Welcome to EX, please do all of the reading you can about nicotine addiction. There is "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" by Allen Carr...personally, I don't think there is anything easy about it but I DO believe that it can be done and that it is the best gift you will ever give yourself.
I have been on prednisone for over 26 years for rheumatoid arthritis but when I have to go on high doses because of my COPD, it makes me really emotional...thank God that it helps though. I have two inhalers I use every day and a nebulizer that I use as needed...I had surgery just under two years after I quit. I was not getting better as fast as I thought I should or as fast as other people here were. I was still short of breath, I was still tired most of the time. I had both upper lobes of my lungs surgically removed because the emphysema in them was so bad that it was making me even shorter of breath. I was told that the BEST possible outcome would be 3-5 years of improved quality of life...after that, I would be a candidate for a lung transplant. I have issues with that idea since I am 68 and I think any organs that are available for transplant should go to a younger person with a better chance at recovery and who did not cause lung damage to himself or herself. I have severe scoliosis so it is very unlikely that my body could accommodate a full size set of lungs...my rib cage is collapsing on the parts I have left. Enough about me...let's talk about you. Clearly, you are scared, we were all scared and we all started at the beginning...there are no short cuts and "The only way out is through." Quitting is a one day at a time journey and some days are harder than others...just like they always were. We stuffed our feelings down when we smoked and when we have to learn to deal with our emotions without stuffing them...they SEEM much more powerful than they probably are. We did not learn to deal with anger or sadness or pain...physical or emotional without smoking...we did not grow up normally like people who were never addicted did...they learned to deal with things along the way...if we smoked through our youth...we didn't. I hope you have a plan in place...it is never too late to put one into place...My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX , I suggest that you stay very close to this site and read as many blogs as you can...comment, ask questions, blog and pay attention to advice that is given. I suggest that you read a blog written by JonesCarpeDiem that I found particularly helpful and read over and over again.../blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months A more recent blog by YoungAtHeart is particularly helpful along with all of the comments...For Our New Years' Quitters (and community members, too) She also posted a list of things to do instead of smoking.../blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instead-of-smoke I used the mantra I got from this site to help me when I first quit...NOPE...Not One Puff Ever. It was easy to remember and to say quietly or out loud, it was easy to remind myself that one puff leads to more and more. You can't have just one, "they travel in packs." This site is supportive, educational, loving, and amazing. I would never have made it this far without these people. Quitting is the best thing I have ever done for myself. You CAN do this and you do not have to do it alone.
Best,
Ellen
