3 days
That’s how long it’s been since I’ve smoked. Apparently, this is the magical point where the nicotine is supposed to be out of the system (or so they say).
I highly recommend Chantix. I don’t know what it does because whenever you click on info about medication, you have to read 300 pages of side-effects before the pamphlet tells you what it does. And by page 6 of side-effects, I’m bored or asleep. I’m not a doctor but my doctor says that it levels off the highs and lows of smoking. Apparently, you have nerves in your brain that are receptive to nicotine (they love the stuff!). Well, this makes them not receptive. So, after taking the pills, you get nothing from smoking except that cool refreshing flavor. By the way, once you take the pills for about a week, you realize that there is no cool refreshing flavor and that it’s just associated with the little high you get from smoking. You realize that the cigarettes kinda taste like ass, when they’re not giving you a little spike.
And I’ve made it this far before. The difference this time is that, unlike past attempts, I’m not thinking about smoking all the time because the last three days I smoked, I got nothing from it and they tasted like ass.
A few things, Chantix is pretty pricey (just over $100 for a month’s worth – but it’ll eventually cost less than those cigarettes). And insurance doesn’t cover it. When the directions say ‘Take after a meal and with a full glass of water’, they mean it. It’s pretty hard on your stomach.
It also says to take it for a week then try to quit and, in some cases, wait longer. I waited longer. I decided that (given my past), I’d wait two weeks. Well, about a week and a half and I was just smoking less without trying and when I did smoke (seemed I forced myself too), it just didn’t do anything for me.
I’m supposed to take it for another month, maybe two.
November 3rd, 2006 at 10:57 am
Congrats!
Quitting smoking is the best gift you can give your children. I say this as someone who’s mother died from lung cancer a few years ago.
When my Dad quit back around 1980 he did his own verrsion of Chantrix – he only let himself smoke those clove ‘cigarettes’. He could stop his intentional smoking but not the habitual smokes. Lighting up one of those clove babies did the trick.
November 3rd, 2006 at 11:04 am
Unc, I don’t care what it takes, just quit. Quit. Quit. Quit.
Believe me, if I, a 2-pack-a-day Camel unfiltered smoker could quit, you can too…
Plus you’re a skinny bastard, so the weight gain isn’t going to be as bad for you… 😉
November 3rd, 2006 at 11:20 am
I’m a quitter too. Last New Year’s, I tossed my pack away. Since then I’ve had maybe 10 cigarettes and a few drags here and there from friends. I consider myself a nonsmoker.
I’ve talked to other quitters, and everybody agrees the craving never fully leaves. I have a physical rush of craving when I see people smoke in movies. Pretty girls can also set it off. Recognizing the craving for what it is helps me ignore it.
Good luck. It’s a long road, but well worth it. Even with the cravings, I am thankful every day that I quit.
November 3rd, 2006 at 12:04 pm
Congrats!!!!
I’ll bring you a pack of Winston’s to celebrate.
Just kidding. Maybe a box of ammo or something.
November 3rd, 2006 at 12:22 pm
You can do it! Just keep thinking that it’s for your kids’ sake, and yours. If you quit, then you can give yourself that AR in 6.8spc as a reward, since you’ll save that much in a year on smokes.
November 3rd, 2006 at 1:38 pm
Unc. — best way is cold turkey!!! and take those butt bux and buy some guns and ammo with them. I quit 20 years ago at $1.00 a pack, and used that money to start a very nice gun collection. Do you think I would have that M1-A, M-1, and the 50 odd others stuffed into 4 various safes if I was paying 4+ bux a day for butts? Set your sight on that peice you thought was out of reach. A pack a day is $1500, not to mention wasted sick days, stinky clothes, and that juicy green phlegm in the morning.
Best of luck, sput
November 3rd, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Almost kinda sounds from your description like the Clockwork Orange smoking cessation program…
November 3rd, 2006 at 3:29 pm
Good job, keep it up.
November 3rd, 2006 at 5:46 pm
LOL Clockwork Orange cesssation. Better than Quitters, Inc. I reckon.
Grats, Unc. Keep at it.
November 3rd, 2006 at 5:46 pm
awesome..and best of luck!!
November 3rd, 2006 at 6:23 pm
Stay the course Uncle. You can do it.
November 4th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
Cold turkey is best. When I had my heart attack, I had to both quit and lose weight. I decided it was best to just bite the bullet; anything else is procrastination.
November 4th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
I could never pick up the habit. Smoking tobacco has always tasted like ass to me and I’ve never gotten a “high” off of it.
All the other chemicals seem to work on me OK though.
November 9th, 2006 at 11:02 am
[…] Since I’m no longer smoking, I’m experiencing Dysgeusia, which means that my sense of taste is changing. Dysgeusia can be caused as a side effect of the medication Chantix (which I am taking and recommend for quitting smoking) and as a result of quitting smoking in general. […]