I slept well again last night. I woke up craving a cigarette and telling myself no, you can wait at least three different times. I knew I had to check my blood sugar and eat my breakfast. My blood sugar level was 93, another great reading for me before breakfast. I ate a small bowl of raisin bran with my 2% milk. Can’t quite master drinking the 1% or skim milk. To me I might as well pour water on my cereal than drink that. So that is the reason for the 2%. I grew up drinking whole or 4% milk till I was in my 40s. When I was on a Weight Watcher’s diet, I learned to drink 2% milk and finally like the taste. My youngest daughter has always drank 2% milk. On one occasion, there was only whole milk available at a restaurant and she noticed the difference in the taste immediately. She made me laugh when she said it was like slime in her mouth. She was not use to the extra creaminess of whole milk.

Anyway, after I ate my breakfast, I took my morning pill of Chantix along with my 17 other pills I take each morning. I do take a lot of vitamins. I believe in the benefits of vitamins and minerals to our bodies. I sat for a while sipping my first cup of morning coffee thinking about how I usually have a cigarette with it. It sure felt different to me. A family member lite up a cigarette in the house, I politely ask if they remembered they agreed to smoke outside to help me quit. About 30 minutes later, we did walk outside into the freezing cold air to have a cigarette. My cigarette didn’t taste the same, more blander. I only smoked several puffs off the cigarette and put it out. It was too cold to stay outdoors long.

It has now been 4 hours since I have been up, I finished the first cigarette I started and started another one. Think I am just missing the habit. I would have normally smoked 4 or 5 cigarettes by now. One of the counselor did say to me that it takes 9 minutes to smoke one cigarette. If I smoke a pack and a half a day, that is 30 cigarettes, multiply that by 9 minutes. That comes to a total time of 4 hours, 30 minutes of extra time to do more productive things with my hands each day. I use to crochet and I miss making blankets as gifts for my new great niece and nephews. The softness of the different types of yarns I used. This is time also I can spend on my organizational/time planner. So many possibilities of using the extra time wisely.

I have a friend who quit smoking twelve days ago Cold Turkey! I am so proud of him and he keeps me inspired. Congratulations, Coleman!

Lunchtime, I checked my blood sugar and it is a little high, reading of 164. Decided to go ahead and take my Novolog shot but at a lower dosage. I take usually between 6 – 10 units. I decided to inject only 4 units as I didn’t want to get my blood sugar too low even though I had not eaten my lunch yet. I made a delicious chicken salad with celery and halves of grapes with lite mayonnaise and some seasonings/spices. I made a sandwich on whole wheat bread with lettuce. It was quite delicious. A friend had made this recipe and told me how easy it was to modify it to work with my diabetes.

I believe I have done very well so far today with both my diabetes and continue reducing the number of cigarettes I smoke. I haven’t gotten grumpy yet. More good signs about Chantix.

Going to go try watching a movie on the TV, I usually smoke while watching movies. I will see how it goes by how many times I have to stop the movie and go outside to smoke.

I ended up falling asleep for a 3 hour nap. With it being nice and toasty from the heater on in my house, it lulled me into that much needed nap apparently. It sure helped with not having to think about wanting or needing a cigarette. So far only 5 1/2 cigarettes all day and it is 7:15 PM.

Tonight is the evening I start the additional Chantix pill. Continue keeping me in your prayers and good thoughts. Will post more about my progress.

I made a conscious effort to not smoke when I first woke up this morning. I slept very well last night with only waking once for a brief time. Was able to go back to sleep right away. Ate my breakfast and checked my blood sugar, it was 119. This pleased me. I waited an hour and then only took a few puffs off my cigarette. I went to church and felt even better when I came home.

My youngest daughter is in a stressed out mood and it is affecting me and making me feel stressed. Starting to feel I need another cigarette and more than just a few puffs. Stress is one of the factors I feel has kept me smoking for years along with the habit.

Received a call from the Get-Quit support from Chantix. Got to speak to the counselor and the pharmacist. The reason I got to speak to the pharmacist is that the counselor was concerned when I told her I had slight nausea on the first morning. I didn’t think much about it. The pharmacist just want to document it along with what other medications I am taking and a history of my health conditions. I am so glad they show the concern they do about me and my health.

As the day continued and my daughter being in the mood she has been in and the weather is freezing outside, I have tried hard to continue to cut back smoking. I am thinking twice before lighting up a cigarette for those few puffs. This is hard for me since this afternoon and this evening with my daughter around making things stressful. Need to go to my bedroom and practice some deep breathing relaxation methods.

I slept better last night than I have in the past week, not sure if it is the reduction in cigarettes along with the Chantix and the antibiotics I am on for the infection. Woke only once in middle of the night briefly and went back to sleep soundly. YEAH! Feel so much better today.

I took my Chantix pill this morning after I made sure I eat a good breakfast. My blood sugar was in the normal range this morning, very pleased. Didn’t have to take a shot of Novolog. Yesterday I noticed throughout the day that I kept getting slight nausea and the cigarettes did not taste the same. Checked my blood sugar again late afternoon, it was still in the normal range, however I went and ate a light snack to help with the slight nausea, which it did help.

I have started decreasing on smoking today. That is another good sign. Still need to do more cleaning around the house to rid the saturated smell in my house.

Starting to see my trigger points as to why I smoke. The biggest one is habit for me. As I have been a smoker for near 40 years, is a combination of habit and nicotine addiction. One of the reason I choose Chantix as it does not put any nicotine in my body like nicotine patches do. When you keep adding nicotine to the body, it still giving you that fix of nicotine. Even though the nicotine patch program does use a reduction in the amount of nicotine you receive over a period of time.

Some of my habits are:
When I first wake up and sit on the side of the bed
In the bathroom
With my first cup coffee
After eating breakfast
Sitting and watching TV
Sitting at my computer
After eating lunch
Driving in my vehicle
After eating dinner
Around other smokers – someone lights one, I light one
Right before going to bed

I smoked a pack and a half easily each day. Have sent a good deal of time, coughing and choking over the past 6 weeks. Having to use my inhaler more so I can breathe. God breathed life into us… (Gen. 2:7) And I have been robbing myself of breathing life without the toxins I have been putting into my body. When I am having trouble breathing when chocking, I feel the very moment I may not get my breath back. That is scary!!

I forgot to start my journaling about why and when I smoke. So I started writing down in my journal book today plus here on this blog about my feelings and what I discover about myself with ridding of the nicotine addiction.

I took my Chantix pill last night before reading all the instructions. It appears I should be taking certain pills in the morning for 3 days. Then on 4th day, there is a morning and an evening pill to take for the first week. I am having trouble sleeping for the last 3 nights. Wonder if this is related to leading up to quitting.

Today, I awoke to slight nausea. I ate my breakfast and felt better. I sat and read more on the Chantix instructions I received from the pharmacy. I decided to call Chantix GetQuit support phone number and set up my support through them as I received a card inside my starter package with a PIN number. The lady was very helpful setting it up. She told me as I had just read that I was allowed to continue smoking during the first week on Chantix, but to make sure I changed my habits like where I usually smoke. We discussed going outside to smoke. As our weather is cold right now, I will have to think twice whether I need a cigarette or not before going outside. This should help slowdown my smoking. We talked about my health condition. She was concerned as 2 of my health conditions raised a red flag with her. She advised me if I experienced anything very unusual to call my doctor immediately. She stated they would be calling once a week and checking on me, just like the Ohio Quit Line. The Chantix support gives support for up to one year. This is great to have all this support and my friends and family.
I noticed this afternoon, my cigarettes were starting to not tasting the same. This is one of the signs that Chantix is starting to work. Taking the desire away from the taste of a cigarette.

I do have to work on changing my habits more. This is so important to me as I know quitting is going to make me healthier.

Went to my smoking cessation class last night, I learned about needing to write a journal of what causes me to smoke, i.e. habit, stress, pleasure, etc. and why I feel I need a cigarette. I have been approved for the Chantix at the pharmacy for the reduced cost though the foundation that is funding the smoking cessation program. I will be picking up my prescription today.

My instructor advised me that each day I take the Chantix, the desire for wanting a cigarette will go down till I won’t like the taste of the cigarette. I really believe that this program and the Chantix is going to work for me. The support that I am receiving through the program and the Ohio Quit Line that my instructor submitted my name to call me, plus Chantix has support also. Received a phone call today from the Ohio Quit Line. The lady was so kind and nice. She told that I can call them anytime I need to. She supplied me with their phone number and hours of operation.

Continue to keep me in your good thoughts and prayer as I start taking the Chantix today. I will keep you posted as to my progress. I look forward to my health improving. On a new antibiotics for the third time in 6 weeks, due to the infections. Also have an ear ache and sore throat again.

Went to the doctor today because I woke up in the middle of the night with a severe ear ache. With all the ups and downs with my health this past month, I don’t want to start going downhill again. My doctor prescribed a different antibiotic this time. He also ordered a throat culture and chest xray. He refilled my prescriptions for all the different medications I am on. Also, received my prescription for Chantix prescription for my smoking cessation. My doctor seems concerned as I have been repeating bouts with infections. This is not good for me as my blood sugar levels have up and down with the infections.

Went to the drugstore to drop off my prescriptions. Then I finally stopped to eat lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. I love Chinese food. By the time I got home, I had to take a shot of Novalog.

Went back later to pick up all the prescriptions to be told that the Medicare Part D insurance company was not covering my medications. I knew there was a bad mistake on someone’s part. I drove back home and made 2 phone calls. First was to the Medicare office. I thought I would have a long wait time on the phone, however within less than 5 minutes I was able to talk to an agent. She checked my files and stated that I was covered by the same insurance company and could see no reason for any problems. The second phone call was to the insurance company’s customer service. After talking to their cs agent, it was discovered I needed a new insurance card from them to present to my pharmacy. I explained that some of my prescriptions I needed fill were my diabetic medications. The agent provided me with the necessary numbers to give to my pharmacist for their billing. I called my pharmacist and gave the necessary numbers to her. She called me back within 10 minutes and told me everything went through and I could come pick up my prescriptions. Which I did. I am so glad to have been able to talk quickly with a nice agents at the Medicare office and the insurance company. Great customer service and a willingness to help me is a lasting impression.

Woke this morning feeling very strange, like I was out of sorts. As I was coming down the stairs to the living room, a family member looked up and then asked me quickly if I was feeling okay. I thought does my face show something that I don’t know? I told him that I was feeling strange. As I sat down on the couch, I started shaking severely. With assistance from a family member, I got my blood sugar taken and the reading was 55. That is very low for me and causes different symptoms to happen. I was given a fresh orange to eat. It sure tasted good plus it got my blood sugar up to 102 within an hour’s time.

Some of the common symptoms of hypoglycemia is:

• shakiness
• dizziness
• sweating
• hunger
• headache
• irritability
• pale skin color
• sudden moodiness or behavior changes, such as crying for no apparent reason
• clumsy or jerky movements
• difficulty paying attention, or confusion
• tingling sensations around the mouth

I did eat a good breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast. It always scares me that when it is that low or lower that I will go into a coma. I will have to keep a better eye on my blood sugar today and eat when I am suppose to.

I slept in today due to a rough night of waking up numerous times. I got to talk with one of my family members for an hour and half before he had to go to work. He works two jobs and I haven’t spoken to him since Friday. I do miss seeing my family members when they are gone a lot due to work and school.

Watched a movie, Blood Diamond, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly. The movie was about diamonds mined in African war zone and being sold to finance the conflicts. I  enjoyed the movie though there was a lot of blood and violence in this movie. I did enjoy relaxing and just watching a movie.

I spent some quiet time doing some reading on the Internet this afternoon and evening. I learned more about blogging and how people monetize their blogs. With today’s economy and no pay raises are allowed at one of my family member’s job, I have been trying to find a way to increase our family’s income. I am not able to work outside the home due to my disability.

Tonight, I am going to watch another movie with my daughter. She wants to watch the DVD of “Hairspray”. I have seen the earlier version of Hairspray with Ricki Lake several years ago. I wonder if it will be like that one but only just redone for more modern time.

Since it has snowed today, it is nice to just have a warm and relaxing day with my family. I needed to do this so it will help my diabetes stay under control.

For the past few days, my family have been in a baking mood. Homemade rolls and bread, cherry pie and brownies have been the aroma around my house. The added temptation to indulge in them has been hard to resist. I have to admit I did have two homemade rolls with one meal. It did affect my blood sugar on that night’s reading.

The next day when the brownies my daughter baked were cooling on the stove, I was drooling for one. So I cut a very small piece for myself. I have been feeling guilty for indulging in the wrong foods.

When I feel stressed, I tend to eat something that is not the most nutritious as a diabetic. Keeping away from sugary sweets and substituting for a sugar-free treat is something I MUST stick to on my diet and meal planning.

Been trying to get a lot of things accomplished on my to-do list. I have made plans to accomplish certain tasks each day. Seems like I have detoured too many times over the last three days. A task that should take about an hour is turning into an all day or night task. This is causing me a lot stress.

Learning to time management doing the planned task each day is going to require me to use a timer. Planned time that is uninterrupted is needed to focus on writing on my blog and other articles. This has been hard for me to do, be uninterrupted. Between the telephone, family members walking up and just talking to me and the IM, I am struggling to stay focused on my to-do list and balancing my time. Yahoo instant messenger (IM) has been acting up all day did not help. They have issues they need to address. I sure miss the three-way conference. It stopped working about 5+ months ago unexpectedly. No reason from Yahoo as to why they stopped.

Started on checking out monetize and social network programs to assist in getting my blog and website seen more. Choosing the right ones are essential to my sites. Doing research on each one is important to me. How much time is involved once I join a certain program that will be added to my time management is imperative in my decision.

I know it will take time to do this. Guess I will have to reset my time management to allow for longer times in signing up and setting up my accounts or dashboard, so I don’t feel so stressed.