I quit smoking

didnt go to a seminar or meet with a doctor but i quit smoking now i am going crazy who else out there quit with no meds just pilain old fashioned quit what helped

I wasn't a really heavy smoker near the end (maybe 8 ultra lights a day), and I quit the 16th of February. I went with the gum and a website called http://www.quitnet.com/. I swore by it the first few weeks. I still swear it's the OH of smoking. It is really tough the first few days, but it does get better. I had surgery last month, and since I fully recovered, I find myself thinking about smoking now more than I did since I first quit. Some days it's very tough not to take it back up again. But I've made it three months and I would hate to start again now after all that good time under my belt. Remember to drink lots of water. This has a dual benefit: it not only helps curb cravings, but it helps get you into postop mode when all you do is drink water (or so it seems ). Good luck! Julie 399/371/353/160

thank you and congrats on your weight loss and for quitting smoking both are hard to do but in the end it is worth it

girls! i am in the process of smoking my "last pack" after i found out that my potential surgeon won't operate until you have not had a cig for 3 weeks! i am thinking it will be harder than my head is telling me right now! let's stick together! please! i need encouragement on this one! thanks! and keep up the good work on quitting! ugh! karly

Fran, Congrats!! Stay strong!!! I too will be quitting soon...pre-op and for life. It scares the heck outta me cause I hope I can scrape up the strength. You go girl!!!

Hey Fran and all you future non-smokers, I too was a smoker and have been smoke free for almost 3 years now. I'll tell you it is not an easy thing to do but quitting smoking can be done with a lot of hard work and determination. Let me start by saying for some, it is just like any other addiction, you may stop and st some point you can/will relasp. If you do relasp, don't be hard on your self just start over. Everytime I got pregnant, I could stop with no problem though some times I just wanted to smell the smoke. I always seemed to go back about 6 weeks after having my baby. I stopped one time before surgery because the Dr. said that you heal better and faster if you don't smoke. I gave my pack of cigarettes to the nurse and walked out of the office. Let me not forget tomention that I would pray, pray and pray some more when ever I thought about smoking, because you will think about it. Most of my friends did not smoke so I tried to hang around them as much as I could because that would stop me from smoking. It was very inconvient to try to smoke when I was around my non-smoking friends because I would always have to go out of my way to smoke. That got tiring after a while plus I did not want them to think I stunk, which I knew I did after I had a smoke. I think by staying busy helped a great deal. You could not think about smoking if you were thinking about something else, right? I found that when ever I thought I could handle myself and just smoke a little or smoke when I was drinking, that I would always get hooked again. So the last time I figured I had to stop because I was getting shortness of breath and I did not think it was fair to continue to make my children inhale second hand smoke, I put it in the hands of God and I prayed more than enough. I would just ask God to take the urge to smoke out of me over and over again. It will be three years in November since I had a cigarette. And every now and again, I still have to pray about it. You can do it, I have faith in you. Please remember all things are possible through prayer. best wishes and peace to you, Ms. Butterfly

thank you know this is hard one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life! keep me in your prayers.

Fran, I am on day 4 of NO SMOKING!!!!! it has been really hard, the second day was the hardest! I am *****y as ever! haha, gum , straight chewing gum, yes sugarless has helped a bunch! i get the urge to smoke, i shove my mouth with spicy gum! haha how are you doing with it? i told everyone around me, so they could keep an eye on me! it has helped too! karly

Karly are you pre-op or post-op? I am really scared because I have not quit smoking yet, bad thing is my surgery is 4 days away so i know i have to quit tomarrow or it will show up on some test they can do to see if you are still smoking.I want this surgery so bad but just haven't been able to quit. I think part of it is not knowing for sure if i was approved then last week found out i was appoved but then had my pre-op and they said i had an abnormailality and now i should find out tomarrow if i can ghave sugery on thurs. if they tell me tomarrow its a go i am done smoking. think i will be ok? please give me your opinion

Smokers have surgery all the time. It is not ideal. Obviously, you want to be in the best possible shape for surgery. However, surgery is done many times everyday on smokers. Be sure you follow all the post op instructions for deep breathing, coughing and moving around post op. You will be at higher risk for pnuemonia.....Does your surgeon know you smoke? Be sure you alert the anenethesiologist when they do your pre op evaluation. Laurie