Okay maybe the Marlboro-free moment is wearing thin on me, but but..why am I feeling jealous over a stupid blog? And, I'll admit it, when I started blogging I hoped that the family would read it. I started two sites, this one, and the one about my father. I don't think anyone in the family read the one about Dad, and I understand that. Mom did check on this one every now and then, but other than that, that was it. Okay, that's fine too, don't be interested in my mundane little existence. But somehow, the thought that she has this fully developed myspace site, and she never even bothered to tell me to go take a peek at it...that kinda hurts my feeling for some reason. Then, to know that 160 people stop by her blog to say HEY YOU ARE COOL I LOVE YOU...that's just the final kicker.
Actually, I think my pettiness is misdirected...I should be sending waves of hate to myspace, that's the evil culprit! Either that or it's time to viciously chew some nicorette gum.
By the way, anyone who says your sense of smell and taste return or are heightened when you quit smoking, needs a kick in the ass. How could I possibly distinguish one smell from another, or one taste from another when all I've been doing since I quit is making potfuls of food and cramming my face. Seriously, chain smoking has been replaced with chain eating. Yesterday I stood over the sink gnawing at a Pomelo for at least 20 minutes. It was super sweet and very delicious, but omg how can one possibly peel one of those with these stupid gel nail thingies on. I finally gave up and just started using my teeth to rip away huge hunks of the rind. In hindsight, as I write this, I am wondering why I didn't think of using a knife. Of course, in a nicotine deprived rage at 2 am, do I really need to ask that question?
Joking aside, the smoking thing is rather fascinating. First of all, I have quit before. Once I even quit for more than 2 years, then went back to it. (I never said I wasn't stupid) In the past I always felt like I could go away for a weekend to visit relatives and not smoke...or go for an entire day without a cigarette without a problem. Then things took a nasty turn, and about two years ago I did not have that same feeling. I started feeling anxious if I knew I was going some place where people didn't smoke. I would walk into a non-smoking home and feel like I smelled like a used ashtray. Then it escalated even further, where I wouldn't feel safe if I didn't buy two packages of cigarettes all the time. One wasn't good enough, what if I dropped it in the toilet!!! What if one were accidentally run over! Then the final straw- I started smoking both packages. Not smoking two packs a day...although I'm sure I could have had I wanted to, no I just started opening both packs and then I knew if I forgot one downstairs, the other open pack was safely upstairs by my computer. Or if I left one pack in the car, no worries, the other was nearby! Uhhh that's just pathetic!
So I quit. So what I'm trying to say is that the true nicotine addiction...the one that drove me to quit, didn't actually start till after 25 years of smoking. How bizarre is that! Anyway, I tried searching the net for withdrawal symptoms to see what other horrors I can expect. I keep finding the same boring things...and I keep seeing the same damn statistics that are supposed to keep you motivated to continue on your path of quitting:
At 20 minutes after quitting:
- blood pressure decreases
- pulse rate drops
- body temperature of hands and feet increases
Also, how can my bp possibly drop when I'm continually freaking out over not having a cigarette in my hands. (Same goes for my pulse)
At 8 hours:
- carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal
- oxygen level in blood increases to normal
At 24 hours:
- chance of a heart attack decreases
At 48 hours:
- nerve endings start regrowing
- ability to smell and taste is enhanced
At 2 weeks to 3 months:
- circulation improves
- walking becomes easier
- lung function increases
The rest just makes me want to laugh...these people do NOT understand the mindset of a smoker. Telling me that 15 years from now, no one will know I ever smoked doesn't do much for me. Particularly since everyone I run into keeps saying, "Huh, you smoke? I never knew that, well good luck with the quitting." GRRRRRRRRRRR
1 to 9 months:
- coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decreases
1 year:
- excess risk of coronary heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker
Long-term Benefits of Quitting
At 5 - 15 years:
- from 5 to 15 years after quitting, stroke risk is reduced to that of people who have never smoked.
- risk of lung cancer drops to as little as one-half that of continuing smokers
- risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases
- risk of ulcer decreases.
- risk of coronary heart disease is now similar to that of people who have never smoked
- risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked.
-Swapna
PS Just to ensure I've freaked out enough, I'm going to go see how many people love my brother on his myspace site...
2 comments:
OMG 160 comments? I'm jealous too. And that seems wrong somehow. If I ever have a myspace site - I promise to tell you about it.
Myspace is for children, or for publicizing your band, the digital equilvalent of signing a yearbook. And those 160 greetings are probably from pervs. So there.
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