Catching up

Closing in on Day 6. Haven't hurt anyone (on purpose) or smoked anything, so - yay, me!

A few people have been kind enough to comment on my efforts so far, and I've been negligent in responding. I would like to rectify that with the following:

To 'Greg' - who, on Day 1 (and upon reading the first post), offered to tackle me if he encountered me in a store buying smokes, even if he had no idea who I was... I sincerely hope you haven't been assaulting strangers in the hopes you were preventing a relapse... but I appreciate the sentiment, nonetheless.

To Jenni - yes, the inhalers do look 'a little' like tampons (too funny!). So, besides allowing me to 'smoke' anywhere I want... they're also a great conversation starter.

To Phil - I think I'm starting to forget (to smoke). Thank goodness.

To Steve - thanks for understanding.

This list could get quite lengthy - but sufficed to say I am aware, and appreciative, of the support of MANY people who have helped make this first near-week survivable.

And I've learned a few things that I plan to blog about in the next few days, but I'll give you one example right now. I sat down with Northern Health Nicotine Intervention Counseling Centre Coordinator Nancy Viney on Tuesday morning, to officially declare myself a client. I would have liked to have been able to say that it was for the first time, but I was relieved to hear that most smokers make several attempts before they succeed in quitting. (If they've factored me into that observation, then you gotta know they have a VERY liberal definition of the term 'several'.)

Given my past experience, I knew that we would talk about recognizing and planning for potential relapse triggers; what to expect in terms of withdrawal symptoms, and (more importantly); the benefits of quitting that I could expect to feel within days and weeks. But I was also anxious -- knowing, that at some point, I would eventually have to put my money where my, uh... lungs, are.

See, they have this device - kind of like a breathalyzer for smokers. It measures the amount of carbon monoxide in your system - and the last time I blew into this thingamajigg, I think I actually heard it cough.

I was feeling pretty proud of myself already for having made it 4 days (at that point). But not knowing how long it might take for the carbon monoxide to leave my system, I was preparing to pull a Rebagliati to explain the slightest hint.  

(Trumpet flourish)... ZEROES -- across the board!!!

What I learned is there are good reasons to be found, within days, for quitting smoking.