Stop Smoking

Today was much better than yesterday. The stress level was very high, but hours 24-48 were by far the worst. I don’t know why, but it was. I could be caused by the placement of the patch, but I’m not sure. I put the patch on my left pectoral (what’s left of it) and it seemed to work well. I had to shave a spot on my chest where the patch went, which will be a common occurance for the next 7 weeks. I think the arms and chest are the prime locations for the patch. The shoulder is definitely not.

Day five was filled with stress, as several people were absent from the workplace. Top that with an afternoon full of meetings, and it’s a smoker’s haven. Fortunately, I refrained from the habit and stayed strong. The temptation was there, though.

After work, I talked to the lady and then took a nap til 9:00. Then it was off to the bar. I left there at 1:oo AM and went to a different bar, which allows smoking. The roommate offered one, but I had no desire to smoke anything. I was very proud of myself. I’m the man.

Day 4 was rough. I spent the whole day wanting to smoke. I hit the 24 hour mark, which is a feat in itself. And I needed one bad. More than half of our Helpdesk was not in this morning so we were really busy. I was really stressing out about it after the boss came and made some comments. I didn’t have any coffee, either. Recap: No smokes, no caffeine, high stress. That’s not good.

I managed to stay strong and tough it out. I placed the patch on the left side of my abdomen, just above my hip. I don’t think that’s a good place for it, in retrospect. The arms are the place they should go. I am going to have to shave both of my arms by the time this is all done. Oh, well. It will just make me faster walking through the office.

After work, we went to the bar, which never helps. I was really needing one when I was there by myself, but once the other guys arrived, it was much better.

The lady was over last night for a bit. Right as she was leaving, the thought popped into my head that I would get to have a smoke after she left. Then I remembered that I quit. Duh. That idea would always pop into my head right before she left. I never smoked around her, but she’s aware of the situation. She’s never said anything about it, but she’s willing to support me in my effort to quit. It’s very helpful and greatly appreciated.

I signed up for Committed Quitters during lunch. I received my personal quitting plan late in the day and I will update tomorrow with what it says.

I left the patch on last night and did not have any nightmares like I did the first night. I am guessing this is because I had still been smoking on the first couple days, so I may have had an abnormal amount of nicotine in my body. I guess I will continue testing this out.

As a final note, several coworkers seemed impressed that I was quitting using the patch. One of them was pretty inquisitive and hopefully he’ll quit soon too.

My pack was down to two cigarettes the morning of Day 3. I usually have one around 10:00 AM with a coworker, so I saved them for that break, rather than smoking on the way to/before work. This is also going to help remind me that I shouldn’t smoke in my car.

I won’t be smoking in the car anymore, because that cigarette at my 10:00 AM break was my last. Yeah, that’s right. My last. I don’t even feel like smoking anymore. After that break, I felt like complete garbage. Since the pack was empty, I pitched it and smothered the butt in the ashtray outside knowing that I would never put one of those out again. It felt great.

Of course, I know this isn’t the end. I’ve still got a long way to go now that I am addicted to the patch. I’m supposed to take six weeks to get through Step 2 (my Step 1) of Nicoderm CQ, but I might cut that to four and then spend the regular two weeks on Step 3. We’ll see, though. It’s expensive, but not nearly as expensive as smoking for the next 30-50 years. It will definitely be worth it.

I was jonesing for a cigarette towards the end of the day. The craving didn’t last long. It would just pop into my head and then go away after a minute. I was watching The Sopranos and just about everyone on that show smokes, which was rough. I also had a beer, which makes me want to smoke, too. I didn’t though, and I’m very happy about that.

I still haven’t signed up at Committed Quitters. I really gotta do that tomorrow.

Two days down, ? to go. Day 2 was a really good day. The weather was incredible for this time of year (though, it won’t last long) and the lady wanted to go for a walk. But more on that later.

The patch was on my right bicep today. I got the same achy feeling in my lower right arm bones that I experienced yesterday. Hopefully this will go away. It’s not really painful, just an annoyance.

I smoked a lot less today… only five cigarettes. Pretty good, I’d say. I think it helped that I spent a big chunk of my evening hanging out with the lady. We went for a walk by the Scioto and then to DSW to look for some new work shoes for each of us. After that, it was dinner at Whole Foods Market. We had their special of the day: scallops, shrimp, calamari, and something that was ring-shaped all on some kind of fucilli pasta in a white wine sauce. It was great, despite the calamari. Then we got some gelato and sorbet and walked around the store for a while.

All of that managed to keep me busy and I don’t think I thought about cigarettes once, except for when I noticed the patch poking out from the bottom of my t-shirt sleeve. I’ll have to remember to keep it higher up on my arm when I am wearing short sleeves.

I didn’t sign up for the Committed Quitters website yet, but maybe on Day 3?

I’ve completed one day on the patch and it feels great! I haven’t had any allergic reactions or rashes where it was placed on my skin yesterday. I did, however, feel some pain in my left arm (which is where the patch was placed) deep down in the bone. We’ll have to see if it happens again on Day 2.

My urge to smoke was greatly decreased yesterday. I don’t know if this was caused by the patch or the psychological effects of starting the patch. Whatever it is, it feels good.

I had some wicked nightmares last night. I kept the patch on when I went to bed, so I’ll be taking it off after Day 2. I didn’t have any dreams about cigarettes like some people have experienced, just dreams about my throat being crushed. That’s the only one I remember. Crazy, huh?

I meant to sign up at Committed Quitters, but I ran out of time. We’ll see if I can get that accomplished during Day 2.

I’ve decided it’s time to take action. I’m going on the patch.

During the past several months since my last update, I’ve had little desire to quit. I’ve been enjoying cigarettes and not thinking of the potential health consequences, the money, the social effects. I also became involved with a girl who doesn’t nag about it. She knows that I smoke, but I don’t smoke around her, so it might be out of sight, out of mind. Most of the rest of her family smokes, so she might just be sick of nagging people. At this point in our relationship, if she asked me to quit, I probably would.

But this time is on my own. I saw some pictures of myself from a work event last week. I hate myself. I look fat, out of shape, and completely pathetic. It’s time for some changes. It’s not smoking-related, but I’ve been eating poorly, not working out, and watching way too much TV. My first step in getting back to shape is to quit smoking. I’m currently on step two with that (step one was starting this weblog). Step two for me is the patch.

A study quoted in Men’s Health magazine stated that starting on the patch for two weeks prior to quitting smoking gives the quitter a 20% greater chance of quitting the habit for good. I know once I get past the point of actual quitting, the biggest problem is fighting the urges and staying out of situations (i.e. drunkenness) when I might be tempted to smoke. But those are future steps. For now, I’ll stick with step two.

The state-wide smoking ban that Ohio voters approved on November 7th of this year has now gone into effect.
Fines, however, will not be handed out for those who break the new law until the Ohio Department of Health
decides how to enforce the ban. My workplace sent an email detailing how our office is complying
with the new rules, but everything still seems up in the air. The lack of enforcement rules proves everything is still up in the air.

Several bars around Columbus were still allowing smoking, despite the city of Columbus’s previously in-place ban. Of the two bars I frequent that were still allowing smoking, one of them has complied with the ban. I could see the complying bar
allowing smoking again some day, once the newness of the ban wears off. This weekend, a few people tried to light up in the bar but were quickly chastised by the bartenders, who offered demanded that they pour water on the cigarette and throw it away.

The ban will hopefully have a positive impact for smokers and non-smokers alike. I have heard of statistics that show Columbus’s smoking ban was having a positive impact on lung cancer rates just a short time after the ban went into effect. I don’t know how it could have such a fast effect, but if it’s true, I’d say it’s great news. The ban will certainly add fuel to my Stop Smoking fire. I’m getting close. The weather is helping, too. There’s myriad reasons for me to quit. Now I just have to follow through.

Tuesday, 7 November 2006 was voting day in states all across the country. It was a midterm election which turned the U.S. Congress on its collective ear by turning over the control of the House and Senate to the Democrats. Also on the ballot in Ohio were two big issues in the minds of the voters: Issues 4 and 5.

Issue four is to make an amendment to the Ohio Constitution which would allow (among other entities) businesses that generate less than sixty percent of their profit from the sale of food to decide whether they will permit smoking in their establishment, according to this NBC4i.com article. Issue five is a state-wide smoking ban to be added to the Ohio Revised Code. As a smoker, many expected me to be partial to issue four and against issue five. Quite the opposite.

Columbus has had a smoking ban for a couple years and I love it. I don’t mind going outside to smoke for the greater good of society. Plus, the small town I am from in Northwest Ohio would never have a smoking ban of their own. It’s too Red and too small. I voted no on issue four because I don’t want to have to smell like smoke after a night at the bar. Lots of bar owners in Columbus said that the smoking ban hurt their business, but I don’t see it. I am more willing to go there and drink now that I don’t have to wash my jeans after one night out. What is really being hurt by the ban is the Gap. The less I have to wash my jeans, the less they wear out. The less they wear out, the fewer pair I have to buy. See? It’s simple economics.

I voted yes on issue five for all of my friends and loved ones back in Defiance, Akron, and every other small town throughout the state. I really think that this smoking ban will encourage a lot of people to stop smoking, me included. I remember reading an article about year after Columbus’s smoking ban went into effect which said that the medical world was already seeing the benefits of the ban. Fewer cases of lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illness were showing up in the hospitals around Columbus. After just one year! Imagine what good will come of this next year, in ten years, and throughout the rest of our lives! My roommate calls it socialism. I call it progress.

There’s a relatively new weblog that I have gotten hooked on ever since I first found it. Dethroner.com. It’s brilliant. The author, Joel Johnson, has an awesome writing style; always includes an interesting outlook, plenty of sarcasm, and amazing wit; is probably the ghost writer of every heterosexual male with an ounce of self-respect (and two ounces of self-loathing); and keeps his page fresh by focusing on a new topic every week.

Why do I mention this? This week’s topic is smoking. Dethroner’s not just covering the bad. Hell, it’s not covering much of the bad. Joel is a smoker, himself. He frequently comments on how much he enjoys a good pipe and cigarette. And I have to agree. I. Enjoy. Smoking. The first cigarette in the morning with a cup of coffee is like Gladiator when Russel Crowe finally dies and he sees his family in the after-life. It’s the moment in Life is Beautiful when Giosué finds his mother as the Allied tanks roll out of the concentration camp. You know it’s about the happiest you will be all day, but you also know that something terrible is going on.
SO, I will probably be linking to his site a lot this week and in the coming weeks as I read and reread everything Joel has to say. I can only think of one other site’s posts that I read multiple times, and that one is so good, I pay for a membership to it. They are both really that good. Check them out and then check back here to see how things are going.

Step one, of course, is taking the first step. Sound redundant? Well, it doesn’t to me. I started setting up this site and making the header image two months ago. I finished that the next day. The hardest part is getting started

I wrote a short history of my addiction when I set up the site originally. It will always be available by clicking “About” at this top of this page, but to make sure everyone reads it, Here it is… with a few updates.

I’ve been an on-again, off-again smoker since 2000. That was the year I began college. At first, I limited myself to one cigarette per day and only when alone. For me, it was still embarrassing to smoke at that time. Sophomore year, I began smoking with a couple people from my dorm. Senior year, my father had a heart attack, which scaled back my smoking dramatically. I finally quit two months after his heart attack, in December 2003. Nine months later, I started smoking again while celebrating a friend’s birthday. In September 2005, one of my best friends got married. Two days later, I started running: for health and for enjoyment. I stopped smoking a few days later, as smoking makes it difficult to run, and running makes it difficult to smoke. Fast forward nine months to May 2006. I was celebrating the wedding of a friend of a friend and I got started again. I haven’t been regularly running for six months.

At this point, I am starting this weblog to give myself some accountability. Every other time I have tried to quit smoking I had great people around me to support me. I have even quit with others, providing plenty of very personal, in-your-face accountability. soangry.net/stopsmoking is meant to force me to be accountable. It also serves as a repository for my experience with smoking, information found by me and others, and tips and strategies for kicking the habit.

This is my struggle.

I hope this site inspires, encourages, and helps you break your own habit, whatever it is. And I hope that this time, I kick my habit, too.