PPHA Forums
Everything Else => Off Topic => Topic started by: muttbuster on October 12, 2009, 10:49:22 PM
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Alright, I need a little support from my friends. I have been a smoker for forty years. For the last few years I smoked 2 packs a day. Last Tuesday I decided that it was my time to quit. So I went to Target and bought the patch. Tuesday morning on my way to the Airport I smoked my last cigarette. I have done some permanent damage to my lungs with COPD and I really need to stay off of them so I can get to know my Grandchildren when my daughters decide that it 's time to have them. I hunt, climb, work out, and push myself as hard as I can when I am home. I'm 54 and soon will be 55. Can anyone give me so help on what I can do to reverse the 40 years of stupid smoking that I have done?
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I don't think you can truely reverse the damage you've done.
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Thanks, I really needed to hear that. I may not but I will die trying.
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I wasn't trying to be rude Dave, I know the facts. I just refuse to accept them.
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talk to your doctor about chantix.
it has some scetchy side effects.....it may not be right for you. but those that i know who have taken it said it help tremendously.
there is a book out there right now that reading it alone has helped 4 family and friends of mine quit by the time they closed the back cover of the book. my one friend who read it and quit is getting me a copy so i can kick the cancer sticks too. my father died of lung cancer from the smokes..and i have a 7yr old son...i have every reason to quit. i'm not sure if i believe it about this book(cant remember the title for the life of me at the moment) but when i get the title i can let you know...or you can wait till i'm done reading and if it worked for me i'll send it along to you.
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Good luck Mutt on quit'n. First and formost you have to have the will to stop. And if you have that, everything else kinda falls into place. Again, GOOD LUCK. ;)
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I don't think you can truely reverse the damage you've done.
dave they did a study and paid college professors,etc,..for 15 years..that smoke 1.5 to 2 packs a day.
after 15 years the smokers who took vitamin c was nea a person that did not even smoke.
here is just a little about vitamin c and smoking.
Vitamin C may offer important protective benefits for smokers and those who are passively exposed to tobacco smoke. Smoking has been linked with elevated levels of C-reactive (CRP) protein, an inflammatory marker linked with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease. As Life Extension readers know, it is crucial to monitor your CRP levels through regular blood testing and to keep your CRP under control in order to limit cardiovascular problems. Fortunately, vitamin C has been shown to play a role in helping to combat excessive CRP levels.
Researchers in Berkeley evaluated the impact of antioxidant supplementation on blood levels of CRP in both active and passive smokers.24 They studied 160 healthy adults who were actively or passively exposed to cigarette smoke and randomly assigned to receive placebo, vitamin C (515 mg/day), or an antioxidant mixture (including vitamins C, E, and lipoic acid). Subjects in the vitamin C group underwent a significant 24% reduction in their plasma CRP concentrations, while neither of the other groups showed a significant change. This remarkable result provides strong support for chronic supplementation with vitamin C, whether or not you smoke.
Smoking causes cancer in part by directly damaging DNA, which is a vital first step in the onset of cancer. In studying the effect of vitamin C supplements on reducing DNA damage in blood cells, Danish researchers gave relatively low doses (500 mg/day) of vitamin C as plain-release or slow-release tablets combined with vitamin E (182 mg/day), or placebo, for four weeks to a group of male smokers.25 The slow-release formulation of vitamin C reduced the number of DNA damage sites measured in white blood cells just four and eight hours after a single tablet, a positive result that was still evident at four weeks. The plain-release tablets also exerted a protective effect at four hours, suggesting benefits of long-term vitamin C supplementation in minimizing DNA damage.
Once DNA is damaged, however, smoking induces pro-inflammatory changes that can allow a malignant cell to become a dangerous tumor as well as causing blood vessel damage associated with atherosclerosis. Vitamin C supplementation is a logical approach to reducing the impact of these inflammatory changes, as was shown recently by a British investigative team.15 They studied 10 smokers with the high-risk lipoprotein ApoE4 gene as well as 11 non-smokers, all of whom took just 60 mg/day of vitamin C for four weeks. Remarkably, these high-risk smokers on this low-dose regimen responded with a marked reduction in levels of a host of pro-inflammatory cytokines. As the authors themselves pointed out, this study identified core molecular mechanisms that help explain the known benefits of vitamin C supplementation in smokers.
Literally scores of other studies have been published demonstrating the benefits of vitamin C supplements in smokers and those passively exposed to cigarette smoke. One study found that 500 mg of vitamin C twice daily for just two weeks reduced the depletion of vitamin E caused by smoking by up to 50%.26
Two other studies investigating low and high doses of vitamin C supplementation revealed its benefits in improving endothelial function, a cornerstone of cardiovascular health, known to be impaired in smokers. The first study showed that just 60 mg of vitamin C daily given to a group of smokers for 12 weeks improved endothelial function as assessed by flow-mediated vasodilation.27 In the second study, Dutch researchers found that 2,000 mg/day of vitamin C for two weeks reversed endothelial dysfunction caused by the abnormal migration of monocytes7 implicated in atherosclerosis.28
Furthermore, Berkeley public health researchers successfully reduced levels of F2-isoprostanes, a sign of oxidative stress and cell damage, in a group of 67 passive smokers who were given vitamin C supplements daily for two months. The researchers stressed the value of these findings in preventing tobacco smoke-induced health damage in non-smokers.14
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Thanks guys, I haven't had a smoke for 7 days. I can't let myself get weak and start back up again. It is very tough to not smoke. My Dad died from COPD at 71 but he suffered for many years prior to that. Of all the stop smoking aids available, none of them will make you quit. You truly have to want to quit to make it happen. And I do. I've eaten so many toothpicks in the last 7 days I feel like a Beaver. The next thing you know I'll be building a "lodge" in my swimming pool.
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7 days......your closer to quitting now then starting again...Just keep that in your mind what you said about your grandchild. You have to have something like that in your mind to make you quit..Also you all ready have been told it's not good for you so that too will stay in your mind...The withdrawal should not be as bad now as it was the first day..
We will be praying for you too......That helps a lot........Chew Gum, eat hard candy, things like that but do not take another smoke and you will be over the withdrawal symptoms before you know it...
I quit chewing 10 1/2 years ago and what caused me to stop is what your starting to worry about... A chance to enjoy my grandchildren.
Good Luck and may God Bless you and give you the strength to endure the withdrawal until it finally subsides and goes away.
In Jesus Name , amen....
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Glad to hear your attempting to make a healthier choice Bill. I smoked for 14 years and quit cold turkey twice. Some advice would be.
Don't substitute your cravings with food. I got up to 240+ pounds after quiting for 2 years. So I started smoking again.
And most importantly, punish yourself when you get cravings. Example, When I quit the (the 2nd time) I was also serious about getting back into shape. So my theory was kill 2 birds with one stone. When I got a craving I would run or walk briskly if it was daylight or do as many push ups to switch focus from my cravings. Pretty soon my arms would be tired and I would literally hate those cigarettes so bad.
Best way to quit is to sleep off the first couple hours. The first time I quit I took advantage of a cold. I would sleep as much as possible and I got passed my 1st day pretty easy.
Bill, don't start thinking that stopping will have no positive effects. Quitting will only add to your quality of life. Your lungs will get stronger. Heck, you might even leave the car at home and start walking miles to hunt like I do. STAY STRONG!
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Bill, I had good luck with the nicotene lozenges. Sometimes I had to chew 'em up to get a proper dose ;), but they helped alot. If you're in the right frame of mind, and it sounds like you are, you'll succeed. If you made it a week, you're already over the biggest hurdle. Surround yourself with quitters ;) and watch you don't take up food as a new habit.
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Thank you all for the great advise. Day 8 and going strong!
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I've always wondered....
...What do the patches taste like?
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I can't answer that one but I can tell you what toothpicks taste like.
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Congrats on the attempt to quit smoking. Smoked for 20 years and tried number of times to quit. From my experience Chantix was "it" no cravings and able to stop smoking 18 months now. just remember its a drug unlike any other any even after 18 months still get urges to smoke Good luck
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It aint smoking...but i'm workin on almost 2 years of quitin my dippin...I have no idea what to really say to you to keep you going...I just keep thinkin bout how many people will get on me if I started chewin again...you just gotta get mentally tough...and chew lots of gum and eat lots of sunflower seeds...lol...other than that I have no idea what to do to reverse the effects...good luck buddy!
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Nicotine.........Wow don't care if it be cigars, cigs, pipe, and or the dread snuff......
While in the U. S. Coast Guard.....I tried to quit smoking a pipe...While at sea I would take the pipes and throw them in the Gulf Of Mexico...Always thought someday someone is going to find all those pipes at the bottom of the Gulf and wonder just how they got there....Never truly quit even after I got out....Still smoked a pipe and that Cherry Blend. Burned many a hole in my shirts. I smoked a pipe and chewed Skoal off and on. the dreaded Eadtern Sportsman Show. Free Kodiak and Free Skoal when you visit there...Quit but going there all the free samples would get me hooked again......It has now been 11 years since I had the dreaded nicotine fits and that stuff in my blood stream.....
Here are the things that made me really quit the snuff....
I lost a friend to cancer...Guy smoked real heavy and ended up with a brain tumor...
My gums would bleed at times from the Skoal. My dentist warned me of white spots on my gum from chewing..
My wife told me that if I kept this stuff up I would not get to enjoy my grandchildren and or a dream of having a hunting cabin someday.....
No one can make you quit.....Your going to have to want to do it...Hope when any of you quit it's not because of losing a friend to cancer. Having your gums bleed, etc etc etc.
Wow....11 years have gone by since my last chew...Also if you quit reward yourself too. Buy a gun or something nice with the money you would have peeded away on cigs and or the dreaded nicotine....
Say to yourself if I quit I can buy a Rem 17 Fireball in about a year......Save that money every week too that you would spend for nicotine products. Put it in a jar or deposit it to your bank account each week and or month....
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Thanks UB, it has been one month today and I'm still going strong. I left for Wyoming an the 21st and by the time I hit Iowa I had to find a Hospital because I had Pink Eye in both eyes and I could hardly see. I got some Eye drops and went on my way. In a cpl days I could see a little better but I had lots of trouble breathing. I killed a 50 lb male yote and by the time I carried a couple hundred yards up hill I needed to find another Hospital because I was having a problem breathing. I found another Desert Mash unit so I went in. This time they did blood work, checked my oxygen level took some chest xrays. It was then I found out that I had pneumonia in my right lung and was told "no hunting". Well, that sucked and all I could do was a whole lot on nothing. I continued taking me meds and being a good boy till Saturday when it warmed up and the wind finally stopped blowing. That's when I decided to go trout fishing in the Big Horn River. I was doing pretty good as i had just landed my fourth Trout when the river bottom decided to give way and Both of my waders filled up with ice cold water. Thats when my fishing rod became a "flying rod" and I decided to get out and climb up the bank to the Jeep. Do you know how much hip waders weigh when their full of water? A lot! So I drove back to Worland soaking wet and took a hot shower. I'm back in Pittsburgh now and my doctor says I'm improving nicely except for the case of "dry eye" that I have now that I'm home. Other than that, I'm still not smoking.