Sandra's Quit Date : 20 Dec 2023
My name is Sandra, and I’ve been a smoker for the best part of 60 years. I still remember the first time I tried a cigarette as a teenager, I hated it, as it made me cough but slowly, slowly you convince yourself you like it. I wish I’d never started, but like many others back then, I did!
I never planned on stopping smoking, but everything changed when I was admitted into hospital with pneumonia. There had been signs before the admission, as I was diagnosed with COPD, years previously. I’ve also suffered with my chest for a very long time, but this time was different, this time frightened me. I remember thinking I can’t breathe! It was something I’d never felt before, not like this so I decided that when I was better I would never smoke again!
Whilst in hospital I was given nicotine patches and they helped me feel comfortable and manage the nicotine withdrawal symptoms. I was discharged from hospital with a supply of patches and advised to call Calderdale’s community stop smoking team for support to stay stopped.
I called Yorkshire Smokefree Calderdale and chose to attend the stop smoking group for my appointments and support. I was still wearing patches before attending the session and still smokefree to my surprise.
At first, I was very anxious attending the group but that soon resolved after meeting the team and Chris the advisor, who talked me through the program. Chris encouraged me to continue wearing the patches and also suggested I tried a nicotine inhalator as well. This little plastic tube has been very helpful alongside the patch, as I needed something to do with my hands and the inhalator has been good for this.
I never want to feel that scared again and knew I needed to say goodbye to the cigarettes and stick to the program. Staying stopped hasn’t been easy but easier than I thought it would have been.
I attended the group every week, I’ve really got a lot from speaking with the advisors and other group members. During the early sessions my advisors were concerned as I was blowing a carbon monoxide (CO) reading of a smoker even though I hadn’t smoked. I was a little concerned as everyone else were getting low CO readings and in most cases that of a nonsmoker.
I didn’t let this stop my progress and kept using the products and attending the weekly group sessions. I continued to blow high on the CO monitor so Chris and Donna, the advisors, asked me to stay after the group for a further discussion as they were also concerned. Chris asked me various questions and I confirmed that I hadn’t smoked since been admitted to hospital. The advisors made me aware that carbon monoxide poisoning can also come from household appliances, like a faulty boiler or gas fire so asked if they could contact my son to arrange for my gas boiler to be checked. My son had the gas engineer out that very day and to my surprise my boiler was faulty and sadly condemned. The next few days I was without a boiler but at least we knew the potential source of the high CO readings.
After the new boiler was fitted, I started blowing lower CO readings but still not as a nonsmoker. After further investigation we realised another reason why I was blowing a high CO reading is because I’m lactose intolerant. The monitor will report higher readings for people who are lactose intolerant, which now makes sense. Either way, I was grateful for the support and felt safe knowing I wasn’t living with a faulty gas boiler.
From what has been a scary experience, has also been life changing. I still have COPD and have minor fare ups, but generally I’m a lot better and my breathing has improved as well. I manage my COPD with the use of my inhalers, but nothing like I used to do when smoking.
I was really enjoying coming to the group as it was an excuse to get out and meet new people, but it only runs once a week. Chris mentioned a service called Staying Well and asked me if I would like him to make a referral. Chris told me briefly what they do and explained that they would contact me for a chat to tell me about the activities they have running. Another group member attends and told me they are brilliant. I have joined a group with people, who to my surprise are like me, a widow or on their own and looking for community interaction. I now attend this every other week, and it’s brilliant. I’ve made a whole new circle of friends and I’m still smokefree.
Everything has changed for the better since stopping smoking. I’ve been on holiday with my family, using the extra money I’ve saved from not smoking. I’m more mobile and better at managing my COPD and I feel I’ve found a new lease of life. My clothes and house, which must have smelt like an ashtray before, now smell lovely and fresh. I still miss my husband terribly, but I am not as lonely as I once was. Believe me or not, I put this down to stopping smoking and all the other changes that I’ve made in the last 52 weeks.
One year on from stopping smoking, I can look back and acknowledge how much control the cigarettes had on me. If I could go back to my younger self and tell her what I know now, I would have never started smoking. It doesn’t make you cool or fit in with friends, but what it will do is make you very, very poorly and short of brass.
I hope my story helps anyone thinking about stopping, as it certainly helped me.
