smoking and treatment

Im WAITING for my next appt with my GI. Got biopsy results and with seek treatment. Just hope doc allows my to start sooner than later. Anyway, Im a smoker. Seriously considering quitting while awaiting onset of treatment. I just dont think smoking will be something I want to complicate side effects, ect. However, Ive tried soooo many times before and eventually continue to fail. Was anyone out there a smoker prior/during treatment and or any tips? Should I try the meds or patch? Just trying to take best action. Tina

[willbb]

Hi Tina...definitely try to give up smoking ,as it has been shown to be not only detrimental to treatment ,but can have adverse effects on the liver for people with HCV.. there are many articles  on the subject ...one is below..   Good luck with  your next appoint.

Will

http://smoking.ygoy.com/is-smoking-harmful-for-hepatitis-patients/

[R Glass]

We always talk about the Negative Side of the SX but we never talk about the Positive Side of the SX.

Smoking
1. I was to Nauseated to Smoke.
2. I didn’t have enough Energy to Smoke.
3. I didn’t have enough Breath to Inhale the Smoke.

[Bill1954]

Hi Tina,

We’re all wired differently, so I’d probably be out of line telling you if or how to quit smoking.

On a personal note, I smoked heavily for nearly thirty years, and like you quit several times but started again. I like to look back on those times as part of the learning curve, sort of like getting my @ss in position for later. I stopped smoking in 2003; no real magic to it, I:

Just. Stopped. Smoking. And by golly, it worked; I haven’t snuck even one puff since. Best as I can tell by looking back, I was ready that time. It was really difficult, but I started by addressing the physics of it; if I didn’t bend my arm and bring the ciggy to my lips, I figured I’d somehow stop. I got lots of things with pronounced flavor to keep around the house; things that didn’t have a lot of calories. Hot pickled veggies, pepperoncini worked for me. Oh, and I drank lots of water.

It’s worth stopping; again looking back, I don’t regret it a bit.

Get p!ssed at tobacco, p!ssed at the companies that make cigs, do what it takes, and you’ll get there. It’s pretty cool not being a smoker; and you can be one too in about ten minutes, simply be not picking up your cigs.

Okay, I’m stepping off my soapbox now :o).

Good luck and best wishes,

--Bill

[oneofthree_]

Thank you all for the encouragement! I will do it this time. I know it!

[hcvJames]

It's a little late to start but I quit after 30 + years through a bit of self hypnosis. I blamed everything bad on smoking, related or not, doesn't matter it's the reinforcing that matters. Tell a lie long enough and it becomes the truth. Also with every inhale you have to consciously think how it burned, didn't taste right, look at the cig like it's Satan out to kill you (it is) Put it out half finished and get PO'd cuz it cost to much. It stinks, makes you smell. Finally a when really bad cold hit for a few days it was used as a jumping off point. Be careful not leave leave left over cigs out in easy reach (but for one pack, I soaked a fresh carton in water.) Throw the pack in the back of the messiest closet you have, make it a chore to dig out. Take out your fix but b4 lighting throw the pack out of reach again. Take few puffs, don't even halfway finish, shred the cig. And stay busy. Refrain from taking hostages as you withdraw. There is no smoking in prison so it's kind of an empty gesture anyway.

All the best.

[his3707]

I smoked for 30+ years.  I quit in 2006 and that was after trying 1000 times and failing.  I decided I had to give up drinking in order to quit smoking, that was always my weak link.  Thank God I did. I was dx with HCV in 2009.  Dont stop trying.  Even though it is hard to imagine, It is so much better not smoking.  And I liked smoking.  

[grizwald]

Hi,
I stopped smoking after 20+ years.  I did it, much the way Bill suggested, "Just Stop".  From that moment on I never looked at it as somthing I was "trying to accomplish" but rather as something I had done and was moving farther away from  'minute by minute', that way I knew, if I had the strength yesterday, the time away would make it easier. and if I didn't smoke any more, then I didn't need to keep a few out in the car  'just in case'.
  Besides lots of water, I made certain to stay busy  and stay away from places where people hang out, for a few days.  
   I hope this helps. I'm sure if I and millions of others were able to do it You will too and you want believe how quickly it's over.

You can do this,

Griz

[Bill1954]

Looking at the health aspects alone, let’s try comparing cigarette smoking to Hep C management. A generally accepted figure is that about 50% of long-term smokers will eventually die from tobacco-related disease. The figures bandied about for HCV is that 5% will eventually die it.

So; treat your HCV, but continue to smoke?

Something I forgot to mention above is to make yourself accountable to someone. It might be a support group, or a friend or relative; someone who you share your plans with. Then if you start to cheat or back up somehow, they’ll be there to catch you and urge you on.

Quitting ain’t easy, but it can be done. The sad thing about tobacco-related illnesses is that they’re avoidable. However you decide to work the mechanics of quitting, just do it.

Good luck-it can be done. Go for it.

-Bill

[ccrider65]

Third day on tx and when I went out to have a smoke it made me gag. Ha guess theres a plus side for sure. I quit

[Anne1717]

Geez- it is true - i don't feel like doing anything BAD - not that I ever did do anything BAD, but at least I felt like maybe sometime it would be fun !!!

[paen53]

I was a long time smoker and professional quitter - 40 years. I quit cold turkey a week before I started tx, possibly the worst time considering all the stress leading up to it. But I was so focused on tx and doing my best to make it work, that I never looked back. At the time, it wasn't an issue and two and half years later, I am still a non- smoker. Actually, my urges have only been now since I am feeling better, but I will never give in, cuz I know it'll only take "one". It can be done......

[desrt]

Agree with R Glass - once you start txing, quitting shouldn't be a problem.