i am in my 4th week with ch and also on my 4th week with taking zyban. will quiting smoking help? i know it seems to be a trigger sometimes but im worried that the stress when i do quit on monday will make them worse.

Hi Tim,
When I was first diagnosed my Nero told me it was a contributing factor to ch, so I quite.
I started smoking again about five years ago, truthfully I have not noticed any difference in my ch. I feel I am able to stay a lot more relaxed when I smoke.

What part of Minnesota are you from?

Marty

i grew up on the east side or st.paul but live in woodbury now

I quit on New Years and just wrapped up the easiest cycle I ever had.  The only things I can attribute it to was quitting smoking or just luck

I smoked for 30 years and was up to 2 packs (50 smokes) per day and have been smoke free for just over three years now.

Got hits while I smoked, and get hits being smoke free. I DO NOT see any difference, other than there are a few more things to enjoy with the money I saved from the smoke money [smiley=grin2.gif] And I feel much better to boot!

I smoked about a pack a day for 30 years.  I quit in May of 2002, which went on to be a very bad year for my CH.  I had 2-3 more tough cycles over the next 2 years.  If quitting helped, it sure took its time doing it.

I did have probably my longest remission ever though, about 4 years of almost no attacks, as a non-smoker; but that was more than 2 years after quitting.  

My neurologist says it doesn't make any difference to CH, other than maybe triggering hits sometimes when in cycle. But of course, he encourages quitting for all the other health benefits.

Hang in there...

Dennis

well today is day 1 with no smoking. i had 5 on sat and 2 1/2 sunday and not gonna smoke today. i have noticed that since i have cut back i have only had shadows for 2 days now no attacks which is nice. i know its probably the meds doing their job but im gonna think its the quitting will help me keep on with it. ive been a pack a day smoker for 14 years so its gonna be tough.

After being quit for 4 years, I started smoking again 2 weeks into my currenct cycle.  That was the 2nd week of January.  My cycle is normally 5 weeks long and am currently into week 8.  My last cig was on Friday morning and I'm not sure if its due to quitting or increasing my Kudzu dosage, but I have no more daytime shadows and had only 1 hit the first night quit, 1 the next night, and none last night.

Maybe it was the smokes prolonging my cycle, who knows, but I really do feel like I'm near the end of it. :-/

I don't know about if it will help CH, but it can sure help you live longer and breath better. I have cut way back and can see a big difference.

Sending you positive vibes and for your quitting!  Many haven't seen any impact on the Ch attacks, but it sure helps you feel better overall.  :)  Apparently it can affect how you use oxygen to abort the attacks.  But glad to hear you haven't had attacks since quitting, so maybe it IS helping!

Wishing you good luck and PFDAN!

Laurie

yea my neuro told me not to quit yet and took my off zyban. it mixed with verapamil attacked my nerves and was causing me severe pain in my legs. so she wants me to wait till i get this round of ch taken care of then i will try and quit again.

I was glad to find this post.  I have smoked for a long time and recently found out that it is a trigger so I got the lozenges (only to find out it's the nicotine that's the trigger0.  I quit on Saturday, only to have no difference in my hits, and have to miss work due to not getting any sleep for an entire night of being up off and on for the hits.  I bought another pack the day off work and the doc put me on steroids.  I'm gonna try to quit again tomorrow, but I don't know if the stress from trying to quit is worth it......this cycle is so different and painful I don't know what to expect.

I have recently quit Smoking, and it had nothing to do with CH since I was just diagnosed with it a week ago..  It was more of I had always said when a pack of smokes reached 5 bucks I would quit... well they did plus some so I set my date and stuck to my guns.

Yes, quitting is very stressful but it is very possible and we as CH'ers are very good at doing research, trust me that is all I have been doing for the past week and I am only knee deep with all of the information I have been told to look up and read...

So to quit smoking I went to START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE and read till I was flabbergasted.  I found out that I was a smoke-a-holic plain and simple. Its a day to day struggle for me to not stop at the gas station and buy a pack just out of habit, and out of WANT, not the NEED now.   The first 3 days are the hardest, day four and five get better and by day seven people are shocked that you've made it that long!!!  

I wish you the best of luck, and don't hesitate to contact me if you need a cheerleader!!!

I've saved over $300 and added 1 week to my live in the past 32 days!!!  (they have cool little calculators that tell you all of this stuff)

If I can do it... I know anyone can!!!!

:) Christi

Oh yeah, you have to quit cold turkey... don't drag it out.. its only torturing yourself

i know one thing. we are the most smokinest bunch of people in existence. we even plan our gatherings around places we can sit and smoke. [smiley=smokin.gif]

maybe smoking is a part of what can cause the CH to begin with in the first place, causing some sort of brain injury or damage that is yet unknown.  And quitting may not fix the problem, because it may be irreversible.  I do think that there are alot of smokers in our group. seems like a higher number than would be in a random group of people.
I know that if I have a smoke during a hit, it takes it from a level 3-4 to a 8-10 right away.  (It took me years to figure that out)  I just used to go right for a smoke, and never put two and two together.  Now instead of inhaling a cig during a hit, i only inhale o2,and I get less level 8-10 hits than I used to in the past.  ::)

I have never smoked in my life, only breathed it passively when in the bar in past etc. But rarely.

And I do have cluster headaches, so not sure, but there was statistic research done, so maybe it is true, I am not sure, someone could elaborate?

I just smoked my last cigarette in the back garden with a lovely hot mug of tea and under a beautiful shining moon. (Getting a serious case of deja vous here)  Hopefully this is the one....I did promise the fiancée i would quit before our wedding...

But I sure will miss that smoke after a Big Hit.... :'(


Here's Hoping...!


Lefty...!

Like I said... The first 3 days are the hardest....   Just think of all the extra 5 minutes you are going to get back during the day... (smoke breaks)... I noticed that I sleep in an extra 45 min each day now that I have quit...

I use to spend 45 min smoking in the mornings before work... now that seems crazy....

Good Luck Lefty... Im here if ya need me!!!

:D Christi

-johnny- wrote on May 1^st, 2009 at 11:03pm:

i know one thing. we are the most smokinest bunch of people in existence. we even plan our gatherings around places we can sit and smoke. [smiley=smokin.gif]

At coventions I always feel like the guy faking CH...when EVERYONE ELSE  is outside for a smoke!! ;D

(another never smoked CH'er!)

Joe