DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Perils when you quit smoking

On Oct. 1st, I joined a support group for people who want to quit smoking (uh, just cigarettes, I'm not THAT fanatical).

Don't laugh at support groups because after a week or so, with the help of Nicorette gum, I started cutting way back and now I have one or two cigarettes a day. With the exception of a couple of "cheat nights", both of them involving beer, I've been doing great. I absolutely recommend the gum if you want to quit, it certainly helps me.


Speaking of beer, I've also been forced to cut WAY down on beer, which doesn't really bother me like I thought it might and in fact, I've lost a good chunk of my beer gut, which wasn't huge but made me look like I was in my second tri-mester (for years, no tight t-shirts for this dawg)

The worst part is having to avoid coffee in the morning (peril #1), which I actually miss more than the cigarettes, it's a major trigger for me. The smell of it, when others have their coffee, is tough to take, lol, and Tim Hortons commercials make me envious of those well-dressed, smiling, non-smoking bastards on TV.

Peril #2: they told me this might happen, but I cough more than I did when I was smoking 20 cigs a day (sometimes more), which they say is due to my lungs getting rid of 40 years' worth of crap. I jokingly say that my lungs are rejecting all the good air not previously available to them. They told me this could take months to resolve. YAY!

All this coughing has made my voice constantly hoarse (peril #3), so the real reason for this post is to ask if anyone has a tried-and-true home remedy for getting the lungs cleaned out faster.

I was a part-time closet smoker for about 15 years. I tried to quit way back at the beginning of that span but couldn't kick it. Two years ago, Thanksgiving, I quit for good. As a long-time smoker, I'll tell you that it is easier than you think. Just get past the 20-day mark and becomes remarkably easy. At that point, the urges go quickly and, in my case, I would actually feel sick even thinking about it. There are still little triggers, but they pass in seconds.

As far as the lungs... and the voice. I can attest to what you're going through. The coughing will fix itself; the voice may be different forever. I've always had a good singing voice. I still do, but my range has narrowed terribly. I've been singing out loud a lot more and just cannot wrap my mind around how much it changed for the worst after quitting. I'll probably go to my grave wondering why, but hopefully I'll get there about 15-20 years later.


Anyway, I'm not sure there is an easy answer on how to quicken the "repair". Proper hydration, as a practice, will help. Cardio will help. If you're changing all these habits, work a nice 20 minute walk into the fray every day - that could very well work wonders. Brisk walk, exercise the lungs.

Don't know what all you're trying to change. Sounds like you're maybe giving yourself a wakeup call, health wise? At any rate, not sure why you're trying to quit coffee. That's just sacrilegious for a Canuck.


Congrats on taking the first step(s)! I wish you the best of luck. Pretty sure we're the same exact age, I promise you a new lease on life psychologically, above and beyond the physical rewards. So many at my 40th reunion talking about "the damage is done" as an excuse to keep smoking. It's not done, the mind and body have a remarkable way of healing themselves. At our age we start to look at that monkey on our backs and think he's there forever. Throw 'em on the ground bro, throw 'em on the ground. You can do this!

I quit smoking many years ago when our Governor at the time (Taft, Bleh) decided to raise the cigarette tax substancially. I decided that I would never pay that tax. (and never did)

I was smoking 2 packs a day. I marked the date that the tax was going into effect on my calendar on the wall. I started cutting down on my smoking, pushing off the next cigarette as long I could ..... smoking half a cigarette instead of a whole one ... then down to a quarter. Eventually I got down to lighting up a smoke, hitting it once or twice, then putting it out. I got down to one pack a day .... then one pack every 2 or 3 days ..... and my last pack lasted me a week. My last cigarette came when I had a few left in what would be my last pack. I went to this girl I worked with's birthdya party .... came home and took my dog out. As was my long standing custon, I lit up that cigarette. I took one hit .... said to myself, "This tastes like crap" (I may have used a different word) put it out, crushed the pack with my last couple smokes in it, and threw it in the trash. That was it for me.