Unconventional methods pt II

Today, I'm looking at naturopathy vs pills to help people quit smoking.

What is naturopathy? [na-chur-ah-puh-thy] Basically, hippie medicine. It's a real, medical practice that takes four years to earn a degree in. Only fifteen states in the US license naturopathists. Oregon is one of them. It uses nature, i.e. plants, herbs, spices, to treat illnesses just like medicine at the hospital. There are naturopathists just as there are optometrists and pediatricians.
I've read that smoking causes deficiencies of protein, fiber, B, C and E vitamins, as well as iron and beta-carotene; at the same time, it exacerbates these deficiencies. This is because a) smokers generally have poor diets, not eating as much of the food that gives us these nutrients (fruits and veggies) and b) the smoke itself depreciates them in our bodies. When we don't have enough nutrients, we're more susceptible to health problems like cancer and heart disease.
As for the anxiety associated with quitting smoking due to nicotine withdrawal, Valerian, Motherwort, Vervain and Skullcap are some of the herbs used in naturopathy to strengthen the nervous system. Generally, naturopathists prescribe herbal medicine as well as a change of diet catering to the different stages of quitting smoking. Almonds, for example, are supposed to repair some of the damage caused by smoking according to this study.

So what if this sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo? What if the people in white coats with MD/PhDs are the only doctors to be trusted with prescriptions? Do pharmacies provide better cures than the produce section? Here's what I found concerning "quit smoking pills:"

Cancer.org has a short list of prescription drugs designed to help smokers quit. They're mostly some kind of brain pill, meaning they are antidepressants promoting they alleviate withdrawal symptoms or actually mess with the chemicals or cells in your brain. Clonidine is a blood pressure drug also listed. Every single one has a side effect, ranging from drowsiness to suicidal thoughts. I've even seen some people completely scared off by the side effects of Chantix.
Most of the studies done to show their effectiveness are around four weeks, which I don't think is long enough. People return to smoking six months, even years later. Some people are on again-off again smokers their whole lives.

I have to say that I've never been a fan of using man-made chemicals to treat or cure anything you can't fix yourself. I understand getting a leg blown off requires more than tree sap and sewing needles to fix, and post-injury pain management is a bitch, but trying to cure things like obesity, depression, and back pain are 99% of the time caused by shit you do to yourself and 99% of the time reversible if you just don't do whatever it is you're doing wrong, or start doing something you're not and you should. Like eating healthy and exercising. Some people can't wrap their heads around the fact that the human body is made to consume plants (and animals...?) and move. So they take pills and go through expensive treatments and procedures to fix what they're breaking.
I think if a better diet, taking some herbal supplements, and moving around more can help quit smoking, not to mention that it just promotes better health in general, there's no need for prescription drugs to (try to) do the same. I don't think eating fruits and vegetables has ever had any negative side effects, do you?

As the smoke clears....

Good news!

Last week, I remembered for the first time in I don't know how long what it feels like to just be. To just go about my day, do what I do, and just live in those moments. Most of the time, especially at work, I'm just running out the clock until my next cigarette. I would probably smoke all day long if my lungs could take it. I've never been a chain smoker. I might get through one and a half, and feel "full." But most of my day just feels like keeping myself busy, getting as much done as I can, until I can smoke again. Until Tuesday. I didn't think about cigarettes at all. As the day progressed, I only noticed what time it was and how many cigarettes I hadn't smoked, followed by a very satisfying feeling of not wanting one (not just "not yet" but "not at all").
I've considered quitting before, because I generally feel lousy when I smoke. With the flick of the lighter, and the first inhale comes this Debby Downer sensation that just says, "damn it" in a very disappointed tone. And I am disappointed. I disappoint myself every time I smoke. I've never been the smoker that blows smoke in anyone's face, or smokes wherever I feel like without asking if anyone minds. I don't even like pictures of me if I'm holding a cigarette in them. In a way, I hide my smoking. I've never been proud of it. Feeling like I can do whatever I want wherever I want, without shame is something I'm holding onto to keep on keepin' on without cigarettes. This progressing satisfaction feels familiar, and it's giving me hope that I have the strength and willpower to never smoke a single cigarette ever again. I've felt this feeling before....

Once upon a time, I smoked meth. Overall, I smoked for about three months. It started as a party thing, twice or so a month. Then it was a weekend thing, which progressed into an every other day thing. Which is a lot considering that the high can last eighteen hours. I lost twenty pounds. I failed a drug test and it ruined my career in the Marine Corps. I got to see the look on my parents' faces when they could see that I was killing myself. One day, I looked at my naked body in the mirror after showering. It took maybe thirty seconds before I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I called a friend over, he saw the environment I was living in, and we packed up my shit and left. Over the next month, he fed me, sheltered me, and loved me. He told me if I ever smoked meth again, I couldn't be in his life. I haven't touched it in three years. It's easy to quit something that causes so much damage to your life. I became happier and happier the longer I went without it. My curves came back, my stress went away, and every day the sun shone brighter than the last.

Why do something that doesn't make you happy? I look at pictures of myself then and I'm disgusted with how I look. I'm disgusted with myself that I let it happen, that I did it to myself, that I chose to hurt myself. To this day, there are some places I don't like visiting or even passing by, because I associate them with that time in my life. I don't hang out with the same people. As much damage as it caused, I know everything happens for a reason. I appreciate my curves now that I know what I look like when I'm unhealthily thin. Everyday life bullshit doesn't get me down the way it used to, because no matter how bad things get, I know they'll never be that bad again, and they'll never be as bad as they could be had I continued. I don't know where I would be if it weren't for my friend. I know he will always be a part of my life, no matter how far away, or how frequently we see each other, I know we'll still love each other when we're old and grey.

Today is the one week mark that I haven't smoked a cigarette. And I'm feeling great. I'm planning grocery store trips to eat healthier, I've discussed revisiting P90X with my boyfriend. Maybe cutting out fast food, soda and candy is too much to add on top of quitting smoking. Maybe it's a lot of pressure. But I don't feel it yet. I feel really fucking great about it. Why not overhaul all my unhealthy habits? Why not now? I've learned from experience that talking about things doesn't necessarily make them happen. I've learned how to make shit happen. There is no try: do or do not.

I've never known anyone to be this far gone, nor did I ever act like this myself, but here's a prime example of a tweaker, and why no one should ever think about touching meth:

Hard Reality as Motivation: Effects of Smoking

Day Two: three cigarettes

Yesterday, I mentioned that smoking can cause cervical cancer when combined with HPV. Today, I'm doing research on how smoking effects different organs, and how deadly it can be when combined with certain ailments. Findings will be posted later.

Right now, I have to take a moment to be happy, at the risk of over-sharing personal information. I received a letter from the clinic I went to a couple weeks ago for my annual pap smear. Although I was confident I wouldn't get a call about the STD tests results, I was sure I'd get a letter, much like letters in the past, with the box next to "abnormal cells" checked, HPV written in the "possible cause" line, followed by a recommendation for a colposcopy appointment. Twice I've received this kind of letter, and the first time, I did get a colposcopy, which confirmed HPV. The second time, I didn't bother, because I figure cutting pieces out of my cervix, causing scar tissue, isn't going to make anything any better.
Third time's a charm, I suppose, because everything came back normal. Doctors at multiple clinics and hospitals over the years have told me that pap smears have only recently become standard annual exams for women twenty-one and over. This is because younger women were getting "abnormal" results, which became normal within five years. I don't know if it's just the body maturing or they really did have HPV and it went away (doing research on HPV, many sources have claimed that a good portion of people in their late teens to early twenties get rid of it within five to ten years on their own). Even the CDC states that "In most cases, HPV goes away by itself."
In researching HPV, I also found that there a many different types of the virus, about forty of which infect the genitals. Interestingly, these same strains can infect the mouth and throat, which is where smoking comes back around. The same CDC page states that 1,700 women in the U.S. get oropharyngeal cancer each year (6,700 men), and that smoking as well as HPV contribute to these numbers.

So now that I'm virus-free, all I have to do is quit smoking to keep myself from adding to these numbers.

As if I need more reason to quit:

I don't know much about my family history. I know my great uncle died of lung cancer when he hadn't smoked a day in his life. I'm sure it was from asbestos and lead-based paint from the work that he did. The only things I really feel I have to worry about come from the side of my family that I took the most DNA from: my mother's. Dementia, skin cancer, and polycythemia all run in her family. I don't think I can do much about the dementia or the skin cancer. I love the sun too much to avoid it. But being at risk of developing polycythemia should be enough to motivate anyone to quit smoking. This blood disorder thickens the blood, increasing risk of stroke, peptic ulcers, and gout; my grandmother has had three strokes within five years due to her condition. With smoking shitting on the blood vessels already, I'm pretty much asking for polycythemia, and blood clots. And a shitty death.

The more I look, the more reasons I find to stay away from cigarettes. Cold hard facts like these are much more effective than tactics I saw in school, in the D.A.R.E. program. Maybe they were just too cheesy, maybe I was too spacey to pay attention, but I don't remember anything about real life medical problems. What's cancer to a ten year old? Maybe having real life shit happen to me, or my friends or family, makes it more real. It's not something that happens to other people in another reality, far far away.