How awesome for you!!! I’m almost at that point. Not being able to breath this past week has been a big help, as you can imagine. I actually did manage to quit for almost a year about three years ago, so there has been some shame spiraling going on this time around. I’ve also been examining what I do with my time to try to avoid backsliding this time around. I just need to think a little more like Yoda, I guess.
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Man, I can not explain in words how amazing it is to not get sick like I did when I smoked. The first time my doctor said “Okay, deep breath…” I laughed out loud. He asked if his stethoscope was cold. I said “No! That’s just the first time in years that I could do that without coughing!” And since I quit not a single case of bronchitis. I used to get it yearly if not twice a year.
But, again, it was months of mental preparation. No joke. It stated with letting my kids take a nearly full pack of cigarettes, ripping each one in half and trashing them. After that I explained it’ll still take me a couple of months to fully quit. But at that point there was no turning back. Ya just can’t break that word. It’s actually so difficult I tell smokers not to even try. At least until they’re sure they’re mentally prepared. You know those tricks your mind plays. My favorite is “You’re doing such a good job not smoking you deserve a cigarette.” WTF?! Yes, my brain told me that every time I tried to quit. So, if you can, get psyched. Get support for it, too. Family, friends, whatever you’ve got. It really does help. Sounds like I’m talking about heroin, but hey… addiction is addiction. Not that I’m comparing, but still. Anyway, good luck to you if you decide to do it!
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Elderberry syrup is great for the flu, and it’s an excellent immune booster as well. A hot toddy (with as much fresh lemon juice as I can handle + local honey) always seems to help when I’m too sick to sleep.
Hope you feel better soon!
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My friend calls this “fire cider” and she swears by it! I think she may add jalapeño as well.
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Good suggestion and thank you! I forgot I have some elderberry flowers somewhere, I’ll brew some up with some orange peel a little later.
I think I need to take a nap.
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I have a ginger lemon tea and a green juice with turmeric everyday…
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The apple cidar vinegar helps break up congestion in the lungs…as well as the honey and ginger. And lots of luke warm water…cold water wastes too much energy trying to warm it up so that it can be asorbed
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Wrapping an ace bandage tightly around your ribs can help prevent injury…
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I quit smoking in 2001, and 16 years later, I still get bronchitis about once a year…but other than that, boy oh boy, yes…breathing is not overrated! My kids began a quiet, yet steady barrage of email to me…all random…each one of them saying, “mom, please quit smoking”. I had been wanting to quit for some time, and those emails really helped me get to the point where I felt I could do it.[quote=“thomas.alessi.jr, post:22, topic:5833”]
it was months of mental preparation
[/quote]
Thats for sure!
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That was one of the more interesting things I found… The world all of a sudden had many smells. And most of them not so good. 
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Yes, that more than anything is why I failed before. My sniffer works very well when not put to sleep. Recycling of paper by-products can often smell worse than sewage during the process.
That is amazing!!! Thank you for the inspiration!
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Your elixir is definitely effective, thank you again so much for sharing it!
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Heh. I bet! I specifically recall being in the car with my older daughter and I said “What the hell is that smell?!” And she said “What smell?” I said “You don’t smell that?!” She said “What… the river?” And I said “I guess so! Is it always that bad?” She said “Yeah, it just smells like the river to me.” 
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Capsaicin is the specific element in peppers that produce the “spicy” feeling, and is a natural anti fungal and anti bacterial. Some of those extra spicy foods do have a habit of invoking your sinuses to clear out as well. Perhaps some chips and salsa is in order.
Also- I typically hit up the local pharmacy for a short bottle of blue liquid, Tylenol cold and flu or Tylenol multisymptom. It has a distinctly stout shaped bottle, and it works decent for me to get me past the fever and chills stage.
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I always thought there was no way to crack rubs coughing, until I did that about 6 years ago when I had a really bad cough.
Now, to add the painful part tat is really funny. I convinced my wife, who is certified massage therapist, that I just pulled an intercostal muscle strain and asked to to try and work it out. Needless to say, this didn’t work and it was really painful. I still had no idea why I hurt so bad, but a few weeks later I had a PET scan due to other medical issues. The doctor asked me when i broke my ribs and i told him I’d never had broken ribs. He responded “they are still healing”.
No winder the massage didn’t help 
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I have a concoction that is only slightly different from @smcgathyfay. When I’ve been performing during the weekend and have “blown my voice out” the night before due to loudly singing in a smoky bar over drunk patrons, I turn to this to get me ready to perform the next day.
1TB of White Vinegar, 1TB Lemon Juice, 1TB Honey (I typically do 2), hot water
You can substitute Apple Cider Vinegar if you want, but white vinegar is more effective (and tastes worse…)
Smells nasty, tastes worse, but I’ve gone from zero voice to able to perform in about 1 hour of sipping a travel mug full of this. Not sure if this will help with the flu, but helps the throat and clears sinuses.
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Honey and Cassacia, some liquor stores sell it as Brandymel…not sure if that’s the correct spelling.If you have a portuguese community around , you will probably find it.Worked for me.
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What a coincidence- I just started feeling lousy yesterday!! The second I feel like I might have a cold, I down Cold Eez lozenges like they’re going out of style.
Don’t know if it’s just placebo or not, but I just made myself a cup of Celestial’s ‘Tension Tamer’ tea with some honey and now my sinuses are almost completely clear! And background noises that usually stress me out in the office aren’t bothering me as much…I’m nice and mellow 
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I don’t typically do medication but find Theraflu amazing if a bug does bite.
For smoking my Dad started with the patch for about a week then said “forget that” and went cold turkey. My Mom went to a hypnotist and never smoked again. I think that was back in the late 80s.
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I have no magical concoctions. I rarely get sick (knock on wood) and when I do I just let it run its course. The only time I’ve missed in probably 12yrs was after being run over by a suburban while on my motorcycle.
I’ve heard many remedies but none I believe are effective.
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