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My constant coughing stopped after about a week...the terrible phlegm production after two weeks...and the problems with my eyes cleared up almost immediately and they were no longer bloodshot....God, I didn't realize what a mess I was! My messed up arteries took surgery to clear up and I have been dealing with that issue since the day I quit! PS Just had my one year anniversary last week since my CABGx3 surgery...got the thumbs up from cardiologist...echo normal, ekg normal, blood-work normal. What a relief...I can get back to my gardening with no restrictions!

Nope

NOPE

Nope not today.

23 April today (hurry and catch up please rest of the world!) 5 years ago I made one of the best decisions in my life! No one ever thought I'd quit smoking. I decided to quit cold turkey. I remember I psyched myself into hating smoking so much I actually gagged while smoking my last cigarette. I educated myself for a few weeks before I quit on how the Big Tobacco companies use emotional and physical means ( like putting bronchi-dilators in your cig to help you breath better) to keep you addicted. I watched Youtube video's on how they market cigarettes to a certain demographic these days - young people (kids really) in Third World countries. It's criminal. I'm not saying it was easy. There were days I cried with frustration. Days I didn't know what to do with myself because I wasn't engaged in all that smoking time i.e thinking about it, buying them, smoking them. Having to deal with the odd trigger even a year or two after quitting. You just have to accept you will feel uncomfortable while quitting and don't be afraid of who you are underneath the addiction. Let the real you arise and deal with any emotions as they appear instead of smoking them down. You become a better person if you weren't dealing with your real feelings. There were so many benefits to quitting it's amazing to look back with 5 years of hindsight. NOPE works for me. I protect my quit with everything I have. Thanks for being a big part of that journey :)

NOPE...

Nope

NOPE!

Nope.

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nope

G’day NOPE starts my day C

HA! I think this is the one...

NOPE!

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOPE - never again!

NOPE!

NOPE...

NOPE - I don't smoke anymore.

I have a phone app that enabled me to keep a quit smoking journal. I did it almost daily my first year and fairly often my second year. Here’s what I wrote just a few days shy of 4 months (the same time frame you are now experiencing). March 17, 2016 F%€£ing intense and sustained cravings all day long! #%¥& sh&t whore!!!!! I look at that now and laugh . What I do want to get across is that you will have some tough moments ahead even though you think it should be over by now. It can take a while before you stop having strong cravings that seemingly pop out of nowhere. Be assured that they do eventually disappear and life becomes infinitely better. Hang in there.

Nope!

NOPE!

I am really liking this new header. The people really stand out. I think I am the one in the back lol.

Thanks for the reply everyone , I thought i had this under my control especially after 3 months without smoking . I did not know that i again had to play these mind control games . Anyway one more time , I am not touching a cigarette with a 10 foot pole ever .

When I stopped coughing my lungs up. This recovery happened so fast, within a week.

NOPE

Nope!

Nope here too. Having too much fun bicycling and feeling my lungs work so incredibly well!

You need to appreciate that although the really hard cravings to get past all pretty much happen in the first month or so, you will still be challenged at times and some times there is no clear reason why but, the challenges you will have to face will become fewer and less intense as time goes by. That's just how it works for all of us. Slowly .... very slowly you will become more and more comfortable as a non smoker. It's pretty common knowledge that you need to pretty much put in a whole year as a non smoker to have faced all the challenges you are likely to face. Even after that, you will still think of smoking you just won't want any part of it because you will realize that it never did even one good thing for you (or at least you should realize that after 1 whole year). So, carry on and trust in both the quitting process and yourself. If you have made it to the 3 month mark, there's no reason you can't be a non smoker for the rest of your life

I wouldn't call them mind control games. I don't know how to put it, but I think its more like supporting and encouraging yourself to keep the quit going.

G’day Not One Puff Ever C

I thought recognised you Linda ...lol.....this is my fav too...

Nope

Oh I had you all set..... was just popping in to post... I tend to wait until after work and cooking dinner to do the woohoos because besides Cbdave, Fab, you and I most on her are from up North, way up North. So had ya waited till night time you would have got.... Congratulations @Phoebe2 for being 5 years smoke free! Well done Phoebe on having half a decade under your belt, that is such an achievement and down here it means you have saved thousands! I hope you are doing something special to celebrate this great milestone. Hope you can spare a moment to pop in an let us know how you are traveling.

Hi Jillar! I know I don't come by and visit very often these days but you all are close to my heart. I've been looking around and it seems it's pretty solid these days with Mods and admin looking after the place. Thanks for the cake! Take care x

NOPE!

NOPE!!!!!!

NOPE

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was one of my first and most welcomed benefits of quitting: my eyes cleared up. For years I blamed allergies, contact lenses, and lack of sleep for my dry bloodshot eyes. I quit smoking and the issues with my eyes cleared up. In fact, I quit in early March right before the start of the allergy season here in a region that has been dubbed by some "The Hay Fever Capital of the World" and even during that first Spring and Summer...no problems with my eyes. And the benefits of quitting just kept adding up from there.

Glad to hear you got the thumbs up from Docs Roz

Really good news ...x

Congratulations on your 5 years Phoebe! What a great accomplishment. It's nice to see you again.

Hi phoebe! Congratulations on five years quit, what an awesome accomplishment Thank you so much for checking in and giving all those behind you encouragement. It's always so good to see you... I hope you have a great anniversary and a wonderful day

I’ve gone almost 3 years without getting those painful skin cracks on the tips of my fingers, plus my toes aren’t always freezing in winter. I think I could walk barefoot in the snow now

Thank you my friends, it is indeed revitalising to celebrate 10 months. Last month I came pretty close to buying a cigarette, standing next to a store and mentally seeing myself remove some change and taking one (they sell them here in single units as well), lighting it up and taking a puff. I could feel the relief as though I was smoking already as the vapour would leave my mouth...took all of what I value and have built up as my quit to not replay my thoughts in real life. I am so so glad I didn't give in because all it takes to reset the counter is that one puff. And next thing you know you're marginalising the second smoke of the day, and then the third and before you know it, you're lining the pockets of the tobacco companies with money and your lungs with tar. So damn not worth it. And these threads make that struggle worthwhile. Each one of you has won innumerable battles against this filthy addiction and are my guides. Each one of you has picked me (and so many others) up when I stumbled. Each one of you gave unconditional support when I needed it, and at times when I didn't even know I needed it. My quit is built of all these memories and my commitment to myself, that I will not abuse this chance. Thank you my QT family, forever and more.