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Quit 22 days ago & it's HELL!

Barb63

By Barb63
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Barb63 Newbie

Barb63

Posted
Posted

Hello everyone, I just did a search of forums for quitting smoking and found this. 

I tried a Facebook group from day 1 to day 7 but it only made me feel worse constantly 

talking about wanting to stay off cigarettes and focusing on it so much so I left the group. 

Now I am on day 22 and its a roller coaster from one day to the next. A few days it seems easy to 

dismiss wanting one and then there are days when the want is so strong I think I will go outside and 

buy one from somebody passing. 

I am 63, smoked for 40 years, was diagnosed on March 16 with early stage COPD and on March 17 I put the Patch on 

and that was it. 

  • Like 4
Doreensfree Grand Master

Doreensfree

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Welcome Board @Barb63....

Congratulations on your Fabulous Quit ...

I was your age when I quit ...after smoking 52 years ....

WE have lots of good information and videos to watch ...Knowledge ....this will be your weapon to fight the Demon.

Check out the Main Smoking board ...a great place to start ....

we are all different ...I felt like I had to be here 24/7....

Take your time to look around the forum...get to know us all...we are one big happy family ..😀

 

  • Like 2
jillar Grand Master

jillar

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Hi Barb, welcome to quit train!  Congratulations on 22 days quit, you've got the hardest part behind you believe it or not :) You'll find as much support as you need/want here from people all over the world so there's almost always someone here 24/7!

We also have a great Social forum for those times when you just want to give your mind a break from the constant thoughts of cigarettes so be sure to check it out. It's a great distraction and helped me immensely :)

I smoked 35 years and quit when my breathing got bad from what I was told was chronic asthma. Then I got a bad respiratory illness that resulted in respiratory failure last January and have been on oxygen ever since. So if you are already diagnosed with COPD it is something to take seriously so you don't end up like me......

Stick close and be sure to shout out if you need some extra support :) 

  • Like 2
Barb63 Newbie

Barb63

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Thank you. I am sorry to hear the trouble you are having, needing oxygen Will you be able to get off of oxygen? 

Boo Veteran

Boo

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Welcome aboard Barb.

 

The ups and downs of the early days of the quit level out with time.

 

Congratulations on giving up the smokes.  Quitting is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

  • Like 3
Barb63 Newbie

Barb63

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I always knew it was going to be hard. That's why I never tried before. When a doctor tells you you have a progressive lung disease and continuing smoking

will speed its decline, it makes you think. 

That is exactly what I am going to do. Look around here and check out everything. It appears to be a very elaborate site and I feel like I want to get to know it in full. 

  • Like 2
Boo Veteran

Boo

Posted
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7 minutes ago, Barb63 said:

Look around here and check out everything. It appears to be a very elaborate site and I feel like I want to get to know it in full. 

 

The threads pinned at the top of the "Quit Smoking Discussions" section is a good place to start.  Great deal of valuable information in there.

  • Like 3
Doreensfree Grand Master

Doreensfree

Posted
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We have a daily NOPE thread .....

This is a great way to start your day ....it's a promise not to smoke for the next 24 hours ....

This can be a great tool in your quit ....

If you want to know anything ..just ask ...there is always someone to help ....

 

  • Like 3
jillar Grand Master

jillar

Posted
Posted
52 minutes ago, Barb63 said:

Thank you. I am sorry to hear the trouble you are having, needing oxygen Will you be able to get off of oxygen? 

 

I don't know. So far no...........😞 

  • Sad 1
JackiMac Newbie

JackiMac

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Welcome on Board my lovely, you are definitely in the right place, focus on a minute at a time if you have too, be kind to yourself, what you are doing is a wonderful thing. So much wonderful information is here, wonderful people, who will be with you every single step of the way. If you need to reach out and vent, rant, share a celebratory moment then please do, we are all here, it definitely feels like home XX

  • Like 3
AceWhite Mentor

AceWhite

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Barb63 you are awesome!!!

Believe it or not the hardest part is over & you are winning!!

Now is when determination needs to kick in- know that each days distance between you and that last puff will be easier.

Gradually you will never think of smoking again.

Welcome aboard the train

 

  • Like 4
johnny5 Grand Master

johnny5

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Welcome Barb and congratulations on twenty plus days smoke free. It can be tough but it is very doable as the people on this site can attest.

 

Stick around.  There is a lot of support and knowledge you can gain here that can help you quit smoking for good.

  • Like 4
Reciprocity Grand Master

Reciprocity

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Hi Barb!

You'll have a lot of support here and there's endless information to look at. 

It really is the best overall quit smoking site you'll find.

  • Like 2
IQ4me Apprentice

IQ4me

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Hi Barb, Congrats and Welcome aboard the best site on the net!!! There's lots to do around here, you'll never be bored. Keep up the great work!! I'm sure being an ex smoker looks good on you. Catch ya later.  

  • Like 2
Rozuki Mentor

Rozuki

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Welcome aboard the QTrain, Barb! Congrats on  the 22 days quit! 😷

 

I had similar stats to you (age/# of years smoking) when I quit the day I had a stroke in 2017. The first couple of weeks were so hard but I kept repeating to myself "one day at a time" and somehow managed to keep trudging along. I found an online support group at the time, which was a BIG help. Finding online support here at QuitTrain after the 1st group disbanded, was an even bigger help...knowledge is power, so read all you can here, watch the Joel videos and participate in the forums!!  

 

When things got exceptionally hard to take for me, I would just go to bed and sleep...had to turn my mind off! Also, drank lots of water and did lots of walking, played lots of solitaire. The days quit started adding up along with the money saved. Good thing I quit when I did, cuz there were more issues to come re: my health and the damage done by all those years of smoking. In 2018, I was diagnosed w early COPD/Emphysema and Coronary artery disease. I underwent triple heart bypass surgery.

 

Found out just last month, I had an early melanoma on my back, so had to have that mole removed surgically (results came back clean, no cancer!) Each health issue I have dealt with in past 4 years, I had peace of mind knowing that I had quit the poison sticks, so my chances of making it through each procedure were so much better than if I had still been a smoker...and so far, so good for me.

 

PS Get yourself a ticker to keep track of things....it is very motivating!! 

  • Like 3
Mee Collaborator

Mee

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Welcome Barb63! I also was 63 and smoked for 40 years when I finally found my final quit!  This forum was essential in guiding me on that journey. It was as if they lifted me up and helped me across the finish line.  They were able to let me know that I had the strength and power to quit!.  Breath deep and power through those craves.  It will get easier.  Hang around and shout out if you need us. You can do this too!

  • Like 3
Robbie Enthusiast

Robbie

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Welcome Barb63, I am another new person too. It is really tough if you are on your own (I am) and this forum will be a big help. I am 65 and have early stages COPD after smoking for 40 plus years, it's a scary disease but I'm not too bad as long as I stay off the cigarettes. I use a little device called an 'AirPhysio' which helps strengthen the lungs after years of wrecking them. Can totally relate to those thoughts of wanting to ask people for a cigarette! The other thing I notice is when I have stopped smoking, every thing I watch on TV seems to have someone sucking on a cigarette. I'm using a nicotine spray and when things get really tough, I spray that in my mouth on the inside of my cheek...it seems to knock the craving. I am 6 days into quitting, but I have tried a few times in the past, my longest was 40 days. Best to stay away from friends who smoke (I have one), walk a lot and drink lots of water. It's great to have some support here....all the best!

  • Like 3
Barb63 Newbie

Barb63

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I am just about the same as you, 63, smoked 40 years and have early COPD. And this Day 26 smoke-free. My cough and escalated breathing when I climbed stairs stopped by my 3rd day. I now have no issues, don't quite understand how that is possible. I am on the PATCH. Doctor gave me lozenges also but I don't like them so just keeping them for a rainy day once the PATCH 3 month program is done. 

Just take one day at a time. I never thought I would wish for time to pass but I sure wish I had 6 months behind me. Its a fragile time. We have to do this. 

  • Like 2
jillar Grand Master

jillar

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@Barb63, 

23 minutes ago, Barb63 said:

My cough and escalated breathing when I climbed stairs stopped by my 3rd day. I now have no issues, don't quite understand how that is possible

 

That's awesome! My cough went away pretty much a day after I quit but man I sure had a gross gurgly cough when I smoked, yuck! So glad those days are gone!!!!

I'm super happy for you🤗

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Barb63 Newbie

Barb63

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The last few months especially I was coughing constantly. Shortness of breadth. 3RD day it all went away, just like you. How is that possible? 

  • Like 3
jillar Grand Master

jillar

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Posted
50 minutes ago, Barb63 said:

How is that possible? 

Because we quit putting poison in our lungs! 🤗

  • Like 3
Reciprocity Grand Master

Reciprocity

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The human body has amazing capabilities once you stop suffocating it. Continue to breath in only fresh air. That's all your lungs want and need!

  • Like 3
Barb63 Newbie

Barb63

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  • Author
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13 hours ago, jillar said:

Because we quit putting poison in our lungs! 🤗

But God, that quickly? I heard some people have that cough for years. 

We are fortunate. 

  • Like 2
Doreensfree Grand Master

Doreensfree

Posted
Posted (edited)

Everyone is different ...I never had a smokers cough at all...after puffing my way through 52 years ...!!!

The damage was happening somewhere else ...!!!

 

Edited by Doreensfree
  • Like 3

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QuitTrain®, a quit smoking support community, was created by former smokers who have a deep desire to help people quit smoking and to help keep those quits intact.  This place should be a safe haven to escape the daily grind and focus on protecting our quits.  We don't believe that there is a "one size fits all" approach when it comes to quitting smoking.  Each of us has our own unique set of circumstances which contributes to how we go about quitting and more importantly, how we keep our quits.

 

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