What a team!
What a team! Gaye and Dave quit smoking in their seventies
Husband and wife team Dave and Gaye had both smoked for many years, Gaye since she was 12 and Dave since his early twenties. After more than 60 years of smoking, Gaye was experiencing severe breathing problems and so finally decided to see her GP.
“I’d smoked forever,” said Gaye. “I took it up because everybody else was doing it. My Mum and Dad used to smoke. My brother smoked too.
“My breathing had got really, really, really bad. I was having a lot of trouble breathing. My mum died because she couldn’t breathe. My daughter said to me, ‘Your breathing is terrible!’ She could hear me – I just sat there wheezing like this.”
Gaye’s GP put her in touch with HLS Coventry and she had her first appointment soon after with healthy lifestyles coach Pat. If you’re a smoker and live with someone else who smokes, it’s always a good idea to give up smoking together. That way, you can support and encourage each other through the difficult times and celebrate your achievements together.
Husband Dave joined Gaye at her second appointment with Pat and they both decided to do the stop smoking programme together. Talking about the support their coach Pat gave them, Gaye said, “She was really good!”
Pat helped Gaye and Dave get NRT patches on prescription. The patches made a big difference in the early days of them giving up, helping them manage their cravings. They were using NRT inhalators too but soon found they needed them less and less.
Both Gaye and Dave were very determined to stop smoking and this motivation, along with sharing their stop smoking journey together, really helped them succeed.
“I often thought, ‘Ooh, I could do with a cigarette’ but we were determined not to, weren’t we?” Gaye said to Dave.
“Yes. We decided we weren’t going to and that’s it!” agreed Dave.
Keeping a diary or note of your successes along the way is a great way to stay motivated and on track. Gaye had written down in her diary the last time she had a cigarette - a week after her birthday. Then, every week, she would write 1 week, 2 weeks and so on to remind her each week that she had still not had a cigarette.
“I feel MUCH better!” she said. “We both used to cough a lot – all night, all day, but we don’t any more, nowhere near as much as we used to.”
Smoking was also costing Dave and Gaye a great deal of money. “I don’t know how we afforded it!” said Dave.
Gaye and Dave’s family are delighted they’ve stopped smoking and how their mum’s breathing has improved as a result. Gaye’s now going to encourage her daughter to stop and her son also successfully gave up eight months ago following a stroke.
We asked Gaye what advice she’d give to other people who are thinking of stopping smoking and she said, “Oh, definitely go ahead and do it! The way I’ve done it with patches, it helped me an awful lot.”
We’d just like to say a huge ‘Well done!” to both Gaye and Dave. They were determined, they did it and they did it together. We’re so pleased for them.
To find out about FREE help to stop smoking, call us on 0800 122 3780.