection Insurance. Wish me luck!!

Hi, Marti- I have some good news for you about "drop off rates". Statistically speaking, the more other people relapse the LESS probable it will be that you relapse! If the statistics predict that 5 people out of a group of 10 are likely to relapse and 5 have already relapsed, the remaining 5 are relatively safe, do you see? So by now, you should be pretty much in the clear (statistically speaking, that is). And remember, statistics do not PREDICT behavior, they only record it. It's quite possible that every single person who quits smoking remains quit--the statistics would reflect that, not create it. The stats you see are only the record of what people did in the past. But really, the healthiest way to look at such numbers is to say, "I am NOT a statistic!" You are a person. You have made up your mind that you have quit and you're not going back. You have demonstrated to yourself and to the world that you have the grit and determination to succeed and by God you will succeed! With every passing day, with every provocative trigger that you overcome, your quit becomes stronger and stronger. So does mine. If you're like me, you are confident in your quit but you are becoming impatient for the day when you no longer even THINK of smoking a cigarette, ever. But we can't rush that day. We just have to keep going and keep doing what we are doing and one day we will look back and say, "Wow! I haven't thought of smoking a cigarette in the longest time!" Trust yourself. You're doing great! And if you do run into a rough patch I credit you with having the smarts to post an SOS here and get some help to get back on track. Easy Peasy, right?? :)

Today, 30 minutes non-stop bicycling. Whoo-hoo for me!! Happy Dance!!

Becca, the whole reason I post on this fitness thread is because I want people to see that even a fat, middle-aged, unfit former smoker can turn things around. You do NOT have to be young, thin, fit or athletic to get some regular exercise and improve your nutrition. The principle of taking small steps but being consistent is absolutely the same for all of us. Staying motivated, as you say, is the hard part. For me, I used the same approach as I did for quitting smoking. I have some very clear fitness goals for myself and when I don't feel like exercising I say to myself, "Which do you want more, to be fit and healthy a year from now or to continue to sit on the couch and eat from boredom?" It works for me.

That's interesting, Beacon. I used the patches to help me quit many years ago. Like you, I was afraid to go cold turkey and I was afraid to stop using the patches. Finally, after 5 or 6 months, the weather got hot and the patches kept falling off. However, I didn't realize my patch fell off until I went to remove the patch at night and it wasn't there. I had no idea when it came off. After this happened 3 or 4 times it finally dawned on me that if I couldn't tell when the patch fell off, I probably didn't need the patch and stopped using them. (Uh duh!). Yep. Fear.

Paul, Quit Train only stated in April of this year so we don't have a 1-year history yet. If you like stats, you might be interested in checking the "Members" tab, and then "More Search Options". Let us know what you find out.

Great post, Marti. Very thoughtful. Thanks.

Yes, Nancy, you are correct. I guess I should use the term "quit smoking aid" rather than "nicotine replacement therapy". Thank you.

Paul, I agree that getting educated about the nature of nicotine addiction and how to overcome it is crucial for having a strong quit. But still, if you look at all the people here at QT and those at "the other site", most of those people ARE educated about nicotine addiction and most of them still relapse. Frankly, I think that the vast majority of people once they are educated and if they truly want to quit more than they want to smoke will be able to maintain their quit without any external aids. But for those who are about to relapse, I say grab for whatever help you can rather than light a cigarette!

Chantix does bind to the nicotine receptors and one does feel withdrawal symptoms after Chantix so I assume that it would work in pretty much the same way as patches or gum or e-cigs.

Jenny, I love these JibJab animations! So funny! Say, have you created one of these with your children's faces? Or one for each child featuring photos of them and their best friends? Maybe there's a school yearbook or something where you could get the faces. That would be such a hoot!

This morning, MQ highlighted one of Joel Spitzer's videos entitled Keeping NRT In Case of Emergency. In this video, Joel makes the very good point that nicotine is nicotine is nicotine no matter what delivery method one uses. Reaching for any type of NRT when you are feeling stressed-- even very VERY stressed (Joel was referring to the September 11th terrorist attacks) is just going to re-activate your nicotine addiction. He says "Don't do it!". What Joel says makes sense. But there is more to it than that. I am getting very aggravated with what I will call the "quit smoking industry" ignoring the very high relapse rates among former smokers. Depending on who you read and the particular circumstances, anywhere from 66% to 90% of people who quit smoking relapse within one year. That bugs the heck out of me! Why is that??!! What can we do to help prevent that??!! For myself, I have decided that I will use my chosen form for NRT to prevent a relapse (in my case that's Chantix, but it could be any NRT). No, I'm not going to carry it in my pocket so I can pop a Chantix when I get a flat tire. I have and will implement every and any technique I can to keep my quit during stressful times-- exercise, deep breathing, meditation, posting here, etc., etc. Most of the time those things work. But if push comes to shove and I find myself fighting craves day after day I am going to take advantage of these helpful (and to me, miraculous) quit smoking aids to make sure that I do NOT relapse. I am sick of the quit smoking industry pushing the dogmatic view that says, "Once you have quit smoking, it's better to relapse than to go back to using an NRT." because that's basically what I hear Joel saying in this video. I think we need to do more to prevent relapses including trying some unconventional approaches.

I don't know the rule in Ireland, maybe someone else does. But if I were you I would call the Medical Records Office at the hospital and see what the rules are. If you still don't get satisfaction, call the Office of the Hospital Administrator and raise a stink. Good luck!

Absolutely! HIPPA gave patients the right to get copies of all of their test results, X-rays, etc (although you may have to pay a small fee to have documents or films copied). And in February, the Department of Health and Human Services gave patients the right to get their test results directly from the company that does the analysis (see: HHS Adopts Rule Expanding Patient Access to Laboratory Test Results ). More and more healthcare organizations are creating a "patient portal" website so you can log on and see your test results. Some places just automatically put all results there, others wait until after the doctor has seen the data before they post it to the portal. But yes, you absolutely do have a right to ALL of your test results (except pre-employment tests) and you would be very, very smart to get copies of everything. I do. I need to add that some (not all) doctors' offices require that I sign a HIPPA release form before they will send me test results. They have to mail me the form and I have to mail it back and then they mail me the results. But, really, that is not a legal requirement if they are sending the test results to the address of record; they're just being a pain in the ass. But that does happen sometimes. Tell the receptionist that you have a right under HIPPA to all of your test results. If they continue to balk, ask to talk to the office manager. EDITED TO ADD: I usually just ask for copies of lab test results and reports (like radiology reports) and a CD of images (like X-ray and CT images). One time I had a minor surgical procedure done and I had to go to the hospital records office to get the copies. It turns out that they copied every single document in the file although I wasn't expecting that (about 25 pages, which cost me $5.00) but it turned out to be fortunate. Weeks later my insurance company would not pay $800 for an assistant surgeon because they said that an assistant surgeon was not normal and usual practice for this procedure. So the surgeon's office sent me a bill for $800. I read every page of my file inclulding the surgical report. Every single thing was written down including the anesthetist and the type of anesthesia. There was no mention of an assistant surgeon. The doctor never told me that there would be an assistant involved. Bottom line-- the surgeon was lying. There WAS no assistant involved. They were trying to defraud the insurance company and when that didn't work they were trying to defraud me. I called the practice manager, told her what I knew, and told her if they kept hounding me for $800 I would report them to the insurance company. They stopped asking me for the money. Oh, and I did tell the insurance company, too. :angry: So, yes, medical records can be very helpful for a number of reasons.

Don't worry, Wendy, Sazerac was like this before she quit smoking, too! ;)

Great photo! Great looking dogs!

Well, Gemzee, it's nice to know that even you have SOME limits! I began to think that you are Superwoman or something! You go conquer Level 2 now, you hear??!!

Hey, Becca, don't hate us, join us! Go for a walk around the block or do a 20-minute Youtube exercise video and post about it here. Heck, what else are you going to do with all that time you saved by not smoking? Come on, jump in! :)

Hi, Wendy, good to see you here! I think you have done excellent preparation with your NRT and you are well on your way to complete freedom! Stay close to the board and post whenever and whatever jumps into your mind.

A couple of months ago we decided to stop paying for cable TV (which was lousy and expensive) and just go with Netflix. We're saving a bunch of money and Netflix is fine. So all is well. Except that the other day my husband got really irritated with me because I kept asking him to "pause" the video so I could say something (naturally, being the man he has to have control of the remote so I can't pause the playback myself). I got insulted and angry that he would bitch about pausing the video for me to say something every once in a while. We almost escalated to all-out war but fortunately we figured out the problem in time. The deal is... for some reason most guys think that sitting in the same room together watching the TV constitutes "togetherness". To be fair, my husband really goes out of his way to watch programs that I like so that we can be "together". But for a woman, watching TV in the same room is not "togetherness". For a woman, "togetherness" means talking to each other. Always. When we had cable TV, I would think of something that I wanted to say but I would politely wait until a commercial before I spoke. We would always mute the volume and talk during the commercials. But now that we're watching Netflix there ARE no commercials! In order for me to feel my kind of "togetherness" we have to pause the playback and talk a little. So DH and I made a deal-- he won't get mad if I periodically ask him to pause the video so I can say something. In turn, I won't make comments about people's appearance as in: "Gosh, he's gotten old!" or "I am so sick of seeing anorexic blondes held up as role models!" He really hates pausing the video for such comments. (Unfortunately, if I can't criticize how people look there isn't much else I CAN say! No fair! :( ) Anyway, just a little slice of life from Mars and Venus. B)

Actually, this reminds me of a valuable lesson I learned some years ago. I had a chronic cough. My doctor ordered a chest X-ray. The radiology clinic said that the doctor's office would call me if there was anything of concern. I hadn't heard anything after 10 days so (being a control freak) I called the doctor's office. After the typical, "If we didn't call there's no problem." speech I insisted on them reading the radiology report to me. They looked. They couldn't find it. The doctor's office claimed that they never got the X-rays or the report (yeah, right, blame the X-ray clinic). The lesson for me from then on is to NEVER allow a doctor's office to say, "We will call you only if something is wrong." If they don't call, maybe something IS wrong but they lost the report. I always require that they call me and tell me the report results. Most of the time I make them send me a copy of the report (which is my legal right).

You're right action, the lead apron is impervious to X-rays. The only time that I, as a patient, have worn a lead apron was when I was getting dental X-rays. They wanted to make sure the rest of my body was protected. As for chest X-rays to look for lung cancer, I've heard it said that by the time a tumor shows up on an X-ray it's too late to do anything about it. Blood tests are even worse. CT scans or PET/CT scans are the best technique for finding tumors in soft tissue. They are expensive and are not ordered unless you have some type of symptom. If having a chest X-ray would put your mind at ease, fine. But to get one every year would be unnecessary exposure to radiation that wouldn't find very small tumors, anyway.

I haven't watched a zombie movie since the great Boris Karloff retired (shows you how old I am!). But you youngens enjoy! :)

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