Started smoking "Late"..........At 24 years of age..........AFTER the Military where I could run 2 Miles in a little over 9 1/2 Minutes.
I "Dipped" back then though................
At 24, started dating a Girl that Smoked......She hated my Dipping, so I was like........OK......and started smoking her Cigarettes to pyss her off.........
Well...........that lasted almost 25 years.(The Smoking......NOT the Girlfriend
) Was a heavy smoker for years.........Pack - Pack & 1/2 a day. Cut back 5-6 years ago to about a pack a day.........last 2-3 years a Pack was lasting at least 2 days.
Starting last Thanksgiving I was having this Toothache every now and then. Tooth had gotten looser and looser.......blamed it on Moms Homemade Peanut Brittle. In February, Tooth had started ACHING real bad on like a Wednesday / Thursday. I was Tylenoling it - Anbelsoling it up until Sunday night when I sneezed real hard which made me clinch down on that tooth. Felt like somebody had put a Shotgun up to my Jaw and Pulled the Trigger!!! Monday morning I was sitting at my Dentist Office at 8AM for an Emergency Visit. After Exam..........Turned out whatever caused the Tooth to come loose also caused an Infection that went down my Lower Jaw.....Nasal Passage Ways down my throat.........and Ear Canal on my right side. Was put on a STRONG anti-biotic for 10 - 15 days. So Strong it triggered a bout of Irritable Bowl Syndrome (IBS).......of which I had to Counter-Act with Pro-Biotics to get the 12 times a day sitting on the Toilet under control.
Dentist couldn't say what caused the Tooth to come loose, but he did say that my Smoking.......the Nicotine and Chemicals in Cigarettes AGGRAVATED the Infection bad..........and I was LUCKY it didn't make it down into my Heart...........
Long Story short...........Tooth is GONE. He had to pull it.........there was NO saving it. It was a back tooth....so No Biggie. I did some research on Tooth Loss & Smoking. Read somewhere that an Average Smoker loses 8 Teeth over their Lifetime due to Smoking..........That morning I went to have that Tooth Pulled I was standing in my Garage SMOKING before I left. After the 2 Hour Treatment removing that tooth.........AND.........Repairing the Tooth next to it with a 1/2 Renal Crown........and the Pain I went through for 2-3 Days afterwards.........that Cigarette I smoked that morning BEFORE the Dentist Appointment WAS the LAST Cigarette I will have ever smoked in my Life.
Cold Turkey WAS flat out Hell the first few weeks...........but here it is 5 Months Later and the Difference is Extraordinary. I totally forgot how it Felt to breath in Deep and actually feel your Lungs fill up with air. How it Felt to YAWN Deeply. To have a Good Deep Breathing Laugh. To not get a little Winded walking UP a stairwell.............and so on. I didn't use a "Crutch"........Patch - Gum - Etc as many have.............Flat Out Cold Turkey.
Will I preach to others............NAH..............But I do now HATE the Smell of Cigarette Smoke......and Hate that I annoyed people over the Years with the Smell I used to make them put up with.
