Life after quitting smoking

[GDHLEWIS]

I quit smoking cold turkey the day of my heart attack in 2014. I had a carton a week habit but fear is a wonderful motivator! I admit that I did start using an E Cig when I got out of the hospital but I had a plan. When I first started, I had them mix up the "juice" so it had the same nicotine as the cigs I was smoking.

Then every time I bought a new supply of juice, I had them lower the nicotine by one point. Eventually, I started forgetting to take my E Cig with me because it was no longer a habit.

Similar method I used, just lowered the ejuice strength till it was nicotine free.

 

[OlliestronI]

Congrats on quitting smoking! It's a huge accomplishment. I totally get what you mean about breaking the habit of associating socializing with cigarettes.

Have you ever considered trying vaping as an alternative? It could be a helpful transition while still enjoying social moments. Keep up the great work!

 

[markosan]

Quitting smoking can bring big changes, and life after that decision is different for everyone. For some, using e-cigarettes helps ease the transition, but it's important to remember they're not risk-free.

 

[TrimixToo]

It's been 25 or so years now.

The first three years were the hardest (no kidding). But then second-hand smoke started to bother me.

 

[dmaziuk]

I like the smell. If it is the smoke of decent tobacco and not the smell of a smoker with a squashed roach in his pocket and the last of the exhaust coming out of his nostrils.

The dreams used to suck at first -- they'd send me on a guilt trip, in the dream, -- until the stupid brain learned they're just dreams, not a relapse. Haven't had one of those in a while now...

 

[adurso]

I smoked for 38 years, then quit 17 years ago.

I always ran and exercised, so nothing changed for me.

Except that I had to fight not smoking while drinking coffee, or alcohol, or after eating and so on.

 

[markosan]

Quitting smoking can bring big changes, and life after that decision is different for everyone. For some, using E-Cigarettes helps ease the transition, but it's important to remember they're not risk-free. I've found that life after quitting smoking is a mixed bag. On the one hand, I feel healthier and have more energy. On the other, I miss the social aspect of smoking and sometimes crave a cigarette during stressful times. It's a journey, but I'm glad I made the choice to quit. If you're thinking about quitting, take it one day at a time and find what works best for you.

 

[happy-diver]

Thankfully, I quit smoking well before anyone would hazard the idiotic suggestion of E VAPING

Cut 1/4 of an inch off your cigarettes every week until you are down to the butt, and go valium


Just remember to keep giving up, until you do

and give up the drinking too until you are free


Ex Smoking, the best place on the planet, and affords you the power, to explore other galaxies

 

[eelpout]

I started smoking when I was 11 years old. I became a scuba Instructor when I was 23, I continued smoking because I could still hold my breath and play underwater Hockey every week. I then married a non smoker. She was Ok with my smoking till we tied the knot. She laid down the law, I would have to brush my teeth before I could kiss her. That was a hassle and after a year of being married, on Dec 1983, I smoked my last cigarette on New Years Eve and haven't smoked since. The biggest negative thing that I went through was weight gain. I have a younger brother who started smoking 5 years after I did, and did not quit till 2012. My brother is a Marine Biologist , and was a hands on research scientist in the Philippines, sop he dove a lot. In 2016 at a dinner he stood up during the meal and said he was having a hard time breathing. I treated thought it was a heart attack, so the ambulance arrives and he gets taken to the ER. They said it wasn't a heart attack it was a pneumothorax. After his battery of tests they found three more "Blebs". He yad to go through "VAT" video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, to deal with the other blebs. He can't dive anymore. It doesn't bother him and much as it would have bothered me. He dove for work and he was tired of doing it. I don't think he enjoyed it as much as I did. So I have seen the "Pain in the neck" results of quitting smoking and I have seen the effects of not quitting early enough. I don't dive as much anymore, but my foot is still in the door because I moved in the Hyperbaric Medicine world in 2007.

 

[KenE]

I quit September 2011 after 20 yrs minus one day. Mom smoked for exactly 20 yrs and I swore I would not match her record. So, I planned well in advance and had my last cigarette one day earlier than 20 yrs. I don't miss it at all, the smell is still distracting and I avoid it if possible. Life is so much easier now! Fortunately no issues yet.