My quit journey a long and garbled story

[SueAppleRun]

If anyone has seen my reply to jilly girl’s post about quitting and Covid they will know why I quit but here’s a little about my quit journey.

By the time I was admitted to hospital I was in the throes of nicotine addiction withdrawal. They asked many questions and took many tests.

“How far can you normally walk without getting breathless?” asked a nice young doctor. This puzzled me as I’m a runner. i told him I could walk home no problem about 3.5 miles and away he went.

My daughter arrived at 7pm and took one look at me popped out a piece of nicotine gum and shoved it in my hand, a few minutes later I was sat up in bed chatting tears all gone. My daughter knew from the past that I would be suffering, she’s a pharmacist by the way and understands all about what happens when you quit nicotine and how different people react.

Everyone is different and metabolizes nicotine at different speeds, apparently i metabolise it very fast which is why a couple hours without would leave me shaky and irritable.

The gum is amazing, i felt myself relax with every piece. My daughter organised some nrt patches to take home with me.

The patches deliver a constant amount of nicotine to the bloodstream which kept the worst of the irritability away. I still had a bit of gum sometimes.

How did I feel? amazing, over the next couple of weeks my tastes returned and I ate anything and everything, oh those large bars of cheap white chocolate tasted delicious, I’d never been a chocolate eater before but i could down 700 calories most nights, but hey i wasn’t smoking so i was pleased.

I got mouth ulcers, apparently there is something in smoke that discourages these and i obviously have a tendency, oh it hurt to eat most things but i managed and continued to gain weight.

Over time not smoking became the norm and i went through a stage of thinking it was no big deal but when i said this to someone at work she gave me a huge lecture about how amazing i was to finally stop destroying my lungs heart etc etc.

We run, I found I could run and run, 7k then 8k then one day I just carried on and ran 10k not fast not tidy but i did it and then another day i did it again

My blood pressure is lower my cholesterol is lower my resting heart rate is lower and my blood oxygen levels are normal….. a doctor i saw last year was a bit upset because he was sure i had COPD

Now while you were all out there clapping the nhs I had my lung function appointment cancelled i had my smoking cessation clinic appointment cancelled and I was lucky that i didn’t need a doctor for anything else as they weren’t seeing people due to Covid.

Lockdown ended, shops re opened, I continued to run and celebrate being able to breathe deeply and not wheeze any more.

The weight? I put on a stone and a half but over the last few months have shed just over half a stone.

It hasn’t been easy, some days my irritability showed through but time passes and it was my gift to me in 2020 which has given me a new lease on life,

I love not smoking! oh the money i’ve saved? I spent it on a car one i couldn’t have afforded if i’d still smoked, this year new windows and a lovely trip up north to see Willows son.

I am Sola, Willow still smokes but I’d never criticize him for that, he will stop when he’s ready.

Joining in here and reading posts has helped so much, especially in the early days.

If you’re thinking about stopping think of the benefits and work through the challenges one at a time.

Not

One

Puff

Ever

Good luck in your journey all

Life is like a winding river and without smoking it will continue to wind for longer

[AlMorr]

Just popped over from the running forum to congratulate you Sola on quiting smoking with that inspiring post from you, I hope it will help other people who smoke on this forum to quit the habit, look how much cigarettes cost nowadays, add the weekly and monthly total, in many cases it will be over £100 a month, look what you could do with that money saved not smoking, let alone the health benefits.

[SueAppleRun in reply to AlMorr]

My bright shiny car cost a lot more than i would have had to spend if i’d carried on smoking and all sorts of things, thank you so much Al

[Doris8]

Just read your post and I am one that has never smoked, but reading your post which is very inspiring and hope it help others kick the habit to see what you have achieved. I’ve heard that people put on weight for comfort after smoking but you can loose the weight as you have proved through exercise etc., and reap the benefits you save and buy something nice like a shiney new car that you have managed to save with the money and your health better for it as well. Well done 👍😊

[SueAppleRun in reply to Doris8]

Thanks so much, some of the weight gain is comfort eating, having to do something with your mouth, some is how delicious everything suddenly tastes, that cheap white chocolate drove me mad as something i wouldn’t eat normally but suddenly couldn’t get enough of, at the beginning of Covid while everyone was stocking up on toilet rolls i was in the chocolate aisle worrying that we’d run out of chocolate, and part of it is cigarette smoke or nicotine blocks insulin so once you quit your body gets more insulin that grabs every gram of sugar and carbs and lays them down as fat, very frustrating but it passes The biggest thing for me was running and sounding like a steam train wheezing away but now although i puff a bit it’s much quieter

[Doris8]

I used to love white chocolate but since I am dairy free and gluten I now eat dark chocolate or a product called nomo dairy gluten egg free which is good.

[SueAppleRun in reply to Doris8]

Dairy free chocolate is lovely, and obviously better for you

[jillygirl Administrator LONG TERM WINNER]

Thank you Sola for your story. Very meaningful and sure to help others quit. 🌻🌸🌼🙂💕✖

[SueAppleRun in reply to jillygirl]

I hope someone newly quit takes something from it, everyone’s journey is different but the end result is better health

[TheTabbyCat Administrator LONG TERM WINNER]

Wow Sola, I've just read your success story. Thanks for sharing especially the bit about how real nicotine withdrawal is. Some newly quit members begin to doubt themselves and don't believe how addictive nicotine is. It's been said that it's harder to quit smoking than it is to come clean from the so called hard drugs.

You are very lucky to have such an understanding daughter. N.O.P.E. forever!!

P.S. I've added this post to our success stories,in the Pinned Posts. It will definitely help someone along i their quit.

[SueAppleRun in reply to TheTabbyCat]

Thank you so much TheTabbyCat 😃