No one can deal with “forever”. Don’t dwell on the idea of never having another cigarette as long as you live. That can lead to obsession and can be self-defeating. Instead, concentrate on making it through just this one day. Tomorrow will take care of itself.
Get rid of all your cigarettes and all reminders of smoking, such as matches and ashtrays. The worst thing to do is to keep a pack of cigarettes nearby to “prove” that you don’t need them any longer.
Recognise that there will be some very difficult times, and keep to your game plan of coping strategies for situations in which you’d normally smoke. You’re going to take it one step, one day, one craving at a time.
In a very real way, you’re like the alcoholic who must recognise his or her own weakness in this regard. You are addicted to a deadly drug. The withdrawal period is a very real physical condition. But don’t panic. Many millions of others who have become ex-smokers have gone cold turkey and they did it the same way, one day at a time.
During those first few days, you may well notice that your mind wanders and it’s more difficult to concentrate. That’s a natural reaction, a part of the withdrawal process. It’s not a sign that you are unique and that you need nicotine to function properly.
Be aware of a disturbing paradox. As you stop smoking, your lungs will begin to regenerate, and to slough damaged tissue. You’re going to cough more now than when you smoked. Again, this is natural and it affects just about everyone in the same way.
The only truly terrible mistake you can make is to smoke “just one” cigarette to get you through a particularly tough craving. Don’t even take “just one” drag on someone else’s. Logically, you think it would make it easier, but in truth it just makes it more difficult and could destroy your effort.
You may find yourself literally pacing the floor like a caged animal. You’ll experience a kind of inner explosive force that begs to be released. So release it. But not by giving in to having a cigarette. Take a walk around the block. Do some serious deep breathing. Meditate. Take a bath or shower.
Be aware that cravings are transient. Each one passes. No craving goes on indefinitely. Recognise that fact as the craving hits, and work your way through it. As time goes on, those cravings will be less intense and will become more and more infrequent. Each day will be easier than the day before. But concentrate on this day. One day at a time.
Here are some coping strategies to help you make it through this particular day:
Meals
Get up from the table immediately after eating
Start washing the dishes and cleaning the table
Avoid coffee, tea and alcohol
Brush teeth frequently. Floss often.
Coffee Breaks
Practise deep breathing instead of taking a break
Go for a walk
Do some stretching exercises
Drink water or juice instead of coffee
Fiddle with a pencil, toothpick, or swizzle stick
Telephone Calls/Conversations
• Keep a supply of pencils, swizzle sticks near by
Work a rosary or worry beads through your fingers
Suck on hard lollies
Keep conversations short
Television
Go to the movies instead
Nibble on carrot sticks and pretzels
Sit on the floor rather than in a regular chair
Driving the Car
Spray deodoriser to scent the air in the car
Keep both hands on the wheel (a good idea anyway)
Concentrate on the road ahead
Do stomach-tightening exercises
There are also some general strategies that make those first days easier:
Drink Lots of Water
Enjoy ice tinkling in a glass of cold water
Celebrate yourself by using a nice wine glass
Visualise the poisons of smoking being voided in your urine
Develop Hobbies Using Both Hands
Knitting, crocheting, needlepoint
Gardening and fix-up work
Building model ships and planes
Alternative Activities and Thoughts
Walking
Stretching
Deep Breathing
Meditation
Prayer: this is a great time to ask for help!
Frequently Review Reasons to Not Smoke
Improved health
Recovery of your heart
Feeling terrific
Improved athletic performance
Improved sexual performance
Freedom from matches and ashtrays
Fitting into the Smoke-free Society
Saving money
Self-control
Feeling of pride in accomplishment
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Cardio & Blood/ Cholesterol
Yes, there are all sorts of testimonials for this and that method of quitting. And one of those approaches might just work for you. But when it comes right down to it, the majority of men and women who successfully kick the habit do so on their own. There’s even proof.
Dr Michael Fiore headed up a University of Wisconsin study that questioned about 13,000 men and women about their smoking. Of those who hadn’t smoked for over a year, almost 85 per cent went cold turkey. Only 13 per cent succeeded by gradually cutting back on the number of cigarettes smoked daily.
About 48 per cent of those who tried to quit on their own did so, while only 24 per cent of those who used various other approaches succeeded. Of those who did succeed, certain characteristics jumped out. Successful quitters were more likely to have had strong encouragement from their doctors. Those who manage on their own tend to smoke fewer cigarettes than those who succeeded best in groups or clinics.
So now you’ve made up your mind. You want to quit, you know you have to quit, and you know you’re going to succeed this time for sure. It’s not going to be easy, but you’ll get the job done. Very soon you’ll look back, as so many of us ex-smokers have done, and wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.
The first thing to do is to set a quit date. Mark your calendar for a few days from now. Tell your spouse, your family, your friends and your co-workers that this is it. Ask for their help and understanding, since you just might get a bit irritable. Then start making plans.
For openers, you might want to talk with your doctor about the use of nicotine gum or the clonidine or nicotine patches. They might get you through the withdrawal stage a bit more easily. Your doctor might also suggest the use of a mild tranquilliser during the first days, or a sedative to help you get a good night’s sleep.
Make a list of the times you smoke. Work on that list for a while. Put it down and review it later, adding some cigarettes you forgot earlier. Don’t omit those once-in-a-while situations as well as the day-to-day cues for smoking.
Next think about how you’ll deal with each of those times you’d normally smoke. After meals, for example, you will want to get up from the table immediately after the last bite rather than lingering over a cup of coffee. In fact, during the first few weeks it would be best to forgo drinking coffee, tea and alcohol, since one normally smokes along with those beverages. What will you do when the telephone rings? A supply of toothpicks near the phone might help. Or a pencil and pad to fiddle with to keep your hands busy. While watching TV you might plan to have carrot sticks to nibble on. Match your list of smoking encounters with alternative strategies.
Arrange your calendar so that you’ll avoid smokers and smoking situations during the first few weeks after quitting. As time goes on, you’ll get back to them little by little as you’re able to cope more effectively and the initial nicotine withdrawal cravings have passed.
In place of those smoking situations, plan on doing a number of activities in places where smoking is impossible. Go to movies, museums, church and other locations with smoking prohibitions.
Start working now on the very positive attitude that will make you a success. Don’t focus on the negative, on how you miss that cigarette. Instead concentrate on how good you’re going to feel, how wonderful flowers will smell and food will taste, and how nice it will be not to have to carry the pack around with you, always looking for an ashtray.
By now you should be doing regular deep breathing as part of your routine stress reduction and relaxation program. This activity will make quitting a lot easier. When those cravings hit, deep breaths will help them pass.
Plan to start your first smokeless day in the morning, not later when you’ve smoked even one cigarette. It’s a bit easier to get started when you’ve had a good night’s sleep.
If your spouse smokes, ask him or her not to do so near you, at least during the first few weeks of going smoke free. Good friends will also be willing to accommodate you in this way.
*100\85\2*
Cardio & Blood/ Cholesterol
A vast number of medications are available on prescription or over-the-counter. It would be impossible to list all medications and their possible side effects here. Your doctor can provide you with information about any medication that your child is taking.
All medicines are potentially poisonous if not taken according to directions. Always keep medicines out of the reach of children, preferably in a locked cupboard.
If your child is taking medicine, give it to him at the specified times and he accurate with the dosage (amount). Use a measuring spoon or cup — do not guess the amount. If you forget to give your child a dose, give it as soon as you remember, and give the following dose at the correct time. Give the medicine for the exact period of time advised by your doctor — this advice is based on scientific research, not on a whim. Do not suddenly stop giving the medicine when the child is feeling better, unless it is on the doctor’s advice.
Any particular medicine should only be used by the person for whom it has been prescribed. It is not safe practice to borrow medicines from other people, not to give them to others. Do not give your child’s medicine to his brother or sister without consulting your doctor. This can be life-threatening. Some children can suffer serious side effects from even a small amount of a seemingly harmless substance.
Some medications interact with others, that is, they are not compatible with each other and may produce serious side effects. Always check with your doctor if your child is taking more than one medication at a time. All medicines have generic, or common, chemical names but are marketed under various brand names, which vary from country to country. The one medication may be marketed under different brand names. The brand names are usually printed in larger letters. Check the small print for the generic name.
Always discard medicines that are past their ‘use by’ date. This expiry date is always written on the container. Do not dispose of them in the rubbish. Take them to your chemist for disposal, or flush them properly down the toilet.
Remember that if you need to take any medication during pregnancy or when breastfeeding, this should be monitored by a doctor. Most medications should be avoided at these times, no matter how innocent they may seem, as they can be harmful to the baby. Always check with your doctor before taking any medication.
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There are no guarantees that our children will turn out to be perfect — children are after all human! But, giving our children the best possible chance in life is what we all wish for as parents and there are certain things we can do, even before the birth, to prepare the road ahead and maximise our child’s chances of being healthy and well-adjusted.
Looking after yourself during pregnancy is the best start you can give your unborn child. This chapter does not try to be a complete guide to pregnancy and childbirth. It focuses on those aspects of pregnancy that are important to your child’s health.
Pregnancy is the ideal time to prepare for your baby’s arrival and for your approaching parenthood. After your baby is born you will be busy looking after both of you, as well as the rest of the family, in many cases. Take advantage of the time you may have before the baby is born to read about childbirth, babies and parenting. Talk to other parents, relatives, your doctor and your maternal and child health nurse to familiarise yourself with both the emotional and practical aspects of parenthood. Do some research and find out in advance what sort of services are available in your local area such as nappy wash services, creches, babysitters and home help.
*40\90\8*
Young Adulthood: Telling It Like It Feels vs. Telling What You Feel Like Telling
You have traced the courtship ritual in our culture, and have learned that vulnerability has received a bad name. Instead of learning to value people because they are vulnerable, fragile, open, and disclosing, we learn to think of them as foolish and immature. We see them trying too hard and showing too much of themselves. A key lesson for super marital sex is to be able to open it all up, to share every feeling as you feel it. The real outside world doesn’t allow this openness, but it is available to you in the privacy and safety of your own marriage place. The young adult must resolve this conflict, take the risk, get hurt, bounce back, and eventually learn that only through vulnerability will lasting love and fulfilling sex be possible.
Adulthood: The Saneness of Sameness vs. the Quest for Newness
From early childhood, we learn that new is always better than old or used. Same is not as good as different, unique, or unknown. We learn that variety is the spice of life. At this adult phase of development, we must learn to countermand these cultural orders, to learn to value sameness, reliability, predictability, history, and a long-lasting, predictable sexual relationship.
Somehow a cultural myth evolved that people must “sow their wild oats” before they can “settie down.” Sexism has translated this myth to males doing the sowing and females avoiding the reaping. Finding someone to love, to have sex with over a long time does not have to follow anything else. Those people who negotiate through this stage learn the lesson that movement toward love does not have to include a sally into promiscuity.
Mature Adulthood: Us vs. Me
The term “inclusivity” refers to sharing activities and life endeav¬ors. This phase of sexual development requires striking a balance between autonomy and individual identity and finding such identity with someone while he or she is finding his or her own. Watching a lovely sunset can be a strong individual, almost spiritual experi¬ence. It can also provide for a sharing, a mental, emotional sharing or telepathy. The balance of independence and interdependence is the challenge of mature adult sexuality.
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What does your surgeon mean when he or she says: ‘I think I’ve got it all’? This expression is unfortunately often used—unfortunately because it is so misleading. I’m not sure whether surgeons say this knowing it is misleading or whether they simply don’t realise that most patients take it to mean that they have definitely been cured by the operation. What I do know is that, if it is said to you, you should ask exactly what is meant. It is certainly not a guarantee of cure. It is sometimes even said when the surgeon knows that cure is not possible!
If your surgeon says this within a day or two of the operation, it means only that he or she has removed all the cancer that was detected before and/or visible during the operation. If your surgeon says it after receiving the pathology report, it probably means that, when it was examined under the microscope, cancer cells were not seen extending right out to the edge of the removed tissue.
The fact of the matter, as you and I know, is that no one can be sure that no cancer remains in your body immediately after an operation. You can only be sure that this was true, after enough time has gone by for any remaining seedlings to activate and form detectable tumours.
*246/40/1*
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Hypertension means high blood pressure and not excessive anxiety or nervous tension.
Blood pressure is the pressure of the blood inside the arteries which carry the blood from the heart to the tissues.
When the heart contracts and forces blood out into the already filled arteries, the pressure rises. This is systolic blood pressure. When the heart is at rest, the pressure inside the elastic arteries is the diastolic pressure.
The difference between the two readings is the pulse pressure. The normal range varies considerably, being low in children and young women, and tending to rise with age.
The common belief that blood pressure should be 100 plus your age is not really true.
The normal range of systolic pressure is about 100 to 145 and the diastolic 60 to 90. It normally rises with exertion, exposure to heat or cold and with emotion, and these changes are more marked in the systolic pressures.
*434/71/1*
Pyrimethamine appears to be the most successful drug in the treatment of toxoplasmosis when it is given in conjunction with one of the sulpha drugs although sometimes sulphonamide is used alone.
Some of the broad spectrum antibiotics are also effective. Pyrimethamine may cause vitamin  and folic acid deficiencies and so these essential food factors may need to be given at the same time.
Cortisone and its derivatives have been used to reduce the inflammation, when the eye is involved.
Because of wide publicity given to this infection, many women are anxious to know if their unborn baby will be at risk. A blood or skin test should reveal whether a woman has come into contact with the parasite.
If she does have antibodies in her blood, it appears her foetus is safe and unlikely to develop the infection, even if the mother again comes into contact with the parasite.
Those women who have negative tests would be wise to avoid contact with cats during their early pregnancy. They place themselves particularly at risk if handling trays that may contain cat faeces or gardening in soil contaminated by the faeces. It appears that the parasite may be able to live in suitable soil for about a year.
Some experts believe that most cases of human infection come not from the cat but from eating infected meat which has not been properly cooked. Those who like their meat rare run a considerable risk from a variety of infections. Freezing is unlikely to kill the parasite, whereas adequate cooking does.
There is as yet no vaccine available for immunisation against this disease.
*180/71/1*
On a warm day in April, two women working together at a television station decide to have a light lunch at a nearby sidewalk cafe. It’s a friendly, crowded place, with small round tables set close to each other. Barbara, usually the more easygoing of the two women, seems worried as she leans forward and remarks to Jane: “Laura could lose her shot for a job in the newsroom. She’s missed so much work lately. Maybe she doesn’t want the job at all.”
Jane: Between us, it’s not the job. Laura’s always in pain . . . she’s got some real problems.
Barbara: What do you mean by problems? Jane: She has endometriosis. Barbara: What’s that?
Jane: For years, Laura had terrible cramps and pain, but no doctor could tell her what was wrong. Now it seems that the disease has done so much internal damage that she can’t get pregnant. Endometriosis spreads!
Barbara: How? Is it some new type of V.D.?
Jane: No, its not a disease you can catch. That’s all I know for sure.
A conversation like this one was exchanged over lunch somewhere in Manhattan, but one could easily find “Barbara” and “Jane” meeting at any coffee shop, discussing the plight of “Laura.” Such conversations are no longer isolated cases, because the subject—endometriosis—has tragically become a widespread topic. Compassionate friends like Barbara and Jane can only begin to describe the extent of the disease’s symptoms and effects. Every day in every city, millions of concerned women who know someone with endometriosis or who are themselves plagued by it are also searching for solutions to this new and growing health problem. Who are these women?
One might be a friend, a boss, a relative—or she might be yon. The facts now tell the story: a conservative estimate counts 20 million women with endometriosis, but realistically, there are more than twice that number of victims at varying stages of the disease. Millions of Lauras face the possibility of infertility and needless Buffering. Millions more are crippled by relentless pelvic pain and its complications, such as debilitating cramps and bladder disorders. Some have lost faith in professional medical care, as one doctor after the other (ailed to diagnose their disease before it grew out of control. More important, vast numbers of women may have endometriosis and not know that they do.
*4\43\4*
Yoga means union, a meeting; it is a state in which one unites, becomes one with, or attunes oneself to, reality. It is a union of your body and the physical aspects of your being with your mind, so that the body and mind can function harmoniously. Through yoga, some people can attain complete self-control.
The first step is the learning of correct breathing; this has particular importance in yoga, and is thought to be essential for adequate control of the mind.
The next important step is a series of exercises known as Hatha Yoga. These exercises lead to correction of posture faults, and increased general fitness. Systematic relaxation is another very important aspect of yoga, and this also involves exercises, both to control and relax each and every part of the body.
Once these things have been mastered, the mind is ready for meditation. This may or may not be an essential part of anxiety reduction. There is no doubt however that yoga not only improves physical fitness, but also endows practitioners with an inner calm and an ability to cope with stresses that they were previously unable to manage.
*30\44\4*