2 of 9

Write now Article Tools

Up In Smoke

(Author's note: The date of this article is not important. Quitting smoking is always timely.)

Tomorrow is a great day to celebrate a milestone. It will be one month since I stopped smoking after almost 40 years. For the longest time, I've wanted to, but it is not an easy task. People who have never smoked don't get it. They think it is simple: just stop. Smoking is as bad as, if not worse than, heroin in the addiction department. As a diabetic, I knew I would have to, too. I'm already at risk for heart attacks and strokes because of the disease and I think we all know what tobacco does. Smoking and diabetes are not a good mix at all.

My doctor, like all doctors, has been after me for a while. A couple of visits ago, he wrote me a prescription for Chantix. It took me a couple of months to build up the strength to have it filled, but I did. On my last visit, he asked if I had quit yet. No, I told him, but I picked a date and I will start to take it a week earlier. During that week, you can smoke all you want. You start off by taking a 1/2mg pill once a day for the first three days. Then, you take one in the morning and one at night. On the day you quit, you jump to 1mg in the morning and 1mg at night for up to 12 weeks. I have since quit that, too, and I'm on my own. Incidentally, on my last day of smoking, I only lit up 3. The desire had obviously subsided. Here's how I approached quitting:

On my first day of not smoking, I knew how difficult it would be to cold turkey the deal. I told myself I could have only one at night before going to bed and never before 10 o'clock. If I went to bed at 9:30, I missed that smoke and couldn't double up the next day. I did that for about a week and finally, they just didn't taste all that good and some nights I did go to bed early, so I snuffed out my last butt. Over and out. It seems the drug was doing its job. Oh, I got cravings in my lungs and, yes, I still do, but I pledged I would NEVER SMOKE AGAIN! Oddly, if I'm around smokers, the scent doesn't tempt me. Morning coffee, the standard juice to get the lungs burning for a puff, doesn't phase me, either. Neither does what little alcohol I consume. Drinking and smoking go hand in hand. If I can drink coffee and alcohol and not smoke, I've got it licked. For some strange reason, I get a strong urge in the afternoon, and I am very tempted, but guess what? There is nothing around me to smoke and I'm not about to go buy a pack.

As a creative sort, I've always had vivid dreams and always in color. One of the side effects of the prescription is weird dreams. I will definitely attest to that and some people stop taking it. My sister-in-law had terrible nightmares. These dreams of mine were so realistic, yet too unreal to be true. They were sort of surreal. For instance,I was dating women I knew many, many years ago. I even managed to find a new one, Emma, whoever she was. I've never even met a woman named Emma, to my knowledge. Oh well, she was sweet and it's too bad we had to breakup when I suddenly woke up. We were just about ready to - never mind.

Chantix is supposed to shut down the nicotine receptors in the brain. It worked for me and then some. At least, I know it does something to the brain. If I get strong urges to smoke again, I'll go back to the pill. I can live with dreams a lot better than lung cancer and other complications. Do I feel better? Not yet, but I will. Until then, I'm holding my breath. A lot longer these days, along with a big sigh of relief.

Learn more about this author, Dave Knechel.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about An overview on giving up tobacco?
We want to hear your view. Write now!