Thinking Thursday...A journey to stop smoking

IMG_6766, originally uploaded by torri_g.

As of today it has been one week since starting the Chantix. What can I tell you about this medicine? Well, it is interesting to say the very least. Between the hot flashes that I swear can meet or beat the heat of a Phoenix sunny summer day, there is the fun of feeling sick, or starving, or like your brain in a deep fog. Oh and when they talk about vivid dreams in the commercials for the medicine don't take that part as a joke! I have dreamt about things that I could live without ever dreaming about again...EVER!

Now for the difficult part of my plan for posting this weekly update. Admitting just how much I was smoking before starting this last week.(Yeah this part is the hard part couldn't I just tell you my weight instead sounds so much easier right now) Alright for the honest truth, I was smoking about two full packs a day. This isn't the first attempt to stop smoking, heck it isn't even the first one for this year. I've gotten down to less than a pack, I have even managed to go three weeks without any, but I always return to them. Why? It is an addiction and it is what I know. In the last week I have seen that number drop though, and I'm finding a will inside of me to keep trying to push longer till the next one. I can say the side effects of the medicine are far less than what hits you when you just try cold turkey quitting. My total smoked daily since starting this have average between 12-20 a day. I'm still miles from being done with them, but cutting it in one weeks time by half or better gives me real hope for actually getting through this time.
Army Guy and I have daily chats about how many we each have smoked, and how the medicine is making us feel, which really is so helpful. Although Army Guy is going to be quicker probably hitting that quit and done mark that I am, but he smoked less than me and I think he might be trying to be a show off too. :)

So this is the new Thursday plan for posting. Friday is our set quit date and that is the day that we are to try to just leave those cigarettes sitting in their packs. May be a very difficult thing to do, but I have promised myself to every week come here and be honest in my post about how I did. I'm also going to try to post a reason for stopping, my own reasons for stopping. I would have to say my reason for this week is just very simple...because I want to stop.

Alright there is my honest post for this Thursday. If you don't want to read about this journey, then don't plan on reading on Thursday.