This No Smoking Day, we are catching up with Lindsey, who is just over 4 weeks into her Be Smoke Free journey at Congleton Leisure Centre. She was referred by a medical expert following a scare she had recently where they found a benign tumour in her right lung “that was incentive enough” shares Lindsey.
“I do have four of the most wonderful grandchildren and I’d like to be there to see them get married and have their own children. So this is just another step down that health journey to keep me here longer.”
Lindsey explained, because her friends don’t smoke, she missed out on a lot of conversations “I was always the one going back in saying what have I missed? What have you said? Hopefully that won’t happen for very much longer.”
Initially Lindsey didn’t want to give up smoking because she enjoyed it
“Needs must and I thought, I will give it a go and that’s exactly what I did. Made my first appointment with Natasha, little fear and trepidation when I came into see her but she was great, she was easy to talk to, she was very thorough and clear in what she was telling me. I think the biggest wake up call was my first carbon monoxide test because I just assumed that because I roll my own that was fine, it was just tobacco, it didn’t have anything nasty in it, so to find a score that was way up in the red was something of a shock.”
Before joining, as far as I knew my health was pretty ok, the reason Lindsey went to the doctor was because of a cough she couldn’t get rid of which was new. It was from there she went through several tests to discover that she may have a problem, she may not
“The obvious answer to that was to look after my health and give up smoking.”
“Since taking part my health has improved, the cough has gone which was my biggest concern. I belong to the local amateur dramatics and my singing has also improved which is just an extra added bonus.”
Lindsey’s biggest challenge was breaking the habit of having a break from her computer and walking outside to have a cigarette. She was given assistance with chewing gum, patches and everything else which worked for a little while
“Then I forgot to use them which is great. Most of the time it was just a habit rather than the fact I wanted a cigarette, it was something to do, so finding another way to fill that time has been my biggest challenge but I am getting there.”
“What I found most helpful was the openness and honesty of Natasha when I saw her. The options she gave me, there was always the option of a phone call if I felt shaky or I just needed to run something through with her or tell her I was struggling, which fortunately I didn’t need, but knew it was there and I think having that safety net was a real plus.”
For anyone who might feel nervous about taking part
“Don’t be, she’s not scary promise you. Any questions, nothing will shock her, nothing will phase her, she will always give you an option, sympathetic ear and offer you any help she can in any way you might need it, so if you haven’t before… Give it a go.”
If Lindsey and No Smoking Day has inspired you to want to quit smoking, click here to find out more about the free programmes One You Cheshire East delivers across Cheshire East.
Watch Lindsey’s story here.