Electronic Cigarettes, anyone????

[Buttons2]

interesting reading this thread. hope y'all are doing better with the trying to quit & not beating yourself up if you don't make it just yet. I have one major reason to quit-MONEY. even that doesn't stop me though.

my friend just spent 4 days in the hospital & she's basically been told to quit or die. she has COPD,asthma,AND emphyzema. I told her if she could give up alcohol many years ago she can also quit smoking. I've known her about 30 yrs & didn't even realize she's an alcoholic since just thought she didn't like to drink.

kudos to all of you! when I decide to quit I know I can rely on all of you for encouragement.

[Jo6]

thanks Pati. you are a real love! Yes, its hard and I guess I'm having a huge pity party, but I'm still quiting, at least trying.
Teddy bears, I remember you from way back when:) I came here and I was trying hard to stop at that time. Had I made it maybe I wouldn't have COPD and asthma so bad now.

It really is dumb to keep smoking when you are panting to breath. Jingles, Dawn and TeddyBears, I'm proud of all of you. Someone told me the urge to smoke Never went away. I wonder.
Well, better go brush teeth and hop in bed. my love to all, Jo

[teddiebears]

Teddie don't know how I missed ya. Great to hear from you again. How are you doing? Congrats on still being smoke free. I would have to quit cold turkey again. I don't have the strength to go slow down. I am smoking those nasty roll-your-own because I refuse to pay almost $7 a pack. It is messy and a chore so I do smoke less than I use to. I do happen to buy a pack I seem to smoke one after another. Teddie 5-6 packs a day is a tremendous amount. That is literally smoking yourself to death. I am so glad that you are doing better. I have seen in a couple of articles that when you quit smoking your lungs, at least the parts not seriously damaged, do a bit of self healing and the tissue regenerates or some such thing. Has that happened for you or is there just too much damage? Guess I will have to Google lol.

P.S. don't fall into the I'm too weak self talk, Thats just your addiction trying to reason you into quitting quitting.

Hi Christina. I agree, I was smoking myself to death - and I seemed to be in a big hurry to get there. I can't even imagine what I would have done if I had continued to smoke over 4 packs a day at today's prices of $6-$7 a pack.

I've also read different articles about how the body "repairs" itself after quitting. For me, the damage to my lungs was too severe (and permanent) to totally "reverse" but the progression of my COPD and emphysema have slowed tremendously which has been a big relief. My breathing trouble still slows me down but at least it's getting worse at a much slower pace than if I were still smoking. Truth be told, if I had continurd to smoke as much as I did during the last few years that I smoked, I would likely have died years ago.

Here's a link for information I found once about how the body repairs when someone quits smoking- http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/benefits.htm

This is one part that I really like - "Within 12 hours after you have your last cigarette, your body will begin to heal itself. The levels of carbon monoxide and nicotine in your system will decline rapidly, and your heart and lungs will begin to repair the damage caused by cigarette smoke.As your body begins to repair itself, instead of feeling better right away, you may feel worse for a while. It's important to understand that healing is a process* and it begins immediately, but it continues over time. These "withdrawal pangs" are really symptoms of the recovery process.

Immediately after quitting, many ex-smokers experience "symptoms of recovery" such as temporary weight gain caused by fluid retention, irregularity, and dry, sore gums or tongue. You may feel edgy, hungry, more tired, and more short-tempered than usual and have trouble sleeping and notice that you are coughing a lot. These symptoms are the result of your body clearing itself of nicotine, a powerful addictive chemical. Most nicotine is gone from the body in 2-3 days."

I remember that I coughed a lot soon after quitting. I actually coughed more after I quit than I had when I was smoking (unless I had bronchitis or pneumonia, of course). I must admit I did feel worse for awhile but then it got better. My doctor explained to me that my lungs were finally able to expel a lot of the "nasty" stuff I had been inhaling all those years.

I agree with what you said to Jo about not letting 'addiction talk' prevent you from continuing to quit. We can sure do a number on ourselves if we give in to any of that "stinking thinking".

Take care.

[teddiebears]

thanks Pati. you are a real love! Yes, its hard and I guess I'm having a huge pity party, but I'm still quiting, at least trying.
Teddy bears, I remember you from way back when:) I came here and I was trying hard to stop at that time. Had I made it maybe I wouldn't have COPD and asthma so bad now.

It really is dumb to keep smoking when you are panting to breath. Jingles, Dawn and TeddyBears, I'm proud of all of you. Someone told me the urge to smoke Never went away. I wonder.
Well, better go brush teeth and hop in bed. my love to all, Jo

Thanks for the pat on the back, Jo. Even after 16 years it's nice to be acknowledged for the accomplishment.

You're right that it's dumb to keep smoking when it's so difficult to breathe, but that's how the "addiction" takes over and our better judgement and common sense sort of get lost in the shuffle somewhere. I've also heard that the urge to smoke never goes away, but I'm here to tell you that isn't true for everyone. Today, I have absolutely NO desire to smoke and I haven't felt that urge for nearly 15 years. Not sure why this happened, but I'm certainly grateful.

[Jo6]

Thank you teddybears. You all have been a help to me. I'm still struggling, but I'm getting closer. I do notice if I used the E- ciggie's I don't pick them up as much. I haven't even ordered a new box of the filters or whatever it is that you have to replace.

I know my COPD has gotten much worse and found out just last week I had calcium deposits building up in my Arota. Not sure I spelled all that right. I don't know if that has anything to do with smoking, but it can't be helpful.

I can't tell y'all enough how much the encouragement you have given me has helped. It's hard, but gads, I'm an old woman and I should be able to control Something in my latter years!!

I love you all and I'm glad you stopped by to post. It helps!

(((()))) to all Jo

[houghchrst]

Thanks Teddie for the link. I knew I had read that information at some time. I gained weight big time when I quit smoking. And yes I gnawed the crap outta my tongue for the first few months. Not fun.

Jo I am glad to see that you are still going at it. Are you still doing the treadmill? Makes for a great distraction from cravings if you can get up the strength to go at it a few times a day. Keep pushin' on!

[teddiebears]

Hey Christina. You reminded me of something I did when I first quit. I carried a baggie full of carrot sticks with me everywhere I went - just like I used to carry my pack(s) of cigarettes. It was a HUGE help to me. The hand to mouth gesture was so ingrained in the routine of my day that I felt lost without some way to replicate the motion. The carrots took care of that feeling for me. I was teasd a bit but at least I wasn't smoking!

I have gained weight over the years but it's at about the same rate that I had begun to gain even before I quit smoking so I doubt the quitting had too much to do with that.

[Jo6]

Carrots? What a great idea. I Love raw carrots and if I ate them I can see where it would help take care of some of the ugly parts in quiting the smokes.

Thank you Teddy and than you too Christina. It seems to be working on my nerves, big time. I'm very short temppered, it may even help me get some smiles going again. lol

I love all you girls for stopping in. It helps to hear the good things about not smoking.

I love you all, Jo

[teddiebears]

Thank you Teddy and than you too Christina. It seems to be working on my nerves, big time. I'm very short temppered, it may even help me get some smiles going again. lol

I love you all, Jo

Just curious. Have you ever done any meditation or yoga type relaxation techniques?

When I was starting to quit, I found that deep breathing worked pretty well to help me get through some urges to light a cigarette. You focus totally on your breathing and then slowly breathe in as deeply as is comfortable, hold it 5 seconds or so (again whatever feels okay) and then slowly exhale while staying completely focused on that action as well. Repeat it a few times. I started with 5 times I think and then built up to more like 10 -20 times. It amazingly took my mind off the urge to smoke and a bonus effect was I felt a little more relaxed or calmer. Maybe you could give this a try. Let me know if it helps you like it helped me, okay?

[Jo6]

this is only MY opinion. I feel like will power alone is NOT the answer. There are so many reasons people have such a hard time stopping addictive behavior. I won't start naming them because they can be differant for each person.

A couple of people have mentioned the car and smoking went hand and hand. Well, that has been a really hard thing for me. I won't name all the things I've tried, but its been many.

Well, we finally got a new mini-van and with all the fancy stuff on it and I can't remember how to take all of that in, the fancy do dad things that are on it dose NOT have an ash tray in the whole thing:)

So, now I don't have to even think about that one anymore.!! I'm still working on it, but haven't stopped totally yet. I am disgusted with myself because it makes my COPD worse and the heat together is about to kill me any way.

It is probably over 100 by now, but I do know the heat index is 110%. Still having horrible thunder storms every day and we may get a few sprinkles of rain. the weather alert has been going off every little bit since morning. Son Jonathan, lives near Atlanta and he just called and told me he saw this on the weather, even named our little town of Six Mile.!Was telling me to make Ken stay in the house. HA! I told him to get in that little car he got from us and drive up and make him do it himself. He understood and laughed at me.

I hope all others are having success that are trying to stop smoking. I have not found the electronic cigs. to be too expensive, but others have told me that. The purpose of using them is more or less weaning your system from all the bad things in reg. cigs. and I found myself picking them up less and less.

I wonder if those that say they are too expensive try smoking them, like chain smoking and I can see spending a fortune for the filters. Like I said at first, these are just my opinions. What works for one may not work for others.

It's hard to do and yes Pati, I think you and I have some of the reasons it may not be the time for either one of us to stop now. If not sitting in your new leather chair and me not smoking while in car, well we both are cutting way back. I'll hang on to every victory I gain.

I love you all and my prayers are with us all, Jo ((((((hugs)))))) to all