Holy cows, nobody gits up at 5am. But today I did. Ya see, I got that appointment at 8am an' it takes me a good 2 hours to open that other eye an' loosen up so's I can walk a straight line. Drink me up a cup or two an' fire up a few smokes. The fire'n up smokes are part of a ancient ritual handed down by my esteemed "ancient" relations from Prussia.
Well shoot, that weren't all that bad. "Blow in this thingy....blow, blow,blow.....don't stop....take a deep breath....blow, blow, blow". This went on for way longer than what I was expected. Three blow'n tests what all wored me slap out. Results were not all that good, what I'll 'splain later.
Chest x-rays was took from two directions.
Then in comes the "breath'n" doctor. "Your lungs look pretty good.....ya got a case of COPD". Well I pretty much knowed that. "How long you been smok'n"? Here we go again with the smok'n lecture. Oppps, this doctor took a different approach, what I ain't even gonna try to go into. All I can say is it weren't a lecture to embarrass me into throw'n my smokes in the dumpster. Although, I would like to.
He looks at the test results....."Hmmmm, this ain't good". My lungs are operating at 50% capacity....what he says is a risk for my surgery. Ya see, they gonna put me on a machine dur'n surgery, what will do my breath'n for me. My lungs is gonna take a break, shut down an' do nuttin. But, when the machine is removed, my lungs gotta start back up. An' at 50% capacity, that may be a chore. So says the nice doctor. Hmmmmm, he didn't give me no numbers.
Then he shows me another number....54 something or another. "If this gets below 50 he says, you will go on oxygen". He inserts a little smok'n advice here. If'n I was to quit puff'n these little cigars, that number would increase a bit an' there would be no need for the oxygen. Sounds simple huh? Well it ain't that simple. I been smok'n all my life (bout 60 years) an' ya don't just quit over night. An' that what I tole the nice doctor....."I've tried to quit many times....gimme a light". The doc grins. An' then he says...."ya gotta make yourself a plan Billy Bob. Cut your smok'n in half in the next 3 months an' continue your plan". That sounds pretty easy. Ha ha, I know somebody gonna make a bet.
A CT scan was ordered. Of my chest. Look'n for the possibility of the dreaded word...cancer. But he said this test/scan was only part of "his" plan, for me to have a good life. Fix stuff before it's too late. Like I did with my back think'n it would eventually get better.
I was prescribed a year supply of Spiriva inhalant thingys to help me breath easier.
That was bout it at the doctors office. I liked the way he treated me an' the way he talked to me. Honest an' to the point. I'll give him a 4.5 out of a 5.
Me an' Robert was hungry as sum-a-guns. We went to I-Hop. Yum yum eat 'em up a great big breakfast. Made a quick trip through Lowes look'n for some round magnets for the cabinet doors. Nope. Picked up my new meds at Walmart. Drove down the road a piece an' pick up some smokes....plan not initiated as of yet.
How do I feel today? Well, ride'n round town with my son, makes me feel sooo much better than sit'n on my ass think'n of the worster things in life. He is a inspiration to me......as are all of you.
My back hurts, but I have a clear mind.
Well shoot, that weren't all that bad. "Blow in this thingy....blow, blow,blow.....don't stop....take a deep breath....blow, blow, blow". This went on for way longer than what I was expected. Three blow'n tests what all wored me slap out. Results were not all that good, what I'll 'splain later.
Chest x-rays was took from two directions.
Then in comes the "breath'n" doctor. "Your lungs look pretty good.....ya got a case of COPD". Well I pretty much knowed that. "How long you been smok'n"? Here we go again with the smok'n lecture. Oppps, this doctor took a different approach, what I ain't even gonna try to go into. All I can say is it weren't a lecture to embarrass me into throw'n my smokes in the dumpster. Although, I would like to.
He looks at the test results....."Hmmmm, this ain't good". My lungs are operating at 50% capacity....what he says is a risk for my surgery. Ya see, they gonna put me on a machine dur'n surgery, what will do my breath'n for me. My lungs is gonna take a break, shut down an' do nuttin. But, when the machine is removed, my lungs gotta start back up. An' at 50% capacity, that may be a chore. So says the nice doctor. Hmmmmm, he didn't give me no numbers.
Then he shows me another number....54 something or another. "If this gets below 50 he says, you will go on oxygen". He inserts a little smok'n advice here. If'n I was to quit puff'n these little cigars, that number would increase a bit an' there would be no need for the oxygen. Sounds simple huh? Well it ain't that simple. I been smok'n all my life (bout 60 years) an' ya don't just quit over night. An' that what I tole the nice doctor....."I've tried to quit many times....gimme a light". The doc grins. An' then he says...."ya gotta make yourself a plan Billy Bob. Cut your smok'n in half in the next 3 months an' continue your plan". That sounds pretty easy. Ha ha, I know somebody gonna make a bet.
A CT scan was ordered. Of my chest. Look'n for the possibility of the dreaded word...cancer. But he said this test/scan was only part of "his" plan, for me to have a good life. Fix stuff before it's too late. Like I did with my back think'n it would eventually get better.
I was prescribed a year supply of Spiriva inhalant thingys to help me breath easier.
That was bout it at the doctors office. I liked the way he treated me an' the way he talked to me. Honest an' to the point. I'll give him a 4.5 out of a 5.
Me an' Robert was hungry as sum-a-guns. We went to I-Hop. Yum yum eat 'em up a great big breakfast. Made a quick trip through Lowes look'n for some round magnets for the cabinet doors. Nope. Picked up my new meds at Walmart. Drove down the road a piece an' pick up some smokes....plan not initiated as of yet.
How do I feel today? Well, ride'n round town with my son, makes me feel sooo much better than sit'n on my ass think'n of the worster things in life. He is a inspiration to me......as are all of you.
My back hurts, but I have a clear mind.
Your life, your decisions.
ReplyDeleteI took an all day air plane trip & knew I was not going to deal with going all the way out to the curb & back thru security just for a smoke at the change plane times so I tried the patches again.
I made it thru that whole travel day without a smoke & tried the next day, made it thru that one too. Damn scared 8 weeks later when I tried a day without any patches but I made it.
It can be done....
I don't know how to say this Rob, but I sure am proud of ya. I've heard many stories just like yours in the past, but was never able myself to make such a claim. Good on ya.
DeleteAll you have to do is try, the worst that happens is you put the patches you didn't use away & pull them out the next time you try.
DeleteThat's what I used that morning when I got up, the patches that I didn't use the last time...
My wife uses patches when she flies long distances and they work. I ask her, "If they work when you fly, why not try them on the ground?" Well, she won't. Anyway, my point is, they work.
DeleteI'm really glad you like the doctor. That's half the battle in my opinion - you do better if you like and trust the doctor. I didn't realize you inhale those cigars! I was a heavy smoker for close to 25 yrs (2 packs a day) and then quit overnight. That lasted for about 20 yrs and then, being a damn fool, I started up again. When I had to have surgery for a blockage in an artery, I quit again, overnight. It isn't easy but it can be done, but I think whenever you quit a habit (good or bad) you replace it with something else. In my case it was alcohol, but after a while I cut that way back and never had a real problem with it. Fortunately I hate the feeling of being even slightly intoxicated so I drink very slowly when I drink at all. I hope you can figure out something to get your mind off the cigars and can give them up before you have surgery.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about 5 am - nobody in their right mind gets up that early. I have to check in at the airport next Tuesday at 5 am!
Before my heart attack, Dr Fronkersteen was do'n some test on me due to my high blood pressure (from that damn sew machine). He "lectured" me on my smok'n (two plus pacs a day) an' on my caffeine intake (4 to 6 20oz cups a day). He ain't never quit "lectur'n" me neither, although I cut everything in half....one pac a day an' 2 to 3 cups a day (20oz).
DeleteI switched to little cigars to replace cigarettes, think'n I would just puff 'em instead of inhale. I NEED MY NICOTINE. But it's mostly habit....git excitis watch'n box'n, I gotta light up. Talk'n BS with somebody.....gotta light up. You know what I'm talk'n bout.
Yes I DO want to be nicotine free for surgery an' during the recovery. After that, who knows. Ha....many years ago, I asked God to make me sick every time I light up. I cough an' I cough an' I cough.....an' I still light up.
I can understand about the fact that nicotine addiction is probably the strongest addiction there is. I've smoked while suffering pneumonia when I discovered I could inhale tiny little amounts rather than the big drags off a cigarette. You'd think science would come up with a cure for it.
DeleteBB, it took almost ten days of morphine , followed by a gradually decreasing dose of the patches for me to quit a 35 year course of nicotine addiction. One thing I Learned - you can cut the patches in half to alter the dose. Sam's Club was the cost-effective solution for me. I can honestly say I was still trailing cigarette smoke as they wheeled me into the hospital.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I tried the patches, I smoke with 'em on. A trip to the emergency room, the doctor tell me...."take them damn patches off if'n you're gonna smoke". I had nicotine poisoning.
DeleteHot damn! That doctor showed you respect and gave you a game plan if you choose to follow it.I hate condescending doctors that don't get past how much smarter they are than you.Only you can decide if you want to follow through but he gave you the facts in a way that didn't insult you.On a different note,my dad was on oxygen for at least ten years because of smoking but he did give them up and was happy to be alive...a good man that I miss every day. Vada in Dublin,Tx.
ReplyDeleteWished all doctors were like this one was. He was just a kid (mid 30's abouts), but I would listen to him again.
DeleteA few years ago, Dr. Fronkersteen (I don't like this doctor) threatened me with a tank of oxygen....just by listen'n to my lungs....no tests. The next time he see me he say my lungs sound very good....."ya don't need no oxygen".
I quit breathing just after a cigarette, with pneumonia, on life support for days, spent a week in the hospital. And the reason i'm saying this, is, it gave me a week head start on quitting, so the worst days were behind me. That was 6 or 7 years ago, never had another one. My COPD hasn't progressed much either. I don't think it was the addiction to nicotine, i think mine was the habit of reaching, lighting one.
ReplyDeleteI rekon if'n I was to quit breath'n, I would quit smok'n too. With my heart surgery, I was off smokes for a week or so. You see how that worked out.
DeleteNicotine is a hard one. My brother-in-law had part of his tongue removed due to cancer but he still smokes. I am SO glad I never got started. Tried them as a teenager but couldn't figure out why anyone would spend scarce money on something that tasted so bad. Maybe it's good I was so broke?
ReplyDeleteYou was a smart girl Linda. Ain't nuttin more I can say.....
DeleteGood luck on whatever you decide to do. Not real poetic, but sincere.
ReplyDeleteHa.....after today, I'm think'n maybe I oughter quit smok'n. What ya think?
DeleteMy father never explained why he quit but he went into a Mexican hospital with kidney issues and he said that his Mexican doctor 'talked' to him about his smoking. Never smoked again after that and had been smoking for over 50 years.
ReplyDeleteI tried to quit a few times. Then decided that I would quit in one year. Made a plan, stuck to the plan and quit after having smoked for about 25 years. That was almost 28 years ago.
The docs advise to cut down by 1/2 is a good way to go in my opinion. Then cut down by 1/2 again after the first 3 months and then again by 1/2. You never quit - you never say your going to quit - your just cutting down - before you know it you are not smoking.
Think'n that's always been my problem....never made a plan. Glad it worked for you Ed. Maybe it will for me.
DeleteNope, won't. One day you'll just be back to the same. Been there, done that.
DeleteWhen I was just a kid I stayed with my grandparents a lot. Everything in their house was yellow, woodwork, paint, curtains, ceilings, and also their fingers, hair, skin, and teeth. Both died of cancer. I am 71 and never had one of those things in my mouth!
ReplyDeleteHi Billy Bob, I know there is nothing worse than a reformed smoker/drinker preaching about quitting, so I'll just say it took me several tries to finally quit smoking. Saving alot of money I can spend on other necessities such as motorcycles, trucks, gasoline etc. What I have noticed is how all of my smoking friends look. It looks like sucking on those cigs is sucking the life out them, really. My wife was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in 2011 and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. She is still cancer free, thank God.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, Billy Bob. We're all pulling for ya! Max from Illinois.