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Share your quitting journey

1400 Days = 200 Weeks

YoungAtHeart
Member
4 19 12

@breakinthechains' blog encouraged me to write this one.  I was one of those people he talks about who had convinced herself  that  she couldn't quit.  I was so convinced, in fact, that I never even TRIED to quit before this attempt.

You see, I thought I could negate the bad effects of smoking by eating healthy, keeping my weight in check, and exercising EVERY day.  I was awakened from that dream by a vascular surgeon who announced that I had blockages in arteries going to BOTH legs and needed surgery ASAP.  He told me that I needed to quit smoking - and  said that if I continued to smoke,  I would need the same kind of surgery again in the future, and that I  probably wouldn't be healthy enough for him to do it..  The outcome of THAT scenario might have been the loss of one (or both!) legs.

THAT got my attention.  I found a doctor who actually had expertise in helping people quit, I ignored the Maryland Quit Line (which was a total and complete joke), started on Chantix, and quit a week later.  I was TERRIFIED and did not have the benefit of this site and its educational materials and support until four days into my quit.  Once I found it, though, I took advantage of all it had to offer.  I read the Allen Carr book - which really opened my eyes!  I read the blogs and pages of people who had been successful.  I struggled, I cried, I got depressed, I paced, got angry and my digestive system decided not to work.  But - I stuck to it - one day at a time.  I took the list of 100 things to do instead of smoke and stayed busy, busy, busy.

The vascular surgery started me on the path of four years of surgeries and recoveries --- which I would not wish on my worst enemy.    PLEASE don't wait until your health is compromised!  If you are getting ready to quit,  commit to it and do it - one day at a time.  If you have quit - don't smoke another one again in your life NO MATTER WHAT!

This story has a happy ending - but it would not have been so if I hadn't quit.  I am walking 50 minutes at a time, swimming laps, and taming a 20 ft. tall forsythia hedge.  There IS life after smoking - and it is wonderful!!!

Nancy

19 Comments
About the Author
I smoked until a vascular surgeon informed me of the damage I had done to myself by doing so. I quit 11 years ago, and I can swim laps virtually FOREVER now, walk most other days 40 minutes to an hour and a half. What a difference quitting has made in my life! I strive to help others find this wonderful freedom from addiction, too.