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I quit over a month ago... but it is really tough. Cancel The title field is required!

1. stan27

   

   2 posts
   Registered:
   22 Jul 2019
   22 Jul 2019

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   Hi I'm new to the forums. I have never really used anything like this before. but I thought I would give it a shot after reading some of the forum content. I quit over a month ago... but it is really tough. I am finding that my breathing now is harder than when I was smoking. I am seeing a RN and am attending a NRT program. I thought it would be a little easier. I smoked for 30 years, with several failed attempts. This time it feels a little different like I am going to make it.  I am glad to hear that something like this is available. Anyone else having any breathing issues?
   

   Last modified on 22 Jul 2019 12:32 by stan27
2. atp

   

   501 posts
   Registered:
   31 Dec 2018
   22 Jul 2019 in reply to stan27

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   Hey Stan,
   
   Congrats one month since quitting. That first month to six weeks was probably the hardest for me (I smoked over 30 years and several attempts to quit before my last go in January). 
   I went cold turkey and found my breathing started to improve almost immediately. I did however have about 2 months of real nasty phlegm as my lungs worked to clear out the smoking cr*p from my lungs. 
   
   I wonder if maybe you have a secondary issue related to the NRT's you are using. I remember trying to use gums and mist and didn't like how they made me feel so I stopped using them about day 2/3. 
   
   The other thing I seen is many people who post here about health issues after the quit and they turn out to have some sort of ailment unrelated to the quit. 
   
   BTW - when i got going on my quit once I passed the 7 day mark I knew I was more committed to this quit than in the past. It just felt different. Finally ready to quit i guess. Hope its the same for you. 
   

   Last modified on 22 Jul 2019 16:58 by atp
3. stan27

   

   2 posts
   Registered:
   22 Jul 2019
   23 Jul 2019 in reply to atp

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   Hi Atp, thank you for the contact. It must be tough quitting cold turkey. Hang in there.  I have had some health checks recently i had lung x-ray, COPD Test both came back okay. Maybe it is the  NRT products. The aliments are not constant but usually appear early in the evenings, hopefully they will pass. I am glad to hear that you are committed to not smoking.  I have been attending counselling sessions as well and they have certainly helped as well. Quick question once you stopped smoking did you start thinking about the impact  smoking had on your body? has it raised concerns for you?   It seems to creep into my thoughts a lot now....  
   
4. treepeo

   

   832 posts
   Registered:
   29 Nov 2017
   23 Jul 2019

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   Hi stan27,
   
   Congratulations on being smoke free for a month!  That is awesome.
   
   I quit cold turkey and found the first month extremely difficult.  But after that, things seemed to ease off.
   
   I don't know why breathing is harder for you right now.  It's good that you had some testing done.  Keep an eye on it.  I know that my breathing improved very quickly.  My heart stopped pounding with the slightest exertion, and I could climb a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing.  
   
   The one major problem I had, especially in the first month, was the physical effect cravings had on me.  My lungs would literally throb with pain.  In fact, that is what tripped me up in previous quit attempts.  The throbbing pain was awful.  But I told myself, no one ever died from quitting smoking, so I just had to get through it.  And I did.
   
   It is not unusual to reflect on the damage smoking has done to your body after you quit.  Conversely, you start thinking about other ways you can improve your health.  Quitting smoking often leads us to make healthy changes to our diet and lifestyle.  It's like we finally start caring about ourselves.
   
   No matter what, keep the quit, stan27.  It sounds like you are ready to live the rest of your life as a non-smoker, and you will love the freedom that comes with that.
   
5. jenna c, quit coach

   

   58 posts
   Registered:
   29 Nov 2018
   23 Jul 2019

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   Hi Stan27 and welcome to the Smoker's Helpline forum!
   
   Congrats on quitting for a month. From 1-9 months of quitting the vibrating hairs in your lungs being to regenerate and become more efficient in eliminating waste, which will better helps to protect against infection. Also, in the 3-4 weeks of quitting your respiratory system is starting to do its job of cleaning and functioning better.
   
   Drinking a lot of water, eating healthy food and engaging in physical activity may be helpful, however you are doing the appropriate action by contacting your health care provider to determine why you are having trouble with your breathing.
   
   Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for your health and you will no longer be hurting your lungs and body by smoking. You can also talk to a pharmacist regarding the nicotine replacement products and any possible side effects from use (eg- improper use of inhaler).
   
   If you need any assistance feel free to speak top any of our Quit Coaches-
   1-877-513-5333
   Mon-Thu   8:00am-9:00pm
   Friday       8:00am-6:00pm
   Sat-Sun    9:00am-5:00pm
   
   All the best
   
   Jenna C
   
   

   Last modified on 23 Jul 2019 11:05 by jenna c, quit coach
6. atp

   

   501 posts
   Registered:
   31 Dec 2018
   23 Jul 2019 in reply to stan27

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   Hey Stan,
   
   Never hurts to get the doctors to check thing out. 
   
   You know, going cold turkey wasn't that hard. I tried with NRT's in the past and relapsed within a week or so. The difference this time is that I was committed, I read up about the various stages of quitting (and knew that nicotine was gone in like 3-4 days) so I used that as my goals. 
   
   Funny, but while you smoke you don't think about the health effects or the financial cost. Now that I've quit and am feeling so much better I realized how much smoking was affecting me. Yeah went off and did physical (BP was now down to 112/70 - it was always 140/80 before). I also did colonoscopy and had a bunch of pre-cancerous polyps removed. So yes, I think quitting makes us want to change for the better too.