John’s Story on Smoking Cessation

“I started smoking when I was 13 and currently I am 57 years old. I was a heavy smoker and smoked approximately one pack a day.  I quit smoking in 1993 with acupuncture and was able to keep smoke free for 9 years. Then the addiction came back. I then tried everything, Chantix, hypnosis. but nothing worked. My health suffered, and I coughed a lot.

On 3/27/2019, I started seeing Dr. Gong at Yang Institute of Integrative Medicine / Tao Clinic of Acupuncture. I saw her 3 times during the first week. She told me she was preparing me for quitting by cleaning my lungs and strengthening my lungs energy. She also gave me ear acupuncture. During the 1st week, I spit up a lot of black stuff. I believe it was a sign that my lungs were being cleansed. On my 5th visit, Dr. Gong told me that I was ready to stop smoking. That was 4/3/2019. After this visit I only had a few cigarettes left in my pack, so, on my way out of her office, I threw the pack of cigarettes in the trash. When I got back into my car to drive home, the smell of the smoke in my car made me so nauseous that I had to drive with the windows open. I even had to stop at the local car dealership to replace the cabin filter inside the car. The smell of the smoke made me feel very nauseous.  I have been smoke free since. It’s been 4 weeks.

Now I feel better, my breathing score improved from 1000 ml to over 2500 ml. I can walk 30 minutes.” -May, 2019