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Steve n Dallas
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2008
Posts : 5278
Posted 11/29/2017 11:23 AM (GMT -8)
Monday I did my annual physical.

Tuesday the doc's office calls cause Doc wants to see me and go over my chest x-ray.

<<<OUCH>>> Sleepless night when you're a heavy smoker and the Doc sees something on a chest x-ray.

The good news is that it's "Only" COPD - Bronchitis - Emphysema... The bad news of course is that if I don't quit smoking I'll be carrying around an oxygen bottle before dying a horrible death.

Luckily, I'm in reasonable good shape for someone my age that is 20 lbs overweight. All of my bloodwork came back just fine.

And also luckily by design, I walk 2 miles five days a week. Doc did suggest that I not walk outside when it's colder than 40º since the cold air is bad for your lungs.

Moral of my story -
1. DON'T SMOKE
2. Exercise
3. Do an annual physical. The lab tech was able to compare the new x-ray against previous ones which helped him determine things were amiss.
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NKinney
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2013
Posts : 1159
Posted 11/29/2017 11:52 AM (GMT -8)
Smoking, as well as drug testing, is basically an intelligence test these days...
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Tim G
Veteran Member
Joined : Jul 2006
Posts : 3058
Posted 11/29/2017 8:57 PM (GMT -8)
All the best on quitting smoking, Steve.
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Steve n Dallas
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2008
Posts : 5278
Posted 11/30/2017 1:26 AM (GMT -8)
Thanks Tim..
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Wilderness
Regular Member
Joined : Feb 2015
Posts : 393
Posted 11/30/2017 5:09 AM (GMT -8)
There's a stark choice, Steve - that oxygen bottle image. I've no advice on this, but good luck to you with quitting. I know it is not easy.

Wilderness

Post Edited (Wilderness) : 11/30/2017 8:05:58 AM (GMT-7)

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Pratoman
Forum Moderator
Joined : Nov 2012
Posts : 9451
Posted 11/30/2017 6:02 AM (GMT -8)
Steve, THT sucks, sorry to hear it. You just have to quit, no choice, you know that. I went cold turkey from 3 packs a day, 30 years ago. It was hard. But what helped me was starting an exercise program at the same time. It motivated me to stay off the sticks.
Good luck.
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Steve n Dallas
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2008
Posts : 5278
Posted 11/30/2017 6:11 AM (GMT -8)
I quit cold turkey about 7 years ago... Lasted for 8 months... But I'm more motivated now than before..

Have put myself on a 30 day plan... Cut smoking in half for two weeks and then start using patches and gum.

I just recently got some 10lb dumb bells for both home and office to exercise the upper body.. Am going to increase my two mile walk to three miles...

I would like to mention that if anyone reading this doesn't do annual physicals - you should start soon.
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Bohemond
Veteran Member
Joined : Apr 2012
Posts : 1451
Posted 11/30/2017 6:43 AM (GMT -8)
Steve
You can do it. I quit a two pack a day habit cold turkey 40 years ago after waking up one morning with a coughing fit and reaching for a cigarette. I tried and failed a few times before, but that morning I flushed the pack down the toilet and decided to hang tough. The first couple of weeks were hardest -- that persistent demanding tickle in the back of the throat. But I'd tell myself every day that I suffered for nothing the days before if I gave in now.

The physical demand soon lessened. And over a longer time the habitual expectation also deminished -- though my coffee consumption probably doubled.

I'm using the same approach now to lose weight and put on muscle in anticipation of lupron in my near future. So far 15 pounds gone, another 10 in sight over the next several months, and biceps I haven't seen since I was 30.
Jim
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John_TX
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2015
Posts : 1245
Posted 11/30/2017 7:29 AM (GMT -8)
I also quit cold turkey about 35 years ago. I went from cigarettes to a pipe to cigars and I promised dear wife I would quit. I had one oops on day two but that made me more determined than ever to quit and I didn't want to disappoint she who must be obeyed.

Instead of reaching for a nicotine delivery device, I popped butterscotch candies (Lifesavers). My sense of smell and taste returned, food tasted so good I gained 20 pounds.

Nicotine is said to be an even more addictive drug than cocaine, indeed quitting tobacco was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. I had to fight the urge for about one year, after that the smell was/is repulsive to me. Now I can even smell smoke from a car in front of me if we both have our windows down.
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81GyGuy
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2012
Posts : 3569
Posted 11/30/2017 9:25 AM (GMT -8)
Perhaps helpful to mention the possibility of transitioning to e-cigarettes, use them for a while, and then move on to quitting smoking in any form.

That's what a cousin of mine (a fellow a bit younger than me) did, and he claims that it worked for him.

He noted that the kind of e-cig that he used allowed him to decrease gradually over time the amount of nicotine in the thing, which he found helpful. He was able to detach from the nicotine at his own rate.

Of course e-cigarettes have their own controversy, and apparently they are "safer but not exactly safe."

There are lots of articles on the web about them, of course, so it should be easy to find and read about them if one is interested.

E-cigs are likely one of those things that aren't for everybody, but at least worth mention, since apparently they do work for some.
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Desertsun66
New Member
Joined : Mar 2015
Posts : 19
Posted 11/30/2017 6:44 PM (GMT -8)
Steve, my advice is to quit smoking anyway you can manage it. I quit 4 years ago before my prostate cancer diagnosis. I had smoked for 40 years and within one month I could feel the difference. I now walk/jog/run 12 miles daily and my weight is the same as when I graduated from high school (150). You cannot beat this beast without making your body stronger. Giving up cigarettes is the first step. Take baby steps, do whatever you can do to kick the habit. Trust me, your life depends on it. Once you get the cigarettes out of the way you can focus on building your body strong. I don't know for sure if I can beat this beast, but I am darned sure that a strong healthy body is a good start. And I know how very hard it is to give up the smokes. I did it and you can do it.
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Tony Crispino
Veteran Member
Joined : Dec 2006
Posts : 8160
Posted 11/30/2017 9:55 PM (GMT -8)
I never got a chance to meet you Steve. That's something I regret. I've got an agreement with my wife to enter a secession program. She is 5 years younger than I am (she's a "light" smoker) and now is a good time to quit.

Put the cigs down is the message from your doc. From me too. I wish you the best luck here. I've lost family members to cigarettes.

T
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Steve n Dallas
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2008
Posts : 5278
Posted 12/1/2017 3:46 AM (GMT -8)
Thanks for all the well wishes. I'm certain I'll be done before the end of the year. As mentioned above - I did quit for 8 months... So much of smoking is "habit." Last time I quit I continued to go outside and take a smoke break....but didn't smoke.. When I jumped in my car or after meals I stuck a plastic cig in my mouth and went through the motions.

I spent a good 100 dollar bill a few years ago on an e-cig... That just gave me nicotine in-between smoke breaks. LOL

When I go to happy hour tonight, I'll only be taking three cigs with me instead a fresh new pack... In the really bad old days when all my gang sat outside on the patio, I could knock off about three cigs per beer...

Up until this week, my order of importance regarding quitting was MONEY, being a third class citizen and health reasons... Nuttin better/worse than buying two cartons at a time to save gas. LOL $72.00 per carton times about five cartons a month shocked

Will let you know how it goes in a couple of weeks.
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John_TX
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2015
Posts : 1245
Posted 12/1/2017 6:11 AM (GMT -8)
You are fighting two separate beasts, the addictive properties of the drug and the mental aspect when your brain is telling you to smoke when you do an activity. That's why I used butterscotch candies, every time my brain shouted it was time for a smoke I popped a candy in my mouth. It was for sure a 'crutch' but it worked.
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Reltnie
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2013
Posts : 722
Posted 12/1/2017 7:25 PM (GMT -8)
Hearing from all you former smokers, I need to ask: Any correlation between smoking and prostate cancer?

Tom
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John_TX
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2015
Posts : 1245
Posted 12/2/2017 6:04 AM (GMT -8)
None that I've heard of. Mine was thanks to Agent Orange in Vietnam sad
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NKinney
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2013
Posts : 1159
Posted 12/2/2017 6:35 AM (GMT -8)
Yes there is a statistical correlation between cigarette smoking and prostate cancer; particularly the incidence of high risk PC and death.

Post Edited (NKinney) : 12/2/2017 1:17:06 PM (GMT-7)

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Bohemond
Veteran Member
Joined : Apr 2012
Posts : 1451
Posted 12/2/2017 11:54 AM (GMT -8)

Reltnie said...
Hearing from all you former smokers, I need to ask: Any correlation between smoking and prostate cancer?

Tom

Another Agent Orange guy here. Here is what the American Cancer Society has to say about cigarette smoking and prostate cancer.

"Smoking
Most studies have not found a link between smoking and getting prostate cancer. Some research has linked smoking to a possible small increased the risk of dying from prostate cancer, but this finding needs to be confirmed by other studies."
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Reltnie
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2013
Posts : 722
Posted 12/2/2017 3:25 PM (GMT -8)
Thanks guys. Not a smoker, but always wondered because many of the people I know who have gotten prostate cancer were or are smokers.

Tom
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Tudpock18
Forum Moderator
Joined : Sep 2008
Posts : 5426
Posted 12/3/2017 9:58 AM (GMT -8)
Steve, good luck on quitting. I watched my dad tethered to the oxygen and his lung failure at the end. Not pretty and you sure want to avoid it. Looking forward to hearing your progress.

Jim
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NKinney
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2013
Posts : 1159
Posted 12/3/2017 10:45 AM (GMT -8)
Smoking was not known to be correlated to prostate cancer (especially aggressive PC) until it was known. That's how knowledge progresses over time. We know more about PC than we did 10 years ago. The ACS info is, apparently, old.

The good news is (and to absolutely nobody's surprise) that the relationship between smoking & PC is "dose-dependent." That means that if you quit 20 years ago, your risk from smoking for aggressive PC & death largely stopped increasing. Of course, it also means that if you have been smoking for 20 years (or whatever), and are still smoking, still injecting nicotine & the toxic chemical cocktail into your body daily, then your PC risk tomorrow is higher than it was today. Add another couple straws onto the camel's back, weakening your body's ability to fight cancers and other illnesses.

Of course, being 20+ pounds overweight (obese) is another independent risk factor for aggressive PC.
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clocknut
Veteran Member
Joined : Sep 2010
Posts : 2891
Posted 12/3/2017 1:20 PM (GMT -8)
Having worked as a part-timer at a funeral home for the last nine years, I've seen firsthand, many times, what smoking does to people's health and to their lives. Ironically, whenever we have a funeral for a heavy smoker, it is quite common to find the relatives of the deceased spending more time outside smoking than in the chapel with the deceased. That never ceases to amaze me.

I quit smoking 48 years ago when I met my wife. She told me that I would have to give up smoking if I intended to have a serious relationship. I took her at her word and promised the half pack of Marlboros I had left would be the last I would ever smoke, and they were. I would snuff them out after a few puffs and re-light them later...took about two weeks to smoke the last ten, but I never smoked again after that.

Good luck, Steve. You can do this. Re-train your mind to think of cigarettes as the enemy, the polluter of your lungs, the force that wants to deprive you of years of life. Here's wishing you a smoke-free 2018.
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NKinney
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2013
Posts : 1159
Posted 12/5/2017 1:17 PM (GMT -8)

Steve n Dallas said...
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”


It's been a week. How's it going?
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Buddy Blank
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2013
Posts : 2700
Posted 12/5/2017 2:11 PM (GMT -8)
Good luck on quitting. I watched my dad die from the side effects of emphysema, due to smoking, and it was not pretty. I know it is a tough, tough addiction.
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Steve n Dallas
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2008
Posts : 5278
Posted 12/6/2017 1:36 AM (GMT -8)
MKinney - I'm moving forward faster than I thought I would.

I cut way back for a few days.... Have done two days with the Gum and today I will use my first patch. Yesterday I smoked about six cigs versus 30+ .


EDIT: It's been five hours since I made this post.. Had just finished my two cups of coffee and broke down and smoked one.... Took shower - put on first patch and have been doing great.

Post Edited (Steve n Dallas) : 12/6/2017 8:37:41 AM (GMT-7)

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