*Freedom's Fabulous Forty year plus fighters

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freedom6 4	Freedom's Fabulous Forty year plus fighters	#121	[url]	[-]
07/09/07 03:52	I loved your posting. Right down to the wire (point). I am glad I stopped smoking finally. I had been smoking for over 30 years and I am in my early 40's. They say that the 40's and on up is better. That's right, it does get better. Just quit. We all deserve to quit and not punish ourselves anymore. Good Luck to you and everyone else on this site.
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Patticake (Gold)	Freedom's Fabulous Forty year plus fighters	#122	[url]	[-]
07/09/07 04:28	I'm definitely one of those 40+ Freedom Fighters. I've been watching a lot of the Turner Classic Movies; little else to do with all the rain we've been having. Appears every other person in these old classics smoked, and it was considered 'fashionable'. I quit smoking January 17, 2001, something I never 'thought' I could do. Well I did and I'm still cruising along smoke free and loving every minute of it. Sadly it seems lately I've noticed a lot of young people smoking, particularly young females, some with small children. With as much infomation that is now available these days concerning the downside of nicotine I was really hoping a lot of our young people would think twice before starting. Still one day at a time, and counting. Antonia
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Eileen D (GOLD)	Freedom's Fabulous Forty year plus fighters	#123	[url]	[-]
07/09/07 04:58	I smoked for 41 years starting at age 15 . I was in a car accident six years ago and in the hospital they asked if I smoked and how many a day. After I had a chest xray the nurse said that once in a while people get a second chance in life and that for all my smoking, my lungs were in pretty good shape and I should think about quitting..so I thought about it for almost a year and then read about Freedom on a Suzanne Somers chat site. I made up my mind to quit and I did it.!!!!!!!! Five years, two months, one week, one day, 6 hours, 14 minutes and 44 seconds. 56857 cigarettes not smoked, saving $8,528.67. Life saved: 28 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 5 minutes.
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starbirder	Freedom's Fabulous Forty year plus fighters	#124	[url]	[-]
10/18/07 07:49	HiYa, This is a long thread i know....180 thoughtful messages started on January 22, 2001 of Fabulous 40 year plus FREEDOM FIGHTERS.....and from those close to that date and/or anymore with some comments. I still consider myself fairly new here in the presence of so many goldings, but do have some greening and now bronze under my belt, so thinking perhaps this thead can help someone just starting on their journey FREE FROM NICOTINE or for anyone needing a good read to comfort them or celebrate one more minute free. All these people, including me, used nicotine for most of our lives and are still here, by the grace of God, but certainly not 100% of wellness. So all you newbies and those inbetween to oldbies +++, continue with your quit. learn from us...........Never Take Another Puff, live well. Star Free & Healing 96 days, after using nicotine for 40+ years....and feeling and breathing better each day.
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allanb	Freedom's Fabulous Forty year plus fighters	#125	[url]	[-]
01/01/08 07:41	I' m pretty new at 49 days and this is a wonderful thread…..I started smoking at 15, I'm 55 now and by some miracle I'm still here….My mother is dying of lung cancer as I write this(she's 77), my uncle died of lung cancer at 56 ten years ago and I just kept on smoking….This site and this thread is a gold mine of support and every posting gives me hope and direction( much needed!) …This is a " ok , I quit smoking so now what do I do with myself????? WITHOUT eating food until I explode…..there are some answers like learning patience one day at a time and knowing this struggle is shared by so many others . I started smoking during the summer of love and cigarettes were just one more thing to get hooked on but it's the hardest to let go of…… But I'm doing it and I keep coming back to whyquit to stay strong and share…..abprime….. I have been quit for 1 Month, 2 Weeks, 5 Days, 22 hours, 1 minute and 54 seconds (49 days). I have saved $187.18 by not smoking 1,247 cigarettes. I have saved 4 Days, 7 hours and 55 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 11/11/2007 9:34 PM
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Doc460704	Freedom's Fabulous Forty year plus fighters	#126	[url]	[-]
02/19/08 10:57	Hi all, my name is Pat. Though I've been hanging around the WhyQuit boards for a while I'd never noticed this thread. Anyway, here's my sad story. I started smoking when I was 19 years old. Since I'm over 60 that qualified me as a forty year+ addict. During that time I'd tried to quit untold number of times. Sometimes I'd start the quits with drugs like Wellbutrin, other times with NRT gum or patches and a few other times just trying it "cold turkey". I used to kid people that the nicotine patches were the worst way to quit because they were so hard to light. In actual fact I was never even able to quit cigarettes for more than a week using any technique other than the "cold turkey" method. Every quit attempt eventually failed. I'd have "just one" cigarette and would be back to two packs a day within twenty four hours. I December last year I told my wife I'd like to try one more time to quit. She has been very supportive. My parish is trying to build a new church building and I thought that I could reach my financial pledge by giving up smoking and actually come out ahead. After working the numbers on paper it's true, we will come out ahead. The actual reason I wanted to quit was not for my sweet wife, not for our wonderful kids or grandkids, not for the church or the money and not because I had a heart attack two years ago (though those are all worthwhile incentives) but because of my incessant cough, because of my shortness of breath and because I was so disgusted with my inability to walk away from a habit that I knew was killing me. To help me, this time I did some research on the Web and was just plain lucky to have stumbled across WhyQuit.com. Everything I read on the site rang true. I learned that I didn't just have a bad habit but that it was an addiction. I learned how that addiction worked and more importantly, why my quit attempts had failed. They failed because I simply took another puff. I found out why my previous attempts using some type of nicotine replacement therapy were doomed, because all I was doing was prolonging the withdrawal period till I just caved in and started smoking again. The symptoms of withdrawal and their duration I read about on the web site were also right on the money. I started this by calling "my sad story". Because I've been armed now with accurate information on the nature of this addiction and the support I've received from everyone (newbies and especially oldbies) on this site I fully intend to make it a happy ending by Never Taking Another Puff. I hope this inspires just one more person to take the same small steps that I have. As long as you have a breath left in your body you can quit no matter how long you've smoked. Pat (free now one month, 18 days and ten hours)
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zoe	Freedom's Fabulous Forty year plus fighters	#127	[url]	[-]
02/20/08 05:46	Hi Pat, You inspire me! Thank you for sharing your story. Your cheer leader, zoe NIC free since 1/1/08. On our way to double greeeen... wow.
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wendyaannn	Freedom's Fabulous Forty year plus fighters	#128	[url]	[-]
10/16/08 06:11	haha I love this thread! I want to send it to my mom's best friend, who wants to quit smoking after 42 years but can't seem to get the courage up and who told me I couldn't possibly understand how hard it would be for her as I'd been a smoker for "only" 23 years :)))
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grandmaroux	Re: Freedom's Fabulous Forty year plus fighters	#129	[url]	[-]
03/08/09 11:21	I don't think that my story is any different than all of the others that I have been reading and enjoying. We certainly would do just about anything to be "in" or accepted by our peers and those that we looked up to when we were teenagers. I remember my very first little puff, I was about 7 years old, my much older sister of 16 was smoking and I believe that little puff was to keep me quiet about it. Funny what we will do eh! It wasn't until about 14 that I started huddling with the "in group" around the back of the school. I was so cool!!! I was not some "goody two shoes". I had guts. I was smoking behind my parents back, I was a rebel. Neither of my parents smoked, out of 8 children 4 smoked and there were only two remaining, myself and my older sister, I think she is what may be considered by the unconfirmed addict a "social sometime smoker". She still smokes it doesn't really matter when or how much. I too smoked through 3 pregnancies, right out of the delivery room, while I was bottle feeding my babies, while i was doing anything. It didn't really matter, some people would say you shouldn't smoke when.... whatever it really didn't matter, I smoked whenever, where ever I wanted. I knew very few people who didn't smoke. I first tried quitting when I was about 26 or 27, that is probably when the first smoking cesstation programs were starting up and I wanted to be one of them. Not that I really wanted to give up smoking at the time. I just wanted to see what all the hype was about. I was a full fledged" love my cigarettes" nicotine addict smoker. Never once did i admit to that, I just used any and all excuses i could, too much going on, not enough money (that was so redundant) too stressed, hubby won't quit, I should but it's so hard, I have really cut back, (lies lies lies all lies) now is not a good time, the governement wants us to smoke, they won't let us smoke anywhere but they will still sell to us I'll show them, I tell you any and all excuses i have used, quit once for 3 months then became a closet smoker for YEARS, what a fool! Now I have finally owned up to a lot, a lot of things that I never thought I would own up to. I know that i am an addict and that was a big one, a real big one. I know I have to take care of this quit like the new born baby it is. I have to guide, nurture and gain its trust. I have to continually educate myself. Continue to read, encourage and be myself, who I really am and that is NOT a smoker. Enjoying Freedom for 21 days (3 weeks yahoo!) 59 minutes 52 seconds. I have not smoked 315 nicotine fixes I have saved $151.50 and 1 day 2 Hours and 15 mins of my life. Congratulations to me!!!! Doris Last Edited By: grandmaroux 03/08/09 11:28. Edited 2 times.
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Dionne	Freedoms Fabulous 40 year plus winners!	#130	[url]	[-]
03/21/09 10:50	Ah Linda; I was just crusing this early morn, wondering if there were some special ones to answer etc. when I found this thread from you from 'way back then'. Isn't it the truth what you wrote; the life & the freedom we gain while losing such fearsome addiction. We do indeed walk taller as we've crossed the Rubicon by taking the required baby steps of courage to win the fight for our very lives. There isn't much in life that truly humbles me but this website, meeting all of you, along with my own quit does indeed. I'm forever thankful Linda; you along with someother dears sure made the road to freedom far more meaningful; so once again if you're reading your responses, thank you! Yours, Sweet Smelling Dionne free since Oct. 8, 2000.
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theMazeSays	RE: Freedom's Fabulous Forty year plus fighters	#131	[url]	[-]
05/11/09 05:13	Well, I've been an FFN devotee for several months now, and I finally decided to add my story to the 40yr+ fighters topic. Honestly, it took me a while to feel comfortable with this choice because I'm not proud of the fact that I smoked for so many decades. I'm looking for the cathartic value and hope that after posting this, I won't need to tell the story again! I took my first puffs during the summer of 1966 at age 10. I remember the tree fort we had built high up in an ancient oak far out in a Kentucky corn field near Fort Campbell where my father was stationed. My friend Johnny had stolen a whole pack of Lucky Strikes from his Dad. There were maybe 5 of us in the gang and it took a couple days to finish off the pack. I don't remember much after the first puff, it was horrible--the hacking dry cough, dizziness, nausea. But we smoked them all! Fast forward to 7th grade, age 13, a new tree fort and my first girl friend. Unfortunately she was a smoker, and so it wasn't to difficult for me to become a smoker too, having had some small experience with it. It's 1968 and a pack of cigs is only 25 cents in Boulder Colorado; all I had to do was steal a quarter from Mom and I was set. Since age 13 until recently, at 53, I've been a pack-a-day smoker, pretty much without fail. And not without the quit pangs every smoker feels. In the mid 80's I tried the gum on my doctor's advice. In the early 90's I tried hypnosis. In the late 90's I tried buproprion. And finally, just last year, I tried varenicline. That's about the gamut. There are two important points about these quit attempts. First, I responded "very" positively to every one of them. I always managed to stay quit for a couple weeks, and in one case even several months! This attests to the deep desire that I had to be set free, and the internal conflict that was ever present. The second point is that every attempt failed; I had not learned the law of addiction and I had failed to understand that I am an addict. But I had one thing going for me--I would not give up! I new that millions of people had to have successfully quit; even I had a couple of friends who had, cold turkey. I began to think that some evidence of these people had to be on the Internet, and so I started seriously searching. Mark my word: serious. At last count, a Google search on the phrase "tobacco cessation" returns 536,000 results. Not just a little daunting, but I began the process of looking at every one of them and keeping notes as I went. I finally got to whyQuit.com after about 10 pages (100+ results); that is several days. And it didn't take me long to realize I'd hit the jackpot! In December of 2008 I downloaded and printed the books by Joel and John and had read them through before January rolled out. This was the ticket, and I was packed for the journey. Now, it has been 72 days 17 hours and 3 minutes since I arrested nicotine addiction. Refusing to inhale the exhaust from 1454 burning tobacco sticks has saved me $290.84 and added 11 days 2 hours and 36 minutes to my life! signed with heartfelt thanks ~maze
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Trisha52		#132	[url]	[-]
05/18/09 11:51	Everything on this site just keeps getting better! This thread is where I belong! I am age 57 and had my first puff at age 11. In fact, my own mother would give me cigarettes at that time. (There were really no smoking issues back in 1963) I became a full-time addict in 1966 at age 14. I never even really tried to quit over most of my 43 years of smoking. Due to pressure by family and friends, I made a few measley quit attempts over the last 7 years using nicotine lozenges, or Zyban or Chantix. The lozenges were absolutely no help. In fact, a friend of mine got addicted to the lozenges for more than 3 years! Fortunately, he never did smoke again, but he moved away and I do not know what happened with the nic addiction to the lozenges. The last I spoke to him, his Doctor had just said "beats smoking!" Zyban and Chantix both got me down to 3 or less cigs per day, but publicity about the safety of both of these drugs got to me and scared me off of them. (smoking did not scare me though??!!) Furthermore, I never committed to the mandatory quit date for these programs - I know now that I really had no intention of quitting at those times because I was trying to do it for everyone else but me. I would continue to sneak a puff whenever I could! I have just finally reached the point where I could not stand smoking anymore. My city (Rochester, NY) forbids smoking in all public places, even on outdoor decks. Hospitals and schools forbid smoking anywhere on their grounds, even if you are in your car. You must leave their premises in your car before you can light up! Getting a fix while working requires a 10 floor elevator ride down and up each time. There is no outdoor shelter in the winter time and Rochester gets very cold and snowy! I'm tired of walking away from my friends and family every time I need a fix. I'm really tired of the expense - a pack of name brand smokes now costs over $9.00 here! I'm really, really tired of the stench! Most of all I am tired of hiding from my 2 grandchildren! How I pray they will not become addicts! I do not want to be an addict anymore! I am starting my 8th day of freedom today - I still have a long way to go, but I am totally amazed at how far I have come!
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dixieanny		#133	[url]	[-]
08/11/09 04:08	Please, all you wonderful quitters.....join me in adding your story to this thread so that we may show the younger quitters not only what it has done to us over the years....but how it is possible to regain our freedom from the deadliest of the addictions. Some of us have been lucky.......some of us are suffering and still more of us do not know what the future holds.....but what we do know is that we are finally quitting.....finally saying enough is enough and wondering why in the world we did not have the guts or courage to quit and quit for good before. Many of us, for the first time in our lives, can look in the mirror and smile at ourselves and think.....wow....I did it and am I sure proud!! For some of us it has been somewhat difficult....but many of us forty year plusers...have found the quitting has been the biggest relief of our lives. Quitting was lots easier than we expected. We found that not only do we breathe better, smell better, look better....but we walk taller, we smile more and we have learned that no matter how long we've smoked....we can still quit and that there is a wonderful life after quitting. Above, is Linda's (GrumpyOMrsS (Gold) story. I am Ann and I too have smoked about 40 years. I always thought I could quit anytime I wanted, scoff... It wasn't that easy. I thought it was the cool thing to be doing. I thought it kept the weight off me. I thought it was my best friend. Best friends do not hold their hands over your face when you breath. That is what it eventually felt like. Best friends do not cover you with that putrid odor on your clothes and everything you own. Best friends do not make you lie in bed for days instead of working because you have to have I.V.'s run through you and nebulizer treatments and wait for the nurses to tell you whats next with the lung treatments. I wish I were one of you who has seen the light early before waiting until you have damaged your lungs like me. I am one of the lucky ones so far. I say, so far. I did it. I really finally did it and I feel proud to have joined this "Freedom's Fabulous Forty year plus fighters" to let you know, it does get better and it is worth it no matter what your age or how long you inhaled that poison. You can do it and we can help! Like Linda said, "Many of us, for the first time in our lives, can look in the mirror and smile at ourselves and think.....wow....I did it and am I sure proud!!" "I found not only a wealth of informations about my addiction....yes, we are most definately addicted to the most deadly of substances, nicotine, and I learned that I had to treat my quit as such" Come join us here at FREEDOM and know that you too can have a much better life after smoking!! Remember Never Take Another Puff! Ann Free and Healing for Three Months, while extending my life expectancy 12 Days and 18 Hours, by avoiding the use of 3680 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $1,071.25. Last Edited By: dixieanny 08/11/09 04:31. Edited 2 times.
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rosy		#134	[url]	[-]
11/07/09 03:40	Thank you Linda and all those who posted their stories on this thread - very inspirational. With Love and immense Gratitude, Rosy Stopped Smoking for Twenty Eight Days, 15 Hours and 27 Minutes, by avoiding the use of 945 nicotine delivery devices. Quit Day : 09/10/2009.
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