Smoking with emp

[Kesrachel]

I know I'm an idiot but I just can not stop smoking & have emphysema. Iv bought an ecig & I'm trying my best to quit the cigs but my cravings have magnified! I got a copy of my lung xray so I cud see the damage but even that hasn't helped. I'm constantly suffering from chest infections & the doc says its the smoking so why can I not stop!! I feel as if I'm on a death wish....i sooo want to quit. Xx

[Lolly2]

You will quit when you want to quit more than you want to smoke!

[Nottobad]

Hi trying to stop is really hard. But you will do it when you are ready. I have COPD due to smoking. And I had many attempts to stop I was dx in 2006. And I used the ecig stopping smoking will slow down progression. It won't cure it sorry to say but there is no cure. But if you eat healthfully exercise take your medication regular. You will have a good long life. Take care

[diesel12]

I'm afraid you have to tell yourself it's an ecig or nothing. ecigs have nicotine in so it's not a craving for that, I tend to think it's the old, if I can't have it I want it more. Please stick with it and you succeed in the end. Good luck

[Jessy11]

There's a quit forum on HU where you will get expert advice on stopping smoking, but it's absolutely the best thing you should do for your condition.

It's extremely difficult but there's many ways you can try to quit. Your condition will get worse much quicker & you will get more chest infections if you continue to smoke.

Good luck 🌺

[peege]

You WILL do it. As with any drug & addiction you need withdraw gradually.the e cigs are a good idea, far fewer poisons in them and they come in different strengths of nicotine to you can go down over a few weeks (so I've read here). There is a Quit Smoking group on health unlocked who may have good advice on how to reduce. This is the way I'd do it anyway.

Good luck. You'll get a lot of support here on your journey to better health.

[onamission]

when I was diagnosed 11 years ago the thought of giving up smoking scared me more the the COPD just couldn't see me never having another cigarette that why I chose champix.

I took the meds at night within 14 days I had stopped smoking I continued to take the meds for another 2-3 weeks later. I think the only reason I did it was because I could continue to smoke unlike patches or the chewing gum.

I would highly recommend a quit clinic your more likely to stop with support its the best thing you could do for your lungs.

[moogle]

I was going to mention champix, it appears to be the best method to stop [says a non smoker from what she has picked up from tv and the internet]

[moogle]

Some info for you patient.info/health/varenic...

[Dragonmum]

What type e-cig do you have? If it's a cig-alike just ditch it and get some good equipment; they just don't work for heavy smokers or those who don't really want to quit.

[hufferpuffer]

Give up wanting to slowly suffocate.... gasping for air and feeling like a fish out of water... being attached to bottles of oxygen...stuck on the chair?.do you really want to get to that point sooner rather than later?

When it comes to deciding about stopping let's hope it's sooner rather than later and you don't feel like you are actually giving up something because that suggests you are offering up something good when the only thing you are giving up is what little good health you have right now.

Get some help and just ... Stop!

You'll give yourself more time for life 😊

Get busy living and loving and start with yourself ... you deserve it...only you can do it for you.

I know you can stop.

huff x

[Kesrachel in reply to hufferpuffer]

Thankyou huffer puffer, your words have stuck with me since I read them 2 days ago! I'm working on not 'giving up' but giving my lungs fresh air & hopefully a few more years of functioning. I love your drawings of hares aswell, so intricate. XX

[hufferpuffer in reply to Kesrachel]

I'm so glad to hear it you really have made my day!😁 l just got back from a walk with the dog and it was cold but fresh and made my nose drip into my cannula lol! )

I think when I read your post an alarm bell was triggered by it 😁 I know it isn't easy I tried about 8 times to stop and failed miserably... even seeing my Mum die slowly from emphysema didn't stop me but it made me realise I was on the same road as her , the out-of -breathness.....so I took myself off to the doctors ask for help in the way of patches.....waited for partner to go back to sea for a fortnight.... Smoked myself silly the night before I stopped ( I loved smoking but it didn't love me lol) ten weeks later I knew I had cracked it )

Back to the doctors about being breathless, sent for x-rays then told I had severe emphysema with the lungs of someone aged 118 😱.... I was 49..😀

I'm 61 now..but.my lung age is only 90 now ... no infections for more than two years ! Sorry to have rambled on !!!

I'm wishing you every success.... keep plenty of healthy nibbles around the place 😀 join Health Unlocked Quit group and stay in touch, good luck , huff x PS. Glad you liked the hares! x

[Markrh]

Just like you when I was first diagnosed with COPD about 5 years ago I didn't want to give up smoking. Being 57 I thought my days of active sports were over anyway & I had stopped drinking. I could walk, I could be as active as I wanted and therefore thought it was the only pleasure I had left; I would show them! This thought process continued up until Oct '15 when I was rushed to A & E with shortness of breath. Even then I thought I had "beaten the system" because even though I had been warned that my COPD had got worse I could walk and didn't need Oxygen therefore I could smoke. Quick forward 6 weeks A & E, Resuscitation Unit and Xmas in Hospital plus a "good talking to" by the Resuscitation Consultant and the need for continuous Oxygen even whilst only walking a few yards the message got through to my pig headed, ego brain that I was killing myself and most of all it was not funny but deadly serious. Since Dec 15th 2015 I have gone from a 30 - 40 a day smoker for 40 years to a non smoker. I have heavily, from time to time, relied on my e-cigarette, but I have not smoked. In fact the smell and thought of it makes me sick.

The reason for my reply is that you and anyone can beat your addition, you just need the right motivation at the right time. It's not rocket science, however you do have to, I believe, stop fooling yourself and realise the outcomes of your continuing to smoke. You have to take stock of what you want from the rest of your life however much shorter this maye be.

One further though; all of the above is taken in isolation and does not take into account the distress and hurt you are causing the people who love and care for you. I know this is straight talking but severe COPD or any COPD is a very very serious subject. You CAN do it, you just need the right motivation for you to quit smoking and begin a new pathway for the rest of your life.

All the very best and good luck

Markrh