Have you tried to quit smoking while undergoing treatment?

@colleenyoung Yep, I'm a "quitter" and so glad that I did manage to quit. I know I mentioned previously that being pregnant I had more incentive than I had before, but I also should have mentioned that it was a bit easier then because I had very frequent underlying nausea. That helped me to quit too. It isn't easy for most of us and for those who manage to do it without the incentives I had, I have great admiration. These days another incentive is the cost of cigarettes! I simply cannot imagine spending that much on them.
JK

@margot69 Was your mother a smoker as well?

@margot69. I'm a quitter too of twenty-one years! I do not think that anyone will tell you that quitting smoking is easy, it isn't. But the side effects that you seem to have from smoking now will be more difficult as time goes on than the urges that come when you do quit. There are fears of what will we do when we do quit? Will we be obsessed with thinking about it? Most likely for a while, but your mind will have better things to do as you become more active. And that's the best thing- you do get healthier! I developed a mantra that I will let you borrow :). "If you smoke, you will die." Every time I craved a cigarette I said that and in time I found that I wasn't saying it at all. Since you have a series of problems, many that can be traced to smoking, I suggest you handle one at a time. Begin with quitting smoking. You might be surprised at how much better you will feel! There are many on-line stop smoking groups. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/stop-smoking/about/pac-20385048 is one.

I'm 56 years old Started smoking age 25 and smoked knowing I needed to quit.Finally quit 15 years later. One thing that helped was wife and my jobs were transferred to Atlanta. The old group of friends InBirmingham were largely smokers. The new friends we made in Atlanta were largely non-smokers. So surrounding urself with people that don't have the habit your trying to quit, whether it be smoking, drinking, drugging, went a long way in helping me quit. Changing environments to surround myself with non-using, positive role models and severing ties (at least until u'r sure u've quit) helps. Hard to do and not everyone can do that. Stayed quit for 10 years moved to a small town on coast of Alabama where it seems a lot of people smoke. A friend went outside restaurant to smoke and, famous last words, "I want one...I can just smoke one. So started back smoking for 5 years up until my hepatologist (I have cirrhosis) told me it was time to get on the liver transplant waiting list. So I guess it was sort of another "change of environment". The decision was made for me. Keep smoking (an absolute no-no when applying/on the wait list and have a chance at a new liver/lease on life. Or continue smoking, get rejected for transplant waiting list and die. So I won't call my self lucky, but this last time was much easier because it was truly life or death that I quit smoking.

@contentanwell - I agree JK. Our mothers/grandmothers really had nothing they could do about osteoporosis. But I have a thought. Since they walked a lot more than we do, at least in my grandmother's years and early in my mom's (1916 when she was born) maybe they weren't as bothered. They actually exercised all the time with the things that they had to do. I'm not saying that this was the general rule. I do believe that bone structure is in part genetic so some of us have a more difficult time with it than others. I have an admission to make- I took Fosamax this AM to try it one more time. I am very afraid of another break so I'm going to try it this one last time. I have an endoscopy early next month to see if anything is going on. Maybe it isn't Fosamax.

Yes, both my parents and most all my aunts and uncles smoked. It's was common in that generation. My father quit cold turkey and an uncle quit. My mother quit after a hospital admit. She was in her 70's, which I am nearing. I just cannot wrap my head around quitting.

@margot- I know that the idea of quitting smoking is intimidating. My mom smoked too. But she quit by cutting down- I have no idea how she did it! You know the health impact of smoking and know that it is best to quit, and I'm sure that you will when you are ready. Smoking can also cause osteoporosis. Are you feeling well?

Break it down to do I want to live or die? You can do it if you love life enough.I smoked 45 years and I quit using Chantix.best move I ever made

@iaintnomensabut Being able to get a transplant certainly is a good incentive. It was my incentive to lose weight too. I knew if I could lose weight that my recovery would be easier, plus at that time I read that some transplant centers require a BMI under 30, which mine was not. My transplant center did not have that requirement but knowing that I might want to dual list at some point and not wanting my weight to be a problem, definitely helped me to lose weight.
JK

@margot69 It was so much more common then, both of my parents smoked too, and I did until I got pregnant. By the time I quit, I was beginning to feel self-conscious about smoking. I live in the northeast but I have heard that in the south smoking is more prevalent, perhaps that's true where you are too. I think social pressure really does help if not too many people around you also smoke.
I can totally understand having trouble quitting, especially after many years. I smoked for about 10 - 12 years, I am not sure of exactly when I started!
Good luck with it, I hope you can manage to quit, you really feel better if you do.
JK