Burn Baby Burn!

Five weeks ago my throat started getting scratchy and sore. Since my babysitter's daughter was being treated for strep, I figured I better get my ass into the doctor. Strep test came back negative, but since I've had sinus congestion since Dec. my doctor gave me a prescription for a 3 week run of antibiotics. A week into the antibiotics my sore throat turned into a sensation like I had food stuck in my throat. So I go back in for another check up. Well Doc can't see that far down my throat and tells me since I'm a smoker he is sending me to an ENT specialist to see if I have throat cancer. Now you would think that I would have thrown my pack of cigarettes in the garbage right then and there. I would have if I had them with me at the moment, but they were at home. By the time I got home I was majorly freaking out and wanted a smoke. Can we say addiction? For the next 6 days I planned my funeral, picked out women I thought would make a good mother and wife to fill my shoes, rocked my boys to sleep instead of just tucking them in, got angry and vowed to fight for my life, pictured how I'd hold my head up high when I lost my hair, basically I rode a rollercoaster of emotions. The appointment day comes and they spray this nasty tasting shit up my nostrils and insert a rubber looking tube up my nose and down my throat. I now "get" the point of up your nose with a rubber hose, it ain't fun people. The verdict, no sign of cancer. Thank you lord! Diagnosis is gastric acid reflux disease. I never in my life thought I had a problem with acid reflux. I don't get heart burn, hell I take tums just so I get some calcium once in a blue moon and I like the fruity flavor. The Doc told me you can have GERD and not experience heart burn. He said I'm probably having heartburn while I'm sleeping which makes me cough, wakes me enough that I roll over and go back to the ZZZ's and repeat through the night. From the pile of pamplets from the ENT's office and reading about GERD on the internet this isn't something to take lightly. And I have all the causes of GERD..overweight, smoking, late night eating. Can we say lifestyle changes? Fuck, fuckity, fuck! Can I do this? I've cut out the late night snacks that was a no brainer. Quitting smoking...damn, "I see the bitch a comin', she's coming around the bend". Lose weight...tried off and on for 15 years and ummm still fat. So I'll have my pity party, cry my eyes out, blow some snot bubbles and make changes. I've been on Pril0sec for 4 days now and I still feel like I have a half of piece of bread stuck in my throat. In 30 days if I still have this feeling I'll have to go have an upper g.i. and chug some chalky shit down to see whats up or down or whatever. We'll see either way.
Later.