Lisa,

Oh no!! I’m so sorry you got another concussion! Ugh!! And to add a nightmare ER visit to it. Just what you needed. I hope the doctor tomorrow has helpful treatment plans for you. Are you ok everywhere other than your head?

I will stick with my stars, thank you for that info! 
I hope to have adventures visiting Massachusetts. I almost had some tears well up reading what you wrote. Granted, I’m overly emotional, lol. 

I’ve been struggling a lot with pain stuff and it’s been really hard. Some things are better and some much worse. The sciatica stuff really decided it’s upset. I got an injection for it a couple weeks ago and we’re planning another. It’s just crazy. I started an anti-inflammatory diet to try to bring some pressure off my nerves. Cause cutting out sugar, gluten, dairy and processed foods is what every high anxiety, depressed, barely holding on person should do, right?  

I’m a bit of a pessimist about it, but I’m willing to give it a shot since I’m kind of desperate. We’ll see if I make it the 6 weeks the plan recommends before adding back in foods. I’m on day 11 now, which I’m pretty proud of. I just want to do everything I possibly can to be in good shape for Europe. I will be beyond heartbroken if my body gives out on me and I don’t get to go. That’s just not an option.

I’ve had a few random thoughts of smoking, but nothing too intense, thankfully. I had a couple times I thought of food I wanted then thought maybe I would smoke since I wasn’t going to have the food. Wow. I had to laugh at that. The brain thinks weird things. Normally I’d want to eat delicious food to reward myself for not smoking, right?

Are you doing anything special for Mother’s Day? I’m going to go visit my mom for some of the day. Maybe we’ll watch a movie or something. 

I hope things aren’t too bad with the concussion. Your son is there to help you?

Jenny

I hope the doc visit went well, Lisa.

Enjoy the weekend everyone,

Paul

Hi Jenny,

I didn't hurt myself anywhere else this time , just hit my stupid head....again.  I saw the concussion Dr yesterday and she said rest and go back to PT Monday and then rest more and pace out activities around the house even more than usual.  Luckily the 2 Vestibular therapists I see are also trained in concussions so they can treat both .  There are a lot of the same things you do for both therapies.  I am bummed out because I lost the little bit of progress I made and I doubt I will be done on June 2nd  as I had hoped.  My son lives near by if I need something. 

Sorry about your sciatica pain and the other pain.  I hate pain. That is a lot of stuff to eliminate from your diet all at once.  I hope it helps .  I am not sure I could accomplish that right now .  11 days (13 now) is great.  Once you get that sciatica under control PT can help you get stronger for your trip.  

Mothers day my son is going to come over and make dinner and we are going to watch the Dodger / Padre baseball game and hang out.  I am not up to much else .  But I am happy with what we are going to do and most of all see my son.  

Friday I reached the triple digits of days not smoked .   100 days is a lot of days.  Thursday night I had a smoking dream .  I was holding a pack of cigs and kinda turning it back and forth in my hands contemplating lighting one up .  I woke up relieved it was just a dream because it seemed so real.

I hope you have a good Mothers Day !!!

                               Lisa 

Another smoking dream last night .  WTH.  

                                       Lisa 

Hey Lisa... Did u start craving smokes after your dream? It really is something else not to just quit, but to stay quit. I think you are 2-3 months quit? I am still using the lozenges. I feel really bad about it some days, and then some days I don't...

Jenny, I really hope that u are not in as much pain today as u were earlier this week. You guys are rocking it. I am so happy for you both, as well as Erika too!!

As long as you don't smoke in real life, Lisa. Research shows it doesn't mean it's a result of a desire or intent to smoke. 

Among 293 smokers abstinent for between 1 and 4 weeks, 33% reported having at least 1 dream about smoking. In most dreams, subjects caught themselves smoking and felt strong negative emotions, such as panic and guilt. Dreams about smoking were the result of tobacco withdrawal, as 97% of subjects did not have them while smoking, and their occurrence was significantly related to the duration of abstinence. They were rated as more vivid than the usual dreams and were as common as most major tobacco withdrawal symptoms. In subjects abstinent for 1 year, 63% recalled having dreams about smoking. They had on average 5 of them, and about a quarter occurred after the 6th month of abstinence. Having dreams about smoking was prospectively positively related to maintenance of abstinence. An explanation of this finding based on the association of smoking in dreams with aversive emotions is offered.

For those who like the geeky research. 

Dream of absent-minded transgression: an empirical study of a cognitive withdrawal symptom - PubMed (nih.gov)

Thanks for the info Paul.  I am not a fan of the smoking dreams . I need to learn to not get upset by them.

                                            Lisa 

Hi Jerthie, 

Yes , I am at 3 months / 104 days.  I didnt crave a smoke right after the dream but have had some rough craves on and off since.  I think the strong craves are mostly from stress, so I am trying to get the stress levels down. 

You will get off the lozenges when you are ready.  Try not to beat yourself up about it.  

                                              Lisa 

Lisa,

That sucks so much the concussion might’ve put you back from being done with PT. I know you’ve been really looking forward to that! PT really isn’t fun in any way.

Congrats on your 100 days! Those smoking dreams do seem to have snuck up on you and are getting you quite a bit. I hope the info Paul gave helps. I love all the experienced people here!

The food stuff hasn’t been as hard as I’d expected after the first week, as long as I don’t try to go out. I’ll just eat at home for 6 weeks, lol. I’ve become one of those California people that would ask for special food when ordering.  The diet is so limiting, there really isn’t anything at a restaurant I could order, I think. Next week will be 3 weeks and I’ll be halfway to seeing if it helps.

I hope your Mother’s Day was nice with your son. Sounds like a relaxing one. I had a nice time with my mom for a bit. My kids went out with me to see the new Marvel movie that night, so that was fun. 

Jenny

Jerthie,

Hey there! Good to see you here. I’m sorry you’re still struggling with the lozenges. I know you’ll drop them when you’re ready!

I have better days and worse days with the pain. The same with my attitude about it, lol. A better attitude helps on the worse days, but is harder, of course. I at least have hope for things getting better and treatments helping and that makes a huge difference. 

Jenny