How many of us are smokers/ex-smokers?

[zinamaria]

Bluesky I love that quote...who said it?
Reminds me of something from Rumi.

[PCakes]

i was smoking before i was born. mom smoked, dad smoked, i started at 13. as a rebellious teen i tried other no-nos. happily i was able to stop at 31. i was diagnosed with ms at age 48 (symptoms since 33). i don't personally see any connection.[/list]

I'm sorry elyse but..

imho systemic venous insufficiency will be found to be the root cause of CCSVI with the root cause of this venous insufficiency being genetics, congenital, viral, bacterial, lifestyle and/or or or....

smoking damages your endothelial lining. please don't smoke

Endothelial dysfunction is a systemic disease.
http://www.ccsvi.org/index.php/helping- ... ial-health
cheer

p.s. elyse congrats on quitting

[leetz]

Started at 13 been smoking for 20 year's...still do...dumb ass right?

[PCakes]

Started at 13 been smoking for 20 year's...still do...dumb ass right?

nope, an innocent victim of greed.

A wonderful friend of mine, life of the party, used to smoke. He also used to drink a little too much. Quit both after a peripheral artery disease scare and is healthy today.
On occasion he would light up after having a few and within moments his face and arms would seize as if in stroke. It was frightening to watch and has never happened again since he quit.
Food for thought...

[Johnson]

All this discussion of what might have triggered "MS", the philosophies, and Nietzsche's question of choice, remind me of something that I wrote years ago:

I built myself from the ground up
from the ground up to my eyes
using sticks and stones
and rocks and trees
Earth's sweet waters and wine
I hear a sound
and I name myself
I still see the sky go by
I look around in the open air
and remember my dream of life

I dunno, it just fit for me.

I have smoked forever (pot too), and done just about every recreational drug available (without needles). I was an indestructable "natural athlete" and a life-long vegetarian. I have been eating only organic foods for 25 years, yet I still got "MS". Sheesh. One would have thought that the organics and robust physique would have protected me through all those wild years...

I do not think that blaming ourselves has any merit. I knew a man who never smoked a cigarette, never had a drop of alcohol pass his lips, yet he died of throat and lung cancer at an early age. We probably all know someone like that.

I have always liked Ecclesiastes III (or as the Byrds would have it - Turn, Turn, Turn):
To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under Heaven...

Philosophy redux - it makes things easier to deal with. For me.

[Liberation]

...............

[Cece]

www.thisisms.com/article-198-thread-0-0.html

Research: Smoking Raises Risk of MS Conversion to Secondary Progressive

There is a simple, if not grave, message in the following new study: If you don''''t have MS and you smoke, you have a higher chance of acquiring it. If you already have MS and smoke, you have a significantly higher risk of converting to secondary progressive (versus a RRMS non-smoker).
To be fair, this study, however, does not control for the hypothesis that MS may cause changes in the brain that make people more likely to smoke in the first place. Nevertheless, it is a rather straightforward conclusion that smoking is certainly not "good" or even benign for MSers, given the other recent studies that showed cognitive decline in smokers, as well as a 2 times higher risk of multiple sclerosis diagnosis versus nonsmokers.

If you need help quitting, post a message in the forums and our community will undoubtedly help.

"These results support the hypothesis that cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis, and suggest that smoking may be a risk factor for transforming a relapsing-remitting clinical course into a secondary progressive course."

You can't help choices made in the past, but we all have choices in the present...quitting is good!

[CaptBoo]

Cece, how is the diet coke problem coming. We're here to help you too.

[Cece]

I just updated my Cece's turn thread and I meant to mention that I haven't had a Diet Coke in two weeks....it will be hard not to slip back though!

[1eye]

I admit to being one of those (perhaps) annoying ex-smokers. I will probably get lung cancer just when I thought I was safe. I do recommend seeing what the inside of you lung vs. a healthy one looks like, just for kicks. Lost too many loved ones to smokes to walk nicely around them. Not their fault, not your fault.

Kind of changing the subject here: I had mitoxantrone and it has a 4-5 year delayed cardiotoxic effect that they didn't know very much about. Now I know chemo is poison but I never heard of that kind before (had the heart attack to prove it), and I just wondered: does anybody know of any other nice surprises I might expect from mitox in the future? I only ask, because the only other noticeable and continued effect from it is I have completely lost my eyelashes. I used to have fairly good ones, too, not that I care. I just get dry eyes now.

[msgator]

never smoked (definitely second hand smoke exposure, though not at home), never drank, no recreational drugs, exercise, healthy living, MS since age 21. At least I don't have to wonder if any of those things contributed.

I am pretty convinced I was born with vein issues.

[orion98665]

Just curious to know if your mother smoked during her pregnancy with
you??? My wife's mother did but that was common 40 - 45 years ago.


Bob

[garyak]

just pot

[PCakes]

I built myself from the ground up
from the ground up to my eyes
using sticks and stones
and rocks and trees
Earth's sweet waters and wine
I hear a sound
and I name myself
I still see the sky go by
I look around in the open air
and remember my dream of life

the only drinking I do these days is of water and words. thank you.

[leetz]

i JUST WANTED TO THANK EVERYONE FOR MAKING ME FEEL BETTER...AND FOR EVERYTIME YOU HAVE PUT A SMILE ON MY FACE! in the DARKEST of moment's! MAY GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU...ALL OF US!