I'm a smoker and I think I'm getting sick???!

I'm a smoker and I think I'm getting sick???

I've been a smoker for about 5yrs now, I go thru about 1/2 pack a day, somedays more...
And lately I've been getting really sick. I start coughing alot (more than usual), and at times it gets really harder to breath and I start wheezing when I breath out. Sometimes I have to force myself to breath.
And sometime, I wake up at night cause it gets really hard to breath.
also, I get real bad headaches all the time, and it just wont go away even when I take OTC medicines like advil, aleve, tylenol.
It's been about 2weeks since it all started, and I start smoking less and less each day,
I just want to know if its something real serious, and Im kinda scared cause my grandpa died of lung cancer due to smoking.

I was a smoker, I quit after 24 years, so don't let anyone slam you for smoking, 40 years ago everyone smoked everywhere, so now we are just getting smarter that's all.

The brand you smoke, or how many doesn't matter even 1 cigarette can damage the tissue of your lungs, and remember cigarette smoke is a total carcinogen, which means not only does it accelerate cancerous cell growth it also changes healthy cells to cancerous ones. This is why so many non-smokers are freaking out about public smoking.

My advice to you is quit, I know you may not be ready but with your family history lets be real. Plus the US census says that only 21% of americans smoke now...not good odds. Sooner or later the US will be smoke free everywhere. And hay if I can quit you can too, it had to be said.

Second advice, go to the doctor, tell your symptoms, be ready for the quit smoking bit, and then see if they can check your lungs. Most docs order MRI or PET scans to rule out the cancer scare, because yes you can get lung cancer at any age, even if you are not a smoker, cancer is cancer it doesn't have a age requirement.

My educated guess is you may have asthma, but guess what smoking could very well have been the cause. Also there is a lung disease, that once again has no age limit, and that is Alpha1, have the doctor run a quick blood test for your antitrypsin levels they should be above 80 or you may have this heritary emphasema. My ex-husband has this, and my kids are carriers.

Many Blessings