Hi all my friends,
Can you advise me ? My husband: diagnosed with Chronic Paranoid Schizophrenia : has been told that if he only smokes even one cigarette again, he will die. He has been smoking: he started one cigar per fortnight and now he's up to 10 cigars per week. Can you advise me on any warnings I could be looking at?
Annie
Were you asking what warnings signs that the smoking is killing him?
Does he have COPD or heart issues? Is he on oxygen? Does he cough?
If that is what you were asking I suppose you could chart his bp and his o2 sat and pulse everyday.
An oximeter is about $30 at the pharmacy.
The answers from the other posters are relative and good to consider as well. I just wasn’t sure what you were asking.
Of course smoking will Kill all of us. Even second hand.
You might also ask about an antidepressant like Wellbutrin which can help with depression and to stop smoking if he needed that. Hugs
Isn't that a rather extreme thing to say? Yes, smoking can kill you, but death is seldom (never?) the immediate result of a single cigarette.
What is your husband's cancer prognosis? Does he think his life will end soon, so he might as well enjoy it? That was kind of my father's approach. He had given up smoking for several years. Then he hit some milestone birthday (70?) and decided he wanted the pleasure of smoking the rest of his life. (He died of lung cancer.)
Has he had CPS since his youth, or is it recent? Annie, what is his quality of life like? What does he enjoy doing? What gives him pleasure? What ALDs does he need help with?
This is very, very sad for both of you. How are you holding up?
But, please let me caution you. 3 years ago, our neighbor burned down his house with careless pipe smoking. He did not make it out alive. He had cancer and was on many medications for pain. He was smoking in his chair and fell asleep. The pipe dropped between the chair and cushion and started the fire. His wife was in the house, but she made it out. It was a horrific experience for all of us who witnessed it. PLEASE BE CAREFUL! Even if he tells you he will not smoke, if you hassle him about it, he may try to hide it, although cigar smoking is difficult to do in secret. Or, he may do what he has already done and increase his smoking. You need to know when he is smoking so you can quietly and unobtrusively monitor him. That’s for your safety.
Just my thoughts, I hope that you find the answers to help you.