Feeling Like Crap, But YAY, ME!

I saw a MD. I was wheezing terribly, and left the office with scripts for a steroid burst and a PRN inhaler. Well, after three days of the medicine, and nothing but the bed in my life, I was still no better this morning, and may have in fact been a little worse. I got up to go to the restroom and got so winded that I had to stop and take a break. Bad stuff. I'm an RT. I know this. So I had no choice but to call in again today, which completely screws with my planned vacation days next week in time for finals. Not very happy about that at all, but oh well. Well, after the bathroom incident, I thought it would be best if I got a chest x-ray, so I trudged to the ER. Turns out I have an "atypical pneumonia" that resulted from a stint that was indeed our friend influenza. So now I can add antibiotics to the roster of meds.

But wait! There is one more. I started Chantix. Yes, I did it. I was honest with the doctor that I smoke, and that, yes, I do want to quit very much. I, of all people, know what it does to your body. I have tried other methods, and none of them have worked. The doctor warned me the medication was expensive. Insurance won't pay a dime for it. But with the current rate of Marlboro Ultralights being about $4.50 a pack, multiplied by two pack-a-day smaokers in the house, I figure that, if the drug truly does help me, I would actually come out ahead in the long run if I just drop the $140 for the prescription. Not only will I save on cigarettes, but also on silly side expenses, like the impending treatmnet for lung cancer that would most definitely be in my future. I mean, let's face it: some people can go their entire lives without ever feeling any impact from smoking. They are 96, still smoke Camel Non-filters, yet have no emphysema, no cancer. I just do not have that kind of luck.

I plan to blog about my cessation efforts, if for nothing more than to keep myself sane through the use of an outlet. I started another blog, though it only has one post so far. I named it Operation Fatbody No Longer, as it is all about my quest to get myself in shape for the much desired commission into the Navy. Since smoking cessation fits into this quest, that is where it will be.