Smoking Lungs

[fr0z3n 0]

Well, I've been smoking for about four years and I'm a chain smoker in the first 2 years. I've stopped this bad habbit last few weeks. The reason why I've stopped is I feel something bad in my lungs, I get exhausted easily, my heart beat rate becomes fast easily and some symptoms of hyperacidity. I am diagnosed in tubercolosis when I am 1 year old because my room is next to a garage and I'm inhaling all the smoke from the jeepneys. My mother said that smoking is not for me because I may suffer that disease again. I think I have some complications in my lungs and I would like to ask you if you know how long my lungs will be back to normal

[rvalkass 5]

Well both my parents smoked for about 30 years and stopped only a couple of years ago. Within a few days your heart rate doesn't get so fast, and a few weeks you should notice much better breathing and less coughing. I think it takes around 3 or 4 months to get it all back to normal though, and well done on stopping smoking, its a very difficult thing to do.

[Dagoth Nereviar 0]

Congrats on stopping smoking and goodluck :blink:My dad used to smoke since he was 9 (He's now about 45) but he had a mild heartattack, so he stopped. After a week or so, his breathing was slightly better, then it improved each month for about 3 month. He still gets the craving for one (which isn't suprising to say he's been smoking for about 35 years) but his heart/lungs are alot better.Just be careful around very smokey areas, pubs, clubs, smoking areas, etc, because it can make your lungs/heart bad if you're around the smoke for an hour/a few hours or so

[mojoman 0]

Congratz on stopping. My dad smoked ever since I was born, possibly earlier, but he was deprived of cigarretts for about a few months, which actually worked because now he does not smoke at all. His breath used to smell horrible and his teeth were all yellow, but now its improved.

[humanisfilth 0]

Congratulations on stopping smoking! I smoked for 15 years and I must admit that for most of that time I LOVED IT! During my time, I smoked EVERYTHING. Filtered, Unfiltered, Menthol, Clove etc etc. Towards the end, when my health began to decline significantly, I moved to the lower tar/nicotine "light" cigarettes...which I found out actually cause MORE damage, NOT less because smokers then tend to inhale more powerfully and deeply into the lungs. SO DO NOT DO THAT! You can try the gum or the patches if you want...but you'll find as I did that you're just trading one for the oehter. I wound up hooked on the gum for 2 years before my last hospitilization, when I was cut off from all nicotine sources and went through complete withdrawal de facto. Once I was away from it for a solid month, I found I was able to avoid it altogether forever. If you're not going cold turkey already, DO IT NOW!! No matter what anyone tells you, it's the only real, guaranteed method to quit and STAY QUIT. Again, expect a month of general crabbiness and cravings...but with every day they become less and less annoying.As far as your health improvement goes, this is a VERY SERIOUS ISSUE that you MUST discuss with your doctor!!! See...as I found out the hard way, simply quitting does not guarantee there will be ANY improvements. The damage to your lungs from smoking and disease has likely resulted in scar tissue in your lungs. This scar tissue can cause all manner of very serious disease and since you've already had TB, it's likely your lungs are already at risk and you'll need follow up care once the tar and mucus clear out. You HAVE to get a chest scan right now so your doctor can see where you're at today. A few weeks from now, he'll do a follow up to see your progress. What he'll see at that time is SIGNIFICANT clearing of the lungs and what's left over is the long term damage you folks need to work on. I don't see how you won't have some degree of scarring from the TB alone...nevermind the smoking. You have NO idea what a smart idea it was to quit NOW, you're probably adding decades to your life. Your doctor may actually suggest surgery to correct the leftover damage. It's the same surgery Bill Clinton had after his heart surgery...they corrected scar tissue they found in his lung from other disease processes. Post corrective surgery, you'll breath easier and your whole outlook will improve.Your heart rate and hyperacidity should improve during the next few weeks as well, but a short run with some Atenolol and Protonix might be in order. Those should balance and heal any issues with your heart rate and GI tract....and neither has any notable side effects (other than you feeling WAY better).Please talk to your doctor about testing and/or preventative measures for emphysema as well. Your medical history warrants it.Whatever you do...live each day forward as a NON-Smoker. Robin Williams had a brilliant bit of dialogue in the movie "Dead Again"..'Someone is either a smoker or a non-smoker, there's no in-between. The trick is to find out which one you are and be that.' Go forth and LIVE!

[husker 0]

Good for you. I have always heard it's really hard to quit. I'm sure you will be really good you did in a few years (since you will be living longer). I also heard that you suffer drawbacks and stuff like that when you quit, so just fight through those and continue on. Good job on quitting!

[MIGUE2k7 0]

You can help yourself by going to some park with lots of trees, in morning, and doing slight excersie, like walking or running for a few and then sit and breath deeply, its always good the breath pure air, and parks and perfect for that.In that way you could be totally cured in less than 3 weeks. First start with just walking, so you wont get exhausted so easily, and then run slowly, it way helps.And yea good job on quitting, its real hard to people leave the cigar away, just hope you dont fall on that bad habbit again.

[fr0z3n 0]

humanisfilth has a quite long explanation but its very helpful and so do as the other explanations from you guys. I started to smoke because all my friends were smoking when I'm in high-school and doesn't know about the risk cause I know you will just be diagnosed by those diseases if you've been smoking for 10 years ore more. But I found out on an article in the net that people that already suffered from respiratory diseases have higher risk that those diseases would come back.My father has a good news on me because he has or our family has a high chance of being approved for our application to migrate to australia. I know that before that, we will got to a series of health test like drug test and of course an X-ray of your lungs. I don't want to be the problem that our family would be denied because of the result on my health. It is estimated that maybe after 6 months or next year our application would be approved. Maybe I should go to the doctor now for some check ups just to be sure. About the surgery of Bill Clinton... I dont think that my situation is not that bad yet. It will be hard to search for a place were nobody is smoking because this past few years the number of smokers in our country grows dramatically. I would like to say thank you to you guys again and if you have more ideas on how to quit smoking, feel free to post it here.

[randomdood 0]

good work on stopping, each cigerette takes like 7minutes off your life but i think chain smoking is a bit worse. I will never touch a cigerette as long as i have anything to say about it. i have quite bad asthma so i can't really do it if i wanted to anyway, i'm too young aswell. there are kids at my school who smoke weed and i can smell it from a mile away. that stuff isn't good either. i just wish that people don't see it as cool, but see it as life threating and just plain bad.

[kasm 0]

Well, I've been smoking for about four years and I'm a chain smoker in the first 2 years. I've stopped this bad habbit last few weeks. The reason why I've stopped is I feel something bad in my lungs, I get exhausted easily, my heart ...

 

Congratulations on stopping smoking!.

 

I think there is no benefit at all for smoking. Even I am not drinking too (except in occasion and by invitation) but I think drinking may be has some nutritional benefit and help in warming in cold weathers as in Russia and Finland and may be has medical usage but I can not find any benefit for smoking.

 

My big brother is smoking and can not stop even after heart attack. He stopped for few month but return back to this habit secretly. I warn my kids about smoking saying how it is addicted things so don't try. I gave them their uncle example as proof for warning.

 

One of my Mathematics Professor was heavily smoking. I don't forget that after 45 years, that he was smoking one cigarette every quarter of hour with a Turkish cup of coffee brought to him during the lecture {in that time smoking in public place was allowed). In last day of his life , he was very miserable.

[greentea-pocky 0]

yes good job on quiting smoking!! and i had to do this bio project on TB in school once and the symptoms you are feeling are symptoms of TB. Who noes maybe you are contacting the disease again theres no way to be sure unless you go to the doctors and get a tuberculin test. Although if you knew you had TB at that young of an age you should've been more careful in making it worse, smoking is definetly not the cure

[Hagar9999 0]

I'm having some trouble quitting - any advice?

Edited December 28, 2006 by Hagar9999 (see edit history)

[Yratorm, LightMage 0]

There's some brilliant, concise and extremely helpful advice in this thread, so I won't add too much to that.Tobacco (or rather nicotine) is one of the most addictive substances, other than hard drugs. Generally the best way to avoid catching the habit is not to start in the first place, but what with peer pressure, etc...I had a friend who was a brilliant martial artist before he took to smoking - it ruined his martial arts career, destroyed his endurance, besides the other ill effects. It always saddened me to see this man who was once a top athlete getting out of breath when he ran for a bus.Now, that was a bit off topic. To all those who kick the habit, congratulations - it's not at all an easy thing to do, and I admire you for it. However you've managed it - will-power, support groups, the help of friends - you have done something not at all easy to do and you have my most sincere and genuine admiration.A small note: If you have a pain in the lungs or some discomfort when you breathe after you quit smoking, SEE YOUR DOCTOR. Quitting smoking has immediate benefits, but if a serious problem has already gotten started, it's not going to just go away. Play safe, see your doctor, see what he has to say, then act on it.And take care, all.---------------To Hagar, on quitting: Hagar, why don't you put up a new thread in this section. Something like 'How do I quit smoking, please help' - it'll put your difficulties into focus and you'll get a lot of advice. There are also some posts earlier in this thread by smokers who've quit - check them out, there's a lot of good advice there by people who've 'walked through the flame' so to speak, and won.

Edited December 28, 2006 by Yratorm, LightMage (see edit history)

[master_bacarra 0]

actually, the original, healthy state of a person's lungs will never be restored fully once the person starts smoking. damage is done to the lungs and will continue if the person doesn't stop smoking. and to think you've become a chain smoker. complications will come out because of the excessive smoking. i'm not putting a blame on you or anything, but you shouldn't expect a full recovery from just by stopping alone. you should start off by slowly removing your smoking lifestyle (because stopping instantly won't help, for it will just leave a person with withdrawal symptoms, thus making it worst than it already is). i know it's hard, but if you were able to cut off your habit (the chain smoking thing), then it would be easier, to say the least.living a healthy lifestyle is possible even with such conditions as yours (i know you're from the same country as i am, because you mentioned jeepneys, and also based from your "local time" in your profile). avoiding places that are polluted will help. you could also bring a gas mask with you when you travel, or if not, you could just cover your mouth and nose with a handkerchief. try to incorporate exercise in your lifestyle, because exercise helps a person, especially in breathing, but you have to take precautionary measures, because exerting too much in your exercise will be harmful for your case. and lastly, go to the doctor. it will help A LOT.if your mom says that smoking isn't good for you, then smoking isn't good for you. actually, smoking isn't good for anyone. i always ask friends and other people i encounter who smoke why they choose to smoke, what triggered the need and those sorts of stuff. i try to be as open-minded as possible so i won't get into a fight, because i personally hate it when people around me smoke. that's why i just try to ask them why do they smoke, or how it all started. i don't have a strong pair of lungs. i was born normal, didn't have any lung problems, nor do i smoke, but somehow, i have a difficulty in breathing and i usually cough a lot. ever since i was a child i was always checked by my doctor to determine the cause of the problem. x-rays say that everything's ok, but some doctors say that i was allergic. actually, until now, i don't know the real cause, but all i know is i'm glad that i don't smoke, and as far as i know, i'm not guilty and won't be worrying too much about my condition.

[PunkGuitar 0]

Good, don't smoke - it kills