Gaylene Discovers She has Emphysema

A trip to my doctor confirmed my worst suspicion. I had emphysema. Without being told, I knew I had to stop smoking. Now began the endless cycle of stopping and starting smoking. I tried almost every quit smoking aid on the market. I would stop for a few days, then start bumming the occasional puff from my husband. Of course this would lead me to buying my own cigarettes and trying to limit myself to so many per day. Then, before I knew it, I would be back up to my pack or more daily. My breathing got harder and harder until I couldn't walk across my yard without my heart pounding and my lungs gasping for breath. Doing chores that involved bending or carrying were very hard.

My doctor prescribed Wellbutrin to help me quit smoking. This helped, but I knew I needed more help than that. One day a miracle happened. I ran across this forum for smoking cessation. I became a member and posted my story.

On October 21, 2002, I laid down my cigarettes. This wasn't easy. At first I felt as if I were the injured party because my husband could still smoke and I couldn't. Oh, I guess I could have, but I wanted to live more than I wanted to smoke. I felt disoriented, nervous, desperate. Sucking on caramel apple suckers, drinking water, taking deep breaths, working online jigsaw puzzles, and walking helped me tremendously. Keeping a positive outlook by thinking of this as something I "wanted" to do was a lifesaver. I received many forum posts of encouragement. Talking to all the people who were also giving up smoking made my quest more doable.

I became quit buddies with a wonderful person who had begun winning on the same day as I. Between daily correspondence with her, and support from so many others, I became a nonsmoker.

I'm happy to report that my cough is completely gone, my chest doesn't ache, my heart quit pounding. I'm back to being able to walk for exercise again. Although my lungs will never be as strong as they once were, my breathing is much, much improved. I have given myself and my family the precious gift of my longer life.

For those of you who are contemplating stopping smoking, or those who are struggling to stay quit, please, please, don't give up. The difficult times will pass. There really is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I'm thankful every day that I finally found the strength to enter the nonsmoking world, and become a WINNER!

Gaylene (Dadmont)
Gaylene and Mikki's 1 Year Milestone
Gaylene and Mikki's 3 Year Milestone
Gaylene and Mikki's 4 Year Milestone