Day 6 & the catch-up
Excellent!!! I've made it six days without a cigarette. But....let me back up......
My last cigarette was at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 24th. That was right after the Seahawks whooped up on the Giants. Yeah...you know what I'm talkin bout!!! Man was I hungover too!! The 24th was my birthday....but I actually celebrated the night before by drinking myself silly at the clubs with a group of my friends!!! OF COURSE I chain smoked throughout the night...as is par for the course when alcohol is involved. So....as I spent almost all day Sunday in the horizontal position on the couch recovering....I could only muster a total of 3 cigarettes. This was WAY down from the normal 1 full pack per day that I'd somehow graduated myself to! And...you know how horrible a cigarette feels to your body when you have a drinking/smoking hangover! It's pretty bad. Every puff brings a new bout of nausea....and your lungs and chest hurt from the abuse you've put them through. Yet.....on that day....while necessary survival items such as food and water were not important enough to get me off the couch....my good friend nicotine sure was. Yep....I practically crawled on hand and knee to the outside patio to put myself through yet another spell of lung burning, chest aching, heart pounding, throat searing nausea. Blah.
At 4 p.m.....as I flicked that last cigarette butt into the sea of previously disposed ciggies known as our ashtray.....I made a decision. A decision to take control. A decision to quit once and for all. I was too tired and hungover to put much more thought into it....and my head was pounding....so I just took a nap. Avoidance. It worked.
The first day of non smoking went surprisingly well. I actually didn't have much of a craving....which seemed strange. I think my body had such an overdose from my Saturday night drinking bout....that I was good to go on nicotine for awhile.
Day 2 was tough!!! I was BITCHY!!! I completely freaked out on my boss at work for something VERY minor. He told me he was going to bring me a pack of cigarettes the following morning. Haha. I couldn't concentrate on ANYTHING. I literally had to read some of my email paragraphs 4 times before they even began to sink in. It was like my mind was moving too fast for my eyes...and the letters in the sentences seriously were not comprehensible. I had a BAD headache...and I was EXHAUSTED. When I wasn't a psycho freak at work...I was completely dead quiet and super low energy. Fun? As soon as I got home I went to bed and slept.
Day 3 was much better than day 2!! Concentration was still tough....and my mind was still racing a million miles an hour. My mood swings were a little more controlled though....and my headache (while still present) was mild. I do remember feeling nauseas...but not unbearably so. My stomach was also pretty upset throughout the day.
Day 4 the headache, nausea and stomach problems had disappeared. I had a pretty productive day at work and was able to focus fairly consistently. My cravings came and went...and I do remember a particularly strong one that lasted for what seemed like eternity. I just talked myself through it...and everything was fine. I should also mention that I began drinking at least 60 ounces of water a day when I quit smoking. This REALLY helped reduce cravings.....and I would suggest it to anyone attempting to quit. Besides....it's a good thing to do anyway!!! Day 4 went well for the most part. There was a crisis at my job that required me to be there from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m.. That was fine. When I got home though......I freaked out on my best friend of 14 years and told him that our friendship was OVER because he told me I didn't know how to work the DVR for the television. I mean I went off!! I used every word in the book!! I stormed off during one of my favorite shows........Survivor...... on channel 7!!!! I refused to look at or even talk to my best friend for the rest of the night. Umm....yeah. Make sense? Nope. Try telling that to someone on day 4 of not smoking via the cold turkey method!!! My friend just stared at me in confusion. I was not rational. *We're friends again......well......until he finds another household item he thinks I don't know how to work properly! THEN IT'S OFF!
Day 5 felt good! The only real withdrawal symptom I had was the occasional craving. I just smacked myself out of it and went on with whatever it was that I was doing. My 2 housemates smoke....but they do so outside.....so I just avoid the situation. I don't need temptation. It's tough enough doing this without seeing my nasty little white enemy smiling at me from someone else's mouth.
Day 6 is today!!! I didn't sleep particularly well....and I was cleaning the kitchen by 6:30 a.m.!!! It's SATURDAY!!! I should be able to sleep in on Saturdays!!! Oh well. I was productive. I was a little nervous about lurking temptations on my first weekend day as a non-smoker. It went surprisingly well!!! I went to the gym ( for the first time in 1800 years ).......ran 2 miles.....did 20 minutes on the bike and did some stomach crunches. Staying busy was extremely helpful!! The lack of energy that smoking had caused...prevented me from having the motivation to go to the gym. Without that hinderance I have tons of energy again!! Oh yeah...I should say.....that by day 3 I felt a noticeable improvement in the way that my body felt!! My energy levels have gradually increased every day. At this rate, I should be able to run around the entire world twice at full speed by next week!!!! Yeehaw!! I did go to dinner tonight with two friends that smoke. A couple of times they got up from the table and went outside to light up. I had no urge to follow...and just sat there alone....sipping my beer.....contemplating how well my non-smoking situation has been going!! YES. I had a beer. One beer. I'm aware that alcohol is a BIG trigger. For this reason...I limited my intake so that it would not result in behavior I would not be proud of. AND.....I was successful. When we got home....I had some cravings.....so I went to my room.....and pulled up "Day 6 Quit Smoking" on Google...and began reading the accounts of others like me. That gave me the motivation to start my very own....my very first ever BLOG!
It is now 10 p.m. on 9/30/06. My one week quit time will be tomorrow at 4 p.m.!! That's a huge milestone...and one that I'm going to be very proud of!! By taking each hour at a time...and in turn....each day.....I know I can do this!!! You can too!!!! You are stronger than the addictive drug that your mind and body crave!!! It's a chemical trick! Don't fall for it! Consider the long term alternative.....and really.......do you have a choice? I think not!
Tune in tomorrow for day 7!!!!!!!
Peace!
My last cigarette was at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 24th. That was right after the Seahawks whooped up on the Giants. Yeah...you know what I'm talkin bout!!! Man was I hungover too!! The 24th was my birthday....but I actually celebrated the night before by drinking myself silly at the clubs with a group of my friends!!! OF COURSE I chain smoked throughout the night...as is par for the course when alcohol is involved. So....as I spent almost all day Sunday in the horizontal position on the couch recovering....I could only muster a total of 3 cigarettes. This was WAY down from the normal 1 full pack per day that I'd somehow graduated myself to! And...you know how horrible a cigarette feels to your body when you have a drinking/smoking hangover! It's pretty bad. Every puff brings a new bout of nausea....and your lungs and chest hurt from the abuse you've put them through. Yet.....on that day....while necessary survival items such as food and water were not important enough to get me off the couch....my good friend nicotine sure was. Yep....I practically crawled on hand and knee to the outside patio to put myself through yet another spell of lung burning, chest aching, heart pounding, throat searing nausea. Blah.
At 4 p.m.....as I flicked that last cigarette butt into the sea of previously disposed ciggies known as our ashtray.....I made a decision. A decision to take control. A decision to quit once and for all. I was too tired and hungover to put much more thought into it....and my head was pounding....so I just took a nap. Avoidance. It worked.
The first day of non smoking went surprisingly well. I actually didn't have much of a craving....which seemed strange. I think my body had such an overdose from my Saturday night drinking bout....that I was good to go on nicotine for awhile.
Day 2 was tough!!! I was BITCHY!!! I completely freaked out on my boss at work for something VERY minor. He told me he was going to bring me a pack of cigarettes the following morning. Haha. I couldn't concentrate on ANYTHING. I literally had to read some of my email paragraphs 4 times before they even began to sink in. It was like my mind was moving too fast for my eyes...and the letters in the sentences seriously were not comprehensible. I had a BAD headache...and I was EXHAUSTED. When I wasn't a psycho freak at work...I was completely dead quiet and super low energy. Fun? As soon as I got home I went to bed and slept.
Day 3 was much better than day 2!! Concentration was still tough....and my mind was still racing a million miles an hour. My mood swings were a little more controlled though....and my headache (while still present) was mild. I do remember feeling nauseas...but not unbearably so. My stomach was also pretty upset throughout the day.
Day 4 the headache, nausea and stomach problems had disappeared. I had a pretty productive day at work and was able to focus fairly consistently. My cravings came and went...and I do remember a particularly strong one that lasted for what seemed like eternity. I just talked myself through it...and everything was fine. I should also mention that I began drinking at least 60 ounces of water a day when I quit smoking. This REALLY helped reduce cravings.....and I would suggest it to anyone attempting to quit. Besides....it's a good thing to do anyway!!! Day 4 went well for the most part. There was a crisis at my job that required me to be there from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m.. That was fine. When I got home though......I freaked out on my best friend of 14 years and told him that our friendship was OVER because he told me I didn't know how to work the DVR for the television. I mean I went off!! I used every word in the book!! I stormed off during one of my favorite shows........Survivor...... on channel 7!!!! I refused to look at or even talk to my best friend for the rest of the night. Umm....yeah. Make sense? Nope. Try telling that to someone on day 4 of not smoking via the cold turkey method!!! My friend just stared at me in confusion. I was not rational. *We're friends again......well......until he finds another household item he thinks I don't know how to work properly! THEN IT'S OFF!
Day 5 felt good! The only real withdrawal symptom I had was the occasional craving. I just smacked myself out of it and went on with whatever it was that I was doing. My 2 housemates smoke....but they do so outside.....so I just avoid the situation. I don't need temptation. It's tough enough doing this without seeing my nasty little white enemy smiling at me from someone else's mouth.
Day 6 is today!!! I didn't sleep particularly well....and I was cleaning the kitchen by 6:30 a.m.!!! It's SATURDAY!!! I should be able to sleep in on Saturdays!!! Oh well. I was productive. I was a little nervous about lurking temptations on my first weekend day as a non-smoker. It went surprisingly well!!! I went to the gym ( for the first time in 1800 years ).......ran 2 miles.....did 20 minutes on the bike and did some stomach crunches. Staying busy was extremely helpful!! The lack of energy that smoking had caused...prevented me from having the motivation to go to the gym. Without that hinderance I have tons of energy again!! Oh yeah...I should say.....that by day 3 I felt a noticeable improvement in the way that my body felt!! My energy levels have gradually increased every day. At this rate, I should be able to run around the entire world twice at full speed by next week!!!! Yeehaw!! I did go to dinner tonight with two friends that smoke. A couple of times they got up from the table and went outside to light up. I had no urge to follow...and just sat there alone....sipping my beer.....contemplating how well my non-smoking situation has been going!! YES. I had a beer. One beer. I'm aware that alcohol is a BIG trigger. For this reason...I limited my intake so that it would not result in behavior I would not be proud of. AND.....I was successful. When we got home....I had some cravings.....so I went to my room.....and pulled up "Day 6 Quit Smoking" on Google...and began reading the accounts of others like me. That gave me the motivation to start my very own....my very first ever BLOG!
It is now 10 p.m. on 9/30/06. My one week quit time will be tomorrow at 4 p.m.!! That's a huge milestone...and one that I'm going to be very proud of!! By taking each hour at a time...and in turn....each day.....I know I can do this!!! You can too!!!! You are stronger than the addictive drug that your mind and body crave!!! It's a chemical trick! Don't fall for it! Consider the long term alternative.....and really.......do you have a choice? I think not!
Tune in tomorrow for day 7!!!!!!!
Peace!
posted by Matt | 9:19 PM
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