cigarette quitters...

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chanstriste13
chanstriste13 Posts: 3,277 Member
in Success Stories
i just wanted to give all of you props! i've seen a lot of banners telling how long people have not been smoking for and i just wanted to send out a heartfelt congrats. i have never been a smoker, but my dad and my sister were - my dad quit for health reasons. my sister started after my father died because she felt it gave her a connection to him, but she has also recently quit. i can't empathize because i've never been through it, but i know from my dad and sister that it is a hugely difficult thing to overcome, so all of you rock and i wanted you to know it! yay for ya'll!!! :heart:

Replies

  • Sarah219
    Sarah219 Posts: 46
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    thats really nice of you , I have been quit for 5 weeks today and feel so much better for it , not to mention saved loads of money !!!!! Just wondered how i get a banner saying how long i have been quit for do you know ??? xxx
  • BetterVersion
    BetterVersion Posts: 459
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    That's so thoughtful of you!

    I haven't quit yet but would like to send out my congrats, too. I do know how hard it is- because I haven't been able to manage it yet :ohwell:

    The fact that we have so many here who are quitting smoking as well as changing their eating habits just blows my mind. It is very inspirational.

    BIG CONGRATS! :drinker:
  • bettyvodine
    bettyvodine Posts: 6
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    Thank you so much for posting this :)

    I quit 6 days ago and while I feel good, my weight loss has just stopped. It feels good to be doing something so good for my health, but I wish it didn't wreak havoc on my metabolism. I smoked for 15 years, and I really, really hope this is my last time quitting - I never want to smoke again (except when I see thin dancer-girl types smoking...kidding!)
  • alanismanson
    alanismanson Posts: 16
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    Thank you! I quit two years ago in May. I wanted to quit so that I could be healthy and have children and do the whole life thing. :) Unfortunately, that was where most of my weight gain came from lol. But now Im working on that! :)
  • chanstriste13
    chanstriste13 Posts: 3,277 Member
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    hey sarah,

    good for you! i think i found the banner that people are using - check out this link: http://www.smokefreequitmeter.com/ ~stacy
  • CaraAmor
    CaraAmor Posts: 6 Member
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    Hey there!
    The best advice I can give smokers trying to quit is to keep trying!
    I started smoking in my mid 30's (I know... stupid, stupid, stupid... I definitely knew better!) From the first cigarette, I was hooked and smoked about half a pack a day for 5 years. Then I started getting chest pains and couldn't do things I could before. I KNEW it was time to stop. I tried the patch several times, but it just didn't work for me. I also tried hypnosis and that didn't do it either. (I know that these methods do help others- they just weren't right for me!).
    I'm kinda an all or nothing girl, so I knew that weaning wasn't really my style. Cold turkey, it was! Even so, it took many attempts and false starts. I had to learn to forgive myself when I failed- berating myself just made it harder. Eventually I woke up one day and told myself I would just get through ONE day without a cigarette. Turned out not to be too bad, so I stretched it to TWO days, then three, then.... It's been over 5 years now and my only breakdown was a cigar while in Cuba- and when I finished that I was completely put off the taste again!
    So don't get too discouraged! Just keep trying!
  • brownchristian
    brownchristian Posts: 58 Member
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  • Stephanie08
    Stephanie08 Posts: 1,023 Member
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    I agree with CaraAmor, just keep trying, over and over and over. I did almost everything to quit smoking, patches, herbal pills, hypnosis, and you know what finally worked? Good old cold turkey. Picked a date, promised myself that was the day and I've been smoke free for 10+ years ever since. The first two-three weeks are the hardest, but if you get through them, it's so worth it. Congratulations to all who have quit and are still trying.
  • aawh
    aawh Posts: 96 Member
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    I am 28 and smoked a pack a day since I was 15. Everyone in my family smoked, parents as long as I could remember. I quit November 8th, 2009. Even though my father passed away 3 years ago at the age 50 from a heart attack, nothing motivated me to quit. Sure, I knew it was really bad for me, made me cough all the time, smell bad, and was expensive. What motivated me to quit was stories of other people my age who had passed away from cancers from smoking. Scared the s**t out of me! Those stories are what I think of every time I have the urge to light up. I am also using the nicotine lozenges to curb my cravings. But it is still very hard when I'm around people that smoke (like my brothers) or even smell it on someone passing me in a store. It is a daily struggle, but I CAN BREATHE for the first time in a long time, and haven't coughed since the week I quit!
  • Dive_Girl
    Dive_Girl Posts: 247 Member
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    Quitting must be in air since I just responded to another user who posted to my page inquiring how I quit. I was a serious pack+ a day smoker for it seem like my whole life!!!! I quit cold turkey 2 1/2 years ago and I dont miss it one bit! I feel finally free, I feel liberated and I am now a runner! But, it took me doing over and over again until I finally did it for good. I have a huge amount of respect for all of you who keep trying, have little doubt that you will get there!

    Holly
  • parvati
    parvati Posts: 432 Member
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    Good job quitters!!!! Monday is 1 1/2 years that i have quit !!!! YAY!! :)
    I was a smoker for 18 years...... a cardcore, smoking, smoker...lol
  • lina1131
    lina1131 Posts: 2,246 Member
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    It has been 7 months for me. I will never go back!
  • thricewiser
    thricewiser Posts: 21
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    In two weeks time it will be one year for me!!!

    Quit for lent in '09 and went cold turkey from over 20 cigs a day. So happy to have quit!
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    It's been five weeks for me...I had four months last year but fell off the wagon in November and had to quit again. I've used Chantix twice now, successfully both times...I know it's a risky drug but man, after 25 years of smoking a pack a day I was definitely ready to give it a try.

    I keep forgetting how different life is as a non-smoker, you know? No freaking out about when can I have a smoke and where can I smoke and do I have enough smokes and do I smell like smoke and do they know I smoke and blah blah blah! It's just so much easier.

    Yeah I feel you guys complaining about weight gain...it definitely happened to me. But, I made the decision to quit again even knowing that would be the outcome, because it's so completely worth it.
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
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    Started at age 12 - used tobacco (Chew/Snuff/Smoke) for close to 30 years. Quit 2-1/2 years ago, with Chantix.

    I've reached the point where it never even crosses my mind to have a smoke. Doesn't sound good, I don't envy smokers, etc.etc. That part took a couple years. It's a very good thing.
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    I quit last May after 34 years of non-stop smoking. I have asthmatic bronchitis and used an inhaler regularly. One of the biggest hurdles I put up for myself was that I didn't want to gain weight. I always told myself that I'd quit when I lost the weight, but I never did.

    So finally, I gave myself a deadline and decided to seriously work on getting into shape at the same time. I quit on May 22, joined a gym a few weeks later and started logging on MFP. I have not touched another cigarette (I did not use any chemical aids), but I've only lost 15 pounds, mostly due to the smoking screwing up my metabolism. I no longer need inhalers and can cycle for 10 miles at racing speed as well as do 45 minutes on the elliptical on the highest setting. I'm still working on the weight thing and am having my metabolism tested in a lab next weekend.

    Oh, I smoked a minimum of 1 pack a day, and up to 4 packs a day at times. Nasty nasty habit.
  • tlgillespie
    tlgillespie Posts: 26 Member
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    March 2nd will be my one year anniversary! I am so looking forward to being able to say I am 1 year smoke free. I was a pack and a half a day smoker when I quit. My Dr. said to quit smoking or I would have a heart attack or a stroke. I used chantix, which was a life saver. I also read Allen Carr's book "The Easy Way To Stop Smoking". The combo of the two made it very easy for me a terrified to even try person that I was to quit for good. There are also two websites that are there for support Become an Ex was what I used. Now there is a new one called Friends helping Friends.

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