Information and opinions on Stop Smoking from randilynne at StopSmokingConnection.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704 http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704 http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/50384/cigarette Thu, 27 Nov 2008 05:49:12 -0000 randilynne i really liked the post turkey cigarette.  it was part of the reason i ate the turkey at all.  i was going for the tryptophan/nicotine serenity blanket.  that's of course an exaggeration, but i did get lulled into the freedoms.  eat as much as you want/can.  and dessert.  lay around and watch game,  huddle outdoors with the other smokers, me sipping laced hot chochlate.  anyone think that the cigarette is... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/50384/cigarette http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/48415/free-power Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:43:50 -0000 randilynne some times you can catch yourself completely off guard by your own actions.  that seems contradictory; by the time you surprise yourself, you're usually in on it.  but i sort of pulled the wool over my own eyes.  i quit smoking back ( i love saying that.  i quit waaaay baaaack) in april.  i went 2 weeks cold turkey.  then i did 5 months on chantix.  then a month on my own.  then back on chantix.  the... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/48415/free-power http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/44527/mixed-metaphor Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:10:20 -0000 randilynne in my last post i referred to the expression "like a broken record" as a metaphor.  now i think it might actually be a simile.  i was always afraid that not smoking would make me less of an intellectual (which has nothing to do, really with being smart)  because not smoking is infinitely smarter.  not smoking has made me more of a well rounded person.  i'm really hoping that i'll lose the weight soon  ... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/44527/mixed-metaphor http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/44204/broken-record Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:56:16 -0000 randilynne i feel a little like a broken record.  now that's an interesting metaphor.  it'll probably need to be explained to children in the near future.  we can say that it's sort of like a skipping c.d.  it makes me think that it would be great to have to explain smoking to the next generation.  maybe it'll sound ridiculous......" we used to stick burning paper and toxic leaves in our mouths.  yeah, we used to actually draw... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/44204/broken-record http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/43782/uncontrollable Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:07:58 -0000 randilynne believe it or not, i actually do keep a private journal.  i write on this site because i feel that it has impact.  even if my posts go unread, they still exsist in a public forum and maybe they can help.  i've gotten so much help from this site.  there's news and professional's opinions.  i read jim and the mid life gals.  the entry i just read is about "salgal"  and her winstons.  it must be so hard to... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/43782/uncontrollable http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/43479/confidence Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:34:09 -0000 randilynne I don't mean to be glib about taking medicine.  It's an important consideration, best discussed with medical professionals.  Of which I am certainly not.  But I marvelling at the strengh I've gained through chantix.  Here's the thing---I still have cravings but they're far far fewer.  And much much more manageable.  But what I find so amazing is how i feel when I'm not having cravings.  If i think about a... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/43479/confidence http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/43023/fear-relapse Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:53:40 -0000 randilynne the fear, no make that terror of relapsing sent me back to chantix.  I took the pills for 4 months and then decided that i was already on enough medication.  That was 2 months ago.  And I was o.k. For about a month.  Then I thought I was losing my mind.  The craving came back full force.  I became convinced that I couldn't make it; I felt like I was losing my mind.  I actually pictured myself smoking a stray... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/43023/fear-relapse http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/41210/challenges Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:42:11 -0000 randilynne i should start off by saying that i AM happy that i no longer smoke.  sometimes i get so caught up in the battles that i forget that for now i AM winning the war.  i'd like to say that i'll never smoke again.  i feel that i should be able to.  but friends i know that are addicts say that i can't.  they pontificate about "one day at a time".  ( any bitterness in my tone is unintended.  i have infinite respect... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/41210/challenges http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/40818/good-gettin Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:33:44 -0000 randilynne i'm a glass half empty kinda girl. actually i'm more like "who gave me this dribble glass?" or else i'm running around frantically trying to plug the leaky glass.  in other words, i'm either feeling like the universe is out to get me or positive i can do EVERYTHING alone.  and i guess i'm kinda negative.  but really what i am mostly, at this moment is someone who has still NOT smoked.  though many triggering incidents.&nbsp... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/40818/good-gettin http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/38616/bit-bewildered Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:01:55 -0000 randilynne looking back at my prior posts i realize that my attitude could be better.  i haven't smoked and i know that i wont.  and i know that i'm better in so many ways for having quit.  still, i'm struggling.  i celebrated my 44th birthday this past weekend.  after dinner my father, his wife and i were walking to our cars.  he asked me how i was doing with the smoking.   she and i replied in unison " the NOT... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/704/38616/bit-bewildered