I quit smoking

[Yvonne47]

Hello:

I quit smoking just over 2 weeks ago cold turkey. The first day I tried the patch and it was too strong. After smoking over 30 years it has been very tough. I have been dizzy, light headed, paranoid, bloated body and nervous.. a spaced out zombie. Two years ago I quit for 2 weeks but only had constipation as a side affect. I have gained 6 pounds, no problem, I only weighed 95 and my facial skin looks great (no more oily T zone.

My bladder does not hurt so much...I don't know if this is from quiting smoking or the Cystocopy/Hydro I had late last month.

Has any one else had a reduction in bladder pain after quiting smoking?

:D

[ICNDonna]

Congratulations! And don't give up now --- it's a really great feeling to be rid of smoking. I quit something like 20 years ago and have never regretted it.

And yes --- I think my bladder benefitted. It's difficult to know if it directly effected my IC, but it's known that tobacco is a major cause of bladder cancer in a healthy bladder so I figure it can't be good for an IC bladder.

I really admire anyone who can quit cold turkey. I couldn't do it, but with the help of Nicorette gum, I managed.

Warm congratulatory hugs,
Donna

[Kelli]

CONGRATS YVONNE!!!!!!!!!!!! I quit over a year ago but started back up after I was dxed with IC . I didn't know much about it and the only thing I was told by my doctor was it was incurable. I seriously thought I had a disease that was like cancer and was going to kill me. It caused me to have a severe Anxiety attack and I was working at a gas station at the time so I just grabbed a pack off the rack and lit up. If I had only known about this site then. My hubby quit the same day I did and it still going strong 1 year and 5 months later. I have tried again several times but it seems I'm always around someone who is smoking so I give in. They say you have to be really ready to quit, and I guess I'm not REALLY really. Last time I was pumped about quitting and I managed 4months. Congrats to you and keep it up. Take it one day at a time and here is a tip for you, YOU CANT JUST HAVE ONE.


Kelli

[SharonA]

Yvonne...

Congrats on making the decision. :D That's a big one. By now you should be noticing some changes in your breathing and how you feel. 2 weeks is a big deal. Be proud of yourself. You deserve it. Each day, it will become easier and easier to say no to the urges. Keep it up. Kick those cigs in the butt. lmao You can do it!!!!...Sharon (Cig free since May 1991)

[Kathi]

Congratulations!!!!! I'm over a month now & having no problems with quitting. HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hugs, Kathi grouphug lmao Hang in there baby

[SharonA]

Yvonne and Kathi...You go girls :D :D :D

Remember to treat yourselves with kindness. This is hard work but, in the end, it is sooooo worth everything you are going through, now.

I promise...it does get easier every day until one day, when you see someone light up, you realize...hey, I'm a non smoker...I did it...Yea for me!!!! :D

Sending you both a big hug grouphug ...Sharon

[SharonA]

Kelli...

You are so right. One is a deal breaker. It will not help. I know...I thought I could have just one more several times...NOT eek scream And, yes...to finally be able to break through and quit for good, you have to really, really want to do it...Sharon

[sanctuary]

Great news, good for you! When I try to quit I feel stressed out and have more symptoms..Xanax didn't help that either. HOW did you quit? I'd like to know., The gum didn't help me, except to make me nervous. Be proud of yourself, sanctuary

[Yvonne47]

Hello:

Thank you my friends for all the support..you are all great!

I quit cold turkey ...woke up one morning with no ciggs and said this is the day (one day early than my planned quit day). I put on a patch but did not like the way it felt and took it off the same day.

Prior to this I tried to cut down but would smoke from 10 to 20 (when upset) to 10. I did have a quit date planned for February 6th but my cat died a week before and that changed my plans. I think that you have to plan a quit date and get outside support. I signed up for Health Canada's quit smoking program http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/tobacco/quitting/index.html#lines. I get daily email messages for support.

Now I have a sinus thing going on, I think my body is still house cleaning. I still have cravings but not as bad. :D

[Mrs.H]

CONGRATULATIONS !!!!.Keep going Yvonne...you are doing great...I quit a year ago Feb 14th...you can do it I know you can! kissing

[thegabrielle]

Yvonne47,

Congrats on quitting! I quit over a month ago after smoking for 15yrs! I started when I was 15 and thought I could never quit. But I did! Good for you joining a support group. I still think about smoking sometimes but then I think of all the bad things it does to me and then I forget about smoking. Good Luck....I know you can do it!

[janedoe_2003]

Yvonne,
I am exactly two weeks behind you. I quit smoking the day you posted your message. I am on day 7 today. feeling a little (okay a lot) depressed :( and moody but at least the tobacco won't affect my bladder anymore or anything else for that matter. hi My kids are very proud of me and that keeps me motivated every day. Not to mention, the 27th that i quit smoking will be my birthday so I at least have to get to that point.....and then of course there's many other milestones to face. Good luck to us. May the angel fly with us all.

[Kathi]

I'm ast the 6 weeks mark lmao I'm doinf fine. It gets easier, hang in there all of you that have quit. There are still times I think I want a cigarette, but wonb't do it to my bladder or lungs any more. Be strong!!!! grouphug Kathi

[kat]

As a little more incentive not to have a cigarette, I want to tell you that a very dear friend of mine who smoked all his life had a chest cold this winter that lasted for a couple of months . Because he was also having incredible pain, they did a chest x-ray and found cancer which had already spread thru his body. Two weeks later (one month ago)he died. No opportunity for chemo or anything...it was just too late. We couldn't believe how fast it happened!

I think people think it can't happen to them. But I'm here to tell you it can.

[Yvonne47]

Hello:

Gabrielle, Kathi, Jane...congrats on quiting! It is one of the hardest things to do but it will makes us feel so much better.

I have lost a friend to smoking cancer and know another who has no voice box, he speaks through a hole now.

One of the reasons I quit was for my cats,I don't want them to get get sick. Pets can get the same second hand smoke diseases as us.

Again, thank you for the support.

Hugs, grouphug kissing

[tigger_gal]

wwwwwwwoooohhhhhooooooo congrats congrats wish i could give up this nasty habit..
kissing
brat

[cak]

I ve quit smoking for almost 1.5 months (moderate smoker for 13 years). I quit on March 30th 2003. I just quit for no reason. Went cold turkey. Did not have any major withdrawl symptoms.

But the sad thing was symptoms of IC started after i quit smoking :( (not a confirmed IC sufferer yet). I dont know if it is just a coincidence. Or may be i had these symptoms for quiet sometime and tobacco was masking these symptoms. Once i quit the whole thing started showing. May be / May be not.

Any way my respiratory system seems to be in good form and function now :)

[Kathi]

Way to go Cak! It's always nice to have another join us in this very difficult situation. I'm over 2 months now & still going strong. Who's stronger the ciagrettte or ME. MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kathi baby

[Kelli]

ok everyone, it's been a couple months, how are you all doing?????

[Teri]

I'm still smoking :( but my husband has been smoke free for 8 months and if he lives another 8 it will be a miracle cussing cussing wink

[ICNDonna]

A couple of days ago when I was in our little community grocery store, there was a woman there with two little kids --- she was very carefully counting out her money to see if she could buy a whole gallon of milk --- or maybe just a quart --- then she walked up to the register and bought the gallon --- and then spent almost $5.00 on one package of cigarettes.

I am soooo thankful that I quit smoking. I couldn't begin to afford the expense, in addition to the health problems.

Congratulations to all you quitters!

:)
Donna

[jjmowen]

Congratulations everyone. I quit in August 2002. My husband, a 17 year 3 pack a day smoker came home on his birthday, July 23 and said he had quit that day. Cold turkey. I was so skeptical, I told him if he made it 2 weeks I would quit too. He did. I was so angry, I wasn't ready to quit. (not very supportive was I?) Anyway I quit cold turkey also and we almost killed each other the first week. I think the competition helped. I thought if he can I can, and he wanted to prove me wrong. But now I don't even miss them. Sometimes I smell other people smoking and think "Wow, that smells so bad." My husband still misses them a lot, but we saved so much money we are taking the kids to Disney World in July. That really makes it worth it. We were spending $70 a week literally up in smoke.

So I'm happy that we quit now, and hope all of you are still not smoking.

[Kathi]

Good job JJ & hubby! I quit in March & still am smoke free. Hubby is down to 1/2 with filters & is getting ready to quit totally, he has to. That was why I quit, to give him the incentive. I really don't miss them, every now & then I think I might like one (stress) but I won't. I did take a drag of hubby's cig when we put the cat to sleep. I got so dizzzy & said "yuck". No more for me. Now if I could just lose the weight & urge to eat. Oh well. Kathi baby

[auntiedeb]

I just want to wish you all on congrats for stopping to smoke. You should be pretty proud of yourself and give yourself a pat on the back. I know thaty ou can do it. Hang in there.There's hope. one day at a time.

[Alyson]

I'm not a smoker, but I lived with a dad who smoked two to three packs a day for over thirty years. He coughed ALL the time. Anyway, just before Christmas of 2002, he gave us all a big present and said,"I've quit smoking." Well, it's been over seven months now and he's still smoke-free! He notices the "smoke" smell now and ya know what? After just a couple weeks of being "clean," he had stopped coughing all together. Yay!!!!!! It makes me so happy to see how proud he is of his accomplishment!!!!!
Even though I haven't had to deal with quitting myself, I have seen what a struggle it can be and all of you deserve a big hand!!!!!! Good job!!!
grouphug

[Teri]

What a GREAT Christmas gift:D
My HB quit in Oct and hasn't picked up since and he's been living under 24/7 stress so I'm pretty darn proud of him. And, I sure miss :rolleyes: :rolleyes: that coughing and hacking he did every morning for an hour. Oh, he also missed his broncitis 3 times this winter.......sure with I had the guts~

[SusieK]

Hello! Congratulations - I quit also two weeks ago, maybe we are Quit Day buddies (Aug 5.) BUT, I was symptom free of IC when I quit, and within a week started flaring. Is it the Nicorette? Anyone experienced that?
I became symptom free about six weeks ago after IC dieting for a year and getting off Neurontin. That's a whole different topic. My flare-up may not be related to smoking or not smoking but it is the worst I've ever had.
Congrats again!

[Kathi]

It could be the Nicorette. I went cold turkey in March & still am smoke-free, 5 months! I don't even think about them any more & hubby is still smoking. Just want to lose this weight *sigh* Not bad enought to go back to smoking like I did last time. HANG IN THERE!!! wink Kathi