Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Yay


I survived day one. I don't know why, but the withdrawal seems lighter than times past. Keeping busy is key and I did just that bouncing from one activity to the next. Walked ten miles yesterday including in the picture above at the nearby national park, saw Wall-E, had Ben and Jerry's, even had a beer on a patio in the village before we came home and made dinner. Then we watched Terminator 3 and the glorious moment of going to bed, smug from success and the escape from suffering that is sleep. Here I am at day two, and days two and three are just as hideous as day one if I recall, so I'll be out the door soon.

Here's something interesting. I'm using the Nicorette inhaler which I purchased last year to have for long train/plane journeys. I've found that it calms down the nicotine attacks and decided to use it for my cessation program. But here's the weird part. They say you are supposed to use 6-12 cartridges per day at the beginning, but I only needed three. Whoopee! Maybe those black market cigarettes have less nicotine than the commercial ones. Not that I would know anything about black market cigarettes. No, of course not.

I want to give a great big huge gigantic (redundant much?) THANK YOU for all the encouragement I've received from all of you, both in the comments and in my inbox. I'm astonished, humbled and deeply grateful for it. You can't imagine how much it helps to read those words. I'm off to tackle day two. Ciao.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Torn, One day at a time. You can do it! Don't let the Tobacco companies keep you as their slave. You'll be able to jog farther as your lungs get healthier. Ed

Polt said...

YAY, congrats on day one! One step at a time, man! And ten miles!!! WOW! You're body's gonna go into shock, not knowing what's going on...no smoke and exercise! :)

HUGS...

Patricia said...

Ten miles, dang. I suppose if I did that more often, I could get away with the Ben & Jerry's. Especially since I'd fall asleep in the bowl. Congrats on another day of success.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your first smoke free day! It'll get easier. The real trick is changing your habits. You're starting off great by keeping busy, but remember to have something to do for those times you normally smoke: say like after dinner.

My adventures said...

Because of my heart condition, I couldn't use any of the patches or inhalers, I had to go cold turkey. Everytime I got the urge to light up, I had a dum-dum (little suckers, smaller than blow pops). It seemed to work for me. I also got really bitchy! Ha!

RJ March said...

Stay smug. Seriously, celebrate what you are accomplishing. It's a huge deal.

DoninToronto said...

we are so proud of you ....

you can do it...you will do it..

and you can sit back and look at other people and go ..if i can do it you can....please try...

just emagine how how your body is going to look after all that excersise.... and sex will be so much better you will have so much more energy..... LOOK OUT SERGE...
lol
luv you donintoronto...

Anonymous said...

Here's to many more smokeless days ahead. And try not to rub your accomplishment in Serge's face too much! ;-)

Butch said...

There you have it!! One day at a time and remember the physical addiction is approximately three days so once you are on the otherside of that, you are well on your way. I'm very proud of you and your efforts to kick this habit. Keep strong and positive.

anabel said...

That's great! Keep that mojo working. A 10 mile hike sunds glorious.

GayProf said...

That's great! Have another beer today.

Java said...

Congratulations!! You already look better, judging from the picture. Of course you have always looked good.

Anonymous said...

Am I the only one picturing you walking like Forest Gump, just walking and walking until one day you decide you've walked enough?

I'm so glad you are giving this gift to yourself!
-Rox

Mark in DE said...

Great news, Richard! How encouraging it must be to find the withdrawal less severe than in the past, AND to require less of the inhaler than average. You're well on your way to being smoke-free and we are VERY proud of you.

You walked 10 miles yesterday, and you can stand up on those legs today???

Mark :-)

TJ said...

Just keep moving in a forward direction. You'll be right!

Fatinah said...

you totally rock - one day down!

abnitude said...

congratulations. its a huge accomplishment to conquer any habit that can be bad. one thing that may help you is to drink large amounts of water to flush your system. it may help most when you decrease your nicorette inhaler and want to get the nicotine out fast. again..congrats and good luck!!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations. Seems like you are on the way. ChristopherYVR

Tony Adams said...

You can succeed at this. You are succeeding at it. The real you is so much sexier and more attractive than the one with a cigarette in his mouth.

LSL said...

Yay! Great job! You'll continue to have success, I know it!

J-o-h-n-n-y said...

Hey,keep up the good work!
best wishes......:)

Anonymous said...

Good work!!!

Don't forget we're all here to give you as many positive strokes as you need. Positive reinforcement is powerful stuff.

Anonymous said...

Awesome. Your commitment to quitting is really inspiring even to those of us who don't smoke. Thanks for sharing.