I didn't used to smoke in my sleep...

Progress report: it has been one week and a matter of hours since my last cigarette. 

There have been a number of factors contributing to my success so far, including:

• an extensive supply of nicotine replacement therapy in the form of gum and an inhaler;
• regular emails, facebook and Twitter posts cheering me on (and my desire to keep receiving them);
• the remote possibility that "Greg" guy would make good on his offer to tackle me in public, and;
• the arrival of an Arctic cold front in Prince George.

Yep, even Mother Nature is supporting my quit journey, by providing minus 21 degree temperatures to keep me indoors and away from temptation.

Now, lest anyone get the mistaken impression that this has been a piece of cake and I'm just naturally a ray of sunshine who takes everything in stride and was bound to succeed (that'll get the comments going...), I should tell you about some of the reasons I very nearly DIDN'T make it this far.

Reason # 1 - This is hard!!! Seriously, it's like walking around all day long with the combined feeling that a close friend has moved away for good, you're forgetting to do something really important, and your pants are two sizes too small. Grief, anxiety and physical discomfort, all rolled into one.

Reason # 2 - Life keeps happening. You still have to go to work, you're still going to have disagreements with co-workers, relatives, and friends. It's going to snow for the first time at some point, and you'll realize that everyone has forgotten how to drive (again, even though the snow's only been off the ground for what, people... 5 months?) and... okay... perhaps you get my point. Stress is a trigger for a lot of people who smoke - somehow we get brainwashed into thinking smoking helps us relax (it's more likely the deep breathing).

Reason # 3 - I like to sleep. And for a number of nights this past week, I couldn't do it. At all. And since smoking had always been pretty much a 'waking moments only' activity, I hadn't expected any problems in this department. (I DID have trouble sleeping during past attempts with 'the patch', but because I didn't smoke in my sleep I logically concluded that my body was just reacting to the constant stream of nicotine.)

Well, as it turns out, insomnia is a common (but short-term) side-effect of withdrawal. Ironically enough, the solution (provided to me by one very helpful pharmacists who should probably have been on the first list) was to 'smoke' in my sleep! I kept the inhaler handy through the night, and a puff here and there whenever I sprang awake was enough to take the edge off and let me get back to sleep.

The good news for me, and for anyone else who decides to quit, is that insomnia apparently isn't the only temporary side effect. I'm finding the challenges associated with reasons # 1 and #2 are already becoming less and less likely to cause a relapse. Apparently, this quitting thing can be done!