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View Full Version : Today is day 4......



Dennis Peacock
10-18-2007, 9:07 AM
I've been dipping and chewing tobacco since I was twelve years old. Out of a deal I made with my oldest son, I have quit and today is day 4 of no tobacco. This has been in my life for 36 years and it has not been easy.

I told the LOML last night that I started eating everything in the house last night when I got in from work and we ALL know that I sure don't need to gain any weight. :rolleyes:
But....I will continue to take it one day at a time.

jeremy levine
10-18-2007, 9:15 AM
Quick start a very complicated project, this will give you hands and brain a distraction also get some gum ( just normal gum so you won't want to eat as much ).

Stick with it, it is the right thing, your son wants you around for a lot longer.

Jeff Bower
10-18-2007, 9:18 AM
Dennis, way to go!! It's hard to start, but it does get easier. I started chewing sunflower seeds when I quit. That helped quite a bit and gum when I couldn't do the seeds. You will thank yourself and you family will too! Plus you can't disappoint that son!:p Again Congrats and keep it up!!

Mark Rios
10-18-2007, 10:02 AM
A big and hearty congrats and a heapin' helpin' of encouragement to you Dennis for setting the example in your family. My family carries an addictive gene and we've had our share of addictions that have been fought. It's very hard but completely and totally the best thing for you AND your family.

Keep it up......ONE DAY AT A TIME.....................

Jim Becker
10-18-2007, 10:07 AM
Good for you. No matter how hard it is to quite, getting tobacco out of your life is an important thing. And for the food cravings, start keeping "healthy" snacks around, like fruit, pretzels (because they are baked), etc., rather than high-fat and salt content snacks. We have to do the same for our older girl...snacks are her soothing "drug of choice" when she's frustrated.

Ken Werner
10-18-2007, 10:08 AM
Hey Dennis,

Good luck and good riddance [to the tobacco that is].

Here's an idea:
How 'bout putting the money you'd spend on tobacco into a box and go buy some nice new tool in a month or two?

Ken

Ken Fitzgerald
10-18-2007, 10:18 AM
Hang in there Dennis! You can do it!

Phyllis Meyer
10-18-2007, 11:02 AM
Congratulations Dennis! 4 days is huge!!! My husband quit chewing 3 months ago, and he now chews gum! I am so proud of him, and you for making the decision to quit!

Sincerely,
Phyllis:)

P.S. He is buying a new gun with his savings! I was at Gander Mountain with him and it was fun to watch him!

Chuck Saunders
10-18-2007, 11:42 AM
Keep it up Dennis. I smoked from age 12 to 40. I quit 8 years ago and I can tell you, it does get easier. It is definitely worth the effort.

Nancy Laird
10-18-2007, 12:00 PM
Good show, Dennis! I'm proud of you!!

Nancy (64 days)

Dave Rawn
10-18-2007, 12:55 PM
Hi Dennis
Try the commit lozenge. I quit smoking a year ago and used the commit, it worked great for me. Quiting is well worth the effort:)

Stephen Beckham
10-18-2007, 1:01 PM
Good job and way to commit Dennis....

Jason Beam
10-18-2007, 1:15 PM
Congrats!

The single biggest help for me when I quit smoking was this:

Decide, deep down in the fiber of your being, from now on, without the slightest reservation, that you no longer do that. When the urge comes, it's just not something that you do anymore. It isn't an option. Don't give your mind the slightest hint of a chink in that armor. You don't chew. Period.

That's what really helped me. I refuse to be controlled by something without my choosing. I chose not to let it control me anymore. It also helped to remind myself of all the things I didn't like about it.

You can do it! :)

Tony De Masi
10-18-2007, 2:31 PM
Great start Dennis. As others have said it does indeed get easier. After awhile, which is relative, you just enjoy the days instead of counting them.

tony

Brett Baldwin
10-18-2007, 2:35 PM
Keep up the good work Dennis.

Tom Hamilton
10-18-2007, 2:46 PM
Great decision Dennis. You can do it because you committed to your son!

Best regards, Tom

Dave Fernelius
10-18-2007, 3:36 PM
I can't do anything else but echo the encouragement! Keep it up.
My mother in law quit smoking 4 months ago at 77, afte smoking since she was a kid. It's been tough at times but the whole family keeps encouraging her!
Hang in there.
Dave

Cary Falk
10-18-2007, 4:46 PM
Way to go Dennis. You didn't specify but I assume 4 days in a row.:D Just take it 1 day at a time.:cool:

Fred Voorhees
10-18-2007, 4:58 PM
Dennis, there isn't a smarter thing to do than to quit any kind of association with nicotine. Good for you and good luck with your quest.

Dennis Peacock
10-18-2007, 6:42 PM
OH man...!!!!!! I have made it so far today.....:eek:

Ron Jones near Indy
10-18-2007, 7:20 PM
Good job Dennis! Stick with it. You and your family will be the big winners here.

Tim Morton
10-18-2007, 7:57 PM
when it gets unbearable just try and think about how much harder it would be to be going in for a chemo treatment:D

Good luck man!!!!:cool:

Ed Garrett
10-18-2007, 8:19 PM
Waytogo, Dennis. We're rooting for you. Woodworkers can do anything. Keep us posted. I bet that will help guarantee your success. Now if you can just kick that woodworking habit, you'll be a civilized person.

Sincerely,
Ed Garrett
Tallahassee

Von Bickley
10-18-2007, 9:11 PM
Dennis,

Hang in there..... It will be worth it.


It does get better.:D :D :D

Dennis Peacock
10-18-2007, 9:16 PM
Thanks everyone.....I sure hope it gets better.....I'm about ready to chew anything around the house that doesn't move or have electrical power connected to it!!!! :eek: :o

Ken Fitzgerald
10-18-2007, 10:16 PM
The question are:....are you still married and are your children still alive?:eek: :rolleyes: :D


Hang in their buddy! It's a booger!:)

Jim O'Dell
10-18-2007, 10:36 PM
Good for you!! Keep it up...Your (future:D) grandchildren will love you longer! Jim.

John Bailey
10-19-2007, 10:35 AM
Good move Dennis,

I'm lookin' for a reason to come down to your area sometime this spring. I think buying you lunch to celebrate 6 months would be just the ticket. Of course I could come down there to give you a whack if you start up again.:) :eek: :) :D

John

Dennis Peacock
10-19-2007, 11:53 AM
Good move Dennis,

I'm lookin' for a reason to come down to your area sometime this spring. I think buying you lunch to celebrate 6 months would be just the ticket. Of course I could come down there to give you a whack if you start up again.:) :eek: :) :D

John

LOL!!!! I "much" prefer to celebrate. The LOML gives me enough "whacks" already. :rolleyes: :D
Come on down. The LOML and I would LOVE for you to come and visit.!!!

Ken Fitzgerald
10-19-2007, 11:59 AM
LOL!!!! I "much" prefer to celebrate. The LOML gives me enough "whacks" already. :rolleyes: :D
Come on down. The LOML and I would LOVE for you to come and visit.!!!


Uh.....Dennis....this is a family friendly site......watch those "wife giving you whacks" comments....don't give us too many details!:eek: :rolleyes: :D

Question?.....How are you planning on maintaining your "redneck" status without "snuff or chew"?


John........You'd thoroughly enjoy visiting with Dennis, his wonderful wife and children!

Dennis Peacock
10-19-2007, 5:45 PM
Uh.....Dennis....this is a family friendly site......watch those "wife giving you whacks" comments....don't give us too many details!:eek: :rolleyes: :D

Question?.....How are you planning on maintaining your "redneck" status without "snuff or chew"?

John........You'd thoroughly enjoy visiting with Dennis, his wonderful wife and children!

LOL Ken!!!!!! The wife whacks come in the shape of a frying pan up'side the head. ;)

Well....I "can" maintain my redneck status 'cause the do have some herbal snuff on the market this is tobacco free, called "Smokey Mountain Wintergreen". That way I can at least "look" like I'm holding my redneck status. :rolleyes: :D

John will have to come down here and we'll go to the "Payton Creek Catfish House" and eat off the buffet......They serve Frog Legs and such on Friday / Saturday nights. ;)

michael gallagher
10-23-2007, 2:05 PM
You need to hit this site, and check out all of the links: http://www.quitsmokeless.org/

As someone who has stopped and started and stopped and started and stopped for over 20 years.....you get the picture....stopping dipping is one of life's hardest challenges. In college, a friend of mine had an article from the Baylor School of Medicine that stated the nicotine factor in Copenhagen for the first 10-15 minutes was the equivalent of a cigarette per minute. I believe it.

There are placebos out there you can buy if you need something between your cheek and gums at WalMart called Smokey Creek - mainly crushed clover / grass mixed with a sweetener (green can for Skoal equivalent) and a dark maroon / brownish can (kind of, but not quite, a Copenhagen equivalent). That helped me better vs. seeds or the patch or the gum or hocus pocus methods. Prayer helps a little, but I think God has a sense of humor by putting you through hell in your effort to quit just for going down the dipping path in the first place. Everyone is different: some are even able to quit cold turkey (I never could, and was a bigger $%^(*&^ while trying to go cold turkey).

Good luck - getting past the first three days is the hardest physically. The remainder of the days are harder mentally as you do the activities where you normally dipped.

mark page
10-23-2007, 2:19 PM
Whoa Dennis, froglegs???? My grandfather recently sold the farm with umpteen gazillion ponds on it. Froglegs went out of the question at that time. No-one sells froglegs here except China grown froglegs, and I don't have to speak the speech of possibly eating anything from China now-a-days.....:eek: I love froglegs. May have to stop by if ever coming through the area, just to savor the froglegs and good company:D . Now we up here at the lake have an abundance of "snappers", and I love a good turtle too, but just not the same as the "leapin legs...:D

Tyler Howell
10-23-2007, 6:16 PM
So Bro!!
Hang in there Bud.
You can do this.
TJH

Gary Whitt
10-23-2007, 6:35 PM
[quote=mark page;680358]Whoa Dennis, froglegs???? /quote]

Taste like chicken!!! :D :D


God job, Dennis.

You pretty much got it licked now.

mark page
10-23-2007, 6:38 PM
Hey Dennis,
If the worst comes to worst, I have a prescription made out for I think it's Chantrix. I'm trying to read the Dr.'s writing. I have been smoking since 13 yrs old and will have to quit soon. My place of employment goes non smoking as of the first of the year. This prescription is supposed to counter-effect the cravings for nicotine, alcohol, etc. etc. etc. Just about anything a person is addicted to. Supposed to calm the brain area that perceives the effect of what-ever drug it is. I haven't filled the script yet, but just about ready to. If I'm very busy all day long, then there is no problem with not smoking, but if I have standing time, then the idle mind is the devil's playground. The Dr. states I am supposed to take it for a month before quiting smoking and then keep taking it for a couple months afterwards. I guess I will give it a try and see how it works. If the cravings get too bad, you might want to check into this script and see if it helps. More power to you and my best wishes.
Mark

Jim Kountz
10-24-2007, 5:32 AM
Dennis, I hope you're not pulling your hair out yet, if you're like me you cant afford to pull much out!! LOL:D
My LOML and I are doing a stop smoking program beginning in November. Ive already got the Rx for Chantix and shes just waiting on her doc to return from maternity leave to get hers so was can do this together. I have tried to quit smoking several times in the past and failed miserably each time so Im hoping this works. I know how tough this can be so hang in there and keep the good thoughts in mind.
Heres something to try, everytime you want a chew hit yourself in the head with a hammer. This over time will do two things. One it will program your brain to associate chewing with pain:D and two who wants to chew with a huge headache like that! LOL
Good luck to you buddy!!

Roger Newby
10-24-2007, 9:55 AM
I quit January of 2002. That following August we took a two week vacation, drove from Nebraska to New York (Catskills) and back and most of the trip was paid for by the money I didn't burn up on tobacco.

Chewed a lot of gum and ate enough celery to support a colony of rabbits, but managed to keep my commitment. There still are times I want to seriously injure someone I have to put up with, But nicotine has nothing to do with it. LOL!

Good luck and hang in there, Sawdust is better, just don't put a pinch of it between your cheek and gum.

Dennis Peacock
10-24-2007, 1:51 PM
Thanks for your support.

Jim,
I already have a headache and I know exactly what would cure it....but I ain't goin' there any more...I laid the tobacco down and as of right now, I'm simply refusing to pick it up again.

Roger,
LOL!!!!!!!!!! So far, I've chewed enough chewing gun to patch every pot-hole in every road in Faulkner County, Arkansas.!!!! :eek:

Glenn Clabo
10-24-2007, 2:11 PM
Roger,
Re: Celery...as we get older...we can never under estimate the need for more roughage. :o

Glenn Clabo
10-24-2007, 2:15 PM
Dennis...As a Baseball coach for 20 years...man do I understand. Went from dipping to sunflower seeds...then the doc tells me my blood pressure is sky high and I need to go to salt free...but they are full of fat so your arteries with freeze up and kill ya.

It's been 12 years now...and I gag at the thought of what I was doing. You can do it man...

Ed Breen
10-24-2007, 5:44 PM
Great Going Dennis!
It can be done. Started at 16 quit at 50 and have been nicvotine free for 28 years. I think that it all depends on the inside person. I must have made the effort twenty times and it never stuck. There came a time when I just plain stopped. For about three weeks my assistant would come into my office and blow smoke at me and I just sat and laughed at him
Stay with it it will even out. I liked the suggestion of getting into a tough problem. perhaps sopme more table making???
Good Luck
Ed;) ;)

Don Bullock
10-24-2007, 6:26 PM
Dennis, that's fantastic news. I wish you the best.:D

Dennis Peacock
10-24-2007, 8:40 PM
Well, I've made it yet another day. And I'm beginning to miss it less and less. :D

Hey Ed....the LOML has be removing wallpaper border from most of the house. Does that count??? :confused: :rolleyes: ;)

Scott Kilroy
10-24-2007, 10:07 PM
I quit smoking over 10 years ago and the only thing that kept me sane was setting up a heavy bag in the basement. Every time I wanted to smoke I beat the hell out of the bag until I was going to collapse. Good luck.

Richard Dooling
10-25-2007, 4:00 PM
Hang in there Dennis. Tuesday was two months (9 weeks) smoke free for me and it is getting to where I don't think about it much.

OK here goes....
Jim and Mark, I did this with Chantix and I don't think I could have done it by myself. Google Chantix and see what others are saying. One side effect my doctor did not mention are that many people have really weird dreams while on the medication. Actually pretty fun. BTW I did not quit the way they recommend. I continued to smoke but kept cutting back for three months. The last 1 to 2 a day were really hard to get past and I did that for several weeks. Now two months without and it really is OK. One thing that I think helps is knowledge. First, the occasional urge to smoke will NEVER go away but it does get more controllable. This is not from me but from folks I know who quit many years ago. I like what I read one woman say. Smoking goes into the file of behaviors that you may want to do, but that are unacceptable. Like telling your boss where to stick it.

Second is a realization that hit me really hard the other week. I don’t really want to smoke anymore. What I want is this illusion of what I think smoking will be like. At this stage the reality is that a big ol’ dose of nicotine would make me dizzy and maybe sick. :eek: I would cough and have to work at keeping the smoke down. Just like when we started smoking. So I don’t really want a smoke, I want something that does not exist. Just like the illusions they peddle to start us smoking in the first place. Never did get that beautiful female spy with the black Jag. :cool:

Oh yeah here is something else. It does not matter if you use mints or gargle or anything, if you smoke you smell like stale smoke. It’s not in your mouth, it’s in your lungs. I didn’t believe that till I stopped but it is true. I smell it on coworkers all the time now. Even the guy who had the open heart surgery a while back who “is not smoking” anymore.

Nicotine is one nasty drug and just incredibly addictive. Chantix helped me quit. Don’t expect a miracle. Don’t expect it to be too easy. Don’t expect it to be too hard or impossible. If you can do it you will be proud and a little scared. Another side benefit, the LOML is so proud of me that it shows and that feels really good. Still taking it day by day. Damn this is hard…but it IS doable. DO IT!

Rick Williams
10-25-2007, 11:36 PM
Hang tuff there Dennis, it's well worth the effort. In November of 1994 after 30 years of smoking, I was diagnosed with a stage 3 cancerous tumor on my larynx. 13 hours of surgery to remove my voice box, skin graft and reconstruct my throat and esophagus and 6 weeks of radiation later, was on my way to recovery. 13 years later I am blessed to still be among the living. Dipping/chewing/smoking is a real high risk activity. Good luck to you!

Jeff Kerr
10-26-2007, 11:31 PM
Way to go Dennis.

You can kick this. Just remember, Nicotine is a very powerful beast and it takes a very strong soldier to defeat him.

I tried to give up the sticks for years and I just couldn't muster the strength. I finally was successful when I got help and used the slow release patch to curb the cravings. Once I had that under control, I slayed the monster.

I haven't had tobacco in 4 years. I don't miss it and I won't go back.

Chris Padilla
11-01-2007, 6:38 PM
How ya doin', Dennis?

You're a good ol boy and I'm happy to see you taking a step to control such things in your life.

I always say to take everything in moderation...including moderation. Baby steps are the way to succeed in such endeavours but sometimes cold turkey can work.

Keep going...proud of ya! :)

Dennis Peacock
11-01-2007, 7:46 PM
How ya doin', Dennis?

You're a good ol boy and I'm happy to see you taking a step to control such things in your life.

I always say to take everything in moderation...including moderation. Baby steps are the way to succeed in such endeavours but sometimes cold turkey can work.

Keep going...proud of ya! :)

Thanks Chris. I'm glad to see you around these parts. :)

I'm doing fine, but when the stress gets really high, I get a craving something aweful, but so far, I haven't given in. Working on the 4th week of being tobacco free and I'm starting to like being free of it more than going back to it. Thanks for asking. :D

Ron Jones near Indy
11-01-2007, 9:32 PM
Hang in there Dennis. I haven't had that habit so I can't speak from experience, but it seems to me that by now you should notice an improvement in the sense of taste and possibly smell.

Bruce Page
11-02-2007, 9:21 PM
Hang in there Dennis! LOML & I quit smoking January 8th of this year. It was tough at first, especially when the stress level got up. I don’t even think about it now.

Cliff Rohrabacher
11-04-2007, 12:57 PM
It's tough. I quit like three times before I finally succeeded. You'll do it. It's all a matter of resolve.