February is American Heart Month / Heart Disease Awareness and my Quit Smoking Story

February is American Heart Month.  The American Recall Center site (link below) is dedicated to informing the public about recalled and otherwise dangerous medication and equipment. They are supporting the American Heart Month. 

I found this information on the Mental Health Writers’ Guild web site. They were also spreading the word, as the American Recall Center had asked for bloggers to do. There is a poster they made which I will put below. If was compiled of suggestions and tips from bloggers.

http://www.recallcenter.com/american-heart-month-how-bloggers-celebrate-their-hearts

Signs of a heart attack are:

1. Pain or discomfort in the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes

2. Pain in  the neck, jaw, arms or upper back

3. Abdominal pain or feeling of heartburn

4. Cold sweats or clammy skin

5. Unusual tiredness or nausea

6. Dizziness or lightheadedness

7. Shortness of Breath

As far as the smoking goes, I have never told my story about smoking here, but maybe American Heart month is the time to do that.

I smoked cigarettes on and off for many years. I would start smoking out of anxiety and then continue for a few years, Then I would quit for five years or so. Then something would happen and I would start again.

Once I had quit for about seven years and then my husband decided to leave me for some woman he met on the internet. He had never seen her in person, but somehow she had convinced him to leave me stranded in between housing and offer for her to move into our new house on the Navy base called Fort Ord in California.

I had just finished the clean up of the old house in Fort Meade in MD. He had gone ahead of me, supposedly to get the new house ready for my daughter and I to move into. My daughter and I were told by him to stay with his parents, while he went on ahead of us to California.

I was at his parents house, sleeping in their guest room, when he called and said “We have to talk”. Does anyone else get nervous when their partner says those words? It is funny because my current boyfriend says that to  me alot. He does not mean anything by it.

I have had to get used to hearing “We have to talk” and it just meaning that he needs help with something about his web site or he wants to discuss our weekend plans. LOL

So, back to the story …My husband says that he is leaving me for this woman who lives in Canada. He had told me that he was driving to California during the last week, but he had actually driven to Canada. This was his plan when he left me and his mother to clean up the house in Fort Meade, in order to for it to pass inspection and for his pay not have any deductions for damages.

While his mother and I were cleaning, and trying to keep track of my baby at the same time, he was screwing around with this woman in Canada that he had apparently been talking to online for a year. I had not known anything about her during that time.

He had now decided to move her into my house and leave the baby and I with his parents, who he had also not informed.  I told him he was in effect, leaving me homeless and abandoning his child and me. He said that it would be ok for me because his parents would “probably let me stay with them”

He was the breadwinner because he has wanted me to stay home with the baby. I had no job and no money in the bank. In addition, I hated even visiting his parents, much less  living with them. I had been staying there for two days at that point and was already making plans to spend the rest of the week at my aunt’s house in the next state.

So, being that I was homeless and angry and sick to my stomach, down I went to the drug store to buy a pack of cigarettes. I then smoked for a few months. My husband reconciled with me and I quit smoking when I became pregnant with my second girl.

I quit for a  long time and then something started me again. It is another long story that basically involves me losing all of my income and ending up eating at the soup kitchen. The homeless guys used to roll their own cigarettes and I started smoking with them.

WOW ! Annie has some more crazy ass storied to tell us one day ! Yes the homeless people stories are probably in need of their own blog, but I will get to those experiences one day.

Then I finally quit about six months ago, This was the last time, I will not start smoking again for a few reasons.

1. I am not planning to go down to the soup kitchen and ask the guys to roll one for me.

2. I do not want to lose my singing voice

3. My boyfriend would be turned off by it

4. I ended up developing Reynaud’s  Syndrome from smoking (another blog post all together). It is very painful in the winter if I do not keep my hands warm.

5. I started vaping ! What is vaping? Electronic cigarettes. I buy my items from Quantum Vapor. You can see the web site. I change flavors of the e-juice when I want to and I like them much better. They have nicotine but not the other poisons that are in regular cigarettes.

6. I am not planing to get married again and be dependent upon someone who could leave me homeless with a baby and then make me live his parents (who he did not inform)

LOL What can I say? I have had a very unusual life.

Lot’s more stories to come. Keep reading future posts.

 See below for some heart healthy  info links…

1. Here is a link to a web site that has things you can get to use as free giveaways to your employees, students, or anyone you want to promote Heart Health and American Heart Health

http://www.positivepromotions.com/womens-heart-health-month/c/e_1001_11/?ne_ppc_id=1786&ne_key_id=113560482&ne_sadid=60425336226&gclid=CjwKEAiAgranBRDitfSQk_P7vnMSJAAhx5G5WJns1zJG5yAySrM9w246wCaJtCaL_gK9C1SEsOTk8xoCccXw_wcB

2. Videos and info about cholesterol and high blood pressure from American Heart Association

http://watchlearnlive.heart.org/CVML_Player.php?moduleSelect=highbp

3. The National Coalition for Women with heart disease

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