October 10th 2007 - 3rd Smoke Free Day

To my surprise I have made it this far.... I didnt think that I would be able to go a day without a cigarette... but here I am on my third day - smoke free and feeling good.... well most of the time... I do get some cravings like right now..... OH SHIT, I FORGOT TO TAKE MY PILL.......

I am back... took my pill and now I need to hang in there while it kicks in...
I am happy to say that I have nothing to report... yesterday went well... obviously I did not smoke... side effects where mind if any - dreams are still vivid and very realistic... I actually remember that I was smoking a cigarette in my dream... I also recall enjoying it....very much!
That dream made me crave one this morning but only for a short moment....then I smacked myself in the head and said "I DO NOT SMOKE ANYMORE...IM A NON-SMOKER NOW"

I have decorated my blog a bit with some interesting images which I found scattered on the net. Check them out.... hope it makes my blog a little more appealing to others to come and read. Let me know what you all think.

October 9th 2007 - SMOKE FREE DAY TWO
Overall my first day went well - smoke free and plan to stay that way

Today nothing much to report - haven't smoked - substituted my coffee for an Ice Coffee today which is probably why I didnt have as bad of a craving for it as yesterday while having my coffee. But I noticed that I had an automatic movement today... I finished a task that I was working on this morning, and immediately after, my hand reached for an empty space where I used to keep my cigarettes on my desk... at the same time I was getting up to go outside.... then I realized and thought to myself, "oh wait I dont smoke any more" but that action kind of reminded me of the sensation I used to get from smoking and almost made me want to have one. Which bring me here now..... I figure if I spend a little time blogging instead of going outside where I will see smokers it will make it much easier on me....at least for now!

I STILL CANNOT BELIVE HOW EASY AND WELL MY FIRST DAY WENT..... I think that it might get a bit harder from here on out... cause I think yesterday was just a fluke... I was really swamped at work and it really kept my mind off of smoking.... but today its slower and quieter so I am starting to worry that it wont be as easy... I guess I will have to put myself to work...find things to do with my time... maybe its a good thing.... it will get me to do things I have been procrastinating at work.

Well...Back to work...

Yet again its still October 8th - now its about 6pm - Wow this seems like a breeze today (not to jinx it) I expected a lot worse! especially the first day! Dont get me wrong old habits die hard.... but the addiction at least is being taken care of by Chantix.... so all I have to forcefully overcome are the habits of;
Rewarding myself with a smoke
Having a smoke as an after dinner treat
Using cigarettes as a means to overcome stressful situations
And the hardest one for me - having my coffee without a stogie to start the day!
Then there is also new challenge which I need to face - looks like the cigarette is being replaced by food - so I need to control what I eat and how much I eat...

I thought that the first day will will be a killer for me.... and it wasnt too bad - but maybe thats because I was quite busy at work today... lets see what happens tomorrow...please tell me it only get easier.... (wishful thinking...)

Day 1 smoke-free almost complete.

Still Oct. 8th - 3pm - SO FAR SO GOOD! I was busy at work so up until now I have kept myself occupied with work and chewing on a plastic toothpick all day... my teeth are starting to hurt already from all the chewing but I have not had any strong cravings that I couldn't resist....so far

I will check in again later on...

October 8th 2007 / QUIT DAY
Well I decided to stick with this Q-date and so far I am ok - Its noon and I just took my first pill... I was going to stay away from coffee today... but I got this nasty headache which I normally get if I do not have my coffee in the morning.... so I decided to have my bagel with cooffee. Hey at the very least my headache went away.... but I am craving a smoke... nothing too bad... I think I will be albe to handle it as long as the day goes by smooth with little frustrations..... HA... like that will ever happen.... WISH ME LUCK - I WILL NEED IT!

so with not much left to say... I will be back with updates

October 7th 2007 - I am starting to have my doubts - tomorrow is my official Q-Day - But today is not the easist day so far - seems that I took a step backwards today - for some reason I gave into the urge to have a cigarette while driving to work this morning - then had another one after I ate my breakfast and took my pill - and had a total of 6 cigarettes yesterday which is 1 more then the previous days.

I had it all planned it out - I have 4 cigarettes left in my pack [which I had for 4 days now] and figured I will finish them off today and - starting tomorrow - on my way to becoming smoke free.... hmmmmmmmm

I'm really fighting the craving for one right now... I mean I had some 'real' cravings today like before I started taking chantix.... as if today's pill was a placebo.... is my mind playing tricks on me because tomorrow is Q-DAY???? or am I subconsciously craving to smoke more to fullfil my desire before I quit??? or is my brain telling me that I am not ready to be without it???

I read some blogs where the writers smoked to the last minute (without consciously cutting down) in order to "say goodbye" .... but I was both consciously and unconsciously cutting down the entire way from day one.... and I am afraid that if I do that now ... its like taking a step back.... then again .... it might be what I NEED in order to take that final leap.... to fullfill my need for it today and bid my final farewell....

PS I must say that I am eating larger portions and more requently... if this continues ...it will become an ISSUE for me personally.... I am not in the best shape to begin with... I weighed 195 lbs before I started Chantix.... I have'nt had a chance to weight myself since... but I think that this may become a problem.... I hardly ever ate breakfast... and now I must in order to take the pill... and I know this about myself... when I eat in the morning, I usually get hungry for lunch... and vice versa.... so when my breakfast consisted of coffee and a cigarette (I know how aweful that sounds) I didnt have an appetite to have a heavy lunch... NOW I AM EATING 3 REAL MEALS... breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between..... THIS IS BAD!!!!!

I am really having a difficult day today.... to top things off ... its very SLOW at work today and I have too much free time on my hands... this is a killer when trying to quit smoking.... as I mentioned in my very first Post "WHAT WILL I DO WITH THE TIME???"

Chanitx user requesting back-up.... over and out

October 6th 2007 - checking in a bit late again - its 4:30 and so far I only had 2 cigarettes. Side effects are a lot milder today then they were yesterday - so far...

Last night, as almost every friday, we went to my in-laws for family dinner. And as always the smokers meet in the yard for some chit-chat and a stogie. To everyone's surprise I only had one cigarette the entire evening. I intentionally stood by the smokers to see how I would react....and I belive it or not .... IT WAS ALL GOOD! Like I said I had that one cigarette after dinner and then that was it.... I came out 2 more times and watched the smokers and actually enjoyed the fact that I didnt want another stogie. - To close off yesterday - total of 5 cigarettes

I noticed that my headaches come back at the times when I start to get cravings for a smoke... but then it goes away along with the urge about 45 minutes later....
MAJOR PROBLEM.... I started to notice that I eat a hell of a lot more and a lot more often....shit I am afraid that I will blow up like a freaking balloon!!!!! I try to drink water and stick to fruits and carrots for snacks.... but for some reason this pill is giving me the munchies and cravings for sweets. Did any of you other chanitx users have this problem???