Dec 20 Was My Cold Turkey Date
 

Just realized this. Dec 20 was the anniversary of when I quit. Oh, I've had a couple since then, like five maybe, last one being six or seven months ago.

How long does it take for your lungs to start recovering? How can you tell?

To be honest, I did not notice a big difference in my cardio capacity from pre to post. It has improved some but I think that's more the cycling. I have stopped taking all the cholesterol and BP meds, I think that's more the weight loss and cycling than the quitting. The main thing I notice is that I don't smell and I don't get sick as much. And I don't worry that my kids will start because their dad does it.

Congratulations, Jon! That is commendable! Especially the part about setting an example for your kids.

It's not just about the "now." It's also about what you're like when you're 60 or 70 years-old. IMO COPD is a horrible thing to have to live (and die) with. Heart attacks kinda suck, too.

And it's also about the now. I've got a guy right now who fell off the back of his trailer (he's a truck driver) and broke his wrist. He's young. Under 40. It was probably the worst distal radius fracture I've ever done. Beyond Humpty Dumpty. That's not just from the fall, but also I think due to the fact that he's a 2 PPD (pack per day) smoker. (Smoking reduces bone density.) I fixed the fracture, but the repair fell apart as the fracture didn't heal. Maybe the 2nd time this has happened to me out of the hundred distal radius fractures I've fixed over the years. Due to the arthritis that developed I tried to fuse the wrist. But that fell apart as the bone again didn't heal. I revised the wrist fusion with bone graft taken from his hip. Again, looking at non-healing. I don't know and can't attribute all of these problems simply to his smoking, but the effects of nicotine on decreasing micro-circulation certainly isn't helping things heal. He keeps telling me he just wants to do everything he can to get better. But he still can't quit smoking, though he's down to 1 PPD now. I tell him the next step is to take a bone from his lower leg to do a vascularized bone graft, as the bone he's got in his wrist certainly is no good anymore. But I'm fairly confident that no one in America would consider it standard of care to attempt this sort of surgery in a current smoker. What to do?

Congrats on doing the right thing.

I quit cold turkey maybe 7-8 years ago (it's on here somewhere). I was a three pack a day smoker and just woke up one day and said no more.

It is a mental decision, not a physical act. Make up your mind and be done with it. "I will not put one of these to my lips", is all you need to decide. It's a horrible couple of months but very worth it. Will you ever not want another? Nope... almost every day I would love one but the intensity does subside. Make up your mind, that's the best advice I can offer.

Congratulations! That's fantastic. And don't concern yourself with physical improvements just yet. Some folks feel an immediate change and others may notice nothing. Just know the long term benefits are going to be there. Keep up the good work.
I lost Mom in '11 to smoking. Believe me, you do NOT want your kids going through that. It was very tough.


Noah, thanks for sharing. It's amazing how many smokers I see. How does a younger person of today pick a pack to begin with? Never mind, I know why.

Good choice, wise choice. You've got good years ahead of you, no reason to risk their enjoyment on smokes.

Nice. I believe you just added 10 years to your life expectancy. Not a bad thing!

Larry

Jon that’s great! As an ex-smoker I know how tough it is and trust me I would love to spark one every day but stick to the plan man!

I think your lungs will recover very quickly, maybe 6 months or so till they get all pink again. Years ago I dissected a cadaver and he smoked. His lungs were pretty tough, although that didn't make me quit it was when the doc said that my lungs could get back to prime in short time is what made me think there was hope.

But this isn't about me sir it’s about you! Congrats again. Stay away from a few 'triggers' that will make you want to steam one down...
- early morning coffee
- beers with your friends
- a nice drive on a cool spring day with your windows down
- a very filling meal
- crazy good sex
Yup, that about covers it...stay away from all that and your desire to smoke shall be diminished! Of course your quality of life would go down the shytter but its a small price to pay!

congratulations!! find it hard to believe that in this day in age, folks still smoke. we are so much more informed..in general. i think it is difficult enough to stay in good health..as it is. with smoking, damn. one arm tied behind your back.

you find food tasting better?

Not really.

I had previously cut it down to 1 pack/week for the preceding few years, so there wasn't a huge step-down to zero.

Everything I have heard and read says that your lungs start improving the next day after quitting, congratulations on taking that final step to just say no. It is much more mental than physical, and a weak minded, person is much more likely to pick the habit back up sometime in a moment of stress.

That is great, John. It has been more than a few years for me and is the single best thing I could have done.

My trigger was driving home from work after a long day...nothing was better than a couple of butts.

I now keep a box of round tooth picks in my car and truck and gnaw on those instead!

Again, well done and keep it up.

It's about understanding the reality of addiction.
Recovery is only partially about being informed and mostly about a willingness to address feeling management disorder.
If it didn't stink up my house, chase people away, and threaten my life, I'd still be smoking. I loved it.
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I'm down with the flu and that started a few days ago. So I'm thinking of making this my New Year's resolution. I'm still too sick to even think about smoking. I used to smoke close to a pack a day (always lights or ultra lights), quit several times, sometimes for years, went back to a pack every other day, quit, rinse repeat. Now I'm at around 1-2 packs per week. I have never noticed the slightest improvement in anything when I quit. I ran seven marathons as a pack-a-day smoker. I don't want to die young or void my life insurance. But life as a total non-smoker doesn't seem that much better to me.

Rick, buddy. Just give it up. What these things do your body is just unconscionable. I have had two good friends die of smoking related illnesses. I have a feeling there will be many more as the years go by.

I quit 16 years ago with the help of acupuncture. I've had some medical problems in recent years that are almost certainly down to those Marlboro Lights I used to enjoy.

Just give them up. This sounds like a perfect opportunity.

you answered your own question, IMO. i watch people die slowly from a lifetime of smoking all the time. suffocation over years and years, from COPD, cannot be fun. it sure doesn't look like it to me.

i also smoked. i quit when my wife put her foot down, knowing she was absolutely correct. i still have a cigarette once or twice a year, but its been two years since that, even.

strong work.

d.

13 years here, I quit when I met the woman that eventually became my wife. I had tried to quit several times, but ass can be a great motivator.:D

I have a lot of energy so the constant smoking activity kept me engaged, especially in the car. I've replaced them with pistachios while driving, which are a worthy distraction. Also excellent with a beer or morning coffee, those were probably the hardest times to resist.

how did you guys START smoking? thinking back, did you (being honest here, no offenses meant) think it was the cool thing to do? peer pressure?

i know the advertisements back in the day made it look all tough guy and cool.

You won't believe this. When I was washing dishes in a restaurant the summer after I started college, you really only got to take a break if you smoked. That was obviously illegal, but that's how it worked. No matter how busy it was, if you smoked, you could take a break for it. All the managers smoked. So after a few nights of being on my feet the whole time and never getting a break, I went to the vending machine in the lobby, got a pack and stood there with a lit smoke in my hand to get a break. Eventually, I started inhaling and liking it.

I don't have much of a problem quitting, I have quit multiple times for multiple years. It's the moments out in the woods or at work that I see/smell a can of Copenhagen & it's on. I tell myself I can only have one & sometimes do, but eventually I let tobacco, in one form or another, sneak back into my life.

This last go around I smoked a pack of marlboros in a week, but now I have 4 weeks clean again. I wanna get through the entire year. I have seen a few people die from smoking & they still wouldn't quit. Best to think about something else.

I started smoking a pack a day at 15 years old. I was shipped off to a state run group home for boys. They (house parents) sold boxes of Marlboro reds for 50 cents a pack. I had already been chewing for a couple years & cigarettes were much easier than snuff to buy. A couple years later I attended a GED school that allowed underage smoking in the classrooms, this was about 82.

so rick and Shrup..thanks. interesting start up stories.

I don't think I had smokes around when I wasn't working for that summer, probably didn't even take them out of my work station at the restaurant. But then the next semester all my roommates were casual smokers and so it continued. The next year I lived in Germany, even started out working there for six months, and everyone in the factory smoked on breaks. Sometimes, when no one else is around, I jones for a smoke. But it's usually triggered by being around others smoking. Going to China is impossible if you're trying to quit. Everyone smokes everywhere and good smokes cost. $.50 a pack. Tax drivers will offer you a smoke when you get in. I've even heard doctors will smoke in the examination room.

i like to smoke. period. i just don't like how i feel afterwards. if you were to hand me a djarum clove cigarette, i'd smoke it right now. but only one, for a long long time.

Good luck finding clove cigarettes anymore, Obama outlawed them. The clove cigars are close but, no cigarette. I have a weakness for clove smoke though I try not to inhale.

Congratulations on your milestone!

i think you can still get these, as they are marketed as mini cigars. these are what i preferred, anyway.

djarum black | Tumblr

John - congrats. I did not know you smoked and I thought Dec. 20 was a little early for x-mas turkey leftovers!

I think there lie some of your weight gain mysteries. I don't know anyone that quit who did not gain weight afterwards. From what I have witnessed it usually takes a year or two for people to find their new balance.

Stay strong and if you want a smoke, just hop on your bike instead! :)

George

Navy boot camp. Similar situation, smokers got a break a few times a day. Nonsmokers kept busting their humps. After a couple days of watching the smokers, I followed and bummed a smoke and just puffed it. A week or so later, with the break area populated with as many nonsmokers faking it as there were real smokers, our Company Commander strolled in. It wasn't difficult to spot the fakers. He had everyone inhale smoke to prove they were actually smoking or face the music. We all inhaled and began coughing and choking accordingly. He said he was satisfied and left. Feeling light headed and dizzy, we returned only to find him announcing MASH PT ( Make A Sailor Hurt ). More than a few guys puked in short order. I didn't, but I never took another break that way again.

A couple years later while deployed to sea, I smoked a few from time to time. Never really liked it and was just bored, I suppose.

Rick, I hope you stay smoke-free.

Drinking and friends. When I started at 18 I just had a smoke or two when I was drinking, as most of my friends smoked. It snowballed from there until I was buying my own and doing it all the time, I was at a pretty solid pack per day until I quit. Fortunately I stopped at 20, so I'm hopeful that my stupidity didn't do any long term damage. I didn't feel any significant physical difference, but I did realize just how bad I had smelled to non-smokers.

John, I had no idea you smoked.
Congrats on quitting. You can do it!!

Never caught the habit, but I did chew Copenhagen for a number of years. Quit cold turkey; 3 of the hardest days I ever spent in my life.
Nicotine is the devils own drug, that is for sure.

When I was a student at the British Institute of Florence, everyone smoked. Cafes, bars, post office, travel agent, restaurants, hotels, trains, etc.

This was a habit for half a year. We also rolled our own Drum and Samson. It was something to do when you were chatting up an Italian girl and you were struggling with the language.

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Eh, after a year without, I can't really use the "quitter's gain" excuse for weight gain any more.

I think that after Dec 20, 2011 I gained a little bit, but not much. I was riding pretty diligently, going out in the cold and rain on weekends to ride hill laps, so didn't have much chance to gain.

This winter, I'm just a lazy slug.

This article does not have references, but it has a lot of points that show that even at the same caloric intake, a smoker may be at a stable weight, while the non-smoker will gain.

Smoking Cessation - DEALING WITH WEIGHT GAIN

Good job, I know how hard it is and have it on my list to do this month :D

Started with a girl I liked when I was young, worst decision ever.

Feburary will be 11 years for me. One of the best things I've ever done. I wouldn't even think about having one, I'd probably become a smoker again, if I did.

It gets easier as time goes by. Some people claim they always desire a cigarette, for me never. I do wonder sometimes what it would be like to have one, though.
Ocassionally I'll dream I had one.

Keep it up! It's worth it!

Dean

I looked into the smoking-weight thing. Most of the weight gain that quitters can experience is just due to exchanging one oral fixation for another. But nicotine does elevate your heart rate which causes your calorie burn to be a little higher. IIRC the effect was around 100-200 cal/day. Not much but it adds up.

Congrats. Now that you are free DO NOT GO NEAR TOBACCO! No chew no nothing. You will be right back there. 10 years clean here at 61 years old. My 2 packs a day habit ended with open heart surgery 6/18/2003 at 2 PM ( congenital defect - mytral valve). Get a scale and an exercise program to fend off weight loss. Gaining weight is your new enemy. Good luck.

Some people who have quit claim the smell of smoke disgusts them. Not me. It was difficult to quit, but well worth it.