PixelSketch

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There are sucky days, but they do pass. And they come less and less often the longer you stay quit. You can do this! Keep busy and focus on the positive changes in your life. :)

I had a bit of tightness in my chest for the first few weeks. Though I also have ongoing allergy and sinus issues that flare up now and then. Still have those, but the chest issues never came back after the first month or so. I remember I had all sorts of weird symptoms that first month. If you're worried, go see the doctor. It's always a good idea to be sure.

Happy Happy 5 years Bakon!!! Thank you for all that you do here. I can't imagine this place without you! Time to party!!

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Beautiful lady!!!

Hoping it's a minor issue. Sending you positive thoughts!

I'm sorry to hear that Doreen! Hope they get them out soon and you're back to feeling fabulous again!

Ready!

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3 Days! I've got my party shoes on!

Hey! A fellow 1973 baby! :yahoo: Welcome KT! I'm glad you found us here. There's some great advice above. Take it one tiny bit at a time. Don't worry about tomorrow. Just focus on right now and NOPE. You can do this. I tried vaping for a bit a few years ago, but I always went back to the cigarettes. Either way, it was still a nicotine delivery system. Educate yourself about nicotine addiction, read the posts here, watch the videos. I found having all of that information on hand really helped me understand what I was dealing with in terms of the addiction. And if I could understand it, I could beat it. You've got this and we're here any time you need us.

Life after quitting gets sooo good! I know it can seem scary to make this decision, but, in reality, it's far more scary to keep smoking. Hop aboard the fun train, next stop NOPE station! (Not One Puff Ever) :)

Awesome job Jayhawk!!

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Oh, I've missed all the good natured trash talk around here! Hahaha! So good to be back. #LeafsRule4Ever :P

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Hi Jryan! You can't change the past, but you've taken control of your future and that's the best thing to focus on! :) I quit at 43, after around 20 years of smoking, in the later years, about a pack a day or so. Sometimes less, sometimes more. I can't do anything about that. But from the moment I quit I started to make better choices about taking care of my health. I workout, I eat healthy, I keep my doctor's appointments. There isn't much more I can do beyond that, other than to enjoy life. Work hard, play hard, you know? I think while we are smoking, the addiction works very hard to help us push away the realities of what we are truly doing to ourselves, in order to keep us hooked. When we quit, that's when we start to really see the reality of what cigarettes do. I've had several freakouts over that once I stopped smoking. Some days every freckle was cancer and and every sniffle meant the end. I think it's a normal part of your brain coming back to normal and rewiring itself after all the years of being controlled by the nicotine. I remember not too long after I quit, I had an appointment to the dentist. No big deal, just a routine thing. I go regularly, so I had seen him just a few short months earlier. But all of a sudden, I was obsessed with thinking that I had oral cancer and any bump or mark was a tumour. I spent days and days before the appointment staring at my tongue in the mirror. Just freaking out. Finally the day of the appointment came. I was pretty sure I was about to be handed a death sentence. I never had a problem going to the dentist before. My dentist rocks! But this time, for the first time, I was scared to go to the dentist. The check up went just fine. All those days of worry for nothing. I had a few months of that kind of thinking on and off and then it started to fade. I think it's normal. I always remind myself that the body also has an amazing capacity to repair itself, if we give it what it needs. Just take good care of you, and put your focus on living a good, happy life. And even if something comes up that you have to deal with, health-wise, down the road, you and your body will be much stronger and better able to deal with it as a non-smoker.

You're rocking this quit! I admire how well you made it through the tough moments. Keep it going! It just gets better and better from here. :D

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We're no fools. We keep the original in the vault at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto full time. The cup is always here. We just let you hold on to the presentation cup version for a bit now and again. 'Cause we're nice like that. :lol2: