Letters to the Editor
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just a thought...
I've been doing a lot of research on my own Thyroid problem, and came accross an article in the journal Clinical Thyroidology...
This particular study showed that smoking could actually be helpful in masking Thyroid problems. Quitting smoking after so many years may have unmasked an underlying thyroid problem. Just a possible avenue to explore.
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Wow, it's so amazing...
I had a very similar experience when I stopped using my favorite pen. It was Vision Uniball fine pen, with jet-black ink. I used it to write poetry and grocery lists. Well, ever since my dog chewed that pen to pieces two years ago, I've been having all of these health problems. Seriously. I had severe IT band syndrome and had to have surgery. I got this really bad cold last year. It was misery! I also have had frequent diarrhea. I'm embarrased to admit it, but I even had this weird pimple thing on my back, that lasted for over two months!
And all because I stopped using that pen. Damn that dog!
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Reverse
I smoked for maybe 5 years and quit last birthday (been nearly a year now.)
I quit because I realized the smokes were crutches. I escaped every hurt and disgrace by running off and lighting a cigarette. I had an excuse to talk to or hang out with people I would not otherwise have an in with. I accompanied all of my worst habits with a cigarette-- binge eating, going hunting for boys that I knew weren't what I really wanted them to be, curling further up into myself when depressed, writing (can be a bad habit, but that would require maybe a novel to explain.)
Since quitting, I've lost weight, become a much better yogi (smoking had kept me from practicing,) gotten better at communicating, made a good habit of writing, and most importantly, developed a really meaningful relationship with a boy who is perfect for me. He's part of the reason I quit-- not that I quit for him, but that the space the cigarettes put between him and me (he was a former/occasional smoker, too, and didn't disapprove of my habit) made me think twice, and, in the end, was the one thing that gave me the desire and courage to do what I knew I should.
I think Rebecca, and most smokers out there, go in the reverse order. This article makes me remember Garrison Keillor's (as Mr. Blue here on Salon) advice on quitting...to say a fond goodbye to an old friend who you just can't have around anymore.
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I think the strep was a bad diagnosis and how I quit smoking
I think it sounds like you had a surge in candida overgrowth. I just discovered I have this imbalance, and had never heard of it before last summer. Refined white flour products throw it into gear; eating grapefruit and vegetables calm it back down. I can feel my throat and nasal passages close up if I eat things like pizza and pasta. The doctor had told me it was "stress" and prescribed antihistimines, which took down the welts, so like your strep medication, it sorta seemed to work. But it doesn't correct the pH imbalance that's at the heart of candida overgrowth, so, no real cure. Try getting yourself around some green, high-fiber food- I've discovered collard greens are fantastic- and grapefruit, and see if you don't feel better in a week. Make plain water your fluid of choice, cut out caffiene, get enough sleep. Worked for me, like magic.
The funny thing about candida is it produces vitamin B, so knocking down the overgrowth means you'll feel bad unless you get more B into you from other sources.
As far as the quitting smoking/weight gain issue- doesn't have to happen. I've also quit smoking, after a 12-year habit had escalated to a two pack a day habit. Like you, I "loved" smoking, but I quit cold turkey and never picked up another one to this day, 22 years later. This is not willpower, which I'd say I don't possess in any large measure.
I attribute my success to an idea I'd had that what's needed is to recognize the addition is to more than the mega-dose of chemicals. The rituals of smoking are a strong and self-soothing, and eating Doesn't replace them. I needed a new, but similiar, ritual, and for me that became cherry Chap-Stick.
When the twitchy craving came on me, I'd reach for the Chap-Stick, nicely warmed in the same front pocket the lighter used to live in. I'd focus on uncapping the tube, twisting it up, and smoothing it over my lips. I'd also tell myself how much I was enjoying it- same as I used to do with the cigarette- then more focusing on rubbing my lips together, twisting down and recapping, etc. You get the idea.
The surprise for me was how well this worked. I quickly found that I had to ensure I had Chap-Stick always on hand- they do poorly when laundered with pants, for instance.
I'm positive replacing the ritual was the key.
Hope this helps. I've always wanted to share this idea with people, anyway.
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To all who smoke.
Next time you're taking a walk, whenever you're not taking a drag (which always appears to be 99 out of 100 minutes)--hold the lit cigarette at arms length directly in front of your face as you continue to walk. Try it instead of the clean air you seem to want.
Next time you put the cigarette down in a light breeze because you don't feel like inhaling white smoke--instead place it directly upwind from your face as you continue to struggle to find in the wind an unpolluted breath of air.
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I had the same with drugs
The moment I stopped spending my weekends on opiats, alcohol, extacy or mushrooms, I thought soberness will lead me to a stable life of happiness. The opposite was the case. I spended 5 years with depression, anxiety, existantial doubts, etc. Sober, healthy diet and workout. Since some weeks I'm back in booze, marihuana and occasional chemical recreations and feel like new born. Oh, the irony....
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Would I quit again if I had it to do over?
Wow, I thought it was just me! I quit five years ago after smoking for twenty years. My body went to hell on me. I got fat, I hurt all over, my blood pressure went up to the point where I now have to use medication. I developed irritable bowel, a skin rash and hemorroids, and I now have to use other, less satisfying, diversionary tactics to control the free floating anxiety all humans suffer. What fresh hell is this, I thought, and why is vim and vigor not just pouring from every cell of my being? I'm still not smoking and I'm pleased with myself that I've been able to stay off cigarettes, but still, I often wonder if too much is made out of the "benefits" of quitting smoking and if standing outside in freezing weather for 10 minutes at a time isn't preferable to the way I now feel. In America, there is certainly too much religious fervor surrounding both smoking and quitting. Like everything else, Americans have managed to turn quitting into a moral crusade. I'm humored by the opinion of Frederic Perls, the founder of Gestalt Therapy, who believed that suppression of the urge to smoke is neurotic. He smoked of course.