So Day #11 is in the books, onto Day #12. I have to say, this is much easier than I ever thought it could be. Of course, I have to remind myself that it's probably easy because I have that nifty little patch on my arm. At first I thought oye, 8 weeks of patches, but now I'm thinking only 8 weeks of patches? I imagine when I reach that 8 week mark, I'll be ready to say goodbye to these stinky patches. Fingers crossed.
So, my reward for becoming a non-smoker? A cold. Yippee skippee, a freakin cold, with a cough that is far worse than any cough I ever had when I smoked. Talk about irony. The cough actually concerned me so I did some googling, and low and behold, once a person stops smoking, they can expect to cough, usually very 'productively', for 1-3 weeks. It's the body getting rid of all the crap in its system. Super. I stop smoking, I get a cold, and I have to sleep on the couch so I don't keep everyone awake at night. This stopping smoking thing is GREAT.
I had a coughing fit at work. One of the ladies there hollered from across the room 'hey, how's that non-smoking thing working out for you', sarcastically of course. I however answered her. IT'S *cough* GREAT *cough* bitch *cough*. She laughed, and went outside to smoke. Probably smoking one of the cigs out of a pack I had leftover and gave her. I stop smoking, I get a cold, I get a cough, I sleep on the couch, someone else smokes my smokes. YooooHooooo....where are you silver lining? Come out come out wherever you arrrrrre.
I have noticed I don't have specific days that are harder than others, I have specific times. Like right after a big dinner, ooh that's a biggie. Or when I'm taking the dogs out, that's a big one there too. Standing at the stove making dinner, I didn't realize how often I smoked when I made dinner. But apparently it was all the time. Let me just say, when a sucker won't do, there have been a few straws that have met their untimely demise.
So, the bottom line is I'm still on the non-smoking wagon, and surprisingly, no slips. There were even a couple days when I left the house in the morning and forgot to put on a new patch. I was a little nervous, but I didn't smoke, didn't even crave it. But that's not surprising, since I didn't normally smoke during the day anyway, only in the evenings. I know, crazy. But regardless of when/how often I smoked, it's still a challenge. The weekends are also tough, especially now during football season. Maybe I can make a pact with myself. Only smoke when my Bengals score a touchdown. I'll never smoke again.
So here I sit. Practically middle of the night, waiting to get tired to hopefully grab a nap on the couch in between coughing fits. I may be enjoying a beer, and I may be up late, but I'm NOT smoking. It's a process, and hopefully this stupid cough will go away soon so I can sleep in my own bed again and attempt to get back on my normal schedule. Sleeping on the couch makes me feel like I got in trouble, when in fact I'm trying to do the exact opposite.
Slapping a patch on every morning now seems more like a habit than smoking does. I wonder if there's a program to help me get off the patches?
Maybe me getting a cold is a way to help me get off the smokes. I never smoked when I had a cold, which means I would go 2 or 3 days without a smoke. Maybe I should have taken those hints.
Off to my couch I go. I hope to report back soon with a Day 22 report. I am a non-smoker now. If I slip, it means just that, I slipped, but I am a non-smoker. Yay for me!
*cough* G'nite *cough*
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