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Turkey's Triumphs: Page 22

Guidance from cold turkey quitters who've remained nicotine-free for at least 1 year


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Our victory messages
#440 - 07/02/12

Thank you so much for your wonderful site! I quit cold turkey four years ago today. I've saved over $15,000 and I am not chained to having a cigarette every forty-five minutes for the rest of my life.

You made a real difference in my life. I feel fantastic. I recommend you to my Facebook friends frequently.

Take good care of yourself --

Jessica Rae Leland, age 37
Former 20-pack-year smoker

#439 - 06/23/12

My last puff was October 22, 2005, 3.25pm. I stumbled upon your website and truly believe I could not have done it without the information I gained from it. My motivation was seeing my father go through the horrors of lung cancer and deciding that I did not want the same thing to happen to me. Sadly he passed away 18 months ago. I was able to get through the most difficult and heart wrenching times without even considering lighting up a cigarette, something I never thought I could achieve. I will NEVER take another puff. Thank you.

Frances

#438 - 06/06/12

My name is Laura and today I've been quit three years! Wow I can't believe how quickly the time goes. I could not have done it without WhyQuit.

I've had a rough year as my father passed away in February from lung cancer. He found out he had it around Thanksgiving. He had a large tumor on the outside of his left lung. He had already quit smoking at that time. While he was in surgery to remove the tumor they punctured his lung, his breathing was so compromised from many years of smoking that he passed away seven days later. I was with him for the entire time and when he passed. I kept thinking of the article on WhyQuit about when a loved one dies it is not an excuse to start smoking again. I was with my sister and my father's wife who are both smokers and they smoked and smoked and smoked during the whole week. It is because of WhyQuit I was able to stay strong. Also, I was so grateful I was quit because I think there would be so much guilt associated with smoking while watching a loved one die of a smoking related disease.

So as soon as I could I made an appointment with my doctor for a chest X-ray since I smoked for twenty years and just turned 40. The doctor came in my room after the X-ray and said "now I don't think you have cancer but we found something on your X-ray, we found 6-7 very small nodules and one looks suspicious." I almost passed out. So I was sent for a CT Scan the radiologist compared the CT Scan to the X-ray and said that I should have another X-ray in three months to make sure it hadn't grown.

Well that was today. I had the X-ray and the doctor said that I don't need another one for another year, that the nodule had not grown. Nodules exist for many reasons the common ones are from damage from smoking or Valley Fever. It's interesting that this happened on my three year anniversary. It just made me so grateful that I didn't have to light up to celebrate the fact that I don't have lung cancer. I feel a new burst of energy behind my quit. I'm so grateful for WhyQuit. If I'd been smoking the last three years today's outcome could have been different. Anyone who is quit, keep it. You literally have your life in your hands. I don't think about smoking much at all anymore: I never thought that would happen. I can not express my gratitude enough for WhyQuit and the support it provides.

Thank you!

Laura

#437 06/05/12

Five years! Actually, five years, one month, 13 days! Just a thanks for the help. Referred a friend to your site today. think she's ready to try to quit.

Ron Bishop

#436 - 06/01/12

Just made it to one year without a single puff! One day at a time and before you know it I made it a year.

This is my second quit. My last one lasted for over three years, three months but for some reason I thought I could have just one smoke. I was wrong, as ten years after that one cigarette I was quitting again.

I am a nicotine addict, I cant just have one. I can never have another cigarette or cigar for the rest of my life because I will go back to full time smoking. That is ok with me today as I don't want to smoke.

This website was my life saver. During the first week of my quit I was on this website all day. It was my only support.

Let's face it, my rules don't work. It was time for me to follow other people's rules, laws of addiction and other peoples suggestions to get nicotine free as my way was not working.

I still visit this site almost everyday as I don't want to ever forget how hard it was for me to quit and how addicted I was to nicotine.

Thank you all for your posts and stories that you have shared. It had a great impact on me and has given me the support I needed and still need to remain nicotine free.

Not one puff for a whole year! I still can't believe it I made it this far so I had to say it again. Thank you all.

Micah Brown

#435 - 05/04/12

I lurked on WhyQuit.com for many years, terrifying myself while smoking like a fiend. I had tried several times to quit, but always failed. I have a "stressful" life with three special-needs children, a tough job and I always used those factors to rationlize my continued smoking. Then, slowly - all too slowly - but surely, I became educated about the nature of addiction. The smoking also really started to bother me.

I am asthmatic, too. I was wheezing badly all the time. I couldn't breath and relied heavily on inhalers. I would go to smoke with an inhaler in one hand and a cigarette in the other, puffing away on the inhaler so I could smoke "comfortably" - insane, right?! I would cough like a ghoul in a way that terrified my wife. I would lie in bed and she said I sounded like I was dying. I would cough up thick phlegm all the time and would - are you ready? - inspect it for blood or specs of rust-colored, dried blood for fear of cancer. I had chest pains and abdominal pains and always thought I was perhaps ready to drop dead. Yet I still smoked like a fiend.

An inhaler in one hand and a cigarette in the other - the insanity of addiction to smoked nicotine in perhaps its most ironic, sickening and illustrative form. But that was indeed me.

My kids finally started to bother me about my smoking; especially my older two. Having never broken a promise to them, I made the promise to them and myself that I would quit. And on November 19, 2010 at 8pm, I smoked my last cigarette. That wasn't the planned moment, either. I was in my bathroom, standing under the exhaust fan, smoking and puffing on my inhaler, when I said, with a cough, numb tongue and a wheeze, "enough!" I exited the bathroom and gave my oldest son my pack of cigarettes. I told him to break them into pieces and throw them away right in front of me. At one point, I had to remind him to break them into tiny pieces so I wouldn't rummage though the trash later and try to smoke larger pieces; he looked astonished that I would do this, however I wanted him to know the true nature of this addiction.

That was it. Now I can breath quietly. I don't cough. I saved enough money to take my family of five to Disney World for eight days, which I did.

Now I do not take for granted my ability to breathe deeply with no coughing or spasms; no wheezing; no pain. I can sneeze without feeling like my lungs are going to fall out of my chest. My car smells nice. I wake up in the morning feeling like a human being and I bounce out of bed with energy. I don't have to worry about how many smokes I have. I don't have to face air travel with withdrawal. I get to watch all the anti-smoking PSAs with a sense of victory and not shame. I can walk without leg pain. I smell the seasons in the air and realize I hadn't in so, so long. The constant, random chest pains are gone and if I cough, it's one, simple, quiet cough with no sputum.

Life is so much better without nicotine. I did it. And sometimes I can't believe it. I lived to smoke and smoked to live. I was a smoker's smoker. If I can do it, anyone can.

Russell Lloyd

#434 - 04/27/12

I almost forgot that its been 7 years since I found your site, 7 years since your information gave me the courage to quit nicotine.Happy to tell you its been over seven years since my last puff.

Thanks for helping me,

Steve Hassel

#433 - 04/14/12

On April 30th I will celebrate 5 years as a non-smoker. Because of WHYQUIT I will never take another puff. I can't believe I did it. I was on your website for months before I picked my quit date. Once I quit, I was on your site almost hourly. It helped me every step of the way.

Thank you and God Bless!

Christine

#432 - 04/08/12

If thinking about quitting do it TODAY. Tomorrow may be to late! Thanks for the knowledge!

Hank

#431 - 04/04/12

Just a short note to thank you for the wonderful website and the PDF document Never Take Another Puff. I still have it on my desktop.

I quit smoking 2 years and 10 days ago. I smoked for over 30 years! Even I can't believe it that I managed to quit.

The scariest part was when I realized that I didn't remember how my life was before smoking! I started smoking at age 16 and quit at 50. So I had to learn to live my life without a cigarette in my hand. One hour and one day at the time. I tried Chantix, nicotine gums and the nicoderm patch several times and finally it was with the help of WhyQuit.com and the NTAP.PDF that I quit. Cold Turkey is the only way!

Thanks!

Karine

#430 - 03/30/12

I am over a year now of not smoking. I did it cold turkey and am extremely happy. Thanks to this website, I was able to do it quicker. I quit smoking once before for 2½ years. I did it with the gum and suffered for 3 months. I smoked over a pack a day. This time I was back up to a pack a day and quit cold turkey. It was so much quicker to quit this way than to use a NRT. I have quit this time and will never go back. I will now never forget that just one puff and you are hooked. I thought I could get away with it last time but was wrong. Thank to this website I now feel like I have the knowledge and power never take another puff again!!

Thomas Winge

#429 - 03/18/12

I woke up this morning led to write about my quitting adventure 7 years ago, this past December 31. Don't know why...but I'm not one to question this sort of thing :)

I do know two things...for sure. In my case...

1. Cold turkey was the best way.

2. I couldn't have done it if I hadn't really wanted to.

I started my thought process of quitting by visiting whyquit.com. I actually began reading everything on it and some of the things included are disturbing. Blogs of former smokers, now passed away, journaling all their regrets at having started smoking and wishing they could do it all over again. Pictures, and most importantly - education on how to be a successful quitter. Tools, a quit smoking forum, that you are not even allowed to join until you are three days smoke free, whose mantra is "Never Take Another Puff" and a host of positive feedback await anyone ready to take that step.

You must be warned that this website's forum is very serious about their goals and life as non-smokers and they will not let you join without following the rules of doing so completely and thoroughly. It's your life. But their rules. It's much like any accountability program. Being that way, is why I believe they are the best resource available for people wanting to quit. I never joined the forum because I know my mouth gets me in trouble too much in forum activity when someone makes me mad - and I did not want anything standing in my way...not even my own ego.

But you don't have join to read the forums and get the gifts offered. You just can't participate. :) One of the reasons they don't allow anyone less than 3 days smoke free - is because they don't want the not serious about quitting, or the big-dog syndrome and know it all attitudes joining the forum and better appreciate watching the growth and wisdom that accompanies true grit. They figure if you have stayed smoke free 3 days you are serious enough, but not far along enough to rub egos the wrong way. I can't blame them...and it makes sense.

As I rifled through this website..I can only explain that one day it just hit me that I still had a choice. I was 44 and had been smoking since I was 16. But I still had a choice. I began to feel grateful I still had that choice, and I prayed for God to give me the strength to put them down. I felt grateful that I was not one of those former smokers journaling, prior to ultimately dying, about their regrets...and I wanted my non-smoking life all of sudden more than anything else. I set my date for Dec 31st 2004. And on the night I was to quit...I was planning a Labyrinth walk to meditate about my journey.

To start my journey off...I gathered up everything in my home associated with smoking and threw it in the dumpster before leaving for my walk. I still had a half pack of cigarettes that I wasn't going to unclutch until midnight. But, I didnt set myself up for failure by allowing myself to come back home to the visuals.

I walked, prayed and felt hopeful and a little strength by the end of it. I came back to my car at 11:00...and couldn't make sense of smoking until midnight after such a peaceful beginning to quitting. I threw the half pack away. And in spite of the trials and hurdles, I have not looked back.

The first few days I spent cleaning my home, ridding it of smoke odor, clothes, carpet - you name it - it got washed. I prayed and asked God to get me through everyday. With each hour passing with no cigarette...I became stronger feeling wonderful that there was hope I could quit. And of course...I maintained my presence on WhyQuit reading and remembering why I wanted to quit so bad.

I welled up with gratitute as days passed and it looked like I was going to succeed. My brother, who has since passed 6 months after I quit, was proud of me and I have to say that much determination came to me because of his passing. In a sort of way...I remained smoke free in honor of him and his pride in me. Regardless of the reasons...I sit here today 7 years later, so very proud of the fact that I am not going to die a smoker.

Some of the things that helped me were:

The mind is a powerul tool. Controlling mine and the way it thinks, has been my life's biggest challenge. But my baseline for knowing the power of it rests with this journey. And one thing is at the helm of my success...so far...I REALLY wanted it. It's like anything else one is trying to break free of...one day at a time...but it's more than that for me. A smoker is no longer who I am. I give God the credit for the help, I give myself the credit for accepting it and whyquit.com for providing the education that helped make my journey successful. :)

Annette Warner 2012

#428 - 03/07/12

Some time ago I used Why Quit to stop smoking. To any and all I give 100% of the credit to the group support and caring managers. I will always be so grateful.

I still come back to read stories. Bryan, Noni, Deborah. They continue to break my heart.

Anyway, it has been 8 years, 3 months and 9 days since I stuck a filthy killing piece of crap between my lips and inhaled (chain smoked for 35 years).

At 6 years, pulling out of the parking lot at work, I reached over to my purse to get my cigarettes. My purse was 1. in the trunk and 2. hadn't ever had the cigs in it. This was 6 YEARS after. I shake my head and laugh at myself but also curse the cig makers for the addiction they gave me and continue to give others.

Anyway, thanks again for my life. All the ups and downs every person goes through is never helped along by sticking a butt in your mouth. There still is only one way to stay quit....never light up again.

Debra

#427 - 03/01/12

I have now been nicotine free for over a year. To be more precise, as I write this, one year, one month, eight days, one hour, twenty minutes.

To tell you the truth, I stopped counting somewhere around eight months. Until that fateful date of January 22nd loomed. My family -- at my insistence, since two of them still smoke -- had a little party for me. I earned it.

To anyone who isn't far along the path, let me join the chorus: Not only can you do this, you can do it more easily, with time, than you thought. I say this while living with two smokers. And they stink, like I used to stink, when they come into the house from a freezing garage, after another fix.

How many people say, "Well, if could quit, anybody can"? Sound annoying? Well, I'm part of that chorus now too. That's because I was a pack and a half a day smoker despite having smoking-induced athsma. Yeah, I had to use a rescue inhaler twice a day so I could breathe and still put away 30 cigarettes a day. Then I'd cough for ten minutes every night -- sometimes hard enough to work up a sweat -- just to quiet the wheezing enough to get to sleep. It got to the point that I dreaded bedtime, because I knew what a workout I was in for!

I'm on what some describe as Easy Street now. I still have the occasional thought about a cigarette -- and it comes and goes as a thought about a cigarette. Non-threatening, except perhaps for the fact that I am well aware of how easy it would be to go buy a pack and start again, even now. Cravings? I crave the return of football season; I crave a sunny day; I don't crave a cigarette. But I remember craving a cigarette. I remember scraping together change and going out in the middle of a freezing winter night to get a fix. How utterly ridiculous it was; it only made sense to the mind of an active junkie.

But here's what I remember more: Wishing, hoping against hope, that someday I'd be free of cigarettes. I am now. I've found peace as a non-smoker. It's not like the peace one gets by caving in to a craving. It's better. It's real. It's free.

Oh, and now it's one year, one month, eight days, one hour, and 47 minutes.

Liftbig

#426 - 02/21/12

I know that my thanks are well overdue, but I'm hoping better late than never!

I quit smoking nearly 6 years ago and wanted to thank you for your site's invaluable help in the first days and weeks after I stopped smoking. I used your website frequently when the cravings started and I wanted help remembering why I wanted to quit in the first place.

A family friend of mine had recently died from a smoking-related disease, my best friend was pregnant with her first child and I was noticing that my 20 a day dependency for the last 16 years was taking its toll on my health.

Once again, thank you for creating the website and I am sure that you have helped countless people over the years.

Regards.

Lucy

#425 - 02/01/12

December 31, 2011 at 9:30 PM was my 1 year anniversary of quitting my 32 year pack-a-day dependency. I am so happy I finally was able to break the destructive cycle of puff..cough..puff..cough. I was on my way to an early grave. Thanks to Whyquit I was able to get the encouragement I needed to keep me from having "just one." I am free again.

Daphne - Michigan, USA

#424 - 02/01/12

On February 10, 2012 my wife and I will be quit for 7 years. By the grace of God we have not poisoned ourselves with 127,750 death sticks, 50 death sticks per day x 365 days per year for 7 years = 127,750. I encourage you to stay quit; they are just not worth dying for. I can not imagine ever going back to smoking again. Stay strong!!

NTAP

Danny C.

#423 - 01/31/12

I quit smoking 10-10-09 5:10 A.M. after well over a decade of pack a day smoking.

The info on your site made it possible, especially the one puff files and the cancer stories. Before visiting your site I always made the mistake of just having the 1 cig for old times sake on my previous attempts and you know how that turns out.

Some weird reason I decided to shoot you a email after 2 plus years. Thank you and rest assured I will never let my guard down and become a statistic in the 1 puff files category.

Peace.

David

#422 - 01/27/12

I last contacted you in 2006 when I had been quit 1 year. Thank you and your group for an additional 5 years this coming March!! Not a cold or sniffle for almost 6 years!!! Thanks again!

Bill Wooldridge
Colorado

#421 - 01/12/12

My name is Cecelia. After smoking for over 10 years, I quit in February 2004 with the help of your website. I will celebrate 8 years smoke-free next month. I honestly couldn't have done it without your website. I was still young enough to think smoking was "cool"-- although reading through the articles on your website helped me to see otherwise and to commit to quitting. At the end of the every day, in those first weeks, I would get on your site because it was my "support".

Thanks. It's possible you saved my life...!

Eternally grateful,

Cecelia


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