I started smoking cigarettes at age 14. I never smoked really heavily but I sometimes would go through a pack in a few days or a pack throughout a week or too. I just did it socially and I regret doing it now. When I was 15 after starting to smoke a little more often, and after a while when I smoked I started receiving slight pains in my chest. It started on the left side, it felt kind of like a pressure or something and sooner or later it had moved to both sides of my chest. It s hard to describe the feeling I got but it hurt a lot after smoking even 2 drags of a cigarette, but i also got pains even after I had quite smoking cigarettes. I haven t smoked many cigarettes at all since then but I had started to regularly smoke marijuana on a day to day basis. I usually smoked before bed because it helped me fall asleep but when I woke up my lungs would feel dull and achy and it would become somewhat hard to take deep breathes and stuff. This achyness as well as the chest pains have been happening for probably 2 years now. Along with this, I would always get pains in my head - another dull achyness that would happen it various places on my head, and somtimes experienced a sharper pain to the front of my head. Also, I got my medical card for smoking marijuana and increased my smoking of marijuana, rather habitually. A lot of times after a smoke I will stand up and my vision goes black and I get shaky for a few seconds and feel super weird. This happens quite often. It also has happened when i use my inhaler and hold it in (by the way, i tried telling my doctor and all they did was give me an inhaler). I black out so often now that it worries me that i m going to die or something. I have done research and figured out it is because I am not getting enough oxygen to my brain - is there anything I can do to fix this while still being able to smoke marijuana? If I stopped smoking marijuana will the damage that i ve been feeling happen to me for the rest of my life? If I stopped smoking for a few weeks (would be the first time in 2 years that I have stopped smoking for longer than a week) would it allow my lungs and my head to feel better and healthy again? And with my other symptoms - could I have any serious damages to my health that I won t be able to fix? Or any that I could fix? And how. Please help me. I ve been crying this whole time writing this because I m extremely worried about dying.
Hello, I am sorry for your condition. Have patience & do not panic. Do not lose hope. You have a history of smoking cigarettes & marijuana. From your past history & your present symptoms, it appears that you are suffering from hypoxia & experiencing blackouts. You are suggested to visit ER, see a GP & get physically examined. Get Spirometry, Aerial blood gas, Lung function tests, CBC, Chest X-Ray, CT, few more imaging tests if required.  Get your lungs assessed at the earliest for the degree of damage. Hypoxia results due to lung damage. Get the lung treated for the cause/factor (fluid in the lung, COPD, emphysema, etc) causing the discomfort. Sometimes, not only the lungs but also the heart gets affected. Get a cardiac check up done to rule out syncope & any developing CAD(coronary artery disease), this is just to stay on the safer side. However, even if you have smoked for many years; you can reverse the effects of proper treatment & quitting smoking (tobacco & marijuana). Treatment may take longer since its gone chronic.  Take nutritious food as medicines are strong & will be effective if you are on healthy food diet(high protein, rich in minerals (Zinc, magnesium, calcium, vitamin B & whole grains).  Stay away from oily junk food. Quitting smoking(tobacco /marijuana) is challenging. Get connected to a detox center(medical facility).  Once your treating doctor starts reducing the dose of addiction your body will experience with Chat Doctor.  Your symptoms will need treatment & medical support. If you are taking the help of a detox center(Evaluation, detoxification, treatment, aftercare) they will be monitoring your symptoms & help you stay comfortable.  You will need proper care, adequate sleep & healthy diet along with exercises. As you detox & get symptomatic treatment, your treating doctor will be treating your lung damage on the parallel.  Your treatment will depend on the severity of the damage. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Take care