Abby

There are other reasons people need oxygen . . Problem is , yes people see others with an oxygen tank and think automatically the cause is always smoking . That is not true . If I were you , ( but we are all different) I would use my situation as an opportunity to educate people , especially young people on the effects of smoking on our health and our family . This is coming from a person who like a person said earlier chalked up my breathlessness to asthma so I could remain smoking . Funny thing is , I have both . It started with chronic bronchitis , frequent pneumonia . Oxygen is giving people a better life . Live for today and this moment . Copd is progressive so stopping smoking now will slow that progression . Many today have Copd and don't know it , it's a slow and silent disease until it sneaks up on you . Quitting now is the best thing any of us can do .

Update covid neg .. sore throats still positive though so off to doc for antibiotics , likely strep . All good . Will still stay in a couple days til not contagious . I will be be up to hitting the patio festivities and live music soon . Oh yah ! One more month here hopefully with no U turns but ..like quitting smoking we need to stay vigilant and cautious . Mask now and beyond now , its worth it but most importantly keep washing those hands and stay home if sick May the world continue to heal from this devastating here , physically and emotionally it's been rough . It will be speedy now once I get those wonderful healing properties , natural remedies just couldn't heal this one unfortunatly . Grateful Thanks @Gus

Sure , I'll pledge nope . It's in advance but it's gaurenteed . Ya all have a great Friday . It's the week end !

Wow ,I haven't been there for years. Time to make a trip I think . When we think about it , all of us have such beautiful places in our own countries we've not visited . I've missed out on two provinces . Would love to take the rails there actually . I have done well with the lockdown and following restrictions but this last month has caught up to me lol because things are really opening up and now I'm sick . Had a covid test today . I expect it will be fine but who knows with all the variants and it puts it off another day again getting some antibiotics if it's bacterial . I can't see the dr until I get the results back . Once I get the neg result I can take care of this and get out to dining out k no hestitancy there , I feel as safe there as anywhere as long as it's just with my contact people and hey festivals arestarting in July ! I'm on line already with mask and hand sanitizer .

Thanks @reciprocity I'm always interested in learning more . I may have watched a couple of those actually during my research but I know there are a couple there I have not seen . I'll be watching . Glad they helped you as well Doreensfree .

I noticed at first this was an old post and about to scroll down to see how u are now , had you quit and stayed when I found this beautiful lady who has announced she has been quit one month now . Congratulations . I'm not familiar with the videos you mention but so glad they've helped you . Hope you stay here and post . I'm an old quitter yet relatively new the site so hi , I'm Abby .

That's great. Can I ask does it include vaping ?

Omgoodness nope . It's 2:11 a.m. I pledge nope for today and having an afternoon nap the rest of the day . Who wants to smoke with a sore throat ! I can't believe I used to do that ! Nope , not no more . I don't smoke ever . My choice . Grateful .

It's a great time to quit smoking with so much to do in the summer . Do not waste it away by taking ten minutes 25 times a day smoking . By Christmas you will have six months in and by next summer you will have the best summer of your life . Don't put off what you can do now . You won't regret it. We are in a heat wave . It's something I like , but not for everyone. It's much easier to adjust to , than our cold winter . I'm still walking , except I have gotten a mighty sore throat and wheezing so staying in and away from folks til I speak with Doc . It's part I believe of an allergic asthma flare but will talk to my doc today to be cautious . I have both shots now and they are rolling out fast and furious here now l Its made all the difference folks . We are now at stage 1 easing of restrictions with more easing on June 10 followed by ( if all goes well ) to almost no restrictions by July 1 . My 10 year quitversary is day before Canada day . Fireworks baby ! Celebration time ! Did I ever think I could quit no , did I even think one day at a time would get me ten years quit no , ten years quit was only someone's else's prayers answered , their reality but here I am a month away from ten years quit . One day at a time and not smoking one puff will get you everywhere . Reading post after after posts ten years , listening , reaching out , giving back k staying silent at times , writing , and doing something different other than smoking got me here . Wednesday today , hump day . It's a perfect day to quit today . Summer a perfect time to quit . Morning , afternoon , or evening a great way to start your day or end it . If you are on the fence come on over . Do it . Celebrate day 1 . The 11 then 111 then 1111 then 11111. Won day at a time . Won day at a time is what it takes , go to bed smoke free and you will wake up feeling free . How did we get here . (keeping the quit ) We got through it by getting through and not giving up . How did we get here ( to restrictions being lifted and life getting back to normal? We got through it by getting through and not giving up. We took action ; we said nope which were the restrictions to get through this addiction and we heeded restrictions , wore masks , took better care of ourselves and vaccinated and we are getting through a pandemic . . Not without hardship or trials , stress or loss of loved ones , gosh so many passed from addiction and the pandemic this last fifteen months . We still gave a long way to go . Every country is affected just like smoking has affected everyone world wide and we have to eradicate it for good .To all the families I'm so sorry for your loss but together we can all bring comfort to each another because we can through these trying times offer our support , understanding , compassion and love . Life is short . Way too short . Quit smoking today . Start by caring about you and it will radiate and shine to thousands . If you just take a leap of faith we will be there for you .

Most quit sites will tell you quit one day at a time . What does that mean ? It means to stay committed daily , persevere daily , it is about holding steady through all that quitting brings with it . Stress can take you on a rollercoaster of emotions many of which we exasperate to catastrophic porportions . This can lead to the fight / flight response , anxiety , panic attacks , depression or to smoking . Perhaps you've experienced one or more of those things . Panic attacks can be absolutely debilitating and even anxiety itself can take your breath away . Was smoking your normal response to reach out for comfort , needing to release the anxiety and find calm , catch your breathe ? Craves are sometimes in response to past habits . Craves are even sometimes a self nurtured mind game we ourselves create . If we believed the lie that smoking brought us comfort we can believe our way out of it too , by truth ! Do you still want to reach out to what's fooled you for years . A cigarette ? Do you wanna keep them around for an in case scenario that might cause you panic or finally deal with stress , with difficult times and have that same calm without cigarettes . Smoking may relax you for ten minutes , it did me , but I believe it was because we get " out of ourselves " and detach by using our smoking to focus on relaxing and breathing .So its my unprofessional opinion that we can control our thoughts over addiction , calm ourselves to a much more manageable levels of panic or anxiety by learning breathing techniques similar to smoking . Pursed lip breathing , diaphragmatic breathing as well as many other breathing strategies are helpful . Power of the mind , mind over matter . Once we feel calmer craves go away . Just saying " This too shall pass " can bring your breathing into more a managable state and your anxiety down . Craves like a fight , they'll fight back , so let them wash over you . Accept that they are what they are and even name them " craves " and they will go away . Breathe in relaxation and exhale the anxiety bringing yourself to a peaceful state of mind until they have past . They will pass . You can do that . The more you practise the easier it becomes . Anxiety and panic steal so much , much of what we worry about never happens and what we need be worried about we can get through . Hold steady ok , its not a race , you will get through one day at a time and you won't regret it .

Do I need say it . Do I have to tell ya Not One Puff Ever ! Nope !

Glad your Dr is following up with the tests you've had done . Covid did put a lot of things on the back burner here too . Surgeries not critical delayed etc . Congrats on the continued success with your quit . You are doing great . Keep going . Doc going to love that too .

Some days ya just gotta shake your head and say nope.

Jillar Happy quitversary .

Thank you so much for sharing . I'm sorry to hear you are struggling so and in awe of you being open and honest sharing this with others . That's caring! Some really good information for those thinking they should quit but are procrastinating or thinking one day they will or thinking they can't quit . Some will think it's too late anyway and still others feel hopeless . My father had severe emphysema . Smoking was never talked about being the cause of it 35 years ago but it was . Smoking back then didn't have warnings . He smoked 2 packs a day . He had heart failure . He did quit smoking for a few years before his passing and I'm so proud of him . I also have COPD / asthma overlap . I think copd can affect us differently correct me if I'm wrong . Maybe sharing our stories might help others see there is always value to quitting smoking and it's never too late . If we get nothing else outta quitting the joy of being freed from those shackles is worth its weight in gold . I am sitting on the border of severe asthma/copd and function very well tbh . I use two inhalers . I used to be on nebulizers , but after not even a year of quitting smoking the inhalers were enough to manage my symptoms and I've not been in hospital for years or a Drs office on oxygen or nebulizers for years . Although the lung function tests don't show that there is improvement ( because copd is progressive ) it is progressing very slowly thank goodness . I feel better than I have in years . I contribute that to not inhaling smoke and walking . I also did pulmonary rehab . I first avoided lung function tests with a passion so I would not feel guilty smoking but I " did " feel guilty smoking . I did not have smokers cough but my chest was wheezy often . I was embarrassed too to have PFTtests .. it meant you were a smoker , something I was very embarrassed of . Like you Jillar , sitting there I felt all eyes on me pointing the finger and the whispers meant they were talking about me but that is not always true. We are self conscious when these things happen I think . We can't feel guilty about the past but if we stay stuck there we won't live for today. Today is always the best day of our life if we let it be or make it be . Everyone , I agree you can quit smoking . The question is will you take the first step . Many here no matter their health circumstances , stress , or the challenge they face today are smoke free and will tell you absolutely you can quit . Take one day at a time . Jillar thanks so much for your post , for your honesty and truth and everyone's sharing . It's truth that sets us free and quitting smoking starts with facing the things we tend to ignore or deny .

Not one puff ever . Choosing life

No way not smoking one puff to blow my quit . Not happening today . All I got is this moment in time .

Four more days of nope . Two previous I forgot to post , today and tomorrow just in case I forget to post lol Have a good day every one .

Linda, so sorry for your loss and speedy recovery please for your friend . Yes this virus has taken a toll on us all . No one knows whose safe and who isn't really even with the vaccine . Will their be a need for yearly boosters. So many questions . So much is still not known .

Nope , not today . Grateful

Great day yesterday. 3 long walks . 2 with pup , and one on my own . Pup and I enjoyed it so much taking out the picnic lunch , blanket , her bone , me quacamoli , crackers and lemon water sitting by the fountains listening to all the pond life . It's worth the walk there to relax , meditate, be at peace , feel the breeze and the warm sun then the walk back . This was the third walk of the day . I soak them up as they are too few in my neck of the woods . Spring summer fall are definitely my seasons and one of the reasons I quit smoking in June was because I knew I would have that few glorious months that I would be distracted by things to do and not be sitting in my house . I can't tell you how far I walked but it was that kind of day I didn't want to end . Today is 20 C so will be soaking in that sun , guess what I'm doing lol ..it's an energy booster what can I say . Sure am missing the pool though or lake but maybe by July restrictions will ease . Planning a salt water lake trip that I've always wanted to visit . Hotel, spa , lotsof walking trails and healing waters , sounds like a perfect get away . Last year it was the mountains this year the prairies .

Welcome to quit train . You cant change the past but you can the present . Excited for you . You will i think be surprised how fast breathing can improve . I have moderate/severe copd . Walking is amazing for your quit and your health . I started at a couple blocks and can now walk five miles daily

Add a verse or two or three , let's see how long we can make this . I'll start Addiction It's sneaky coniving So do take care Its devilish , deceitful Beware of the snares If think you have it beat Still be solid on your feet It can snatch you and enslave you Any time , any day , any hour you're unaware . So anchor it with nope Anchor it with hope Anchor it with trusted friends When you feel you can not cope . Cigarettes are not your friends Cigarettes are not the cure See the crap for what its worth . And return them to your neighbourhood store . Say " cash back please " Cash in hand Cash in your addiction For a healthier far better plan .

Bailey went home

Never underestimate them