I made the choice to stop smoking to improve my health, my breathing was becoming increasingly bad, and I was coughing a lot. After trying for three weeks to stop myself, I was climbing the walls, and needed some help. I asked my GP to refer me to Yorkshire Smokefree Wakefield, as I had done previously, and attended my advisor, Clare Broadley, at the Salvation Army in Castleford being the most convenient place for me to attend (busses haven’t been reliable and I’ve been extremely lucky to have my daughter available to take me). I know that telephone support is available with Yorkshire Smokefree however, I felt that I needed the face-to-face appointments and CO readings to verify my progress. Unfortunately, I had an allergic reaction to the first patches prescribed for me and I tried the 16-hour invisi-patch which seemed to agree with me and helped. I also found the inhalator very useful although there was no visible vape to be seen and a friend recommended a vape to me which helped. I also relied a lot on Werther’s Originals to take my mind off the conditioned cravings I experienced.
I am retired living alone and I found that evenings were particularly the hardest for me. I keep myself busy with jigsaws, knitting, and baking (anything but smoking). I could not have stopped without Yorkshire Smokefree as I needed that support and the regular carbon monoxide readings meant that I could not cheat, and I always had in mind that “I didn’t want to let the side down”.
I have previously suffered with chest infections whereas now I no longer cough, and my lungs have cleared a lot making breathing a lot easier. Going forward, I intend to continue attending at Salvation Army (group sessions) where I can enjoy a cuppa and a catch up with like-minded ex-smokers for moral support. Thank you to Yorkshire Smokefree Wakefield and the friendly advisors at Salvation Army in Castleford, Clare, Claire, and Carol.
Margaret, aged 86, Castleford Region
