and somewhere in the kerfuffle of a new job, and our holiday… i completely missed my 3rd non-smoking anniversary.

which, in many ways, gives me even more reason to be pleased. it just reinforces that i never, ever think of cigarettes any more. i’ve now been quit long enough that even being around smokers (like jonno ) doesn’t make me miss smoking.

a few eye-opening statistics:

– quitting before age 35 has added between 6-8 years to my life.

– as a previous pack-a-day smoker, i have saved myself more than £5460

– by staying quit for more than a year, i have cut my risk of heart disease in half.

and all of that is wonderful stuff. but what really scared me as a smoker, was the prospect of developing emphysema. the idea of not being able to breathe, needing oxygen cannula in my nose, dragging around a tank, requiring a scooter to get around, drowning in my own fluid, gasping for air… the thought sent shivers down my spine.

back in february 2005, i wrote about having bronchitis to kim:

every time i get the flu or a bad cold, it turns into bronchitis – these horrible, endless coughing spasms that will not stop, to the point where my eyes and nose are streaming, i can’t breathe or speak, and i sometimes cough so hard i even gag… i was up all night with the horrible coughing jags, waking me up. it’s really distressing – you feel like you’re never going to breathe again, not to mention the embarrassment if it happens in public.

anyway, because i needed a same-day appt., i got the junior doctor, who suggested i wait it out for the next week or two! i suggested an inhaler, and he wasn’t going for it. and I started to get so upset at the thought of suffering along for another few
weeks, that i started crying and basically begged him for one. which did the trick.

i’ll never forget that feeling – the desperation at not being able to breathe, the intense sleep deprivation of not being able to lie down at night, the humiliation at crying in the doctor’s office. and the absolute incredulity that even as miserable and short of breath as i was, i was still smoking.

i was determined that i would never go through that again. unsurprisingly, i’ve not had a single respiratory infection since quitting.

now if i can only persuade my husband.

the juliana hatfield three – addicted

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