One You Lincolnshire work with local pharmacy partners to deliver stop smoking support to One You Lincolnshire clients in areas of the county convenient to them. We are extremely proud of this service, and it fills us with even more pride when we receive case studies from clients who have experienced success with them. Read the below account we received recently!
How did you hear about One You Lincolnshire?
After having heart surgery for third heart attack, the surgeon strongly advised I quit smoking and the nurse from the cardiac department was going to put me on their programme once I had recovered but I heard about this programme through friends so signed up online and was contacted that way.
Describe your journey with One You Lincolnshire. How did you feel before and how do you feel now after taking part in the programme?
I came to the pharmacy just two weeks after my surgery so was still recovering and quite weak still. I was apprehensive as had smoked for decades and had never tried nicotine replacement therapy before. After taking part in the programme I feel more confident in my ability to remain a non-smoker and was surprised and pleased at how well I managed.
What support did you receive?
My family, particularly my wife and daughter were a great encouragement and support as they knew I needed to do it for my health and to help prevent another heart attack. The smoking cessation practitioner at the pharmacy was a great help and seeing her every week gave me the opportunity to discuss any concerns or things coming up that I may need more support with. The programme worked well as it gradually reduced the nicotine I was receiving from the patches. I also used the lozenges and found these very helpful. The nurses at the cardiac department who I saw weekly were also very pleased that I had stopped smoking so soon after my surgery.
What was the hardest part? Any other barriers/challenges?
The first few weeks were hard as it was a big adjustment after smoking for many years. Creating new habits was challenging at first but the more I did something else instead of smoking the more I was able to establish new habits and routines and gradually it became easier. My biggest challenge was going abroad on holiday. For many years I had always bought a large amount of tobacco home and this was the first holiday that I did not do this. When I came back from holiday my C0 reading was slightly higher than normal and the practitioner explained that this can be increased by passive smoking and we discussed how sitting outside with other smokers could have caused this. I did not realise it could make such a difference and how even if I am not smoking my health could still be affected by others smoking. We discussed how to handle this for future holidays and spoke about how I could arrange with my wife to try and sit away from the smokers and find places where this was easier to do.
What were your goals?
My main goal was to quit long term and improve my health. I also wanted to quit for the family as I want to be around as long as I can to spend time with them.
What positive changes have you made?
I now spend more time with my wife, we go for more walks together and I spend more time doing hobbies I enjoy. I also feel healthier and happier and have learnt to manage stressful situations without smoking.
What has been your biggest achievement?
Completing the programme was a big achievement and I am proud of my commitment to that. My biggest achievement is probably going abroad on holiday to the place I have gone to for many years and not smoking and not bringing tobacco home.
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