Day 31 Arghhh

Just a quick update as not been keeping things up to date on here.
I am now on Day 31 and the cravings are as strong as ever if not stronger. They dont last long but boy are they bad...

I am now jogging well and feel better for it but a long way to go I think.

No weight gain.

Day 14 - 2 Weeks and boy is this hard.

Well today is an EPIC day, two weeks since I quit smoking, #I have not posted since day nine as the days since then have been pretty much the same, major cravings, I really could have caved in at any time if there had been a cigarette near me, so major tip 1 don't have any in the house or near you it will lead to failure.

Also boiled sweets, a godsend, get plenty of them, don't worry about the weight as i increased the walking, cycling and running so am losing weight much faster than i'm gaining it.

Anyway that's all for now and I will check back in soon I am so happy I feel so much healthier :) :) :) :)

Day 9

Well according to reports things should be getting easier by now, but let me tell you... they are not. I really really really want to smoke a cigarette right now, hence the reason i am writing this now to try and keep my focus on the task.
I would still have to go to the store to get a cigarette if I caved in so thankfully i'm in with a chance.
So whoever decided that things were better after 8 days, well imn their case maybe but in my case no sireeee i'm could kill for a cigarette right now.........
Going to go for a long walk well away from stores and people.....
Back soon,, roll on bed time

Day 8

Arghhh ... Another really difficult day, strong cravings almost all of the day, went for a 7.5 mile walk to take my mind off it.

Day 7

Day 7 was the worst of all up to now, I could have smoked a cigarette at almost any point of the entire day, a really really bad day, I really did almost go out to the store and buy some cigarettes.
Funny enough though, I went for dinner with my daughter and had a pint of beer and did not crave a cigarette the whole time i was out... Wierd

Still onward and upward, thanksgiving day tomorrow, so happy thanksgiving everyone and good luck with day 8 if you are following me.

Day 6

A very bad day, cravings most of the day, did 6.6 mile walk then had a very early night.
Roll on tomorrow.
On a positive note I am still a non smoker

Day 5

Well I was right it was another night of no sleep ( well very little). Got up at 5am had coffee NO CRAVING :) went for a 3 mile run at 6am then got home and had breakfast.
Bammmm massive craving out of nowhere... Im so glad I have nothing nearby to smoke, any way the day went pretty much the same, but the main point is, I am still a non smoker.

Roll on day 6

End of Day 4

Well it's almost the end of day four, it's been another day of cravings, im so glad i don't live too close to the store, there are times today when I would have bought some, having said that, earlier in the day I was out and about and called into the store to get some milk and the thought of buying cigarettes never even entered my head??? Strange but hey, if its part of the cure...

 Still coughing lots of dark horrible tar, been for a 3 mile walk and a 5 mile bike rideilline day, i can really feel the difference already with my breathing, its so encouraging.
Well i'm expecting another wrestless night but these should be coming to an end soon, even more so though, i'm looking forward to waking up to day 5 and not wanting a cigarette :)

I am amazed at how well i am doing I wish I had really tried to do this many years ago, I did prepare for this but only for a few days beforehand.

Awful Nights Sleep

Well it's the beginning of day 4 :) and last night was again really bad, I kept waking up every half hour and finally decided to get up at 4:45am.
I went on a 6 mile walk yesterday too as I thought it would tire me out but it also had my legs aching so that contributed to the sleeplessness.

Yesterday was by far the worst day for cravings, really strong and persistent throughout the day, I have also starthed coughing up the black tarry mucus phlem stuff now which looks absolutely gross and (here is a tip you wont find anywhere ) I am keeping it, YUKKKK but yep i'm keeping it, and you know why? It looks disgusting and just seeing what is coming out of my lungs helped me beat the cravings yesterday, so if its a weapon I can use in the fight to quit then i'm going to use it.

I suspect today is going to be a craving day but I WILL get through it, and not having access to any cigarettes is an absolute must, I may have caved in yesterday if there had been a cigarette near me.

Here is a list I picked up from somewhere whilst looking into quitting smoking and so far it is pretty spot on.
All this starts to occur from the moment you quit smoking.

•  20 minutes	Your blood pressure, pulse rate and the temperature of your hands and feet have returned to normal.
•  8 hours	Remaining nicotine in your bloodstream will have fallen to 6.25% of normal peak daily levels, a 93.25% reduction.
•  12 hours	Your blood oxygen level will have increased to normal and carbon monoxide levels will have dropped to normal.
•  24 hours	Anxieties have peaked in intensity and within two weeks should return to near pre-cessation levels.
•  48 hours	Damaged nerve endings have started to regrow and your sense of smell and taste are beginning to return to normal. Cessation anger and irritability will have peaked.
•  72 hours	Your entire body will test 100% nicotine-free and over 90% of all nicotine metabolites (the chemicals it breaks down into) will now have passed from your body via your urine.  Symptoms of chemical withdrawal have peaked in intensity, including restlessness. The number of cue induced crave episodes experienced during any quitting day will peak for the "average" ex-user. Lung bronchial tubes leading to air sacs (alveoli) are beginning to relax in recovering smokers. Breathing is becoming easier and the lung's functional abilities are starting to increase.
•  5 - 8 days	The "average" ex-smoker will encounter an "average" of three cue induced crave episodes per day. Although we may not be "average" and although serious cessation time distortion can make minutes feel like hours, it is unlikely that any single episode will last longer than 3 minutes. Keep a clock handy and time them.
•  10 days	10 days - The "average ex-user is down to encountering less than two crave episodes per day, each less than 3 minutes.
•  10 days to 2 weeks	Recovery has likely progressed to the point where your addiction is no longer doing the talking. Blood circulation in your gums and teeth are now similar to that of a non-user.
•  2 to 4 weeks	Cessation related anger, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, impatience, insomnia, restlessness and depression have ended. If still experiencing any of these symptoms get seen and evaluated by your physician.
•  21 days	Brain acetylcholine receptor counts that were up-regulated in response to nicotine's presence have now down-regulated and receptor binding has returned to levels seen in the brains of non-smokers.
•  2 weeks to 3 months	Your heart attack risk has started to drop. Your lung function is beginning to improve.
•  3 weeks to 3 months	Your circulation has substantially improved. Walking has become easier. Your chronic cough, if any, has likely disappeared. If not, get seen by a doctor, and sooner if at all concerned, as a chronic cough can be a sign of lung cancer.
•  1 to 9 months	Any smoking related sinus congestion, fatigue or shortness of breath have decreased. Cilia have regrown in your lungs, thereby increasing their ability to handle mucus, keep your lungs clean and reduce infections. Your body's overall energy has increased.
•  1 year	Your excess risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke have dropped to less than half that of a smoker.
•  5 to 15 years	Your risk of stroke has declined to that of a non-smoker.
•  10 years	Your risk of being diagnosed with lung cancer is between 30% and 50% of that for a continuing smoker (2005 study). Risk of death from lung cancer has declined by almost half if you were an average smoker (one pack per day).  Your risk of pancreatic cancer has declined to that of a never-smoker (2011 study), while risk of cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus has also declined. Your risk of developing diabetes is now similar to that of a never-smoker (2012 study).
•  13 years	Your risk of smoking induced tooth loss has declined to that of a never-smoker (2006 study).
•  15 years	Your risk of coronary heart disease is now that of a person who has never smoked.
•  20 years	Female excess risk of death from all smoking related causes, including lung disease and cancer, has now reduced to that of a never-smoker (2008 study). Risk of pancreatic cancer reduced to that of a never-smoker (2011 study).

Arggghhhhh - Not Really :)

Well yesterday was not too bad at all except for night time. 
I went on a 3.5 mile walk and got rather dizzy and light headed but on reading up more it seems that this is a withdrawal effect, so bring it on
Now then, I went to bed at around 11:30 and had been fine until then, I watched a bit of TV then decided to sleep as I was whacked, I must have been asleep for all of 20 minutes before I was wide awake and that was the pattern for the rest of the evening I can remember looking at the clock at least 4 times through the night, again this is another withdrawal symptom from quitting smoking so i will soldier on.
I am very pleased with myself because after 40 years of regular smoking and without any quit smoking miracle cures, no gum, no patches, no tablets and I know I will never smoke again :) it feels so liberating.

My quit smoking diary.

Hi

I decided to make a blog of my progress along the journey of giving up smoking because at the time of writing this I am fighting desperately to beat a major craving and I needed something to do with my hands and take my mind of the smoking.

On a positive note, there are no cigarettes in the building so I would need to walk a good mile to get hold of some.

I read somewhere that most cravings are no longer than three minutes and this seems to be the case with me as I am now feeling a lot more in control than I was a few paragraphs back :)

The time is 12:20pm 16th November 2012 and it is 26hrs and 50mins since I had my last and final cigarette after 40 years of smoking on average 30 a day.

Follow my progress and please join in with your comments if you are trying to quit or have quit and just need some support.