Day 12 on Champix and my Wife’s progress

This is a two for one blog entry, just a quick one at that as it is getting late here at ye olde homestead.

Well it’s day 12 on Champix and it sure has helped me to quit smoking , I was doing good I had quit on day 9, but today at day 12 I had 2 smokes, why I don’t know,I never had the urge to smoke, I didn’t want one, yet I had 2, oh well tomorrow will be better.

The side effects of Champix are not very pleasant, it has given me a serious case of the screaming shit weasels (runs), and I get minor head aches, but the dreams are wickedly vivid, not nightmares, just very realistic odd dreams, other than that I’m all good, I think the screaming shit weasels are going away! (at least I hope)

Anyway, let’s switch gears a bit and talk about my Wife, she finished her 7th round of Chemo Friday and I brought her home Saturday, she is really tired, and her chest hurts a little, I have increased her pain meds dosage as per Doctors permission, and she has been on her oxygen machine since Sunday afternoon, she has about 20 feet of hose so she can get around the house as she needs.

She goes for at least 1 more round of Chemo in the next 2 or 3 weeks, after that they want to CT scan her again to see if there has been any improvement. She is is fairly good spirits and remains positive , which is very important. I am back to hiding my fears worries and sorrow and back to being the physical and emotional rock that she needs, I will grieve again when she goes into the hospital for the next round of Chemo.

So that’s it for tonight folks, y’all have a good night and remember : express your love often, never take tomorrow for granted,and be kind to others.

Butch
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Day 4 on Champix …

So 4 days ago I had a long talk with my family Doctor, he gave me the results from a battery of tests he had put me through, it wasn’t exactly good news, my cholesterol is off the charts, he said I am a Heart attack waiting to happen, I am over weight, even for my height ( 5 foot 10), I tip the scale at 225.3 pounds, ( I love my wife’s cooking and always have seconds ) I will say I carry my weight fairly well, I don’t look over weight, I do however have a spare tire for a gut (images of Homer Simpson come to mind) however my weight puts me at risk of diabetes, my Doctor is very blunt, he simply stated clean up your act or die, the choice is yours.

Well I am also a smoker (gee go figure), I have been trying to quit since April but to no avail (no offence but it takes more than simple will power, nicotine is a drug and it’s harder to kick than heroin, doubt that? ask any doctor) , wanting to quit is half the battle, the other half is the hellish with drawls that can make you feel like your dying, and can make you ready to kill anyone who gets on your nerves, being that I WANT to quit and just can’t do it on my own no matter how hard I try, I asked my Doctor for help, he gave me Champix.

I set my quit date for 9 days after the first pill (that would be the 16th of August), how ever I just may be able to stop before that, I had 5 smokes today, and I must say I hated every one of them, I don’t really feel the need to light up, I don’t know why I had 5 , perhaps just to take the edge off? or habit? I don’t know, but I do know tomorrow will be better.

There are side effects with Champix, for me I don’t feel suicidal or depressed, I do feel tired and want to nap more than usual, I have little appetite which means instead of loading my plate as usual , I just take very small servings and pick at it, right now I can’t eat Tuna, it makes me gag which sucks because I am worse than a cat when it comes to tuna! I love tuna mayo and onion sandwiches!
Food tastes odd to me at the moment, partly due to the drug champix and partly due to not hardly smoking, when you smoke it makes food taste different, so not smoking also changes the taste of food.
I have wicked vivid dreams due to the anti smoking meds, they warned me of this, I don’t mind as I tend to enjoy my dreams no matter how bizarre or the contents etc. I have always really enjoyed my dreams, just for now they are wickedly vivid which makes them all the more exciting and entertaining . ( yes I can tell when I am dreaming)

I am calm and relaxed and the with drawls are manageable not physical or psychological pain, like I said just tired, oh and my ears are constantly ringing, I know this shall pass with time so I am okay with everything, this won’t last forever, it takes 3 full days for the nicotine to leave my system , so even though I am currently still smoking which I won’t be doing much longer, I know the amount of nicotine in my system has been drastically reduced, I went from 1 pack (25 smokes) per day down to just 5 smokes in 4 short days…. that’s pretty freaking AWESOME! tomorrow will be even better.

I am going to turn my health issues around, first step is quitting smoking, second step is to exercise more ( I already walk around 5 miles per day), I am going to put an ad up in the post office asking for a bike buddy, someone who wants to go pedal biking for a couple miles once or twice per week since my wife currently can not join me.
I am also planning on joining our local fitness center , I have set my goal realistically to reach 175 pounds, no time limit, just daily exercise, once I hit 175 I will ask my doctor if that’s enough, if not I will set another goal of 10 pounds and go from there.

Anyway that is all for tonight, remember folks, express your love often, never take tomorrow for granted, and be kind to others.

Butch
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