Yeah, still smoke free. Had a few tricky, white knuckle moments at work today, but I'm hangin' tough.

Damn it came and went quick....


It feels soooo good to not be a smoker..

I give you a lot of crap because you do a lot of moronic crap, but sincerest of contratulations for this.

Smartest thing you've ever done.

I rarely think about it anymore, which I guess is a good thing. I'm well over a year and a half now.

Hell, I'm even dieting and exercising again. I'll have to dredge up the Fat Bastard thread. :D

LOL Congratulations! And good luck with the rest of it. Geez, next we're going to be hearing that you are going to Anger Management classes and have started hugging Bronco fans! ;)

Seriously, tho, a year and a half and not even thinking about it anymore--that's an accomplishment. Good job!

:)

I'm still getting cravings... some worse than others...

but gum and toothpicks get me through...

I pray in 6 more months they are all gone

Live better and live longer!
20 minutes after you quit, your blood pressure has already decreased, your pulse rate has dropped and the blood temperature of your hands and feet has increased.

2 hours after quitting, you have significantly reduced the nicotine in your system.

8 hours after quitting, the level of carbon monoxide in your blood drops as the oxygen increases to the normal level of a non-smoker. This is one of the best advantages of quitting smoking, as carbon monoxide robs your muscles, brain and tissues of oxygen.

At 24 hours, your chance of a heart attack has already decreased.

At 48 hours. These will make you smile... a couple of nice little health benefits of quitting smoking are that you will find your sense of smell improved, and as those sensitive nerve endings start regrowing, your taste buds will come alive again.

In 2 to 4 days, all nicotine by-products have gone from your body. That means there is no physical addictive substance left to ****le your brain.

Between 2 to 9 weeks, your circulation improves, walking and exercise will become easier and your lung function increases.

By 3 months, your fertility improves. This is an oft overlooked reason to quit smoking. Men's quality and density of sperm increases and women's chances of conceiving are increased, with less likelihood of miscarriage, or giving birth to babies with higher risks of stillbirth, cot death, premature or low birth weight and lifelong afflictions.

By now, the tar stains on your fingers and teeth will be eliminated.

Within the first 9 months, you will find that you no longer suffer from shortness of breath, and coughing, sinus congestion or fatigue will be rapidly improved.

By 1 year your risk of coronary heart disease is already half that of a smoker!

Also by now, due to increased oxygen, you will have noticeable improvement in your skin and gums. The oxygen goes towards repairing dry skin and premature wrinkles.

After 5 years the risk of lung cancer drops by half. Also your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas rapidly decreases. And every day thereafter these lifesaving health benefits of quitting smoking increase.

In 5 to 15 years, you will have no higher risk of stroke than that of people who have never smoked!

By 10 years, your chances of coronary heart disease will be virtually the same as that of people who have never smoked. In fact your risk of an early death from all causes virtually disappears and returns to that of people who have never smoked.

Did you know that only 12% of smokers can expect to live to 85, as compared to 69% of non-smokers? Why risk losing even one year of life or being one of the statistical average of smokers and lose 10 years? Or 25 years? Why risk an average of 12 years disability before you die?

If you quit before age 35 your risk is reduced by a dramatic 90% or more, and even if you're over 65 and you quit, your quality of life and life expectancy is significantly increased.


That's a lot of good reasons to stop smoking.

If this is a fear that helps you quit, keep using it and know (as you obviously do) that it's a reality. You explained perfectly the life my grandfather lived until he died a few months back. For the past 2 years, even though he was not in a home he couldn't go anywhere without his oxygen tank and even going up or down stairs required him to take breathing treatment.
My grandpa was a good man, but the kind of grandfather you see in movies and as you described, playing with his grandkids and vacationing he was not, his decision to smoke was also a decision to handcuff himself to a chair and oxygen tank when he got older.

It may be hard now, but your quality of life will be much better in the future. Good Luck :clap:

Who knows what chemicals they put in toothpicks these days, I sure wouldn't smoke those things.
:Pimp: --> :Lin:

Anybody else have any sucess stories with this? I've been pondering quiting (for the 4th time) and am hoping this could be a good alternative.

If you are counting on some kind of pill, patch or med to help you quit you will fail just like before. You have to really want it. Those pills, patches etc. only help you for the first 48 hours while you are having physical withdrawal symptoms.

In the long term your enemy is habit and social settings. You always have a smoke during/after X. Thats where the "want to" comes in. You have to will yourself past those cravings and thoughts. It's not going to be easy. Quitting is too damn hard.

I had a craving for a cig 10 years after I quit.

Two methods to try:

#1 - Hypnosis (98% effective)

#2 - Anti-freeze (100% effective)

My wife took it for a month and smoked the entire time then for whatever reason after she ran out she just stopped smoking.

That was right at the first of the year if I remember right. She grabbed one from a friend of hers the other night (after she'd had a couple beers) took one drag, coughed, gagged said "no f'ing way" and handed it right back.

In her case it seems to have worked but I'm going to add here that she was ready to quit. it wasn't a "I'm quitting because the doctor said to or anything like that. SHE decided it was time and she quit.

I can now drink a beer at a bar without going batshit wanting a smoke. That was brutal when I first quit.