Monday, June 18, 2012

Good news/Bad news

For me- not for anyone else.  The good news is, after 12 days I finally feel human again.  Bronchitis/sinusitis hit me this time- and hard.  But thanks to antibiotics and a lot of rest, I am well on the mend.

The bad news- after 8 days with no cigarettes at all- I picked them back up again.  I cannot believe the struggle that this is.  When I was sick- I didn't miss them at all.  As soon as I started feeling better- It was all I could think about.  So- I have re-started the Livestrong program and am working on quitting again.  The goal is to be done with this-for good- by my birthday next month.

In the mean time- I will tell myself this- over and over and over:

  

7 comments:

Randy Talley said...

Lots of love and hugs to you, Jules. I'm glad you're feeling better.

One thing at a time, my friend... and it's okay to make adjustments when you have to.

susan said...

have you tried the electronic cigarettes? My friend used them to quit after 50 years of smoking. Amazing.

Good luck to you! They say it's harder to quit than drugs.

L."Wren" Vandever said...

Stopping smoking was truly the hardest thing I've ever done--and I did it at least six times over a decade before I finally did it for good. I even stopped for close to two years, once, and then started again. I'd like to say that it got easier, but it never did.

I know that some people simply toss the smokes and they're done once and for all. But for some of us, smoking is at least as hard to quit as it would be to stop an addictive drug like heroin. We're all different. Having a difficult time with it doesn't make you bad or a failure--it just makes you YOU.

I wish you the very best of luck as you work at this again, Julie. I know that you sincerely want to stop smoking. And you WILL, finally.

Sending you must patience and all the courage I can muster...

Lana said...

Alot of us with RA have had sinus infections this month. Mine was complimented by an ear infection. Needless to say, after a result of being off my Humira to take antibiotics, I am also dealing with a flare up. Anyway, I hope you are feeling better and I hope that you can quit the smoking. As you know, it makes RA symptoms worse. Hugs to you.

Nan said...

pat yourself on the back for not smoking for 8 days and the try again...I quit over 20 years ago and so can you....but it is HARD and knowing that and accepting how difficult it is helps you to try again until it sticks! Best of luck

Jules0705 said...

Thank you all so much for your encouragement. I am my own worst enemy in this regard. I beat myself up on a regular basis when I feel like I have failed at anything.

Susan- I have the whole "kit" of e-cigs. I just have to bring myself to use them again.

Lana, Nan, Wren and Randy- I am setting my "try again" date for Thursday. I plan to go back to the e-cigs and go from there. I can do this. I know I can!

Leslie said...

Oh Julie, I quit for 3 months and started again! I have tried and tried and tried! It is the hardest!I will look to you for inspiration - maybe if you can do it, I can too!