Just like all kids, I tried cigarettes back when I was around 12 or 13 years old, but I never really picked up the habit at that time, just the occassional cigarette here and there to be cool. That lasted about 6 months or so and I finally quit doing that and never really thought about smoking again for quite a few years. Fast forward to when I was 24, my two sons aged 2 and 4 years old at that time were always fighting with each other.
I was a stay at home mom and my nerves were being frayed every single day dealing with their constant fighting. Then came the day that I snapped as they were once again fighting over some little thing, I got so mad at them that I literally broke a mop handle by slamming it into the door jam of a doorway. It terrified me that I had lost all control that day, and I was terrified that I would physically hurt my boys if I were to continue to lose control in that manner. That's the day I started smoking, if I felt myself starting to lose control I would light a cigarette and smoke it, that gave me the time I needed to calm down and think clearly.
Cigarettes became my crutch for dealing with the stresses of raising my two boys, dealing with a husband who thought only of himself, working 3rd shift as a nurse, cooking, cleaning the house and all on about 5 hours of sleep a day. Then in 1993 my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and I started the cycle of trying to quit smoking using the patch, gum and even tried Welbuterin which was what they were prescribing at that time. None of them worked and the side effects that I had just were not worth it. My mother beat that bout of cancer, but in 2002 she was diagnosed with stomach cancer, she lost the battle and I lost my mother. Then I went through a fairly messy divorce with my first husband. And still I could not put down the cigarettes for more than two weeks no matter how hard I tried.
Then on February 21, 2010 my blood pressure soared out of control and I ended up in the ER and on blood pressure medication, but still I continued to smoke. March 3, 2010 my blood pressure once again soared out of control and I was back in the ER, they couldn't rule out that I may have had a mild heart attack this time. And after having an MRI of the brain they have discovered that I also have a small aneurysm in the right frontal lobe. And on top of that I have now developed double vision problems which are quite agrevating to say the least. I started having to take 2 different blood pressure meds and aspirin every day just to keep my blood pressure somewhat under control.
I was told by my doctor that I had to quit smoking or die and still I could not put down the cigarettes. I was literally killing myself with the smoking and still could not stop. I was always out of breath, wheezing, coughing constantly and having frequent chest pains. It didn't help that my new husband also smoked and had done so for about 36 years. We were both heavy smokers, 1 to 1.5 packs a day each, and we both were having issues with our breathing.
Then we saw the Deadliest Catch program where Captain Phil's two sons were shown using e-cigs after his death. We started researching about e-cigs at that time but hadn't found this site yet when we ordered our first e-cigs (Blu's). And even though they aren't the best ones out there, they did get me off of analog cigarettes the same day they arrived here on July 19, 2010. My husband had his last analog a week later after we got our 510's in and we haven't looked back.
Now our breathing is better, the wheezing that we both had is gone and most of the coughing that we both had is gone as well. My blood pressures are staying down now and I'm getting ready to come off of one of the blood pressure meds. Now all I have to work on is losing the extra weight that I've put on over the years and hopefully once that is done I'll be able to come off of the other blood pressure med as well. I turn 50 this December, and what better gift to myself than the gift of life now that I've stopped smoking analog cigarettes.
After 26 years of smoking, I'm finally smoke free. I've taken my nic levels from 18mg when I started vaping to now just using 8mg in the 2 months that I've been using my e-cigs. Our doctor is happy we've quit smoking analogs and he approves of our use of the e-cigs. My hope is to eventually get down to zero nic, but I'm not going to worry about it if I don't. So far I haven't been able to go below the 8mg without starting to notice problems with concentration and mild depression, so if I have to stick with the 8mg that's fine too as long as I'm no longer smoking analogs. I'm fighting for my very life and I for one refuse to let the FDA take away the one thing that is saving me from a certain early death.
I was a stay at home mom and my nerves were being frayed every single day dealing with their constant fighting. Then came the day that I snapped as they were once again fighting over some little thing, I got so mad at them that I literally broke a mop handle by slamming it into the door jam of a doorway. It terrified me that I had lost all control that day, and I was terrified that I would physically hurt my boys if I were to continue to lose control in that manner. That's the day I started smoking, if I felt myself starting to lose control I would light a cigarette and smoke it, that gave me the time I needed to calm down and think clearly.
Cigarettes became my crutch for dealing with the stresses of raising my two boys, dealing with a husband who thought only of himself, working 3rd shift as a nurse, cooking, cleaning the house and all on about 5 hours of sleep a day. Then in 1993 my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and I started the cycle of trying to quit smoking using the patch, gum and even tried Welbuterin which was what they were prescribing at that time. None of them worked and the side effects that I had just were not worth it. My mother beat that bout of cancer, but in 2002 she was diagnosed with stomach cancer, she lost the battle and I lost my mother. Then I went through a fairly messy divorce with my first husband. And still I could not put down the cigarettes for more than two weeks no matter how hard I tried.
Then on February 21, 2010 my blood pressure soared out of control and I ended up in the ER and on blood pressure medication, but still I continued to smoke. March 3, 2010 my blood pressure once again soared out of control and I was back in the ER, they couldn't rule out that I may have had a mild heart attack this time. And after having an MRI of the brain they have discovered that I also have a small aneurysm in the right frontal lobe. And on top of that I have now developed double vision problems which are quite agrevating to say the least. I started having to take 2 different blood pressure meds and aspirin every day just to keep my blood pressure somewhat under control.
I was told by my doctor that I had to quit smoking or die and still I could not put down the cigarettes. I was literally killing myself with the smoking and still could not stop. I was always out of breath, wheezing, coughing constantly and having frequent chest pains. It didn't help that my new husband also smoked and had done so for about 36 years. We were both heavy smokers, 1 to 1.5 packs a day each, and we both were having issues with our breathing.
Then we saw the Deadliest Catch program where Captain Phil's two sons were shown using e-cigs after his death. We started researching about e-cigs at that time but hadn't found this site yet when we ordered our first e-cigs (Blu's). And even though they aren't the best ones out there, they did get me off of analog cigarettes the same day they arrived here on July 19, 2010. My husband had his last analog a week later after we got our 510's in and we haven't looked back.
Now our breathing is better, the wheezing that we both had is gone and most of the coughing that we both had is gone as well. My blood pressures are staying down now and I'm getting ready to come off of one of the blood pressure meds. Now all I have to work on is losing the extra weight that I've put on over the years and hopefully once that is done I'll be able to come off of the other blood pressure med as well. I turn 50 this December, and what better gift to myself than the gift of life now that I've stopped smoking analog cigarettes.
After 26 years of smoking, I'm finally smoke free. I've taken my nic levels from 18mg when I started vaping to now just using 8mg in the 2 months that I've been using my e-cigs. Our doctor is happy we've quit smoking analogs and he approves of our use of the e-cigs. My hope is to eventually get down to zero nic, but I'm not going to worry about it if I don't. So far I haven't been able to go below the 8mg without starting to notice problems with concentration and mild depression, so if I have to stick with the 8mg that's fine too as long as I'm no longer smoking analogs. I'm fighting for my very life and I for one refuse to let the FDA take away the one thing that is saving me from a certain early death.
