That's what I thought was going to happen, I was going to catch a break. No more nagging, no more hiding, no more leaving a building and catching a smoke in the rain or cold. No more cough in the morning...
For years people told me that I could get my lung capacity back in a few weeks or a worst months. All I had to do was quit smoking.
That BS has got to rank up there with the other two great lies:
- checks in the mail
- something about male and female relations
Now we have a third, just quit, your lungs will be back to normal in a couple of weeks.
The lung specialist took great pains to explain to me the science of COPD. Basically it comes down to this: when I was smoking my lung capacity deteriorated much more rapidly than a non-smoker. Now that I have quit, my lung capacity now deteriorates at the same rate as a non-smoker but, and here's the big but, the capacity I lost during my smoking years can never be regenerated.
Why don't they put that on the side of a cigarette package. "Every cigarette you smoke decreases your lung capacity for LIFE!" "Go ahead, smoke. But you had better enjoy it, because you are trading a drag on a cigarette for your ability to catch your breath for LIFE."
I see come interesting ads on TV and elsewhere which attempt to educate people about the hazards of smoking. It is never said plainly enough. Smoking is a decision from which there is no appeal, no mulligan, no do-over. Once you smoke, you limit your quality of life for life. The only remaining question is how much do you limit your quality of life.
Quit. Quit for you, not for anyone else. Do it yourself, find help. Do something. I am making a journal with posts to this blog in which I will document my battle with the after effects of smoking and quitting smoking. These include:
- difficulty breathing
- difficulty catching my breath after minimal exercise
- weight gain
- difficulty sleeping through the night
- malaise
- deteriorating physical fitness
- lack of energy, drive or purpose - apathy.
Post some ideas, let's find a solution for all smokers and ex smokers. First quit, then recover your capacity to breathe. With capacity to breathe comes exercise, then fitness and weight loss, and then choices for your quality of life.
