The quit date I had chosen for myself is finally here. I’m on day 15 of taking Champix and I had my last cigarette at 9:30am this morning. I wasn’t planning on having one this morning, but the urge was too strong. I didn’t feel too bad about it. Last night I talked it over with my wife and decided that at most I’ll have 3 cigarettes a day; after breakfast, after lunch and after dinner. This decision wasn’t taken lightly. If I happen to really crave a cigarette and my willpower isn’t strong enough, then having one after a meal won’t make me feel depressed for having jumped back on the wagon (and when I’m down or depressed, I tend to smoke more).

I’m now at 9 hrs and 15 minutes without a smoke. Yup, that means that I did not have one after lunch, nor did I have one after supper. After my lunch I just didn’t want to have one. I did have an itch to smoke in the middle of the afternoon, but I think that was more habitual. I’m trying to keep myself busy so that I don’t think about it much. I’m keeping my hands busy by doing some stuff around the house and by doing stuff on the computer. I’m keeping my mouth busy by chewing gum and eating some fruits. Years ago I found that if I had a craving for a cigarette that I could temporarily stave off the craving by having something sweet, like chocolate. Being diabetic, chocolate isn’t really a possibility for me (save for those yummy sugar free ice cream cones, but I can only have those in moderation). So I picked myself up some nice fruit and I’m munching on them when the urge hits me. I’m also strangely enough finding myself craving coffee. No coffee and cigarette, just coffee. I think I’m gonna have to go to Timmy’s and get myself a canister of decaf, or else I’ll be up all night, more than I am now.

Emotionally, I’ve had a couple of outbursts where I turned into a prick. I warned my wife that this was likely to happen in the first week or two of quitting smoking. I know myself, and I know that I’m going to have a short fuse for the next one or two weeks.

As for the Champix side effects I’m still suffering by a light case of insomnia and indigestion. I did also have a few mood swings. The nausea has pretty much gone away, as have the constant need to urinate. Considering some of the possible side effects, I think I’ve gotten off easy.  Now lets see if any of this changes since I’ve cut out the nicotine intake.