Day 8.... Quit Day!!

Days 3 to 7 were uneventful, no horrible dreams no bad side effects from Chantix. I did begin to notice a decreased urge to smoke, and found I wasn't getting the pleasure from smoking anymore. I was a little concerned and anxious about quitting on Sunday, but also felt confident that I could do it.
At 2:30 AM on April 12, 2009 I smoked my last cigarette, and went to bed. Yes we made it a late night, had a midnight run to Wawa for coffee, and had our last smokes together.
We woke up after noon on Sunday, and went about our morning. Amazing that I had no craving. When I went up to take a shower, I spotted a pack of cigarettes sitting on his night table. He had one last one before bed. I put them in my closet and figured I would throw them out later. Later mthat day he asked where they were, and I told him. He took them and when I asked him if this is what he really wanted, he said "Yes!". I was pleasantly surprised to see him ripping them up and throwing them out!!
After going out to dinner and returning home, we realized how horrible our home smelled. Stale tobacco smoke is really gross, and I am amazed that I am saying that!
We are both convinced that we can beat tobacco, and be smoke free... forever!

Chantix...Day 2

Good News.. no nightmares last night, but still on a very low dose. Tried to do my exercise of logging every cigarette I smoked today, did OK until I went to work. That seems to be when I smoke the most from stress. I have habits to change at work to stop smoking there, but I think recognizing that is half the battle. Plus I have been telling all my smoking "buds" that I am quitting. All seem to be supportive, and most expressed the desire to quit themselves. It has gotten just to expensive!!

Day 1 on Chantix

Started taking Chantix today. This is forcing me to create new habits that should help me become healthier. You have to eat before you take it, so I will have to start eating breakfast. As a rule I have never been big on breakfast, except for the occasional trip to the buffet at 10Am on a Sunday. But now I will have to start my day with a bowl of cereal, or a slice of toast. They say that eating breakfast helps your metabolisim.... we will see. So after having a bowl of Cheerios, we took our first pill. No magical puff of blue smoke, no choir of angels singing... no immediate wide awake nightmares. Not that I expected anything, the way this works os to ramp the medication up intop your body slowly.
Throughout the day I did seem to notice a lessened craving, but that could be more psychological than anything. Also signed up at the Chantix web site for daily e-mails and a phone call... wow I am committed to this!

Quitting Smoking!!

I have smoked most of my adult life. My parents were smokers, my sisters smoked, almost everyone I knew while I was growing up smoked. Everyone it seemed smoked, it was the grown-up thing to do! Back then, the '60s, information was just starting to come out about the dangers of smoking.
In 1969, at the age of 13, I smoked my first cigarette. My older sister gave it to me, probably to laugh at me choking on it. And yes I coughed and choked, but I wanted to look "grown up" to my sisters so I finished it. After that I would sneak one every once in a while. Usually it was one I stole from my Mom, a charcoal filtered Tareyton. By the time I was 17 I was hooked. I started buying my own, from the vending machine at Sears where I worked. I smoked Marlboros, red box. Much cooler than my Mom's smokes!
When I got married, I quit smoking. And gained weight, had 2 children, and gained more weight. Convinced my husband that smoking would help me lose weight. So after 6 years I started smoking again. And for the next 35 years I followed a pattern of smoking and quitting.
Until now. I am starting Chantix tomorrow and my quit date is 4/12/09. I want to be done with cigarettes for good. I don't like how they taste anymore, and I don't like how they make me feel. This will be my chronicle of my journey on the path to becomming a non-smoker.