Second try at quitting smoking. First Week.

Well, six months after quitting smoking in 2012, I couldn't stick to my regiment of Champix.  The side-effects, specifically the upset stomach, really got to me.  I stopped taking champix after about 2 months.  I kept a strong non-smoker attitude for about six months and gave into the temptation to smoke again.  I blamed it on stress in my life, but blame is a way of justifying.

Under my insurance, I am able to take Champix for up to six months continuously, and my out of pocket is only 20%.  After that time I must wait one year from the last time I started taking Champix.  It has now been a year, and I am taking Champix again to try to quit smoking. So here is my new story.

First week.  I took the small doses and only had stomach problems twice, but I am sure that was because I hadn't eaten before taking the pill.  I started out smoking 18 cigarettes the first day, dropping steadily to 5 cigarettes on the last day.  Today is my first day taking the big pill. I want to smoke, but I am pushing the feeling down... somehow. 

During my first week, I immediately noticed an increase in dreams.  Though I quickly forgot the contents of those dreams.  Today being the first day on the full dose of Champix, I am expecting some vivid dreams tonight.

For anyone thinking about quitting smoking, I have only one piece of advise.  Don't give up!  Keep trying.  Smoking is a habit that requires tremendous willpower to unlearn.  If you don't succeed on your first attempt, then you are normal.  If you don't succeed on your 5th attempt, you are still normal.  Just keep trying.

Side effects I have noticed so far: Stomach ache and queasiness, and more vivid dreams.

I'm feeling pretty good today that I have not smoked all day.  But I hunger for a cigarette.  It is an actual hunger, like I want food.  I feel hungry, even though I just ate.  It is very annoying and makes it difficult to concentrate.  I only hope the hunger isn't so strong tomorrow. It is easy for me to understand why so many people gain weight after quitting smoking.  I just want to crawl up into a ball and eat Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey all day. 

I've been drinking a lot more coffee and Redbull lately.  I feel tired today, but my 4 month old kept me up most of the night, so I don't blame Champix for my sleepiness.

If you are taking champix, or trying to quit smoking, please let me know in the comments.  How are you doing?

Champix Dreams: Second week, Day 14

Champix Dreams!
Day 14:  4/9
Smoked 0 cigarettes.  Weight 65k. O.o Losing weight?

Outlook:
The seventh day of no smoking!  Celebration! To mark this happy day, I drank two shots of tequila!  One for each week of using Champix.  I love tequila and I love not craving a cigarette after drinking! Sure there are some side-effects of Champix, the queasiness, the fatigue, the mood swings and the crazy dreams, but not much worse than quitting smoking without any assistance. I have been busy lately, and I think keeping myself occupied is the best accompanying medicine.

Mood:

Feeling pretty good.  I have also noticed that past regrets or embarrassing events I remember, and there are many, don't bother me as much as they used to.  I used to have a memory a day so embarrassing that I would shout some colorful expletive like some Turrets Syndrome sufferer. I've a friend that suffers from Turrets Syndrome, she's an amazing person. You're awesome A-chan! 

Dreams: 
I had this fantastic dream today, it was sadly interrupted by my alarm.

Beep Beep Beep!

I told myself to remember, remember, remember... then fell back to sleep for a snooze.  Shat... I forgot the dreams.  Sorry.

What the f.., ok! That was weird.

Question: 
Before taking Champix, I can't remember when I dreamed last.  It must have been about a year. What is the longest time you have gone without a dream you could remember? 

Thank you very much for reading my blog. Feel free to tell me your story, contact me, subscribe, join my page, and please like/share this page on Facebook, stumbleupon, twitter, or whatever your social fetish may be. If you are quitting smoking and need support, I'm here for that too. Send me your concerns and worries and I will do my best to give you hints, tips, support and tricks on how to quit smoking.  Cheers!

Champix Dreams: Second week, Day 13

Champix Dreams!
Day 13:  4/8
Smoked 0 cigarettes.  Weight 66k.

Outlook:
Six days with no cigarettes.  Sunday, I could not wake up.  I had plenty of dreams but I just didn't want to leave my bed.  I felt a little depressed, because my wife was at work and I was home alone.  I just relaxed and played some games until my wife came home.  I woke up at 1:30 pm so I slept a lot and didn't feel like doing anything else but enjoying myself.  I started a new Mass Effect 2 game so I could make my own decisions from the beginning.  Mass Effect 2 is such an awesome game!  I can't wait to play Mass Effect 3.  So I guess my outlook is good, because I have something to look forward to. 

Mood:

Not feeling so great.  When I take the medicine my stomach feels nauseous and I have a hard time concentrating.  I was wide awake, but now I am drinking coffee because I am so tired.  The only interaction I had until night was with my bed and my Mass Effect 2 game so I can't say much about my mood.  Maybe I chose the renegade path in the game more often than I would have otherwise, not really sure. 

But enough of that, now to what you have been waiting for! The dreams!

Dreams: 
long dreams today. 

1. My mother came to Japan to live with my wife and two children.  In reality, we don't have children yet.  She was like my grandmother when I was young.  Ma'ama, was my grandmother's nickname we all called her.  My mother's nickname is Mimi. Though my mother had said she would never be like my grandma, Ma'ama, she was in my dream.  She was taking care of our house and spoiling our kids.  She would buy them stuff and take them out for ice-cream... a lot.  I loved it!  It was good to see my mom, even if it was in a dream.

2. The second dream was visceral. I was writing for a stage actors troop and we were making a hospital stage drama.  After we had it all hammered out and practiced, we went to a mall hospital to perform the play.  The hospital had a shopping mall and art studios inside it.  As I was walking though the mall I came to a man sitting in the center of the walkway on a swivel office chair.  He had a long white doctors coat and dirty green scrubs.  It was Dr. Green from ER.

"Hello, do you like your printer?" He shouted at me.

I walked around him and he swiveled in his chair to keep facing me.  I told him he had really fallen from grace.  He scowled back at me.

"I sell the best printers in the world and business is good, so buy one." He told me.

I asked him if he had any 3D printers.  He scowled again and rebutted with something I didn't really understand.  I told him good luck and started to walk away. 

"A real friend would say more than good luck." Dr. Green said as I walked away.

I turned and offered to have a drink with him at the bar. There just happened to be a bar right next to his printer shop... in the mall... in the hospital... That was interesting, but more interesting, Dr. Green owned the bar and was also a bartender.  He made me a drink and said if I could guess what was in it I would know where his new summer home was built.  I thought Malibu but was wrong.  He showed me the bottle and it was something I had never heard of. Apparently he owned the entire hospital, mall and all the shops and studios inside it.  I was impressed, but still sickened by his dirty green scrubs.

Beep Beep Beep!

What the f.., ok! That was weird.

Question: 
Have you ever met a celebrity in your dreams?  Which one and what happened? 

Thank you very much for reading my blog. Feel free to tell me your story, contact me, subscribe, join my page, and please like/share this page on Facebook, stumbleupon, twitter, or whatever your social fetish may be. If you are quitting smoking and need support, I'm here for that too. Send me your concerns and worries and I will do my best to give you hints, tips, support and tricks on how to quit smoking.  Cheers!

Champix Dreams: Second week, Day 12

Champix Dreams!
Day 12:  4/7
Smoked 0 cigarettes.  Weight 66k.

Outlook:
Five days with no cigarettes.  I still have the last pack my wife taped up and handed to me.  It is unopened.  I had some of my strongest urges to smoke today, but I soldiered through them.  Not sure how much longer I will have to take Champix, but I am doing ok so far.  A new side-effect is starting to appear.  About an hour or two after I take the Champix pill, my stomach feels sour and I just want to vomit.  I never do vomit but that queasy feeling stays with me for many hours.

Mood:

Today was very difficult.  In the morning, I snapped at my wife and I had no good reason to be so irritable.  I know it was not like me.  Luckily, my wife is a very forgiving and loving woman.  She didn't let it bother her.  At work I was in a bit of a daze all day.  I made many mistakes that I normally wouldn't make. Maybe I am being hard on myself, but I don't think of myself as someone that makes mistakes often.

But enough of that, now to what you have been waiting for! The dreams!

Dreams: 
I had cacophony of dreams last night. They hit me one after another.  I was flying, I was hunting, and I was at the space bar... again, too drunk to take off.  I don't remember too much since I am writing this a few days after and I have had so many dreams since then. 

One thing I do remember is being in a very nice suburban neighborhood. I was minding my own business when some kid drove up to me in a go cart and asked if I want to go racing.  He said he had heard I took the Jim Russel F1 racing school course in San Francisco and he wanted to challenge me.  This punk kid was gonna get schooled.  I jumped on to his kart's back and said "Take me to the track!"

On the way, for whatever reason, we stopped at a house where there was a car parked half off the sidewalk into the road.  All the doors were open and there was a plastic bag laying in the center road... I don't know how this fits in, but the kid and I searched the bag and found a bunch of silver jewelry.  And as if we needed silver, or metals, for some reason we began loading our hands with the stuff.  I remember thinking I could melt this down later.  I think this comes from playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.  There is a mod called Val's Crafting Meltdown that I use to melt down any weapons and armor I collect in my adventures, to make new stuff.  So, in the game, I always pick up the metal trash my victims drop. 

The game is awesome and I hope you get a chance to play it. 

After that, my alarm woke me up.  Beep Beep Beep.  What a weird dream series.

Question: 
Have you played The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim?  Do you love it? Hate it? What's your opinion?

Thank you very much for reading my blog. Feel free to tell me your story, contact me, subscribe, join my page, and please like/share this page on Facebook, stumbleupon, twitter, or whatever your social fetish may be. If you are quitting smoking and need support, I'm here for that too. Send me your concerns and worries and I will do my best to give you hints, tips, support and tricks on how to quit smoking.  Cheers!

Champix Dreams: Second week, Day 11

Champix Dreams!
Day 11:  4/6
Smoked 0 cigarettes.  Weight 66k.

Outlook:
Today at work was not too difficult.  I had few cravings and was able to keep focused on what I was doing.  However, when I got home from work, the cigarette cravings hit me hard. It is such a strange hunger.  I feel like a vampire hungry for blood, but don't know I am a vampire. No matter what I eat or drink, it doesn't quench my hunger. Sweet things tend to lower my hunger for cigarettes but only temporarily, and then it often comes back stronger than before. 

In an effort to improve my health, I am going to try and eat as little sugary foods as possible.  My father quit smoking, gained a bunch of weight and had type 2 Diabetes by the time he hit 50.  I'd like to avoid that if I can.  Still have not gained any weight though, and I think that is good news.

I also have a strong desire to play some sort of sports... sadly, Japan doesn't have many facilities for that kind of thing. I miss being able to go to the park in the states with my basketball and shoot some hoops when ever I want.  The best I can get in my Japan farming town is a good jog around the rice paddies. 

Mood:

What the (bleep) are you looking at?! Oh... um,  my mood is great! No problems that I am aware of.  Except for this piece of $h!1 laptop I have to restore.  It's a Japanese laptop and I don't have any Japanese software for it.  WTF!

Just kidding! It doesn't bother me.  I'm actually feeling a bit depressed because the hunger is making me feel like my life is missing something important.  Maybe this is the kind of depression some small percentage of people go through while taking Champix and other stop-smoking-drugs?  Not sure, but I think I understand.  If not for my wife's love and affection, I'd be one extremely depressed person right now.  Her support is really making this life change bearable.  Love you Ru-Rin! V (~_^V )

But enough of that, now to what you have been waiting for! The dreams!

Dreams: 
I had many dreams last night.  Hard to remember them all because it wasn't all just one dream.  Here's what I do remember.

1. I was an intern for Mr. Miyagi.  You know, from the karate kid?  He was teaching me wax on, wax off and I had to sell his wax on and wax off products on his website.  My duties were to roundhouse anyone that came into the house without Mr. Miyagi, and to update the blog with his newest wax on, wax off products.  Yeah... didn't make much sense to me either. We also had a camera by the screen door and any time I round-housed someone it was recorded.  Later I would upload it to YouTube.  I was trying to find out what the secret ingredient was in his wax on, wax off formula, but I just couldn't figure it out.

2. I must have been traded, because suddenly I was no longer Mr. Miyagi's Intern. Maybe I woke up and fell back to sleep, but suddenly I was an intern at SourceFed. It's a YouTube channel I often watch along with Phillip Defranco. I must have been the bitch because I remember running around doing random errands for the hosts of the show. The sun went down and came back up a couple times and I kept wondering if they would ever let me get any sleep.  In the dream I wasn't tired though, and I had this feeling It was like a super power and the entire reason they had accepted me as an intern. They exploited me in the dream and I just kept going like the freeking Energizer Bunny.  Eventually I woke up from the Beep Beep Beep of my alarm, hit the snooze with a vengeance and faded back into Champix Dreamland.

3. Another space dream. This time I was landing on a weird red forest planet. I had guns strapped to my body everywhere.  I was running from one end of the planet to the other for who the (bleep) knows why. I didn't want to have to reload, so I strapped a ton of guns to my body and threw the empty guns away as I ran.  I was blasting every slimy red rock I passed like a kid pretending to shoot monsters with his monster killing gun. At the final destination was a weird liquid filled tank.  Floating inside was some naked beauty. Sadly, I couldn't see any of her lady bits, because they were amazingly, and perfectly, covered by her insanely long hair! Totally annoyed by this, I blasted the control panel on the side of the tank and it burst open - sending a flood of liquid washing over the red terrain. I splashed through the lake looking for the girl but she was gone.  Just as I cursed my bad luck, a woman's arms wrapped around my neck and she whispered seductively into my ear, "Turn off your alarm."

BEEP BEEP BEEP!~

My wife's arms were around my shoulders and she was shaking me awake. "Shut off your alarm!" She told me.  Damn...


Question: 
Being an intern for SourceFed and Phillip Defranco in my dream was insanely annoying.  Probably because I would so do anything they wanted if they would let me be an intern. In that spirit, what was the most annoying dream you ever had? 

Thank you very much for reading my blog. Feel free to tell me your story, contact me, subscribe, join my page, and please like/share this page on Facebook, stumbleupon, twitter, or whatever your social fetish may be. If you are quitting smoking and need support, I'm here for that too. Send me your concerns and worries and I will do my best to give you hints, tips, support and tricks on how to quit smoking.  Cheers!

Champix Dreams: Second week, Day 10

Champix Dreams!
Day 10:  4/5
Smoked 0 cigarettes.  Weight 66k.

Outlook: 
Over all, my outlook is good. I feel ok, but I have severe cravings here and there.  Today I had my most difficult craving.  I managed to beat it back, but it hit me pretty hard.  I actually walked to my car and picked up the taped up pack of cigarettes my wife gave me for emergencies.  Luckily, the time it took me to walk to my car was long enough for me to fight the craving. In the end, I left the pack of cigarettes in the car.

I have recently been having a lot of trouble with sudden severe fatigue.  It doesn't last very long, only half an hour or so, but it really stops me from doing anything for that 30 minutes.  I have to drink an extra shot of coffee or Redbull just to keep from passing out asleep when it hits me.

Mood:
 I'm feeling like I am moody, but my wife seems to think other wise.  Her and I are getting along better than we ever had.  I suppose it might help that I don't stink like cigarette smoke.  I also notice that, though I am not taking breaks to smoke during work, I am not working as quickly as I used to.  I think that will change as I get used to not being a smoker.

But enough about that, here's the good stuff.

Dreams:
This night, my dreams were a jumble.  It was a mess of things all rolled into one, or at least that I remember.  I remember being at bat during a baseball game. I think I was wearing a blue uniform, not too sure.  I don't remember hitting the ball but I remember being in the dugout and cheering for my other teamates.

I remember, flying in a space-ship. It was the fastest space-ship around. All silver.  I bet this one comes from my burning desire to play the new Mass Effect 3. It's an awesome sci-fi game! I played Mass Effect 1 and imported all my characters and the decisions I made into Mass Effect 2, but I have not finished Mass Effect 2 yet. As soon as I get some time to play Mass Effect 2 and finish the game, I can import my characters and decisions I made into Mass Effect 3.  I don't have to finish and import the games, but it really makes the game personal to my choices by doing so.  I hope I get time to play this week.

If you like space games, RPGs, and stories where what you do has a major effect on the outcome I highly recommend Mass Effect.  If you want to learn more and possibly buy them, please visit the below links to Amazon.  The prices are low and I get a tiny (very small) commission if you buy one or all of them.  The game is so awesome, you will thank me for telling you about it and I thank you for buying it. 





I remembered eating at a restaurant with tons of people I didn't know that kept looking at me like there was something on my face. I kept wiping my face, but they kept looking.  As soon as I looked back at them, they would turn away.  It was maddening.  haha!

No sexy stuff this time.  heh. 

Hoping for better dreams tonight. 

Question:
Are you able to remember your dreams easily?  Do you have a method of remembering your dreams that works for you?

Thank you very much for reading my blog. Feel free to tell me your story, contact me, subscribe, join my page, and please like/share this page on Facebook, stumbleupon, twitter, or whatever your social fetish may be. If you are quitting smoking and need support, I'm here for that too. Send me your concerns and worries and I will do my best to give you hints, tips, support and tricks on how to quit smoking.  Cheers!

Champix Dreams: Second week, Day 9

Champix Dreams!
Day 9:  4/4
Smoked 0 cigarettes.  Weight 66k.

Outlook:
Today was very difficult.  There were three times I almost failed. The day I quit, I had some cigarettes left.  They are super-ultra lights and some brand I am not familiar with.  I bought them because they are nasty. The bad taste was enough to make me not want to smoke.  Yesterday, my wife taped up the box and gave them to me.  She told me they were for emergency use only.

Because I have those nasty cigarettes, it would be a waste for me to buy any more.  If I did buy some, I would probably buy the ones I like and that could cause a problem.  I have read that you can smoke for the first two weeks while trying to quit, but I am trying to hold fast and be stronger.  I almost failed. I wanted to rip that tape off the pack of cigarettes and puff one down today.  Almost did, but I managed to fight off the feeling.  The strong desire often comes after I eat, and I am trying to think of some way to kill the craving.

Mood:
My mood is not so great.  I feel loopy.  I am forgetting more, I am tired more, and I find myself lost in thought while working.  Many times I have snapped back to reality only to wonder what I am doing in the toilet room, why did I bring the printer into the back room, or what was the conversation I just had with my coworker. I feel like I am on autopilot.

But enough about that, here's the good stuff.

Dreams:
I had two dreams that I remembered this time.  One was just plain weird, while the other was probably a result of my line of questioning yesterday.

First dream:
Not sure how I got there, but I was in a bar.  The entire bar was squeaky clean, shiny and sparkly.  I was the only person besides the bar tender sitting at the bar.  There were a couple other groups of people in tables off to the sides.  Wasn't paying much attention to them.  The strange thing about this dream is the bar's location.  It was in space.  Like a bar space station.  People were docking up with it and coming in for happy hour.

Apparently I was too drunk to fly my space ship, because the bar tender, a four eyed, ridgy fore-headed, and hairy behemoth, wouldn't let me leave.  I argued with him a bit then finally decided to rent a room he offered me, then I promptly ordered another drink.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!!

The alarm clock... dream over.  Snooze button, back to dream land.

Second Dream:
I am home.  In the room my wife and I currently use for our bedroom.  I'm doing laundry.  The bed is a waterbed instead of our mattress and my wife lay seductively on it, goading me to do something sensual.  I keep smiling at her and shaking my head. "Got to finish the laundry,"  I keep saying.  There is one sock left and no match.  I can't find the match.

Suddenly my wife, tired of waiting I guess, says "Hey!"  When I look at her, I am shocked as her face changes.  First into some ageless unknown beauty, then into an anime style big eyed cutie. I toss the sock and jump onto the bed and crawl up on top of her.  I pull off her jeans and ...

BEEP BEEP BEEP!!

Damn! Nice timing you piece of shit alarm clock! I was so close!

Well, I'm hoping for a better dream night tonight.  I wonder how many times I can have sex in a dream before I stop taking Champix.

Question:
Have you ever had sex in a dream? Was it with your girlfriend or wife? No? Don't be shy, tell me about it.

Thank you very much for reading my blog. Feel free to tell me your story, contact me, subscribe, join my page, and please like/share this page on Facebook, stumbleupon, twitter, or whatever your social fetish may be. If you are quitting smoking and need support, I'm here for that too. Send me your concerns and worries and I will do my best to give you hints, tips, support and tricks on how to quit smoking.  Cheers!