Re: smoking and endo-suggestion for quitting
From: Amy (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Wed Nov 1 08:12:52 2006
I was checking the forum, as I haven't been on in a long time, and saw
this message. I have never heard of smoking making endo worse but I
guess anything is possible. I have had endo for 15 years, and am also a
smoker but I have never noticed any connection between cigs and my pain
levels.
I read through all the responses and wanted to offer a suggestion for
quitting. I have been an official non-smoker now for over 48 hours, a
huge accomplishment, considering I have smoked over a pack a day for 20
years. I did laser therapy over the weekend. Ann Penman, the lady who
pioneered the technique,has clinics all over the country. Here's a
link:
http://www.annepenmantherapy.com/
The cost is about $300 for a total of three treatments, the first two
within a few days of each other and the third to use as a "booster" when
needed. A cold laser is applied (cold meaning it is does not cut as
lasers used in surgery) to various pressure points in your hands, ears,
face and forehead. Doesn't hurt at all, just kind of tingles a bit and
makes you feel very relaxed. It increases endorphin levels in your body
and makes withdrawal much easier. It also just curbs the urge to smoke,
much like Zyban. I took Zyban too for awhile but could not handle the
side effects and had to quit taking it.
The first couple days have been rough but after 48 hours, all the
nicotine is out of your body so I am noticing a difference today. The
first few days I was very ancy and nervous and actually did smoke a few
(first treatment was last Sat.) but I had my second treatment Monday
afternoon and have not touched one since. You do have to want to quit,
and it does take effort, like changing routines, staying motivated, etc.
but the laser has definitely made it much easier. I have four other
members of my family who have done it, three of them very recently, and
have found it to be successful. One family member has not smoked at all
in 6 months.
I don't want to ramble about it anymore than I already have, but just
wanted to offer the suggestion. For me, the money is worth it, I would
spend that much in ciggies in a month or so. Feel free to email me
direct if you would want to discuss further. It is not currently
covered by insurance companies but may be in the future. I will be
interested too, to see if it does make any difference in my endo.
Hugs to all!
Amy Meyer
airons@one.net
At Thu, 26 Oct 2006, Abby wrote:
>
>Hello everyone. With a big group like this one I know there are people
>here that have had endo for a really long time and I know you ladies
>probably have a lot of education under your belt and have heard almost
>everything there is to hear when it comes to this disease. I am so glad
>that you ladies are here for people like me and others that don't know a
>lot about endo yet because you ladies can give us your hindsight 2020
>and save us from the missteps that we might would make otherwise if we
>hadn't met all of you in this great place. Maybe you veteran ladies of
>endo can help me out with this one or maybe some of the newly diagnosed
>ladies have heard this and can help out too but either way I just have
>to find out if this is true or not. I have been questioning the truth
>behind being a smoker with endo because I hear so often that women that
>smoke have a harder time than women that don't smoke. I went to see my
>doctor yesterday and my doctor made mention that the reason I was having
>frequent endo episodes and intense pain is due to my smoking. He said
>women with endo that don't smoke don't experience near the problems
>smokers do. I'm not trying to defend that I smoke or come across in a
>way that sounds like I refuse to give up the cigarettes but I've noticed
>that consumption of a lot of caffiene can do that also. If I take in a
>lot of sugar my episodes of active endo and the pain can be really bad
>than on days when I haven't consumed a lot of caffiene. Has anyone else
>heard this from their doctor before about smoking making endo and endo
>pain worse? Is there any truth to it or is it just another myth people
>have put on the symptomatics of endo? I just suspect it is my doctor's
>way of trying to get me to quit smoking all the while using my disease
>and my problems as a foreground reason. I would be more accepting of
>his suggestion to quit if it were really about making my endo better for
>me but if it's just using my disease to get me to quit under false
>preceptions that's not fair to make me think I'm going to feel better or
>fair endo episodes any better if it's not true. I just know when I do
>have pain and episodes with endo I resort to smoking because it calms me
>and I've never noticed that the episode got worse after I put the
>cigarette out, I've just noticed that I hurt the same no matter if I've
>got a cigarette in my mouth or not. I'm sorry I took up everyones time
>going over the deep end on smoking and endo but I just don't know what
>to believe about what my doctor told me because I don't want to go
>through the painstaking process of quitting spending money on
>medications or programs to help me quit smoking after I've been smoking
>all these years just to find out that the endo is still going to
>continue to overtake my body and be just as painful than it was before I
>ever quit cigarettes. Thanks everyone for your help and advice. I'm
>glad I have somewhere to go to get support for this disease because it
>can be a lonely disease when no one but you knows what you feel and what
>comes along with it because it's not like it's so common that people
>know about it. I feel sometimes like I am the only person in the world
>with endo and coming here helps me to realize that I'm not alone or at
>least I'm not alone in the world anyway.
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