giving up smoking just had 2 stents what's best way
How to stop smoking best way - British Heart Fou...
How to stop smoking best way
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Jessica62
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77 Replies
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Hello 
Sorry to hear you have had to have 2 stents but pleased you have and everything has gone ok because now you have been given a second chance and you are making a fantastic start by wanting to give up smoking
As an ex smoker I always knew the first big step was that I would have to want to stop and I never did so it never worked until I got pneumonia and fighting for breath brought everything home what it could be like if I carried on smoking so then I finally wanted to stop
Then there are all different ways you could do it
Of course there is going cold turkey but I would never have been able to do that and I know a few that do but never know how they managed it
We now have the gum , sprays all sorts of nicotine aids I think it is finding the one that suites you
At your Doctors or the area you live there should be support to stop smoking that is a good way to go as they talk to you , help you decide what you want to use to help you stop
There is a really good support group on health Unlocked I used as well where you will get great advice and encouragement I will put you the link on so you can go and have a look
Others I am sure will have some more helpful tips when they read your post
You can do this
Let us know how you get on
If you don't buy them, you can't smoke them.
True
The same with heroine perhaps?
Dear Jessica62
You are already at your first step by not only thinking about it but posting on here.
I personally { as an ex smoker } think that you should take advice from your heart team / Dr at what benefit you will gain by stopping smoking.
I think like me that you will be surprised at the genuine benefits that can be gained by simply stopping.
As sad as it is there are more studies over this than any other form of addiction due to litigation against the great tobacco industry lead by America and now us.
How ever you look at it this is not an easy thing to do, but with help it is possible, learn a little bit more about it first, express your wish to stop to your Dr and heart team to find out what help there is for you.
And most of all good luck, if you fail, don’t beat yourself up about it, just try again and soon you will be where you want to be, if you are sure that is what you want.
Because if your not sure yourself { not nagging from family/ partner/ ex smokers/ smoke haters etc } it will never happen.
I understand what sheer pleasure a cigarette can be, I miss the smell, taste and the holding of them, but I will never { I know } use or be used by them again.
Take a moment, have a fag and begin to plan your future without them.
You can do anything you want to do, learn to control them and not them you.
Take care and please keep us informed.
Jessica62• in reply to
Thank you
I found myself in hospital with no money and no cigarettes and decided there and then to go cold turkey. I spent 10 days before being "released" and by that time the majority of the cravings had gone. Being told that I had heart failure also helped .It will be the best thing that you ever do. ❤
So true going to try cold turkey thanks
I gave up many many years ago. I tried hypnotherapy, helped to support me. I decided I just had to go cold turkey, stuck to it but the therapy supported me. Not many know that they put sugar in tobacco which makes it addictive, I found out years ago. Addictions can be inherited through families.
(Complementary Therapists hat)
What you honestly believe you can inherit addictions lol
With my Complementary Therapists hat on that Ive worn for 25 years, YES. Smoking, drinking and drugs can be inherited, the gene. I’ve seen patterns in patients over the years and also in my own family. Not everyone in a family will inherit the gene. Those who have the addict gene can go from one type of addiction to another.
If I put my common sense hat on I think you might have inherited the BS gene .Well I suppose if you wanted an excuse for being an alki, smackhead , shop lifter thief or anything else I can blame my parents , Yes I agree with the addiction nature
So you say it's the sugar and not the nicotine? Well now. We live and learn.
The sugar assists in making the tobacco more palatable, if youve ever smoked raw shag tobacco and I haven't but it is not adultereated with sugar. However, is there sugar in the drugs people use? Alchol has sugar too obviously, but not everyone is addicted, so there is a weakness that may make one predisposed to adiction. Adiction can also manifest in other ways, I'll leave that to your imagination
I read about that many years ago LaceyLady and it very definitely is a 'thing' as you say. I was very interested in studying the theory as my maternal grandfather, who passed away many years ago, had a gambling addiction in adulthood and I wanted to find out more about it. Two members of the family (of 8) inherited the gene but were both addicted to alcohol, one of whom died from the effects.
Hi, yes I stopped after my ablation…. Was up-to 30/40 a day, my Colin also stopped we did it together after he had 5 heart attacks and stents. Been 3 years now after smoking for 50 years! Miss them a bit if I am stressed and unfortunately have put weight on but that’s another challenge😂 good luck …look at how much you will be saving too… just don’t spend it on chocolate and cakes like me😂🤣x
Hi MydogBrandy How did your abaltion go and do you feel much better , I am waiting for the procedure and am on triple medication at the moment
Hi big walk. Omg it is the best thing I have ever done. I had SVT’s for 18 years, went to a and E numerous times ending up at about three times a week! I had been offered an ablation over the years but was told it might cause a stroke…. A very very small risk. Then my husband had a few heart attacks and we ended up both in the cardiac ward in opposite beds😂and I thought….. I need to get myself sorted so I am healthy for him. Wow the best thing I have ever done, touch wood!
I feel great off all my tablets. Had it done in Leeds , fantastic
Surgeon.
Hi MydogBrandy That is Excellent News to hear. I had been getting pains for years and didnt realise they were heart attacks and since had a stent fitted about 2 years ago but still getting bad pain which they sussed out recently is heart failure which they think they can fix by ablation. So fingers crossed , I am only on 10 tablets a day and have AF. Thankfully my cancer is clear So all in all looking good. All the Best Regards Bigwalk
Aww how it goes well for you Bigwalk. They found cancer on my husbands kidney after he had his stent fitted , a young doctor noticed it on an X-ray when checking the stent. He had the kidney out, then when they checked on the next X-ray they found the kidney cancer on both lungs. We are hoping and praying it doesn’t grow. The right lung is stable the left has only grown a bit so he is not on chemo or anything just tablets, they send him for a scan every three months and keep their eye on it so we are hoping it either disappears 🙏🏻 Or just stays as is . So pleased you are clear, all the best x
O really sorry to hear that MydogBrandy I was told I had cancer over the phone and had been mentioned it might have spread to one side of my head but actually got a letter in the post saying it spread to both sides. Fortunately it was sorted out. The things they can do nowadays is amazing . I would recommend your husband goes on the macmillan web site it is truly inspirational with some of the people on there. I cannot recommend it enough , saying that I havnt been on it for months but its the place for advice from people who are or have been in the same boat. Get your husband a virtual pint on me and wish him all the Best Regards Bigwalk
Aww thanks, that brought a smile to his face… stay in touch speak soon
Hi MydogBrandy Will do All the Best Regards Bigwalk
Hi sorry to hear your a fellow heartie ! - I smoked 40 a day everyday I woke up light a fag went to bed stubbing one out . Couldn’t answer the phone without lighting up . I was truly a nicotine addict . But I wanted to stop and break its control over my life . I went for hypnosis and 35 years later I’ve never had a single puff and even more wonderful I’ve never desired one !
Hypnosis works if you really want to quit - I was so amazed by its results I became a hypnotherapist because I knew it worked . Don’t try it unless you know you really want to quit , not just that you should quit people tell you to quit do it because you really want to be a non smoker .
Hypnosis is a great tool there are lots out there it’s one of many to get you off the fags but before you use any of them - you must truly want to stop - that’s the biggest step forward .
Good luck
I used patches and either gum or spray - 4 years next week since I last had a cigarette. Good luck
Well done going to try cold turkey first thanks
Hi Jessica, I was a smoker for about 40 years, went in for My cabg and didn't have a cigarette for about 9days.About two days after I got home I found that the cravings were becoming hard to deal with, and on top of the way I felt after the op I did a bit of soul searching and decided to try a vape.
After some searching I found a vape juice that was very low nicotine 0.5%, which I use for about six months, I then found another that had 0.1% which I used for another two months, cutting down the number of "drags" every week.
It's worked for me.
Basically a combination of cold turkey followed by a gradual process of cutting down useing the vape.
I have kept the vape, as a "comfort blanket" I know that it's there if I really really need that crutch, but because it's there there and a half months nicotine free.
That was my method,the are many other routes to smoke free.
Ask your doctor or practice they can give you advice and help , you must find the method that suits you the best.
Good luck with it because I felt the benefits when vaping and even more when I stopped that.
Fingers crossed for you.
Dan
Hi, I've never smoked, but my wife did for 35years, pregnancies aside. She went cold turkey five years ago and hasn't smoked since. It's as well she did as a Stroke was just around the corner a few months later.
It also helped that I stopped buying cheapies for her.
Jessica62• in reply to
Well done to your wife going to try cold turkey myself or vape thanks
Hi Jessica62, I stopped smoking May 2021, had a call from my GP I had a blocked artery in my groin area. Suggest stop smoking or lose leg, I stopped smoking using free patches from pharmacy. As the weeks went on I had some terrible cravings as my partner is a smoker. The pharmacy suggested nicotine gum, I did not want to be chewing gum at 57... you don,t chew it, just crack it and it sits in the cheek and it really works.
It is not easy, but knowing smoking is so close to killing you helps, you are lucky to get surgery, only treatment in Scotland is for emergencies.
It honestly took me a year to be Happy to not smoke, it is a huge decision, good luck and enjoy the extra money and no longer smelling like an ashtray and the freedom it gives not looking for somewhere to have a puff.
I also got to the same stage as bekind couldn’t walk up mystairs without being out of breath and dr give me an inhaler. And I through this isn’t right. I don’t want to live like this. So I walked into chemist and bought some patches you had to buy them then I used them for a week and I’ve never looked back that was 20yrs ago and I was on 40 a day. You won’t beable to quit unless you really want to. Contact your Gp I know they do smoking clinic now friend of mine did it with them. Good luck I started smoking at school because I thought it was cool lol 25yrs plus I smoked the money I wasted only now I’m a chocolate addicted lol
Thank you will do
Hi Jessica I had a few heart attacks and eventually a stent fitted , the consultant said he didnt want to see me back in again. I since got cancer which was a real incentive to give up for good . I was a serious smoker for 40 years and tried everything , hypnosis was really good and worked for a while , they guaranteed it for 2 years so a bit of a no brainer to try. No one is going to do it for you and its about having the right frame of mind. A mate of mine could only walk a few feet due to smoking and he had the choice of stopping or having his legs off. He decided he would like to sit on the bus with his legs. You can do this I would recommend cold turkey and promise yourself a little reward . I bought myself a treat for making it out of hospital good luck , it will be one of the best things you ever do in your life Guaranteed
From 40 a day to zero overnight it wasn't easy but if I thought of picking up another smoke I would just recall the Cardiologists remarks.
" Mr H I can guarantee if you smoke again it will shorten your life considerably " I never touched one since, I think the 4 days in Hospital helped it was like a quick start. It's been almost 40 years but I could still fancy a smoke on occasions, but I wouldn't risk it !!!
I must have saved a good sum of Money as well as the Health benefit go for it and take all the help you can get.
Regards an Ex Smoker
Hi Prada47 I had stopped after having a stent and a few heart attacks but would have an occasional one when drinking but getting told I had cancer was the real game changer which put me off everything 👍
Smoker for over 30 years what helped me after trying gum etc I have used a vape for the past 3 years got me off the real ones & still get to have my nicotine hit with my coffee good luck
Just don’t have them in the house and don’t buy them. If you think oh I think I should have a packet in the drawer for emergencies/upsets you will still smoke them, if they are not there, that feeling will pass. Good luck Jessica
Thank you theres hoping got the willpower to go cold turkey
I stopped smoking over 8 years ago the very day I was told that I had breast cancer. I thought that if they were going to help me with surgery and radiotherapy, it was time I stopped. Never looked back since.Lily
It depends what actually makes you smoke. If it is genuinely a craving for nicotine then patches will help. If it's purely a hand to mouth habit then you need to find something that will replace that habit like maybe vaping . If it's the sucking on a cigarette, then try sweets. Your GP should have a stop smoking clinic where they can let you try everything available from sweets, to patches to tablets to vaping. All except the vaping will be free on prescription. However while cutting down helps at first, it's not he answer because you will start to increase it again. The only way is to stop completely but there is no best nmethod- it's different for everyone.
Hi maybe buy some lollipops tried that before don't think I was ready then .Cold turkey will try as well thanks
I tried cold turkey some years ago when I was in hospital. Even with patches the ward sister could see how I was struggling so she sent me into one of the showers to have a sneaky one. I still haven't stopped even after a heart attack. I have a nasty little voice in my head that keeps sneaking up and saying it would be an easy way o ut of the constant excruciating pain I live in. Then the voice of reason says "What if you had a stroke instead on top of all the pain?" It's so difficult. You have to re ally want to and right after my HA I got down to 1 a day with patches. Big mistake.
Hi scdlinks Thanks I appreciate the explanation and I was wrong regarding what I said to Laceylady. I think i was of the view of you cant blame parents for the way you end up drink and drug wise but that is incorrect in some cases .
Patches, gum and nic drops are just changing the nicotine delivery method and has over 90% failure rate.Vaping is by far the better delivery system due to the health benefits.
I have been vaping for 11 years of which most has been on zero nicotine and no flavours.
Patches do work if you do them properly and reduce the strength but you also have to replace the habit part which for me is keeping my hands busy
Palpman I agree about the best delivery way is to vape and my partner gave fags up and is on the highest level which isnt good , Vaping isnt without its risks I bet
It's been proven to be 90% safer health wise than cigarettes. You cannot disprove this
Palpman I agree with you 100% . It made me laugh some bloke on tiktoc saying something like a product made in china that costs less than a pound and smells of pineapple that you vaporise and inhale isnt going to be bad for you
I had a stroke. That shook me and made me want to stop. I was in hospital and we were in lockdown so I had no access to tobacco and nowhere I could smoke if I could get cigarettes. The hospital gave me patches and I've never smoked since. It sounds simple but it was a combination of fear and lack of opportunity that worked for me. Good luck trying.
It took me 3 months after my heart attack & stent to make up my mind. Then I just got to the end of the pack and didn't buy another. 3 years 10 months now. I kept the "last butt" in the garden ashtray for a couple of years afterwards.
Good luck x
I stopped smoking over 45 years ago. I smoked anything that was tobacco related and ended up a heavy smoker. I stopped when I couldn't breath properly one night. I saved the money I would have otherwise wasted on tobacco for several months and bought stuff I could actually see, touch and value, mostly records many of which I still have.
And although I smoked for only 12 years and stopped years ago, my asthma nurse tells me I now have a touch of COPD, which is almost entirely down to smoking.
Given all the well publicised info about the harm smoking can do I am genuinely astounded that people still do it. If they still needed an incentive they need to find someone with advanced COPD who can only exist by being hooked up to an oxygen supply and have frequent visits to hospital in winter with respiratory diseases, and who year on year visibly deteriorate and in the end move on, wishing they had never seen a cigarette. But then most die hard smokers believe they are immune from that, and continue wasting their money on something that literally goes up in smoke.
I knew this many years ago and not surprised its unknown now. We are all aware these days that sugar is addictive.
LaceyLady I wish someone told me more about addiction years ago as I use to wonder sometimes why I was in this constant loop of drink and drugs. Well I am very grateful I am still here Thank God , Cancers , heart attacks , heart failure required to convince me 👍😀 Glad he didnt give up on me
Agh Thanks You for saying that scdlinks that really nice of you 👍 I certainly do need to widen my perspective so this really helps Thanks again ,
Hi Jessica You can do this no problem. Its just about having the right frame of mind and you can use all the down sides of smoking to boost you further into stopping. I myself was a big drinker and smoker up to last year. Looking at the facts , Whats the worse thing I can do for my heart , smoking , drinking and drugs not to mention just getting the all clear from two different cancers. Something which stuck with me was the consultant said if I smoked while getting my treatment it wasnt as effective. In other words I am giving myself less odds of living. I turned 60 the other week and I am not tired of living and I am sure your not. Only You can give yourself the best chance. When I was in hospital in the cardiac ward there were the usual guys who were sneaking out for fags. People will put up stupid arguments for smoking like both my grans were heavy smokers one living to 100 and other one to 80 odd , It kills you in the long run so give yourself the best chance and Stop 👍
Hi Jessica62,I was a committed smoker for 20 years but when I turned 40, now 62, decided I should do something about it. The big question was how. There weren’t the options then that there are now.
A friend lent me a book called ‘The Easy Way to Stop Smoking’ written by Alan Carr. I was inspired by the book but then learned he did a 4 hour course, held in various locations around the country.
With a money back guarantee, I had nothing to lose. So I went as a committed 30 a day & left as a ‘non-smoker’. No one was more surprised than me. I’ve never looked back since.
As far as I know courses are still being held. I’ve recommended several people over the years & so far, only one failed.
It’s not cheap, but please give it a try. Good luck.
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