emphysema

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OP, it says you're 46, so you were diagnosed at 26. But may I ask, when did you first take up smoking and when did you quit? How many years of smoking led to emphysema, and did you keep smoking after you were diagnosed (if so, for how long)?

i started smoking when i was 12.
my therapist warned me that because of my rather problematic asthma, i was at grave risk of emphysema.
at 26, i had an x-ray which showed emhysematous changes because my lungs were hyper inflated.
i paid no attention.
i kept smoking and having fun.
at 36, i noticed i was having some trouble mowing the lawns, but other than that, i was fine.
i gave up 2 years ago.
i had to.
i physically could not tolerate smoking any more.
it sent me into coughing fits, after which i had breathless episodes which were not fun at all.

this whole thread is not to garner sympathy, but to warn youngsters not to smoke.
it f***s your life up big time

I am glad to see that you are still fighting the fight to live. I totally agree that smoking (of any type) can be harmful. Too bad some of my relatives will not get the message until they have the same health issues. I try to bring up this topic in my chemistry courses that I teach in the hopes that I reach at least one new person a semester and save them from this fate. Sometimes, I am successful at this goal.

Thank you for your kind comment on my father. I think he pushed himself as far as he did just to make it to my graduation and to see his grandchildren graduate high school. His whole body gave out in the end, not just his lungs. I did get to visit him the night before he passed on, he knew it was his time to go.

This is why I am totally against smoking. Here's some of the common things smokers say to cover themselves:-

"All the pollution from traffic is also harmful but nobody cares about that"

"Smoking will kill me? Well I could get knocked down by a bus tomorrow, so why worry?"

"I'm stressed"

"Sugar is bad for you too and leads to tooth decay and heart failure"

"Tobacco is natural"

"I know people who smoked nearly all their lives and died at an old age without having any smoking-related diseases"

"I'm an adult, you can't stop me"

"People who don't smoke can get cancer"

For those who may read this thread and the warning that B9 had made, I will link news of B9's passing...https://wrongplanet.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=378115&p=8819179#p8819179 May he RIP.

I was a little annoyed at your bumping a 2 year old thread in the "News" section. I guess we should take emphysema seriously but I'm not sure this old thread will change many minds.

Never mind, quite a few members here still remember B9 fondly. The topic's still highly relevant even if not all will heed what he wrote.