Today is Day 4 of zero cigarettes. This time around I am attempting to rid myself of this nasty habit with the help of pharmaceuticals. I started taking Chantix on January 5th and one week later quit smoking. Compared to prior attempts at laying down the cancer sticks, this is A LOT easier. The habit is still there, I want a cigarette at specific times, after certain activities, but the overwhelming urge is not as strong as it has been in the past. I actually had a few margaritas with friends last night and didn't think about bundling up and going out into the freezing cold for a nicotine fix! That, my friends, is not just progress it is a freaking miracle!
Chantix comes with an entire catalog of possible side effects. The most dangerous being thoughts of suicide and the least dangerous....flautulence. I made my spousal equivalent read the side effects and asked him to pay attention to the mental ones; I mean, I could go crazy and not REALIZE I was crazy. I know this can really occur because I have had family members experience the aforementioned. So far the only side effect I am experiencing is sleep disturbance due to crazy, insane dreams. My dreams aren't nightmares, they are simply weird and the same dream lasts ALL night long. I can wake up go back to sleep and pick right back up. Last week I dreamed we were in an airport and kept missing our flight for hours, I dreamed I was a plantation owner in Georgia pre-Civil war (thanks to the book, The Help, I just finished...excellent read by the way), that's just a few topics I can name. I wake up exhausted and usually my first lucid thought of the day is "WOW, WTF???" However, in the scheme of possibilities related to side effects, I'll take odd dreams over depression, crying spells, mania, or suicide.
I have motivational quotes taped up on my cube wall and the one I like best is from Joan Baez; "You don't get to choose how you are going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you are going to live. Now." Today, I decide I am going to be smoke-free.
1 comment:
Good luck with not smoking!
I know it must be difficult. My father quit after smoking for 30 years.
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