The Sands Of Time For Me Are Running Low

45 isn't a bad batting average.

 

..but a 78 sounds much better

 

What do you mean? Why are the sands of time running low?

 

When the priest comes to read me the last rites
I take a look through the bars at the last sights
Of a world that has gone very wrong for me

Can it be that there's some sort of an error
Hard to stop the surmounting terror
Is it really the end not some crazy dream?

 

Sands of Time run differently for everybody.

 

I am around if you need an ear.

 

Thanks Heather.

I mentioned a while ago in RT that my doctor's computer said due to my smoking habit, I'll start becoming ill at 46, and die at 54.

I've been making some lifestyle changes recently. I used to weigh 13 stone, I've brought that down to 11 stone over the last two years.
I'm cutting right down on the booze, and am going mainly vegetarian in my diet.

But having smoked for over 20 years, I think I've done some damage to myself there. I'm going to give the e-cigs another go.

I'm trying to be philosophical about death, which is now a taboo subject in the Western world, mainly because everyone is now living so long,
and deaths in childbirth etc are now so low.

Further back in history, death was obviously much more common, and 45 would have been old age.

 

What exactly has you doc said you have? I ask because I too have a respiratory illness due to smoking. COPD. I was diagnosed about 5 years ago, since when I haven't really got that much worse. I try to eat well, avoid smoking, take my meds and get exercise as I can. Also get a flu jab every year. It's important with any respiratory condition to avoid colds and flu as they can lead to chest infections which accelerate the progress of the illness.
I'm older than you at 59, so perhaps it's easier for me to deal with. It does affect me in that it limits what I can do, but I've managed to adapt.

In all likelihood it will eventually kill me, but I plan on at least another decade, and given the rate at which it's getting worse, that's realistic I think.

E cigs helped me quit smoking, and also Niquitin minis - 4mg stregnth are good. Much better than patches which I found ineffective.

If there's anything I can help with please ask.

 

All other priorities go out the window, because most of the time you'd just rather have a nap more than anything else. Are you there yet?

 

Don't believe everything your doctor's computer says...



Yeah, lead a healthier lifestyle, but don't get ready to checkout just because your doctor has a computer program that works on averages... Not many people are "average" in every way. Sounds like he was trying to scare you healthy...

 

They have a machine that measures the airflow in and out of your lungs and also lung capacity.A spirometry test. From the results they can tell if you have a problem. It's natural for people to loose some lung capacity with age, but damage to the lungs from smoking or other causes means you loose it more rapidly.

Of course, doctors will always tell you to stop smoking, and they may even try to scare you into it. But if they can definitely diagnose a problem, and you actually feel symptoms such as shortness of breath, it may be as well to take it seriously. Of course I'm only speaking of my own case here - I don't know what they've said to Joshua or what symptoms he experiences.

 

Yes... I know. I have COPD.

 

We should start a club.

 

My point was, even with all their tests, fancy equipment, and computers no doctor can say "You will die at 54".

 

There's got to be just more to it than this
Or tell me why do we exist
I'd like to think that when I die
I'd get a chance another time
And to return and live again
Reincarnate, play the game
And again and again and again

 

I agree. That's probably a scare tactic. In fairness to my doctor, he's never said anything like that to me. But I've noticed that if you quit smoking they tend to go less for that kind of approach. I suppose they see the early signs in some people and know from experience that if you carry on puffing away it gets worse more rapidly.

 

I suppose I am lucky in that I don't currently have any symptoms, apart from the fact that I get a bit out of breath when I walk back up the steep hill to my flat.

My brother's neighbour died from lung cancer at 45. A colleague from work had a heart attack at 46. He survived, but had to have a stent fitted (he was also a smoker, and not overweight, though he had a stressful job and was not physically active).

So I feel that I am now entering the danger zone.

 

Smoking is playing Russian roulette.

It could give you COPD or lung cancer or whatever other lung diseases exist, at a very young age. Or not.

45 isn't so old, you could quit smoking and if you make it to 65 without any major issues it will almost be like you never smoked.

My mom quit smoking at age 62, she is about to turn 65. Her chances of developing lung disease is a lot higher than others her age who never smoked or quit at a younger age (like 45) but she is enjoying a higher quality of life now nevertheless.

Don't listen to your doctors, just live a healthy lifestyle and enjoy your life!

 

geeze this went from worrysome suicide/death post to normal mid life crisis post quickly (and im happy it did)

 

Well more mid-life health crisis than mid-life buy a Ferrari crisis.