It’s been four and one half months since I quit smoking and I wish I had stopped after the first puff almost forty years ago. For many years, I have told younger people that if I had my life to live over, the one and only thing I would change is smoking. I never would have placed a lit cigarette in my mouth. Amazingly, after all those years, it wasn’t as hard to do, not like I thought it would be. I was terrified of quitting, but I knew the day would have to come. After all, diabetes and smoking do not go hand in hand. My risk of heart attacks and strokes is bad enough with the disease alone. Cigarettes are suicide.

To say I have been naive and stupid all these years is a gross understatement. When young, we think we’re going to live forever. All of a sudden, age creeps up on you and you are, well, old. Obviously, genes play a role in what hits you later on in life, but who cares while you still have your youth?

It all started about six years ago with gastroesophageal reflux disease, otherwise known as GERD. I had a terrible time swallowing food at times. I would feel like a grapefruit was lodged in my esophagus and I felt tremendous pain and I would salivate foam. I could not swallow and breathing became difficult. Then, it would go away and I would be terrorized by thoughts of knowing it would happen again. After being placed on Prilosec OTC and now Previcid and/or Protonix, which I take to this day, it never came back. I never knew heartburn could do so much damage. Does smoking have anything to do with it? You betcha! That and other factors like weight and the types of food you eat.

Next came type 2 diabetes and I have no idea how many years I’ve had it. Doctors say you could be diabetic for upwards of eight years before any symptoms occur. I’ve written many posts on this disease.

I won’t even mention diverticulitis.

Now, I was diagnosed with something else and prescribed a new medication to add to my growing repertoire. Whoopee! For a long time now, while walking, I get pains in my legs, from below the knees down. I can only describe it as very painful and my legs feel like they are made of lead. I pretty much attributed this to neuropathy from diabetes. I do have that problem. For a few weeks now, the tops of my feet have been swollen. I don’t want to take chances knowing I am diabetic. We get our feet amputated and I’m not about ready to lower my height by eight inches and hobble around on knobby ankles. I did the smart thing and went to my doctor. After a careful examination of my ankles and feet, he told me the news: Peripheral Arterial Disease or P.A.D.

Whee!

The Peripheral Arterial Disease Coalition website describes it as narrowing or clogging of the arteries due to a buildup of fatty deposits, or plaque. It is otherwise known as atherosclerosis. Without treatment, all sorts of complications can occur, including that scary old amputation word. The main culprit in my case? You guessed it: SMOKING. That and the fact that my mother was diagnosed with it many years ago. I seemed to have been the one sibling ( and I certainly hope it remains that way) who got the most genes from her side of the family. She and her older sister are also diabetic. She apologized for that and I told her she was not responsible for me. I chose to smoke. Yes, she said, but she should have warned me years ago about impending problems. No way is it your fault, I responded. My mother is a very sweet lady.

My doctor began explaining it and gave me some very interesting information I would like to share with you.

“Have you ever noticed that when young people suffer a heart attack, they generally die?”

“Yes.”

“And older people can have several attacks and survive?”

“Yes, I never really thought about it, but you’re right.”

“Well, the mind has a way of adapting itself. In young people, the heart has so many arteries and that’s it and when an artery gets clogged, you have a heart attack. In older people and over time, the brain tells the heart to build new arteries around the clogged ones, sort of like a bridge. The same thing happens in your legs and elsewhere. With your disease, it’s not quite working the way it should, but fortunately, there are medications that help spur new growth.”

“Hmm. I never knew that.” Actually, I remembered hearing about the heart thing a while back.

He mentioned some newer and more effective drugs, but since I have no health insurance and will probably never qualify for it again, he prescribed Trental, generic name, Pentoxifylline. It is much cheaper.

“It will work just fine, but don’t expect immediate results. I don’t think you’ll notice a difference for four to six months.” That’s the pain I feel when walking for extended periods. Exercise, walking in particular, is very important if you’re diabetic.

There you have it. Now if my doctor and the specialist I am seeing would just find out why my red cell, hemoglobin, hematocrit and platelet counts are down, I will feel much better. Or, maybe, I don’t want to know because I’ll surely have to pop even more pills. But, maybe, that will make me feel better, too. Oh, I don’t know. I guess all I’m trying to say is if one person puts down a pack of cigarettes or never picks one up, then that’s one person who won’t have to go through what I’m dealing with.

PLEASE - DON’T SMOKE