First Day!

[H-Ellenback]

Hmmmmm six hours and counting....I'm patching it, and a little jittery/tense, but not having 'the jonesing for a smoke' feeling constantly as I would without the patch.

I'm really trying to be honest with myself too, since that's also a part of my 12 steps I'm dealing with. I rented a smoke-free apartment 2 months ago, and agreed to this clause, but then tried to find ways around it! WTF? To think of moving from my cozy little place, that is cheap, close to my work and everything, clean, lots of room for all of my stuff...? I mean, WTF? Addiction, guys!

I'm doing this!

How on earth can I be angry with my spouse of 30 years for HIS addictions when I refuse to deal with my own, albeit not as devastating - financially or otherwise, addictions...? If I'm going to talk the talk...I better walk the walk!

I have a smoking buddy at my F2F meeting tonight that I'll have to deal with, as well as several private venues I've been performing at recently that allow smoking. Might have to go WITHOUT SINGING and playing until I have this beat..?

Advice? Help me hang on, guys!

Ellen

[margo]

Hi Ellen - congratulations on your decision to quit smoking. It takes a lot of courage, so be proud of yourself! Make a committment to yourself each day that you will not smoke. I'm on the patch too and find it very helpful. I have to take it off at night though or I will have crazy dreams. Most exsmokers usually find the first three days the roughest, but it will pass and you will start to feel better really soon. There's some good stuff in the "sticky" posts up top about dealing with withdrawal, managing stress, etc. Drink lots of water and juice now - it will help flush the toxins out of your system, but won't deplete the nicotine you are getting from the patch - your body processes it differently in patch form than that from cigarettes.

I have the following taped above my workspace - it helps to remind me of the many benefits of quitting:

Good changes are already happening in your body. More will happen each day that you don't smoke and you get closer to being an ex-smoker. And these changes don't stop. Recent studies on ex-smokers show that, with time, the body keeps healing the damage caused by smoking. This happens in all smokers young or old, men and women, those who are still healthy and those who already have health problems caused by smoking. It is never too early or too late to quit smoking!

How long does it take to get and feel better? It starts the minute you stop smoking! Right away, your body begins to get rid of the harmful chemicals in tobacco. Just two hours after you stop, the amount of nicotine in your blood can drop by half.

You will probably start to feel better in just a few days or weeks. Breathing problems and problems related to heart disease will begin to go away. You will keep getting better for many years.

Within twenty minutes of smoking that last cigarette the body begins a series of changes.

At 20 minutes after quitting:

Blood pressure decreases

Pulse rate drops

Body temperature of hands and feet increases

At 8 hours:

Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal

Oxygen level in blood increases to normal

At 24 hours:

Chance of a heart attack decreases

At 48 hours:

Nerve endings start regrowing

Ability to smell and taste is enhanced

At 2 weeks to 3 months:

Circulation improves

Walking becomes easier

Lung function increases

1 to 9 months:

Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decreases

1 year:

Excess risk of coronary heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker


Of course, the benefits keep coming, well after the first year. All you have to do is deal with today, and we can choose to not smoke today.

Good luck!

[H-Ellenback]

Thanks, Margo! I'm sweating bullets right now, and don't know if that's hormonal, the patch, or what...!

I too was worried about the dreams, since this would NOT be a good time to start not getting enough rest, or having nightmares, etc...so I pm'd NOGARD about it and he said to remove the patch 1.5 hours or so before going to bed. Think I might try that if I have a problem tonight.

But I'm actually doing it! It's not that bad, I'm more hyper than anything right now...and I've been telling e1 around me so that I'm 100% committed to this. Nothing prevents me from not following through more than having people look down on me if I quit quitting!

Thanks for your support, I'm so in need of it right now.