My List

by Heidi
(Eau Claire, WI)

I quit smoking over 14 years ago.

My doctor told me about Zyban. I don't know if it's still out there, but it's awesome.

See, I would always start smoking again because of how irritable I would get. It would get so bad that I couldn't stand myself.

I had already tried patches and those didn't work for me. Try, try again...

Zyban you can take for as long as you need. They make you so HAPPY TO QUIT. It's true! I was happy as a lark for a month. I even quit smoking one time for over 4 hours -- even before my quit date.

Before my quit date, I made a list of all the things I would do to avoid smoking again: go for a walk, have a snack, wait 10 minutes, etc. At the bottom, I put 'chew nicotine gum'. (I heard it was nasty).

I also filled my closet with yarn and started crocheting again.

PLUS, my dad said that I should treat myself once in a while. Instead of a cigarette being my treat, I could go to the craft store or the book store or wherever and get a little something for myself.

When you track how much you save on not buying cigarettes, you can afford it. Believe me.

Before I quit, I could hardly sleep at night, my breathing was so bad. My sense of smell was totally off.

Now, I can breathe -- and I can smell the great outdoors when I go for a walk. Make a list of reasons why you're quitting, too. Put it on the refridgerator.

Over all, just keep trying. This was the biggest try for me and... I did it! You can, too.

14 years and counting...

Above all, keep trying. I can breathe again!