No, not into computers. I mean hacking up phlegm. Gobs & gobs of brown & gray-tinged phlegm. You see, folks, when you quit smoking, it is common to develop some uncomfortable upper-respiratory ailments, like the sniffles and/or mild cough. It's a good sign, according to the vast amounts of smoking cessation literature that I've read over the past ten years. It means that your body is getting a chance to clear the nastiness out of its system, giving itself a chance to heal & thrive.
This morning I woke myself up with coughing. You all know how very much it takes to wake me up, right? Then came the phlegm. If I didn't think you all would stop reading my blog I'd upload a pic or two just because I myself cannot believe what came out through my throat. Then came an embarrassing call to my workplace, letting them know that I needed to take a sick day (unpaid, because I used all my time up in Colorado) due to my NOT smoking after having smoked 2 packs a day (no typo there!) for 10 days after having NOT smoked for nearly 2 years. They were not amused; neither am I.
I called my doctor, just to be safe, and hey, this is why I have insurance after all and there is no co-pay in a phone call:
Dr: Is it green?
C.: No, just brown or grayish.
Dr: So no infection. Not pink-tinged, right? That would mean blood.
C.: No, not pink. No fancy colors, just the neutrals. My ribs are kinda sore, but I think that's from the hacking.
Dr: That's all normal, considering. I can fax a scrip for Tylenol with codeine, if you want it. Otherwise you have to ride it out.
Then I got a five minute lecture about not smoking. And I had to sit and listen to it, submissive and humbled. What else could I do?
I feel better this afternoon. Hopefully that was the worst of it. I turned down the pumped-up Tylenol. I think I'd be better to remember my rib pain, and the hacking, and the thankfully not-pink-tinged phlegm. I want these sensations fully in mind the next time I think I can have JUST ONE CIGARETTE! Because there is NO such thing with me! Fuck.
-C.
10 years ago
8 comments:
fight on!
This suggests that the woman who lives in the apartment next to mine must be trying to quit the cigarette habit--poor Rosa (I only know her name from chatting with her after she met the hallway-patrolling Lexie) hacks up a storm every morning around 5:30 AM--which is OK, I guess, since that's just aobut the time the afore-referenced L wants a fresh faucet beverage.
I do not enjoy the hacking. I hope Rosa is indeed trying to kick the tobacco habit, and not just suffering chronic bronchitis. Whatever. There is absolutely no point to this comment other than this: DON'T GIVE UP THE QUITTING. You WILL feel better at the end of it. And smell better. And live longer. And enjoy how things taste more. And I could go on and on. But you get the point. You're smart that way.....
Thanks for the encouragement, guys. And yes, I will keep on keeping on. If for no other reason than cigarettes are over $8 a pack here in Chicago. And all that money goes to politicians & tobacco lawyers, & don't they get paid enough?
Glad to see you here, M.C. Been waiting for some comments for HRG's loyal staff:-)
Ouch...tough lesson, but I am proud of you for not taking the hyped up Tylenol. There is nothing like pain to help remember a lesson learned. Keep on quitting...funny thing to write, but keep it up!
as i sit here hacking on the computer (in the "cigarette smoker" kind of way, let it be known that in spite of the bad habit c. learned from her mom and dad, she is the gal with the guts to stop. hang in there baby--i am very proud of you in so many ways. dad
oh yes, one another note for c-knowck off the bad language...you didn't learn that from mom and dad.
For everyone's information: though I swear like a sailor, I didn't learn it from one. As a child, my parents were both very good about their choices of verbage. I picked up my swearing at school, like so many others, not at home.
That said, I work hard, pay my own way in the world, answer to few. So, Daddy: my blog, my rules. (Ha, ha, now I get to say some version of that!)
touche
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