The Giving Up Smoking Thread - Part 3

caracara

well i gave up 5 mths 3 weeks 6 days ago
confession time i did fall off the wagon briefly but am fully seated again as it was only a brief idiotic glitch which am spinelessly blaming on stress (although i think that most ex smokers know that most would use any excuse to give up giving up as it is harder to be strong than it is to be weak)

any hoo i am back an determined not to do it again i soon learnt my lesson as with in days of smoking i came down witrh a really bad cold

green1970

Well done Flis - two weeks is brilliant, hope you're blowing a big fat zero into that machine when you feel better next week. I had the crazy dreams with the patch if I forgot to take it off too - really surreal mad dreams that had me waking up with my heart racing, tons of mad colours in them too.

Wow, 5 months+ caracara, well done for getting straight back on with your quit - that's strength for you. Getting to be a non-smoker is a long journey full of ups and down but we get there if we want to, don't we, one way or another.

jacci45

Day 16 ecigs

All still going well here, no problem with the smoking at all but am in a lot of pain and am exhausted after op....cant even get out of bed. Still shouldnt moan, it could be a lot worse, just need time to recover, havent had a major procedure done before!!
Anyway, Happy Saturday all!!

oldreekie

Are you ready for some eye-watering stats?

Amount saved: £4,049.28
Cigarettes not smoked: 14,461
Life saved: 7 weeks 1 day 5 hours

I was waiting until the 2 year mark but, having finished, this week, over 18 months of dental work, remembered my promise to SueUU to write a report. Sorry!

As with many fellow quitters on this thread, my teeth and gums were suffering from years (41) of smoking. Nicotine had reduced the supply of oxygen to the gums, teeth were loose and disease had entered the gaps between the teeth and gums. Yes, periodontal disease can have various causes but nicotine is a known contributing factor and it will not allow the gums to heal.

Thankfully, not too many teeth were lost (at least not noticeable ones!). I was offered the chance to have reconstructive work on my gums: this would not have happened if I had not stopped smoking or was on NRT.

It was hell - so if you are reading this thread and wondering if you can kick the nicotine habit, do it now. There is no time to lose.

If you are eating your lunch - come back later.

There were 4 appointments, months apart to give the gums time to recover - and no doubt, for me to forget the agony of the previous visit. A bit like childbirth!

Each time, a quarter of the mouth was treated by lifting back the gum, front and back, exposing more of each tooth and that area was scraped to remove plaque. Then, the gums were sewn back down. It is a lengthy process and, afterwards, once the anesthetic has worn off, the gums are painful and the exposed dentine, extremely sensitive. Months down the line, I am still drinking my tea/coffee through a straw ....... don't mention cold food or drinks!

Finally, 2 bridges have been fitted to fill the visible gaps and I can smile (chew) again although I am still self-conscious about the staining. It is not as bad as when I was smoking. I will never have white teeth: but I have teeth!!

None of this would have been possible without you, Sue-UU and the band of fellow quitters who were around in February 2010. I apologise for not being around to help out on the thread but I don’t think about smoking these days and this appears to be true for most of my fellow quitters. Which makes you even more of a saint, Sue-UU. You do not have to do this. But you do. Thank you. :kisses3:

caracara

If Sue-UU has set up another thread can anyone tell me what it is as for smoking can anyone tell me where it is please as I wish to join

green1970

Sorry to hear that Jacci, has your GP sorted you out with the right pain relief to get you through this early bit, sometimes that can make all the difference. Had my gallbladder out last year and I remember the first couple of weeks being hellish too. Hope the worst is over soon and every day gets easier, take your time and don't push yourself too much - your body takes more time than you think to recover after surgery xx

CKhalvashi

Hey guys,

New to this thread, but want to cut down, then give up (Tried about 10 times in the last 5 years now!)

I’m down from 30-ish a day to 20-25 after 2 weeks, and want a bit of mutual support!

I’m not giving up now due to things at work. Get the timing wrong and ended up doubling what I smoked before!

Wish me luck :beer:

Chris

green1970

Good luckCK, plenty of mutual support on here from everyone. Are you managing to fill those times where you'd smoke those extras with something fun, hope so!!!

choille

Sue - what a marvellous person you are - I stopped nearly 2 years back & could not have done it without your help. And also all the other quitters at the time - Old Reekie brilliant to see you back. - We both had serious dental issues caused probably coz of all the fags we'd smoked. I've got nice plastic ones now!
My elderly cat was wheezing, I was skint - smoking 30 a day & had been for nearly 32 years - well I never thought I could ever do it, but I did & I am still gob smacked that I can walk up to a cig counter & buy an occasional lottery ticket & not buy fags - I can pass all those poor devils huddled outside shops & pubs cradling their cig & think 'but for this thread there go I.'

I was so scared to stop, so scared to fail, so scared to start to stop .....but the help & support I got on here was completely amazing. When I finally stubbed out the last fag - threw the remaining ones in the stove & all the tobacco I had & knew that this was it , no going back I logged on when I got the wobbles. I got emailed, I got sent advice, virtual hugs, leaflets - phone nu,mbers even of stop smoking clinics. I heard about cessation clinics for the first time - we swopped tips, we helped each other along & really a heck of a lot of us stopped & have stayed stopped. It's amazing.............

Hello newbies - you too can do it & at first I thought that 'I won't smoke today.' And I did that for ages at first. I treated myself gently & hid away from situations I couldn't handle at that time - friends etc that smoked. I found a lot of tips on here & really I don't think I'd be a non smoker If I hadn't come on this thread - Sue many, many thanks - you've given me health & also I aint as skint!
Ole Reekie - I'm really chuffed you are still around here - you were a support to me.

Isaac-the-red

CKhalvashi wrote: »

Hey guys,

New to this thread, but want to cut down, then give up (Tried about 10 times in the last 5 years now!)

I’m down from 30-ish a day to 20-25 after 2 weeks, and want a bit of mutual support!

I’m not giving up now due to things at work. Get the timing wrong and ended up doubling what I smoked before!

Wish me luck :beer:

Chris

Chris, if you just want to cut down to begin with, an e-cig would be ideal for you. There is no stress factor with them & you can use them either as a complete alternative to smoking or just to cut down, whatever suits you