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 Post subject: Dragon Slaying
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 6:34 am 
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Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2008 8:05 pm
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Location: Natal, South Africa
Hmmmm ... I need help.

If any of you has some won't-power you can send my way, I REALLY, REALLY need it!

I am not smoking as of lunch-time yesterday! :shock: HELP!

I have some patches and sprays, but it's not the same!

This Nicotine Dragon is bigger than me ...

Hahaha - also if some of my postings sound a little bit irritated, or upset, THIS WILL BE WHY!

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Glen Grobler

Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled. Anon


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 7:33 am 
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Location: Dresden, Germany
No, it is not bigger than you. Certainly not. And even if it overwhelms you and you smoke a cigarette, please remember that it doesn´t mean that you have lost. A slip-up is not a relapse and doesn´t meant that you are too weak or that it´s over.

You can do it, Glen!! :D


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 7:55 am 
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Location: Norway
Yes, you can do it... YOU are the bigger one, the cigarette is lying.... Don't let him fool you. YOU are the bigger one, and YOU are the one with the power to decide.... :lol:

Just hang on and you will shine like a :sunny: and feel like a :queen:


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 8:05 am 
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Oh, Glen, I send you all my will power and won't power and strength!

I am a fellow sinner (well, you're not a fellow sinner any more!) and know that this is a big beast!

You can do it!

:curse: :curse: :curse: DOWN DRAGON!!

:-)

Best,
Leigh


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 8:18 am 
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Location: Natal, South Africa
8) Thanks. I need everything I can get to do this! You've made my spectacles all misty ... :lol:

It's strange - I'm scared of trying to beat this because I don't actually believe I can. :cry:

I KNOW it's not bigger than me, but sure looks HUGE from where I stand!

I've been smoking for 23 years, and that is a lot of habit!

I figure since now is the second time in a year that my body has been unable to deal with bronchitus, I HAVE TO chuck the smoking. It should be easier while my routine is totally different - new horse, going on holiday next week, pain from the bronchitus already, etc.

FOCUS! I'm going to be brave just now, and go to my horses with NO SMOKES IN MY POCKET! :shock: and fear!

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Glen Grobler



Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled. Anon


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 8:23 am 
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Joined: Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:24 pm
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Location: Southampton, UK
Oh Glen...I do know how you are feeling right now. After suffering from yet another chest infection this week my doctor is concerned that I could have COPD and has ordered me to quit smoking....

Okay...so I haven't quit yet...but I have cut down drastically....down to 5 a day which after 20 years of smoking much more than that is difficult. I am planning to cut down to 4 a day next week...then 3...and so on. Can't just go cold turkey or you'd find a trail of dead bodies behind me! lol

Anyway....my thoughts are with you....good luck and stay strong!! :D

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 9:26 am 
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Joined: Sat Nov 03, 2007 9:00 pm
Posts: 1684
Location: Belgium/Tielt-Winge
well the money you save on the cigarettes, put it in a jar and do something you've always dreamed of and keep that in mind every time you want to smoke, I'm sure you could do better things with the money and it has a reward attached to it :)

and of course I'm sending you a lot of positive energy and your gekko's too :) I can feel the amount of energy being sent to you :)


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 12:57 pm 
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Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2008 8:05 pm
Posts: 2888
Location: Natal, South Africa
Aaaaarrrrggghh!

Buffy St. Marie did a song that started:

"Well, My belly is craving, and there's a shakin' in my head
I feel like I'm dying and I wish I was dead!
If I live till tomorrow, that'll be a long time!
I'll reel and I'll fall and I'll die on codeine!"

I know EXACTLY what she's talking about!

The good news is I'm down to about half my usual ciggie consumption, and I'm wearing only half a patch.

Yech! How could I have done this to myself for so long? The amount of crud coming out of me! :shock:

We need an emoticon for :horror:

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Glen Grobler



Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled. Anon


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 3:34 pm 
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Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 8:18 pm
Posts: 4941
Location: Alberta
Glen, you are not alone. I know the dragon too. I also get bronchitis, and it's also time for me to quit. I procrastinate.

I am also allergic to the patches. I have tried many things, failed every time.

Then I met a woman at the stable (where all good things come to me), and she mentioned that she had just quit about five months earlier. If I meet anyone who has quit for that long and still does not smoke, that is where my focus goes. She used a new drug that blocks the brain receptors for the nicotine, and over time, causes the cigarette to taste really bad...so a little negative reinforcement may be the way for me to go.

The drug is called "Chantix" I think...something like that. Anyway, I just now have to call my doctor and get started.

I am trying to tell myself also, that my cigarette consumption every month is almost equal to the cost of my two horse's board. Really...I spend about $300 per month on cigarettes (they are really expensive here thanks to Government taxes). I smoke 25 per day, and each pack of 25 costs me 9 or 10 Cdn. dollars. That is a seriously expensive habit. I hate it and crave it at the same time. It is so sad how we let this dragon take over our lives. I too want to beleive that I'm stronger than that dragon!!!

I am sending you all the power I can envision. It's yours. I will need it soon, but for now, I give it to you!

Hugs!!


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 4:15 pm 
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Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2008 8:05 pm
Posts: 2888
Location: Natal, South Africa
Hey, Karen.

Thanks a lot. This is soooo not fun!

Yeah, know what you mean. Tried many times and many ways to no avail. The only time I cold control it was when I was pregnant. Without them I go from 0 to bitch in 0.25 seconds! I smoke 25 - 30 a day. I opened a pack of 20 at lunch-time yesterday when I put the first patch on. I still have 6! 8)

That drug - check it out carefully.

There is a drug that was oroginally supposed to a psychological therapy :lol: ?like Prozac? that didn't work but did remove nicotine craving. It is marketed here as "z- something." It is said it didn't get FDA approval because, in some cases, in causes psychosis :shock: and other equally unpleasant mental and physical side-ffects. I hope your "chantrix" is something different ...

My Doctor is reluctant to prescribe it, and I must say I think he's right. He will if I'm not winning any other way, but daily check-ups etc. will be the rule as my body is a bit wrecked from the previous "big issue" it dealt with.

So, it's patches and gum and mouth-spray and ... well, torture!

My skin is already blistering BUT the craving is drastically reduced and I'm rather impressed, I didn't think it would work and I'm wearing half a patch! So I'll just have to find a new "patch" of skin every 16 hours! :lol:

I want to get this right. I am not sure I can! It was easier to face lymphoma than this!

I just previewed this and I sound disgustingly craven and pitiful! :roll:

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Glen Grobler



Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled. Anon


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 5:13 pm 
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Location: Alberta
I had tried teh "z-something" drug...and it was too strong for me (made me feel very strange and I didn't want to take it). So my doctor prescribed a lighter version called Welbutran. It ALMOST worked, but not quite. It doesn't work the same way as the Chantix, although the Chantix does have some of the same calming effect.

I am not too worried about drugs as long as they don't make me violent :wink: . My philosphy is that the habit itself is killing me, so as long as I can deal with any side effects, I don't much care about the rest. It really is a quality of life issue, and with my smoking my quality of life is limited.

I will never of course me 14 again and able to run and run, but I can certainly be a far cry better off than I am now (in the breathing and energy department). I also am too heavy, and I had always convinced myself that if I tried to quit, I would gain weight...that the cigarettes were keeping my weight in check. But I was of course just using that for an excuse.

I have started a diet some weeks ago. Nothing crazy...just sensible and have lost 7 pounds so far. Again, nothing crazy but the steady (but painfully slow) loss is still encouraging. If I quit smoking I can also then exercise more and that will help as well.

It's funny you started this topic, because only two days ago I was going to start a similar one but ran out of time and didn't get back to it.

I was going to title it, "Health, Hope and Happiness". It is the name of a nearby camp for disabled children, actually, and the short form of the name is Camp He Ho Ha. It sounds like laughter. Isn't it delightful?

The other thought I had was that health leads to hope, and hope leads to happiness. I'm greedy and want more of all three. I can only get there if I choose to go.

So there I'm going!!! I will be delighted to see you there also Glen. We can cheer each other on.

And please, please, PLEASE don't feel bad if you stumble on the way. As my doctor says, "It doesn't matter how often you try and fail. All that is important is that you try again. As many times as it takes to succeed".

I'm with ya!


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 5:46 pm 
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Location: New York
Glen wrote:

Quote:
I just previewed this and I sound disgustingly craven and pitiful!


NO YOU DON'T!!!

Oh, man, I so get this. I keep making half hearted attempts and then fall (usually within hours) -- my own particular major "reasoning" for failure is that my husband smokes and I've convinced myself that I won't be able to change this as long as he hasn't... :oops:

But it's something I need to do as well -- I'm midstream with a whole bunch of oral surgery and smoking really impacts how gum/bone heals...

I've actually learned that when I fly I can suppress the cravings (some little switch somewhere in my brain) -- maybe that's a technique; to spend several weeks on planes! :-)

Okay...I'm going to make a commitment here to cut my consumption in half this week...I'm at my worst when I'm doing a lot of writing at the computer (I can suck those puppies down at an alarming rate without even realizing I'm doing it). Right now, I'm getting up and putting the pack in the kitchen, so I can't just reach for them...

...Okay, I'm back, they're gone, and I've got a stick of gum in my mouth! It's 9:40 am Saturday my time...I'm not going to go for one for an hour. That's a plan...I'll report back...I won't if you won't! :-)

I'm with you, too!

:kiss:

Leigh

PS: It's now 9:42 and I haven't had another one yet! :lol:


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 6:23 pm 
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Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2008 8:05 pm
Posts: 2888
Location: Natal, South Africa
YAY! I'm not alone! Heehee! :lol:

Now, Leigh - a slogan please! Karen, a logo please!

Karen, being underweight is as much shlep as being over! No energy and no strength! That bronchitus - I couldn't eat for 2.5 days (only liquids) and I dumped 6kg! So now I'm back on fried breakfast. And pork, potatoes and chocolate. I HATE watching what I eat! Grrr!

Leigh, I can't tell you that you can. I can only believe ...

Image

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Glen Grobler



Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled. Anon


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 6:45 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2007 3:20 pm
Posts: 1822
Location: Norway
I have been smoking too - but quit ten years ago. When I met my husband.... :lol: It was a tiny bit harder than I thaught it should be (I always used to think I had so good control 8) ).

But I did it - and then you can too!!! And I have not regretted a single day.... :lol:


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 6:48 pm 
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Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:32 am
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Location: New York
Woohoo!

Love the dancing Garfield...

:-)

Am happy to report that I made my promised hour (and five minutes! celebrate those major victories!)...will now try for two...

Hang in there, Glen!

Hugs,
Leigh


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