Ok...so been on here since 5th August and not really said how I got here, so here goes..
Starting smoking at the age of 17, (20 years ago) and roughly smoked between 15 to 20 a day for the best part of it and then recently before the quit in July, managed to cut down to 10 to 15 a day.
Back in April 2012, I woke up feeling a little unwell, thought nothing of it and spent the day doing my paperwork...However, as the day progressed, I began to feel worse and worse..........
.......Tight feeling in the chest, namely on the left hand side, just above the breast and under the collar-bone, a burning sensation like my chest was on fire, pins and needles all the way from my jaw down to my toes, again on the left hand side, shortness of breath, light headed-ness, palpitations... I've not had any health problems up till this point, none that I was aware of anyway and therefore this incident scared the living daylights out of me!
Now, I'm not a doctor and although I've never had a heart attack nor heartburn, I did not feel I was having either...I was just sh1t scared as to what was happening to me.
To cut a long story short, I was seen by my GP, (on the same day) who advised me to go to A&E and have an ECG, blood tests, chest x-ray and even if nothing comes of it, I am to ask for a referral to the Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic, (RACPC)
Several bloods were taken but I'm not even sure what they were all for (about 9 tests were done in total) and all came back clear along with ECG and x-ray but of course, the Doctor did interrogate and lecture me on my lifestyle choices!
I became totally paranoid and started to self-diagnose myself through the internet and I had practically anything and everything going!!!
A couple of days later, I started to get this very nasty taste in my mouth, a metallic taste...and having researched this symptom, again it came up with several causes...anything from pregnancy to tooth decay! And of course, the fact that problems in the mouth can lead to other major health issues, including heart disease.
Ironically, I had a root c**** done years ago, but the crown fell off a couple years back and I never really bothered to get a replacement due to the fact that the tooth was at the back of my mouth and therefore not visible. Of course, over time the tooth began to decay and break off to the point there was only a little stub of a tooth left.
I finally went to the dentist (my Nemesis - lovely lady really!) and told her about this foul taste and she gave me a list of things that needed to be done to my gnashers and then the taste might dissipate.
I had a deep scale and polish, and 3 fillings and another lecture on smoking..
So, I made an appointment with a Hypnotherapist, charging me £295.00. In short, whilst in a state of relaxation, there was one point where I thought to myself, this is sooo relaxing, all I need now is a glass of vino and a fag, perfect!!! And at the end of the session, the Hypnotherapist asked me how I felt and I replied, 'Like I need to reward myself with a cigarette for putting myself through this!!!'
NONETHELESS SMOKE FREE SINCE 5th JULY...due to Hypnotherapy or just sh1t scared of dying before my time...who cares? whatever it is, it's working!
Anyway, back to my health, I recently I had a wisdom tooth and the rotten stub extracted, as dictated by my Nemesis....
Admittedly, since I have had the 2 teeth out, the metallic taste is no longer BUT I now intermittently get a salty (and sorry but I know no other way to describe it) but a snotty taste at the back of my throat and it hurts when I swallow, like there is an obstruction in the windpipe, and a feeling of having a nose cold but not! and often with it comes a feeling of nauseousness.
I have no coughing and I have not been coughing up any nasty waste of any kind either... is this what they call Post Nasal Drip or do I have something completely different?
The other worrying thing which I've not seen mentioned on this forum as yet is a very weird sensation in all my limbs...not a pins and needles as such but a tingling, electrical pulses being passed through me under my skin, as if I have little things crawling inside my skin layers....I'm sorry, it's the only way I can describe it in the hope that somebody else has these symptoms too but when I get them (which is maybe once or twice a week now but lasts practically the whole day) it starts to make me very very anxious and the paranoia sets in once again!
Not to sound cocky but I am dealing with the NOT smoking surprisingly well and have NO desire to smoke ever again (whether I do or not, is another thing of course, taking each day at a time) but what concerns me are these weird intermittent symptoms I am getting and I keep thinking maybe there is more to it than just withdrawal from smoking...maybe there is something seriously wrong!
I have had a referral to the RACPC but have been putting it off till I finally kicked the smoking habit, which I have now and will be making the appointment this week and I have tried to get an appointment with my GP but can't get one for another 2 weeks...what a joke?!!!
So, in the meantime, I thought I'd share my woes and worries with you kind and caring folk, in the hope that someone out there might put my mind at ease and the 'hypochondriac demon' at bay, till I see the Doc.
my different champix story... advice/support would be great
Still Day 1 - long story
A Story Of Truth
