Hey, JC, I’m glad you quit!
I applaud your effort to bring awareness.
One night I was laying in bed and I could hear myself breathing. I did’nt like what I heard, was that me whizzing. Yap the guy that retired at 51 that played racket ball for twenty years, that thought he would live forever. Well thank the lord, that scared the begezzies out of me, I quit that second, 10 years ago, not a puff sense. Every now and then they really smell, like candy -------so I clam to be a recovering smoking aholic.
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John
Good article JC!
Sadly the symptoms sound similar to my father-in-law so I sent him a copy of the article right after reading it.
I doubt it will do any good though. It seems hardheadedness is tougher to cure than the common cold!
Good Article JC! You need to post it on the BB too, before it gets chopped up into teeny tiny little QUOTES all over the place. Reads much better as a whole.
J.C.
Wonderful article! Congratulations on quitting smoking! Amy and I have been 13 months smoke free. Thinking she was dieing from ling cancer really sends out a jolting wake up call.
You are quite correct when you say “Just quit”. The state of mind or determination is nine tenths of what it takes to stop.
Thank you, Sir!
I have to applaud all of you who have quit smoking. Apparently I don’t want to bad enough. I have dropped from over 4 packs a day to 1/2 pack a day but still can’t quit. Makes me mad. I quit herion cold turkey, opium well it is stillwith me but I don’t use it anymore. Fact of the matter been clean for well over 30 + years. Did it all cold turkey. I quit drinking a case of beer and a 5th of whiskey a day over 25 years ago and now just have a occasional beer (this year 6). Smoking just seems to stick with me. Very frustrating. Been smoking since I was 8. Started on camels and went from there. Watched my dad die of lung cancer, made me smoke more. Wish above all else I could quit, Been blessed don’t have any of the illnesses related to smoking yet but I assume I will in the future. Tobacco is by far the most addictive drug out there at this time.
I smoked for 25 yrs and 2 heart attacks convinced me to quit.Quit cold turkey 5 yrs ago and never looked back.I can breath better than I have in yrs.Sleep better.Smell things I had not smelled in yrs.I dont wake up coughing and hacking like I used to.Food even tastes better.Wish I had quit yrs ago.I had no idea ciggarettes affected a body as much as they do.And harleybob87…1/2 pack a day is a heck of a lot healthier than the 4 packs a day you once smoked.Give yourself a pat on the back.
-Steve
Hey JC,
Never TOO late to quit smoking. I too made the decision February 6, 1979 at 2:30 PM. After consuming at least 3 packs a day, I decided that someday a doctor would say " Mark, you’ve got Cancer. Get your things in order. You have six months to live". THAT scared the you know what outta me and in order to avoid that from actually happening, I quit THAT day at THAT time never to smoke again. I have since been tempted with “fine” cigars and decided it was WAAYYYYY to risky.
AS far as making it easier to stay “quitted”, talk about it with your friends. You’ll need constant fortification of your resolve to quit. I’ve heard of attaching a 3X5 card to their shirt/tie etc. with " I quit smoking on____________" to garner that support.
In any case, GOOD LUCK in your resolve.
Mark
Thanks all. I should have added this to it. The ONE biggest thing that brings up the idea of smoking, is those %$#@ ad’s on T.V. about quitting smoking! I’ve quit already, don’t keep reminding me how %$#@ hard it is to quit! 
Folks,
A warning here about using Chantrix. It is now becoming evident that this drug has some very serious side effects that were not previously disclosed. This drug has very, very serious psychological and physical side effects. Apparently it may cause bad mental health stability issues, heart problems and may interfere with your diabetic meds like insulin. Read for yourself and draw your own conclusions:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/05/chantix.html
Does not give me much faith in the FDA and the drug companies.
I count myself as being very fortunate, when at 16, my father caught me smoking, and expressed how very disappointed he was in my behavior. I could have accepted a beating better than to see that look in his eyes. I feel that I literally dodged a bullet that day, because I didn’t mess with it after that, and I’m grateful I didn’t get hooked. Food has been my nemesis, and I wish there was a way to go “cold turkey” on food. Anyone who has been addicted to smoking, and who’s been successful in overcoming the addiction, has my admiration. Any addiction is difficult to overcome, no matter what it is, and that’s why it’s so very important to involve non-judgemental people as allies in the process. The most important thing about quitting, is doing it for yourself. Not because somebody puts pressure on you. When you think about it, and come to the realization that indulging in these behaviors could deprive our loved ones of our presence, and then realizing that it’s a selfish act to cut short ones own life, ought to motivate us to make changes. I pray that we can find the strength.
Probably not my choice to quit, and frankly I didn’t think I could. But my surgeon said he would not operate on my torn shoulder unless I quit. I had the first surgery Aug. 16 '07 and had been smoke free for two weeks.
I did use Chantrix, for whatever the introductory period is. My health care provider, (Betty) gave me the sample pac and when those were gone I wasn’t smoking any more. I have heard some folks have a problem with Chantrix, but I didn’t and gratefully it worked. It is not a nicotine replacement or substitute, but instead tricks your mind to not produce endorphins which give one the ‘pleasure’ from smoking.
I am grateful, now if I can lose the 30 pounds I’ve put on…
Perhaps I failed to make my point. I wondered why none of the doctors I went to for a heart fibrillation problem simply said that it was caused by the stimulant nicotine. When I quit smoking the heart problem went away and my oxygen rate picked up. Tell you what, if there are any doctors out there and some jerk comes in with a heart fibrillation problem, tell them to quit smoking, it’s causing it. See if that works better than “taking two and call me in the morning.”
EXACTLY why I passed your article along to my father-in-law. He has the fib problem. He won’t use sugar, cut out salt, no more egg yolks, almost no fat…
…but won’t quit the cigs!
They have him on meds for the fib. Maybe your experience will open his stubborn eyes!
Thanks for sharing it!
JC I got your point but did not want to say anything for fear of offending some of the docters on here but you opened it up sooooooo. Docters are a fine lot and that is why I hate them as a rule. Doc I have a stuffy nose and a fever. 10 minutes later the doc says you are so right you have a stuffy nose and a fever take this prescribtion and because of the sideeffects of this prescribtion I need you to take some of this and this as well and on your way out make sure you pay the $250 for the office visit. Please came back as soon as possible so I can take more of your money for tellinig you what you all ready knew. I promise not to heal you that way I can put my kids through school.
I quit three years ago cold turkey. And i always told myself i would quit before i 40 and i acomplished that. Plus my wife said so. Congrats to you be strong.
My point was not to bash doctors, exactly. My report is factual and ‘maybe’ someone reading this will be having the same problems (fibrillation/smoking) as I did. This was mainly for him, educating doctors was incidental.
The correlation between heart disease and smoking (and myriad other health issues) has been around for what seems like forever, and if the lay person knows about it, then for damn sure every physician should as well. My wife was diagnosed last year with macular degeneration, and our eye doctor told her last year that if she quit smoking it would slow down the progression of the disease. One year later her checkup revealed that the disease has not progressed. Quitting works.
I’m down to about 3-5 cigs per day, with some days not having any. It’s the hardest thing I have ever done, and I admire and congratulate every one of you who has completely quit. I have noticed an increase in stamina since reducing my nicotine intake, so I know it works.
Joe
Remember, I quit before I knew that SMOKING was CAUSING my heart problems. Had any doctor told me that it was causing it, it would have been easier to quit, and sooner as well.
J.C.
I also got your point. I was trying to compliment you on your accomplishments in regards to your own health care.
Unfortunately missed diagnosis seem to be all too common these days. It almost caused Amy to have unnecessary major lung surgery last year. The doc was absolutely convinced that she was full of lung cancer and did not want to wait for the results of the last biopsy/third opinion. Thank God we decided to get that last opinion. We were a bit miffed at doc but also realized that she was fearing for Amy’s life too. We also learned with a very serious illness to get at least three opinions on what to do. However, as in your case, sometimes even that does not work.
I think a lot of these missed diagnosis may be attributed to the case load of our doctors and perhaps they assume that in the modern era we have educated ourselves on the causes of our illness. I don’t know for certain. Does seem to a problem at times though.
Well I am glad that you figured it out and that you are still here with us. You will start feeling even better as time goes on. We buried my sister-in-law at 44 years of age in 2000. She was born with Atrial Fibrillation caused by a drug here mother had to take to keep from miscarrying her during gestation. She was a cardiac/I.C.U. nurse but neither she nor the doctors could figure out how to stop the fibrillation. She had been revived many times but always said that one of these times will be the last time. We miss her very badly.
Mayo Clinic article on the causes of Atrial Fibrillation:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/atrial-fibrillation/causes.html
Sorry, didn’t intend to hijack your post.