Burning in my lungs

I am 26 years old, have been smoking cigarettes for about 11 years now, about 10-20/day. I have always been very athletic, now recently when competing in surfing contests, my lungs start to sting and burn, when paddling very hard, also noticed it when running and it seems to get worse.

Am I seriously sick or is this just the way it goes if one smokes for that long of a period of time?

[National Jewish]

Although you are young and athletic, it's important not to ignore symptoms like these. I would recommend that you have a good physical examination with a chest X-ray, an EKG and probably a well-supervised exercise test. Also because of your smoking history, you should have spirometry, a computerized breathing test done every year to monitor your lung function. Hopefully, you are seriously considering quitting smoking -- there are many treatments available now to help. Please check on the National Jewish web site if you would like more information on the latest recommendations for quitting.

[Jeanie111]

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[lonelyheroine]

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