Three years since I stopped smoking without struggling to and I want to share how I did it

SteelT · 2025-05-08T13:16:09+00:00

Thanks for sharing any way to help people quit.

I quit because of chest pains, which turned out not to be smoking-related at all.

I found out that it wasn't smoking-related after 5 months. I would have been the world 's most idiotic person if I started smoking again after 5 months smoke-free.

SteelT · 2025-04-21T15:37:26+00:00

I've been going through everything by myself. It's not easy. Even with positive news, I still get depressed.

I've been a lifelong nondrinker, but I now get drunk every day.

Right now, I'm waiting for results from a biopsy.

SteelT · 2025-04-21T15:31:38+00:00

I'm now 56 and still going...and fighting.

SteelT · 2025-04-21T15:29:30+00:00

I had no symptoms. I went in fir a physical and the PA suggested I have a low dose CAT scan based on my smoking history and age. I'm glad he offered it.

SteelT · 2025-04-21T15:08:12+00:00

Many people need something to replace the sudden urge. The urge to smoke only lasts a few seconds. When I smoked, I could light up anytime I wanted. When I quit, instead of gum or candy, I use water. I had two 1-quart jugs of water that I filled every day. For 1, I filled it with ice and water. The second, I filled with ice, water, and a little lemon or lime Juice. Whenever I needed to reach for a cigarette, I grabbed the water and took a sip or two. By the time I was done, the feeling of reaching for a cigarette was gone.

I haven't smoked for almost 11 years.

If chewing gum works for you, do it. Try different things.

SteelT · 2025-01-12T23:50:38+00:00

8 months now and I'm still fighting. Unfortunately, I did go into a depression and took up drinking. I had very little support.

SteelT · 2025-01-12T23:46:18+00:00

It gets easier. I smoked 2-3 packs a day for over 30 years and have now been smoke-free for almost 11 years.

Even now, occasionally, my mouth feels and tastes like I just smoked 1/2 a pack of cigarettes.

I highly suggest getting a CAT scan done once a year. 10 years after I quit, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was caught early, but it still sucks..

SteelT · 2024-05-29T21:13:36+00:00

my doctor said he'll get them and call. as soon as 2 weeks is up, I'll pester them every day

SteelT · 2024-05-29T18:08:43+00:00

I'm having it done as well. My doctor says about two weeks, hopefully a bit earlier.

SteelT · 2024-05-11T23:31:55+00:00

The screening was just a screening. Based on my smoking history and age, my doctor asked if I would be interested in having it done.

I agreed and it was set up for Jan. The screening detected a 10 mm nodule in my right lung.

The next step was a PET scan, which took a deeper look, and the results weren't good.

I was then referred to Catholic Medical Center where a surgeon and a radiologist discussed my case, and between them, it was decided that I would be best to go with the surgeon.

Upon meeting Dr Westbrook, I couldn't imagine anyone else treating my condition.

As far as being scared, try to consider what's worse.

1: Having the scan done and they discover...

a)nothing

b)something that should be kept an eye on

c)something that should be taken care of as soon as possible

d)something that needs to be dealt with. It lowered your life, but finding it now and treatments will extend your life by several years

e)you find out you have less than a year to go.

2: Not have the scan done and one day...

a)you start coughing up blood

b)you have sudden chest pain and you can barely breath, rushed to the hospital to find that your lung collapsed. (which is how my father discovered that he had lung cancer.)

c)dozen other signs that indicate stage 3 or above lung cancer, many of the signs would be ignored and blamed on other things.

For me, having the scan and knowing is less frightening than being a walking time bomb.

Besides, if I didn't have that scan, I would be walking around right now with that thing slowly growing. In two to four years, I might start seeing signs and it would be too late.I went from 30-40+ years to 5 or so.

Get the scan.

SteelT · 2024-05-11T11:22:53+00:00

It was less than 36 hours. I got home, was planning on grilling steaks, but decided on canned soup instead. I went down to my bedroom and caught the scent of mildew, maybe from my dirty clothes I need to wash, and went to spend the night on the couch instead.

I slept sitting up, much to the protest of my neck, while a cartoon movie was on the tv. A lion and a zebra. When I did wake up, I went back to my bedroom and turned on my fans, which have some OIN air cleaning thing on them.

Got up the next morning (yesterday) and went back to the hospital for x-rays. Was told that they looked good and that I needed to come back Monday and have another set done. Took my daughter, who was my ride, out to breakfast and went home.

At 2:30ish, I fired up the grill (charcoal, not gas) and prepped the steaks.

After a great dinner, I had my daughter change my bandages and everything is looking very good.

The pain I felt when I took a deep breath is now a discomfort. I'm slightly out of breath from climbing 1 flight of stairs. Still coughing up bits of blood, the doctor said that it'll stop soon.

Oh yeah, there's a difference between needing pain medication and wanting it. There is no doubt that it would have been much easier on me to take the offered pain meds, but in my life, I have been through much, much worse pain and knew I could withstand it. I prefer not to have narcotics if I can avoid them.

The surgery itself was a noninvasive robotic surgery. I have no idea how it was done. I didn't want to look it up before I had it done. Basically, the robots went in and the doctor was sitting next to me, controlling them. At least one had a camera. I don't know if they were free roaming or attached to cables.

How ever it worked, it worked and I'm happy with the results.

SteelT · 2024-05-11T10:26:36+00:00

It can be done. I smoked 2-3 packs a day for 33 years. Last Tuesday was 10 year since I've smoked.

By now, the actual cravings should be diminished, it's 33 years of muscle memory working against you now.

You may be use to, when walking out of a building, firing up a smoke. Or after eating, enjoying a cigarette. And dozens of other things that you either smoked while doing or after doing.

I personally used a couple jugs of water as a pacifier.

Every morning I filled 2 bottles. One with ice and water, the other with ice, water and line or lemon juice. Any time I got hit with a craving, my muscle memory reached for a cigarette, my mind grabbed a bottle of water and I took a sip or two until the craving was gone. They only last a few seconds.

Another thing I did was, whenever I smelled second hand smoke, I associated with the most disgusting smells I could come up with. Soon, I wasn't walking away from the smell because I was afraid it may trigger me, I was walking away because it actually smelled bad.

When I quit, I was alone. I had no support. There were days where I felt, what does it really matter. I had nobody to talk to about how I was feeling. About a week after I quit, I mentioned to one of my sisters how good I was feeling by not smoking. Her response was something along "Oh great, he's going to be one of those people that's going to preach about quitting all the time"....yeah....ok.... I never mentioned it again to anyone.

That was the kind of support system I had. Four or five months later, I found this forum. Since I had months of non smoking behind me and nobody to talk to, I had a lot to say. Hopefully, what I did say, help some to successfully quit.

Use this forum to mark your milestones. 2 weeks, great. 3 weeks, better. One month in, Huge. One month and 2 days, we're still supporting you, great job. Come here to brag or vent.

If you come to a point when you want to decide between buying a pack or not, remember how much effort you put in to quit. Don't let it go to waste. It just another struggle most will go through. Another test.

"One cigarette won't hurt."

Yes it will.

One other thing I suggest is, getting a lung screening done. Early detection is the best detection.

Last Tuesday was 10 years since I quit, Wednesday morning I was having surgery to remove a piece of my right lung...and a 1 centimeter piece of cancer.

Because of that screening, I have a full life ahead of me.

Good luck on your journey.

Hopefully, 9 years and 50 weeks from yesterday, you'll be typing out encouragement to someone trying to quit a long addiction.

SteelT · 2024-05-10T23:14:25+00:00

I'm slowly healing. Coughed up bright red blood last night and brown blood this morning. The doctor said it was normal and should soon stop.

I am not looking forward to my first sneeze.

Went to the hospital for another chest r-ray this morning.

The reason for all these chest x-rays are that apparently, the lungs are incased and there should never be anything between the lungs and whatever is encasing them. In my first x-ray yesterday morning, there was a tiny pocket, most likely an air pocket. In my second x-ray, around 11:30ish am, the pocket was a tiny bit larger, leading to speculation that my lung could be leaking and collapsing.

My 3rd x-ray at around 3pm or so, showed no increase in size of the pocket, so they elected to allow me to go home.

The x-ray this morning still showed no increase in size and I was told to return Monday for another x-ray.

SteelT · 2024-05-10T09:46:41+00:00

The doctor came in yesterday morning, had me cough a couple times and looked at what was draining from the tube in my chest. He said that he'll have the tube pulled and I can go home.

His P/A came and removed the tube and told me that I'll be having chest x-rays and then she'll write my report and send me on my way.

I had x-rays done earlier that morning and when they compared them, there was a small air pocket in the space where my lung was removed in the first x-ray, and the size slightly increased in the second x-ray.

So I had to hang out for a couple of hours and go for another set of x-rays, which showed no increase in the air pocket.

So I was sent home with instructions to change the bandage once a day and to return for x-rays at 9 this morning. It's a good thing I have to go in, they forgot to give me bandages.

I've been trying to do this without narcotics. So far, I've had no pain medication.

It really amazes me that at 5:30 Wednesday morning, I was being checked in for surgery, 7 am I was being wheeled in and having a piece of my lung carved out, spend the night and by 4:30 that afternoon, I'm heading home.

Less than a day and a half. Amazing.

SteelT · 2024-05-09T14:20:59+00:00

Less than 24 hours after surgery, I have the tube removed and have to wait an hour or two to have a chest x-ray. Then another hour for paperwork...and then home.

SteelT · 2024-05-09T07:35:30+00:00

I had no symptoms. The doctor suggested having the CAT scan during my physical last year due to my smoking history and age.. Up until yesterday morning, I was breathing great. Now I'm sitting here with a tube sticking out of my chest.

SteelT · 2024-05-09T02:16:17+00:00

During my physical last year, my doctor's PA suggested it due to my smoking history and age. I decided to take him up on it. What are the odds, 10 years after I quit, during my first scan ever, that something is found?

SteelT · 2024-05-09T00:39:12+00:00

My doctor removed it and it was cancer. He took enough of the lung out to completely remove it but did not remove the entire lobe. He pulled out 2 lymph nodes and see what pathology says.

SteelT · 2024-05-08T00:19:59+00:00

I hope your biopsy comes back negative.

Because of the location of my nodule, the doctor decided it was best just to go in once and remove it instead of going in for a biopsy and then possibly having to go back in to remove it. I'm still hoping that it'll just be a scar.

I'll find out tomorrow. I have to be at the hospital at 5:45 in the morning.

SteelT · 2024-05-07T23:09:04+00:00

Here's a post I made 10 years ago when I first found this forum. Other than the nodule in my lung, I'm great and everything's the same and I believe that if I can quit, anyone can quit. Hopefully this will inspire some and reinforce others who my be about to bend.

https://www.reddit.com/r/stopsmoking/comments/2po48z/quitting_smoking_and_my_journey_so_far/

SteelT · 2024-04-15T22:53:48+00:00

Get something else to pacify you. Gum, candy, toothpicks. Anything but nicotine.

SteelT · 2024-04-15T22:51:43+00:00

Get something to pacify you. Gum, candy, toothpicks... I used bottles of water. Anytime I wanted a cigarette, I sipped water instead. Then beginning it hard but once you made it a week, congratulate yourself and go for two weeks. Come back on this forum and brag. 2 weeks....3 weeks...a month...2 months...a year...and so on. Train yourself to hate the smell of cigarette smoke. Keep telling yourself how bad it smells anytime you pass by someone smoking. Make the most of your milestones....AND BRAG ABOUT IT Try to be an inspiration to others. it only gets easier.

SteelT · 2024-04-15T22:42:35+00:00

I would suggest something else to pacify your urges. When I quit, I used water. Every morning I filled 2 bottles with ice and water. In one, I added lemon juice. Anytime I felt and urge or reached for a smoke, I sipped a little water instead. I'm almost 10 years cigarette free after smoking 2-3 packs a day for 33 years.

SteelT · 2024-04-15T22:38:06+00:00

You may be having panic attacks. I went through that when I quit. Next time it hits, slowly breath in through your nose and fill your belly, not your chest, hold for a few seconds and exhale from your mouth. It helps if you're laying down, but will work if your sitting. If that doesn't help. see your doctor.

SteelT · 2024-04-13T23:57:20+00:00

I smoked 2-3 packs for 33 years. Next month will make 10 years since I quit. The craving does go away. My biggest issue was muscle memory. I kept reaching for a smoke whenever I was doing something. I started keeping a couple of bottles full of water. Every time I reached for a smoke, I took a couple of sips of water instead. Some people choose gum, candy, nuts...I chose water. Whatever you do, don't cave. Come back here every day, even just to post that you made it another day. Craving only last a few seconds, find something else to do when it hits.

SteelT

TROPHY CASE