Thursday 13 November 2008

No more badger's bum breath!!!

Yup, it's now nearly 3 weeks since I last inhaled. And it's been bloody hard. Both Furry and I started on the Champix nearly 4 weeks ago. The idea is that you smoke "normally" for the first 7-14 days, and then pick a day to give up. What we found is that once we started on the pills, we became much more aware of our smoking. And for myself, in particular, I realised just how many of my smokes were habitual.

Got to work, opened the practice, turned on the computer, unlocked the filing cabinet?

Yup, time to REWARD myself with a fag.

Finished an hectic patient session, taken 40 phone calls, replied to 12 idiot emails??

Yup, time to REWARD myself with a fag.

Not killed that 45th "We're not selling you anything, we're just dong a survey" unsolicited phone call??

Yup, I DESERVE a fag.

It was only when I stated really identifying nicotine cravings from perceived rewards, that I realised just how much I was relying on ciggies to break up my day.

And one of the things I have noticed over the last nearly three weeks, is that I have so much more time on my hands!!!

But the really amazing thing is my sense of smell and taste. Even when I was smoking 30+ ciggies a day, I had a pretty amazing sense of smell and taste, and yes, I heard all the hype about your sense of smell returning, but I really didn't believe it. But last night, my wonderful next door neighbour was cooking up a storm, and I thought I was going to swoon from the sheer overpowering goodness that wafted into my house on the wind! My house and office smell so much nicer, my clothes fresher, and food tastes so much better!

Also, I am apparently MUCH nicer to kiss now that I don't have morning breath like a badger's bum.

There are still times when I find myself getting up from my office and heading out to have a "weather check", without even knowing it, but it's about 3 months before the new habit of NOT smoking becomes really ingrained.

So that's my final say on it. I am bloody proud of myself for doing it. I still "crave" a fag several times a day, but I am not going to give in. And I am not going to turn into one of those fundie rabid anti-smokers, either. But if you drop by either CFdM or the House of Fur and Purple love over the next 3 months, please leave the fags in the car.

10 comments:

Cindy said...

You should indeed be bloody proud! I am struggling to reign in my boredom-eating while at work, and can only imagine how many times worse ditching the smokes must be.

Ed Charles said...

Well done It is bloody hard. I haven't had one since Aprilish when I simply made a bet for $500 that I wouldn't smoke until the end of the year. Mind you it's still difficult after a few drinks late at night when the missus is chuffing away so sadly I still face the badger each morning.

thanh7580 said...

Good stuff PG.

I am constantly telling my friends and work mates to quit. I used to mention it a lot to my work mates when I started, but now I drop the occasional hint now and again for them to quit.

As Cindy says, it must be tough. I can't stop eating cakes and chocolates, so I can see how much harder it would be to ween yourself from the ciggies.

Keep going.

Griffin said...

Good for you our kid! Now you won't have to worry about those little things like... heart disease, lung cancer and inadvertent burned holes in clothing etc!

I can understand smoking if you hate living (like moi), but when those who actually like life and want to go on doing it are smoking... I admit it... I don't get it.

Surely some mistake?!

Beer Blokes said...

G'Day PG,

I have been following your blog for a while now (recommended, would you believe, by the missus' best friend in Thailand!? - who knew this internet thing was, like, World Wide!!) and as a restaurant manager/cook and stay at home Dad to three girls I can say your blog often makes my day.

We are now regulars at the Farmer's Market at Jell's Park - see you all there tomorrow, folks - thanks to your report and I am currently trawling your archives (snigger, snigger) for recipes and tips. Oh, and for ideas for my blog. Promise I will give appropriate credit!!

Cheers,
Pete
AKA Professor Pilsner
beerblokes.blogspot.com

Beer Blokes said...

G"Day again...

Almost forgot the reason for leaving a comment in the first place!

Good luck with giving away the choof sticks - I'm just over ten years since I gave em up and found that the trick was not to give up SMOKING but to give up BEING A SMOKER. I think you're on to it already; the quick one before the meeting, the one between the sports report and the weather on the news, the one because I'm having a coffee, etc. If I sat back down and let the urge pass, I could get trough till the next 'prompt' and sit through tha as well. Before I knew it, I didn't need to be a smoker anymore. Ta Da!! Simple! If only!

Good Luck and DON"T GIVE IN!
Cheers
Prof Pilsner

Anonymous said...

Hooray, love.

It's hardest thing I ever did. Kinda miss it, but it was a long time ago, now.

Congrats, by the way, on your prize. Well deserved. Stroking the flocked cover is quite sublime.

Better than smoking, I swear.

purple goddess said...

Welcome Prof!

I didn't get to the market last week, was awash with feral kidlets, and doing the footy/basketball/hockey/rugby run. But will def be there next month. I'm the middle aged fat, mad woman, in purple, with a camera!!

And lucy!! I had totally forgotten about your comp!! And I won!!??

Wow, my first ever win anything!!!

Will drop you an email.

Congrats on the move,too. It sucks.

Nat said...

Good for you.I've never smoked and was put off by a friend's breath.She was a heavy smoker and black coffee drinker.I once told her that her breath smelled like she had licked my blue heeler's bottom.She never smoked again and even though my remarks may seem harsh,thanks me for it everytime we catch up.BTW she hasn't returned to the habit either.That could also be due to my remark about her mouth starting to look like a puckered rhino's backside...!!!

Squishy said...

Good on you chick! Now if I could only do the same.

Cheers