Stopping Smoking – continued…

Posted on October 17, 2007
Filed Under Smoking | Leave a Comment

Okay, it lasted for about 35 hours. You’ll have to read the start of this thread to catch up on the Stop Smoking Journey. While not exactly a stellar success, I none-the-less made a start.

At a pack a day, I normally would’ve smoked 140 cigarettes. The actual numbers by day were 0, 5, 5, 6, 11, 12, 12, for the course of 7 days, making the total 51 cigarettes. Better yet, I didn’t smoke 89 cigarettes, that I normally would’ve consumed.

Now considering I’ve smoked somewhere in the neighborhood of nearly 300,000 cigarettes in the course of my lifetime so far, that may not seem much. However, I arrived at that number one at a time, so I prefer to approach quitting the same way – by not smoking one at a time.

To provide a little financial incentive, lets figure the savings. I didn’t have 89 cigarettes, which is about 4 and 1/2 packs. At $4.00 a pack, that’s an extra $18.00 in my pocket – not too shabby. Again, have to look at the little things for additional inspiration.

But I still need to quit, so plan to start again. I’m currently working back up to another run at it. Stay tuned for Part II in the saga.

Alternative Medicine – Often the Better Answer

Posted on October 12, 2007
Filed Under Alternative Medicine, Pain Relief | Leave a Comment

On far too many occasions, we follow the path of conventional medicine, instead of utilizing proven alternative techniques. My son just did this after something “popped” in his neck after exercising. Ended up with bad headaches, went to emergency room – twice, did all the CAT scans, and other expensive tests. No solution.

Finally went to a chiropractor recommended by a friend, who spotted the problem immediately. Turns out he had a disk turned out of alignment. A few adjustments solved the problem. For less than 200 bucks, he resolved what over $2000 couldn’t answer.

Here’s an exerpt I read on the same subject. It’s from CNN Health News. You can read the whole article here:

The writer quotes these examples:

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — Dr. Andrew Weil wasn’t sure exactly how he hurt his knee; all he knew was that it was painful. But instead of turning to cortisone shots or heavy doses of pain medication, Weil turned to the ancient Chinese medicine practice of acupuncture. “It worked — my knee felt much better,” says Weil.

Americans spend billions of dollars each year on alternative medicine, everything from chiropractic care to hypnosis.

Weil says alternative medicine can work wonders — acupuncture, certain herbs, guided imagery.

For example, Dr. Brian Berman, director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has done a series of studies showing acupuncture’s benefits for osteoarthritis of the knee.

Extensive studies have also been done on mind-body approaches such as guided imagery, and on some herbs, including St. John’s wort.

Above are just a few examples of success going the alternative route. We need to remember to focus on the problem, and not get sucked into convention.

Without question, conventional medicine has much to recommend it, but don’t rely on it without satisfying yourself it makes the most sense for your particular ailment.

After all, why do you think they call it a ”practice”. That right there should keep us a bit wary.

Stop Smoking Journey – Day 1

Posted on October 11, 2007
Filed Under Smoking | 1 Comment

As of today I’m a non-smoker. Officially that last cigarette was at about 1:27am this morning, so I’ve had this status for about 15 hours – so far, so good.

The approach is cold turkey (haven’t tried that one in a while). Still not sure whether the stop smoking aids help or hinder the process – sometimes I’ve found them useful, sometimes not.

I’ve decided to write about the experience, partially to keep me honest, perhaps as a way of venting during the tougher times, and also thinking others may find something useful here.

Some background. I’ve smoked for about 38 years. Quit a handful of times before, once for over a year. Last time was over seven years ago and lasted for just a few months. Averaged a pack a day over that time – sometimes much more, occasionally less.

Bottom line is it’s time to quit for good – probably way past time. I can feel the accumulated effects, tight chest, shortness of breath, and loss of energy. In short, I finally decided I’m too young to feel this bad.

With the way “sin” taxes are being heaped onto to things like cigarettes, no longer paying for them may turn into some “real” money, so thought I’d keep a tally of savings.

In the Dallas area, I bought smokes by the carton for a bit over 40 bucks depending on where purchased. For simplicity, I’ll call it $4.00 per pack.

Therefore, I made $4 today.

Stay tuned for day 2….
 



Most Read


Categories




Recently