Day 100

Yep you read it correctly....100 a century. 100 days ago I decided to start a blog about quitting smoking. At the time it was by no means certain that the blog would actually involve my quitting smoking. It was more about what would happen if a committed smoker did an experiment with Champix.

85 days ago I actually went for the first full day in at least ten years without a single cigarette. 9 days later on 24/02/10 I caved and smoked a cig. It's now more than 60 days since I smoked. I did not smoke at all during March or April and am now half way through May. It looks like I'll never smoke again.

So what's it like? Well Champix is supposed to make you not want to smoke and to find it sickening when you do. That didn't work for me. I didn't stop enjoying smoking and I actually found it pretty hard to quit. Anyone that thinks quitting with Champix is easy is kidding themselves in my book although, since starting this site, I have found people who thought it was easy.

Thirty odd years of smoking did not and have not dissapeared over night. In the early days it's actually hard to describe how painful it was to not smoke. Even now it rears it's head when I least expect it. That said I actually quit Champix after just six weeks and just carried on not smoking.

So what's stopping me? Giving up was shit and I really don't want to have to do it again. Not coughing till I get a headache or feel faint of a morning is pretty good too. Loads of folk say their skin gets better but I'm afraid mine looks worse and has done from the minute I stopped. I keep thinking it will get better but so far it hasn't. I also haven't felt the need to join a gym or take up jogging although last week I was out with the dog a couple of times which was quite nice. Will I live forever? Doubt it. Maybe I wont die of smoking though.

So now I'm cutting down on the drink too. Last week and this week I've pretty much cut out drinking on the school nights though I'm as bad as ever at the weekends. If I keep it up I could end up even healthier. To be honest cutting down the drink is more about money than health but it's got to be worthwhile.

The course that pissed me off so much last week is out of the way. Not my finest moment but good enough. I've got the same again with some of my colleagues this week and then that's gone forever. Good riddance.

This week I've also caved in and ordered an iPhone. Being a total geek I had tried to avoid the iPhone thing. Three or four years ago I got a Sony with handwriting recognition and satnav. It was almost a PC. Two years ago I got an HTC with windows mobile and a working version of office. It was a PC. I kept saying to iPhone users how everything they could do I could also do. Thing is it's getting to the stage where I'm trying pretty hard to keep up. That is, to keep up with what the average iPhone user is doing. The clever iPhone users are doing so much more. So now folks....I'm going to be a clever iPhone user and show everyone what can be done.

It's worth mentioning before I finish.... Zoe who I link to is still stopped smoking but, like myself, has stopped taking Champix way before time. Poet who I also link to is also now comfortably in to her second smoke free week and is beginning to find it easier. Stopping smoking is possible folks.

Speak again during the week
T