Monday, December 24, 2007

Quit Day! First Half (Dec. 24th)

It's here! It has arrived. Too soon, in my opinion. At about 9 pm last night I had my last cigarrette. It was an uneventful smoke, if not a very uncomfortable one as I tried to get my last bit of nicotine in and say goodbye while battling the cold air and high winds.

I was in a panic last night, as anyone who read my post yesterday can see. I woke up 5 or 6 times last night. Each time I woke up, asked myself, "Am I craving a cigarrette? No? Okay, good..." before falling back asleep. Why I would do that, I don't know. I never wake up in the middle of the night and go outside to smoke. Like I said, it was just a panic.

But of course quitting smoking was the first thing on my mind this morning. Even though I usually don't need (or think) about a smoke for the first hour or two in the morning, it was the only thing I could think about. I didn't want one; I was just scared and wondering at what point in the day I would want one.

I got out of the shower and wrapped up in my bathrobe. I got to brush my teeth as soon as I got out of the shower! That was a plus because it meant more time in my warm, comfy bathrobe -- not a luxury I get on a weekday morning. Normally I get out, get dressed, fix my hair, go outside, smoke, come back in, brush teeth and then apply makeup. I just eliminated three steps from my morning routine!

When I got to work I was craving a smoke. I think the walk from my car to my building triggered it, because I smoke during that every morning. By the time I got to my office I was pulling out the crackers so I could take the pill. I ate all my crackers and then took a pill -- which normally would have helped me to avoid nausea. Not today! I guess the 1 mg pill requires more food to settle than the .5 mg's. Within a few minutes I was really nauseaous. Not as bad as the one day I took it, but still pretty bad. I forced down more crackers, and eventually it subsided. Now I know: bigger breakfast before the 1 mg pills. Oops, my bad.

The day has gone strangely. I've battled a few mediocre cravings. The rest of the day I've felt fine, but my mind has been on quitting smoking. I can't do work (as you can see with my long post from my work comp). And I just ate, so my after-meal craving is settling in. But now, I am reaching for a lifesaver to occupy myself with instead. *Deep Breaths* ....

I have not cheated. I will not cheat. I will probably leave another post later today ;-)

3 comments:

maggie said...

Yay, Brandie! You are on your way now. Deep breaths and water both helped me, and it sounds like the breathing is helping you, too. You can do this!

Mz Diva said...

You are doing great! Dum dum suckers and a fake cigarette in the car helped me in the early stages when the triggers really kicked in! With the fake cig, it let me inhale air. (kind of like a straw) Thats what got me into the deep breathing thing. I say whatever works right? If you need support, Chantix bloggers are the best! I got so much support that I am still amazed! Keep up the good work and soon it will be 24 hours! You can do it!
Peace,
Diva

lynda w said...

I'm so glad to hear it's going well! I wake up every morning between 4:30-5:30am. Then just as I'm finally falling back to sleep, it's time to get up. That's never happened to me before Chantix and it makes for a long day, so hopefully last night was a one time thing for you.

I'm so proud of you!!! I'll be checking back for updates!