{"id":1376,"date":"2020-04-29T00:09:10","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T00:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vibranthealthintegrativenutrition.com\/?p=1376"},"modified":"2020-04-29T14:34:10","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T14:34:10","slug":"good-thing-my-sons-quest-to-give-up-nicotine-during-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/vibranthealthintegrativenutrition.com\/?p=1376","title":{"rendered":"Good Thing – My Son\u2019s Quest to Give Up Nicotine During the Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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May 2020<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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My son Jamie has always been a deep thinker with a huge heart.\u00a0 He lights up a room and loves a good party, but like most of us, has had his struggles.\u00a0 And one that\u2019s been most difficult for him to tackle is nicotine addiction.\u00a0 Jamie started smoking at age 16.\u00a0 Cigarettes. Yuck. Toxic. Smelly. <\/span>Cigarettes.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 An avid skateboarder (who refused to wear a helmet, mind you), I was hopeful that he\u2019d forgo the smokes to help him land that perfect trick or boost his lung capacity, but it didn\u2019t happen.<\/span><\/p>

He continued to smoke all through college, and at some point realized that his addiction was inconvenient, expensive, smelly, and unpleasant.\u00a0 Truthfully, I\u2019m sure he knew this all along, but like every teenage kid, felt invincible and immune to nicotine addiction.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think smokers start out by imagining the long, arduous, potentially illness-laden road they may be stepping onto, and get pulled in by the insidious snare of dragging on that cigarette, the nicotine rush, and the pleasurable ritual of each cigarette consumed.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Around 2014, Jamie discovered e-cigs\u2013\u2013a cunning invention marketed explicitly to appeal to kids and adults alike\u2013\u2013and off he went down a new rabbit hole of nicotine enslavement.\u00a0 Of course I was thrilled that he was moving in a direction of getting off of the offensive, traditional cigarettes.\u00a0 But I intuitively knew that <\/span>anything<\/span><\/i> being inhaled into the lungs could not be good.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t take a rocket scientist to discern this.\u00a0 Around a year later Jamie moved on to the \u201cjuul\u201d and vaping, where he\u2019d regularly suck on odd little devices discreetly tucked away in a pocket.\u00a0 Not realizing it at the time, the juul was even <\/span>more<\/span><\/i> insidious for him, as he was using it almost constantly all day, without realizing it\u2026. Until he attempted to quit. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Like any parent watching from afar as your kid \u2013 now a grown man in his mid-20s\u2013 participates in a habit that you know can ultimately kill him, or at the very least lead to any number of debilitating illnesses, you strike a balance between expressing concerns and keeping the f*%# quiet.\u00a0 So I did.\u00a0 Hoping and praying every day that he\u2019d quit.\u00a0 Or at least some day express <\/span>an interest<\/span><\/i> in quitting.\u00a0 Both my parents smoked as young adults.\u00a0 My mother smoked through all three pregnancies, including with me.\u00a0 When the science came out that smoking led to lung disease, they both stopped.\u00a0 They were lucky.\u00a0 One of my brothers, not so much.\u00a0 He\u2019s been smoking for over 4 decades.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never underestimated the power of nicotine and the oral fixation of the smoking habit.\u00a0 I just had hoped that it would forgo getting its ugly grip on one of my kids. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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It\u2019s now April of 2020, and we are smack dab in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0 Jamie, now 26 and having been a smoker for 10 years, has moved back home to start saving a pot of money for a long term dream (a topic for a future blog).\u00a0 My daughter, Julia, made her way home from Montreal\u00a0 <\/span>just<\/span><\/i> as the Canadian border shut down, thanks to my determined husband, Jean, whose status has now been elevated to Super Dad, and will stay there. <\/span>I am so grateful to have our little family of four together.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 Safe.\u00a0 Quarantining in Watertown.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>

We get into a quarantining rhythm very quickly.\u00a0 Both Jamie and Jean\u2019s work shifts to home.\u00a0 Julia\u2019s McGill studies all go online.\u00a0 I\u2019m used to working from home, so this is not new for me.\u00a0 In our house, as you can imagine with my love of all things food and nutrition, meals become the high points of our days.\u00a0 As it turns out, Julia has become a phenomenal and adventurous cook.\u00a0 She gets a craving, we discuss the mouthwatering menu, create a grocery list for online delivery or the \u201cevery few week\u201d dash to the store, and the creation materializes into a delectable meal of heavenly scrumptiousness.\u00a0 Our good fortune of having this bounty is never underestimated.\u00a0 Truly, every food item that comes into our home is met with reverence and gratitude.\u00a0 I know so many are food insecure for any number of reasons, and it breaks my heart.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>

So, it’s in the midst of this time of quarantine that Jamie announces: <\/span>I\u2019m going to quit the vape.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Hallelujah, Praise the Universe, can this be real?, yes, yes, YES!!!\u00a0 But shoot, we ARE in the midst of a pandemic, and as insulated as we may feel in our little world on Adams Avenue, it\u2019s still stressful.\u00a0 Every day we are tremendously appreciative for our health, the roof over our heads, the love we share, and wish so much that we could do more than just <\/span>stay at home <\/span><\/i>to help with this world wide, earth-shattering crisis.<\/span><\/p>

We are all 100% on board to support Jamie in this monumental venture.\u00a0 And really, what a better time to tackle this magillah.\u00a0 First, Jamie goes into preparation mode.\u00a0 I really know little about the specific techniques of how to successfully break a nicotine addiction, but I do know I will jump in however Jamie needs me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

His prep list:<\/b><\/p>

  • Nicotine patches in place, check.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • Find a support buddy to quit with, check.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • Get started on Symbicort and have a rescue inhaler in place, check.\u00a0 (Sidebar: Jamie had attempted a 2 day vaping cessation a few weeks prior and his asthma kicked in.\u00a0 For some people, the lungs can become inflamed when you stop smoking and flare conditions such as asthma).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • Toothpicks to help with the oral component, check.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • Family completely on board for support, check.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • Get rid of all vaping materials, check.\u00a0 (Julia appointed as the hider of all paraphernalia)<\/span><\/li>
  • Resolve and readiness, check.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Let\u2019s<\/i> do this.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Day 1:\u00a0 Jamie: <\/b>Oh my GOD.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t realize how much I reached for the vape.\u00a0 It\u2019s like I\u2019m about to have a \u201cgood thing.\u201d\u00a0 But there IS no \u201cgood thing.\u201d\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>And I just drop my head and shrug and feel like something really amazing has been yanked from me.\u00a0 And this is happening over and over and over.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>

    Jamie is really good at storytelling with perfect body language to illuminate the story.\u00a0 He literally looked like a kid who\u2019d had his favorite candy taken away from him.\u00a0 So dejected.\u00a0 Such a cruel twist.\u00a0 Slumped shoulders, chin dropped to his chest.\u00a0 Like a despondent dog, collapsed in sadness. \u00a0 As Jamie describes it,<\/span> it felt like my heart was being broken 50 times a day.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 Wow.\u00a0 That is quite powerful.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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    The days went on.\u00a0 Toothpicks were helping, the nicotine patch a complete fix for the physical withdrawal, his buddy a support.\u00a0 And, the coach and mother in me wanted to find out what <\/span>was<\/span><\/i> helping to get through this quitting. \u00a0 I ask Jamie: <\/span>What are some new \u201cgood things\u201d to help replace the old?<\/span><\/i><\/p>

    The positive Jamie quickly listed them<\/b> off. <\/b>\u00a0<\/span>The <\/b>new <\/i><\/b>\u201cgood things.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>