Well I went and did it.
I finally mustered up the courage to go to the doctor's surgery to get help to start my smoke free life. That was a week ago and I got a prescription for some nicotine patches.
I was supposed to start on Friday 28th April and I did ... sort of. I had three cigarettes left from a packet I had bought the day before so I smoked those and then put my patch on. (Probably very very bad for my health.)
Later on I blagged, no let's say it, begged(!!) a cigarette from a neighbour. It made me feela bit sick to be honest. Luckily she is moving so, although I shall miss her, there won't be anyone for me to cadge cigarettes from.
So on Friday 28th April I had a total of four cigarettes. I reduced my cigarette consumption by 86% on the first day so I think it's not perfect but better than not reducing it all. I wore the patch on my left arm and it itched and burned for a bit when I put it on.
Since then I haven't had one cigarette. Not one!!! It's been soooo tough.
- Saturday: woke up in the night really wanting a cigarette and woke early in the morning with really heavy cravings. Got nicotine patch on my right arm as soon as I had showered. It provides some relief against the cravings. They are still there but much more manageable. Really don't think I could do it without them. Did a lot of digging at the allotment and then bathed and went to Sainsbury's. I removed the patch when I bathed and stuck it back on afterwards. Mercifully it held and I was able to go to Sainsbury's get some food and *not* go to the cigarette counter! I treated myself to some Belgian waffles and ice cream and an expensive meal of little courses - like antipasti and some turkey and so on. Just a lot of little nibbles. 0 cigarettes today!
- Sunday: restless sleep and woke during the night and early again - still craving cigarettes - desperate to put my patch on. Have been swapping arms and moving the site around where I put the patch i.e. left arm and then right arm. Thought the sensitivity to the patches had reduced as I acclimatized to them but today was left arm day again. Today's sight was close to Friday's site and the whole of Friday's site came up in bumps and was very itchy. Really wasn't very comfortable at all, but I survived it. 0 cigarettes today.
- Monday : busy day lots to do - went to woodwork and Psychology classes. Told people at woodwork that I'd given up. This sort of activity will help me try harder to stick to being smoke free. At least that is what I hope, Psychology is in the evening and we have a short break about 7.30pmish. I really felt like having a cigarette then but managed not to chase anyone or try and cadge one off anyone. (Honestly, we druggies know no bounds in seeking to satisfy our primordial cravings.) Still getting cigarette cravings.. presumably, with the nicotine patches, my actual nicotine cravings are at a minimum and fairly well kept at bay by the patches. This can only be the habit part of smoking. The desire to stop and have a cigarette always seems to crop up. Possibly part of it is the nicotine receptors in the brain trying to delude the rest of me? Anyhow - that was the most notable craving and I managed to get past it. I find that if I simply breathe in deeply, as if I would when smoking a cigarette, I can push the desire away when I breathe out. Another 0 cigarette day! That's three days with no cigarettes at all.
- Tuesday : Restless night followed by an aggravating day trying to get Debian to work as I wished. Really is a bad week to decide to change operating system!! Anyhow, I plugged on and got a bit angry with it doing unexpected networky type things and not loading kde properly. I was really suffering from a desire to have a cigarette all day but I knew that having one wouldn't solve the OS issues and would just mean I was back on the smoking treadmill again. Went to tiling class in the evening which was alright. Always good to see people and we watched a video and measured a fake 'bathroom' up for tiling. Assessing where to put the tiles is a lot of work but you do have to think about it to get a good finish. Then we grouted drilled and bored through some tiles. Had partially let myself be fooled into thinking that I could cadge a fag off one of the class mates if I was that desparate but by the time I got to tiling class, I didn't want a cigarette. So that made 0 fags for day 4 too.
If I keep this up I will have saved £47 by the end of tomorrow which will be fantastic!
How am I coping with it? ... Generally okay, I think. I used lots of tricks at the beginning to reinforce my aims.
Every time I experienced a craving, for instance, I rued the day I had started; looked back on that time and considered how foolish I was to have even begun smoking.
I also reminded myself about my other reasons for wanting to be smoke free. Saving money, my health, the cat's happiness, needing a greenhouse and shed for the allotment, wanting to start a business but not wanting to set fire to all that hard earned cash.
Considered that anyone who, once a year, took nearly £2000 out of their bank account and set fire to it, then injected themselves with or somehow deliberately consumed a carcinogen material, could be described as at least a little insane,
That helped lift me past some of it I am sure.
I did start coughing and sneezing a bit on Sunday but that hasn't got too bad yet. I feel I am breathing better and my teeth are certainly less stained already. Need to wash my fleece though because I really noticed how it smelt of stale smoke. Certainly seem to have enough energy to cope with the lack of sleep!
I'm so happy to have been so successful so quickly.
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