Quittin Hookah, Doctors Orders.

[Twisted]

I'd go to another doctor to get re-examined to see if he says the same as the last doctor. Best of luck to you.

[newjacksm]

i feel like i have pneumonia but i have never had it before, so I dont know how it feels. I am going to make a doctor appointment tomorrow this kind of scares me.

[Arcane]

honestly, he's right...although, i'm not sure about hookah in particular....

if you continue to smoke (cigs in my case), your chances for lung cancer greatly increase....and if you stop now, you lessen your chances of getting cancer..

there's no denying it....smoking is NOT healthy for you...

just accept it or quit smoking...me, i'd rather die smoking than quit...

[Scrappydoo]

Pneumonia is caused by bacterial infection or by a virus, not by smoking hookah. If it's bacterial, just take a break from smoking, finish off your prescription of antibiotics, and then start smoking again. If it's viral, well, you'll just have to wait it out.

I have a feeling your doctor is simply anti-tobacco and is using this to try and scare you into quitting.

Could very well be the case. I know a lot of doctors who have tried to scare me off the stuff.

I had a nasty case of bacterial pneumonia about 2 years ago. I was really sick! I lied to the doctor and told him I didn't smoke at all. WHEN the disease was gone and I was all better, the doctor said, "I can tell you don't smoke, your lungs are very clear and healthy now!" Seee, they dont' know diddly about hookah, he was just anti tobacco and trying to scare you!

[Dr. B]

Um....I like sheesha as much as anyone on here...but really? What do you expect people to tell you from a forum about sheesha?

I would listen to my doctor, no matter what all these sheesha addicts say....don't risk your health when a doctor has made a direct correlation even if his reasons may be suspect.

this. seriously

[Rani]

I would get a second opinion, but a couple things come to mind..... First of all, none of us are medical doctors, so take any advice given with a large grain of salt. However, the climate right now is very, very health oriented. They want us to reduce or even eliminate all meat, avoid smoking, drinking, and pretty much anything else that's any fun to do. And there are a lot of doctors on the bandwagon. It well could be your doctor is one of them. That said, smoking is a risk factor, no doubt about it. So is depression if you feel forever deprived giving up something you love.

Personally, I'd find a doctor not quite so rabidly anti-tobacco, or at least one who knows the difference between cigarettes and other forms of tobacco, and work with them to manage your risk factors. That may or may not include giving up your hookah. That should depend on your particular health, your other risk factors, and your personal genetic disposition. A simple blood test can tell whether you have an elevated risk for cancer in general. But you can't make a truly informed decision until you find a doctor who will be your partner in your health, not your dictator.

'Rani

[Vladimir]

One thing is sure... stop for now .

[Bulldog_916]

Second opinion for sure. Stop for now and see if your other doctor will say the same as the first. But dont tell him you smoke. Say nothing about it and see if he can tell if you're lying. If he cant and the scan doesnt pick it up, your lungs are obviously okay...AFTER the pneumonia is gone.

[Vladimir]

I don't think keeping information from your doctor is normally very wise...

[Bulldog_916]

That IS what they have scanners and everything for. To tell if there's something wrong other than what you're complaining of. Every doctor I've been to and I've asked about hookah they say they dont even count it as smoking, especially at a couple times a week or once a week.

[Vladimir]

That IS what they have scanners and everything for. To tell if there's something wrong other than what you're complaining of. Every doctor I've been to and I've asked about hookah they say they dont even count it as smoking, especially at a couple times a week or once a week.

Doctors and scanners combined cannot pickup everything (even more rare that they do by themselves). People who have never had health problems do not understand this. Some things like cancer can be simple detection, so a lot of people assume all things are. This is not the case. A doctor's job is not black and white "this is okay, this is going to kill you," their job is to look out for your health- this means not everyone is going to be in the same book, and not every doctor is going to have the same response.

[Remy]

lol?

[Bulldog_916]

That IS what they have scanners and everything for. To tell if there's something wrong other than what you're complaining of. Every doctor I've been to and I've asked about hookah they say they dont even count it as smoking, especially at a couple times a week or once a week.

Doctors and scanners combined cannot pickup everything (even more rare that they do by themselves). People who have never had health problems do not understand this. Some things like cancer can be simple detection, so a lot of people assume all things are. This is not the case. A doctor's job is not black and white "this is okay, this is going to kill you," their job is to look out for your health- this means not everyone is going to be in the same book, and not every doctor is going to have the same response.

Their job is to diagnose and treat what you have. Then they can suggest things to better your health. Doctors use a battery of tests and machines to diagnose a condition. To look at the lungs they do a scan of the lungs. Most of the time a smoker will show up as just that, a smoker. Even if they have quit, the lungs show damage from tar and other toxins. If the scanner doesnt pick it up and say "yea I see darkness in the lungs" then you have to assume they are clean. This is purely in the realm of smoking and detection of smoking-related complications. Cancer and other diseases require much more thorough testing and evaluation.

[Hippo_Master]

Now recently I have been coughing like crazy so I decided to go to the doctors and he announced that I have pneumonia. From the X-Ray, My whole left lung was covered. He told me it was from my water pipe and that I have to stop. Over the past 2 months I started getting to the range of 3-5 times a week I would smoke. He told me if I don't stop, (Eww just puked) I'll have a 80% chance of getting alot worse and getting lung cancer. If I stop, I got a 25% chance of getting lung cancer. Hookah's not worth that much to me so I have to stop. I'm just wondering I hear that people smoke 3-4 times a DAY. Y did this happen to me from 3-5 times a week? He told me I have sensitive lungs but still they're are alot of hookah smokers out there why me out of everyone? I cough every 10 seconds and puke every 50 coughs in my mouth. Anyone ever got this bad? Should I quit or slow down or just wait? Let me know, Thanks. I should be putting all my stuff in the trade thread sooner or later so check that out when you get a chance.
Thanks.

Brandon`

Yuck.

[Vladimir]

There is nothing wrong with a healthy dose of skepticism, but a doctor has done a lot to to get where they are and a bunch of random noobs on the internet- believe it or not- probably are more concerned with protecting their hobby than they are with actual medical science. Smoking can cause many complicates and have many impacts on your life and health outside of just making your lungs look black.

By all means get a second opinion- but you don't want to risk anything major or serious, I would personally not advocate withholding information/lying to your doctor to see if you can fool him, I would not advocate doc-shopping until you get the opinion you want either.

Believe it or not everything is not just about running tests still these days. I have known many, including myself, that spent years in and out of the doctors office for obvious problems that took years to narrow down and actually diagnose (and many don't even get that far).

EDIT: I'm not trying to scare anyone either, most people can smoke even worse things than Hookah and not have serious issues. I'm just saying it is your health, it isn't really worth risking. Edited December 8, 2009 by Vladimir

[-Bones-]

Dont forget guys and gals that some insurance company's will either raise your rates or drop you completely now if you smoke, And if your health insurance is through your employer thanks to obama they have the right to fire you for smoking tobacco if they decide so it doesn't impact the overall cost of their portion of payment. The do have to offer a smoking cessation program but can reserve the right and it is also becoming more routine for some company's to test for nicotine along with a normal drug test.

[Snoopans]

I think you already had pneumonia and smoking just made it that much worse. Smoking anything while suffering from pneumonia will just worsen everything. Take a break from smoking anything until your healthy. I'd also recommend seeing a second doctor for a second opinion. Doctors like to tell you everything will kill you. My doctor tried to tell me caffeine will kill me cause I enjoy drinking a red bull when I need to stay up.

[Brandon`]

Well acually guys he didn't even know what a hookah was. When I told him hes like what is that what do you smoke out of it? I kinda lied and told him flavored tea leaves because I didn't want him to think I was smoking NHT. I think that really it was caused by hookah and being outside when I smoke. Here in Michigan its about 30 degrees and I can't smoke inside my house because everyone complains about the smell so I end up smoking in the garage and I always think that since it's in the garage it's not gonna be as cold so I just wear swearpants and a tee shirt so it being cold + all that smoke probaly started it all up.

[Chreees]

Well acually guys he didn't even know what a hookah was. When I told him hes like what is that what do you smoke out of it? I kinda lied and told him flavored tea leaves because I didn't want him to think I was smoking NHT. I think that really it was caused by hookah and being outside when I smoke. Here in Michigan its about 30 degrees and I can't smoke inside my house because everyone complains about the smell so I end up smoking in the garage and I always think that since it's in the garage it's not gonna be as cold so I just wear swearpants and a tee shirt so it being cold + all that smoke probaly started it all up.

There's your problem... Figure out a way to stay out of the cold when you smoke and you should be fine.

[Z2G]

Thats some scarry shit.... Makes me wanna go to the doctor to make sure that everything is good....

[Tikhman]

Alright, so you guys hit one of my biggest pet-peeves. Using statistics without a good explanation of what it really means to you.

I'm very very tired of everyone in pretty much every setting especially regarding health care and cancer throwing statements like: " You're 50% more likely to develop X if you do Y" with out explaining what the chances of Y are to begin with.

Lets say your personal risk of developing lung cancer (and this varies greatly with everyone) right now is 1%. So lets say you DOUBLE that risk by smoking, you're at only 2% chance of developing lung cancer. Yes, it means you're twice as likely to develop it as the person next to you, but the odds of it happening are still relatively small in the grand scheme of things.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that smoking is harmless, I'm just trying to put into perspective what a 75% increase in your chances of developing cancer really means.

I know its good for publicity to say that the risk increases 100% if you do something, but I just really wish people would thoroughly explain what that truly means.

end of rant.

[spectrum055]

when I was sick recently I smoked through it and instead of lasting a few days it lasted a few weeks...so I'd say stop, for a good amount of time get a check up and once you've got the clear start back slowly perhaps...I wish you lots of luck

[spectrum055]

Well acually guys he didn't even know what a hookah was. When I told him hes like what is that what do you smoke out of it? I kinda lied and told him flavored tea leaves because I didn't want him to think I was smoking NHT. I think that really it was caused by hookah and being outside when I smoke. Here in Michigan its about 30 degrees and I can't smoke inside my house because everyone complains about the smell so I end up smoking in the garage and I always think that since it's in the garage it's not gonna be as cold so I just wear swearpants and a tee shirt so it being cold + all that smoke probaly started it all up.

There's your problem... Figure out a way to stay out of the cold when you smoke and you should be fine.

They make fairly cheap heaters.. you can plug into an electrical socket. I think some range from $25??? not entirely sure... but if that is just the problem that is a fairly easy thing to fix..bundle up a lot keep your feet warm but an electric heater would help in that respect...

[agstevens]

[quote name='alexander' date='07 December 2009 - 10:34 PM' timestamp='1260243272' post='436443']
Pneumonia is caused by bacterial infection or by a virus, not by smoking hookah. If it's bacterial, just take a break from smoking, finish off your prescription of antibiotics, and then start smoking again. If it's viral, well, you'll just have to wait it out.

I have a feeling your doctor is simply anti-tobacco and is using this to try and scare you into quitting.
[/quote]

This is exactly what he is doing. You don't get pneumonia from smoking.

[Codename067]

As mentioned, just give it a break, and finish up your Meds, then resume it and keep checking with the Doc regularly.

I am sure there are plenty of people who have smoked a lot more than you and I, and for longer periods of time, and they are doing just fine.