It looks like I’ve quit smoking again.  Apparently.  As I’ve been known to say, quitting is easy, it’s the not starting again that’s the hard part.

What’s odd about this time is that I had no specific plan to give up cigarettes.  No psyching myself up with a target date, no drugs or stop smoking aids, and no more than the usual admonishments of the wife.  I didn’t make the decision to quit, my body did.

Saturday night I had a really bad coughing fit.  I went out Sunday morning for a smoke and it just didn’t taste good.  I tried again in the afternoon, got halfway through, and it was just yuck, so I put it out.  And I haven’t smoked since.  Now, I was a 20+ cigarette (sometimes twice that) so this has been a pretty significant break.  It’s not to say I don’t get the urge, but those urges are based on habits (like being bored at work or writing a blog post like this one) not a craving for nicotine.  I guess my body has just had enough.

Now the question is did I wait too long.  The cough is persistent and coming from somewhere deep in my chest.  The coughing fits are sometimes painful.  And my throat is sore.  So, I’m going to try and get an appointment with the hilarious Dr. Yu.  I’d like a chest x-ray and whatever other tests they might run to see if I’m dying.  I just read about some minor celebrity (who’s name I’ve already forgotten) who had a persistent cough, was diagnosed with esophagus cancer, and was dead within thirty days.  I’d like to avoid that fate of course, but if my time is up there are many things I need to take care of.  I’d rather know than not.

I also want to know what’s up with the intermittent pain in my left leg.  And now the arch of my right foot is also a source of pain.  I could barely stumble to the bathroom this morning.  I mean, I’m old, but not this old.  Yet.