A little about me

Leigh Anne,

I want to congratulate you on the best decision.

THATS A LOT OF ANIMALS!!!!! :D I have 2 dogs and they make me crazy most days.

Smoking robs us of the ones we love in a huge way. I lost my grandmother 20 - 30 years too soon because she would not quit. I encourage you to visit a website called www.whyquit.org . I suggest you read that webpage and every link in it. It is the BEST motivation for being strong.

I will tell you the same thing I tell everyone, the craves and withdrawals do NOT last forever. They are very temporary. THIS is not easy, but it certainly is doable. I know lots of folks who have put down the cigarettes FOREVER. I now live my life as a FANATICALLY happy ex smoker and I spent my whole life immersed in the habit. So if I CAN DO IT!? YOU CAN DO IT!

I used the nicotine fruit chill gum. I chewed that gum and walked, and drank ice water (helps you detox), and screamed and cried and GOT through the horrible withdrawals because the consequences of remaining a smoker were to horrible to contemplate. You have to do whatever IT TAKES to get yourself over this Addiction and I can tell you you will not REGRET IT.

Like you, I lived a very active lifestyle until those cigarettes stole my breath too. But the good news is? I am healing.

IF YOU NEED anything Leigh Ann please shout out.

I am free: One year, three months, three weeks, four days, 4 hours, 39 minutes and 12 seconds. 14435 cigarettes not smoked, saving $3,428.51. Life saved: 7 weeks, 1 day, 2 hours, 55 minutes.

I wish you success.

Leigh Ann welcome to this wonderful group of people. The hard part for me has been the mental habit. What to do now instead of. I'm trying to look at it in a positive way instead of negative. Ok now I'm going to learn how to drive the car without a smoke (gum, cinnamon sticks), I'm going to learn what other people do after dinner (chat with the kids, get up do the dishes), now what in the world am I going to do first thing in the morning (get up make the bed, down some water and shower). Those are just some of the things I've been doing. If I can turn it around in my head that this is a positive thing, that I'm learning how to do different things then I feel postive and strong enough to get through today. I hope that helps. I'm pretty new in my quit, so all of this is very fresh for me. I can tell you that it truly gets better. Every single day is just a little bit easier! Don't forget that we are all in this together.
Karen's quit stat's
My Quit Date: 4/11/2008 4:23 AM
I have been quit for 1 Month, 5 Days, 12 hours, 26 minutes and 57 seconds (35 days).
I have saved $177.58 by not smoking 710 cigarettes.
I have saved 2 Days, 11 hours and 10 minutes of my life.

What does Pancreatic Cancer has to with Smoking?

A bunch of studies have linked pancreatic cancer to smoking.

Hey Leigh Ann,

Its funny to me what smokers worry most about . I think I would worry most about not stopping soon enough to prevent emphysema from smoking and having to use oxygen 24 hours a day ! .........................bam

YOU CAN QUIT ..... Make up your mind ........learn from others and DO IT ,,,, Kozmik Burd and I agree one of the best days of our entire life's was our Quit Dates !

Just wanted to say hello and let you know I have help put a group of smoke free friends from another smoke free online support group here that want to help you succeed. Below are some of our groups and a video to make sure you do quit ASAP if not sooner.

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Daily Pledge - Quit Party Central - Relapse Traps
Game Room Quit Reasons - Thanks and Praise
Tough Luv - Words of Wisdom - Find a Quit Buddy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great Reading - http://www.tobacco-facts.info/
For a Free Quit Keeper - http://dedicateddesigns.com/qk/

YOU CAN DO IT ... we can help .....just ask !
5.4 Million die due to smoking related causes every year.
That's 2000 times a 9/11

Ray
I have been quit for 4 Years, 1 Month, 1 Week, 5 Days, 23 hours, 38 minutes and 12 seconds (1,503 days). I have saved $12,031.87 by not smoking 60,159 cigarettes. I have saved 6 Months, 3 Weeks, 4 Days, 21 hours and 15 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 4/4/2004 12:00 AM

Work this program right now. Track your cigarettes. Tackle your biggest smoking triggers one at a time. Start small, learn how to have coffee, do mornings, drive, handle stress, etc. without smoking. Set a quit date and use everything you have learned.This web site gives you guidance. You can do it!

Hi Leigh Ann! And Welcome A'board the Freedom Train! There are more cars being added on here daily!

I can tell you this from my own experience of smoking a pack and a half for over 35 years - your voice will improve almost immediately. The morning phlegm will be gone, and you won't be clearing your throat half the day. All that junk on your vocal chords will be gone and your singing range will increase dramatically. (I'm an actress so I know what I'm talking about.)

As far as running - I can't address that. But you can be assured that your body will want to heal itself as quickly as it can.

I took a month before I quit to read and get my head in the right place. Like running a marathon, one must go into training mode. It seems you know that. Yeah, it's scary. But I'll tell you this - it's a lot scarier before you do it, than after you do. The thoughts preceding the quit are terrifying. Know that the actual event itself ain't nearly as bad as we perceive it to be. It's not the most pleasant experience I've ever been through, but now that I'm on the other side of it - it was definitely worth it.

You want to sing? Then that's the priority. I say don't think in terms of forever. It's too big. Think in smaller chunks of time and you'll be able to handle it. Even if you go two days, you'll see the difference in your vocal chords. Really.

Here's to ya!

Go for it!

Giulia (2 years +)

Hi, Leigh Ann and welcome.

I know how ingrained this thing is in your life. You watch people suffer the ill-effects of smoking and you think to yourself, that won't happen to me. But it can. And it will eventually. And you already know that or else you wouldn't be here. So you've already taken the first step towards the rest of your long long life.

I will tell you what I tell everyone about the patch, gum, etc. It will not do the work for you. It just takes away the edge. It's still giving you some nicotine and the idea is to wean off of it. (I have a friend who is still chewing the gum two years later and it's become a problem for her now) So please use the patch and follow the directions. Realize that you must also do the work. Nothing in this world is easy if it's worth something. Okay, well, if you scratched of an instant lottery ticket and won, that would be easy, but you get my drift. You're going to have to do some work and I think you already know that or else you wouldn't have joined this group.

Once the physical stuff is over, you'll still have to know how to deal with the triggers that made you light up every day. You'll still have to learn what not to do and what to do and that's why this group is so important. Ask for help when you need it and we will be here.

As for the singing, it is amazing how well your voice will improve. Your voice and breathing control will absolutely make you a better singer. (You should hear me in the shower or the car now!) LOL!

Good luck. It's been 2 Years, 3 Months, 3 Weeks, 6 Days, 8 hours and 59 minutes (847 days) since my last cigarette. I have not smoked 21,184 nasty death sticks, thereby saving $5,825.69 and extending my life expectancy by 2 Months, 2 Weeks, 13 hours and 20 minutes.