Marlene
Hi, my name is Marlene.
I am 49 and have 17-year old twin daughters. I started smoking when I was 18 years old. And, right away, was a 2 to 3 pack-a-day smoker. In the last 31 years, I have quit smoking only once, and that was when I had my wisdom teeth chipped out, one week at a time. So, for 4 weeks I could not smoke. But, because a person that I was near to smoked, I started up again.
Some of you may say, "I'm young, I can smoke for a few years, and then quit." But, you can't, really. If your parents smoked, and a lot of parents have smoked around their children, then you have been breathing second-hand smoke for 12 or 15 years already. And, you may be showing early signs -- do you start coughing when you run, roller blade, play basketball, baseball, tennis, or do some other sport? Do you have a lot of phlegm that you cough up? Do you get colds or the flu often? How about allergies -- do you sniffle, sneeze, do your eyes get goopy or red? If you do, then you are probably showing early signs of Emphysema already.
Is smoking addictive? You just bet it is. I have tried to stop smoking so many times that I can't count. I have tried using the nicotine gum, the patch, the aerosol nasal spray, hypnosis, stop smoking classes, support groups, and everything under the sun. Stopping smoking is worse than dieting, stopping the use of alcohol or biting you nails, and, from what I've read, worse than stopping a drug addiction. But, nicotine is a drug. The MOST addictive drug of all.
When you first stop smoking, all you can think about is -- I want a cigarette..... over, and over, and over, and over ..... You put your arms around yourself, and hug yourself tight, tears roll down your face, your hands tremble, you can't breath (ha, you can't breath anyway when you have Emphysema or chronic bronchitis--but it gets worse), you start shaking. And you bite
your tongue -- to keep from begging someone to buy you just one more pack, or get you just one more cigarette.
And, after many, many, tries, and you finally succeed, you can never just have one cigarette!!! That just one cigarette will start the vicious cycle all over again.
So, the best course of action, is to "JUST SAY NO!" when friends hold out a cigarette for you to try. In fact, that first cigarette makes you feel pretty sick -- nauseous, light headed. But, if you get past that feeling, then you are hooked.! And, it's been proven that you're hooked almost for life.
Now, there is just one more thing I want to tell you. And that's what my life is like now. I have had to quit work, because I can't breath. And because I can't breath I am taking 33 pills and 5 inhalers a day. While these medicines help me, they don't cure me. THERE IS NO CURE FOR EMPHYSEMA!!! And another side-effect of these medicines and of not having enough air to breath is that my memory is gone. When my teen-age girls tell me something, I don't remember it the next day. Also, I cannot go to their school performances, award ceremonies, nor can I go clothes shopping with them, nor shopping with them for groceries. Instead of me helping them, they have to help me -- get me something to drink, water, snacks. They have to do the cleaning, dish and clothes washing, help with the cooking. OK, I can hear you. You have chores, too. But, you are not the primary person -- you are helping your parent.
I hope this has helped to make you more aware. Having Emphysema is NO picnic. Thanks, for reading/listening.
hmsboston@aol.com