Smokers/ExSmokers

[minneman]

For you Smokers,Last Wed.Am I had a real I opener, 6:am sitting right here, cup of coffee, havin a smoke, reading the best fishin info around, I feel kinda clammy/hot. I reach up behind me to open the window. after opening I feel as tho I pulled a muscle in my chest. nothing major, just irratating, 10 min. later its more of a heavy feeling, I go lay down next to the wife to strech it off. NOT!
30 sec. of that I wake her with the Scarriest words to ever come out of my mouth.. "I think you should take me into the hospital, "I think im having a heart attack??"

With pain that feels like an elephant standing on my chest we get to emergency and although relieved to be there, I still am in pain. 2 little sprays of nitro and the pain is gone. the next day im shipped to Fargo for an angiogram, and ultimatly angioplasty and a stent for the blockage they found. lucky for me there was only minor damage to my heart, the blockage was not in a major artery.

Here is the thing, Im male, 42 yrs young, and there is no heart disease in the family, None. my Cholesteral level is 164, Im not over weight, 6'3" 205lbs, and am phisically active. My downfall is that ive Smoked for 26 years! !!Quit Now!!

Ex Smokers, please share with me the ways you found things to do to avoid the urge, I havent smoked since 6am wed. and am doing the patch, so far so good, but today I return to work (selfemployed const) and in this biz smoking is the norm. Yes, they will all get an earfull!!

Thanks for your time! I have a totaly new outlook on life now, and sharing this is part of it, hoping that atleast one of you great people will Kick it!! Ted

[Aquaman01]

3 months tomorrow here, as well. Still good.
Congrats, all.

Whatever it takes is worth it.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.

Rob

[Rick]

That's the way you do it

Your money's for nothing and your chicks for free.

Scott in Tampa!!!

You got the WILLPOWER Scott!!!

Say NO to the smelly brown round things

Keep us posted on your progress.

I'm smoke free and I always will be.

How bout you????

[davev]

Scott
Keep it up. You won't regret it.
During the first few days, when I was quitting, I told myself that I just had to make it thru the day. "One Day at a time" was the only way that I could quit.
It will be the best thing that you have ever done for yourself
Dave

[upnorth]

Hey Scott, this is from another Scott just a bit further north

If I can quit you can too. I was a 2 pack a day smoker, the last thing I did before I went to sleep was have a smoke and the 1st thing I did in the morning was to light up, if I woke up to take a leak in the middle of the night, I had a smoke. Hooked?

It has been 6 1/2 years since I had a cigarette and I never regretted a moment of it, dang expensive, smelly, killers.

For me the hardest thing to do was to make the final decision to quit. I didn't sleep at all that night knowing I was not gonna have a cigarette when I got up. But after that with some planning and always keeping in the front of my mind why I wanted to quit, that was the hardest time I had.

Take a day at a time, an hour at a time, minute at a time, whatever it takes to get through You will not regret leaving those dang things behind and moving on to a healthier happier life

Scott, aka upnorth

[Guest]

DAY 2....nothing has been killed yet. But I stress the word yet. Cold Turkey...is there any other way? I think not. Kill the beast or be killed by the beast. Wish me luck. The only thing in my boat blowing air when I'm 65 will be my pump in my live well. not something stuck up my nose that my grand kids stare at...peace, Scott in Tampa

------------------
I am.....the masterbasster.

[Granny]

Its good to see everyone is still hanging in there! Almost 7 months here and I made it through the hardest times (4 hour drive to LOW and deer hunting season).

[canvasback kid]

My girlfriend just got a call today and found out that her grandma at the age of 72(who had smoked since the age of 15) found out today that she has cancer all over her, lung cancer started it!!! A very depressing day today to hear that kind of stuff, she seemed perfect till the other morning she felt ill, so she went in and found this out.Her life is expected to last a few weeks i guess which i cant believe.... I gotta quit this dump, no good can come from smoking, i gotta kick this habit now......best of luck to all!!!!!!!

[minneman]

Very sorry to here about her.

Its very strange how the mind works, thinking that no harm will come while being a smoker, till something happens. I hope since it didnt happen to you, that you can find a way to commit to quiting yourself.
its truly the hardest part.
Good luck to you!!

[setterguy]

I know this is an old post, but I needed a little support so I drug it out of storage. Its day two for me, my work season is over so I figure its now or never. It kinda helps having all this candy around from Halloween. I guess weight watchers will be next. I'm keeping this thread as a favorite so I can take a peek in my times of weakness...wish me luck.

[irvingdog]

I've said this at the begining of the thread, I'll say it again:

A craving will last exactly 2 minutes. You can make the craving go away in one of 2 ways. Light up and it goes away in 2 minutes, or don't light up and it goes away in 2 minutes.

And don't bother trying to NOT be one of "those righteous ex-smokers". You must hate nicotine in order to quit using it. It is the enemy, and it won't stop until you are dead. So go ahead, hate the smell, the taste, what it has done to you. Hate is an important tool here.

If you need to keep this thread going, and if it helps you, so be it. I'll be checking, and help where I can. P.M. me if you must.

3 1/2 years smoke free!

[Granny]

So how has everyone done since its been almost a year since the topic started? I think I am on a year and a half or so. I may have snuck in a chew or smoke on my stag party but there is no evidenc and I wouldn't have a clue if I did. Its kind of nice going out in Duluth because most of bars are smoke free now so you don't get the extra boost towards a craving. I still get cravings from time to time but I just kind of laugh to myself and go on about my day.

My grandma passed away a few months ago from cancer. She smoked for many many years but had quit a while ago. I am sure it had a lot to do with it though. My dad (46) quite chewing for 9 years but picked it up again and had chewed for another 8. He woke up one morning and couldn't get out of bed because he was dizzy. He went to the dock and they couldn't find anything wrong with him. That was the last day he had a chew and he has felt good since then.

Good luck to all.

Granny

[davev]

Setterguy

Keep on quitting!!! You can do it. We're all on your side.

2 1/2 years and counting for me

[Buckhead]

Glad to hear you people quit or are trying sorry to hear some are sick.I quit when i was 21 now 58 just bad knees from 25 yrs. of softball also bad back from pulling out dem dar crappies on red.Good health to everyone Buckhead.

[Dan Thiem]

My second try at this. I'm now 44 years old and smoked steady (in front of my parents) since I was 16 years old. I quit the first time (or should say stopped) three years ago. It lasted for four years. Nice streak going. But then I thought what harm would a nice Cuban ciagr be? No inhaling. Just like Bill Cilnton right? Wrong! I switch to those little cigarellos made by Swisher. Sweet tasting. But then I inhaled. Bout knocked me on my kiester. This should be fine as long as I don't smoke a regular cigarette. Well it must of been too big of a monkey because I smoked one of my buddies GPC's. Thats all it took I was right back in it again.

That lasted three years. The middle kid found out and started crying. Man what a guilt trip. But it didn't stop me.As long as I didn't smoke around the kids it should be ok.

Well now I'm starting to weeze when I breath. Red light goes off.Maybe I better stop/quit again. Just to see if the weezing goes away. That was October 1st. No patch no pill just cold turkey. I haven't had one puff since. I like to tell my kids and friends now how long my streak has been without the heaters.

I hope I'll stay off for good. It really sucks because now I can even enjoy a cigar when I'm ice fishing.

GOOD LUCK to everybody that is trying to stop. Oh ya I forgot, I admidted that I wasn't strong enough to do it by myself so I prayed to God to help me. I think that has also helped me out.

[metrojoe]

I think it’s been one year to the month that I posted on this thread and it will be another smoke free year next month. Wow, It’s been 3 years now.

My wife and I started this together but unfortunately she couldn’t do it the first time around. But, I’m proud to say it may have taken her a little longer but she now has 8 months as a non smoker.

I think the timing was just right for me, I had the desire the will power and the patience to see this through. I’m not saying it was easy but my wife really struggled for a long time and I think a small part of her thought I’d come back to the dark side, so to speak

Just keep at it. Do what you have to do. I remember the first week or two, I’d buy a whole pack, smoke one and crush the rest.

[minneman]

you guys/gals "can" do this! My 1 yr aniversary was sept 17th, + Im doing just fine!!

Irvingdog says it as it should be! HATE THEM!!

I have quoted that line "when you have a craving you can either have a smoke and it will go away, OR, you dont have a smoke and it will go away" to many friends, It helped ME!!

ps I havent gained a pound, or lost any either. be aware of what your doing, and eat healthy, something I never did while smoking.

[jbjr]

My Wife and I quit smoking in 1991, after attending a hypnosis clinic.

We were the only ones that quit in the class that I am aware of. Even though it was tough for a while, we are both happy that we have been lucky enough not to start up again.

I think we have supported each other when the smoking urges are there.

Good luck to everyone that has stopped or is attempting to quit.

If we can do it, Anyone can.

p.s. We still have what was left of our smokes in the freezer(4-packs). We would throw them out BUT maybe we will hold onto them for another decade or two.

[arbuck]

I quit on my 30th birthday, about 3 months ago. I started smoking when I was 15 so I figured that at that point I had smoked half of my life. What a waste. A couple of cigars every now and then, but we'll see how the ice fishing season goes.

Good luck to all that have quit.

arbuck

oh ya - Wintergreen Lifesavers

[icehousebob]

I woke up one morning a few years ago and as usual, I lit my pipe and had a coughing jag before my feet hit the floor. Without any planning, at that moment I quit. The upside, I feel better and things taste better. The down side, things taste better. I had to switch to a better brand of beer and I,m now hooked on beer and potato chips. It,s ruined my slim, boyish figure. I think I'll take the trade-off. Shortly after I quit, I asked my brother-in-law how long it took him for the cravings to go away. He said he had quit almost 20 years before and still found himself at times reaching into his shirt pocket for a smoke. Last week, I bought a friend in goose camp a very good cigar, just so I could smell it while he smoked it. He decided to save it for his drive home. The filthy rat.

[fivebucks]

Good luck Setterguy and anyone else thats starting the no-smoking thing. It's been 1 year Sept. 24th for me and my wife and pheasant hunting is a little more fun now. I gained a few pounds (10-15) but I would do it all over again in a heart beat (which should beat longer now). It is not easy or fun to quit but the other option is... A guy came into my shop the other day and just found out he had lung cancer and he's a long time smoker. It will catch up with you one way or the other. You can do it!!!!!!

[upnorth]

setterguy and anyone else early on or thinking about quitting that nasty habit. I quit 9/16/97 and have never looked back. I smoked from the time that I was 11 to 39 and I was hooked. I figured that could never quit, talk. It is more about motivation than will power.

Find a reason to quit and don't forget that reason. Every time you think about smoking or have a craving remember why you are quitting. If possible keep something with you at all times to remind you, a list of why you are quitting helps. Just pull it out and read it, you would be surprised how well that works.

I cannot believe how much better I feel after dumping those dang smelly little things. I can breath, I can smell, I don't have that fffing cough that I told everyone was a cold I just couldn't shake. I don't stink like a cigarette butt:)

Hang in dude, ain't you worth effort?

[SteveWilson]

Good luck on quiting. I quit about 3 years ago and I'm glad I did. While you're looking at Weight Watchers don't forget the good old YMCA; 5 days/week on the treadmill does wonders for your heart. It took me one mild heart attack, angioplasty and stint to get me to start going but I feel much better now; a bit too young to start at 44.

[Fishook]

Dan T - you have to quit. There is way too much fishing and hunting left to do. Quit for your kids sake at least - they need you to pass on your hunting and fishing skills and all the traditions that go with that. I hope it is going well for you and I'll say a prayer for you too.

[Dan Thiem]

Thanks Fish!

[mechanictim]

Just wondering if any one is quitting for the new year? yesterday was my five year anniversary. The hardest part for me has been just not buying cigarettes. So easy to ask for a pack at the convienance store when getting gas. I would write the check out before entering the store and still have to tell myself not to ask for smokes.

If your new years resolution is to quit there is a lot of good tips and motivation in this thread.