Dear Carol
It’s now ten weeks since I visited Carol’s office one sunny Friday morning and to my amazement, to date, I’m still a fag free zone!! When I sat in that chair I had my doubts as to whether I was doing the right thing, but why??? Any intelligent person doesn’t want to pollute their lungs and make themselves smell with nicotine AND pay a fortune for the privilege but, my life was good and I was scared that that would change. As I sat in the chair my mind was racing and I suppose it was the addiction which enabled me to rationalise smoking. The previous day I had thought “yes, I can do this, I want to be healthier” now I thought “what are you doing, you’re happy as you are, why change it??” My husband was a smoker and to be honest it was his idea that we were both sitting there. We have a very good relationship and I didn’t want to jeopardise that by crawling up the walls and screaming at the person I loved as anyone who’s stopped smoking knows normally happens. One of my biggest fears was that this may work for one and not the other. All of these things went through my mind and to be honest I very nearly decided to give it a miss but, after ten weeks I’m still me and my life has only changed in one way, I am now a non smoker!!! I wont lie and say that it was easy, the worst thing about it was the four days (two before and two after) when I couldn’t have caffeine or alcohol. I thought it would be easy to give up tea, coffee, coke and beer but how wrong was I. I would have murdered for a cup of tea but, that’s over now and I have to say, looking back, it was a small price to pay. For a few days after having this done I did think about cigarettes but it was more to do with feeling there was something missing and not longing for that nicotine rush. It was like missing a long lost friend. Each time we did something for the first time, for instance, when we went to the pub or for a meal we had what I would describe as a “fag moment”, but, after a few seconds it passed and Hey, I can live with that. No craving or crawling up the wall or looking at someone and longing to say “lends a fag”. I’m not going to say that I will never smoke again, I don’t know, but, I would say that this method allows you to choose and puts you back in control. If you want to be a non-smoker, for what ever reason, it is by far the easiest way of doing it.
Yvonne Ray