Still smoke free although it has been one heck of a journey
Well folks it has been exactly one year since i gave up smoking...i remember outing my last cigarette with a scream. 33 years of smoking i started when i was 13 and my body was still developing.
It was a tough year i'm not going to lie - my chemist gave me sprays and patches but i didn't bother to use them...what i was missing is the routine of lighting up, sucking on the tip of that cigarette and inhaling. The flicking of the ash...the sound of the cigarette burning...if you were a true smoker you will know what i'm talking about.
So for the year on and off i was suffering with a really bad cough which i found out was the cilia...my lungs trying to get back to normal. I was in and out of the doctors. Had to go for a chest Xray and a MRI as there were times i was coughing up blood.
My xrays came back fine and the blood was my damaged throat from all the coughing. i had to take time off work when the coughing got so bad...in fact they drove me home and told me to stay home till the cough went.
Now a year later my cough has now resided and my singing voice is back on track and i love taking the stairs. I still think about cigarettes but i also think about the year i had and i couldn't put another cigarette in my mouth again. People it is the start of a new year and there are some of you that have just begun your journey...it is not easy but please look at the end goal. Realise you punished your body with poison so you dont get off that lightly. Lets stay strong for each other. xx
Congratulations to you, I have been quit 275 days, Reading your story has made me feel, that I am not alone, Some day's I honestly feel like crap, the coughing, I seem to be constantly clearing my throat, sometimes I feel more short of breath now, than when I was smoking, can anyone tell me if they have experienced this. xx
Lorraine. Wow. I know, one has to give it time, let cravings come and go. Do whatever you can to get through the day. As your story says, this time, I am very mindful of the terrible damage it does to our health. We were all conned. Oh, the money I have WASTED on the damn things also makes me feel sick. Turning 50, I can only pray I will remain in good health. Thank you. Your story was very inspiring. Liz
Thanks for your story Loraine. I am on day 19 and have smoked over 50 years. I’ve stopped coughing and feel physically good, but all those things you mention about smoking.....I miss all of that too. I’m just trying to stay focused on all the good things that have come from quitting. Especially the feeedom from anxiety about where and when I can smoke, and anxiety about what smoking was doing to me. Trying to stay strong