My long winded cluster duck.

[Tikibarjohn]

Hello, I'm 55 and have been smoking for about 40 years, I did quit for six years about 20 years ago, however after just one puff of a "harmless" cigar I bought a pack of cigs and here I am today.

 

After a personal loss and tired of the rat race, I left a job making  6 figures, and moved to Key West. I had 5 years of literally swimming with dolphins, fell in love, was living a dream. Unfortunately, my father broke his hip and I chose to move back home to care for him. I was his caregiver for about two years and it was sheer misery. I was then diagnosed with depression, anxiety, etc, I ballooned to almost 500 pounds, yes 500 pounds. I didnt turn to drugs or alcohol, I indulged in extremely unhealthy amounts of bad food.

 

2 years ago after my father passed, I had to now take care of my mother who was diagnosed with COPD and ALZHEIMER'S which is a cruel, cruel disease. 18 months ago I choose to try and get my life back. I knew I had to lose weight and quit smoking, however doing both simultaneously was a recipe for failure. So I choose to take on the weight first.

 

I am fortunate to have an extremely passionate health coach I see twice a week and a dietitian once a week. In the past 18 months I have lost 150 pounds. My goal was to quit smoking at 299. I am currently 18 pounds away. However, I have a hernia, that has now progressed to a serious issue and potentially could be fatal. I now need abdominal wall and muscle reconstruction in addition to the hernia repair. My surgeon wants me to lose 30 additional pounds and have at least 4 weeks tobacco free prior to the surgery.

 

So, I've chosen  August 9th as my quit date and it scares the crap out of me. I still have a long way to go on my weight loss journey and never want to go back. 

 

As my moms caregiver I need to figure out what to do with her for the 3-5 days I will be in the hospital, the 3 weeks of healing time, etc.. so unfortunately the added stress and anxiety of this, and the surgery has me questioning my ability to deal with all of this and quit smoking. 

 

Sorry for being so long winded, I don't get out much. 

[Abby]

So glad you are here . Thanks for sharing your story . I'm sorry for your loss and what you are dealing with . It is a lot .  I congratulate you on your weight loss and I have no doubt you will make that goal of 299 . 

I think you will really feel quite comfortable and very supported here . I was scared too when I started .. I wasn't sure I could do it , how would I live my life without a cigarette , but life today is better than ever because I quit . It will be for you too . 

So glad you posted , keep doing so . 

 

[Doreensfree]

Hello Tikibar John ....

My Daughter has been collecting Tiki,s for a long time ...which gets displayed in Museums ....

So ...we already have something in common ...

Good to meet you ..

Life can be cruel ....You. Have done great losing all the weight ....and I'm sure you will reach your goal ..

We Can help you ..Quit smoking for good ....All you need is the desire to be free....

The forum has healthy eating ...excersise posts ...to have a look at...

August 3rd ,is a little way off...so I would spend that time reading all you can here ...

There is so much useful information....or you can just jump in ..right now ...

Take a seat ...why put more tobacco in ....just to take it out again ....

Fear of Quitting ...is much worse than doing it ....our minds can hold us back ....

You can do this ....how do I know ?......because I did ...after 52 years ....

[jillar]

Welcome aboard John and congratulations on deciding to quit smoking for good! I'm sorry for everything you've had to deal with and are dealing with. And I'm super impressed that you've lost all that weight in spite of it. It shows that when you put your mind to something it gets done

So why wait until the 9th to quit? You're here now and there's no better time. The farther distance you can put between you and smoking leading up to your surgery the better your recovery.

[Linda]

Welcome to the train JohnThere is so much support

here and great people to meet. Congratulations on the weight loss!

[Boo]

Welcome aboard the Train John.  Taking your life back is always a good call.

 

You've dealt with adversity.  You committed to a goal of losing weight and been successful with that.  You can absolutely quit smoking.  We know you can, it's important that you know you can.

 

5 hours ago, Tikibarjohn said:

So, I've chosen  August 9th as my quit date and it scares the crap out of me. 

 

Looking ahead at quitting smoking can be more stressful than the quit itself.

 

It's like a hiker standing at the base of a mountain.  The mountain looks imposing, perhaps even insurmountable from a distance.  Then he starts the journey and finds it to be a series of smaller challenges: a climb here, a scramble there.  He keeps moving, putting challenges behind him, and eventually he reaches the summit.  The view from the top makes the climb worth it.

 

The process of quitting will challenge you, but it will reward you many times over.

Edited July 20, 2021 by Boo

[Tikibarjohn]

Thank you to everyone for the kind words. I met my trainer at the gym today and told her I joined this site and she was thrilled. Really she was all smiles.

 

Anyhoo, some of you have asked about my quit date. Their are several reasons, I'm going the Chantex route and that takes awhile to kick in, secondly I have a 5 day respite care scheduled for my mom the first week of Aug. It will be the first time in almost 4 years I will be getting a break from caregiving. I have not had an adult beverage in 13 months and my bday is the same week. So I'm going to indulge in a few, maybe several Miller Lites. The drinking bone is connected  to the smoking bone, so those are essentially the reasons. May not be the best reasons, but it's the truth. Also joined the ashline here in AZ and spoke with a quit coach today. 

 

Again, thanks for all the positive comments and support. 

 

[jillar]

2 minutes ago, Tikibarjohn said:

So I'm going to indulge in a few, maybe several Miller Lites. The drinking bone is connected  to the smoking bone, so those are essentially the reasons

 

I continued having my couple of beers everyday when I quit just so I WOULDN'T relate drinking to smoking and it worked great for me. In fact a couple times when I was really craving I drank a couple just so I couldn't drive to a store!

Have you started the Chantix already? You may want to check HERE to see if yours is on the voluntary recall list

[johnny5]

Welcome aboard, Tikibarjohn.  I'm sorry for all you have gone through but you are making a great decision in quitting smoking.  This is definitely doable for you.  Stick around, there is a lot of support you can get here.  You can do this.

[Doreensfree]

Spend the time ..Reading all you can here ...also watch Joel's video ....

Knowledge is what you fight the Monster with ....

Read all the old posts ....get to know us all.....get your tool box good and ready ...

I was also a care giver...and understand how important the respite weeks are ....

[Gus]

Welcome @Tikibarjohn!!! I’m sorry for your loss. You have come to the right place for support on your quit journey! Please watch the videos and read as many posts as possible. The personal stories concerning an individual’s quit are the most helpful thing on this site, for me. I’m glad that you are here and know that you will succeed in your quit and way to go on that weight loss!! Amazing!

[AceWhite]

Yo- the drinking bone is only connected

to the smoking bone by the nicotine addict tumor. Treat the tumor, you can drink without smoking. All things negative always lead back to smoking. Welcome aboard the train-

[Cbdave]

G’day John

I went the Champix way. Couple of days the cigs tasted like Shite. Stopped cause that’s what I was about and continued to take the tabs. Mate I keep taking those things don’t know what they did but didn’t care. I was stopped.

Laughed when I heard your comment about the smoking bone being connecting to the drinking bone. 

Mate your going to be amazed. You get to face those really bad triggers and find out there not as bad as you think.

First one to weaken and die for me was that first smoke of the day. Gone withered and proved to be weak and pathetic pretty fast.

Any strong urge will be the first you’ll face and they find you will not respond  they will lose strength and slither away, powerless.

Im 63 gave walked away at 57.....don’t look back trust me

chris 

[Kris]

Hi John, glad to meet you! I am only a month into my quit and I must say it has not been as hard as I thought. I have my bad days where I want to smoke but I refuse to cave.  If all these people can do it we can too! I like you had a health wake up, hip replacement due to smoking killed my hip joint, then cat scan showed the start of emphysema. I did not pick a day, cried for a few days knowing what I had to do.  I bought my cigs by the carton and decided when there were no more I was done.  So that was it, I have been using the nicotine lozenges to help but have already been able to cut that way back.  That may not be the way to go, for some no nicotine is best.

I like you have been in extreme caregiving role for about 15 years and I know how much that takes out of you. I will say the last hard one was also my Mom. Moved her in with me.  It came to the point after 2 years I could not keep her safe at home and had to place her in care. Please don't feel bad if you have to do that, sometimes it is the best thing/

You have had the strength to do all of those things, now you need to use it to take care of you!

K

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dianne]

Hello Tikibarjohn  Welcome to the quit train.